(S04E20) "This is the most elaborate practical joke of all time, or I'm in serious trouble." -- John Sheppard

And there you have it. Atlantis wraps up its fourth season, its first out on its own, with a little time travel and a big cliffhanger ending. It was a finale that I had heard described as "different." Having now seen it, it's hard to argue with the description. Having 56 minutes of your finale be things that didn't actually happen is certainly not the norm. While we can probably all agree on the different label, the bigger question is, "Was it good?"
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(S04E19) "Just another day in outer space." -- Colonel John Sheppard

Now, let me introduce to you...the one and only Carson Beckett! Is he live or is he Memorex? That was the question on everyone's minds this week as fan favorite Dr. Beckett returned to Stargate Atlantis after his unceremonious death last season. Of course, Dr. Keller told us at the very beginning of the episode that he was Carson Beckett. This didn't mean squat, though, because there was a whole episode for that claim to be disputed.

So, was Carson actually Carson or something entirely different? And, what happened with Teyla and Michael? For that, read on.

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(S04E18) Michael, Michael, Michael. If there is anyone out in the Pegasus galaxy that needs a hug and some serious medication it's him. He's angry at the Wraith for finding him an unclean representative of the race, and he isn't too fond of humans, either. So, what does he decide to do, then? He goes ahead and starts poisoning various human populations so the Wraith will be feeding on spoiled goods rather than fresh meat. But that's just the start of his plan. His main goal is to gather an army that will destroy his race and make him the strongest being in the Pegasus galaxy.

Like I said, man needs a hug.

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(S04E09) Well, that wasn't what I expected. When I saw that Meredith and his sister Jeannie were going to be kidnapped this episode I thought that it would be some light-hearted romp with the two of them bickering back and forth while they tried to get past the inept kidnappers. Boy, was I wrong! While there were some light touches between McKay and Mrs. Miller this was a pretty serious episode that dealt with some heavy ethical issues.

One of these issues involved stealing classified alien technology from a military organization. This is what Henry Wallace of Devlin Medical Technologies did to try and save his daughter. How did Wallace know about the nannites that McKay and his team on Atlantis were working on? Apparently, DMT provides the subcutaneous transmitters to the Stargate program and Wallace was smart enough to put two and two together to find out about the nannites.

(S04E08) One of the good things about shows like Stargate Atlantis is that they can mold episodes around events that took place a few episodes or a few seasons ago in order to tie up loose ends or progress the season further. This is what we saw in this week's episode as many plotlines that were left up in the air over the past season and a half merged into one story that furthered both the Wraith and the Replicator stories.

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(S04E06) One of the complaints that many have about Stargate Atlantis is the amount of one-shot stories that air as opposed to constant episodes involving the continuing battle with the Wraith, or Replicators, or Romulans, or whomever the evil race du jour is. While a continuing storyline such as this would be all well and good I think that it would also be boring and perhaps deter new viewers from watching. Heck, even Babylon 5 and the later seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had stand-alone stories. By allowing these episodes Atlantis gives newbies a chance to jump on without being utterly confused.

(S04E01) Man, I'm having a hard time finding an opening for this review. I want to say that the season premiere of Atlantis was so much better than any episode of SG-1 that aired in its final season. However, that will probably piss off the SG-1 fans who say that Atlantis doesn't hold a candle to the original series. I want to say that, despite the standard science-fiction storyline that was the plot of this episode, the writers and producers did a great job of making it different, interesting, and a bit suspenseful. Yet, fans of science-fiction might get angry and say its all been done before and better.