(S05E08) On paper, "The Queen" looked to have a lot of potential. The team was back together and off on an adventure. Even better, this wasn't some standalone excursion to an unknown planet that we wouldn't be seeing again. The story was set to tie the research that was recently discovered in Michael's lab in with the ongoing story of Todd. For the most part, all of that added up to a very good episode.
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(S05E05) It's a strange week for Stargate Atlantis. Normally we talk about the episodes of various shows, be they good or bad, based on what was on the screen that week. Behind the scenes goings on occasionally come into play, but rarely to the extent that they do for "Ghost In The Machine." There's a lot of back story to this one, and now that I've seen it I find myself thinking as much about what could have been, as what it is we actually saw. And really, I'm not sure whether or not that's a good thing.
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(S05E04) Big things are on the horizon for our friends in Atlantis. Episode five brings with it a big picture episode that will take us back to a host of things that happened in season four. With a slot to fill before that, it was time for another stand alone episode. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of my favorite Atlantis episodes have been of the stand alone variety. And luckily for us, this is another of the really good stand alone entries.
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(S05E03) I have to admit, when I saw in the previews last week that we were getting a Ronon episode, I wasn't exactly excited. I figured it would be another stand alone episode, probably ok, but I don't usually think of Ronon as a character to carry the big load. Having now watched "Broken Ties," I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. Jason Momoa took advantage of being given the A-story and delivered his best performance to date. And along the way we got a little more background on Woolsey, and some answers to Teyla's burning question.
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(S05E02) And with that, season five has begun. I've really been looking forward to this episode for the simple fact that it would give us our first look at just what kind of leader Woolsey is going to be. There are certainly a lot of things coming in season five, but that one, more than any other, has the ability to really affect how the season is ultimately received. We got that first look, and it was an interesting one. Along the way, we also caught up with our old friend Dr. Beckett. And Dr. Keller got to step out of the background (and climb into bed) for a pretty big story of her own. We'll get to all that, after the jump.

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(S05E01) "What do you like, Duff Beer, or Oprah Ale?" - John Sheppard

And just like that, our old friends from Atlantis are back... for a little while. I continue to be baffled by the scheduling department over at Sci Fi. My best guess is that all programming is set in place at the whim of a 16 year old intern suffering from a mind boggling case of unmedicated ADD. He's followed up the senseless Battlestar break by promising an equally annoying split in the Atlantis season. I never understood it when they were doing it to Farscape, and I still don't get it. Whatever the case, our half of a season kicked off by tying up those loose ends from the season four finale, and dropping the bomb that launches season five.

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I was pretty excited when our friendly neighborhood FedEx guy dropped off the envelope with the promo package for season five of Atlantis. And I remained so even after my DVD player balked at reading the disk. It just served as a fine example as to why it's not geeky to have a computer connected to your television, it's just handy.

As the disk started up I was thinking it would be a good idea to do an early look post about where things look to be heading in season five. Unfortunately, Sci Fi only sent out the first episode of the season, and it's not telling us much of anything about season five, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The episode plays like S04E21 right up to the last scene, where season five begins to take over. Given where we last left our friends in Atlantis, that was probably to be expected. More, including some minor spoilers, after the jump.
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(S04E14) Well now, wasn't that interesting? The fine folks over at Stargate HQ decided to follow up an episode that took place entirely in Atlantis with one that never sets foot in the city. It's actually a tough sell as far as episodes go. For one, most of the team is absent, so you run the risk of annoying anyone with a favorite character that didn't get to come out and play. It also gets counted in the 'filler episode' column, something that always draws its own brand of ire. And finally, it heavily features a child actor, which is just asking for trouble.

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