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For the first time ever, fans can catch up on season 3 before season 4 begins on Sci Fi!

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With Stargate SG-1 now permanently off the data screen (except for a TV movie or two) after ten productive seasons, it appears that the fate of the universe is now the responsibility of the Stargate Atlantis crew. Based on the latter's third season, whose 20 episodes (plus a wealth of bonus features) are made available here on five discs, we're in good hands.
Three years into it, Atlantis has retained numerous familiar elements while continuing to evolve steadily. The core cast is intact, with the cocky wiseacre-hero Lt. Col. John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and the egotistical, neurotic genius Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) still the most entertaining of the bunch; as the series explores the characters' personal lives and backstories, we even meet (in "McKay and Mrs. Miller") the latter's sister, who's every bit the wiz that he is. On the other hand, the roles of team leader Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) and members Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) and Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) are neither especially well-written nor well-played. The return of Richard Dean Anderson (and his sense of humor) as General Jack O'Neill, the SG-1 mainstay during most of its run, for a few cameos is most welcome, as is the presence of the Wraith, the series' principal villains (SG-1 fans will also recognize the "sentient machines" known as the Replicators from that series). With their flowing white locks, cat-like eyes, pale, almost translucent skin, ultra-fine black leather dusters, and, in one case, shades that would make a Hollywood hipster envious, the Wraith remain the coolest bad guys on the sci-fi scene. We already knew that they feed on humans, but this season brings some startling new revelations, particularly in "Common Ground," an excellent episode that finds Sheppard and a Wraith (Christopher Heyerdahl) forming an unlikely alliance against a mutual enemy; we also witness the return of the Wraith known as Michael (Connor Trinneer), who was the subject of the Atlantis team's ongoing "retro-virus" experiment (designed to make Wraiths human) in Season Two and plays a significant recurring role in Season Three. Other developments are apparent as well, but most dramatic of all is the death of one of the team's key members.
Stargate Atlantis isn't the most original TV show ever created; in fact, elements of The Running Man, Alien, The Abyss, Enemy Mine, and other sci-fi works are sometimes so obvious that the characters themselves mention them in dialogue. But as always, the action sequences, special effects, models, and other technical elements are first-rate, as are the bonus features, which include episode commentaries, featurettes, and photo galleries. --Sam Graham

Beyond Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Third Season

Stargate SG-1 Complete DVD Series

Stargate Atlantis Books

Stargate Toys and Games

Rating : - Episode plots
Season 3, Episode 1: No Man's Land
Original Air Date: 14 July 2006
Two Wraith Hive ships have captured Dr. McKay and Ronon and are on their way to Earth. It is up to Colonel Sheppard to rescue them and figure out a way to stop the Wraith from reaching a "new feeding ground".


Season 3, Episode 2: Misbegotten
Original Air Date: 21 July 2006
After turning a Wraith hive ship crew into humans, the Atlantis team must decide on their fate. Meanwhile, Dr. Weir finds herself under the scrutiny of Richard Woolsey and the I.O.A.

Season 3, Episode 3: Irresistible
Original Air Date: 28 July 2006
A man from another world has an unusual effect on the Atlantis team, causing them to behave strangely. The few unaffected team members must uncover the cause.

Season 3, Episode 4: Sateda
Original Air Date: 4 August 2006
Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon come under attack on a forested world. Ronon, realizing that he has been on the planet before, learns that his earlier visit came with harsh consequences.

Season 3, Episode 5: Progeny
Original Air Date: 11 August 2006
The Atlantis expedition encounters a highly advanced race, the Asurans whom they at first believe to be the Ancients. However, this new race is just a new face of an old nemesis.

Season 3, Episode 6: The Real World
Original Air Date: 18 August 2006
Dr Weir finds herself on Earth where, to everyone else, the Atlantis Expedition was just her delusion.

Season 3, Episode 7: Common Ground
Original Air Date: 25 August 2006
John Sheppard is captured by the evil Kolya of the Genii and imprisoned in a cell adjacent to a Wraith as Dr. Weir negotiates for his release.

Season 3, Episode 8: McKay and Mrs. Miller
Original Air Date: 8 September 2006
When his sister Jeannie comes up with a vital mathematical proof, Rodney returns to Earth to visit his sister Jeannie and take her to Atlantis. But things become complicated when another Rodney McKay from a parallel universe arrives.

Season 3, Episode 9: Phantoms
Original Air Date: 15 September 2006
Sheppard and Ronon find themselves under the influence of a Wraith mind-altering device that threatens to force the entire team to kill--each other!

Season 3, Episode 10: The Return: Part 1
Original Air Date: 22 September 2006
While testing a chain of Stargates that will allow travel from Atlantis to Earth in about 30 minutes (the "McKay-Carter Intergalactic Gate Bridge"), McKay, Sheppard and the team discover an Ancient ship traveling at almost the speed of light.

When Dr. Weir talks to the travelers, she is surprised by their request that the expedition members vacate the city of Atlantis.

Season 3, Episode 11: The Return: Part 2
Original Air Date: 20 November 2006
Major General Jack O'Neill's mission to defend Atlantis fails as he and Richard Woolsey are taken prisoner during an Asuran assault on the city.

Sheppard's team, Dr. Weir and Dr. Carson steal a Jumper from Stargate Command on Earth and come back to Pegasus galaxy with a plan to retake Atlantis.

Season 3, Episode 12: Echoes
Original Air Date: 27 November 2006
The whales of Lantea congregate around the city and the inhabitants of Atlantis begin to suffer ill effects. Are they there to communicate or attack?

Season 3, Episode 13: Irresponsible
Original Air Date: 4 December 2006
The team investigate rumors of an invincible hero off-world, only to find Lucius Lavin again manipulating a hapless village.

Season 3, Episode 14: Tao of Rodney
Original Air Date: 11 December 2006
While shutting down systems in Atlantis, McKay is zapped by a strange Ancient machine. He begins to have superpowers, but things are never as they seem, and Rodney and the team must race against his mutations to save his life.

Season 3, Episode 15: The Game
Original Air Date: 18 December 2006
To while away the hours, Sheppard and McKay have been secretly competing against one another in a real-time strategy game they discovered on Atlantis. To their surprise, they discover that this is more than just a game....

Season 3, Episode 16: The Ark
Original Air Date: 8 January 2007
The Atlantis team uncovers the last survivors of a civilization who have been placed in suspended animation aboard a space station. As some of the people awaken, problems from the past threaten to destroy everyone on the station, including Sheppard.

Season 3, Episode 17: Sunday
Original Air Date: 15 January 2007
Almost every member of the Atlantis expedition has a day off. Some of them are enjoying their free time or are catching up on some old work. The Sunday, a day like no other, suddenly turns bad and it appears that a lot of people are in danger.

Season 3, Episode 18: Submersion
Original Air Date: 22 January 2007
The team goes searching for an alternate power source beneath the surface of the Lantean ocean. When arriving at the power plant, Teyla senses a Wraith nearby.

Season 3, Episode 19: Vengeance
Original Air Date: 29 January 2007
After losing contact with the new Taranin (the people rescued by the Atlantis team when a super volcano threatened to destroy their planet) settlement, Sheppard's team leaves to investigate. Finding the town deserted, they move to investigate an extensive subterranean tunnel system. What they find there holds dark tidings for the entire Pegasus Galaxy.

Season 3, Episode 20: First Strike 1
Original Air Date: 5 February 2007
After learning the Asurians are building a fleet of ships, Earth sends it's newest ship, the Apollo, under the command of Colonel Abe Ellis to initiate a preemptive first strike to stop them from attacking Atlantis or worse, Earth itself.