The Daedalus Variations
Encyclopedia
"The Daedalus Variations" is the 84th episode of the science fiction
television series Stargate Atlantis
, and is the fourth episode in the series' fifth season
. The episode first aired on August 1 2008 on the Sci Fi Channel
in the United States, and subsequently aired on October 9 on Sky One
in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Alan McCullough
, and directed by regular Stargate director, Andy Mikita
. Richard Woolsey
(Robert Picardo
) and Jennifer Keller
(Jewel Staite
) do not appear in the episode, despite being credited during the opening title sequence. The episode bears similarities to the Flying Dutchman, a mythical ghost ship that drifts forever in the ocean with no chance of returning home. It received generally favourable reviews.
Episode writer McCullough described the episode as a one-off "wild romp", with much use of visual effects
. The episode follows John Sheppard
and his team, who investigates the mysterious appearance of the Daedalus over Atlantis
, where they soon find the ship is from a parallel universe
and makes its way through various alternate realities with an "alternate reality drive". Stuck on the Daedalus, the team seek to find a way to return, while they run into contact with a newly introduced alien race and find the ship's new drive is slowly burning out, and they could be stranded in another universe forever.
. John Sheppard
(Joe Flanigan
) and his team discover that the ship is the Daedalus, which is strange as Stargate Command
confirms that the Daedalus is actually two days away from Earth
. Sheppard's team boards the new Daedalus and find it apparently abandoned with signs of battle damage. Teyla
(Rachel Luttrell
) views a log entry from the Daedalus commander, Colonel Sobel, who the team has never heard of before. Suddenly, there is a power spike and the Daedalus disappears from above Atlantis, while from the perspective of Sheppard's team, Atlantis disappears. McKay finds that they have been propelled into a parallel universe
by what he terms an "alternate reality drive", and thus the Daedalus is actually from an alternate reality.
The team finds another version of themselves, dead, who come from yet another parallel universe and were trapped aboard while investigating the ship, just as they are. Soon, the ship jumps again, into a reality where Atlantis is under attack from an unfamiliar alien ship. Sheppard intervenes, and the aliens retaliate by launching fighters. One of the fighters crashes into the Daedalus before it jumps again, this time into a universe where Atlantis' sun has already swelled into a red giant
. To keep the ship from being burned up, McKay
(David Hewlett
) increases the rate at which the alternate reality drive activates, warning that his modifications are irreversible. Meanwhile, the team must contend with aliens from the crashed fighter. McKay figures out that there is no way to guide the alternate reality drive, but that they can return to their original reality by reversing the drive and jumping back through the realities they had visited before. They use the maneuvering thrusters to stabilize the ship's orbit above the red giant, and weather another attack by the aliens, with help from an alternate Atlantis. Once they return to their own reality, they leave the ship in space suits after a remaining alien detonates an explosive, causing a breach in the ship's hull and are picked up by Lorne
(Kavan Smith
) after the Daedalus disappears. In the end, McKay is shown working on fixing the alternate reality drive, despite Sheppard's admonishments.
suggested using the Daedalus. The final draft of "The Daedalus Variations" was completed on February 11. On February 12, the prosthetics meeting for the episode, as well as "The Seed", "Broken Ties" and "Whispers" took place, which most likely involved the unknown aliens featured from the episode. The appearance of the aliens was revealed in the advertisement for the episode on July 27. In an interview with episode writer, Alan McCullough
, he described the episode as a "great team show", and a "visual effects spectacular." On March 10, Captain Sobol was cast. Sobol was the alternate commander of the Daedalus, rather than Colonel Caldwell (Mitch Pileggi
). By the time the episode aired, Sobol was female (portrayed by Tracy Waterhouse), she held the rank of Colonel instead, and her name was spelled "Sobel".
Much of the episode was filmed on the Daedalus set. Due to that, visual effects
were required to fill in the external shots. The episode was reportedly one of the most expensive VFX budgets in the series, and is the most expensive for the season. The star map behind the captain's chair of the Daedalus is usually lit green. However, the episode's writer and supervising producer, Alan McCullough
, deliberately turned the map 90 degrees and changed the color from green to orange, so as to make the ship different from the normal Daedalus. McCullough also stated that the episode is a one-off, but did not rule out a return beyond the fifth season. He also said that he originally planned the team to visit a reality where the Ancients
won the war against the Wraith
, but this idea was dropped as it would detract from the main storyline. The episode was Jason Momoa's
first appearance with his customised wig. After he had his hair cut by the time the fourth season was completed, for the first three episodes he had it sewn back on. However, when SCI FI wouldn't allow his hairstyle to be changed, they switched to the wig after Momoa complained about the pain of having his hair sewn on again.
. They were beaten by ECW on Sci Fi (with 1.4), Ghost Hunters International
(with 1.6) and the season three premiere of Eureka
(which earned the highest rating of 2.1). The episode was also received generally positive. Tory Ireland Mell of IGN
praised the episode for its reasonably short teaser, thinking the shorter it is, the better the episode, as well as its gripping storyline and the introduction of the alien race, particularly the fact that very little is known about them, stating it was "a perfect tease by the writers." The episode was rated 9.1 out of 10 overall. Marx Pyle of the SyFy Portal
(which was since renamed Airlock Alpha
) compared the episode as Atlantis' version of Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode "Q Who?" in respect to the introduction of a new "big bad" for the future. It was praised for being a "fun filler" episode, and Pyle enjoyed the scene where the two Sheppards converse, and the space battle, believing only Battlestar Galactica
could beat them. However, Pyle criticised the episode for the absence of Woolsey
, and McKay's apparent quick understanding of new technologies including the alternate reality drive, as well as feeling that Sci Fi gave away too much information from the previews of the episode.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
, and is the fourth episode in the series' fifth season
Stargate Atlantis (season 5)
The fifth season of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis commenced airing on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States on July 11, 2008, concluded on the same channel on January 9, 2009, and contained 20 episodes. The show itself is a spin off of its sister show, Stargate...
. The episode first aired on August 1 2008 on the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the United States, and subsequently aired on October 9 on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Alan McCullough
Alan McCullough
Alan McCullough is a television writer.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis television series. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of the show's ninth season in 2005 . Since then he has been a writer for the series.He currently resides in...
, and directed by regular Stargate director, Andy Mikita
Andy Mikita
Andy Mikita is a Canadian television director and producer. He has worked in the TV and film industry for over 20 years. Mikita is best known for his work as a director and producer for Stargate SG-1, and its sister shows Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe.-Career:Andy Mikita began his...
. Richard Woolsey
Richard Woolsey
Richard Woolsey is a fictional character on the Stargate television franchise about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by Robert Picardo, Woolsey made his first appearance as a member of the NID in "Heroes", an episode of season 7 of Stargate...
(Robert Picardo
Robert Picardo
Robert Picardo is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Dr. Dick Richards on ABC's China Beach, the Emergency Medical Hologram , also known as The Doctor, on UPN's Star Trek: Voyager, The Cowboy in Innerspace, Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years , Ben Wheeler in Wagons East, and as...
) and Jennifer Keller
Jennifer Keller
Dr. Jennifer Keller is a fictional character from the Canadian-American military science fiction series Stargate Atlantis, a spin-off series to Stargate SG-1. She is played by Canadian actress Jewel Staite, who previously played the Wraith Ellia in season two episode "Instinct"...
(Jewel Staite
Jewel Staite
Jewel Belair Staite is a Canadian actress, who portrayed Catalina in Space Cases, Kaylee Frye in Firefly and Serenity, and Dr. Jennifer Keller on Stargate Atlantis.-Personal life:...
) do not appear in the episode, despite being credited during the opening title sequence. The episode bears similarities to the Flying Dutchman, a mythical ghost ship that drifts forever in the ocean with no chance of returning home. It received generally favourable reviews.
Episode writer McCullough described the episode as a one-off "wild romp", with much use of visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
. The episode follows John Sheppard
John Sheppard (Stargate)
John Sheppard is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, a science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
and his team, who investigates the mysterious appearance of the Daedalus over Atlantis
Atlantis (Stargate)
In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the spin-off of Stargate SG-1, Atlantis is a city-sized starship originally located in the Pegasus galaxy. Atlantis serves as the base of operations for the main characters, from which they explore other planets through the Stargate...
, where they soon find the ship is from a parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
and makes its way through various alternate realities with an "alternate reality drive". Stuck on the Daedalus, the team seek to find a way to return, while they run into contact with a newly introduced alien race and find the ship's new drive is slowly burning out, and they could be stranded in another universe forever.
Plot
A spaceship appears out of nowhere over AtlantisAtlantis (Stargate)
In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the spin-off of Stargate SG-1, Atlantis is a city-sized starship originally located in the Pegasus galaxy. Atlantis serves as the base of operations for the main characters, from which they explore other planets through the Stargate...
. John Sheppard
John Sheppard (Stargate)
John Sheppard is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, a science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
(Joe Flanigan
Joe Flanigan
Joe Flanigan is an American television actor best known for his portrayal of the character Major/Lt. Colonel John Sheppard in Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:Flanigan was born Joseph Dunnigan III in Los Angeles, California...
) and his team discover that the ship is the Daedalus, which is strange as Stargate Command
Stargate Command
The Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
confirms that the Daedalus is actually two days away from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Sheppard's team boards the new Daedalus and find it apparently abandoned with signs of battle damage. Teyla
Teyla Emmagan
Teyla Emmagan was a primary fictional character played by Rachel Luttrell in the science fiction series, Stargate Atlantis. In the show, she is the daughter of Tagan, and was a leader of a village on the planet Athos...
(Rachel Luttrell
Rachel Luttrell
Rachel Luttrell is an actress best known for her role as Teyla Emmagan, an Athosian warrior leader on Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
) views a log entry from the Daedalus commander, Colonel Sobel, who the team has never heard of before. Suddenly, there is a power spike and the Daedalus disappears from above Atlantis, while from the perspective of Sheppard's team, Atlantis disappears. McKay finds that they have been propelled into a parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
by what he terms an "alternate reality drive", and thus the Daedalus is actually from an alternate reality.
The team finds another version of themselves, dead, who come from yet another parallel universe and were trapped aboard while investigating the ship, just as they are. Soon, the ship jumps again, into a reality where Atlantis is under attack from an unfamiliar alien ship. Sheppard intervenes, and the aliens retaliate by launching fighters. One of the fighters crashes into the Daedalus before it jumps again, this time into a universe where Atlantis' sun has already swelled into a red giant
Red giant
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius immense and the surface temperature low, somewhere from 5,000 K and lower...
. To keep the ship from being burned up, McKay
Rodney McKay
Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay, Ph.D, is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, two military science fiction television shows about a military team exploring two galaxies via a network of alien transportation devices...
(David Hewlett
David Hewlett
David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
) increases the rate at which the alternate reality drive activates, warning that his modifications are irreversible. Meanwhile, the team must contend with aliens from the crashed fighter. McKay figures out that there is no way to guide the alternate reality drive, but that they can return to their original reality by reversing the drive and jumping back through the realities they had visited before. They use the maneuvering thrusters to stabilize the ship's orbit above the red giant, and weather another attack by the aliens, with help from an alternate Atlantis. Once they return to their own reality, they leave the ship in space suits after a remaining alien detonates an explosive, causing a breach in the ship's hull and are picked up by Lorne
Evan Lorne
Evan Lorne is a fictional character in the Canadian–American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, two military science fiction shows about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
(Kavan Smith
Kavan Smith
Kavan Joel Smith is a Canadian actor best known for playing Major Evan Lorne in Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1 and for his recurring role as Agent Jed Garrity in The 4400.-Biography:...
) after the Daedalus disappears. In the end, McKay is shown working on fixing the alternate reality drive, despite Sheppard's admonishments.
Production
The original concept of an episode involving alternate realities was a room in Atlantis that shifts into alternate realities. However, the idea had several issues, including the possibility of no Atlantis in one reality, so Robert C. CooperRobert C. Cooper
Robert C. Cooper is a Canadian writer and producer best known for his work in the Stargate franchise. He was formerly an executive producer of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis until both series conclusion and currently holds the same title on the third Stargate series Stargate Universe...
suggested using the Daedalus. The final draft of "The Daedalus Variations" was completed on February 11. On February 12, the prosthetics meeting for the episode, as well as "The Seed", "Broken Ties" and "Whispers" took place, which most likely involved the unknown aliens featured from the episode. The appearance of the aliens was revealed in the advertisement for the episode on July 27. In an interview with episode writer, Alan McCullough
Alan McCullough
Alan McCullough is a television writer.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis television series. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of the show's ninth season in 2005 . Since then he has been a writer for the series.He currently resides in...
, he described the episode as a "great team show", and a "visual effects spectacular." On March 10, Captain Sobol was cast. Sobol was the alternate commander of the Daedalus, rather than Colonel Caldwell (Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi
Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
). By the time the episode aired, Sobol was female (portrayed by Tracy Waterhouse), she held the rank of Colonel instead, and her name was spelled "Sobel".
Much of the episode was filmed on the Daedalus set. Due to that, visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
were required to fill in the external shots. The episode was reportedly one of the most expensive VFX budgets in the series, and is the most expensive for the season. The star map behind the captain's chair of the Daedalus is usually lit green. However, the episode's writer and supervising producer, Alan McCullough
Alan McCullough
Alan McCullough is a television writer.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis television series. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of the show's ninth season in 2005 . Since then he has been a writer for the series.He currently resides in...
, deliberately turned the map 90 degrees and changed the color from green to orange, so as to make the ship different from the normal Daedalus. McCullough also stated that the episode is a one-off, but did not rule out a return beyond the fifth season. He also said that he originally planned the team to visit a reality where the Ancients
Ancient (Stargate)
The Ancients are a humanoid race in the fictional Stargate universe. They are called "Ancients" in the Milky Way, but are also known as Lanteans or Ancestors in the Pegasus galaxy and as the Alterans in their home galaxy, and they sometimes call themselves Anquietas in their language...
won the war against the Wraith
Wraith (Stargate)
In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the Wraith are the original enemy alien species, first introduced in the pilot episode . In the series, they are a vampire-like telepathic race who feed on the "life-force" of humans, and are the dominant power in the Pegasus galaxy...
, but this idea was dropped as it would detract from the main storyline. The episode was Jason Momoa's
Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa is an American actor and model.He is known for his role as Ronon Dex on military science fiction television series Stargate: Atlantis . Most recently, he became recognized for his role as the title character in the sword and sorcery film Conan the Barbarian...
first appearance with his customised wig. After he had his hair cut by the time the fourth season was completed, for the first three episodes he had it sewn back on. However, when SCI FI wouldn't allow his hairstyle to be changed, they switched to the wig after Momoa complained about the pain of having his hair sewn on again.
Reception
"The Daedalus Variations" was given a household rating of 1.3, making Stargate Atlantis the fourth most viewed series for the week on Sci Fi ChannelSci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
. They were beaten by ECW on Sci Fi (with 1.4), Ghost Hunters International
Ghost Hunters International
Ghost Hunters International is a spin-off series of Ghost Hunters that airs on Syfy. The series premiered on January 9, 2008...
(with 1.6) and the season three premiere of Eureka
Eureka (TV series)
Eureka is an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on July 18, 2006. Since then four seasons have aired, and a fifth is currently being filmed. The second half of season 4 began on SyFy on July 11, 2011 and ended on September 19, 2011...
(which earned the highest rating of 2.1). The episode was also received generally positive. Tory Ireland Mell of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the episode for its reasonably short teaser, thinking the shorter it is, the better the episode, as well as its gripping storyline and the introduction of the alien race, particularly the fact that very little is known about them, stating it was "a perfect tease by the writers." The episode was rated 9.1 out of 10 overall. Marx Pyle of the SyFy Portal
SyFy Portal
Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films.-History:...
(which was since renamed Airlock Alpha
Airlock Alpha
Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films.-History:...
) compared the episode as Atlantis' version of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Q Who?" in respect to the introduction of a new "big bad" for the future. It was praised for being a "fun filler" episode, and Pyle enjoyed the scene where the two Sheppards converse, and the space battle, believing only Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
could beat them. However, Pyle criticised the episode for the absence of Woolsey
Richard Woolsey
Richard Woolsey is a fictional character on the Stargate television franchise about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by Robert Picardo, Woolsey made his first appearance as a member of the NID in "Heroes", an episode of season 7 of Stargate...
, and McKay's apparent quick understanding of new technologies including the alternate reality drive, as well as feeling that Sci Fi gave away too much information from the previews of the episode.
External links
- The Daedalus Variations at mgm.com
- The Daedalus Variations on scifi.comSci Fi Channel (United States)Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...