Cast
Posted by pegaso on February 16, 2008Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan)
John Sheppard is an experienced and talented pilot in the US Air Force, though his reputation was somewhat tarnished when he disobeyed a direct order in Afghanistan in an unsuccessful attempt to save the lives of several servicemen. He has experience flying AH-1 Cobra, AH-64 Apache, OH-58 Kiowa, UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. He requested a remote post at McMurdo Station. When called upon to transport General Jack O’Neill to the research base that had been established at the nearby Ancient defense facility, he inadvertently discovered that he not only had the ATA gene (the genetic factor necessary to activate Ancient technology), but that he was naturally proficient at using it. After some doubts, he finally joined the expedition to Atlantis, although Col. Marshall Sumner made it clear he was not pleased about Sheppard’s involvement in the mission.
Dr Meredith Rodney McKay (David Ian Hewlett)
Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay (commonly known as Rodney McKay) (born 1968) is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis played by David Hewlett. The first appearance of this character was in the Stargate SG-1 episode “48 Hours“. In episode Miller’s Crossing it is revealed that Dr. McKay is in fact the holder of two Ph.D’s.
The following information is to be taken in context of the Stargate SG-1 universe, a fictional setting based on a popular franchise. For more on this franchise, see Stargate.
The character of McKay is a Canadian, although, in the Stargate universe, he works for the United States Air Force as an expert on astrophysics, naqahdah, Ancient technology and the Stargate system.
Prior to McKay’s first appearance in SG-1 it was explained that McKay was stationed at the Area 51 facility, which is within the domain of Nellis Air Force Base, McKay became one of the premier experts on the Stargate outside of the Stargate Command. During this time, he discovered that Samantha Carter’s dialing program ignored 220 of 400 signals given by the Stargate during a dialing sequence. In his first appearance in the series, he was ordered to help Samantha Carter recover Teal’c (who was stored as information in the Stargate at the time after an accident at the other end caused the gate to shut down before Teal’c could rematerialise). It was his assessment that the energy that stored Teal’c’s pattern would have succumbed to entropy in a 48 hour time period, and thus, it was impossible to save the SG-1 member after that period. Eventually McKay was proven wrong about how Teal’c’s pattern was stored, and he was subsequently reassigned to Russia where he was to oversee the transfer and development of the naqahdah generator technology, much to his chagrin.
Some time later, McKay was assigned to help the SGC when Anubis was attacking the Stargate itself by sending a harmonic energy pulse to overload the gate. After attempting to send a severe electromagnetic pulse through the gate, McKay and Carter ran out of options—until Jonas Quinn gave them the idea of getting the gate out of Cheyenne Mountain and sending it through hyperspace. McKay redeemed himself significantly of his earlier behavior during this incident; he first made a sincere apology about being wrong to Carter, and then directed Carter’s attention to the thoughtful Quinn, who had been all-but-ignored until that point.
During his time with the USAF, he was on a team that perfected a means of digital data compression that allowed a large sum of data (such as mission reports, and high quality audio and video) to be transmitted in an extremely short period of time.
Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion)
Dr. Carson Beckett was the Scottish chief medical doctor portrayed by Paul McGillion in the television series Stargate Atlantis. Beckett possessed and had discovered the “Ancient Technology Activation gene” which allows humans to interact with specialized technology in the base of Atlantis and around the universe, but was often afraid to use the gene himself with Ancient technology. He did not like to travel through the Stargate either, he believes it to be “bloody insanity” to convert the human body to energy and send it millions of miles through a wormhole, however he does partake when necessary. His medical expertise and the fact he discovered and possesses the Ancient gene caused him to be hand-picked by Elizabeth Weir for the Atlantis expedition.
Despite only being billed as a recurring character in the first season, Dr. Beckett’s appearance in numerous first season episodes prompted his promotion to a main character at the start of the second season.
The flag patch on Beckett’s uniform is the Saltire, the Scottish national flag.
Doctor Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson)
Dr. Weir, trained in international relations, was a career diplomat for the United States, involved in negotiating many sensitive international treaties; Daniel Jackson referenced her work when drafting the treaty between Earth and the Tok’ra. She has two Ph.D.s, speaks five languages, and taught political science at Georgetown University. She was an outspoken anti-military advocate, but rather than being looked upon as a normal activist, she attempted to change things from the inside and entered the realm of government. She became involved in the Stargate program when incoming President Henry Hayes tapped her to lead Stargate Command, replacing Major General George Hammond to put a “civilian” face on the organization. She also appears to have struck up a fast friendship with Daniel Jackson during her time in Stargate Command. Later, she was replaced by Brigadier General Jack O’Neill. She had been in a long relationship with Simon before being named Commander of the Atlantis Expedition, leaving her relationship unresolved; it was later terminated.
Elizabeth Weir serves as the civilian head of Atlantis and oversees day to day operation of the city as well as approving missions for Atlantis SG teams and negotiating with other worlds. In her time on Atlantis, she has had many power struggles with the military leaders on the base, including Lt. Col. John Sheppard and Col. Steven Caldwell, commander of the Earth vessel Daedalus.
Her usually strict non-violent attitude has been challenged on many occasions, yet she will still take the actions necessary, as evidenced when she allowed Ronon Dex to “interrogate” a man suspected of planting a bomb (which was actually a piece of code designed to cause an overload that would result in a massive explosion). Her life has been threatened by the Genii twice, once when a strike force invaded Atlantis, and once in the Season One finale where she attempts to trade for one of their experimental atomic weapons.
After taking part in a mission to save Atlantis by stealing a ZPM from the Asurans, Weir was trapped on Asuras. It was revealed by a rogue Asuran impersonating Dr. Keller that Dr. Weir was killed by the Asurans because her human side conflicted with the rest of the Asurans’ programming. However, at the conclusion of the season four episode Be All My Sins Remember’d, Weir, or a Replicator copy of her, is shown with several surviving Replicators. She appears glad that most of the Replicators have been destroyed, and her motives as of yet are unknown.
Colonel Samantha “Sam” Carter (Amanda Tapping)
Samantha Carter joined Stargate Command from the Pentagon, having worked for several years trying to get the Stargate operational. She has a Ph.D. in astrophysics and “logged over 100 hours in enemy airspace” during the 1990–91 Gulf War.
Sam’s family includes her father, Major General Jacob Carter, her brother, Mark Carter, and his two children. Her mother died in a car accident when she was a teenager, an incident that caused much strife between Sam, Mark, and Jacob.
Carter is a technological polymath, well versed in seemingly dozens of fields from astrophysics to quantum mechanics and from software engineering to biology, all in addition to her military role. She is the series’ primary source of deus ex machina solutions, quickly able to grasp alien technologies and realize ingenious solutions to the perils faced by SG-1 no matter where. She designed and administrates the Stargate dialing system, and is one of the foremost experts on the Stargate system, along with Rodney McKay.
Carter is a quintessential geek: an expert and intuitively talented individual, whose mastery of advanced scientific disciplines is juxtaposed with her difficulties in leading a “normal” life. She spends her free time and leave performing experiments, poring over data, and studying the alien technologies acquired during missions. Like all geeks, she enjoys and is deeply absorbed in her work, much to the bewilderment of O’Neill, though he has stated that her brain may well be a national resource. She occasionally expresses regret at not being able to pursue interests outside her work, but finds herself unable to let go of her intellectual passions.
First Lieutenant Aiden Ford (Rainbow Sun Francks)
First Lieutenant Aiden Ford (born 1979) is an USMC officer played by Rainbow Sun Francks on television show Stargate Atlantis. Ford was a regular in season 1, but became a recurring guest in season 2. After the end of season 1, the series producers, and the actor himself, felt that Ford had not worked as intended and was highly underused as a result. Unwilling to write him out, the writers came with an idea to make the character more important, but that downgraded him to recurring.
He is enthusiastic and energetic, always willing to help someone in need. Ford serves as the military second-in-command for Major John Sheppard. He was already serving in the SGC before Atlantis and is an expert in explosives and weapons.
Ronon Dex (played by Jason Momoa)
Ronon was a native to his homeworld of Sateda, a planet with a 1940s level of technology. Little is known about his childhood other than he had the Kierson Fever when he was ten years old and that he played with a triple barreled shotgun when he was little as a childhood toy. When he grew older he became a member of the Satedan military where he held the rank of Specialist. It is likely that this is their version of the Special Forces yet it is unclear exactly what he specialized in. He was also very close to a woman named Melena, although it is unclear what their relationship actually was. In Sunday, when John asked if he had had a wife on Setada, Ronon replied “close enough.”
About seven years before his first contact with the Atlantis Expedition, the Wraith attacked the planet because the people showed resistance. He tried to get Melena through the Stargate before the Wraith attacked. Her refusal to leave the Satedans who would be unable to evacuate forced him to remain behind and fight the Wraith. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain, as the Wraith defeated Satedan forces and Melena was killed before Ronon’s eyes in an explosion.
After that point, he was captured by the Wraith while they wiped out the planet. Ronon, having some sort of immunity against being fed on, was made into a Runner. They implanted a tracking device in his upper back and set him loose to be constantly hunted by the Wraith. During the first few years of this however, he learned several new tricks and decided to hunt them back. He stayed alive for seven years, perhaps the longest any Runner ever has.
Teyla Emmagan (played by Rachel Luttrell)
Emmagan, daughter of Tagan, was a leader of a village on the planet Athos. She had seen much of her family culled by the Wraith, although she (and some of her fellow Athosians) possessed the ability to “sense” the Wraith by means initially unknown. In addition, she is skilled in military strategy, martial arts, and Pegasus-galaxy diplomacy, and displays knowledge of and proficiency with Earth technology; she practices a form of stick-fighting (based on Eskrima) with John Sheppard and has taken up use of Earth weapons (such as a P-90) with great facility. She is in incredible physical shape and frequently practices martial arts against two or three opponents at once.
Dr. Jennifer Keller (played by Jewel Staite)
She first appeared in the last Season 3 episode “First Strike“, had a recurring role in Season 4, and is a regular character in Season 5.
Keller became Atlantis‘ Chief Medical Officer, with some reluctance, after the death of former Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carson Beckett in the episode “Sunday“.
One of her first duties seen in Stargate Atlantis was to try and save Dr Weir’s life after she was critically injured after the Replicator beam grazed the tower. She talked with McKay and told him that he could save her life with Replicator nanites that infected her in The Real World.
In Doppelganger she was one of many people affected by nightmares in Atlantis after Col John Sheppard touched a crystal life form that invades people’s nightmares. In hers, she dreamt that Teyla Emmagan suffered severe abdominal pain and died when an alien insect burst out of her stomach and Sheppard looked as if it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. She revealed that when she was in medical school, some of her friends played a prank by putting a live snake in a cadaver, probably explaining the origin of the nightmare.[2]
In Missing, she and Teyla both went to New Athos on a medical check up. After discovering the Athosians were missing, she sprained her ankle and relied upon Teyla to get through the night until John, Rodney & Ronon sent a rescue mission. Whilst there, she told Teyla that she is from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin where her father still lives, and that her mother passed away a few years back. She said she was all her father had left. She also mentions she went to summer camp and after three days she asked her dad to bring her home. When she gets back to Atlantis, she is the one who discovers that Teyla is pregnant.[3]
In The Seer, she looks after Davos until he dies and asks Samantha Carter whether they are doing this to look after him or to study his special ability.
In Quarantine, it is revealed that she graduated high school at the age of 15, then earned bachelor’s degree before she became 18 years old. She develops a romantic interest in Ronon - an interest that appears to be mutual - while the two are locked in the Infirmary during a malfunction of Atlantis’ automated lockdown procedures. In Trio she appears to have some interest or maybe only fondness regarding McKay, who saves her life in this episode.
Richard Woolsey (played by Robert Picardo)
He was a member of the NID, and was brought in to examine command decisions made at Stargate Command. According to Samantha Carter’s contact at the NID, Malcolm Barrett, Woolsey is “as smart as they come”. He has an M.B.A. and a LL.B. from Harvard. He is now a member of the International Oversight Advisory (IOA) committee and, according to General Landry, he is at Stargate Command (SGC) every other week.
Woolsey once prepared a memo on the economics of the Stargate program. He concluded that the price of a rescue mission cost taxpayers 27 million dollars, and that in his opinion classified military operations require civilian oversight.
Prior to taking his position in the NID, he was lead counsel for the Army Corps of Engineers and later sat on the Defense Policy Board. He resigned after it was discovered he had ties to a large corporation which had received $800 million in private contracts by The Pentagon.
While his attitude toward the SGC is generally one of animosity, he has great respect for truth and responsibility, and tries to do what he genuinely believes is right. As such, he is unusually well-meaning for an NID member, as the organization was usually portrayed as rampantly corrupt until it broke away from its former leadership, the Trust.
Following the death of Janet Fraiser, Woolsey was brought in by Senator Kinsey to examine the command decision to rescue SG-13. He considered it an attempted rescue, because there were several casualties. He was aggressive while conducting his investigation, threatening SGC personnel with court-martial if they didn’t cooperate.
After Samantha Carter taskes control of Atlantis Woolsey once again returns in order to assess her ability to command the expedition. Once again he finds himself in the middle of a dangerous situation, including coming face to face with a Wraith for the first time. Eventually he leaves and apparently presents a favourable report of Carter’s methods and although he had claimed to want to produce a report which was as thorough as possible he indicated to Carter that certain facts would be left out to make the report more favourable to her.
Robert Picardo will join the cast of Stargate Atlantis in Season 5, as he assumes command of the Atlantis expedition.
Dr. Radek Zelenka (played by David Nykl)
The character was originally intended to be Russian, but upon discovering David Nykl could speak Czech they changed the character’s nationality to Czech. Zelenka was intended to appear only in “Thirty-Eight Minutes“, but he made such an impression that he became a semi-regular character.
Zelenka is an Atlantis expedition scientist. He is an expert on Ancient technology, second only to Rodney McKay, and besides Czech, is quite fluent in English.
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