I’ve watched the final three episodes of the second season of Eureka and well sort of a family affair, you’ll see what I mean:)
In the episode Maneaterwe had Lexa Doig (SG1) playing Dr. Anne Young who will return in the third season and also Richard Ian Cox (SG1 & SGA) who was Dr. Bob Stone. We then had Michael Shanks (SG1, SGA & SGU) playing Christopher Dactylos in the episode All That Glitters and you can’t help but wish Lexa and Michael got to do an episode together, could have followed the Andromeda and Stargate theme 🙂
Once again we delved into the IMDB lists of our family of Stargate actors and came up with an episode of Andromeda which not only starred Lexa Doig but had Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge as guest stars. As pure icing JR Bourne was also featured in the episode and it was directed by Allan Eastman who directed the SG1 episode Fire and Water so by anyones criteria Day of Judgement, Day of Wrath was perfect for a bonus show. The episode is from the third season and while it’s not purely standalone it can be viewed as such although even with a syndicated show such as Andromeda you still will benefit from knowing the characters and some of the back story.
In Day of Judgement, Day of Wrath we see the AI of the Andromeda Ascendant taken over by the former AI of a ship they had dealt with in an earlier episode, the crew unaware of the switch have to deal with the confusion surrounding not only the impact on the Andromeda but also the new ship Resolution of Hector as it is stolen by the new AI. The Andromeda is then with the consent of it’s Captain (Kevin Sorbo) has it’s AI replaced with the entity that was going to be controlling the Hector and they then go in pursuit of the stolen ship. As the episode progresses we get drama and action on both ships which works on the character traits of the existing crew and for Stargate fans the chemistry between the two AI’s (Lexa and Michael) on the Hector is obvious and on board Andromeda it’s new AI (Christopher) works well opposite Hunt. We get some pretty good action both CGI and the often use tactical displays (cost saving) but the core of the story is about what it’s meant to be to be an AI and in control of a High Guard starship and the consequences of theirs actions. In many ways it’s very reminiscent of what Gene Roddenberry would have intended and in the third season of the show that’s quite surprising but then again you look at the writing and directing credits and there is some serious talent there. Andromeda may have been a syndicated and restricted budget production but in this case they produced a gem of an episode made more so by some excellent casting of the guest stars.
Thanks to everyone that’s been listening to these bonus shows, we have one more left which will be the Amanda Tapping episode of Goosebumps and then we’ll return to the regular Stargate shows so until then we hope the new year has started well and maybe this year we’ll see some movement on new Stargate even if it’s a theatrical remake/reboot.
A very happy birthday to Lexa Doig who played Dr Carolyn Lam in the final two seasons of Stargate SG1, she is married to Michael Shanks but we won’t hold that against her:)
Lexa is currently featured in the new scifi series Continuum and her resume is rich in the scifi genre from SG1 through Andromeda, The 4400 and Tekwar. Guest roles on Smallville, V and the dramas Arctic Air and CI5 bulk up an already impressive resume.
Also on the 8th of June the British actor Alan Scarfe celebrates his birthday, a familiar face on scifi shows when the need for a character actor arises. He guest starred in the Stargate Atlantis episode “Poisoning The Well” as Chancellor Druhin as well appearances on Babylon 5, Andromeda and Kingdom Hospital.
