Stargate Atlantis - Series 1 to 5 Complete DVD Box Set

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Stargate SG1
Series 1 to 10 Complete DVD Box Set

RRP: £169.99

Best Price: £76.97

After Stargate SG-1 became a huge hit, it was inevitable that spin-offs would follow and Atlantis continues the franchise’s obsession with the lost underwater city. The new show kicked off in 2004 and, after a somewhat shaky start, ran for 5 seasons that contain plenty of thrills and spills for any sci-fi fan.

Atlantis itself is found on another planet, in a different galaxy entirely, and the show follows several teams that go there to investigate, with little chance of returning home. Wise-cracking Major Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) looks after the military side of things and, along with the Anthosian Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell) and Dr. Rodney McKay(David Hewlett), battles a dangerous new enemy known as the Wraith who long ago destroyed the Ancients – the race that built the stargates as a means of travelling to distant planets.

Later, a race of self-replicating nanobots known as the Asurans pose a threat to Earth and subsequent seasons get pretty bleak as the Atlantis outpost comes under increasing threat. In season 4 it’s even drifting helplessly in space after a last-ditch attempt to save it from the Asurans. Throughout the seasons cast members from SG-1 frequently pop-up to help, such as Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) who is promoted to Colonel in season 4 and takes control of the Atlantis expedition.

Producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper didn’t want Stargate Command being able to bail out the Atlantis team whenever they got in trouble so the series takes the franchise off in a different direction, here retreat is not an option and the main thrust of the story for the characters is survival and dealing with anything that their new frontier can throw at them. But it still retains a fun feel. With jokey dialogue and plenty of action it’s not going to change your life but works as unadulterated sci-fi hokum.