Adrift (Stargate Atlantis)
Encyclopedia
"Adrift" is the 61st episode and the fourth season
Stargate Atlantis (season 4)
Season four of Stargate Atlantis, an American-Canadian television series, began airing on September 28, 2007 on the US-American Sci Fi Channel. The fourth season concluded after 20 episodes on March 7, 2008 on Sci Fi. The series was developed by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, who also served as...

 premiere of the science fiction
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...

. The episode first aired in the United States on September 28, 2007 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...

, and subsequently aired 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. It was written by executive producer Martin Gero
Martin Gero
Martin Gero is a Canadian screenwriter and co-executive producer for Stargate Atlantis.Born in Switzerland, Gero spent much of his childhood in Ottawa, Ontario. He attended Canterbury High School for the Arts and Ryerson University in Toronto...

, and directed by Martin Wood
Martin Wood
Martin Wood is a Canadian television director who has been directing since the mid 1990s. Specializing in science fiction, where he is best known for his work as a director and producer on Stargate SG-1 , as well as its spin-off series Stargate Atlantis .-Career:Martin Wood began his television...

. The episode continues from the third season finale "First Strike
First Strike (Stargate Atlantis)
"First Strike" is the 60th episode and the third season finale of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. The episode originally aired in Canada on February 5, 2007 on The Movie Network, and subsequently aired March 14 on Sky One in the United Kingdom, and June 22 on the United...

", where 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...

 drops out of hyperspace
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....

 in the middle of deep space with 24 hours of power left after an Asuran attack.

"Adrift" was a visual effects milestone for the series. It introduced several cast changes for the season, including the departure of Carson Beckett
Carson Beckett
Dr. Carson Beckett is a fictional Scottish character in the Canadian-American science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1. He is portrayed by Scottish-born Canadian actor Paul McGillion, who previously played Dr. Ernest Littlefield in the first season of...

 (Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion is a Vancouver-based actor who has worked in television, film and theatre since 1990. He is best known for his role on the television series Stargate Atlantis as Dr. Carson Beckett.-Early life:...

) and Elizabeth Weir
Elizabeth Weir (Stargate)
Dr. Elizabeth Weir is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate Atlantis, a military science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Elizabeth Weir is introduced as a recurring character in...

 (Torri Higginson
Torri Higginson
Sarah Victoria "Torri" Higginson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in the TekWar movies and series, The English Patient, Bliss, and Stargate Atlantis...

), and the inclusion of Samantha Carter
Samantha Carter
Samantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...

 (Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...

) to the main cast. Before its release, an incomplete version of the episode was leaked on the Internet. After its release, "Adrift" started the season with a drop in ratings since the last season finale. The episode earned the series Emmy and Visual Effects Society
Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of...

 Award nominations, and was generally well received.

Plot

With Weir
Elizabeth Weir (Stargate)
Dr. Elizabeth Weir is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate Atlantis, a military science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Elizabeth Weir is introduced as a recurring character in...

 (Torri Higginson
Torri Higginson
Sarah Victoria "Torri" Higginson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in the TekWar movies and series, The English Patient, Bliss, and Stargate Atlantis...

) incapacitated, 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...

) is forced to take command of Atlantis. 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:...

) determines that the power conduits are damaged, preventing Atlantis from completing its jump to the planet M12-578. While teams are sent to patch them up, the shield starts to collapse, resulting in the deaths of one team. McKay later decides to collapse the shield to cover the central tower in order to conserve power, and give Zelenka
Radek Zelenka
Dr. Radek Zelenka is a fictional character in the television series Stargate Atlantis, portrayed by David Nykl. He is a scientist from the Czech Republic and a member of the original expedition from Earth to the Ancient city of Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy. His expertise on Ancient technology is...

 (David Nykl
David Nykl
David Nykl is a Czech Canadian actor of film, television, commercials and theater.After the Soviet invasion in 1968, he and his family left then-Communist Czechoslovakia for Canada...

) time to patch up the conduits. However, the city approaches an asteroid belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

, and the only way to go through without using up the power is for Sheppard to lead a fleet of Puddle Jumpers and clear a path. Although inexperienced, the pilots succeed, but impacts from the stragglers damage the stardrive control crystals, and they have to fix it before jumping again.

In the midway station, Colonel Carter
Samantha Carter
Samantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...

 (Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...

) and Bill Lee (Bill Dow
Bill Dow
Bill Dow is an actor, director and writer in theatre, film, and television. He is best known for playing Bill Lee in the Stargate franchise. He also had a recurring roles as Russ Hathaway in the Canadian drama series Da Vinci's Inquest, as Mr. Parkman in Pasadena, and Dr. Charles Burks in The X Files...

) are contacted by the Apollo, informing them Atlantis did not arrive. Carter and Lee eventually decide to find the city by using the Apollo to perform small jumps along the city's path and augment their sensors to increase the chance of finding Atlantis. Dr. 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:...

) exhausts her medical expertise to save Weir, and asks McKay to reprogramme the nanites Weir was infected with in "The Real World". Against Sheppard's orders, McKay goes ahead with it.

In space suits, Sheppard and Zelenka reach the controls and repair them, but in the process Zelenka is injured by a micro-asteroid. By then, Atlantis has lost too much power to jump again. Furthermore, Sheppard learns McKay has disobeyed his order and angrily tells him to deactivate the nanites. Weir, having apparently fully recovered, regains consciousness. When she learns the nanites are keeping her alive, she warns 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:...

) that saving her this way is a bad idea. McKay apologises to Sheppard, and they continue working. In the end, McKay decides to use an experimental Jumper with a hyperdrive he worked on since "Tao of Rodney" and use it to steal a Zero Point Module from the Asuran homeworld.

Production

"Adrift" first surfaced on February 2007, before the airing of "First Strike". By March it was confirmed to be the first of a two-part opening for the fourth season along with "Lifeline
Lifeline (Stargate Atlantis)
"Lifeline" is the second episode of the fourth season, and the 62nd episode overall, of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. The episode first aired in the United States on October 5, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel, and subsequently aired October 16 on Sky One in the United Kingdom....

" and would be similar in style to "Progeny" and "The Real World". The producers kept trying to find new ways to "out-do" the efforts of the previous seasons, which they described was "different" to them, since they introduced more of a balance between team-based and character-based episodes. After the completion of "First Strike", the producers thought it was the biggest episode they have ever done, and wondered how the fourth season would top that. During the writing stages, Martin Gero
Martin Gero
Martin Gero is a Canadian screenwriter and co-executive producer for Stargate Atlantis.Born in Switzerland, Gero spent much of his childhood in Ottawa, Ontario. He attended Canterbury High School for the Arts and Ryerson University in Toronto...

 wanted the episode to "tee up" with the last episode of the season, and hence wanted the episode to become part of a story-arc for the entire season. Gero also wanted the episode to have "no down time" for the characters like the previous season premieres. After Zelenka gets injured, a scene where a Puddle Jumper was originally meant to pick them both up. However, having a Jumper set nearby in an Atlantis set would not be practical enough, and was cut. He also wrote to have Sheppard in an uneased state while forced to take command of Atlantis. The scene where 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...

 and Zelenka
Radek Zelenka
Dr. Radek Zelenka is a fictional character in the television series Stargate Atlantis, portrayed by David Nykl. He is a scientist from the Czech Republic and a member of the original expedition from Earth to the Ancient city of Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy. His expertise on Ancient technology is...

 converse and finish each other's sentences were parallel to the arguing between Gero and Wood while working together on set. He considered the scene between Teyla and Weir to be the cliffhanger, but was changed to the following scene, as Gero felt that would be the better cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...

, similar to the one for "The Return, Part 1".

The episode, and the season itself has introduced Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...

 as Samantha Carter
Samantha Carter
Samantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...

 for her first of 14 episode appearance, after finishing her appearances on all ten seasons of the sister series, Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

. Carter would replace Elizabeth Weir
Elizabeth Weir (Stargate)
Dr. Elizabeth Weir is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate Atlantis, a military science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Elizabeth Weir is introduced as a recurring character in...

 as the leader of the Atlantis Expedition after the episode. However, Carter would only have a supporting role as opposed to a lead role on SG-1. The episode would also give the audience "an opportunity to really get to know Dr. 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"...

" (Staite). Gero was reluctant to accept an updated opening title sequence, which mentioned the departure of Weir and the introduction of Carter, which would give the casual viewers a tip.

While filming the scene where Keller and her team perform a Decompressive craniectomy
Decompressive craniectomy
Decompressive craniectomy is a neurosurgical procedure in which part of the skull is removed to allow a swelling brain room to expand without being squeezed. It is performed on victims of traumatic brain injury and stroke. Use of the surgery is controversial....

 on Weir, an actual brain surgeon performed the same procedure on a head model live from ten feet away, and directed the cast on what to do. While following the surgeon, Staite was nervous about doing the scene. After filming was completed, the surgeon's voice was removed from the final cut. During the sequence where the city travels through a clearing in the asteroid field, the producers wanted the scene where Atlantis gets hit by the odd asteroid as authentic as possible, so in the control room, not only the cameras, but the screens and tables on the set were shaken slightly as well.

The episode was one of the most expensive in the series at the time, with two 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...

 milestones for the series. During one of the sequences, the visual effects team switched from stock explosions on 2D to 3D versions. The producers wished to exceed the minute-long Horizon sequence in the previous episode. The scene where the doors close while the shield is collapsing was merely stock footage from "Hot Zone", with the CGI of the shield added on. When the producers conceived the idea for the space jump between Sheppard and Zelenka, they thought it would be "cool", as well as thinking that they were possibly too apprehensive. However, the sequence was pulled off, and Paul Mullie
Paul Mullie
Paul Mullie is a screenwriter and producer. He is credited for writing episodes of Stargate Atlantis, Largo Winch, and Stargate SG-1...

 described the jump as "one of the best visual effects we have ever done." The scene were one team dies from the collapsing shield however, was not performed as well as the producers hoped.

Reception

Before the episode originally aired, a near-complete version was leaked onto the Internet. After it aired in the United States, "Adrift" earned a 1.2 household Nielsen rating, representing 1.7 million viewers; 896,000 from ages 18 to 49, and 962,000 from the 25 to 54 demographic. The episode decreased viewership by six percent from the average ratings from the back half of the third season, and dropped from a 1.5 household rating from the third season premiere, "No Man's Land". The reasoning maybe the fact that several well known series aired on the same time slot. However, according to the Live + 3 Day rating, the ratings boosted to 1.4. In the United Kingdom, "Adrift" received 527,000 viewers, placing Atlantis number six in the top ten broadcasts for 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...

 for that week.

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...

thought the season premiere performed well without Stargate SG-1, and liked the episode's visual effects sequences and action, but was critical about the lack of Ronon's
Ronon Dex
Ronon Dex is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. Played by Jason Momoa, he is a Satedan, a civilization from the Pegasus Galaxy who had a technological level comparable to Earth in the mid-20th century but met the fate of all advanced civilizations in...

 presence after his injury in the last episode, giving "Adrift" a "descent" rating of 7.0 out of 10. Critical Myth rated the episode 8 out of 10, praising the direction the writers took with the episode, Sheppard being rather forced to be command of the city with the incapacitation of Weir, as well as comparing the characters' "chance to prove their meddle through extreme adversity" to "The Siege, Part 2
The Siege (Stargate Atlantis)
"The Siege" is the season finale for season one and season premiere for season two of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first episode of the series overall...

". 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...

 (who plays 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...

) described this and the following episode as "fun to do," and praised the idea of Atlantis being marooned in space, and wished the arc would last "seven or eight" episodes. "Adrift" was nomintated for two awards. In 2008, the visual effects team submitted "Adrift" for a "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects", but lost to Battlestar Galactica's
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...

"He That Believeth in Me
He That Believeth in Me
"He That Believeth in Me" is the third episode in the fourth season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica...

". The episode was also nominated for the sixth annual Visual Effects Society
Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of...

 Award for "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series", but lost to Fight for Life
Fight for Life (TV series)
'Fight for Life' was a series, using new technology, which explores the human body and its fight for survival in life threatening situations, with computer-generated imagery and specially shot footage...

.

External links

  • Adrift at mgm.com
  • Adrift on scifi.com
    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...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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