OCTOBER IS PUDDLE JUMPER MONTH!
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.
Our rewatch of favorite moments in Stargate history continues! Each month we’ll pick a theme, and feature a key episode every week. Join us by watching the episode this week, and then head to GateWorld Forum (or posting below) to talk about it!
Gate Ship One …
- The Jumper (named by John Sheppard) is technology developed by the Ancients in the Pegasus Galaxy — a ship designed to fit through a Stargate.
- The ships are security-locked so they cannot be stolen by the enemy (or a local out for a joy ride): the pilot must have the Ancient gene for the controls to respond.
- Puddle Jumpers also allowed the Lanteans to construct Stargates located in space.
- The versatile little ships have a rear compartment for storage or extra passengers, and is equipped with small drone weapons.
- There’s even one instance of a Jumper being discovered in the Milky Way Galaxy, evidently by a Lantean scientist who had resettled from Atlantis.
“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:
Download “Adrift” now from Amazon or iTunes!
Rewatch “Adrift” this week! Then post your comments below, or head over to the “Adrift” discussion forum and see what people were saying back in the day. What are your favorite moments?
Every month we’re featuring a new theme from Stargate’s 17 seasons. Watch the weekly episode with us join in the fun!