After 5 years and quite a few cast changes, the Sci Fi Channel’s STARGATE ATLANTIS will be coming to an end January 2009. 

Originally a spin-off of STARGATE SG-1, ATLANTIS took a few characters we originally met on SG-1 (Dr. Elizabeth Weir and Dr. Rodney McKay), tossed in some new characters (John Sheppard, Dr. Carson Beckett, Lt. Aiden Ford, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex) and made their home base the lost city of Atlantis, which turned out to be in another galaxy.  They then looked for a new threat to keep us interested each week as the Go’auld and the Ori pretty much had had their butts kicked back in the home galaxy, but bad guys can be found everywhere, can’t they…? 

Hence, the Wraith, a group of aliens who feed on humans became the villains of the piece.  Not content to have just one set of bad guys for us to boo, the show also brought in the Replicators, originally battled by the SGC on STARGATE SG-1, and who began as just nano-technology-based ‘bugs’ who then grew and evolved into a race of people determined to take over the galaxies by using any and all resources to "replicate" themselves until only they exist.  And in between fights with the super villains, smaller battles occured with other races not quite as happy to see the Atlantis team as they might have been.

To add additional interest, characters like Samantha Carter, Richard Woolsey and Jack O’Neil made crossover appearances from SG-1 with some of the ATLANTIS characters popping up on SG-1 while it was still on the air.

Never quite getting the ratings that STARGATE SG-1 enjoyed, ATLANTIS was still one of the few high-quality sci fi shows still on the air at this point.  It will be missed.  However, like SG-1, it appears that there may be some ATLANTIS movies in the offing to keep the show and characters alive.  And as for the STARGATE franchise, like STAR TREK, it will just be taking on a new face–STARGATE UNIVERSE will take us just that bit farther out (a la LOST IN SPACE or STAR TREK VOYAGER):

The previously unknown purpose of the "Ninth Chevron" will be revealed, and it will end up taking a team to an Ancient ship "Destiny", a ship built millions of years ago by the Ancients, used to seed Distant galaxies with Stargates. This team, led by Colonel Everett Young, must now continue the Ancient’s work, and  it will encounter new races, new technology and new enemies, as this crazy runaway ship takes them to the far ends of the Universe!

Casting for the new show hasn’t been finalized, but it is expected to air sometime in 2009. 

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