'Atlantis' Will Return With Later Timeslot

What has fans of returning series “Stargate: Atlantis” concerned is the recent announcement that the show will be making its comeback at the later time of 10 p.m. However, fans shouldn’t worry about the move as this isn’t an attempt by the SciFi Channel to kill of the series, but instead to allow it a little more freedom in the kinds of stories it tells, producers said.

Back when the first season debuted in 2004, Atlantis originally held the later 10 p.m. timeslot before finally being shunted to the slightly earlier time of 9 p.m. in order to make way for the anticipated debut of “Battlestar Galactica,” a series the network felt had a much darker influence than the earlier time slot warranted.

This year, "Galactica" won't return until 2008, but will give fans a taster of the upcoming season with the premiere of a special-length telemovie featuring the saga of the Battlestar Pegasus after the initial attack on the colonies. The original cast of the series will all feature in the movie as will the previously seen characters from the second season two-parter “Pegasus.”

Like any move, shifting Atlantis will come under intense ratings scrutiny to identify if the slot is right for the series. However if the move proves to be a scheduling blunder, it is possible that the show will join its parent series “Stargate SG-1” which was cancelled last year. So if you’re a fan of the show, now is the perfect time to start introducing the fantastic universe of "Atlantis" to friends and family.

Traditionally the show has begun its run in high summer before taking a mid-season break at the end of the fall. This year marks the first year that the show will premiere in the highly competitive fall season that has a host of new series set to begin their run.

Among these new shows are “Flash Gordon” and “Bionic Woman,” which will also help make up SciFi’s Friday night schedule. The rerun of NBC’s “Bionic Woman” is set to kick-start the night at 7 p.m., followed by all-new episodes of “Doctor Who” and “Flash Gordon” before “Atlantis” finally hits the screens on Sept 28.

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