DVD Review: STARGATE ATLANTIS Season 5

STARGATE ATLANTIS THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON

DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS:   873 minutes (20 episodes on five discs), audio commentaries, featurettes, photo galleries, and deleted scenes

VIDEO: 1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO:   English 5.1 Dolby surround, French DS, Spanish DS

Subtitles:   English, Spanish, Portuguese

STUDIO: 20th Century Fox Home Video/ MGM

RELEASE DATE: 6-30-2009

DISC 1- SEARCH AND RESCUE/ THE SEED/ BROKEN TIES/ THE DAEDALUS VARIATIONS

DISC 2- GHOST IN THE MACHINE/ THE SHRINE/ WHISPERS/ THE QUEEN

DISC 3- TRACKER/ FIRST CONTACT/ THE LOST TRIBE/ OUTSIDERS

DISC 4- INQUISTION/ THE PRODIGAL/ REMNANTS/ BRAIN STORM

DISC 5- INFECTION/ IDENTITY/ VEGAS/ ENEMY AT THE GATE

STARGATE ATLANTIS has gone through several changes during the course of its five seasons. The beginning of the Fifth season saw Colonel Samantha Carter leave (due to actress Amanda Tapping getting her series SANCTUARY picked up by Sci-Fi now SyFy) to be replaced by Woolsey (Robert Picardo). Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) visits for a couple of episodes to find out the Asgards are not all warm and fuzzy when it comes to the Pegasus Galaxy. Also the second to last episode shows the Atlantis team in a different light as we see them in alternate universe in the episode VEGAS. Then the various storylines with the Wraith and Michael come to a head. STARGATE ATLANTIS isn’t a perfect show. The fifth season is a very much a military driven series as the Atlantis team face threat after threat climaxing in the finale where the Atlantis team race to stop a Wraith ship from conquering Earth. It could have continued until SyFy cancelled it. However, a DVD movie will wrap up the series (leaving room open for more and to be aired on SyFy) and a new series this Fall- STARGATE UNIVERSE.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentaries were recorded for several episodes (with the producers and directors and an actor on one track- yet none of the main cast on the tracks) except GHOST IN THE MACHINE, THE SHRINE, INFECTION, and IDENTITY.

Several featurettes are on each disc. I do miss Season 5 not having a featurette reflecting on the various storylines like previous DVD sets. MISSION DIRECTIVE featurettes were made for SEARCH AND RESCUE, WHISPERS, TRACKER, and BRAIN STORM. One two-parter gets two featurettes (DR. JACKSON GOES TO ATLANTIS and BUILDING A HUMANOID). The deleted scenes on Discs 4 and 5 show some interesting scenes cut including character building ones with a new recurring character (for SEARCH AND RESCUE). STARGATE ATLANTIS GOES TO VEGAS shows British Columbia doubling for the Nevada desert, the trailer explosion that could have went wrong, and filming in Vegas. Photo and design Galleries are on each disc.

Other featurettes are SHOWDOWN! RONON V. TYRE (Disc 1), BRINGING THE SEED TO LIFE (Disc 1), TRICKS OF THE TRADE: SUBMERGING THE STARGATE (Disc 2), JOE FLANIGAN: A CONVERSATION WITH THE COLONEL (Disc 2), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MICHAEL KENMORE (Disc 4), and INSIDE THE STARGATE COSTUME DEPARTMENT (Disc 5).

FINAL ANALYSIS: I enjoyed season 5 of STARGATE ATLANTIS. I’ll miss the show and wait fro the DVD movie while waiting for the new STARGATE series.

This DVD review is (c)7-21-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. No Wraith or Asgard were harmed during the writing of this review. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com