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Stargate Meets WaterGate
By Ileane Rudolph
SG-1’s crew swims across the channel for a crossover adventure on
Atlantis
It’s rough saving the universe, and the heroes of Stargate SG-1 and
Stargate
Atlantis have been getting whupped lately. There’s Wraith betrayal on
Atlantis – what did the crew expect from the whey-faced bloodsuckers? And on
SG-1 the religious tyranny of the powerful
Ori is spreading like a computer
virus toward Earth. Clearly the crews are in need of a change of scene.
So here comes a juicy crossover episode between the two Stargate shows,
created “because after getting our butts kicked, our side needed a win,”
says executive producer Brad Wright. Odds are The Pegasus Project, this
weeks SG-1 episode featuring the Air Force team’s first visit to the ancient
city of Atlantis, will be a winning combination for fans of both series.
Filming the special episode certainly satisfied the actors. “It was really a
fun opportunity for the two casts to play together,” says Amanda Tapping,
who portrays Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, the resident scientific genius on
mother series SG-1, now in its record-breaking tenth season. “We barely see
each other, even though we shoot on the same [Vancouver] lot”.
Working with the SG-1 cast makes David Hewlett nervous. He plays Carter’s
intellectual counterpart on Atlantis, the brilliant, but maddeningly smug Dr
Rodney McKay. “I feel like those guys know what they’re doing. We’re just
starting.” (This summer, Atlantis
began its third season on SciFi Channel)
The compatibly acerbic Hewlett and Tapping are close friends in real life.
Their competitive banter informs their characters on Atlantis
and SG-1. In
the crossover, they’re forced to work together on the Atlantis battle
cruiser, the Odyssey. Much as it hurts her pride, Carter needs McKay’s help
in her risky plan to disable the giant Stargate portal that the conquering Ori fleet has used to enter Earth’s galaxy.
“We combine our brainpower and kind of mess things up,” tapping reveals.
“It’s very humbling for the two of us.” And dangerous, especially when both
Ori and Wraith ships come perilously close to aborting the mission – and the
teams’ lives.
The running joke is that McKay would like to share more than physics – and
an admirable ability to spout impenetrable techno-babble – with the lovely
Carter. As the episode reminds us, the last time these two geeks interacted,
McKay had a colourful fantasy involving her stripping down. Despite her
better sense, carter enjoys McKay too – but not in that way. And sorry guys,
this time the lieutenant colonel keeps her uniform on.
“Everybody wants crossovers,” says Wright. “It’s a great opportunity to
showcase actors with chemistry.” But all those egos together can get a bit
sticky “[SG-1’s] Ben Browder and [Atlantis’] Joe Flanigan clicked and wanted
to do a big scene together,” says the producer, who had his alpha male
pilots bond over their tough-guy treatment of a beleaguered McKay. “I told
them, ‘This is just a little taste. Save the big one for the movie.’”
Yes, a film featuring members of both casts is still a possibility, says
Wright. “But you very much want to keep the characters and the feel of the
shows distinct from one another,” he says. “I don’t want it ever to look
like they bump into each other more often.”
That’s a line you don’t want to cross over.
Thank you to
Elyse |
