Tonight at 9 PM ET/PT, Stargate Atlantis ends its five-year run as a television series on the Sci Fi Channel. The series finale, “Enemy at the Gate”, written by Paul Mullie and directed by Andy Mikita, is the 100th episode of the series and includes not only the return of Christopher Heyerdahl as “Todd the Wraith”, but also Mitch Pileggi as Col. Steven Caldwell, David Nykl as Dr. Radek Zelenka, Kavan Smith as Maj. Evan Lorne, Michael Beach as Col. Abe Ellis, Martin Christopher as Maj. Kevin Marks, Gary Jones as Chief Master Sgt. Walter Harriman, Amanda Tapping as Col. Samantha Carter, Paul McGillion as the beloved Dr. Carson Beckett, Colin Cunningham as Maj. Paul Davis, Sharon Taylor as Technician Amelia Banks, Ben Cotton as Dr. Kavanagh, Tyler McClendon as “Kenny the Wraith”, and Chuck Campbell as Chuck the Technician.
According to TV Guide, “Todd warns Atlantis about a sophisticated hive ship and encourages the team to attack the vessel before it can pose a threat to Earth.”
The story for this episode was set up in “Vegas”, as strange as that might sound, given that Episode 19 took place in an alternate reality. Executive producer Robert C. Cooper came up with the idea of how the link could be made between the two episodes.
According to co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi, the finale is not a cliffhanger (no “To Be Continued” at the end). “Regardless of whether we got the pick-up or not,” Mallozzi explained, “we had always planned a clean conclusion to our 100th episode, one that would hopefully leave fans satisfied yet eager for more.”
There are indeed aspects to the story that will need to be addressed, as David Hewlett explained in an io9 interview, “I think what’s nice about the episode is there’s enough unanswered stuff there. There are still things that need to be dealt with that I hope there will be more Atlantis for people to see, in cheaper formats, TV movies or DVD movies or whatever they want to do. But I do hope that’s something we can look forward to.”
Fortunately, some of the events of the series finale will continue in the first Stargate Atlantis movie being penned by writing and production partners Mallozzi and Mullie. Mallozzi said, “The idea originally conceived for the opening two-parter [for Season Six] will now be the basis of the first Stargate: Atlantis movie, the difference being that we’ll be able to tell our story on a much bigger, visual effects-laden, character-centered canvas.”
So, when viewing tonight’s episode, keep in mind that the story doesn’t end and that we’ll be seeing many of those familiar faces once again on our screens. The Sci Fi Channel plans to broadcast the movie during the mid-season hiatus of the new Stargate Universe, most likely placing the movie’s debut sometime in the fourth quarter 2009.
NOTE: Sci Fi is showing “Vegas” at 8 PM as a lead-in to “Enemy at the Gate” at 9 PM. There will also be a repeat of “Enemy at the Gate” at 11 PM.
Preview Video – Beware of Spoilers! –
Solutions Coverage –