Introduction

The fifth and final season of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis commenced airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States on 11 July 2008, concluded on the same channel on 09 January 2009, and contained 20 episodes.

The show itself is a spin off of its sister show, Stargate SG-1.

The season upgrades previous supporting characters cast members such as Richard Woolsey (from Stargate SG-1) and Jennifer Keller. Amanda Tapping’s character Samantha Carter was downgraded to recurring character in this season.

The fifth and final season is about a military-science expedition team fighting against the Wraith from their base of operation, Atlantis. The Wraith primary goal is to gather a fleet to invade Atlantis and find their new “feeding ground”, Earth.

The one-hour premiere “Search and Rescue”, which aired on 11 July 2008, received 1.3 in Nielsen household ratings, in contrast a “Big” increase from the previous season ratings.

The series was developed by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, who also served as executive producers.

Season five regular cast members include Joe Flanigan, Robert Picardo, Jewel Staite, Jason Momoa, Rachel Luttrell, and David Hewlett.

Stargate Atlantis was originally planned to be continued by a two-hour movie entitled Stargate: Extinction but executive producer Brad Wright has announced that the film has been permanently shelved.

Outline (Season 05)

After being a regular character in season four, Amanda Tapping (Colonel Samantha Carter) became a guest star in several episodes.

Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey) joined the cast as a permanent character as Woolsey assumes command of Atlantis. Actress Jewel Staite (Dr. Jennifer Keller) was promoted from a recurring character to a permanent cast member.

Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) and Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) appeared as guest stars in this season, with McGillion appearing in five episodes.

Actress Torri Higginson had stated that she would not be reprising her role as Dr. Elizabeth Weir in the fifth season.

Rainbow Sun Francks as Aiden Ford was given a brief cameo appearance in “Search and Rescue”. This was the last season of Stargate Atlantis.

Outline (Episode)

Ronon is reunited with Tyre, a former Satedan warrior turned “Wraith worshiper” (from “Reunion“, S04E03).

Having apparently turned on his new masters and broken free of their brainwashing, Tyre hopes to rebuild his destroyed relationship with Ronon and Atlantis. But things go badly when Ronon is kidnapped by a Wraith who tortures him, and a non-lucid Tyre may be the only person who can save Ronon before the Wraith brainwash him.

After going through withdrawal from the Wraith enzyme, Tyre leads the team to the lab where Ronon is, but turns on them to get another fix after Ronon is revealed to be brainwashed.

The Wraith tries to torture Sheppard, but Tyre reveals that he was faking his return to the Wraith and battles Ronon while Sheppard battles the Wraith.

The rest of the team, having earlier been freed by Tyre, stuns Ronon, while Tyre sacrifices himself to blow up the lab and let the others escape.

On Atlantis, the team manages to break Ronon’s brainwashing and he mourns his old friend.

Stargate Franchise

You can find a full index of the Stargate Franchise here, whilst clicking on the following links for films, documentaries, and TV series (all and Stargate Atlantis only).

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Ken Girotti.
• Writer(s): Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie.
• Release Date: 25 July 2008.
• Running Time: 43-45 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.