When Stargate SG-1 producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper thought the original Stargate SG-1 series was going to end after season five, due to Showtime’s announcement that they were canceling the show, they came up with the idea of making a new feature film. However, as the ratings on its new home at the Sci Fi Channel were quite good, the idea was pushed to season six and then to season seven. Wright had initially intended to set the new show in Antarctica under the ice. It would have replaced Stargate Command as Earth’s conduit to other worlds.
Late in season seven of SG-1, talks began of a spin-off series and the producers were left with a serious dilemma, since the seventh season of Stargate SG-1 had been planned to lead up to the great discovery of the lost city of the Ancients, Atlantis. The Stargate SG-1 seventh season ending two part episode “Lost City,” was supposed to be a bridge between Stargate SG-1 and a new spin-off, either a show or a movie, which was not planned to run at the same time as Stargate SG-1. Wright and Cooper rewrote the script as the two-part season seven finale, and moved the setting of the story. The city of Atlantis, originally planned to be on Earth under Antarctica in place of the SGC, was moved to the Pegasus Galaxy. This change not only addressed the problem of fans wondering why Stargate Command would not be coming to the aid of the Atlantis Expedition with each episode, but it also gave the producers a chance to start afresh with new ideas instead of having an identical copy of the original show.
The series received the green light on November 17, 2003 and started shooting in February 2004. It premiered on July 16 of the same year.
From the start, Wright and Cooper ruled out casting “star names”, on the basis of the financial pressures they were already experiencing with “star names” on Stargate SG-1. The casting was made more complicated because Atlantis got the go-ahead in November, and had to compete with other networks during pilot season.
The character most difficult to cast was the then-called Dr. Ingram, an unexcitable scientist expert on the Stargate. As the first day of shooting drew nearer and they were unable to find the right actor, they came to realize they had brought in the wrong character. Longtime Stargate director Martin Wood and Brad Wright thought it should be Dr. Rodney McKay, who had already appeared in a guest role in three episodes of Stargate SG-1. Actor David Hewlett was contacted and arrived at the set the day after filming had started. Dr. Ingram had already been written in to the pilot episode of the show and so the same script was used and the character’s name simply changed to McKay. Later scripts were written with Dr. McKay in mind.
Season 2 brought casting changes. The creators found themselves with a problem with the character of Lt. Aiden Ford (Rainbow Sun Francks), a first season regular that the producers, and the actor himself, felt had not worked as intended and was highly underused as a result. Unwilling to write him out, the writers came with an idea to make the character more important, but that downgraded him to recurring. To replace him, they created Ronon Dex as a sidekick for Lt. Col. John Sheppard, but finding an actor with the physical presence and the acting ability necessary was not easy until they saw Jason Momoa’s tape. X-files veteran Mitch Pileggi was added to the cast in the recurring role of Col. Steven Caldwell. Paul McGillion’s character, Dr. Carson Beckett, became a regular in season two.
Seasons 3 and 4 changed the cast lineup again. Paul McGillion’s Dr. Carson Beckett was killed in the season 3 episode “Sunday”, then brought back at the end of season 4 as a recurring character. Amanda Tapping’s Samantha Carter crossed from Stargate SG-1 for 14 episodes in Season 4, as the new leader of the expedition, while Torri Higginson’s Elizabeth Weir became a recurring character in season 4 instead of a regular.
In Season 5 Robert Picardo became a regular as his character (Richard Woolsey) replaced Samantha Carter as the commander of the Atlantis Expedition. Torri Higginson declined to appear as a guest star, instead her character Elizabeth Weir was portrayed by Michelle Morgan. Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson guest starred in a two-part episode. Dr. Carson Beckett, played by Paul McGillion, guest starred in several episodes.
Each season of Stargate: Atlantis featured 20 episodes, and in the United States they are broadcast in two series of 10 episodes. The first 10 episodes air from mid-July to September in the United States, ending in the cliffhanger of a two-parter episode. The second half airs first in Canada, from November to January, ending also with a cliffhanger. In the United States, the second half aired from January to March during seasons 1 and 2, but season 3 aired from April to June 2007. Because of the offset, the show has often been bootlegged by American viewers.
Stargate: Atlantis episodes feature a self-contained story that also contributes to the larger storyline of the war against the Wraith and their search for the means to destroy their enemy. Each season has also featured a two-parter episode, and a few episodes that, while not technically two-parters, had continued directly the story of the previous episode (for example, season 3 “Progeny” and “The Real World”).
Each show begins with a cold open, sometimes preceded with a recap of events relevant to the upcoming narrative. The opening credits feature an original theme by Joel Goldsmith. Though they were drastically cut at the start of season 2, the full credits were recovered after the mid-season parter. They were again cut short in the 5th season.
The show blends different types of approaches to science-fiction, from action to comedy.
Stargate Atlantis is shot at Bridge studios in Vancouver and on location in several places in British Columbia. The Pemberton Glacier doubled for Antarctica during the opening flying sequence in series premiere “Rising”. Lynn Valley Canyon was, for example, where the episode “Instinct” was filmed.
Stargate Atlantis inherited Blade Trinity’s effects stage. The Blade Trinity production gave the set to Stargate Atlantis to save the high cost of dismantling the massive construct. The set has appeared several times. For example, the walkway Sheppard walks in “The Storm” is the topmost part of the Blade Trinity set.
The majority of episodes used James Bamford as a stunt coordinator. He specializes in martial arts and has the nickname of Bam Bam.
On August 20, 2008 it was announced that Season 5 of Atlantis would be its last. Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi also confirmed this in his blog. On August 21, 2008 it was announced that the series will continue with at least one 2-hour direct-to-video movie..
