Plot
Main article: List of Stargate Atlantis episodes
Stargate Atlantis is set in the city of Atlantis, on a planet called "Lantea" in the Pegasus galaxy, built millions of years ago by one of the most advanced race of the Stargate universe: the Ancients. Five to ten million years ago, due to a plague in the Milky Way Galaxy, they were forced to flee to a planet in the Pegasus Galaxy and there they seeded life on hundreds of worlds as they had done in the Milky Way. After encountering a powerful enemy known as the Wraith and going to war with them for more than one hundred years, the Ancients ultimately lost and were forced to submerge their city beneath Lantea's ocean, which, in the Stargate universe, is the source of the Greek myth of the Lost City of Atlantis.
The city of Atlantis hosts much of the action in the series and is the source of much of the technology which the characters employ. While trying to uncover the secrets the city still holds from her new human inhabitants, the Atlantis expedition also use the Stargate to explore the Pegasus galaxy, looking for energ sources and other technology that the Ancients may have left behind and that may help them defeat the Wraith.
The events of Stargate Atlantis follow the cliffhanger Stargate SG-1 seventh season finale "Lost City", where SG-1 found an outpost made by the race known as the Ancients in Antarctica. After the events of Stargate SG-1 season eight premiere "New Order", the Stargate Command sends an international team to investigate the outpost. Soon, Dr. Jackson discovers the location of the greatest city created by the Ancients, Atlantis.
During Season 4, the expedition team moved the city of Atlantis to a new planet, designated M35-117, to avoid destruction at the hands of the Asurans. In the series finale, Atlantis is taken to Earth to defend it against a ZPM-powered Wraith hive ship. The city is damaged in the battle and lands in the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco.
[edit] Season 1
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 1)
Season 1 began airing in the United States on July 16, 2004. The Atlantis expedition, led by Dr. Weir, arrives at the city of the Ancients and quickly find themselves in a dire situation that forces them to seek new friends, the Athosians, but that also lands them with a powerful new enemy: the Wraith. Cut off from Earth, the expedition must survive in a new galaxy, while deciphering the Ancients' technology and finding a way to destroy the Wraith. Major Sheppard puts together a team consisting of himself, Dr. McKay, Lt. Ford and the Athosian leader Teyla, who serve as Atlantis' first contact team. In one of their first missions, they make another enemy in the Genii, a human militaristic civilization with a 1950s level of technology. After several more revelations about the Wraith are made the expedition prepares to evacuate. Just before they do, however, a military contingent from Earth arrives to help defend the city against the impending Wraith attack long enough for Earth's latest battleship to arrive. The season ends with a cliffhanger, while the city is still under siege by the Wraith.
[edit] Season 2
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 2)
Season 2 began airing in the United States on July 15, 2005, and it picked up just where Season 1 ended. The Atlantis expedition successfully avoids being culled by the Wraith by making them believe Atlantis has been destroyed, and they recover semi-regular contact with Earth, thanks to the Daedalus and the new ZPM. Sheppard is promoted to Lt. Colonel and former Runner Ronon Dex replaces Lt. Ford, now MIA.
The central plot of this second season is the development of Dr. Beckett's retrovirus, which can, theoretically, turn a Wraith into a human. While an incomplete version makes a young Wraith girl lose all her humanity and almost turns Sheppard into an Iratus bug, a more developed version is tested in a living Wraith, "Michael", with mixed results. Michael's wraith faction proposes an alliance with Atlantis, but they betray the team. The season closes again with a cliffhanger - the Wraith on their way to Earth.
[edit] Season 3
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 3)
Season 3 premiered in the United States on July 14, 2006, picking up just where season 2 ended. Having stopped the Wraith from reaching Earth and having achieved another failure with the Wraith retrovirus, the expedition faces its third year in the Pegasus galaxy with the Wraith still a threat and a new powerful enemy bent on destroying the expedition and Atlantis: the Asurans. The situation becomes complicated when an experiment gone awry drains their only ZPM, leaving them without a power source for the city's shields. Soon thereafter, they find a lost Ancient vessel and subsequently lose the city of Atlantis when the crew of the Ancient ship reclaims it. The SGC sends General O'Neill and Richard Woolsey to try to negotiate an agreement between Earth and the Ancients to allow the expedition back in Atlantis. O'Neill and Woolsey dial Earth and inform them that the Asurans (self-replicating nanobots, also known as Replicators) are taking over the city. They kill off the Ancient crew who reclaimed the city after 10,000 years. The main members of the Atlantis expedition on Earth disobey the orders and go back to the city, rescue O'Neill and Woolsey, and cleverly repel the Asuran invasion. The season finale starts off with Earth launching a first strike against the Asurans who are building an armada to attack Earth. The Asurans counterattack by attacking Atlantis by means of a powerful beam weapon fired through a satellite housing a Stargate. As the last resort, the Atlantis team fires up the city's stardrive and escapes into space. The finale ends when the hyperdrive malfunctions, leaving the city flying through uncharted space with a day's worth of energy left in their sole ZPM and Dr. Weir critically injured.
[edit] Season 4
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 4)
Season 4 cast from left to right: Dr. Rodney McKay, Col. Samantha Carter, Lt. Col. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex.
Season 4 premiered in the USA on September 28, 2007,[14] and in the UK on October 9, 2007. The writers stated that season 4 would take the series in a new direction. The future appears bleak with the incapacitation of Weir and multiple injuries among the senior members of the expedition. With the city damaged, running out of power and drifting in space, cut off from Earth, the Atlantis expedition raids Asuras to obtain a ZPM and is able to travel to a nearby planet. Weir is captured by the Asurans and Colonel Samantha Carter joins as a regular and acts as the expedition leader.[6] She appeared in the episode "Lifeline" after helping to find and land Atlantis on its new home planet; however, it is stated that she has been ordered back to the SGC at this point. In episode 3, however, under the IOA's orders, Carter returns to Atlantis as the new leader of the expedition after Atlantis lands. Generally, the season focuses on the main antagonists the Asurans and the Wraith, as early on the Asuran base code is reprogrammed by McKay to start a war with the Wraith. Midway through the season the Asurans are seemingly destroyed, and the remaining episodes concentrate mainly on Michael's efforts against both humans and the other Wraith. Carson Beckett and Teal'c both appear in several episodes
[edit] Season 5
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 5)
The fifth, and final, season began production in February 2008[15] and began airing on July 11, 2008. Actors Joe Flanigan, Rachel Luttrell, Jason Momoa and David Hewlett return, reprising their roles as Lt. Col. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex and Dr. Rodney McKay respectively. Due to the SciFi Channel's acquisition of the Sanctuary web-series, Amanda Tapping (Col. Samantha Carter) is not to be a regular cast member in Season 5, but will return as a special guest star for two episodes.[15] Actress Jewel Staite (Dr. Jennifer Keller) has been promoted to series regular.[16] Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey) has joined the show as a regular cast member and the new commander of the Atlantis Expedition. He appeared in 14 of the 20 episodes for the final season.[17] The season also saw Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) return for five episodes and Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) appeared in two episodes, the mid-season two parter.[16] Despite earlier plans, Torri Higginson (Dr. Elizabeth Weir) declined to return for the fifth season. [18] This series also sees Atlantis return to Earth after several million years.
link
Main article: List of Stargate Atlantis episodes
Stargate Atlantis is set in the city of Atlantis, on a planet called "Lantea" in the Pegasus galaxy, built millions of years ago by one of the most advanced race of the Stargate universe: the Ancients. Five to ten million years ago, due to a plague in the Milky Way Galaxy, they were forced to flee to a planet in the Pegasus Galaxy and there they seeded life on hundreds of worlds as they had done in the Milky Way. After encountering a powerful enemy known as the Wraith and going to war with them for more than one hundred years, the Ancients ultimately lost and were forced to submerge their city beneath Lantea's ocean, which, in the Stargate universe, is the source of the Greek myth of the Lost City of Atlantis.
The city of Atlantis hosts much of the action in the series and is the source of much of the technology which the characters employ. While trying to uncover the secrets the city still holds from her new human inhabitants, the Atlantis expedition also use the Stargate to explore the Pegasus galaxy, looking for energ sources and other technology that the Ancients may have left behind and that may help them defeat the Wraith.
The events of Stargate Atlantis follow the cliffhanger Stargate SG-1 seventh season finale "Lost City", where SG-1 found an outpost made by the race known as the Ancients in Antarctica. After the events of Stargate SG-1 season eight premiere "New Order", the Stargate Command sends an international team to investigate the outpost. Soon, Dr. Jackson discovers the location of the greatest city created by the Ancients, Atlantis.
During Season 4, the expedition team moved the city of Atlantis to a new planet, designated M35-117, to avoid destruction at the hands of the Asurans. In the series finale, Atlantis is taken to Earth to defend it against a ZPM-powered Wraith hive ship. The city is damaged in the battle and lands in the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco.
[edit] Season 1
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 1)
Season 1 began airing in the United States on July 16, 2004. The Atlantis expedition, led by Dr. Weir, arrives at the city of the Ancients and quickly find themselves in a dire situation that forces them to seek new friends, the Athosians, but that also lands them with a powerful new enemy: the Wraith. Cut off from Earth, the expedition must survive in a new galaxy, while deciphering the Ancients' technology and finding a way to destroy the Wraith. Major Sheppard puts together a team consisting of himself, Dr. McKay, Lt. Ford and the Athosian leader Teyla, who serve as Atlantis' first contact team. In one of their first missions, they make another enemy in the Genii, a human militaristic civilization with a 1950s level of technology. After several more revelations about the Wraith are made the expedition prepares to evacuate. Just before they do, however, a military contingent from Earth arrives to help defend the city against the impending Wraith attack long enough for Earth's latest battleship to arrive. The season ends with a cliffhanger, while the city is still under siege by the Wraith.
[edit] Season 2
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 2)
Season 2 began airing in the United States on July 15, 2005, and it picked up just where Season 1 ended. The Atlantis expedition successfully avoids being culled by the Wraith by making them believe Atlantis has been destroyed, and they recover semi-regular contact with Earth, thanks to the Daedalus and the new ZPM. Sheppard is promoted to Lt. Colonel and former Runner Ronon Dex replaces Lt. Ford, now MIA.
The central plot of this second season is the development of Dr. Beckett's retrovirus, which can, theoretically, turn a Wraith into a human. While an incomplete version makes a young Wraith girl lose all her humanity and almost turns Sheppard into an Iratus bug, a more developed version is tested in a living Wraith, "Michael", with mixed results. Michael's wraith faction proposes an alliance with Atlantis, but they betray the team. The season closes again with a cliffhanger - the Wraith on their way to Earth.
[edit] Season 3
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 3)
Season 3 premiered in the United States on July 14, 2006, picking up just where season 2 ended. Having stopped the Wraith from reaching Earth and having achieved another failure with the Wraith retrovirus, the expedition faces its third year in the Pegasus galaxy with the Wraith still a threat and a new powerful enemy bent on destroying the expedition and Atlantis: the Asurans. The situation becomes complicated when an experiment gone awry drains their only ZPM, leaving them without a power source for the city's shields. Soon thereafter, they find a lost Ancient vessel and subsequently lose the city of Atlantis when the crew of the Ancient ship reclaims it. The SGC sends General O'Neill and Richard Woolsey to try to negotiate an agreement between Earth and the Ancients to allow the expedition back in Atlantis. O'Neill and Woolsey dial Earth and inform them that the Asurans (self-replicating nanobots, also known as Replicators) are taking over the city. They kill off the Ancient crew who reclaimed the city after 10,000 years. The main members of the Atlantis expedition on Earth disobey the orders and go back to the city, rescue O'Neill and Woolsey, and cleverly repel the Asuran invasion. The season finale starts off with Earth launching a first strike against the Asurans who are building an armada to attack Earth. The Asurans counterattack by attacking Atlantis by means of a powerful beam weapon fired through a satellite housing a Stargate. As the last resort, the Atlantis team fires up the city's stardrive and escapes into space. The finale ends when the hyperdrive malfunctions, leaving the city flying through uncharted space with a day's worth of energy left in their sole ZPM and Dr. Weir critically injured.
[edit] Season 4
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 4)
Season 4 cast from left to right: Dr. Rodney McKay, Col. Samantha Carter, Lt. Col. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex.
Season 4 premiered in the USA on September 28, 2007,[14] and in the UK on October 9, 2007. The writers stated that season 4 would take the series in a new direction. The future appears bleak with the incapacitation of Weir and multiple injuries among the senior members of the expedition. With the city damaged, running out of power and drifting in space, cut off from Earth, the Atlantis expedition raids Asuras to obtain a ZPM and is able to travel to a nearby planet. Weir is captured by the Asurans and Colonel Samantha Carter joins as a regular and acts as the expedition leader.[6] She appeared in the episode "Lifeline" after helping to find and land Atlantis on its new home planet; however, it is stated that she has been ordered back to the SGC at this point. In episode 3, however, under the IOA's orders, Carter returns to Atlantis as the new leader of the expedition after Atlantis lands. Generally, the season focuses on the main antagonists the Asurans and the Wraith, as early on the Asuran base code is reprogrammed by McKay to start a war with the Wraith. Midway through the season the Asurans are seemingly destroyed, and the remaining episodes concentrate mainly on Michael's efforts against both humans and the other Wraith. Carson Beckett and Teal'c both appear in several episodes
[edit] Season 5
Main article: Stargate Atlantis (season 5)
The fifth, and final, season began production in February 2008[15] and began airing on July 11, 2008. Actors Joe Flanigan, Rachel Luttrell, Jason Momoa and David Hewlett return, reprising their roles as Lt. Col. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex and Dr. Rodney McKay respectively. Due to the SciFi Channel's acquisition of the Sanctuary web-series, Amanda Tapping (Col. Samantha Carter) is not to be a regular cast member in Season 5, but will return as a special guest star for two episodes.[15] Actress Jewel Staite (Dr. Jennifer Keller) has been promoted to series regular.[16] Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey) has joined the show as a regular cast member and the new commander of the Atlantis Expedition. He appeared in 14 of the 20 episodes for the final season.[17] The season also saw Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) return for five episodes and Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) appeared in two episodes, the mid-season two parter.[16] Despite earlier plans, Torri Higginson (Dr. Elizabeth Weir) declined to return for the fifth season. [18] This series also sees Atlantis return to Earth after several million years.
link
