Floating in deep space with the city’s protective shield failing, the team must do all they can to keep Atlantis alive. Meanwhile, a radical injury threatens Dr. Weir’s life.

“Adrift” Facts:

• It’s the start of Season Four of Stargate Atlantis, and that brought actress Amanda Tapping (“Samantha Carter”) as a new full-time cast member. Stargate SG-1 had just ended its 10-season run, and producers found that Tapping still had one year left on her contract with MGM. Lt. Colonel Carter was to become the second commander of the Atlantis expedition.
• With the start of the show’s fourth season former series co-star Torri Higginson (“Elizabeth Weir”) was reduced to a recurring role. She was booked for four episodes — although this one had the character unconscious and near death right up until the final scene.
• Jewel Staite also joins the show in a recurring capacity as the city’s new head doctor, Jennifer Keller. (She wasn’t a series regular until Season Five.) Atlantis was her second big science fiction show, of course: Staite previously played the beloved Kaylee Frye on the short-lived FOX show Firefly.
• “Adrift” gave us our first look at the still-under-construction Midway Space Station. The idea for a base situated in the vast gap between the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies was floated in Season Three, when Earth’s ships began laying a path of Stargates to connect to one another — allowing an inter-galactic gate trip without the need for lots of Z.P.M.s to power an 8-chevron connection directly from Atlantis to Earth.
• With Season Four Atlantis aired, for the first time, without Stargate SG-1 alongside it. SCIFI Channel also made an aggressive new programming decision, debuting the show in the fall — instead of the summer, when Stargate had traditionally premiered. This made for some stiffer competition in the ratings. 2007 also saw an upturn in the use of DVRs — so that, for the first time, time-shifted viewings was beginning to have a visible impact on a show’s overnight ratings.

“Adrift” on GateWorld:

• Episode Guide
• Episode Transcript
• Fan Reviews
• Photo Gallery
• Screencap Gallery
• Discussion Forum
• Atlantis Season Four Podcast
• Interview with Amanda Tapping (2007)
• Interview with Torri Higginson (2007)
• Interview with Jewel Staite (2007)
• Interview with David Hewlett (2007)
• Interview with David Nykl (2007)
• Interview with writer Martin Gero (2007)
• Interview with producers Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie (2007)
• Interview with producer Brad Wright (2007)

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