Media File Report
“Rising” originally aired on July 16, 2004. The episode runs 90 minutes (split into two parts for syndication, but often combined in WEB-DL versions). The plot introduces: Stargate.Atlantis.S01E01.1080p.Mini.AMZN.WEB-DL...
An international expedition team of scientists and military personnel, including Major John Sheppard—a gifted pilot with a rare "Ancient gene" that allows him to control their technology—steps through the gate. They arrive in a magnificent underwater city. Media File Report “Rising” originally aired on July
Their wonder is short-lived. The city's ancient power reserves are nearly exhausted after 10,000 years. As the power fails, the massive shield holding back the ocean begins to collapse. In a fail-safe maneuver, the city detects the danger and rises from the ocean floor to the surface of the planet Lantea. A New Enemy: The Wraith They arrive in a magnificent underwater city
They called themselves the Hosts of the Gate. Once, they said, Atlantis had been a beacon for travelers—builders, voyagers, scholars. The city had tended pathways between worlds. But war and hubris had driven the Hosts inward, sealing their work and letting the city sleep. The Gate had been left to time.
The introduction of the Wraith in the latter half of the pilot demonstrates the show's commitment to darker horror elements. The teaser sequence, depicting a primitive world attacked by an unseen force, establishes the Wraith as a terrifying, seemingly magical threat before they are understood as a technological species. This contrasts with the often-political nature of the Goa'uld in SG-1, positioning the Wraith as apex predators. The creature design and the Gothic horror elements of their hive ships signaled to audiences that Atlantis would not be a mere re-tread of its predecessor, but a show willing to embrace a spookier, more visceral tone.