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Stargate Atlantis Season 4: Amanda Tapping in Command

Amanda Tapping, Stargate SG-1’s Colonel Samantha Carter, moves into position as commander of the Stargate Atlantis base this season. Tapping’s fans will tag along, hopefully, enriching SCI FI Channel's Atlantis with viewers from the now cancelled SG-1 who never quite transitioned to the sister series.

The fourth season of Atlantis premieres tonight on SCI FI at 10p E/9p C.

Last July, I caught up with Tapping at the SCI FI Channel Comic-Con bash. We stood near the crowded, rooftop bar of the Hotel Solamar and chatted about her new position on the cast of Atlantis and her on-line virtual experiment - a sci-fi drama called Sanctuary.

Long-time Stargate producer/director and Sanctuary co-creator Martin Wood was nearby, so he joined in the conversation for a minute or two.

CLICK HERE FOR THE INTERVIEW

ComicCon: Stargate Panels

MGM and SCI FI Channel kicked off their ComicCon presentations this afternoon. MGM was promoting their straight to DVD Stargate SG-1 movie Continuum. SCI FI was there to support the SG-1 spin-off, Stargate Atlantis, soon to enter its fourth season on the network.

The back-to-back panels were held in one of the largest convention center rooms available - at least 5,000 seats. The hall was filled to capacity for Stargate SG-1 but there were a few empty seats in the back during the Atlantis panel (but not many).

[Sunday, July 29. Correction: I double-checked w/ the ComicCon folks today. The official capacity of Ballroom 20, where the Stargate panels were held, is 4,500.]

That said, ComicCon itself doesn't feel quite as manic as last year. Crowd control is better. I was told that a decision was made to sell fewer tickets, although this is unconfirmed. (ComicCon 2006 was chaotic.)

Some of this afternoon's Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis panels might have been rehearsed or even choreographed. (It's hard to say just how much.) But who fraking cares. Everyone had a rockin' good time anyway.

How can you not with Pied Pipers Chris Judge (Teal'C) and Gary Jones, SG-1's loveable, ever-present GateGuy, Walter Harriman.

UPDATE: my Multichannel blog is up and running again, so everything - the audio files etc. and the rest of this post - have been migrated. Click here to go directly to my Multichannel post about the Stargate panel. Apologies for the hassle. Technology is hell sometimes.

P.S. Comments are now closed here. But thanks for all the nice feedback. Much appreciated!