DVD Review: Stargate Atlantis Season 4

Looming over the entirety of season 4 of Stargate Atlantis were two unwelcome character deaths. The much-loved Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) had been killed off late in season 3 ("Sunday"), arousing a storm of fan protest, and the leader of the Atlantis expedition, Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), sacrificed herself to destroy the Replicators in the second episode of season 4 ("Lifeline"). Reports swirled that the current lead producers of the series, including Martin Gero, felt that Dr. Weir was a flawed character and that Higginson had been let go from the series for that reason.

The great thing about DVD sets is that they give you an opportunity to view an entire season as an entity, with helpful explanations in the form of featurettes and commentary to actually provide some answers to that oft-repeated refrain, "What were they thinking?" And this DVD set in particular, the complete season 4 of Atlantis, continues the fan-conscious franchise's effort to provide as many of those answers as possible, by providing commentary tracks for all of the episodes, "Mission Directive" director overviews on key episodes, and overall featurettes on what's new and different about the season as a whole.

• My review of Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Fourth Season