I was a bit slow to catch up to season 5 of Atlantis. I must have forgotten all about it with the writers' strike last year, adding to that, a very early start to the season way back in July of '08.

Now well into the season, we haven't seen any jaw-dropping plot twists, or exceptionally good writing for that matter, but that's not the kind of show SGA is. It's not high-minded and preachy like Star Trek, or edgy and sexy like Battlestar Galactica. Atlantis is just good, goofy fun. And there's nothing wrong with that at Laidback Geek.

What has set season 5 apart is a prolific line-up of guest stars. First, it wouldn't be a new season of Atlantis without a few cast changes.

Changes are a Constant in Atlantis

The season opener, Search and Rescue, adds two regular cast members to the fold and takes one away.

I was very happy to see the lovely Jewel Staite, of Firefly fame, added to the regular team. She takes over the post of CMO as Dr. Jennifer Keller, a job she has been performing as a guest since Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) left the show in season 3.

The big surprise was seeing Robert Picardo's name on the credit roll. Picardo, the Doctor on Star Trek Voyager, has been a recurring guest on SG1 and Atlantis, but there was no lead up at all to this cast change.

Part of me resisted the addition, not a slight to Picardo's acting ability, but because his straight-laced Government-lackey of a character, Mr.Woolsey, wasn't particularly well liked in either SG series.

I realized later why Picardo was asked to replace Amanda Tapping, the 10-year veteran of the SG1 series and movies, who sat in the command chair for only a year. Ms. Tapping's co-creation Sanctuary, originally a web series, was being picked up for Network television.

I was relieved to see Picardo, easing slowly into the command role this season. His Richard Woolsey is soft-spoken, even-tempered, and not always confident in his decisions, but he brings with him a sense of fatherly wisdom all the same. So far he's been a very nice addition to the likable but generally unruly cast of characters.

Atlantis, Where all SCI-FI Actors Get a New Lease on Life

It seems like an actor from every major sci-fi show of the last 10 years has made an appearance on Stargate Atlantis, most notably from the Trek world.

I've already mentioned Robert Picardo from Star Trek Voyager replacing SG1's Amanda Tapping as station commander.

The Season 5 opener see's Star Trek Enterprise's Connor Trinneer repeat his role as the half-Wraith Michael, only to -gasp- die? No update on Michael's status yet by episode 13, but all sci-fi and soap opera fans know that death is merely an obstacle to be hopped over.

Not satisfied with just two Trek appearances, Deep Space Nine's and the Dead Zone's Nicole de Boer shows up in episodes 7 (Whispers), as a member of an all-female SGC unit who discover one of Michael's secret labs.

Add these to DS9 and Star Trek The Next Generation's Colm Meaney, who appears briefly as a Genii leader in this season's clip-show "Inquisition", and you get one or more appearances from all 4 modern Trek series.

The guests don't stop there. From the Stargate Universe, Amanda Tapping's SG1 co-star Michael Shanks reprises his role as Dr.Daniel Jackson in a two-parter where he partner's with Rodney MacKay, a character that got his start on SG1 himself.

Paul McGillion's Dr. Carson Beckett is literally revived this season making numerous appearances, perhaps as often as his "regular" cast replacement Dr.Keller.

Rainbow Sun Francks (Lt. Aiden Ford) shows his face, if only for a moment, in the season opener as well.

Mitch Pileggi, A.D. Skinner from X-Files, rounds out the 90s sci-fi series guest-o-rama as Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the SGC starship Daedalus.

There's probably a few more series crossovers this season, but who can keep up? The six degrees of sci-fi are close indeed.

What I'd Really Like to See

I like Stargate Atlantis a lot. I actually like it more than the seemingly unstoppable SG1. I have affection for the latter series as well, but it seems like Atlantis has much more... well, space in it than SG1 ever did.

You can only see your hometown of Vancouver play a weakly disguised alien world so many times before your sense of disbelief starts to dissipate.

I am glad that Atlantis has dropped the Human-form replicators as enemies, for the time being. It's time to develop the Wraith as a force to be feared once again.

What I would really like to see though is the secondary characters on the show take a bow. Atlantis, like it's "space" station based cousin DS9, owes a lot to it's recurring support characters.

I love David Nykl's Dr. Radek Zelenka if only for the fact that he tempers Mackay's egotism a bit.

Kavan Smith's dependable Major Evan Lorne should really get more screen time as well. We have seen him jump franchises to the afore-mentioned, Vancouver-based Sanctuary series, so some good may come of that.

I'm not sure if this is her name, but a new backgroud character Amelia Banks can be spotted a few times this season. Not only is she quite attractive, but she kicks butt, taking a wraith Dart out of the sky with a personal rocket launcher. Let's see some more action from her character soon!

While We're at it, why not have a Wraith reunion of sorts. Let's get Michael, Todd, Kenny and Billy (?!) together for a buddy-pic style episode.

If TNG could do it with episodes like Data's Day and Lower Decks, or DS9 with Who Mourns for Morn? and It's Only a Paper Moon, why can't SGA?

C'mon producers, give us more fan service than name-dropping the Federation and Duff Beer! Build the universe and cast out some more, and maybe Atlantis will run for as many years as SG1. Keep those seasons coming.