Vengeance
EPISODE #319
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 06.15.2007
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 05.05.2008
DVD DISC: Season 3, Disc 5
WRITTEN BY: Carl Binder
DIRECTED BY: Andy Mikita
GUEST STARS: Connor Trinneer (Michael), Chuck Campbell (Technician), Ryan Booth (Lt. Negley), Samuel Polin (Creature), Brian Ho (Stunt Creature), Josh Blacker (Screaming Man)
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PRODUCTION NOTES
- "Joel did a great job on the score. It is, without a doubt, the best monster movie we've ever done on Stargate." (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)
- "I just love working with Connor. He's a talented actor and a great guy. As for this story itself, I made a point of going up to Brad Wright's office earlier today, as well as phoning writer Carl Binder yesterday and told them what a good episode I think 'Vengeance' is going to turn out to be.
"Sometimes we [actors] will call the producers with notes about things we feel might be wrong about a script, so they were probably surprised to hear that in this case I thought all the elements came together. I'm a pretty tough critic when it comes to my work and the series, and I like this episode a lot because it enters into the psychological arena. It becomes very much an X-Files-ish sort of thriller, and honestly if, like our characters, you're exploring space and running into weird and spooky creatures, then things are going to turn deeply psychological.
"... This is a direction that I've been trying to get Atlantis to go in for a while, but for one reason or another it just hasn't been possible. Then this script came along. I'm a big fan of Carl Binder. He's a very strong writer and the dialogue in 'Vengeance' is wonderful.
"It was a fun episode to work on, but the actual location wasn't so hot. We shot in the hollowed out tunnels underneath an abandoned mental institution, which were dark, dank and had this 'stuff' on the walls. After a week, most people's eyes were red and I got sick, so as cool as the story looks, hopefully now audiences will know that there were sacrifices involved in making it look that way!" (Actor Joe Flanigan, in an interview with Starburst magazine [#346, January 2007]) - "'Vengeance' sees the return of Michael – who is very much not amused by the recent attempts of the Atlantis team to blow him up (as seen in "Misbegotten"). And Michael's latest science project means a world of hurt to our team." (Writer Ken Cuperus, in an interview at Stargate-Project)
- "Essentially, our Atlantis team is being menaced by a giant bug, but instead fo showing it, Andy [Mikita] shot all these snippets of teeth opening and menacing eyes. That's something that Joe Flanigan has been talking about with the producers and directors – shooting in semi-darkness and not revealing everything to the viewer. He's big on that approach to film-making and the guys here have really picked up on that." (Actor David Hewlett, in an interview with Starburst magazine [special issue 78])