Eli Wallace
Encyclopedia
Eli Wallace is a fictional character
in the Canadian-American television series Stargate Universe
, a science fiction
drama
centering on the adventures of a present-day, multinational scientific team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is traveling in a distant corner of the universe. He is portrayed by American
actor David Blue
. Blue auditioned for the role when he heard they were casting characters for the new show. Wallace is considered to be a slacker, yet at the same time a genius. Wallace made his first appearance in the pilot episode, "Air
", first broadcast in the United States
and Canada
in 2009.
, Wallace lived with his mother, was unemployed, and spent most of his time playing video games. He had dropped out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), where he had been studying mathematics. His last job was at a fast food restaurant. He was very concerned about his mother, Maryann, who had contracted HIV
from a needle stick several years earlier, when she was a nurse. The attack also caused his father to abandon them when Eli was 14 ("Time"). She was having trouble finding adequate medical coverage at the time of Eli's recruitment, and Stargate Command promised to make sure his mother's medical needs were taken care of if he joined the Stargate program;
Sometime in 2009, Wallace started playing an online game called Prometheus, and in the course of the game he solved a math problem in order to advance to the game's next level. But unbeknownst to him, the problem that Eli solved was actually an Ancient mathematical proof that was procured from the Ancient Database, and that Stargate Command had created the game in an effort to find someone who could solve it. Within a day of finding the solution, Eli is visited by Dr. Nicholas Rush
and General Jack O'Neill
, who offer him a chance to see the fruits of his labor (but do not elaborate on the details), then beam him aboard the George Hammond after he shows some reluctance at signing the non-disclosure agreement. Rush wins Eli over by promising that the Air Force
will provide his mother with the best medical care they have to offer.
Eli is transported to the Icarus Base to help Rush solve the mystery behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate
. He jokingly gives himself the nickname "Math Boy" during a dinner conversation, which sticks. Though his formula is initially unsuccessful, Eli is key during an attack on the base in solving the problem they are having dialing the ninth chevron, which allows Rush to dial the address. As a result, the remaining Icarus personnel are sent to the Destiny, an Ancient spaceship several billion light-years from Earth
.
Due to his deference to Colonel Young's authority, Eli becomes one of Young's confidants. He is the only civilian that Young trusts to handle technical problems and decipher Destinys systems. For example, Young tasked Eli with using the Kinos to secretly spy on the crew, a mission that Eli was clearly uncomfortable with. And because Young does not trust Dr. Rush but does trust Eli, Young often puts Eli in conflict with Rush. The end of season 2 is a cliffhanger for which Eli is crucial: everyone on the ship has been put into stasis pods except for Eli, who volunteers to stay behind (in lieu of the untrustworthy Dr. Rush) to figure out how to fix the final, malfunctioning stasis pod so that he too can go into stasis. Before fixing his pod he goes to the observation deck and looks out at the stars as Destiny shuts down most of its systems around him. Eli smiles enigmatically as the show ends.
David Blue
became a fan of Stargate SG-1
when it moved from Showtime to the SCI FI Channel
(now known as Syfy) and used to watch it when he came home from school. He also later caught up with Stargate Atlantis
. His interest in the franchise
later influenced him to audition for one of the main roles. Blue was shooting a scene for an episode of Ugly Betty
when he heard that the Stargate Universe
producers were casting actors. He soon after had an audition
and a screen test. Blue has commented that he wanted the role even more when he heard that Robert Carlyle
had been signed in for a part.
Blue had never acted in the science fiction
genre before being cast for Stargate Universe. Prior to Stargate Universe, he was best-known for his portrayal of Cliff in Ugly Betty. Blue himself has said that Stargate Universe is "completely different" from his previous work.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Canadian-American television series Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
, a 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...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
centering on the adventures of a present-day, multinational scientific team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is traveling in a distant corner of the universe. He is portrayed by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor David Blue
David Blue (actor)
David Blue is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Cliff St. Paul on Ugly Betty and Eli Wallace on the Syfy series Stargate Universe.-Early life:...
. Blue auditioned for the role when he heard they were casting characters for the new show. Wallace is considered to be a slacker, yet at the same time a genius. Wallace made his first appearance in the pilot episode, "Air
Air (Stargate Universe)
"Air" is the three-part opening episode of the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe. The first two parts aired on Syfy in the United States on October 2, 2009, while the third part aired on October 9. In Canada, SPACE aired the first two in tandem with Syfy...
", first broadcast in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2009.
Character arc
Prior to being recruited into Stargate CommandStargate 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...
, Wallace lived with his mother, was unemployed, and spent most of his time playing video games. He had dropped out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT), where he had been studying mathematics. His last job was at a fast food restaurant. He was very concerned about his mother, Maryann, who had contracted HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
from a needle stick several years earlier, when she was a nurse. The attack also caused his father to abandon them when Eli was 14 ("Time"). She was having trouble finding adequate medical coverage at the time of Eli's recruitment, and Stargate Command promised to make sure his mother's medical needs were taken care of if he joined the Stargate program;
Sometime in 2009, Wallace started playing an online game called Prometheus, and in the course of the game he solved a math problem in order to advance to the game's next level. But unbeknownst to him, the problem that Eli solved was actually an Ancient mathematical proof that was procured from the Ancient Database, and that Stargate Command had created the game in an effort to find someone who could solve it. Within a day of finding the solution, Eli is visited by Dr. Nicholas Rush
Nicholas Rush
Dr. Nicholas Rush is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the...
and General Jack O'Neill
Jack O'Neill
Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, three science fiction shows about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
, who offer him a chance to see the fruits of his labor (but do not elaborate on the details), then beam him aboard the George Hammond after he shows some reluctance at signing the non-disclosure agreement. Rush wins Eli over by promising that the Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
will provide his mother with the best medical care they have to offer.
Eli is transported to the Icarus Base to help Rush solve the mystery behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate
Stargate (device)
A Stargate is a portal device within the Stargate fictional universe that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations. The devices first appear in the 1994 Roland Emmerich film Stargate, and thereafter in the television series Stargate SG-1 and its spin-offs...
. He jokingly gives himself the nickname "Math Boy" during a dinner conversation, which sticks. Though his formula is initially unsuccessful, Eli is key during an attack on the base in solving the problem they are having dialing the ninth chevron, which allows Rush to dial the address. As a result, the remaining Icarus personnel are sent to the Destiny, an Ancient spaceship several billion light-years 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...
.
Due to his deference to Colonel Young's authority, Eli becomes one of Young's confidants. He is the only civilian that Young trusts to handle technical problems and decipher Destinys systems. For example, Young tasked Eli with using the Kinos to secretly spy on the crew, a mission that Eli was clearly uncomfortable with. And because Young does not trust Dr. Rush but does trust Eli, Young often puts Eli in conflict with Rush. The end of season 2 is a cliffhanger for which Eli is crucial: everyone on the ship has been put into stasis pods except for Eli, who volunteers to stay behind (in lieu of the untrustworthy Dr. Rush) to figure out how to fix the final, malfunctioning stasis pod so that he too can go into stasis. Before fixing his pod he goes to the observation deck and looks out at the stars as Destiny shuts down most of its systems around him. Eli smiles enigmatically as the show ends.
Conceptual history
| "You tend to take parts of your roles home with you, which is why it's always good when you're playing a fun role." |
| — Blue talking about his work on SGU. |
David Blue
David Blue (actor)
David Blue is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Cliff St. Paul on Ugly Betty and Eli Wallace on the Syfy series Stargate Universe.-Early life:...
became a fan of 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...
when it moved from Showtime to the SCI FI Channel
Syfy
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...
(now known as Syfy) and used to watch it when he came home from school. He also later caught up with 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...
. His interest in the franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
later influenced him to audition for one of the main roles. Blue was shooting a scene for an episode of Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
when he heard that the Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
producers were casting actors. He soon after had an audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
and a screen test. Blue has commented that he wanted the role even more when he heard that Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
had been signed in for a part.
Blue had never acted in 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...
genre before being cast for Stargate Universe. Prior to Stargate Universe, he was best-known for his portrayal of Cliff in Ugly Betty. Blue himself has said that Stargate Universe is "completely different" from his previous work.