The Atlantis expedition is stunned when a ship full of Ancients returns to reclaim their home. But after the city is attacked the team defies orders to try and save Atlantis from Replicator control — and to rescue General O’Neill and Richard Woolsey, who are trapped in the occupied city.

“The Return” Facts:

• After a year away former Stargate SG-1 star Richard Dean Anderson returned for a batch of five guest appearances. The producers wrote him into SG-1‘s 200th episode and “The Shroud,” but (somewhat to Anderson’s surprise) saved the other three for Atlantis: “The Real World,” and the mid-season two-parter “The Return.”
• Anderson’s return included a big new challenge for the veteran action star: a lengthy under-water dive in part two of the episode. It rivals the similar under-water scene that showcased Corin Nemec’s breath-holding skills in the SG-1 episode “Descent.”
• Megan Leitch returns to Stargate in what looked like it was going to be a major role: Helia, the Captain of the last surviving crew of Ancients. (As it turned out, it was only to be a few scenes — and Helia and the Ancients were killed off-screen.) Leitch previously played Ke’ra (Linea) in the SG-1 episode “Past and Present.”
• It may be the first, painful experience with a Replicator mind probe for Woolsey — but of course Jack O’Neill has experienced the ol’ hand in the forehead before. The device was first introduced when SG-1 met the first human-form Replicators in the Milky Way Galaxy, back when First interrogated him in “Unnatural Selection.”
• Actors David MacInnis and Panou, who play the lead Replicators who have taken control of Atlantis, have both appeared on Stargate SG-1 before: MacInnis played Agent Williams in the Season Nine episode “Ex Deus Machina,” and Panou played Lieutenant Fisher in Season Nine’s “The Fourth Horseman.”

“The Return” on GateWorld:

• Episode Guide (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Episode Transcript (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Fan Reviews (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Photo Gallery (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Screencap Gallery (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Discussion Forum (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Atlantis Season Three Podcast
• Interview with Torri Higginson (2006)
• Interview with Robert Picardo (2008)

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