Stargate Atlantis fans were shocked by the unexpected loss of Dr. Kate Heightmeyer in writer/director Robert C. Cooper’s “Doppelganger,” which premiered on the SCI FI Channel on October 19, 2007.

Claire Rankin, who has featured as the recurring psychologist since Season One’s “The Gift,” was strapped into a harness to shoot her final scene — a common “falling” dream.

“I actually don’t care much for heights but I’m not really scared of them,” Rankin told GateWorld about the experience. “I enjoyed being harnessed on the ledge of the set and getting to do something a bit physical. It was fun with the wind machines and all!”

In the scene, Teyla Emmagan is trying to save Heightmeyer from falling off an Atlantis balcony. “Teyla really is the only character the audience sees Kate connect with a in any sort of personal way,” she said, “so I think that the audience could believe that they were friends and she would be the one to try and save Kate.”

Ultimately Teyla is unsuccessful. A crystalline life form, which takes on the image of Colonel John Sheppard, blocks her path and allows Kate to fall — a fall that kills her in her sleep.

The relationship between Heightmeyer and Emmagan has drawn from real life. “Rachel [Luttrell] and I shared the same manager at the time and I had an apartment, but no roommate, so we decided to give it a try,” she told us.

“We really were barely acquaintances at the time but we soon became the best of friends. We helped each other with all of our auditions and provided moral support for stressful situations like network tests and shared all the ups and downs of a day in Hollywood.” Rankin also was with Luttrell during her audition process as Teyla.

The complete interview with Claire Rankin will be arriving on GateWorld very soon! Meanwhile, a brand new episode of Stargate Atlantis airs this Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific on SCI FI in the United States!