STARGATE: ATLANTIS: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON (MGM/Fox)

Stargate the movie was a campy, over-the-top hoot – just don’t tell anyone in Stargate: Atlantis about it. 

I remember seeing that film in Berkeley the night of its release and I was absolutely drawn into it. James Spader as the hero of sorts? Fantastic. Jaye Davidson as the sexually ambiguous Ra? Even better. And Roland Emmerich was able to infuse this sci-fi tale of intergalactic portals with enough action sequences and hundred-person battles to keep even marginal sci-fi geeks intrigued.

But as I reviewed early seasons of Stargate: Atlantis on DVD, I found (to my disappointment) that this spin-off series is a relatively serious show. Maybe it’s just this writer’s taste that keep me from really getting embroiled in the series and its narrative ambitions, but I simply enjoyed the campy fun of the original movie so much that a stone-faced spin-off just kind of leaves me shrugging.

And then there are the realities of this Complete Fifth Season set that does even less to endear the show to a new audience. Even die-hard fans of the show have little hesitation in calling this final season its distinct worst, a fizzle-out of a series that simply ran out of steam.

This writer's vote for biggest culprit: Complicated storylines. I know, I know - a benefit of sticking with a long-running sci-fi show in the long haul allows for deep, multi-layered investigations of characters and situations that films simply don't have time for - but for an armchair fan of the show, I simply found myself getting equal parts lost and bored by the humdrum drama of this go-round. I have a similar issue with Lost: Sometimes it's guilty of too much drama and not enough sci-fi. There are moments of geek glee in alternate-reality episodes like Vegas and the franchise-spanning First Contact (in which Stargate: SG-1 alum Daniel Jackson has a cameo), but for the most part, this is autopilot TV material at best.

Jaye Davidson would not approve.

Video/Audio: Grain continues to be an issue with these 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers (as was the case with the show's third-season release), but otherwise, this is a fine slate of presentations. The transfer prints are clean and without any hint of blemish or scratch, and black levels are impressively solid. Color accuracy errs a bit toward the saturated side and flesh tones get lost in the mix when compared to the bright greens and blues that dominate the show’s visual palette. These Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are a mixed bag, as well. Music and effects are exceptionally aggressive, utilizing both front channels and surrounds with lovely frequency responses, but for some reason, dialogue is really pushed down in the mix. Often, it gets completely lost in the shuffle (during action sequences with musical cues, you’ll find yourself wondering what everybody’s saying). These mixes have a great set of atmospheric mood, though; lots of attention has been paid to the development of a nice, enveloping atmosphere.

Spanish and French Dolby Surround tracks are included, as are English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: We get a ton of screen-specific audio commentaries here from various cast and crew members, and while it's nice to have such a wealthy appendix to the series, for anyone not wholly versed in the Stargate: Atlantis universe, this adds up to a bit of overkill (though I found the track for Vegas with producers Robert C. Cooper and John G. Lenic as well as editor Mike Banas to be a nice blend of anecdotal nostalgia and nuts-and-bolts production description). Also here are a huge wealth of featurettes. None are must-sees, but I can't help but be impressed by the sheer volume of supplemental material here. A list of said featurettes:

Mission Directive: Search and Rescue with Andy Mikita and Martin Gero

Showdown! Ronan v. Tyre

Bringing the Seed to Life

Mission Directive: Whispers with William Waring and Joseph Mallozzi

Tricks of the Trade: Submerging the Stargate

Joe Flanigan: A Conversation with the Colonel

Mission Directive: Tracker with William Waring and Carl Binder

Dr. Jackson Goes to Atlantis

Building a Humanoid with James Robbins and Martin Gero

Mission Directive: Brain Storm with Martin Gero

The Life and Death of Michael Kenmore

Stargate: Atlantis Goes to Vegas

Inside the Stargate Costume Department

Also included on this set are some deleted scenes and a collection of stills galleries.

Final Thoughts: The only ones who need apply here are diehard Stargate: Atlantis fans. This fifth-season set looks and sounds fine and has a huge arsenal of goodies, so while sci-fi sticklers like myself scoff, SA aficionados can enjoy the act of diving even deeper into their beloved space-world. 

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