Friday night was the final episode of Stargate Atlantis, one of my favorite shows—great cast chemistry and often humorous writing combined with some solid science fiction made it fun for casual viewers, and a commitment to character development and continuity rewarded long-term fans (a commitment to continuity not shared by certain, other, science fiction shows). Unfortunately, the series ended just as new show regulars Robert Picardo and Jewel Staite were really hitting their stride, moving their characters in interesting directions, and their presence gave the established cast something new to bounce off as well. The show’s resident villains, the Wraith, were also beginning to display considerably more depth and complexity than the previous bad guys in the franchise’s history.
The series finale featured cameos by a lot of the supporting characters from the Stargate franchise universe, but otherwise was almost a regular episode, without even the cliffhanger that usually accompanies a season finale–despite being cancelled from Sci Fi’s regular line-up, the producers are clearly expecting a fairly seamless continuation of Atlantis’s storylines in movie form, as happened with Stargate: SG-1 and the direct release Ark of Truth and Continuum movies. In any case the departure of Atlantis clears the decks for the new Stargate: Universe series, which will begin filming next month. Universe promises more space-based action (in part to satisfy Sci Fi viewers who have become accustomed to Battlestar Galactica’s viper-on-raider action), and more alien aliens. Fingers crossed it inherits SG-1’s and Atlantis’s spirit too.
Image courtesy Sci Fi.
July 12th, 2009 at 4:52 am
I consult for the props department for Stargate, making sure all the equations match up with the plot (like the white boards the physicists were squabbling at in “Brain Storm”). Give me a poke if you need photos focused on the science/math to compliment the usual publicity shots as you find things to write about as SG: Universe and the movies roll out.