Ming-Na (Camille Wray)
Beware of minor SPOILERS for the upcoming episode “Life” in the report below.
The third Stargate series will go where Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis didn’t: It will have gay characters. Stargate Universe series creators Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright told fans during their stage panel at Creation Entertainment’s official Vancouver Stargate convention earlier this month.
“There are at least one and potentially more gay characters on Universe,” Cooper said in answer to a fan’s question.
Wright added, “There’s actually two.”
One of those characters is Camille Wray, the I.O.A. representative on board the Destiny, new casting documents reveal. The character is played by actress Ming-Na.
In the show’s seventh episode, “Life,” viewers will meet Wray’s long-time partner back on Earth, Sharon. The character is listed as a lead guest, and possibly recurring. Camille uses the Destiny’s long-range communications device to return home to Sharon for a brief respite.
Stargate Atlantis did have a few gay characters itself, at least in the minds of the producers — though it never made it onto the screen. Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has stated that character of Alicia Vega was written to be a lesbian (story). But after her introduction in the Season Five premiere, she was quickly killed off in just her second appearance (“Whispers”).
Mallozzi also said that there was another character on Atlantis he always thought was gay, though the right time (read: not forced) to reveal it on screen never materialized.
The decision to include gay characters on Universe was born from the desire to focus the show on its characters and their relationships with one another.
“This goes towards our goal to make the characters on Universe as complex and complicated and realistic and identifiable as we can, to as many people as we can,” Cooper said. “And that’s not just a desire for ratings. That’s the desire to portray humanity, and make a show that is saying something about who we are.”
Stargate Universe premieres this fall on SCI FI Channel in the U.S., Sky1 in the U.K. and SPACE in Canada! Keep your browser locked on GateWorld’s own SGU Launch Center for more in the weeks ahead.
(Thanks to Morjana for the contributing)
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Wait, you’re not allowed to get married? What states don’t allow you to married? Last I checked every state allowed the right to get married.
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 4:56 pmThe discussion here has become inappropriate.
In the end this wont matter much. I’m annoyed at the christian agenda some people are pushing. Get over it. Just don’t watch the show. I swear the ratings wont notice you left.
Morticae | April 20 @ 4:56 pm@kzap333, I’m not talking about “extra media attention.” Trust me, I wish that having a gay character was no big deal. I long for the day that having a gay character is no more news-worthy than having a black character. But the media response to these things is more a response to the fact that discrimination exists, rather than being discrimination in-and-of itself.
redlotus | April 20 @ 4:56 pm@ Morticae Why is it alright for the homosexual/hollywood agenda to be pushed but for christians to not have an agenda?
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 4:58 pm@browncoat1984, I am not allowed to marry the woman I love, who I have been with for nearly ten years. But clearly you know what I meant.
redlotus | April 20 @ 4:59 pmIf I was a woman I wouldn’t be allowed to marry another woman either, and I’m not allowed to marry any man. So we have equal rights.
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 5:01 pmAs a heterosexual, you are allowed to marry the person you fall in love with. I am NOT allowed to marry the person I love. So no, we do not have equal rights. You clearly are going to be petty and immature about this, so I’m done responding to you.
redlotus | April 20 @ 5:05 pmBrowncoat: Because the Christian agenda involves world domination and inevitable homogeneity. You are thriving off of intolerance. I also find it criminal that poor uneducated people are taken advantage of due to their ignorance. Yes, any study worth looking at shows its the uneducated, more so than any other segment, that are religious. Ah, its just a crime.
But the people are consensual, so should I give them a break? I don’t know– you can’t give gay people a break for their consensual relationships.
Morticae | April 20 @ 5:11 pmEveryone is bi to a certain extent. Women and men aren’t that different, they share a ton of similarities in terms of physicality. Ever looked at a guy with a lot of makeup on or even a guy with no makeup on and thought he was women and looked alright? See.. we’re not that different.
Hajhaabotbea | April 20 @ 5:11 pmA quote from Bjork I found:
“I think everyone’s bisexual to some degree or another; it’s just a question of whether or not you choose to recognize it and embrace it. Personally, I think choosing between men and women is like choosing between cake and ice cream. You’d be daft not to try both when there are so many different flavours.”
Hajhaabotbea | April 20 @ 5:15 pmWhoa whoa whoa, the Christian agenda involves world domination and homogeinity and we thrive off of intolerance? Whoa, where did THAT come from that sounds more like the agenda of radical Islamists than Christians, and I mean radicals, not the reformists or the revivalists?
And uh, the uneducated are more religious than those who are educated? For your information, I happen to be a Christian and I have a BA in history and am currently working on my masters degree, but I’m uneducated right?
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 5:19 pmI’d like to add to my previous comment, please post studies that indicate that the uneducated more than the educated tend to be religious.
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 5:23 pmRead the second paragraph in of this section of Wikipedia (all properly referenced, so it is a reliable source). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist#Demographics
If you don’t want to read the whole thing: An inverse correlation between religiosity and intelligence has been found by 39 studies carried out between 1927 and 2002, according to an article in Mensa Magazine.
That’s not the point though. I do know lots of people who believe in God and are intelligent. But it does seem that a lot of not-so-intelligent people are extremely religious.
And to all the people who are mad that they are being called bigots ‘just’ for disagreeing with something: if you were disagreeing with me on tax reform, then I could not call you a bigot, but if you are disagreeing with me because you hate homosexuals, black people, disabled people, people of other religions (etc.) for no other reason than they belong to one of those groups, you are a prejudiced, intolerant bigot. End of story.
miki_mouse | April 20 @ 5:43 pm>Okay doorQdotCom how is homosexuality not a choice? Explain.
I think the quickest answer to that question is a question: “On what date did you decide to be straight.”
doorQdotCom | April 20 @ 5:43 pm>uneducated more than the educated tend to be religious….
Educated people can be quite religious, a this Wikipedia entry summarizes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence
But intelligence and education, while correlated, aren’t exactly the same thing. Indeed, the more intelligent a person is, as defined by comparing IQ scores, the less religious and less likely they are to believe in gods, than those who score lower on IQ tests.
It’s a pretty interesting and complex question. The fun thing is that the scientific study of religion and religious belief is pretty new.
In some sense though, we’re digressing from the topic at hand.
doorQdotCom | April 20 @ 5:52 pm“…If I was a woman I wouldn’t be allowed to marry another woman either, and I’m not allowed to marry any man. So we have equal rights.”
And the best answer to that is this quote from Nobel Prize wining author Anatole France, who wrote: “…The law, in its infinite wisdom, forbids the rich as well as the poor, to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”
Or, to paraphrase, “…The law, in its infinite wisdom, forbids those who love someone of the opposite sex and want to get married, and those who love someone of the same sex and want to get married, from marrying the same sex.”
While it doesn’t have quite the same ring as France’s remark, the point is clear.
Bringing this back to SGU, having gay characters appear on the series is about reflecting our modern times and our modern understanding of how people are and how people love.
doorQdotCom | April 20 @ 6:03 pmI just love this discussion. I have not insulted one person here yet I’ve been called bigot, unintelligent, and had my religion put down. Yeah, that’s sci-fi tolerance for ya.
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 6:07 pmThere were tons of relationships in SG-1… all of them were straight. Now, we may get two gay characters and all of a sudden relationships will be “in-your-face.” Who cares? Quit whining.
gobblygoop | April 20 @ 6:22 pmApparently someone’s never heard of don’t-ask, don’t-tell.
Balesirion | April 20 @ 6:24 pmThanks guys, it’s about time! Very glad to hear they’re including gay characters. I hope they include a guy who’s masculine and not your stereotypical TV gay guy.
jbellanca | April 20 @ 6:25 pmBrowncoat1984 – do you hate gay people? Do you think they are just ‘choosing’ to live their lives like that (rather than biologically being attracted to members of the same sex)? Do you think they should be denied equal rights (like the right to marry the consenting adult of their choice?) Then you are bigoted against homosexuals. By definition, a bigot is: a person who is intolerant of or takes offence to the opinions, lifestyles or identities differing from his or her own.
Even if you do not ‘hate’ homosexuals, but you have a problem with them being represented in tv shows, you are probably still bigoted against gay people. I don’t see why you would have a problem with it otherwise. I’m sure many people had a problem with the first interracial kiss on tv (Star Trek). They might not have hated black people, just their decision to sometimes kiss white people and then ‘flaunt it’ on television. Those people were bigots (racist bigots in that case). I’m sure they would have argued that they shouldn’t be called bigots just because they ‘disagree’ with black people kissing white people.
For people arguing that it is discrimination to have an article about a gay character on Stargate, you should raise this issue with Gateworld (which isn’t officially affiliated with the tv show). They chose to report on the answer Cooper and Wright made to a fan’s question at the convention. They are a news source, and news places tend to report things that may be controversial, or ‘firsts’. Since this news fits in both categories, that is obviously why they are reporting on it. The actual Stargate franchise doesn’t seem to be ‘flaunting’ their gay character in any other way.
miki_mouse | April 20 @ 6:26 pmLet me respond to doorQdotCom’s question “On what date did you decide to be straight.”
I did not “decide” to be straight because all men and women are naturally inclined to be straight. Why? Because sex is about reproduction. And yes, I acknolwedge that it can lead to pleasure, etc. etc. but ultimately that is the goal of sex, reproduction, and in order to reproduce you need a male and a female. Which is why we are attracted to the opposite sex. Without sex between men and women, the human race would not reproduce thus it would not survive.
Why is it so difficult to call it a choice? So at some point in your life, even if it was as a child, a person proclaimed that he/she was gay. Maybe as as child he/she was abused by a parent of the opposite sex, maybe you had a number of relationships/friendships with men and they constantly hurt you in some way (as in the case of Ivanova in B5, who sort of leaned that way but I don’t think really did in the end). Maybe you were manipulated (as I believe was the case with Admiral Cain in BSG).
Either way, why is it so shameful to say that being gay is a choice and not an internal biological thing?
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 6:29 pm1. Sex is not all about reproduction, if that’s how you view it, then your obviously not getting enough. For the uninitiated, @browncoat, sex is a pleasurable and social activity, and as humans are biologically social creatures, it is a tool for social cohesion.
2. Newsflash, gay people are not a bunch of abused and demented mental cases.
gobblygoop | April 20 @ 6:38 pmFirst off, I acknowledged that sex can lead to pleasure. If you read my entire post you would have read that. Maybe I should have rephrased that by saying “the ultimate PURPOSE of sex is reproduction” – and that’s why men and women are naturally attracted to each other.
I also never called all gay people a bunch of abused and demented casese. I just gave a few examples of why someone might decide to be gay. And you didn’t answer my question, why is it that its so shameful to admit that its a choice?
Browncoat1984 | April 20 @ 6:45 pmIf all men and women are naturally inclined to be straight, then why are some people from a very young age attracted to people of the same sex? Many gay people were not abused in any way as children, but as they grew up they realized they were gay. You are saying that these adolescents are ‘choosing’ to date and have sex with people of the same sex, even though they are naturally attracted to people of the opposite sex? They chose to be hated by the general population and often times disowned from their families? In past times, they chose to be arrested, sometimes executed, for having relationships with people of the same sex, even though in reality they are attracted to people of the opposite sex, and they are just ‘choosing’ to go against that? Really?
miki_mouse | April 20 @ 6:45 pm