Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), SG-1's driving force, is missed, but Atlantis has a strong replacement in Key John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), effortlessly the much charismatic member of the new team. Like O'Neill, Sheppard is a wiseacre and a loose cannon, as well as a superb pilot together with an innate understanding of the Ancients' arcane technology. His humor, humanity and conscience offer a welcome contrast to the other characters, particularly brilliant-but-neurotic Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and ultra-serious project leader Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), who has little to do but provide orders and stand up for her people. The Wraith, who resemble a vampire mutation of the albino blues guitarist Johnny Winter, are the focus of much of these 19 episodes (counting the pilot). These bad boys will stop at nothing--nothing, I inform you!--in their quest to snack their way throughout each galaxy in the universe, together with Earth their ultimate feeding ground. And while the final four episodes, dealing together with the Wraith's massive attack on Atlantis, end together with an unsatisfying cliffhanger (basically, nothing is resolved), earlier shows effectively keep their ominous presence in the forefront. The episodes in which the Wraith have fun little or no active role are often compelling as well, counting "Thirty Eight Minutes" (one of our heroes' "puddle jumper" spacecraft gets stuck in the stargate), "Childhood's End" (we meet a race whose members are convinced this only ritual suicide is keeping the Wraith at bay), and "The Eye" (a planet-size hurricane/tsunami bears down on Atlantis). As is the case together with SG-1, the visual results work, particularly by TV standards, is outstanding; in fact, one might wish for bit extra cool sci-fi action and less speak in some of the episodes. Exclusive results contain commentary (by directors, writers, and/or actors) for each episode, as well as the occasional behind-the-scenes featurette. --Sam Graham