(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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(S04E16) Let's shake up this review of Stargate Atlantis a bit by asking a few question's about this week's episode.

Shouldn't the fall into the mine shaft that McKay, Carter, and Keller took have killed or seriously injured them? I know it would have been a very short episode, but would a normal person survive a fall like that without some form of injury? It wasn't like they fell into a pile of pillows or marshmallows -- that ground was hard. Maybe the gravity wasn't as heavy on the planet they got trapped on as Earth-standard gravity.

For those of you who were gnashing their teeth over Samantha Carter's (lack of) administrative abilities on this season's Stargate Atlantis you can relax your jaws. Well, only for a moment, because you may not like who will be replacing her in the show's fifth season.

According to a press statement released today by MGM and the SciFi Channel, the newest administrator of Atlantis will be: I.O.A representative Richard Woolsey, played by science fiction veteran Robert Picardo. Ah, I see you're gnashing your teeth again. No surprise there, since the members of the Atlantis team aren't too fond of him, either. In fact, the SciFi release mentions that Colonel Sheppard and his team must adjust to Woolsey's leadership style. Look for some friction between the two sides as the season progresses.

(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.

(S10E20) So, here we are. After ten seasons as the longest-running, first-run American science fiction program Stargate SG-1 is finally coming to end. Well, at least as a first-run series since there are a number of direct-to-DVD movies in the works. Also, technically, it's the official end for only us late-as-usual Americans, since the finale aired already in other parts of the world. And, hey, while it hasn't been as hyped up as the series finale of The Sopranos, there are still many, many people who are extremely sad to see it go. Including myself.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we're going to have a chatroom live for all of you to join in on as the show goes on and share your theories, reactions, and opinions in real-time. Shortly after the finale you'll be able to read a review of the show here. You can read the review after the jump. And, the chatroom is still open to express your opinions and feelings on the series finale.

You can enter the chatroom here.