Last week on Stargate Atlantis, detective John Sheppard and FBI Agent Richard Woolsey found themselves in the middle of a CSI-like murder case involving several killings of what appeared to be Wraith origin against the flash backdrop of Vegas.  Christopher Heyerdahl guest-starred on the episode as Todd the Wraith.  He was also Pallan in the Stargate SG-1 episode “Revisions” and Zor-El on the CW hit Smallville.

On tonight's episode of Stargate Atlantis called “Enemy at the Gate,” Todd informs Atlantis that a group of Wraith have several ZPMs in their possession, and they plan it to power a new super Wraith Hive.  Also, he tells Woolsey to immediately destroy it.  But when the team reaches the hive, it does significant damage to the Daedalus and jumps into hyperspace.  Eventually, the team finds out that the ship is heading to Earth.

Robert Carlyle has signed on to lead the upcoming science fiction TV series, Stargate Universe, which is the third live-action series of the Stargate franchise following Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1.  The series was green lit on August 22 and is scheduled to launch as a two-hour movie on Sci Fi next July.

Stargate Universe follows the adventures of a team of explorers from Earth, who must now fend for themselves aboard the Ancient spaceship Destiny as they are unable to return to Earth.  The show will be firmly rooted in pre-established Stargate mythology but takes place during the present time.

One of Sci-Fi channels most successful TV offerings, Stargate Atlantis, may be ending early 2009, but that doesn’t stop the network from milking the show’s success.  In fact, it was recently announced that the show, which will end its run in January, will become the basis of a new two-hour film that would air a little after the end of the season.  The producers are planning to emulate the success of its parents series, Stargate SG-1, which spawned two direct-to-DVD films, The Ark of Truth and Continuum.

“We're excited to tell 'Atlantis' stories on a bigger canvas.  The successes of the two original 'Stargate' movies, 'The Ark of Truth' and 'Continuum,' have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers,” series co-creators Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright explained in a statement.  “We have plans for both 'SG-1' and 'Atlantis' to remain vital as we expand the franchise.”

After its season 5 debut on July 11, Sci Fi has announced that Stargate Atlantis will run through the fall, until a brand new series starring a Stargate Atlantis star enters the picture.

Starting August 15, Stargate Atlantis fans can catch repeats of the science fiction program from 9 to 10pm, then a new episode at 10pm.  This will then change on October 3, when Sanctuary runs its two-hour premiere.  And the week following that, serving as the lead-in to Sanctuary, original Atlantis episodes will be moved an hour to the 9pm timeslot to make room for the regular run of Sanctuary at 10pm.

When we last saw Stargate Atlantis, Sheppard had returned from a routine mission only to find that Atlantis had been abandoned by everyone, and the city is surrounded by nothing but sand dunes for miles.  Now, as the last man in the city, he must uncover the reason for this strange turn of events.

Tonight, the adventures continue as Stargate Atlantis kicks off its fifth season at 10pm on the Sci Fi Channel.

The Sci Fi Channel has announced its summer schedule, which includes some reality shows and some science fiction hits.  On the reality front, viewers can expect all-new episodes of Ghost Hunters, as well as the return of Scare Tactics, which is hosted by comedian Tracy Morgan (30 Rock).  Additionally, fans can look forward to an action-packed fifth season of Stargate Atlantis and the record-breaking hit series Eureka, which returns for season 3.

When Stargate Atlantis returns on July 11, the team of intrepid explorers will continue to face the risks and uncertainties from within the vast Pegasus Galaxy.  The series, which stars Joe Flanigan, Rachel Luttrell and David Hewlett, just to name a few, will attempt to spice things up by adding a powerful new race and introducing new cast members.  At the same time, the show will tap deeper into the mysteries of the Pegasus Galaxy.

The fourth season of the SCI FI Channel's Stargate Atlantis ends tonight with an episode called “The Last Man.”  According to the network, the season ender will have John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) returning to Atlantis after a mission, only to find the city totally abandoned, all systems dead and the ocean replaced by a wide expanse of sand dunes.

To find out more about Stargate Atlantis' season 4 finale, read on for spoilers.

Unlike viewers of other television shows, most of which have been disrupted by the ongoing writers' strike, fans of Stargate Atlantis have a lot of things to look forward to.

First off, there's the upcoming annual convention, Gatecon.  Although the event will not be taking place until August of next year, fans will be delighted to know that series stars Andee Frizzell, Gary Jones and Dan Payne are appearing as special guests at the convention, along with Richard Dean Anderson, Corin Nemec and Cliff Simon, all three of whom have appeared on Stargate Atlantis' parent series, Stargate SG-1.