The Seer
EPISODE #408
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 11.16.2007
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 11.03.2008
DVD DISC: Season 4, Disc 2
WRITTEN BY: Alan McCullough
DIRECTED BY: Andy Mikita
GUEST STARS: Martin Jarvis (Davos), Christopher Heyerdahl (Wraith), Jewel Staite (Jennifer Keller), Kimberley Warnat (Linara), Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey), Chuck Campbell (Technician)
The city of Atlantis is visited by a man with extraordinary prophetic abilities, and who apparently has the ability to share these shocking visions with others. The gentle man is named Davos, and he is accompanied by a woman named Linara.
But Davos is quite ill. He believes that he is dying, but before he passes on he will share what he knows with those who now live in Atlantis, the city of the Ancestors. There are Wraith hive ships coming.
When Teyla goes to speak with Davos, he already knows that she came to his planet seeking to learn the fate of her people, the Athosians. It is not clear where they have gone or what has happened to them, but Davos can assure Teyla that they are alive – though they are "shrouded in darkness."
And Davos knows more than this. He also knows that Teyla is pregnant. She is stunned that he knows, and confesses that she has not told anyone on Atlantis yet.
PRODUCTION NOTES
- "No major construction for 'The Seer,' but we will marry some of the exterior scenes from this episode to the 'This Mortal Coil' shoot. James and Tom also pitch out how they'd like to pull off the 'horrific reveal' at script's end. I love it!" (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a message at his blog)
- The Wraith from "Common Ground" will return in "The Seer," and may become a recurring character. (Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a message at his blog)
- Actress Michelle Morgan was originally cast as Linara, the daughter of the Seer. She had to back out because of scheduling conflicts with a movie she was shooting, and was quickly recast as Fran in "Be All My Sins Remember'd."
- "The episode we're currently working on is called 'The Seer,' and in it Carter has to deal with Richard Woolsey, who has come to Atlantis to do her three-month evaluation for the I.O.A. Of course, we have a massive crisis and she's got to make some tough decisions at the last minute.
"'The Seer' also sets up a fascinating premise with this psychic [Martin Jarvis] who sees probable futures and shows our characters certain scenarios. He shows Carter one that's quite frightening, and it's a question of whether she chooses to trust that that vision is going to happen now or in the near future. There's lots of interesting character stuff, too, in this episode for Teyla [Rachel Luttrell] and Ronon [Jason Momoa].
"I love Robert [Picardo]. He's a thinking man's actor and he's always got something going on behind his eyes, which means he's an amazing person to react off of and talk to in a scene. Of course, his character is fantastic. Richard Woolsey is someone you love to hate because he's such a weasel, and he has some very amusing self-effacing lines in this story. We shot a scene this morning where Woolsey says, 'I've been told in some of my personal reviews that I tend to be a bit of a busybody,' and he's sort of fully expecting Carter to go, 'Oh, no, no, no,' but she doesn't. And he's like, 'Oh ...' And just the way Robert plays it, you're trying not to laugh because he's so funny." (Actress Amanda Tapping, in an interview with Steve Eramo)