When a secret base, abandoned by the original builders of the Stargates, is found buried in the ice of Antartica, the newly formed Stargate Atlantis team is born. The team's discovery leads to a daring expeditiion to the distant Pegasus galaxy, where they encounter a primitive human civilization and a sinister new enemy that threatens human life everywhere. The Stargate Atlantis mission is headed by Dr. Elizabeth Weir, a specialist in diplomatic relations. Her political savvy is balanced by the bravado of her military counterpart, Major John Sheppard, a courageous pilot. Rounding out the crew are Lt. Aiden Ford, Sheppard's second-in-command, Dr. Rodney McKay, a clever and quick-witted astrophysicist and Teyla, a beautiful young leader among the primitive alien civilization that the Atlantis team encounters.
It's not a franchise on the order of Law & Order, CSI, or Star Trek--not yet, anyway--but with Stargate Atlantis, a more than worthy successor to SG-1, Stargate is becoming a nice little cottage industry in itself. The premise, in a nutshell: The Ancients, the greatest race the universe has ever known (or something like that), abandoned Earth millions of years ago, taking Atlantis with them; they then sunk the entire city in order to escape the clutches of the dreaded Wraith, an implacable bunch of villains who nourish themselves by sucking the life from humans. Now, as the two-hour "Rising" pilot details, a new team has gained access to the legendary city. Once they arrive, Atlantis loses the power to sustain its protective shield and rises to the surface, and thus begin the team's adventures (i.e., using the stargate to travel to other planets in the Pegasus galaxy, encountering aliens both hostile and friendly, and trying to defeat the Wraith, or at least stay out of their way).
Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), SG-1's driving force, is missed, but Atlantis has a strong replacement in Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), easily the most charismatic member of the new team. Like O'Neill, Sheppard is a wiseacre and a loose cannon, as well as a superb pilot with an innate understanding of the Ancients' arcane technology. His humor, humanity and conscience provide a welcome contrast to the other characters, especially brilliant-but-neurotic Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and ultra-serious project leader Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), who has little to do but give orders and stand up for her people. The Wraith, who resemble a vampire mutation of the albino blues guitarist Johnny Winter, are the focus of most of these 19 episodes (including the pilot). These bad boys will stop at nothing--nothing, I tell you!--in their quest to snack their way through every galaxy in the universe, with Earth their ultimate feeding ground. And while the final four episodes, dealing with the Wraith's massive attack on Atlantis, end with an unsatisfying cliffhanger (basically, nothing is resolved), earlier shows effectively keep their ominous presence in the forefront. The episodes in which the Wraith play little or no active role are often compelling as well, including "Thirty Eight Minutes" (one of our heroes' "puddle jumper" spacecraft gets stuck in the stargate), "Childhood's End" (we meet a race whose members are convinced that only ritual suicide is keeping the Wraith at bay), and "The Eye" (a planet-size hurricane/tsunami bears down on Atlantis). As is the case with SG-1, the visual effects work, especially by TV standards, is excellent; in fact, one might wish for bit more cool sci-fi action and less talk in some of the episodes. Special effects include commentary (by directors, writers, and/or actors) for every episode, as well as the occasional behind-the-scenes featurette. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Lot's of fun:
This is a good family type series. SG1 (StarGate 1) takes place "near" the MilkyWay galaxy. SGA (StarGate Atlantis), uses an additional chevron (place on gate) to go to the Pegasus galaxy. It is full of fun, humor, good stories, great characters, and great villians. This is the 1st season and it is when they are cut off from earth. Extras are mostly, commentary of the episodes. There are also some behind the scenes sections. Definitely a feel good show.
stargate atlantis:
Star gate Atlantis
In galaxy far far away a more modern adventure takes place. A team from earth travel through an alien device that was left on the planet earth long long ago. The military of course finds and proceeds to manage the device and use it to explore the universe in an attempt to gain new technology in order to defend themselves from threats more close to earth. A military team with various scientists and specialists' travel through the stargate, which transports them to a distant galaxy in... more info
Stargate Atlantis:
A nice journey into the Stargate Universe that follows from the original Stargate TV Series. A must watch for any entertainment orientated Sci-Fi fans.
Stargate Atlantis- 5 stars:
I bought the first & second seasons of Stargate Atlantis for my son's fiance. She had them on her wish list, so I ordered them. She opened them & proceeded to play them at my house for the next several days. I got hooked on it from the first episode! Never thought about the show when it was on TV; not a big TV watcher. Even though I never watched the original series, I could figure out what was going on because it shared enough of the plot & actors as if it was the beginning of a new show.more info
