As the curtain is drawn on the first of the 20 episodes that comprise this fifth and apparently last season of Stargate Atlantis, we’re assured that “the threat level is down” across the universe. The “sentient machines” known as the Replicators have been defeated The Wraith, the whitehaired, translucentskinned, cateyed vampire dudes who have been our heroes’ principal nemeses all along, are in disarray And while the character known as Michael, who was the subject of the teams ongoing retrovirus experiment designed to make Wraiths human in Season Two and played a significant recurring role in Season Three, is still around, he too no longer inspires much dread. So, “the threat level is down,” right? Yeah, right. You don’t need to be an astrophysicist to know that rosy analysis is mere wishful thinking. Indeed, Michael’s humanWraith “hybrids” are a serious menace almost immediately and by the end of the season, not only have the Wraith pulled themselves together, they have constructed the mother of all “hive ships,” located Planet Earth, and begun attacking it. In between, regular Atlantis fans will witness a few significant developments: among other things, Samantha Carter Stargate SG1 veteran Amanda Tapping, who took over command of Atlantis in Season Four, is soon replaced by the bythebook civilian Richard Woolsey Robert Picardo team member Teyla Rachel Luttrell has a baby and Rodney McKay David Hewlett, the kvetching genius scientist, and medical doc Jennifer Keller Jewel Staite kindle a romantic relationship. Daniel Jackson Michael Shanks, another SG1 veteran, appears in two midseason episodes.