For those who asked, and those who missed it, here are the stories we didn't get to tell, the half-formed ideas that may or may not have made the cut if we'd been given the opportunity to produce that sixth season of Stargate: Atlantis. There are a few thematic repetitions, some way-out notions, but I'm sure we would have sorted it all out in the end.
Consider this the AU season 6 you never got to see....
Pictured: The place-holder episode titles as they appeared on the writers' room white board prior to our cancellation. 1/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episodes 6.01 and 6.02
The 2-part opener, "Now What? I and II", was the unproduced Stargate: Extinction script, a time travel romp that would have seen our crew stranded in the Triangulum galaxy where Todd the wraith battles a future version of himself, Sheppard goes full Iron Man, and Atlantis ultimately return to Pegasus. 2/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.03
"Children of the Corn/Fantastic Four" involved our team, on the Daedalus, coming across a seemingly derelict ship. They board and, while searching the darkened interior, discover a group of children in stasis.
They revive the kids who explain they were enroute to a planet to be reunited with their parents, colonists who had completed work on a new satellite community.
The children are welcomed aboard and are being ferried to their destination when a mystery ship appears and opens fire on the Daedalus. Our heroes try to outpace their pursuer and, as a game of intergalactic cat and mouse ensues, the team begins to suspect that their young passengers may not be as innocent and harmless as they appear... 3/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.04
Carl's Replicator Story!
Progeny, The Real World, Phanthoms, Echoes, Lifeline, Ghost in the Machine - Carl Binder was the king of ghost AND replicator stories. No doubt he would have written one for the show's sixth season. And it would have been brilliant! 4/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.05
Classic Atlantis was an idea Martin Gero pitched, a story that would take place in the early years of the Atlantis expedition, sort of a flashback to an adventure we’d never seen, a back-in-the-day adventure featuring the likes of Elizabeth Weir and Lt. Ford. 5/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.06
Carter Roshomon was a story idea that didn’t make the cut in season 4 and ended up in the season 5 pile despite the fact that Carter was no longer the base commander. It was originally envisioned as our spin on Kurosawa’s 1950 classic. Colonel Carter faces a possible court-martial and dismissal after an off-world op goes awry. During the ensuing investigation, we are offered three different flashback versions of the charged events.
What happened and what was she being accused of? Guess we’ll never know. Since it didn’t make the cut in season 5, I moved it into the potential season 6 episode discussion list. 6/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.07
The Red Shirt Diaries
Carl Binder wanted to do a story told from the POV of a red shirt, one of those ubiquitous no-names we lose over the course of an op who is mourned then quickly forgotten in the episode tag when the team is yukking it up in the cafeteria.
In this particular episode, Carl posits the possibility that this supposed red shirt aint so red after all and, rather than being killed in the line of duty, is captured. Of course, Stargate teams have a standing “No man left behind” policy and it isn’t long before Sheppard and co. mount a rescue op... 7/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.08
Sheppard D.O.A.
Inspired by the 1950 thriller, Sheppard D.O.A. would have seen John racing against time to find out how he was infected with a deadly toxin and, ultimately, who was responsible and why. And also, maybe, find an antidote. 8/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.09
The Replacements
Brad pitched out a story in which the team run afoul of an alien race and, while being pursued, end up victims of a temporal effect that catapults them six months into the future.
They return to Atlantis to find they’ve been given up for dead and replaced. As they attempt to settle in to their new positions (and work with their replacements) the alien race indirectly responsible for their predicament pays Atlantis a visit… 9/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episodes 6.10 - 6.11
The mid-season two-parter would have seen Sheppard's team return to Atlantis following an op, only to discover it has been taken over by wraith hybrids. But not just any wraith hybrids. While they were off-world, Michael (who survived the events of The Prodigal) targeted the city with a biological attack that has transformed the Atlantis personnel into hybrids.
Sheppard, McKay, Ronin and Teyla soon find themselves on the run, from their former friends, and a determined Michael out for revenge. 10/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.12
Hamster Ball
Sometimes you come up with an idea fully formed. Other times, it may be nothing but a vision. In this case, a vision of the individual team members trapped in giant hamster ball-like containment vessels
Compounding the problem is the fact that they are trapped in a small chamber, in direct line of the stargate, meaning the next time the gate kawooshes, they risk total annihilation.
How do they get trapped? How do they get out? And, most importantly, what the hell else happens in this episode? You’ll have to ask writer Alan McCullough. 11/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.13
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
An idea I pitched for SG-1 that got bumped because we ended up doing "The Road Not Taken" instead. I reworked the premise for Atlantis...
McKay’s experiment with a time-traveling puddle jumper sends duplicate versions of the team both backwards and forwards in time. The story jumps between three different timelines...
Five years into the past (where one version of the team struggles to acquire the puddle jumper and undo the damage done without affecting the timeline).
Five years into the future (where Atlantis is under siege by the alien race introduced in The Daedalus Variations, while another version of the team attempts to acquire the jumper so that they can warn their past selves).
And the present (where McKay continues to tweak his experiment) with developments in each timeline influencing events in the other enroute to a mindbending climax. 12/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.14
Hexed
While visiting an alien community, Sheppard is cursed by a kooky local. At first, our heroes laugh off the incident – until Sheppard runs into a spate of bad luck. VERY bad luck.
Shep whumpers rejoice! 13/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.15
Entropy
In season 5, Paul wanted to do a story in which the effects of the McKay-Miller gate bridge have serious other-worldly repercussions for the city - but we ended up doing something similar in Brain Storm so we pushed this idea.
I reimagined a version where a mishap with a zpm triggers a subspace burst that disperses time fractals throughout Atlantis. And within these varying shards of warped spacetime, the rules of physics no longer apply... 14/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.16
Revenge
Sheppard and his team must mount on op to save Todd after he is captured by rivals. Re-assuming her role as a wraith queen, Teyla leads the team aboard a hive ship in order to track down and rescue their unlikely ally. 15/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.17
Payback
Following devastating attacks on three other teams, Sheppard and co's off-world investigation takes a surprising turn when they are attacked by a puddle jumper. On the run on an alien world, they are pursued by an enemy who is able to predict their every move. Their mysterious pursuer is revealed to be Lt. Aiden Ford and a group of mercs armed with Ancient tech.
Our heroes must find a way to turn the tables on their former friend and, ultimately, find out the surprising source of his all-too familiar resources. 16/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.18
Turn of Events 2
With an uncooperative Ford now imprisoned on Atlantis, Sheppard's team investigates the most likely source of the black market Ancient tech (Episode 215, The Tower).
There, they discover Atlantis's sister city is in the hands of a group of rogue Genii led by none other than
@RobertJohnDavi's Acatus Kolya who we learn survived the events of "Irresponsible" thanks to a modified personal shield emitter.
It turns out Kolya has been busy, consolidating his power base. Our team's attempts to thwart him fail, necessitating a tactical retreat - but not before they obtain a crucial piece of information...
The mirror location of the Ancient zpm factory hidden on Atlantis. 17/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.19
Pre-Finale
Using the information gathered last episode, our heroes are finally able to access the city's hidden zpm factory. The room, it turns out, holds even more secrets: the locations of similar Ancient storehouses throughout the Pegasus galaxy.
An exploration of one such seemingly long-abandoned chamber yields a shocking discovery: none other than Elizabeth Weir who has been kept "on ice" since her capture by the Asurans.
With Elizabeth's help, the team is able to gain access to an Asuran weapon specifically built to target Atlantis. Thus armed, Sheppard and co. pay a return trip to Kolya, determined to neutralize his threat once and for all. But they are too late...
They arrive just in time to see the Ancient city rise up out of the ground and ascend, up into the sky and the stars beyond. Our heroes are already aware of it's destination: Atlantis. 18/
Stargate: Atlantis season 6! Episode 6.20
FINALE
Sheppard's team return to Atlantis with a dire warning, only to be informed that long range scanners have picked up the sister city. And it's headed straight for them.
All off-world teams are recalled. It's going to be all hands on deck as the city prepares for war and the sister city makes its inexorable approach.
We are treated to some classic character-centered moments as the city readies for what will be their biggest battle, against a better equipped, better prepared opponent. Finally, it is time!
Atlantis rises up, off the surface of the ocean, and makes its descent, up through the stratosphere, beyond the exosphere, taking up a planetary orbit.
And when the sister city appears, Atlantis launches its jumpers and drones. Their opponent responds in kind. The most epic battle in Stargate history is joined.
Sheppard skillfully pilots his jumper into the heart of the enemy city and lands on a pier. His team disembarks, Asuran weapon in tow, determined to finish the job they set out to complete last episode
But they're on the clock and running out of time, facing down enemy soldiers and drone strike as they desperately seek to set up the Asuran weapon as close to critical systems as possible.
But they're not the only ones running out time. Atlantis, outgunned by a foe that has been preparing for war, suffers heavy damage. Even if our team succeeds in their mission, it looks like it will be a pyrrhic victory at best. And then -
A fleet of hive ships drop out of FTL and concentrate their fire on the enemy ship. It's Todd. He and his fleet take the pressure off Atlantis, buying Sheppard and his team enough time to initiate the Asuran weapon and retreat back to the jumper, making good their escape as, behind them, the weapon initiates, setting off a chain reaction of explosions that claim the enemy city.
Atlantis returns to the planet's surface. Sheppard thanks Todd. Wraith and human achieve an "understanding". And peace finally returns to the Pegasus Galaxy.
End of show. 19/19
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Who would win in a fight between Teal’c and Ronon? this was the question Stargate fandom had posited. Well, if you ask Chris Judge (which I once did) he’d reply: “Ronon. Teal’c is still doing that wushu shit.” Still, we weren’t satisfied with that answer and so, Carl Binder put fingers to keypad and wrote this all-out actioner in which Ronon and Teal’c team up to battle a wraith incursion. And also throw down.
So who wins? Why, it’s a draw, natch.
Early in show’s fourth season, we wanted to do a scene with Carter, back at Stargate Command, leaving behind the life she knew for a fresh adventure in the Pegasus Galaxy. We wanted the scene to be grounded in the world of SG-1 and felt that the best way to accomplish that would be for Sam to have a conversation with one of her SG-1 teammates. I approached Chris Judge about doing it but told him we wouldn’t be able to afford his episode rate for the single scene. Chris just shrugged in response and happily offered his services for a nominal fee. I thought that was a stand-up thing to do and this episode was a repayment for that kindness, an episode guest-starring Teal’c. And, yes, Chris got his full episode rate for this one.
Jason Momoa and Christopher Judge had a blast shooting the episode, especially the action sequences. And there were plenty. The episode also boasts some terrific guest stars like Bill Dowd, Dean Marshall and Ben Cotton who return to reprise familiar roles.
Check out the BTS footage of Jason and Chris rehearsing.
We had no idea this episode would become so beloved by fandom and yet, looking back, it’s easy to see why it has. It’s one of those "fun" episodes with a fairly straightforward premise that allows our characters to shine in ways unexpected. Specifically, Jack and Teal’c who, in the past, have relied on Carter and Daniel to handle the science and Ancient translations, and suddenly find themselves having to step into their team members’ shoes.
Yes, it’s our version of Groundhog Day. And yet, in its earliest form, the pitch for this story was very different, much darker in tone. Originally titled Ad Infinitum, it involved the team gating to a planet and becoming trapped in a seemingly endless time loop orchestrated by a dying race seeking to buy more time to come up with a solution to an impending armageddon (which became the backstory of the device’s genesis mentioned in the episode by Malakai). Exec Producer Robert Cooper suggested another spin on the time loop angle and, while I was dubious at first (“Isn’t this Groundhog Day?”I remember asking. “Yeah,”was Rob’s counter.), I was proven wrong. Now, the “Groundhog Day” episode has become a staple of most every genre show.
While there’s a lot to like about this episode, it was the “time off” montage that stands out. And it almost didn’t happen. The episode was timing short, it was clear we would need to come up with some extra scenes, and that gave Brad the opportunity to do something he had always wanted to do: see our characters golfing through the stargate. And so, several scenes were added (they were all scripted, not improvised as some fans assumed): the juggling, Teal’c’s repeated door run-in, Jack riding his bike through the corridors of the SGC, Jack trying his hand at pottery, the golfing through the gate and, oh yes, THE KISS. The latter was my former writing partner Paul Mullie's idea - in his pitch, an opportunity we could not pass up. Note: We made sure to have Jack tender his official resignation before dipping Carter and planting one on her, just to make sure we didn’t catch any flak from our Air Force tech advisors.
Last year, I came across a bunch of old VHS dailies from this episode and, after having the footage converted to digital files, I uploaded a bunch of the more memorable outtakes and alt. takes. In case you missed them the first time, here are a bunch of them in one dedicated thread…
Stargate - Window of Opportunity Alt. Takes and Outtakes 1/10
Stargate - Window of Opportunity Alt. Takes and Outtakes 2/8
Stargate - Window of Opportunity Alt. Takes and Outtakes 3/8
Top 10 Running Gags in #Stargate SG-1 10. Blue Jello
What’s the deal? Well, it was simply something the prop department whipped up one day that stood out, both for its neon properties and sheer ridiculousness, quickly becoming a comically beloved visual staple.
Top 10 Running Gags in #Stargate: SG-1 9. O'Neill's obsession with The Simpsons
RDA was a huge fan of the show. After guesting on SG-1 and hitting it off with Rick, actor Dan Castellanetta wrote a Stargate/RDA-themed episode of The Simpsons to which Rick lent his voice talents.
Top 10 Running Gags in #Stargate: SG-1 8. Pineapples
If you’re watching Stargate and ever happen to catch sight of a pineapple, there’s a good chance the episode you’re viewing was directed by long-time Stargate director Will Waring. The pineapples were his signature visual.
Audition Advice for Actors
- from my 20 years of casting roles ranging from series regulars to dialogueless agonizing death-screamers. A few thoughts and hopefully helpful suggestions. 1/
You spent all weekend studying those sides, preparing for that audition. And then, when the day comes, you NAIL IT! You head home feeling great, certain you got the role. You tell your friends, you significant other, your mom (She’s been a longtime fan). You're feeling great! 2/
Until the next day when your agent calls you to inform you the role went to someone else. 3/
The idea of creating your own big budget sci-fi epic may have seemed far-fetched years ago, but now the prospect grows increasingly less preposterous with the rapid advancements in A.I. 1/ indiewire.com/2023/04/joe-ru…
As Artificial Intelligence evolves and refines, we'll see technological breakthroughs across the board - breakthroughs that will quickly drive down the costs of production as more efficiencies are realized and once costly and time-consuming processes will become achievable. 2/
And how will that change the industry? Well, there has been a lot of talk about how A.I. may one day replace creators but, realistically, we're a long way from the day when A.I. can craft intricate plots, compelling characters, and deliver humor. 3/
The latest scandal to rock Japan centers on an act of "sushi terrorism", so named because it involves video of a teen licking a communal soy sauce bottle, the rim of a tea cup, and a passing order of nigiri at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. 1/ theguardian.com/world/2023/feb…
The restaurant where the incident took place is part of the Sushiro chain. Its parent company saw its stock drop 5% (roughly 5.7 billion dollars worth) on the heels of the breaking news. The prank video has been viewed over 40 million times. 2/ dimsumdaily.hk/stock-price-of…
This is reminiscent of a 2019 incident that saw a teen film herself licking the top of a Blue Bell Ice Cream container before depositing it back in the store's freezer. She was caught, fined, and sentenced to some modest jail time. 3/ nbcnews.com/news/us-news/w…