Irresponsible

Summary | Production | Transcript

The team finds Lucius Lavin manipulating the people of another hapless planet, using Ancient technology to pose as an invincible hero.

RATINGS SCORECARD
OUR RATING -
FAN RATING - 7.31 
NIELSEN - 1.3 
EPISODE #313
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 04.27.2007
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 01.28.2008
DVD DISC: Season 3, Disc 4
WRITTEN BY: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
DIRECTED BY: Martin Wood
GUEST STARS: Richard Kind (Lucius Lavin), Dean Wray (Genii), Meredith McGeachie (Wench), Robert Davi (Acastus Kolya), Adam Bergquist (Amaris), Jon Cuthbert (Fortnum), Ashley O'Connell (Fruit Stand Owner)
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Colonel Sheppard and his team arrive on another world, where they find a village under siege by a band of thugs. With weapons raised, the gang's leader, Haemon, asks Sheppard if he is the "hero" who is rumored to be the one who will stop them from robbing the town and burning it to the ground. Sheppard doesn't know what he's talking about, but the answer soon becomes clear.

Lucius Lavin arrives with an air of triumph, declaring that he is the hero and will protect the village! When the thugs attack him, their blows magically bounce off him. Lucius is wearing an Ancient personal shield emitter.

He makes quick work of the thugs and wins the hearts of the villagers, including the loyal man Amaris and the hesitant and intelligent "Serving Wench."

The team visits with Lucius and his new home, but after saying goodbye they decide to stick around and see if they can learn what Lucius is up to this time. They follow him to a secret meeting with Haemon and his men, learning that Lucius hired them to stage the attack ... and he's not willing to pay them what they agreed to. The men are furious, and one has a broken wrist from the scuffle. Not only that, but they are proud soldiers of the Genii – former members of Cowen's personal guard, who were forced to work for hire after Ladon Radim's coup ("Coup D'etat").

Lucius must finally rely on Colonel Sheppard and the others when an ally of the mercenaries – none other than Acastus Kolya – arrives to deal with Lucius personally. Of course, Kolya has much bigger priorities than the con man: he wants Sheppard's team.

PRODUCTION NOTES

  • Actor Jon Cuthbert (Fortnum) previously appeared as Agent Devlin, an N.I.D. agent who used alien technology to pose as Jack O'Neill and frame him for murder in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Smoke and Mirrors."
  • "Right now I'm working on an outline for the sequel to one of this year's Atlantis episodes, 'Irresistible.' I can't say a whole lot yet about this story simply because I haven't written much on it. I'm just spinning ideas at the moment. Richard Kind, Spin City's Paul Lassiter, came up to do 'Irresistible' and he was so good in the role and eager to come back. ... Brad gave him a call to ask if he was interested in doing a sequel to the episode and Richard agreed in a heartbeat. So I'm trying to think of possible plots for that." (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in an interview with TV Zone magazine [#203])
  • "Of all the stories we've done this season, this is the one I have the most conflicted thoughts on. ... With 'Irresponsible,' I have to watch it again. The thing is I keep getting different cuts of the episode. Every time I'm about to watch one version of it, a new one comes along. There were certain challenges to shooting this story because we had Robert Davi, who's a dramatic actor, as well as Richard Kind, who's a comedy actor, and there was supposed to be friction between their two characters.

    "I have to look at the final cut, though, before deciding where I stand. Once again, I'm honest about things like this. I don't really say I like an episode if I don't. I've been wrong about a lot of stories that I've questioned and didn't think were going to work, but they ended up turning out just fine. So for now I'll have to reserve judgment on this one." (Actor Joe Flanigan, in an interview with Starburst magazine [#346, January 2007])
  • "Lots happens in this one. I don't want to spoil things, but sufficed to say that Lucius returns as irresistible as ever only without the drug, and Commander Kolya also comes back and is hunting for Colonel Sheppard. Lucius is on our side and Kolya is, of course, on the Genii side. The story becomes about the two of them facing off and it's very funny. Interestingly enough, there's a scene that's totally ad-libbed where Richard is just doing his own thing and we kept it in. I'm sure viewers will get a kick out of it." (Director Martin Wood, in an interview with Steve Eramo)
  • "It's very rare that we'll abandon an idea we've already committed to. In rare instances, alterations need to be made for production reasons (i.e. budget, actor or location availability). Stargate Atlantis Season Three's 'Irresponsible' is a great example. We were supposed to be doing the Stargate version of High Noon but when our 'western' location fell through, the story ended up taking place in a quaint Dutch village." (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in an interview with Sequential Tart)