PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNER 'STARGATE ATLANTIS' BEGINS PRODUCTION ON SEASON 5

Robert Picardo To Join Cast

Show Will Hit 100th Episode This Season

SCI FI Channel's recent People's Choice Award winner, Stargate Atlantis, will begin production later this month on its fifth original season. The new 20-episode season will include the series' benchmark 100th episode. Produced and distributed by MGM Television, Stargate Atlantis is filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

As Atlantis speeds toward its centennial episode, the Stargate universe promises new and surprising developments. The status quo is shaken following the events of season 4 (currently airing on SCI FI, Friday nights at 10pm) � some cherished friends are lost, others are found. New alliances are forged while new races are introduced.

Robert Picardo, whom Stargate fans will recognize as International Oversight Committee rep "Richard Woolsey," joins the Stargate Atlantis cast this season as Woolsey assumes command of the Atlantis expedition. The team, led by Lt. Colonel Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), Teyla (Rachel Luttrell), Ronon (Jason Momoa) and Dr. Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite), must adjust to his unique leadership style.

Fan favorite Paul McGillion, will return for five episodes to reprise his role as the beloved "Dr. Carson Beckett." Amanda Tapping ("Colonel Samantha Carter"), who remains a fixture of the Stargate universe, will appear as a special guest star in several episodes this season and Stargate SG-1 star Michael Shanks ("Dr. Daniel Jackson") will appear as a special guest in episodes as well.

Stargate Atlantis follows the adventures of an intrepid team of military and civilian explorers who travel the distant Pegasus galaxy by means of a Stargate, a portal created long ago by a highly advanced alien civilization called the Ancients. In their never-ending quest to seek out other technologies left behind by the Ancients, the Atlantis team encounters alien cultures � some friend, some foe.

The series is executive produced by Brad Wright, Robert Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Carl Binder, and Martin Gero. Mallozzi and Mullie share the reins as showrunners.

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SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 93 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.