Daz, u can start watching the Universe franchise even though u are only half way thru Atlantis, cause there is no tie in to the Atlantis series (meaning it doesnt start at the end of the atlantis storyline).

They produced the Universe story in a way that it really has no relation to the other story at all so to speak. No shared characters or anything. U can watch both series at the same time. Two different galaxies.lol   Two completely seperate missions sets.
I watched the entire first season of Universe and it is great. I hope the next season of universe continues cause it is worth a watch for sure.

The more Sci-Fi pinball machines the better i say.