Opening a black hole on 'Atlantis'

THE Sci Fi Channel canceled "Stargate Atlantis" this month, less than halfway through its fifth season. And indeed, the episodes have been disappointing so far, with no new plot twists to enhance the show's wormhole-jumping science fiction mythology. The big cast change -- adding "Star Trek: Voyager's" Robert Picardo as the city's new administrator -- hit with all the power of a phaser set on Blah.

But science fiction fans are loyal, even when our heroes are treading water -- the box office receipts for "Revenge of the Sith" prove that -- and the next batch of episodes in what is now "Atlantis' " final season do get better. Much better. In fact, the midseason two-part finale (airing at the end of September), features a very smart (very big) surprise.

I will miss "Atlantis," mostly because of the Stargate -- one of pop culture's great gimmicks -- which each week shows us life's endless possibilities and the hope for a better existence. Possibilities are what make science fiction so addictive.

This doughnut-shaped device is capable of creating a stable wormhole -- a fold in space that allows near-instantaneous travel between planets. Forget warp drive. Just dial up an address, and off you go; phone home and you're back in time for dinner. How cool is that?

"Atlantis" is the spinoff of "Stargate SG-1," and posits that an additional point of reference enables gate travel between galaxies. The Pegasus galaxy, to be specific, where international scientists, doctors and military personnel explore new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations. Home base is the technologically advanced city of Atlantis, created and built by the Ancients, a race of near-supreme humans who built the Stargate system 10,000 years ago.

On the Sci Fi Channel, the series sits between the self-importance of "Battlestar Galactica" and the goofiness of "Eureka" -- the channel's biggest hits -- but "Atlantis" feels most like the American older brother of the current "Doctor Who."

It may not be as smart or as noble as "Star Trek," but the "Stargate" franchise doesn't take itself as seriously. And the ideas "Atlantis" specifically puts forth about present-day Earth and our travel into the void make it more important.

Because humanity may not be ready for its place among the stars, "Atlantis" says. This is the same smart idea that drove the pilot for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (but which was rarely mentioned again). On "Atlantis," the people of Earth -- newcomers to a galaxy they do not fully understand -- are looked at as arrogant interlopers, and most of the show's long-term plot lines began with problems they created.