2024/07/16

When Stargate Atlantis came to our TV screens on July 16^th, 2004, Stargate was at its height of its popularity! Stargate SG-1 just finished in a near perfect 7^th season, which could well have been a series finale, I mean, it could have ended just there. Stargate Atlantis started with a pilot where Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks were guest stars to help Stargate Atlantis get launched.

To me, Stargate Atlantis is even more sci-fi than the original series. Mostly perhaps because it is not set on earth but in another galaxy, the Pegasus galaxy, but it is the whole feel of it, Atlantis itself, the puddle jumper and of course the Wraith. For me, Stargate Atlantis is my favorite Stargate show. I like them all three mind you, yes also Stargate Universe, very much so even, but Stargate Atlantis excites me just a bit more than the other two. Although I have to say that Universe is closing in on that feeling.

The most important reason Atlantis is my favorite are the characters, especially John Sheppard (Joe Flanagan) and Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), who is annoyingly fantastic as I also said my 10-year anniversary blog. These two characters are definitely the reason why I love Atlantis just a little bit more than the others shows. The camaraderie between these two guys, the banter, the humor between them was, for me, the reason I loved this show so much and still do. But I also really respected and appreciated Dr. Weir (Torri Higginson) and it bothered me a lot that she was written out of the show as leader of this expedition.

Of course, Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) was another favorite of mine. Yes, his death was such a great episode, on the other hand, why kill off such a loved character, I really did not understand that. And when he later returned as a replicator, I was happy to see him again, but it was different, and it felt a little off to me. The fact that they brought him back, gave me the feeling that the creators got a lot of negative feedback about the death of Beckett. Characters like Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa), who replaced Aiden Ford, Dr. Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite), who replaced Carson Beckett as the lead doctor of the Atlantis expedition, and even Dr. Radek Zelenka (David Nykl) made it a perfect ensemble where it was important to me that they weren’t afraid to use humor, and like SG-1, the show did not take itself too seriously. The one character who did not really resonate with me was the gorgeous Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell). I certainly did not hate her, or disliked her, she was a fine actress, beautiful woman but for some reason, I could not really connect with that character. I also was not sad to see Lt. Aiden Ford (Rainbow Sun Francks) go, I liked him better when he became a bad guy from season two onwards.

Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) joined Atlantis is season 4 as the new expedition leader to replace Dr. Weir. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sam, but I really did not understand this move. I read back then that she had one more year of contract and that this was the reason she had to replace Tori Higginson’s character, but I really didn’t like it, mainly because it meant the loss of Dr. Weir’s character. I think this could have been solved differently. Sam Carter’s replacement in season five Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo), was kind of an odd choice but I rather did like it.

The bad guys in this show, the Wraith are so much more frightening than the Goa’uld, I never found the Goa’uld really that scary or interesting, Anubis Excluded. These Wraith were really frightening, and they had a multi layered rich background. When we encountered these Wraith, it always was exciting and scary. This was for me also a reason why I prefer Atlantis to SG-1. Although I kind of regret that the replicators got such a big role on the show, I really felt been there, done that in SG-1, did not need to see them back in Atlantis. But that is perhaps something I stand alone in.

Stargate Atlantis also has lots of great recurring characters which made the show even richer. To name a few: Michael (Connor Trineer), Zelenka (David Nykl), Colonel Steven Caldwell (Mitch Pileggi) Major Evan Lorne (Kavan Smith), Cowen (Colm Meaney), Ladon Radim (Ryan Robbins), Lucius Lavin (Richard Kind), Commander Acastus Kolya (Robert Davi) and of course Wraith Todd, played by Christopher Heyerdahl. Also, a number of guest stars like: Robert Patrick, Nicole de Boer, Christina Cox, Peter Woodward, Brandy Ledford and I know these are only a few names, the list goes on and on.

The cross-over episodes definitely were the icing on the cake, they didn’t happen that often but when it happened, the episodes were really special. It is always a joy to see characters from other Stargate shows cross-over, I just wish it would have happened more often, but I do understand that this is difficult to do, with all these schedules to keep, especially when both shows were running back2back.

What sucks of course is the fact that Atlantis never really got closure. MGM and the creators were planning a movie or several movies while Stargate Universe was running. The economic crisis put a stop to those plans unfortunately. It has been 15 years since Atlantis was "cancelled", so little or no chance we will ever see a (TV) movie to wrap things up. Novels have been released and they do continue where the TV Series left of but I have not (yet) read any of them. Although there still is a tiny bit of hope that there will come a satisfying conclusion if and when the new Stargate series gets greenlighted and it is indeed set in the same universe as our 3 shows.

Final Word:

So, while Atlantis celebrates its 20th anniversary, Stargate itself has been off the air for 13 years now, which I find unbelievable! Sure, there is talk about a new Stargate show but till now it still seems only talk at this point. Stargate needs to come back to TV/streaming really quick and please let it take place in the same universe as the other 3 stargate shows, this is what the fans want, so please listen to the Stargate fans. This year, on October 2^nd, also the 15^th Anniversary of Stargate Universe! More on that in 4 months.

Screencaps: Taken from Google Search