Stargate In Significantly Fewer Seasons, Season 6: Ripple Effect

Sci-fi shows use tropes to varying levels of success. Stargate nails almost every one they touch. We've had some time loops, we've had the ascension of militarism, we've had heroes becoming cloned or manipulated into villainy, being trapped on planets, etc. 

In this season, we have a few wonderful tropes, my favorite being the many many many variations of Carter and the crew in "Ripple Effect" and the body switch in "Crusade."

Season five began what I think is the best era of the show. Instead of bunch of loosely connected threads with one major enemy, the seasons became focused mainly on one story. In this season, the Ori war gets severe, and Atlantis sees the return of an SG1 threat that was believed eradicated.

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Season Six:
​Ripple Effect

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601 & 6021: Allies/No Man's Land
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Dex, Beckett, Zelenka, Caldwell, Chuck, Michael)

Michael's back with a proposed alliance with...the...Wraith? Yea, apparently the Wraith are in a series of civil wars and Michael's faction would like to conquer the other Wraiths.

 
603: Ripple Effect
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Frasier, Martouf, Harriman, Landry, Lam, Lee, Ksavir)

My favorite episode ever. That whole black hole suctioning the Stargate from season one is still causing problems. This time, it's allowing SG1 teams from multiple dimensions to end up in the main universe. So many Carters, Jacksons, Tealcs, Mitchells, and even some familiar faces who died in previous seasons. 


604: Sateda
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Beckett, Caldwell, Chuck)

Khal Drogo's tragic backstory is revealed when he is recaptured by the Wraith and returned to his life as a runner.


605: Crusade
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Chekov)

I've avoided some of the tropiest of episodes, even though they are often fan favorites. This episode features a good old fashioned Freaky Friday body switch between Vala and Jackson, as we learn more about the Ori's plans. Oh, and the Russians want their Stargate back.


606: Camelot
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Chekov, Merlin, Ba'al, Adria)

We're Knights of the Round Table,
We dance when ere we're able,
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable.
We dine well here in Camelot,
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot. 

The team find the planet of Merlyn
They send his defenses swirlin'
Mitchell has to fight
The Damned Black Knight
before the plot starts unfurlin'.


607: Flesh & Blood
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Bra'tac, Landry, Harriman, Woolsey, Chekov, Adria)

It's a baby shower for Vala's rapidly aging Orichrist! And there's a whole fleet of Ori ships in our galaxy to help us celebrate!


608: Progeny
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Chuck, Oberoth)

Wraith wraith wraith. Wraith wraith wraith. Wraith Genii Wraith. Wraith wraith rut. Atlantis needs a new enemy. SG1 had a really cool backup alien race for when the Goa'uld saga got boring. Atlantis decides to visit the Ancients to get cool new enemies of their own.


609: Common Ground
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Beckett, Chuck, Kolya, Radim, Todd)

Those damned Genii rebels capture Sheppard and put him in a cell with his new prison buddy, Todd The Wraith. 


610: McKay & Mrs Miller
(Carter, Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Chuck)

I tend to skip episodes that focus on Rodney McKay, as he's easily the most annoying main character in Stargate history, but the story about his sister's achievements is fun, as it includes a less annoying alternate version of Rodney McKay because Stargate loooooooooooves alternate versions of main characters.


611: Pegasus Project
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Weir, Mckay, Harriman, Woolsey, Zelenka, Merlin, Emerson, Chuck)

The first full crossover of the two Stargate shows! (Carter helped McKay in the last episode.) Daniel Jackson finally gets to Atlantis while searching for Merlyn's weapon. Both the Ori and the Wraith wreak havoc on opposite sides of the supergate.


612 & 613: Return 
(O'Neill, Harriman, Woolsey, Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Lee, Dex, Beckett, Zelenka, Chuck, Radim, Todd)​

The Ancients return to reclaim Atlantis, and they want Stargate Command gone. This episode also serves as a crossover as a long unseen SG1 character returns to end the season.


​614: The Tao Of Rodney
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Beckett, Chuck)

Will they mercifully kill off the series most annoying character, or will they allow him to ascend to The Most Important Person In The Show?