TVSquad

A few items of interest this month in the world of Stargate. First, it has been revealed that Nicole de Boer has been cast in an upcoming episode of Stargate Atlantis. Boer, who played Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone, will play Dr. Alison Porter in an upcoming episode of the fifth season. Porter will be a "cute nerd" (are there any others) who strikes up a friendship with the guest-starring Carson Beckett.

While we are on the subject of the female sex (get your mind out of the gutter, son) further information has been revealed about the first all-woman recon team on Atlantis. The team will be led by Captain Alicia Vega, portrayed by actress Leela Savasta. Vega will appear during the show's season premiere as a new addition to the city's military contingent and may be a recurring character. Joining Vega on the all-woman recon team will be Janina Gavankar as Sergeant Dusty Mehra and Christina Cox (who has been on Stargate as another character) as Major Anne Teldy.

A few weeks ago we reported that a fifth season of Stargate Atlantis would be airing on the SciFi network sometime in the fall, just as the fourth season did back in 2007. Well, it now seems like the premiere of the new season will be moving up a couple of months.

A number of online resources, including Gateworld, TV Guide, and the personal blog of Atlantis executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, are reporting that the show will be premiering in July. "The decision on the Season Five premiere date rests with SCI FI," Mallozzi writes in his blog, "However, I'm hopeful that fans won't have to wait until the fall to see the resolution of our Season Four cliffhanger."

(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?"

(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.

(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.

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.

Not too long ago, our corporate buddies at AOL Television posted a fall TV scorecard featuring their grades for new and returning shows. While the list featured such shows as House, Reaper, Desperate Housewives, Pushing Daises and Ugly Betty, it missed a number of fan favorites (and non-favorites) that we talk about constantly over here at TV Squad.

How to rectify this? Well, we could all go over to the AOL Television offices and beat the staff until they agree to add the missing shows. Or, in order to keep our jobs and avoid prison time, we could just list the missing shows over here, grade them, and give you a chance to rate them as well. Since I wouldn't last more than five minutes in jail I think we'll just list the missing shows over here.

You can find the list of eleven shows, graded by myself, Joel, Keith, Brett and Brad, after the jump.

Good news everyone. Or, good news for those of you that have a penchant for the SciFi original programming at least. The network has announced that they have ordered the fifth season of Stargate: Atlantis (20 episodes), which comes on the heels of the announcement for a third season of Eureka (13 episodes).

The SG-1 spinoff has performed well in its first season out of big brother's shadow. The show is currently averaging 1.8 million viewers, well above SciFi's 1.3 million prime time average. For its part, Eureka continues to be very popular, with the network touting it as bringing "3 million new viewers to the channel." I'm not sure how that number works out, but if it means more Eureka, I'm all for it. Unfortunately, there was no word on the fate of Flash Gordon. Although, the fact that the show at least got a mention in the article gives some hope.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Something I really enjoyed about Sci Fi putting this event on for us was getting to put faces to people involved with other online outlets. SyFy Portal, Gateworld, The TV Addict, DVD Verdict, Monsters and Critics, UGO, and TVaholic, among others (sorry if I missed mentioning you and you're reading this – I'm still recovering.) These were real fans of television, and they were as excited as anyone to be there. What pissed me off, though, was overhearing a few people in attendance say "I never watch TV," yet here they were, covering TV shows. What were they doing there? Lame. That should piss off any fan of these shows, because this was more than an event to be reported on my the media, it was put on for the fans. OK, I'm done my rant.

One thing I would have liked from the event in Vancouver was more time. Somehow Sci Fi was able to cram in three panels and three set tours of some of the most successful science fiction TV shows on TV today. After the Atlantis panel, I couldn't help but approach Dave Hewlett to let him know that I was Twittering the entire trip to the TV Squad readers, since he's an avid user of the technology himself. Very cool guy and very approachable, but because of time restrictions of the trip, I had to cut our talk short.

As promised, here's part two of the Stargate Atlantis panel. I'll have the Flash Gordon panel for you on Monday.

[UPDATE: The stream is working now (below), which includes the entire panel.]

Something that maybe some of us took for granted was the fact that, not only were we participating in a panel interview with the cast of these shows, we were conducting these panels on the very set the show is shot on (the Stargate is right there!) It also helped that there were only 25 of us handing around a microphone, making it very easy for everyone to get in at least one question.

Stargate Atlantis was on hiatus from shooting, but that didn't stop David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell and showrunners Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie from heading to the studio to meet us all. Check back later for part two of the panel.

[UPDATE: The video below now includes the entire panel video.]

This news is a big damn deal to die hard fans of Firefly and Serenity (we call 'em 'Browncoats'). Apparently there are some Browncoats at NASA and they have managed to get DVDs of Joss Whedon's television show and movie up to the International Space Station. Astronaut Steven R. Swanson is the fan who just returned from the ISS after delivering the DVDs (oh yeah, and other important astronaut/survival supplies).

There's a fan page that blogs about it called Breaking Atmo. The most recent posts has all sorts of photos of Firefly and Serenity DVDs floating in space. One of the blog posts says that "Swanny" got the other astronauts addicted to Firefly while they were all in quarantine for five hours before the shuttle Atlantis launched earlier this month.

I've also heard that there are a number of astronauts at NASA who are addicted to Battlestar Galactica. Can you blame them?!?

[Via Pop Candy]

(S03E19) This is more of what I have been waiting for as the season winds down for the Atlantis team. Here is an arc with a good enemy that builds nicely on the overall Atlantis story. I love the decision to bring back Michael. That's partly just because I like Connor Trinneer (Enterprise), but mostly because the story of Michael, and what the Atlantis team did to him, is very interesting.

There has been quite a bit of speculation about the move, but now it's official. Amanda Tapping will be joining the cast of Stargate: Atlantis for 14 episodes in season four. Executive Producer Brad Wright said that the idea is one that they have been considering for a long time, but they held back because SG-1 kept going. The recent announcement that SG-1 won't be returning after the current season has opened the door for Colonel Carter to make the jump.

Season four of Atlantis marks another change for the show. As Wright and fellow Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper turn their attention to the SG-1 movies, Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie will take over as show-runners for Atlantis.I like the addition of Tapping to the cast. I've always been a fan of Carter, and with Paul McGillion not returning as Dr. Becket in season four, there is an opening to be filled.