Atlantis's Fifth Season Will Be Its Last
Sunday August 31, 2008
Joseph Mallozzi
© MGM
"We came into this year knowing that renewal would be a longshot," Mallozzi said. "With 100 episodes under our belts, rising production costs, and the US dollar's steep decline, the odds were stacked against us." (Factored into the economic picture is the particular problem of rising cast salaries once a show passes the syndication-minimum hundred episodes.) Still, it was not until this month that the Sci Fi network let them know the series would not be picked up for a season.
Mallozzi noted that the hundredth episode, "Enemy at the Gate," which will turn out to be the final episode of the series, does not involve a cliffhanger. A "clean" ending to the season was always the plan. He also essentially promises a Stargate Atlantis movie, not surprising considering the success of the SG-1 DVD films Ark of Truth and Continuum.
Which Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, co-creators of SG-1 and Atlantis, affirmed recently in so many words. "The successes of the two original Stargate movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers. We have plans for both SG-1 and Atlantis to remain vital as we expand the franchise."
"To remain vital": Well, that's ... vague. Still, obviously we can expect more DVD films in the Stargate universe, which is good news if they stay at least on par with what's been offered.
Am I sad Atlantis is on its way out? Yes and no. Atlantis has a lot of potential, but its overall execution has been hit or miss. I continue to be a big fan of the show, and I'm enjoying season 5 so far – "The Shrine," for example, offered some fantastic acting moments for David Hewlett and a good reminder of the measurable, if not extreme, evolution that the key characters have undergone since their introduction.
The LA Times gives Atlantis the backhanded compliment that "simply put, Stargate Atlantis is the best comic book television we have." The show isn't self-important like Battlestar Galactica (which, given its awesomeness, has a right to be) or cutesy like Eureka is in its lesser moments: Atlantis, like SG-1, has retained the wry humor that took the series beyond the origins of its somber source material.
And of course the Stargate itself is not going away. Cooper and Wright are busy developing the third season in the franchise, Stargate Universe. "In Universe, we plan to keep those elements that have made the franchise a success, such as adventure and humor," they said, "while breaking new ground in the relationships between mostly young and desperate explorers, thrust together and far from home." ETA for Universe is still up in the air, but knowing the new series and the movies will keep things going makes the demise of Atlantis more of a transition than an ending.
Comments
Stargate Atlantis died in the second half of its third season and hasn’t been worth watching since. As for the third series, unless MGM and the Sci Fi Channel replace the four incompetent hacks currently running things up there at Bridge Studios, who have reduced the franchise to a boring joke, I have no further interest in anything with the name Stargate in the title.
i totally agree, atlantis died shortly after the end of season 3, with the dissapearance of carson beckett (and ford before that) and it surely ended with doctor elizabeth weir. saw that coming long ago. i am really sorry for mckay, he had a brilliant character, i hope we will see him more. about the movies .. i dont see them too well either. they no longer have what they once had in season 1 and 2. the sparks, the lack of knowledge, the wraith as the terrifying evil race that defeated the ancients. i am really sorry for this, i admire atlantis a lot .. but let’s see what happens in universe and the movies. however.. i dont know what they possible can write. and i know whose fault it is for the cancelling. he knows
;) he turned the leader into a recurring character. still, i thank him for “ghost in the machine” - it was good.
it happens the same like it did with farscape.
“Rising production costs”, yeah, right. He’d say anything not to admit it’s his fault. SGA had more potential than SG1 and it would have lasted longer, if they hadn’t started with all their brilliant changes. They started executing the key characters, at least Keller does bring something new to the show, but carter on Atlantis was a disaster, and every time I see Woolsey, I get the feeling he just came out of a bad parody. Plus, SG1and SGA always had a badass enemy, even if they were waiting in the background. After killing the Replicators they never broth a new main enemy, Michael is just not convincing enough, and after season 4, the wraith were made to look like harmless kittens.
I’ll miss Atlantis, Sheppard and McKay were great, but I can’t help feeling vindicated, after the way they treated Elizabeth and Torri, and after the way Mallozzi mocked every fan who dared complain about it.
atlantis is the most mind-opening movie i have ever seen. i am looking forward to have new season of this movie. its very good.
i like teyla and ronon to be together. hehehe. nice match. i’ll miss all the characters. i hope all of them can make it untill the end of evil