Category: Stargate Atlantis

McKay concocts a plan to send a message through the stargate back to Earth, warning them of the Wraith approach to Atlantis and relaying all that the team has found in the city to date – all in 1.3 seconds, thanks to data compression. Despite Major Sheppard’s objections, Dr. Weir gives McKay’s plan the go-ahead. While he continues his plans, Weir sends Sheppard and Teyla to warn Teyla’s people about the coming of the Wraith. Teyla promises to save some refugees from a predetermined meeting point in the event of a Wraith attack, again despite Sheppard’s objections. After the warning is delivered, the Wraith arrive, harvesting defenseless people by the hundreds. Teyla and Sheppard have to leave their ship cloaked on the surface to avoid detection, as the Wraith have the stargate occupied. Trapped, unable to offer assistance without giving away their own presence, they bear witness to the slaughter of hundreds. And on Atlantis, it becomes apparent that there may be enough time left from McKay’s highly-compressed message to send brief personal video messages home from each of the crew.

written by Carl Binder
directed by Mario Azzopardi
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Amanda Tapping (Colonel Samantha Carter), Terence Kelly (Orin), Paul McGillion (Dr. Beckett), David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), Ben Cotton (Kavanagh), Gary Jones (Technician)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Teyla awakens from a terrifying dream about a Wraith infiltrating Atlantis and killing Sheppard. The rest of the Atlantis team is still trying to find a defense against the approaching Wraith hive ships before they arrive, and a new control chair is found that could allow the crew to protect the city more effectively. Teyla uncovers another possible avenue, however – the discovery of a Wraith log device reveals that some of Teyla’s people, including Teyla herself, have a small amount of Wraith DNA. Those with this rare “gift” can sometimes hear voices, and Beckett theorizes that perhaps the ability includes a fleeting telepathic link with the Wraith. Teyla agrees to be subjected to an experiment to see if she can tap into the Wraith – but if the link goes both ways, she may become a deadly liability.

story by Robert C. Cooper & Martin Gero
teleplay by Robert C. Cooper
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Claire Rankin (Dr. Heightmeyer), Paul McGillion (Dr. Beckett), David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), Ben Cotton (Dr. Kavanagh), Dean Marshall (Sgt. Bates), Brenda McDonald (Charik), James Lafazanos (Wraith), Chuck Campbell (Technician), Daniel Doileau (Victim)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The three Wraith hive ships detected on a direct course for Atlantis will meet only one obstacle before they reach the planet – a defense satellite built by the Ancients as Atlantis’ last line of defense. The good news is that the satellite is still intact, but the bad news is that its systems are completely dormant – and Dr. McKay is given mere hours to solve that problem. Meanwhile, Sheppard still holds Teyla in suspicion, worried that any preparations in her presence could be providing the Wraith with intelligence via her recently discovered telepathic connection to them, and Sheppard isn’t the only one who suspects her. Dr. Weir is equally worried that the Wraith intend to invade Earth’s galaxy via the stargate, and orders her team to look for an alpha site to which the crew can be evacuated so the city can be destroyed as a last defense. But it’s impossible to keep the Wraith out of Atlantis…because they’re already there.

written by Martin Gero
directed by Martin Wood
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), Craig Veroni (Dr. Grodin), Paul McGillion (Dr. Beckett), Christopher Heyerdahl (Halling), Dean Marshall (Sgt. Bates), James Lafaznos (Wraith), Rob Avery (Miller), Craig Fraser (S.O.), Chuck Campbell (Technician)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A routine survey mission through the stargate turns up a dead Wraith, and an autopsy reveals that the glands that produce the enzyme needed to prolong a victim’s life for feeding have been removed – Lt. Ford, still missing, has struck. Sheppard leads a search team back to the planet to look for Ford, but he and Teyla are captured by a man who identifies himself as Ronan Dex. Sheppard and Teyla can’t say anything that will win Dex’s trust, but he has seen Ford. Dex is a runner, captured by the Wraith, implanted with a tracking device, and then set free to be hunted for sport. During his latest encounter with a Wraith, Dex found himself between his pursuer and Ford. He offers to find Ford for Sheppard in exchange for the removal of his tracking implant, but even when Ford is found, there are still ways he can betray his teammates.

written by Robert C. Cooper
directed by Martin Wood
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Rainbow Sun Francks (Lt. Aiden Ford), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), Mitch Pileggi (Colonel Caldwell), Jonathon Young (Parrish), Dan Payne (Reed), James Lafaznos (Wraith)

Note: This episode introduces new regular Jason Momoa as Ronon Dex.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A seemingly quiet reconnaisance mission is shattered by the appearance of a Wraith dart, which leaves Dr. Beckett unharmed but snatches up Rodney and Lt. Cadman, their armed escort. Sheppard and his troops shoot the Dart down, but when the beam is reversed, only Rodney’s body appears – and yet he insists he can hear Lt. Cadman in his head. As he spends more time with his unexpected visitor, Rodney can be seen having arguments in the halls of Atlantis with someone who no one else can see or hear. Cadman insists on coaching Rodney during a much-anticipated date, but even a woman’s insight can do so much to help the socially inept scientist. And when Rodney does devise a plan to reconstitute Lt. Cadman’s body, it’s not guaranteed to help him escape with his sanity or, for that matter, his life.

written by Martin Gero
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Jaime Ray Newman (Lt. Cadman), Claire Rankin (Dr. Heightmeyer), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), Brenda James (Dr. Brown), Jeffrey Robinson (Wraith Pilot), Tina-Jane Krohn (Scientist)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Sheppard, McKay, Teyla and Dex find a less than warm welcome waiting for them on a planet they visit through the stargate. They’re trying to beat a hasty retreat from a group of hostile humans with primitive weapons when another ship appears to cover their escape and lead them to safety. This ship belongs to a more advanced group of people who reveal that the “primitives” are, in fact, their most dangerous criminals, stranded on a remote island for life – but that island contains the planet’s lone stargate. The planet’s advanced civilization apparently enjoys a certain immunity from the Wraith’s visits because the Wraith go no further than the island for their feeding. Sheppard’s team still has to return to the island to reach the gate, however, and their jumper is shot down by primitive explosives launched from the surface. A prisoner named Torrell takes Sheppard’s team hostage and insists that McKay fix the jumper so the prisoners can escape before the next Wraith feeding. Torrell assigns another prisoner to help McKay repair the jumper, and this man makes a chilling revelation: to keep the Wraith from overrunning their society, the government has been steadily lowering the severity of crime required to deport offenders to the island. But how long before no one on the planet is safe – and can the Atlantis team escape before then?

teleplay by Carl Binder
story by Sean Carley
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Darcy Belsher (Eldon), Christian Bocher (Torrell), Alan C. Peterson (Magistrate), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), Kyla Anderson (Marin), James Lafaznos (Wraith), Chuck Campbell (Technician)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

While surveying the Dorandan homeworld, the Atlantis team discovers a destroyed Wraith fleet and lifeless planet below. McKay detects faint energy readings, leading to an abandoned outpost laboratory on the planet. The technology is definitely that of the Ancients and McKay determines that they were working on a vacuum energy power source that would make the Zero Point Module look “like an alkaline battery.” After returning with a full research team, McKay conducts a full test of the power source, resulting in a barely-controlled overload and the death of one of the scientists. Despite Weir’s considerable misgivings, McKay convinces her that he can control the reaction and wants to run another test with just him and Sheppard present. The possibility of a power source that could turn the tide against the Wraith is too promising to dismiss entirely, so she agrees. However, things don’t go entirely according to plan.

Meanwhile, Ronon accompanies Teyla on a trade mission to Belkan. Ronon’s aggressive nature causes him to interfere with Teyla’s delicate negotiations. Afterwards, Teyla learns that someone else from Ronon’s homeworld of Sateda lives on Belkan. Ronon is reunited with a fellow soldier and learns that Kell, his former taskmaster in the Satedan military, is still alive and well. It turns out that not all reunions are happy reunions.

written by Damian Kindler
directed by Martin Wood
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), Sean Campbell (?), Mitch Pileggi (Colonel Steven Caldwell), Christopher Gauthier (Mattas), Chuck Campbell (Technician)

Note: Trinity refers to the parcel of land near Alamogordo, New Mexico that served as the first test site for the atomic bomb on July 16, 1945.

LogBook entry by Jeff Godemann

A team led by Sheppard pays a visit to a village resembling Earth’s 19th century, but they aren’t exactly greeted with open arms by the locals. They do, however, learn that the villagers have had other unwelcome visitors – a Wraith has been tormenting and killing anyone it can capture since crash-landing on the planet ten years ago. Sheppard offers to help the locals dispose of their problem, but when Ronon tracks the Wraith down, it’s a young female being sheltered by a reclusive scientist named Zaddik. After nurturing the young crash survivor, Zaddik had to find a way to keep her alive without allowing her to feed on other people. His serum intrigues McKay and Beckett, as does her almost human demeanor – she serves tea to her visitors and refers to Zaddik as “Father” – but Ronon sets out to prove that her Wraith traits can return to the surface with little provocation. But even with the young Wraith under constant watch by the team from Atlantis, something is still preying on the villagers.

written by Treena Hancock & Melissa R. Byer
directed by Andy Mikita
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Jewel Staite (Ellia / Wraith), John Innes (Zaddik), Stephen Dimopoulos (Goran), Tom Bates (Barkeep), Nico McEown (Boy), Blake Stadel (young Zaddik), Kayma Seamark (6-year-old Wraith)

Notes: Guest star Jewel Staite is better known to SF fans as Kaylee from the short-lived Joss Whedon series Firefly.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

SG-1 goes offworld looking for a group of legendary Jaffa warriors who supposedly won their freedom thousands of years ago. Teal’c’s intelligence is sound, and the Sodan introduce themselves by ambushing the team. Mitchell guards the group’s retreat to the Stargate and gets wounded and captured for his trouble, but not before he critically injures one of the Sodan. The other warriors take Mitchell away using a type of Ancient beaming technology; the rest of SG-1 finds only the wounded Jaffa. They bring him back to Earth, hoping Dr. Lam can save his life and that they can learn of Mitchell’s fate. Their search of the planet reveals only a single obelisk with a line of Ancient writing – not nearly enough for Daniel to determine how to activate the device. And the international committee overseeing the Stargate program is not willing to fund an indefinite search mission with little chance of success.

In the Sodan village, Mitchell learns that he will have to engage in ritual combat as punishment for killing a Sodan warrior. A Sodan named Jolan begins to train him. Even as he tries to learn enough to survive the Kel Shak Lo ritual, Mitchell is concerned by the arrival of a Prior in the village. The Sodan leader, Haikon, explains that the Ancients helped the Sodan overcome the Goa’uld 5000 years ago, and gave them technology to help them stay hidden. The Sodan have worshipped the Ancients as gods ever since, but they have heard nothing for thousands of years. The Ori’s power and offer of enlightenment is a tempting offer – more tempting than the opportunity to ally themselves with Jaffa who served the Goa’uld until recently. Jolan is concerned by Haikon’s ready acceptance of the Ori; the Sodan’s traditions are important to him, especially Kel Shak Lo. It was his brother that Mitchell killed, and Jolan is determined to carry through with the battle. But his respect for Mitchell has also grown, and he may be willing to find a creative way to satisfy his honor.

written by Damian Kindler
directed by Peter DeLuise
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Lexa Doig (Dr. Lam), Jason George (Jolan), Tony Todd (Haikon), Jarvis George (Volnek), William B. Davis (Prior), Gary Jones (Sgt. Walter Harriman), Bryan Elliot (Col. Raimi – SG-22), Darcy Laurie (Kassan)

Notes: Mitchell called Jolan “Bones” at the end of the episode, no doubt because their solution to their fight-to-the-death problem closely resembles Dr. McCoy’s in the original Star Trek episode Amok Time. The international oversight committee was first mentioned in this season’s The Ties That Bind, although in that episode it was unclear whether Landry and the SGC would accept the tradeoff.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Rushed back to Atlantis’ infirmary, Sheppard’s injuries sustained in the search for Ellia baffle Dr. Beckett; a significant arm wound heals remarkably fast, and Sheppard’s physical stamina increases to an unusual degree. Beckett’s blood work reveals that the retrovirus intended to transform Ellia back into a human seeped into Sheppard’s bloodstream during the fight, and the results could be unpredictable. Dr. Weir removes Sheppard from offworld duty and Beckett orders him to check in frequently, but symptoms appear quickly, and Sheppard begins mutating into something resembling half-human and half-Wraith. As his condition grows worse, Beckett discovers that Sheppard may be able to help himself find the cure – providing he’s still human enough.

teleplay by Robert C. Cooper & Martin Gero
story by Martin Gero
directed by Brad Turner
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), Mitch Pileggi (Colonel Caldwell), Matthew Harrison (Scientist), Lindsay Collins (Scientist), Todd Hann (Bravo Leader), France Perras (Nurse), Andy Nez (Soldier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Rodney’s sensors detect the Aurora, an Ancient defense ship launched to protect the planet and the city. Though nobody expects the presumably lost ship to be manned, it contains nearly a full crew – kept alive in a state of near-total stasis. The aging of the Ancients’ bodies is slowed, but they’re still quite active mentally, and plugged into a network that allows them to control their ship. Rodney finds a way to plug Sheppard into the network without putting him in the same stasis, allowing him to communicate with the Ancients. But Sheppard finds that the Ancient crew doesn’t trust him – not even as a virtual reality construct. While Colonel Caldwell and his crew brace for a Wraith attack on the newly discovered ship, Sheppard discovers that the Wraith are already aboard the Aurora, both virtually and literally.

teleplay by Carl Binder
story by Brad Wright & Carl Binder
directed by Martin Wood
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Mitch Pileggi (Colonel Caldwell), Bruce Dawson (Captain), Pascale Hutton (First Officer), James Lafaznos (Wraith), Kirby Morrow (Airman), Anne Openshaw (Pilot), Ryan W. Smith (Crewman), Graham Kosakoski (Guard)

Notes: Colonel Caldwell’s use of the term “military thrust” indicates that he wants the Daedalus’ pilot to push the ship’s engines past 100% throttle – or, as countless starship captains before him have put it less formally, get the hell out of there.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Following up on a lead to the possible location of a ZPM, Sheppard, Teyla, Rodney and Ronon are abducted by a group of humans and taken through a stargate – and Sheppard is stunned to see Ford is in charge of their captors. Still given superhuman strength and agility as long as he continues to find sources of the Wraith enzyme, Ford introduces his new colleagues to the enzyme as well. Over time, Ford and his friends have learned to refine the Wraith enzyme – and even to process it into food form, which he feeds to Sheppard’s team without warning them. After drugging them with their first dose of the enzyme, Ford and his men free the Atlantis team to let them explore their new abilities. Ford’s men are doing their own part to fight the Wraith, using means that might not meet the Atlantis team’s approval, and to Rodney’s horror, Sheppard finds himself considering joining Ford for at least one attack on a hive ship – as a cover for getting his own team home. But Ford’s plan, using a stolen Wraith dart, doesn’t quite go as planned – and neither does Sheppard’s plan to return to Atlantis.

written by Martin Gero
excerpt written by Robert C. Cooper
directed by Brad Turner
music by Joel Goldsmith

Guest Cast: Rainbow Sun Francks (Aiden Ford), Kavan Smith (Major Lorne), Aaron Abrams (Kanayo), David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka), Paul Anthony (Jace), Woody Jeffreys (Bouncer / Guard #1), Aleks Holtz (Guard #2), James Lafaznos (Wraith Male), Andee Frizzell (Wraith Hive Queen)

LogBook entry by Earl Green