Seven of Stargate Atlantis’ stars reunited on Saturday for a panel at [email protected], reminiscing about their first Comic-Con appearance as cast members, their initial perceptions of the show and more.
Kicking off the discussion of the cast’s first convention appearance was actor Rainbow Sun Francks, who played Lt. Aiden Ford. Francks remembered that his first Comic-Con as part of Stargate was “crazy,” which led David Nykl and other cast members to chime in with further details.
“It was really daunting,” said Nykl, who played Dr. Radek Zelenka. “You’ve got to develop this sort of onstage convention personality, which is like a hybrid between your character and yourself. We had to learn that.”
Actress Torri Higginson (Dr. Elizabeth Weir) recalled that “the studio gave us all free liquor the night before” the panel. Naturally, then, she and her co-stars ended up with “a hangover that only new actors with free liquor would have.”
Higginson added that she wasn’t expecting people to turn out for the panel, to the extent that they did. “I thought, ‘No one’s going to be at that convention because they’re all mad at us, because they think we’re killing SG-1,’” she admitted. “Then, we walked out and it was like a football field of people.”
Like Higginson, Rachel Luttrell (Teyla Emmagan) came to Stargate with little in the way of expectations. While she’d seen Roland Emmerich’s 1994 Stargate film, she hadn’t seen the series SG-1, which preceded Atlantis. “I came in completely naïve, which I think was really good because I didn’t feel the pressure to take on this enterprise, this huge fandom,” she said. “It took me probably until episode number five before I realized the impact of Stargate…and once I did, the pressure did kind of settle in. But…of course, I was thrilled to be a part of it.”
David Hewlett (Dr. Rodney McKay) celebrated the fact that Stargate‘s “fandom survives and thrives,” even as the show continues to age. He added that his favorite memories from his time on set are of laughs he shared with cast and crew. “Honestly, of all the stuff I remember, it’s just those belly laughs where you just can’t stop,” he said, “[where] you’re feeling so fortunate for having such a great job.”
Stargate Atlantis was a Stargate SG-1 spinoff series that earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its five-season run on Syfy, between 2004 and 2009. The series from creators Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper centered on an international team of scientists and military personnel who discovered a Stargate network in the Pegasus Galaxy, coming face-to-face with a new, powerful enemy, known as The Wraith.
Today’s panel moderated by David Read (of the Dial the Gate YouTube channel) also featured appearances by actors Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) and Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey).
To check out the entire conversation on Stargate Atlantis, click above.
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