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)

The team investigates mysterious happenings on board a Wraith Hive, where Todd and his crew are suffering from a disease, just to find that since Wraith ships are organic, the ship has the disease as well.

It is revealed they got this disease when they tried Keller’s gene therapy which did work, but left them with a weakened immune system.

Todd offers a possible solution: allow them to be fed on by an iratus bug queen but Sheppard refuses.

At the same time the team has to deal with feral Wraith warriors and the ship’s deteriorating condition.

Eventually the ship splits in half, killing all but the team and Todd, but the front half falls into the planet’s atmosphere. Todd manages to land it in the ocean and everyone is rescued by Atlantis before the ship sinks.

Keeping a deal he made with Todd and believing Todd could be a powerful ally, Sheppard sends Todd through the Stargate to seek his cure.

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): Andy Mikita.
• Writer(s): Alan McCullough.
• Release Date: 05 December 2008.
• Running Time: 43-45 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.