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The Stargate franchise has changed a helluva lot since I last watched the show.

Years ago, I was a groupie of the film, and never missed the Stargate: SG 1 TV show starring Richard Dean Anderson of my childhood FAV, MacGyver. It was totally campy - but completely engrossing. It was a new take on science fiction - at least for me - and the adventures and weirdness kept me up late on Saturday nights to watch it after everyone went to bed.

Fast-forward to today. I don’t have cable for the TV shows and have yet to see the Stargate film. It’s not that I don’t want to see it; I just don’t live near a movie theater anymore.

When I got Stargate: Atlantis Season Four, I wondered what the creators were going for. Atlantis is one of my favorite legends and I could not wait to see how they tackled it. I figured, too, that I would need to catch up on some things, since I was starting with the fourth season, but I figured I could easily do that.

I could NOT believe my eyes when the beginning of the Season Four. The special effects (at least CGI) have come a long, long way from the beginning of the original TV series. The bloody scenes were still obviously fake,  but the computer imagery was draw-dropping.

Stargate had truly come into the 21st century with a lot of cinematic fanfare, but would the stories hold up with an increasingly fickle viewer like myself?

Yes, it can. The series is even better than before, with new, wicked enemies, a cast that totally rocks the small screen and plots that keep me glued to the screen.

Col. Samantha Carter from the original Stargate takes over Atlantis after the leader is injured from last season explosion. The Atlantis crew run into some crazy space weirdness - of course. They fight with Replicators and Wraiths. The personal stories of the crew come front and center, giving fans a birds-eye view into their lives.

One of my favorites was in “Doppelganger,” when Col. Sheppard becomes hypnotized by some crystal on a new world. The people around him begin to have nightmares. I’m not sure why I liked this one; I just did. It reminded me of an old black and white movie I saw years ago. It was a little creepy, which appeals to my dark side.

I think it is interesting how the cast mimics the original Stargate crew. Joe Flannigan is Col. Shepard and he totally reminds me of the original Colonel, played by Anderson. You have the nerdy scientist and Ronan (who would be the Atlantis version of Teal’c) - plus a few extra characters for spice.

This season, there is a special appearance by Teal’c, who comes to aid of Ronan before his interview with the big shots.

The fourth season of this Stargate franchise quick simply rocks my imagination in many ways. This time around, the cheese factor didn’t bother me. Sometimes, it does when I watch a show - takes away my interest and makes it difficult to watch. Not so with Atlantis.

I haven’t seen the other three seasons, so I cannot compare this one to them; however, I can safely say I was incredibly impressed with the quality of stories and special effects in Season Four. It still had some of the cheesy flare of the franchise, but it totally tweaked the fantasy/science fiction lover in me.

I would love to hear from fans what you thought of this season - and if I should go back and buy all the seasons to watch.

Whether you are new to the series, or an old fan, Stargate: Atlantis Season Four is definitely a much-watch - and likely a keeper for your DVD library.

Extras include commentaries for each episode, photo galleries and deleted scenes.

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