At the Ancient Outpost in Antartica, Daniel tells O'Neill that the Ancients flew their entire city to a dwarf galaxy called Pegasus. In order for an expedition to gate that far, they need to boost the stargate with the Earth's sole ZPM (zero-point module), an Ancient energy source that currently is powering the outpost's defenses and is vital to Earth's defense against an alien attack. The 'gating might totally drain the ZPM.
And even if it doesn't, there won't be enough power for the Atlantis team to 'gate back.
O'Neill says no, but Daniel convinces him that by visiting the Ancients' city they might be able to find more ZPMs — and who knows what else — to protect Earth. The expedition's a go, though O'Neill insists Daniel is too valuable here on Earth to join them. Weir is placed in charge, with Colonel Marshall Sumner as her military commander. After some reluctance, Sheppard — who, it has been discovered, has the most potent variable of the Ancient gene — joins the offworld expedition along with McKay, Beckett, a military compliment and a full crew of the best and the brightest, representing more than a dozen countries.
Picking up where the SG-1 8th season premiere left off, Dr. Elizabeth Weir is in command of the base left by the Ancients in the Antarctic. During a visit by General Jack O'Neill, O'Neill's pilot, Maj. John Sheppard is found to have a special gene needed to operate the technology the Ancients left behind. Reluctantly, this military man who plays by his own set of rules (sound familiar?) is added to Weir's team just as O'Neill's SG-1 teammate, Daniel Jackson discovers co-ordinates that will allow the Stargate to connect with a gate in the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Weir immediately puts together an international team to make a trip through the gate that will take them farther than anyone has ever gone.
One hitch: there's only enough power to make this a one-way trip. What follows is pretty standard stuff for Stargate fans but still entertaining as our heroes find new allies and new villains as they try to explore their new neighborhood in the Pegasus Galaxy. Upon arriving in Atlantis, the script introduces a fully stocked base complete with fighter craft, living quarters and just about anything else you could hope for, probably even a Starbucks. But it seems that the sunken city (the city was put underwater to protect it from an all-out Wraith attack because, presumably, a race that can travel the galaxy can't get to you if you're underwater) has a slight power problem of its own. The protective shield keeping the water from flooding the city is about to give way, leaving the team anything but high & dry. So it's back through the Gate again, this time to find a planet to evacuate to or a way to save the city.
Major Sheppard, being the grand brain that he is, looks over a cryptic message from the Ancients. He determines that it is a feindish plan by that ace evil genius, Wile E. Coyote. If you look very closely at the bottom you can see the Roadrunner fixing to be squished by the giant banana. After careful consideration, John figures out that it's a storyboard depicting the Ancients depositing colonies on other planets.
Back to seriousness, the Wraith Overseer starts to ingest Doggett, but no one minds. Ok, well, it's not Doggett. But the actor played a character named Doggett on the X-Files, replacing Mulder, and NO ONE liked him. So seeing him eaten is a welcome sight by a lot of SciFi fans.
Ok, after this episode, I'm sure that Stargate Atlantis is going to be as big as hit as the Stargate SG-1 series. While I still have reservations about Dr. Weir, the rest of the cast is great, especially John Sheppard and Rodney McKay.
This is going to be a great series!
Sheppard: You want to name a little puddlejumper like this "Gateship One"?
Ford: Yeah, it's a ship that goes through the gate.
Sheppard: Ok, it's official. You never get to name anything. Ever.
Wraith: Unlike you, we don't need our food to agree with us. (Wraith eat other sentient beings, harvesting them like cattle.)
Beckett: I need to make friends like that. (Talking about Teyla)
McKay: You need to get out more.
Beckett: I'm in another galaxy, how much more out can you get?
Complete Season: 
Pilot Episode:
