History Recap / StargateAtlantisS01E01E02Rising

* CanadaEh:
-->'''[=McKay=]:''' We need the Zed P.M. to power the Gate.
-->'''O'Neill:''' What?
-->'''Jackson:''' Zee P.M. He's, uh, he's Canadian.
-->'''O'Neill (sympathetically to [=McKay=]):''' I'm sorry.

** Composer Joel Goldsmith introduces respective musical themes for the Expedition and the Wraith. The Atlantis/Ancients theme is also formally introduced after the unintended ProductionForeshadowing from "Lost City" (wherein what eventyally became the ''Atlantis'' theme's choral bridge was first used).

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The Wraith are significantly harder to kill here. They will remain tough in the future but not on the bullet sponge level they display in this episode. Nor so severed wraith limbs act separately in the rest of the series.

* ShoutOut: Sheppard tells Jinto his is from "[[Franchise/StarWars a galaxy far, far away]]".

* UnreliableNarrator: The Ancient hologram claims that they discovered the Wraith when they first came to Pegasus… we later find out, the Ancients accidentally ''created'' them.

* BareYourMidriff: Teyla at the party.

* WholePlotReference: To [[Recap/StargateSG1S1E1ChildrenOfTheGods "Children of the Gods"]]. Structurally, "Rising" follows many of the exact same narrative beats as the ''SG-1'' Pilot (ex. Characters being captured halfway through, a running battle during the climax and escape back through the Stargate -- replete with enemy mooks in pursuit and dying by PortalSlam).

** The iconic Wormhole effects. While the appearance of the puddle itself remains unchanged from ''SG-1'', the actual wormhole travel sequence itself is now digitally rendered and redesigned (rather than reusing stock footage from the original feature film as ''SG-1'' had done). This presumably was done to differentiate the spinoff from its parent show (which would not switch over to its own version of the updated travel effects until Season 9).

* ArtEvolution: The appearance of most Ancient technology in Atlantis itself and throughout Pegasus diverges from, if not outright abandons, the pre-established H.R. Geiger-esque biomechanical design aesthetic from ''SG-1''. Justified, as the Ancient technology left behind in the Milky Way is millions of years old. Since the Ancients were in Pegasus up until only 10,000 years ago, it follows that the technology there is not only more advanced, but had also diverged from pre-Lantean trends and designs over millions of years.

* ArtEvolution: The appearance of Ancient technology in Atlantis itself and throughout Pegasus diverges from, if not outright abandons, the pre-established H.R. Geiger-esque design aesthetic from ''SG-1''. Justified, as the Ancient technology left behind in the Milky Way is millions of years old. Since the Ancients were in Pegasus up until only 10,000 years ago, the technology there is not only more advanced, but has also diverged from pre-Lantean trends and designs over millions of years.

** Atlantis ''was'' a real, advanced city that sank beneath the waves -- it just happened in ''another'' galaxy. The surviving Lanteans brought the story back with them, which spread through the pockets of early human civilization.
*** This is also the ''only'' instance of mythological reinterpretation in the spinoff, which is justified due to it being set in another galaxy. So, unlike SG-1 when they were starting out, the Atlantis Expedition has no mythological foundation or guide to give them any idea what they might be encountering in their exploration of Pegasus.
** Downplayed, if not outright averted with the Wraith. Given their vampiric abilities, there's a subtle implication the stories the Ancients brought back from Pegasus ''may'' have planted the seeds for Earth Vampire stories. However, the spinoff never definitively confirms or explores it.

* ArtEvolution: The appearance of Ancient technology in Atlantis itself and throughout Pegasus diverges from, if not outright abandons, the H.R. Geiger-esque design aesthetic from ''SG-1''. Justified, as the Ancient technology left behind in the Milky Way is millions of years old. Since the Ancient were in Pegasus until only 10,000 years ago, the technology is not only more advanced, but quite plausibly had diverged from pre-Lantean trends and designs over millions of years.

** The South Pole's research facilities have been built right over the hole-in-the-ice that Jack carved out with Bra'tac's ''Tel'tak'''s Transportation Rings during the Battle of Antarctica. The hole itself is now serving as an elevator shaft to reach the still-buried Outpost.
* ContinuityOverlap: The Pilot chronologically begins after the events of the ''SG-1'' Season 8 premiere "New Order" (with O'Neill defrosted/promoted, and Weir having stepped down from the SGC to head up the research investigation at the South Pole).

* SpinoffSendoff: The Expedition departs for Atlantis from the SGC's Gate. O'Neill and Daniel represent ''SG-1'' during Part 1 (and are fitting choices for this Trope too, given they're the original ''Stargate'' characters).

* CharacterOverlap: As the then-current commander of the SGC, Jack O'Neill is part of the Expedition pre-planning and authorization. As the Expedition departs from the SGC, Sergent Siler also appears and helps Rodney integrate the ZPM into the SGC's power grid.

** In a blink and you'll miss it moment, Jack also gives the Outpost's Stasis Chamber a nasty look. You can't blame him given O'Neill spent months cooped up in the thing (let alone nearly dying inside it).

* ContinuityNod: When discussing Antarctica with Sheppard, O'Neill remarks it's one of his [[Recap/StargateSG1S1E17Solitudes least]] [[Recap/StargateSG1S6E4Frozen favorite]] [[Recap/StargateSG1S7E22LostCityPart2 continents]].
* ContinuityOverlap: The Pilot chronologically begins after the events of the ''SG-1'' Season 8 premiere "New Order" (with O'Neill defrosted and Weir having stepped down from the SGC to head up the research investigation at the South Pole).

* AllMythsAreTrue: Atlantis ''was'' a real, advanced city that sank beneath the waves -- it just happened in ''another'' galaxy. The surviving Lanteans brought the story back with them, which spread through the pockets of early human civilization.

** This is also the ''only'' instance of mythological reinterpretation in the spinoff, which is justified due to it being set in another galaxy. So, unlike SG-1 when they were starting out, the Atlantis Expedition has no mythological foundation or guide to give them any idea what they might be encountering in their exploration of Pegasus.

** Composer Joel Goldsmith introduces respective musical themes for the Expedition and the Wraith. The Atlantis/Ancients theme is also formally introduced after the unintended ProductionForeshadowing from "Lost City" (wherein what became the ''Atlantis'' choral bridge was first used).
** While the ''SG-1'' theme does not cross over with O'Neill and Daniel, Goldsmith ''does'' slip in the ''SG-1'' End Credits theme (which also effectively doubled as Jack's theme) right when the SGC closes the Atlantis wormhole.

* NoodleIncident: Sheppard's black mark in Afghanistan, which got him dumped at McMurdo Base. We'll get more details about the incident later on during Season 3's "Phantoms".

** This is also the ''only'' instance of mythological reinterpretation of the spinoff, which is justified due to being set in another galaxy. So, unlike SG-1 when they were starting out, the Atlantis Expedition has no mythological foundation or guide to give them an idea of what they might be encountering in their exploration of Pegasus.