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OK fine, I'll rewatch Atlantis again.

the fact that Shepherd had the balls to just splash 55 geni against the gate shield is part of why I like him almost as much as o'neill.

Ronon vs Teal'c is fanservice done RIGHT

Stargate SG1 was popular enough that NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain facility labeled a supply closet door "Stargate Command" for the tourists.

As someone who has met Jason Momoa a few times and was lucky enough to have spent time in his company while he was on Atlantis, I can tell you that a lot of Ronon's character is straight from Jason's own. His sense of humor, how physical he is, that's all Jason, lol. As an example I will tell you an anecdote from a Stargate Atlantis convention I worked at in the UK. I was security for Joe at the time and we were walking through the main hall outside the Green Room when the nearby toilet door opens and Jason appears. Upon seeing Joe he grins and then charges me and Joe, slamming us both to the ground, him on top as he hugs Joe. Then laughing he leaps up, grabs Joe's and my hands and drags us to our feet. Patting us down, he grins and walks off. When I asked Joe if that was how Jason normally behaved the man looked at me with tired eyes and said 'Yeah ... all the time', LOL :D

The slow, multi year build up to actually seeing Atlantis take off and fly through space was amazing. Seeing a city sized ship was fantastic.

Tori NAILED the part of Weir, Atlantis was never the same after she left the show. She had Janeway-like style and I loved how she never belittled the men who worked under her, indulging them a few times but her line "Gentlemen, Focus" was a reminder of who was in charge. I thought she was so good as the leader of Atlantis.

Atlantis is the only show where I NEVER skip the opening credits. That main theme is just Heavenly! 😇

I still think Stargate Atlantis had at least 1-2 more good seasons in it. There were so many storylines left open and needed exploring. The fact that Aiden Ford wasn’t brought back is just a shame.

Sadly, Sam just didn’t work in SGA. They just fundamentally didn’t think it through: she can’t do any of her normal super-genius stuff because that would reflect badly in Rodney, and she can’t do any of her normal badass stuff because that would reflect badly on Sheppard. And she’s even second-bananna in All My Sins Remembered *because* taking command of the operation would reflect badly in Caldwell. So essentially she’s stuck behind a desk doing admin work all year, and occasionally getting trapped in a hole or an elevator. Both of those could have been done by anyone. If people don’t see what the problem is with having Samantha goddamn Carter on the show for a year, and never firing a single bullet, nor using her scientific abilities….I don’t know what to tell them. Carter is one of the best female characters in all of SF, and here they make no use of her whatsoever.

Man, McKay and Shepard were just a lot of fun. I've loved all of the SG, but there was something about Atlantis.

That "but first I need something to heal" line could have come straight out of Firefly.

True story. The moment I saw Jason Momoa in the second season I thought this guy has the look of a movie star and could be a movie star. And then years later it was conan, game of thrones then Aquaman that made the world see what I saw years prior. Pretty cool. Also saw Henry Cavill as a future star in The Tudors. Two proud moments realizing I saw potential in these two as others saw as well!

One of the most memorable scenes is when the mass of Wraith wake up in their honeycomb-like hibernation chambers on the ship's ceiling. It really made them creepy and it effectively communicates to the audience that this is a different galaxy than that of the System Lords.

Season 1 of Atlantis was definitely unique for a sci-fi show. it got off the ground running, without the usual 'we'll make up the mythos as we go along' stumblings of most first seasons.

I always respected Landry's speech in continuum, even though I understood that ultimately Baal's plan would work against us. I appreciated Beau Bridges' delivery a lot.

No mention of the super-weird penultimate episode set in Las Vegas? Or the *other* fan service episode for nerds with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson? Or the appearances of McKay’s sister, played by David Hewitt’s actual sister?

The story I’ve always heard is that Steen claimed she had a family emergency and begged time off, so they rejiggered shooting to accommodate and *then* learned that her emergency was going to Burning Man. At which point they realized they couldn’t trust her, and, boom, gone.

1:27 The late Joel Goldsmith's theme for Atlantis is one of my favorite science fiction themes. Just love it, and love the show. They really captured the feel of being on a new unexplored frontier.

I am in love with Stargate ever since I watched the movie in the cinema. SG1 and Atlantis were awesome and I honestly enjoed Universe A LOT - but I am still upset that this show was not allowed to have a proper conclusion. :(

20:35 I forgot Colm Meaney was in Atlantis, but I immediately recall loving him in it!

Atlantis is my favorite SG series. I have watched the whole thing more than 10 times, and still default to a choice few fairly often(Tao of Rodney, and the 3-part The Siege the most). I was lucky enough to meet David Hewlett and Jewel Staite at Shore Leave in 2008, and my photo with them is one of my prized possessions. I was devastated when it was canceled, and further when the movie never came to be. Shepherd: "how are the weapons coming?" McKay: "We couldn't hit the side of a barn." Shepherd: "Well, compared to a hive ship, a barn is-" McKay: "A GIANT, FLYING BARN! We couldn't hit that!"

Man, this show was like...my first real TV show. I was too little to understand SG1 until the last few seasons, but Atlantis I watched with my dad from the first episode until it was canceled. I couldn't get enough of it and Atlantis holds a special place in my heart for the entertainment it brought me all those years ago. Thank you for this video, I think I'm going to go watch this show again!

Stargate Universe. Just when it found it's footing and got good it was cancelled.

These long retrospectives have been great. Although always thought that SG1 was the better show, I really liked many aspects of Atlantis. You've said much of this already, the characters were fresh and not lazy copies, this created a whole new dynamic. I really liked the Wraith, they dipped into that horror aspect. Although SG1 was the stronger show, when Atlantis got things right they could got toe to to with the best of SG1.

Rodney McKay is my favourite, Autism/ADHD solidarity all the way. Also, if Sunday doesn't make you well up at least once, there might not be hope for you. That episode is perfection.

It was a mistake by MGM to cancel Atlantis. I personally didn't like the premise of Universe and wish we had gotten more SG1 and Atlantis episodes or movies.

Great video! SGA is peak science fiction for me. It's wild to think that McKay barely made it onto the show, since even in a cast filled with wonderful characters and performances, Hewlett's McKay is an absolute standout for me.

The thing that has always stood out to me rewatching the series over and over is how well the character development for McKay was. He started as essentially an arrogant know it all coward and eventually showed some true bravery and heroism, while still being an arrogant know it all but open to showing humility. Shedding off Shepard's disdain and gaining his respect.

I loved the show despite it having a ton of issues that would have killed a lesser show. Ronan grew on me, but seemed to necessitate a change in Taila, Beckett’s death was rushed, but the clone’s return cheapened it. Weir was missed when she was gone, but it was clear they were pushing her into the background prior to her departure. I loved Carter in Sg-1 but she didn’t work in season 4 and her quick departure was odd. The Athosians had potential but were pushed aside quickly. It also seems very unrealistic that the ranking military officer would also lead a team of the leading scientist which headed his own department and two alien warriors. I also wanted more of season 1’s setting with city exploration and isolation. Despite all that, I loved the characters and the I think they had the 2 best villain groups in all of stargate.

Shephard was never head of security nor did he inherit said position. Shephard became the ranking military officer upon Sumners death making Shephard the military commander. The bases chief of security was Sergeant Bates.

I can’t wait for the Universe retrospective. It was a show I hated at first but then fell in love with. Really sad to me how the whole franchise kind of disappeared.

Up to the last minute, I thought this would be the end of the retrospective, I had totally forgot Stargate Universe's existence. I watched some seasons of SG-1 and Atlantis multiple times, but I never gave a second thought to Universe!

When Atlantis and Enterprise were cancelled it was the end of the golden age of TV Sci-fi.

I’m surprised at the way they handle Aiden Ford. I found his story arc interesting and they never touched on it again or gave it an official definite ending.

Yay more Stargate content

My favourite Stargate series

You forgot the best episode "the shrine" because of david Hewlett's acting.

I adore the moment Rodney hugs ronan and heals his scars.

You must say the word Staaaar at least 500 times in each of these Stargate or Star Trek retrospectives.

I am so pleased to see the many references to Eureka, from props to actors being in this show.

I watched SG-1 from the start, but SGA was the one where I got into the fandom aspect of it, mainly fanfiction. And I still miss a lot of things about that. While the show was good (at first) there was also a lot of space left by the narrative to expand in all directions. And I enjoyed the ones that focused on creating a future for/in the Pegasus Galaxy. One story that never actually got written, just the a setup chapter, still makes me kind of wish that it was a show I could have watched. The premise was that during the preparations for the expedition somebody pointed out that preparations for a trip where you know NOTHING about where you're going and if you would ever be able to get back would mean preparing to found a colony world. So they took seeds and trees and picked staff with relevant secondary skills AND practiced going through the Stargate a lot so they could use up every millisecond to get through as many resources as possible. To this day I cringe when watching the scene with Sheppard and Ford just standing talking around while the Stargate is already connected to Atlantis. This is also why the show's ending with Atlantis on earth just feels wrong. It needed to go back to the Pegasus galaxy. The last season(s) also have a lot of bad stuff in it. I vaguely remember an episode with a "special all women!!" gate team that was incredibly bad and offensive. I also remember many people pointing out, that while in general the idea of Teal'c vs. Ronon is fun and the episodes had some good stuff in it, the exact way they did the scene with Ronon and Teal'c fighting/sparring is set up in a way that there are two men of color fighting for the entertainment of a bunch of white men standing around them (and betting). (And I can absolutely see how that scene came about without any bad intentions!, but it still has some bad vibes.) I also still recall some disparaging comments from the showrunners at the end about the fans that absolutely made me feel unwanted. (not young and male enough, eh?) That said, I still tried to watch Stargate Universe, but found it just simply unenjoyable. All that said, it was incredibly fun to watch this video and be reminded of a lot of things I loved about the show, so that you for making it!

15:53 I wouldn't called that as "ruthlesness", but as compassion.

Shepard wasn't being ruthless when he killed Sumner. That was the textbook definition of a "mercy kill" - Sumner didn't want to die by Wraith; he wanted to go out on his terms. Shepard was, in that instance, his terms. That's like saying taking long-suffering people off life support or euthanizing badly wounded animals is ruthless. In fact, "mercy" and "ruthless" have diametrically opposed meanings - "ruthless" literally means "without mercy". You literally cannot be ruthless while being merciful. Instead Shepard's ruthlessness is displayed during the two-part The Storm. In that episode he went from being wise-cracking action-y dude to straight-up Do Not Fuck With badass on-par with John Rambo.

Honestly, I was kind of disappointed that McKay didn't make a Scanners reference when he became psychic. He could've at least made the face once during the episode or telekineticly pushed someone across the room. It would've been cool to see a Wraith's head blow up, tbh.

My favorite actor/actress on this show was Rachel Luttrell. Great actress and was cool having a native of the galaxy in such a central role. Makes me want to binge Atlantis again.

Rodney McKay is great in Stargate Atlantis. I had no problem believing that the character would've changed between the shows, and within Stargate Atlantis.

Still not over Carson Beckett's death.

It took real time travel from Atlantis to Earth to get this video.

i was the hormoning 12 year old when Ronon was introduced into the show and having what is basically a video game badass on the show was certainly awesome. 20yrs later and i still like him, he is still video gamy but also the kind giant of the group. he displays the same level of loyalty towards his friends as Teal'c does. a fearsome warrior and a stalwart friend. plus his space 6 shooter is like my songle favorite piece of sci fi prop ever. Shepards ruthlessness is stargate command philosophy personified. be aware of potential threads. make friends when you can, when thread appears, deal with it as fast and efficient as possible.

The way this is phrased makes it seem like Ark of Truth and Continuum take place after season 4. In terms of continuity, Ark takes place after the end of season 10 of SG1 and prior to the first episode of season 4 of SGA. Continuum takes place after the first episode of season 5 of SGA.

I personally never thought Shepard was ruthless in killing Sumner, I thought it was merciful.

I've not rewatched Atlantis since it first aired, but watching the description of Ronon here, my first thought is Tyr Anasazi...

Bringing Mitch Pileggi to Atlantis was such a big play, great actor

we needed a proper ending season or movie, more than SGU

The best Stargate spin off after SG-1

Thank you for Re-uploading with the end fixed. Going to need a new badge soon almost 3 years.

Them basically writing out Ford never sat right with me and it's why I never picked up mroe than the first season for the longest time, I mean sure sometimes characters don't work out, but in my opinion you find ways to make him work, not jettison him for someone sexier, even if that person does become Aquaman.

41:26 Fun Fact: Tod means Death in German, arguably the most fitting Name for a Wraith.

Thanks for this enjoyable look at Atlantis 🙂 I forgot how much I enjoyed seeing David Nykl's doctor Zelenka. He was only supposed to be a minor character, but proved to be such a natural, fun fit for this show about an international expedition.

Anyone seen the recent guinnes commercial with Jason mamoa and joe flannigan😂

SGA is a top tier scifi that appears once in a decade. I was really upset when cancelation was announced. I really appreciate everyone involved in the production of this gem

So many stunning ladies on this show. Not sure I ever recovered from Erin Chambers though.

Your retrospectives are easily my favorites. I actually just finished rewatching atlantis because I knew this was coming. Onto universe!

Eureka and Atlantis were MUST WATCH TV for me, in my late teens/early 20's. Up to that point, I just watched stuff made for my age range, or would sit and watch an episode of TNG/DS9/VOY with my dad, here and there. They were the first TV shows I really remember connecting with. I had watched SG-1 and liked it, but felt pretty lost because I'd miss so much of it. But Atlantis hit a sweet-spot with me that I didn't expect - SG-1 had great adventures that would lead to them going home and having a new adventure each week, further pushing the mythos out and creating a universe. Atlantis felt the same, but had that added quality of "We're out here on our own, building a *new* home". Which honestly made it pretty bittersweet when they finally got back to Earth.

Connor Trinneer was my favorite actor in this series, as well as ST: Enterprise. He reminds me of my cousin. 😍 It’s a shame they wound up hiding his adorable face beneath wraith prosthetics.

I'm a huge SG1 fan and I liked Atlantis. I agree that SG1 was the superior show and that Atlantis became a bit aimless. Tbh, for me, it was a horrible shame that all three shows came to an end when they did. There was definitely still at least a season left to explore the Ori. As SG1 also had a dip around season 4/5, I think there's a good chance that Atlantis could have recovered too. With SGU, I think that it would have done better in a streaming era, when the whole season could have dropped and been binged in one go. It was too slow for week to week release. I think the situation also killed it with the fans because they believed SGU was being traded for SGA. I actually didn't watch SGU myself until a couple of years after its release and I really enjoyed it. I would have also loved to see more there. Really, it's just crappy that a show like Supernatural got to plod on with nowhere near the same material to mine, while all these great shows got cancelled. It's also really crap that we are still waiting around for more. It's high time that we get something else with a genuine tie to the original shows. I just hope that whatever comes next is high quality and can survive in the new TV landscape. I mean, even Russell T Davies is uncertain about the future of Doctor Who at the moment. I miss the days of a loyal audience meaning something to execs.

Stargate Atlantis is one of my all time favorite shows. It started off kind of rough but by the time it made ford a villain and added ronin it really clicked and the main cast really played well off each other. But for me the most stand out character was Rodney I have almost never had a character I liked so little to start with become a favorite. His growth in the show was a joy to see. Hewlett loved this character and it shows!

Worthy opponents on Atlantis were the replicator world which was developed far more than in SG1. Some great episodes.

Thanks for finally making this video. I have been a massive Stargate fan, and specifically a massive Stargate Atlantis fan. I was introduced to Stargate Atlantis before Stargate SG-1 or the original Movie, so I’ve been waiting on this video for a while.

Really curious about SG Universe retrospective, where MGM somehow fumbled a premise that could have run 10 seasons...

Hey you didn't mention the absolutely incredible alternate reality episode Vegas! It's like X-Files meets CSI!

One of my favourite parts about Shepherd and Ronan is "easy chewey" lol

this video made me realise i didn't saw continuum , had to pause and them watch it

Rewatching Atlantis, I couldn't help but see some proto ideas for episodes that'd be redone in Stargate Universe

Atlantis was my first introduction to stargate. I love it to this very day. Love your stuff, Mr. Coleman.

Really seems with hindsight being what it is, that someone in management at SciFi was out to kill Stargate for seemingly personal reasons and they were successful. The shows were successful on TV, the movies were massive unexpected successes, and yet everything got cancelled for seemingly no reason. I was a huge fan when it came out and the only semi-understandable cancellation of Stargate Universe made any sense, and even then, I felt like that show was starting to get its footing as it started getting more light-hearted in the second season. And with the Sci-Fi channels changes in following years I am convinced executives at the helm were just out to kill the "nerdy" TV show so they could move onto their own visions.

It was this retrospective series that's made me commit to watching the entire thing. Once I get to season 8 Im gonna try watching both series episodes one after the other to keep both series on the same timeline.

Vancouver dude here - the Pemberton Icefields (not glacier) aren't in Alaska - it's located nearby Pemberton BC (north of Whistler) . Picky but - yeah gotta rep Pemby proper.

I always found it hard to believe that O'Neill or those who knew about the stargate program would have considered colonel everett as a good (or best of the bad) option for the defence of the city. He might have been a decent enough military commander for a standard operation but the instant he stepped through the gate and announced "you are relieved" to people with nowhere to go he failed as a leader. Also very dismissive of their efforts until their arrival and seemed reluctant to find out up to date intel.

I love the series and I believe the show's theme song is quite brilliant and beautiful.

Been waiting for this episode for so long and I have to watch later😢 it's 11.30pm and I got work at 4am Sad I can't be here watching this with all the SG teams. Thank you for all your hard work putting these videos together. ✌🏻 'n' ❤

Always had a softspot for Atlantis. Its not very deep but its just so kinda, well made TV. Comfy but actionpacked, funny but well acted at times.

Anyone else irritated he didn’t talk about Todd that much

RIP the late great Julian Sands.

I need to rewatch my DVD boxset. I absolutely loved SG-1, but Atlantis was fantastic, as well.

Altlantis bringing in the Replicators reminded me of ST Voyager bringing in the Borg.

Nice work Rowan, looking forward already to the last part!

Oh, I had such a crush on Elizabeth Weir!

Another thing i liked about Sheppard is he was a lot smarter than O'Neill, like Mensa smart.

I love Atlantis, but when Higginson and McGillion were written out of the show, they pissed off too many of the fans, myself included.

That short choral piece whenever Atlantis is mentioned is practically identical to that used for the original Tomb Raider theme. It's probably unlikely that Goldsmith had ever even played the Tomb Raider games so plagiarism accusations are unwarranted. It's a crazy coincidence, though. Another great retrospective. They always are. Thank you for sharing more of your brilliant, hard work with us.

I saw the movie first, but this was the first of the TV series that I saw.

I really love Atlantis, it's my favorite Stargate. Also a nice change of pace after so msny seasons of OG Stargate

I'm probably biased, bc I loved Robert Picardo in voyager, but I really liked him as Woolsey.

Thank you so much for doing this for stargate! I always feel like in the wider audience there are only two Star sci fi universes, and I LOVE that my favorite show of all time is getting such loving treatment from you! Also, just in general you are VERY good at these long form videos, and if this is something that interests you (and supports you) enough, I believe you can find major success in this whole youtube thing. Like, you are just too good not be loved once the algorithm hits or whatever.

Fantastic work Rowan, thank you.

I still remember watching the premiere of Atlantis. I was 13 and I watched it on our CRT tv in the basement. I was blown away and loved it. I can’t believe how fast 20 years has passed

Finally you are getting around to the best Stargate...Universe.