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Stargate Information Archive _ Atlantis Spoiler Archive _ Episode 203 - "Runner"
Posted by: stevenhp1987 Jan 12th 2005, 5:28 AM
A Quote from Gateworld:-
Beware of spoilers for this episode in the report below!
John Sheppard has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel since the Wraith attack on Atlantis ("The Siege"), but he is no longer the outpost's ranking military officer. That honor now falls to Colonel Caldwell, who has recently arrived on the base.
But Sheppard's promotion isn't what is on his mind now: His good friend and second-in-command, Lieutenant Aiden Ford, is missing. In the intervening episodes (possibly a still unknown, 2-part season premiere), Ford has been altered and turned into a super soldier of sorts -- but one who depends on an enzyme from the Wraith to survive. This has made him a one-man army, but also a grave security risk to Atlantis, especially after he escapes the city's security forces and gates offworld (prior to this episode).
A clue to Ford's whereabouts sends Sheppard's team to P3M-736, a sun-scorched world where "SuperFord" apparently killed a Wraith to get the enzyme he needs to survive. The team is soon separated, as Sheppard and Teyla are taken hostage in a cave by Ronon Dex -- a human on the run from the Wraith. Ronon has a Wraith homing device implanted in his back, and has been hunted as game for the past seven years.
Dr. McKay, meanwhile, finds Lieutenant Ford. He sees that the young officer isn't quite himself, but Ford is confident in his newfound abilities. Whatever has been done to him is the key to defeating the Wraith, he believes. Now he plans to save Sheppard and Teyla from their captor.
Not quick to trust the team, Ronon strikes a bargain with them: They will bring Dr. Beckett from Atlantis to try and remove the homing device, and he'll help them find Ford -- hopefully before the Wraith arrive.
Guest characters include Colonel Caldwell, Coughlin, Reed, Madden, and Billick -- apparently all from the Atlantis base. Dr. Beckett (Paul McGillion, recently promoted to series regular [story]) also appears in the episode.
So it looks like they might be killing off Lt. Ford, or making him different? I thought Dr. Beckett was a regular anyway because he's in a lot of episodes, sorta like Fraiser was back in SG-1... Oh well shows what I know.
Another quote from gateworld about the new guy (Ronon Dex):-
It is not yet known whether the character will replace anyone on the current Atlantis cast, though the story in which Ronon is introduced does not bode well for the character of Lieutenant Aiden Ford (Rainbow Sun Francks) (story). GateWorld will report more news on Season Two's final cast line-up as it becomes available.
A man between 25 and 30 years of age from the planet Atteria, Ronon Dex is a soldier and a weapons expert. He is sharp and witty, with a wry wit and an inclination to be brutally honest with others.
Ronon is the cunning victim of a Wraith hunting game, in which the creatures implant a homing device in their human prey and track them for sport. Ronon has been on the run for seven years, moving from planet to planet, always alone for fear of endangering others. No other human has eluded the Wraith hunters for so long, making him a well-known and highly-esteemed prize. He has even killed some Wraith who have tracked him down.
Ronon's single-minded determination has kept him going for so many years -- as well as his dream of one day being able to stop running and return to his home. He certainly does not trust Sheppard and the Atlantis team when he encounters them on another world.
Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 12th 2005, 5:36 AM
Looks to be a good ep. Dont like the fact that Shepperd is not the ranking military officer.
I want to know what the writers have planned for Ford. His character is very weak at the moment. As you say, Dr Beckett is a regular character and seems to be init more than Ford, but he is still credited as a supporting character (ie, not ont he title sequence) whereas Rainbow Sun Francks is on the title sequence.
Posted by: Pitry Jan 12th 2005, 7:46 AM
Bah. Shouldn't they concentrate on working on the characters they already got and bringing them up to scratch than creating more and more charcters who'll die of lack of attention? Ford could definitely use some more character-building time, and so could Teyla - what's the point in introducing another regular alien when their own alien is so lame? ...
BTW, I'm confused here. Back in season 7 TBTP said one of the reasons they can't keep Jonas Quinn's character is that they can't afford another regular actor on the show - that would have made the number of regulars in SG1 6. They're gonna have 6 anyway, and if they don't drop Ford it's gonna be 7. If they can afford that... well it should mean no clip show on season 2, I'd expect.
Posted by: Evo Jan 12th 2005, 11:01 AM
Wow. This episode sounds very interesting. Gateworld has a weird way of releasing spoilers 
Where's the first episode?! 
Anyways, this sounds like a very good episode. I see that now the producers are involving Ford in all sorts of stuff now, which is a good thing. Hopefully he won't get cut off..
Well at the moment, the producers has shown production in Teyla's character. In the episode "The Gift" that's mostly about Teyla only. This will pretty much be in the same situation, the episode will concentrate on Ford. The producers are smart thinkers
!Posted by: Mister Oragahn Jan 12th 2005, 1:50 PM
What must be depressing is knowing that your character may be removed just because writers don't develop it enough.
Now is uber Ford going ballisitic, playing with the darkside? 
Posted by: Desideratum Jan 16th 2005, 2:18 PM
Hmmm ... almost makes you tempted to buy a plane ticket to Vancouver for the Ronon Dex casting call, doesn't it? 
Posted by: Arcady Jan 19th 2005, 6:41 PM
Here's some more info from http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/sg1_spoilme/:
Update #2: - 1/18/05
Season 2
STARGATE ATLANTIS Episode #3
"Runner"
The second season of Atlantis finds the expedition with a new character and changes in the dynamics of the base.
As first reported here from a tip from Filmjerk.com, the team will encounter RONAN DEX, a human from a Pegasus world who is a fierce fighter. The Wraith have turned him into a 'runner' - someone whom they pursue for the fun (think fox hunt) and has been implanted with a tracking chip (think Lojack). Fortunately he's come to a place where removing implants is easy. Ronon has been on the run for something like 7 years and looks out for himself first, as it's the only way to stay alive.
BASIC PLOT.
It's good news/bad news for Atlantis.
Atlantis may not have been obliterated by the Wraith in "The Siege," but they've got problems. COLONEL CALDWELL seems to be the new military guy in command (no word if he's permanent or it's a temp job), putting Lt. Col. Sheppard (yes, he's been promoted!) into the second-in-command position, which doesn't sit well with Sheppard as there's big trouble. Although information is sketchy, Ford appears to be under the influence of something alien (an enzyme, something, which seems to give Ford great powers, but now seems to have screwed with his head), to the point that he is now a huge security risk to Atlantis. Beckett doesn't think there's anything they can do for Ford, and Caldwell suggests to Sheppard that he eliminate Ford - with extreme prejudice. It's suggested that Ronon, now implant-free, help them track down Ford (who has been captured by the Wraith after he fled Atlantis). RONON would prefer to go home, but Sheppard has to inform him that the man's home planet is basically toast so he has nowhere to go (and hey, there's plenty of spare rooms on Atlantis).
It's early in the episode that this trouble has occurred with Ford, and he's escaped from the base. For him, killing Wraith and getting the enzyme 
is like a junkie getting a fix.
Both Sheppard and Teyla are captured by Ronon on another planet while in pursuit of Ford. Dex turns out to be ex-military, in fact, a former team leader.. He's also in the late 20s/early 30s range, but that can change depending upon who is cast in the role. Dex is only alive because Ford killed the Wraith that nearly got Dex.
Meanwhile, McKay is off with several soldiers, CAPTAIN MADDEN among them, on some planet with a pretty high UV quota, which means you can get a really bad sunburn, among other things. They ignore using UV suits, but Rodney wants to protect himself.
Ronan is going to use Sheppard and Teyla as hostages to escape through the gate, and then they discover that Ronan was saved from a Wraith by Ford, who killed the Wraith, well, for a snack.
Somewhere along the way, McKay pairs up with Ford, who will help McKay find Sheppard and Teyla. It turns out Ford followed the Wraith to the planet, and those Wraith were pursuing Ronon.
Sheppard is able to convince Ronon to trust them, and that includes having Beckett remove the tracking device from his person.
Information from the end of the episode indicate that Ford escapes capture by his former friends, thus leaving Rainbow Sun Francks in a recurring role for Ford to show up later, but in what capacity, and as what, we don't know (Ford could be mutating!).
Other characters include CAPTAIN MADDEN, BILLICK and COUGHLIN (guards).
-thanks to 'ferret' for the tip
Oh, as usual, all information is subject to radical change.
Posted by: Christy Jan 19th 2005, 8:21 PM
so i guess this means Lt. Ford is no longer on the title?
Posted by: Stargate Atlantis freak Jan 19th 2005, 9:43 PM
Yes, he will be cut from the beginning titles.
And also, Ford will feed on an enzyme that the wraith have. Plus, Dr. McKay will believe that something that happens to Ford may be the key to defeating the wraith.
Posted by: crazysmoke Jan 19th 2005, 10:52 PM
i'm guessing they wanted to spice up fords character. damn can't really grasp the situation till i know what happened in the previous episodes. even though he's no longer in the main cast atleast his character is more intresting now.
Posted by: Christy Jan 20th 2005, 12:02 AM
And also, Ford will feed on an enzyme that the wraith have. Plus, Dr. McKay will believe that something that happens to Ford may be the key to defeating the wraith.
and you got your information from where?
Posted by: Stargate Atlantis freak Jan 20th 2005, 4:40 PM
Read the entire spoiler page that was put up in the first post. Third paragraph I think.
Posted by: ted_simple Jan 20th 2005, 4:57 PM
[sarcasm]Ford will become Kerrigon, king of blades. He will have his own little Wraith army and be a formidable foe.[/sarcasm]
Honestly, it's okay to remove him from the core cast if his role doesn't work out. Then let him go in dignity somehow. But this plot sounds stupid.
Posted by: ColonelJackO'NeillRocks Feb 1st 2005, 12:14 PM
"Runner"? I smell another sci-fi franchise getting tackled for its ideas....Anyone remember Logan's Run??
My point exactly.
Oh well, Sheppard as a Lt. Col. makes up for it.
B.G. Rocks out.
Posted by: IndyJan Feb 1st 2005, 6:19 PM
Okay, the Wraith that McKay and Sheppard fought on that planet, had some special differences from the normal Wraith. Sheppard picked up on it, and he looked different. That Wraith actually appeared intelligent. Could whatever happens to Ford be connected to this Wraith? I mean he's over 10,000 years old and was stuck on that planet. What if Ford comes into contact with whatever made that Wraith, and that's why he mutates, or whatever.
Posted by: Pak Feb 7th 2005, 8:07 PM
For Some News Reguarding The Actor of Colonel Caldwell:
Click Spolier
Posted by: Trad86 Apr 5th 2005, 10:15 AM
Super soldier Ford, this sounds familiar. If Ford goes away, I'm gonna miss him. I also think it's too soon to promote Sheppard.
Posted by: ancient01 Apr 5th 2005, 11:01 AM
Ford's character was kinda weak. This could be an interesting character development strategy. It's too bad he's going to be a guest star, but maybe that will change in future seasons. I'm intrigued...
Posted by: Teyla Emmagan Apr 5th 2005, 11:19 AM
Cool . I hope I seen more of five things
1. More of my favorite gurl Teyla
2. More John and Teyla Screen time
3. MOre of the city's secret's
4. More of Teyla kickin baddies
5. Teyla pulling a "Male Chaya Sar " like John did in "Sanctuary"
Posted by: stargate_addict Apr 5th 2005, 9:44 PM
sounds like a good episode! appropriately named as well
Posted by: Rikaelus Apr 19th 2005, 3:52 PM
No offense to Rainbow, but his performances haven't been the best. Sadly I have to say that even Enterprise's Mayweather character came through stronger. I would have liked it to work out better, but I understand them pulling someone else into his spot.
Posted by: Dafmeister Apr 19th 2005, 5:09 PM
To be fair to Rainbow, he can only do so much. If Ford is a badly written character it doenst matter what the ability of the actor is. I feel that Ford was a weak character to begin with. I think Rainbow did the best he could.
Posted by: Rikaelus Apr 19th 2005, 5:20 PM
True, though there have been numerous times when his acting has felt forced, such as when he reacts to what others are saying. It's not something easily explained, but something I pick up on.
Posted by: cosmos Jun 8th 2005, 10:03 PM
Good thing that Colonel Caldwell is still around. He has a Jack O'Neill quality on him from what I have seen so far (Not quite but sort of). Shep has proven many times that he doesn't follow orders if he believes that what he thinks is the right thing to do. Therefore some more friction between him and his new CO would be interesting.
If they kill off Ford or alter him too much, it would suck. Ford has a certain quality that I believe should be maintained in the series. He has a certain honesty and innocense in him.
Ronan reminds me of the big dude from Andromeda, he even looks like him. Nothing else to say at the moment. Just wait and see...
Posted by: JamesyBHOY Jun 16th 2005, 9:17 AM
First Pics from Runner released.
Click on Spoiler Tag to view.
Posted by: JamesyBHOY Jun 16th 2005, 1:09 PM
Whole bunch more released.
Split into two posts. (Further 11)
Click in Spoiler Tag to view.
Posted by: JamesyBHOY Jun 16th 2005, 1:59 PM
Click in Spoiler Tag to view.
Posted by: ziostilon Jul 14th 2005, 11:00 PM
I think these pics belong here:
Posted by: raptor125 Jul 16th 2005, 8:05 AM
Where are they in this eposide?? From the action pics, it looks like they are on a planet that is similar to Earth. Modern buildings and etc. This is different!!!
Posted by: projectle Jul 25th 2005, 7:39 PM
Well, it would seem that everyone has been cut out of the opening credits.
Posted by: Lagger Jul 26th 2005, 3:05 AM
is it just cause of the budget or do those guns, look very similar to the Gennii's?
Posted by: Samara Draven Jul 27th 2005, 8:46 PM
I don't think it's you. They do look very similar. Unless I see them up close, I'd say they are identical.
Did anyone else think the pic of Rodney was hysterical? I thought the look on his face was priceless.
Instead of calling it "Runner" I think they should've called it "Attack of the Dreadlocks".
I see dreadlocks. They're everywhere. It's like they don't even know they're dreadlocks.
I thought that Ronon's do was because of years of running. Maybe he didn't have time because just when he sat down, there were the wraith. But no! It looks like he had them before he was captured. And of course the wraith has them and so do Ronon's military buddies. Maybe the Medusa look was supposed to frighten off the Wraith.
"Fear my snakey hair as I shake it at you." No wonder they lost.
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