Product Description Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 06/30/2009 Run time: 1010 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com As the curtain is drawn on the first of the 20 episodes that comprise this fifth (and apparently last) season of Stargate Atlantis, we’re assured that “the threat level is down” across the universe. The “sentient machines” known as the Replicators have been defeated; The Wraith, the white-haired, translucent-skinned, cat-eyed vampire dudes who have been our heroes’ principal nemeses all along, are in disarray; And while the character known as Michael, who was the subject of the team's ongoing ""retro-virus"" experiment (designed to make Wraiths human) in Season Two and played a significant recurring role in Season Three, is still around, he too no longer inspires much dread. So, “the threat level is down,” right? Yeah, right. You don’t need to be an astrophysicist to know that rosy analysis is mere wishful thinking. Indeed, Michael’s human-Wraith “hybrids” are a serious menace almost immediately; and by the end of the season, not only have the Wraith pulled themselves together, they have constructed the mother of all “hive ships,” located Planet Earth, and begun attacking it. In between, regular Atlantis fans will witness a few significant developments: among other things, Samantha Carter (Stargate SG-1 veteran Amanda Tapping), who took over command of Atlantis in Season Four, is soon replaced by the by-the-book civilian Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo); team member Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) has a baby; and Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), the kvetching genius scientist, and medical doc Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite) kindle a romantic relationship. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), another SG-1 veteran, appears in two mid-season episodes.
Story-wise, Season Five offers considerable variety; “The Daedalus Variations” is heady sci-fi filled with technical mumbo-jumbo about parallel universes, while “Whispers” is a zombie jamboree straight out of Night of the Living Dead, and Vegas, an “alternate reality episode” in which Lt. Col. John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan, in what is still the show’s most appealing role) plays a beleaguered homicide detective, takes place almost entirely in that city. As usual, the best stories are the ones involving the Wraith, including “The Queen,” in which Teyla temporarily transforms into one of those villainous creatures. Also as usual, the visual effects are first-rate, and the bonus material is copious (including commentaries for every episode and all manner of featurettes) and impressive. If this is indeed the end of Stargate Atlantis as a series (a feature-length movie is already in production), it will certainly be missed--but at least they’re quitting while they’re ahead. --Sam Graham
Best Stargate spinoffMarch 13, 2010 D. Lowell(Salem, Oregon) Well thought out spinoff. Great cast with good chemistry. If you've not seen seasons 1-4 yet it is important to view them first to fully understand running storyline. The ending left me wanting more but that just means they didn't over-milk the series.
OutstandingMarch 9, 2010 S. Pyle(East Coast) This was an awsome season with some really fun episodes like "Vegas" that brought a close to a series that ended way to soon. Atlantis was good from the get-go, but really evolved into a top-notch sci-fi show by the end of the third season. There is a reason it was voted #1 over BSG by viewers two years ago. Sadly it wasn't enough for the producers to keep the show going. Due to a high show budget and a desire to pull in a younger audience this show was cancelled at the hight of its popularity. The last season brings plenty of laughs, drama, suspense and jaw-dropping special effects. Robert Picardo was a nice change from Amanda Tapping, although I know few agree with me on that. It's truely a shame this show was cancelled in favor of replacing it with a low trash show like SGU that is full of sex, and shallow, borring characters. But SGA you won't be disappointed. This season marks the end of a great franchise.
5th Season SGA reviewMarch 7, 2010 Jeffrey Kuntzelman(Denver, CO) Not exactly my favorite season of SG: Atlantis, but it did have some really good episodes. The first and foremost was the conclusion to season 4 with "Search and Rescue". While I think they (the producers, directors, writers, etc) could have made this a two-parter, I liked how it all fit together, but the beginning kind of eluded to the possibility of the Atlantis team following another Lt. Ford storyline, which never developed due to the show's early demise. In this episode, there seems to be a sort of deeper bond between Teyla and Sheppard, but it's a mutual understanding that both of them want nothing more than a deep friendship. Kind of sucks that was never fully developed. I (among many fans) probably would have loved to see a more deeper relationship between Teyla/Shep to develop.
Second episode that makes this season worth watching is "The Shrine". Dr. McKay has come a very long way since we first saw him on Stargate: SG-1. The character of McKay seems to grow a little more dynamically in this episode, especially at the end when he realizes that he's in love with the good doctor, although many fans (myself included) agree this match-up was something thrown together to satisfy fans' request to have McKay put into a relationship to see how he would deal with it. Although we don't get to see much develop here, it's good to see that the McKay we all know and love has grown a little more gentler and, dare do we even say it, polite? Another episode that is my personal favorite is "The Daedalus Variations". I just love science fiction shows that sort of touch on alternate realities like this one, and especially when it involves a ship that mirrors like the ship of the original reality in the series'.
There were, however, some episodes that I thought, in my honest opinion, didn't really make much sense, though in retrospect, the series was ending, so the writers and producers didn't have time to fully engage the viewers into a potential new threat to Atlantis. We're talking of course about the episode "Whispers". This episode really didn't do much for me in the way of what I consider classic "Stargate" storytelling. There wasn't much comedic drama, not much in the way of giving the cast more dynamic roles. It seemed to me that the two main characters, Sheppard and (clone) Beckett, were just going through the motions, and not really interacting as much as they should have. As for the side characters, there's really only two words that sum these gals up in my mind: "EYE CANDY!" Nicole de Boer (from ST: DS9 season 7 "Ezri Dax") really didn't have much of a role here, but I confess, it would have been nice to see her come back as a regular to the series in later seasons, if SGA had been renewed for another season or two!! *shakes fist*
Another episode that I thought had some good elements, and some bad aspects to it was the mid-season two-parter "First Contact" and "The Lost Tribe". Admittedly, I have only watched these two episodes twice, but I have an inkling of where the writers were going with this side story. Who knew the Asgard had brethren in the Pegasus galaxy that had no regard for human life, or really any life for that matter when it came to devising a technology to defeat the powerful Wraith. This would have made a great arc to the SGA series had it been allowed to develop in later seasons, but it would have left a bad taste in fans' mouths with the newly found Asgard Pegasus tribe to be foes rather than friends. Another downside/upside to this two-parter was Dr. Jackson's appearance. Though it was really a limited contribution, and it wasn't like the character had much to do with Atlantis. The writers really shortchanged this idea severely when they could have done so much more to the story here. I think had the writers and producers done it more in-depth, this two-parter would have been the turning point in keeping the series alive for another three, maybe even four seasons. I would have really liked to have seen more interaction between Jackson and Sheppard, maybe even more of a "butting heads" between Jackson and the longtime Stargate bureaucrat Woolsey.
The latter episodes, "Outsiders", "Remnants", "The Prodigal", "Brain Storm", and "Identity" in my view were just thrown together. There wasn't much involvement in the stories, and the audience I felt was just not engaged. It was almost as if the writers simply gave up good writing since the show had been cancelled. I felt as though they said "Screw it" and just threw things together. There wasn't very much Teyla/Ronon, Ronon/McKay, Sheppard/Teyla, and Sheppard/Ronon moments to be had, and that I feel was part of the essence of the show was how these characters interacted with one another, and fed off each others' nuances. Although, with the McKay character falling head over heals for Keller, it's not surprising he was off his usually uncharming self. And the whole Ronon vs. McKay for Keller wasn't really all that convincing. I felt like that was just a stare-down contest than anything else.
I think all "Inquisition" was designed to be was a recap for viewers who just joined the viewer-ship of the show. However, there was a hint of something that was meant to be coming, sort of a "federation" much like Star Trek only in present day form. Aside from the recap episode, I really think there could have been much more leeway in how the series would develop with this new side story.
Lastly, the two last episodes were great, but there were some flaws in them. First, "Vegas" came in with really no explanation, no prologue, nothing to let the audience know why we're viewing an alternate reality vs. watching a regular SGA episode. Without giving away too much of the episode for those who haven't seen it, let me just say this much. Prepare to be confused at first. After about 20 minutes, you'll sort of understand its purpose. As for how it ends, just like the beginning of the episode, there's no lead out to explain what it meant, until the final episode.
This leads me to the actual final episode. While it does wrap up details, it certainly leaves its audiences wondering "Okay, what's next?" Again, without giving away too much about the episode for those who haven't watched it, it's a good 45-minute ride, but that's all it is. The only thing this episode does is tie-in with the penultimate (next to last) show and explains its significance. Beyond that, it gets "hokey". And by hokey, I mean, sort of weird, and sort of "fan gone crazy" writing kind of weird. Let me just put it this way. Anyone who's seen Star Trek: Nemesis knows (at least by now, I hope) that it was written and directed by a fan of the original and TNG series. That being said, it goes without saying that the enemy ship is WAY too powerful, even for a Trek film. Simply way over the top in terms of firepower, tech, etc. With the final episode of SGA, I felt the same was done here. Granted, the writers are supposed to be fans of the show, but just like ST: Nemesis, I think they ended up getting too excited in creating a seemingly "unbeatable, but beatable" enemy Wraith hive ship.
A few highlights on this particular episode, we get to see Amanda Tapping reprise her role as Col. Samantha Carter, and we also get to see Major Paul Davis (Colin Cunningham), a longtime unsung hero of the original series Stargate SG-1, and an honorable mention to the late Don S. Davis (Gen. George Hammond). I think the episode had a little bit of something for everyone, but it could have been done a lot better, and given enough time by the network and MGM, could have made it a two-parter, which is what it should have been.
Overall, although season five is NOT my favorite, I'm grateful to own it as part of my entire SGA series collection, and value it as a completion to the series. Some episodes are worth watching again and again, and some you'll want to fast-forward through just to get to the good parts. It's worth the buy, especially if you're a fan of the series and want to have a complete SGA collection, but it's not by any means the greatest of the series. I'm still holding out hope that there will be an SGA movie that will further wrap-up details, and further develop story lines and side stories that didn't get to be explored.
For my Fellow Stargate: Atlantis fans!March 7, 2010 Scodyn(CT) As I fan of Atlantis, I am very upset there are no more seasons for this beloved series. This fifth season dvd set has all the episodes, and even some with extended versions. There are tons of extras like the 4 previous seasons' DVD sets.
Season 5 fizzles out, but a must see if you made it this far...March 4, 2010 K. Kluthe No problems with the discs on this set or any other in the series. Great product and value.
I'm a fan of SG-A, but the series peters out somewhat during this season. Its long running serial storylines become spread really thin, so its no surprise why they canceled the series altogether. On the other hand there were some really good one-off, self-contained episodes in this season, such as "Whispers" and "Remnants"... The series would have benefited from another half dozen of these. And I thought the "First Contact/Lost Tribe" mini-series was thrilling for the first 3/4 of it. "The Prodigal" was a satisfying conclusion to one of the longer running storylines, but in the end it seems like the show ultimately went down with Michael, Todd, and the other overused characters and stories that were dragged on for too long.
Good series overall. I would recommend the 5 seasons to anyone.
