SG-1 seasons 7 and 8...
Daniel returns from the dead with season 7, as the quest to find an Ancient Lost City begins. Again, the producers thought season 7 would be the last and began prepping for either a spin-off series to replace SG-1 or a transition to Feature Films. But once again, Sci-Fi renewed the series for an eighth season, and producers had to switch gears and instead created the concurrent running spin-off ATLANTIS.
Seasons 7 and 8 are richer than any other in character beats and exploring our team's personal lives more than ever before. Don Davis departed the series at the end of season 7 and Colonel O'Neill was promoted to General, lightening Anderson filming schedule even more due to decreasing availability.
Though the budget was somewhat smaller, there is an epic serial sweep to these two last seasons, as various storylines were addressed and wrapped up. The final episodes of season 8 (Reckoning Pts 1&2, Threads and Moebius Pt. 1 & 2) provide a resoundingly rewarding closing chapter to the original SG-1 team for long time fans.
It was the end of an era and what a glorious ride it was!
STARGATE ATLANTIS (2004-2009)
created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper
seasons 1 to 3....
Originally envisioned as a replacement series for SG-1, with the SG Team finding Atlantis under the ice in Antarctica. When SG-1 was renewed, SGA became a concurrent running spin-off, with the location of Atlantis moved to the far off Pegasus Galaxy.
Unlike SG-1, which seemed to find it's winning story formula right out of the gate (lol), SGA constantly felt like a show that was being tinkered with by TPTB throughout its entire 5 season run.
The new Big Bads, The Wraith, essentially space vampires, were visually incredible villains, though somewhat limited storywise. Also, establishing in the pilot that the ENTIRE Pegasus Galaxy was Industrial Age or lower in technology quickly tied writer's hands, and was eventaully discarded as new antognists were brought in, including the return of humanoid Replicators.
The core cast was great, having a similar dynamic of conflict and respect as the original. Major Shephard certainly had an O'Neill sarcastic flare and Rodney McKay (as our Carter stand-in) was a brillaint last second addition to the series -- his character was literally added during the filming of the pilot. Teala, was wonderful as our resident alien/warrior/tour guide. Wier was a refreshing new leader character. Though originally designed to be a Hammod style background character, she quickly outgrew this role. Only the character of Ford, the inexperienced soldier, never quite clicked. Ford was replaced on the team in season two by a new alien Ronon Dex (played by Jason Momoa) and became a recurring Wraith infected villain.
Season one played out much like SG-1 earlier seasons, the tone and characters were a bit darker and more serious. But the classic light comedic elements that made SG-1 so enjoyable would eventaully become a mainstay of the show.
Again, as with most shows, season one is trial and error period as the producers figure out what works but the season ended on one of the best multi-part cliffhangers in the entire Stargate franchise history -- "The Siege".
In the following seasons, SGA storytelling would become stronger, carving out its own unique identity and style, despite some the behind the scenes activity, that led to a revolving door of characters.
It is a high action show with a great sense of humour and humanity.