SGA 5.08 "The Queen" Episode Guide: Difference between revisions

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==Production Gallery==
==Production Gallery==
* [http://photos.latimes.com/backlot/gallery/stargate-atlantis/2008/6/6/Stargate_Atlantis_extras_2 LA Times: David Strick's Hollywood Backlot (on set of "The Queen", May 6, 2008).]


The following are links to images concerning the production of this episode and were published by Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog:  
The following are links to images concerning the production of this episode and were published by Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog:  
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* "Falling on some stuff we culled from Michael's research, we make a proposition to Todd later in the year. The episode I'm just finishing right now, it's called 'The Queen'. We set up the episode. We go to Todd with a gene therapy we've managed to develop using Michael's research, which we believe will make the Wraith able to process food and thus not have to feed on humans anymore. ... Like Michael did! Exactly. So this is something that obviously would be very valuable to us and we're trying to pitch Todd on it to help us develop it further and test it. Of course, Todd, who's always got his own agenda, asks us to do something in return, which is what then the episode becomes about. It becomes a very Teyla-focused story. Essentially what Todd requires is he's joined an alliance of other hives, but the only way you can be -- he's had to fake his way in and lie and say that he had a queen on board. I don't want to say more. Perhaps I've already said too much. But it goes in an interesting direction after that. It's a combination of a story that I pitched and a story that Alex Levine, our story coordinator, pitched last year. He pitched a story where there was a Wraith summit and we tried to infiltrate it. We were trying to infiltrate a Wraith summit and we needed to go in undercover. Using that pitch, as well as some story elements that I pitched this year, we built the story. ... It helps that she [Teyla] has some Wraith DNA already." — Alan McCullough in Gateworld interview, published June 4, 2008.
* "Falling on some stuff we culled from Michael's research, we make a proposition to Todd later in the year. The episode I'm just finishing right now, it's called 'The Queen'. We set up the episode. We go to Todd with a gene therapy we've managed to develop using Michael's research, which we believe will make the Wraith able to process food and thus not have to feed on humans anymore. ... Like Michael did! Exactly. So this is something that obviously would be very valuable to us and we're trying to pitch Todd on it to help us develop it further and test it. Of course, Todd, who's always got his own agenda, asks us to do something in return, which is what then the episode becomes about. It becomes a very Teyla-focused story. Essentially what Todd requires is he's joined an alliance of other hives, but the only way you can be -- he's had to fake his way in and lie and say that he had a queen on board. I don't want to say more. Perhaps I've already said too much. But it goes in an interesting direction after that. It's a combination of a story that I pitched and a story that Alex Levine, our story coordinator, pitched last year. He pitched a story where there was a Wraith summit and we tried to infiltrate it. We were trying to infiltrate a Wraith summit and we needed to go in undercover. Using that pitch, as well as some story elements that I pitched this year, we built the story. ... It helps that she [Teyla] has some Wraith DNA already." — Alan McCullough in Gateworld interview, published June 4, 2008.
* "It's funny, in 'The Queen', the one I'm writing right now, he [Woolsey] wasn't in it in the first draft and we're talking about possibly using him for a scene in the second draft, but again it's just a scene, and we're hoping maybe we can figure out a way to do it in a believable fashion where we can be on the base but not have Woolsey sitting in on the discussion." — Alan McCullough in Gateworld interview, published June 4, 2008.
* "It's funny, in 'The Queen', the one I'm writing right now, he [Woolsey] wasn't in it in the first draft and we're talking about possibly using him for a scene in the second draft, but again it's just a scene, and we're hoping maybe we can figure out a way to do it in a believable fashion where we can be on the base but not have Woolsey sitting in on the discussion." — Alan McCullough in Gateworld interview, published June 4, 2008.


==Further Reading==
==Further Reading==

Revision as of 19:20, 21 June 2008

Sga-title.jpg

Précis

Keller is abducted by the Runner Kiryk who brought the Wraith to a village on a planet where she, McKay, and Ronon were visiting. After helping the villagers to safety, McKay and Ronon set out to rescue Keller, running into booby traps left by the Runner along the way.

Guide | Transcript

MGM/SciFi.com Official Summary

The official summary is not available as this episode has not yet aired in the United States.

Spoiler Summary

Todd and the Expedition have once again teamed up—this time with Teyla posing as Todd’s Queen. They rendezvous with another hive, one of their alliance, that has their own queen with whom Teyla is to negotiate. The commander welcoming Todd and Teyla aboard acts as his Queen’s primary aide and shows a great deal of protection for her and her hive. He has seen betrayals happen among even his allies, so he’s very suspicous of any and all who come from a hive not his own.

The rest of Teyla’s team stays on Todd’s hive ship, accompanied by Kenny. As soon as Todd and Teyla board the other hive, the commander takes the ship into hyperspace. This act surprises Todd, who says it is not part of the arrangement, but the commander suggests that this is standard procedure when it comes to treating someone that he doesn’t know. Sheppard, Ronon, and McKay lost track of Todd and Teyla once the hive went into hyperspace. Only once the ship drops out will they be able to track Todd’s subspace transmitter.

Todd stands close to Teyla, making sure that she doesn’t cause any more suspicion in this already tense situation. The commander brings Teyla word that a rival hive has just encroached on one of their feeding grounds and wishes for Teyla to give him orders as to what to do next. Each command Teyla gives as Queen is met with mounting suspicion, and sooner or later, things are going to go bad … very bad.

Cast

Guest Stars

Production

Production Gallery

The following are links to images concerning the production of this episode and were published by Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog:

Published by Sci Fi Pi Blog:

Related Articles

Keywords

Other

Related Links

Production Notes

  • "Alan is mulling over a possible story to slip into the #9 slot as the script originally envisioned for that spot ran into a “creative snafu” that a) moved it into the back half and b) may necessitate a change in perspective." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, February 20, 2008.
  • "Yes, the extreme Shep-whump episode has been moved to the back half, leaving a big yawning empty space in the #9 slot. But we sat down for a couple of hours this afternoon and spun out a fantastic Teyla story. It’s one of those stories that, after you’ve finishing throwing out ideas and putting together a rough structure, you sit back and say: “Damn, I wish I was writing this one.” And with that, we have our first half mapped out. Much like last year, it’s a nice mix of individual and team episodes." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, February 22, 2008.
  • "Gave Alan notes on his beat sheet. Told him I thought it was going to be a fantastic episode. No pressure." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, February 27, 2008.
  • "Alan is off and running on the new episode #9, The Queen..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, March 4, 2008.
  • "Alan has gone to script on The Queen..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, March 13, 2008.
  • "The Queen will show off the Teyla character in a very interesting way." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, March 23, 2008.
  • "Alan continues work on the Teyla-centric The Queen." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, March 24, 2008.
  • Amy writes: "Also Teyla’s episode titled the ‘Queen’? I am guessing this has to do with Teyla again getting inside the mind of a wraith Queen. This story line is getting a little old is it not?" Answer: "If you say so. And you guess wrong." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, March 25, 2008.
  • "We gave Alan notes on his first draft of The Queen this afternoon." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 1, 2008.
  • "We ... gave Alan notes on the revised Queen..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 8, 2008.
  • "Meanwhile: Paul is doing a polish on The Queen... — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 11, 2008.
  • Hope writes: “I would like to know whether Teyla will be more involved with the different storylines in the coming Season 5?” Answer: "We’ll certainly see more of Teyla than we did in season four. As a fan of the character, you’ll no doubt love Search and Rescue, Broken Ties, and The Queen, and no doubt enjoy The Daedalus Variations, Ghost in the Machine, and The Shrine." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 28, 2008.
  • "Finishing up "The Queen" (poor Rachel with all those prosthetics!)" — David Hewlett in his blog, April 28, 2008.
  • "I stayed late yet again, wandering over to Stage 2 where The Queen was being shot to take a few snaps of that creepy new wraith, check out the amazing sets,..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, May 2, 2008.
  • "There’s this one episode coming up that everyone’s been rather hush-hush about. We’re going to be shooting in a couple of weeks and Teyla is going to be doing something which is extremely, extremely dangerous! I haven’t had an opportunity to read the script yet, but let’s just say it has a lot to do with her Wraith DNA and her link to them. It’s going to be something rather dark and challenging." — Rachel Luttrell in MGM interview, taken during the filming of episode 5 ("Ghost in the Machine") and published May 13, 2008.
  • "There are a number of standalone episodes that contain bigger arc elements (ie. The Seed, Broken Ties, Whispers, Tracker, The Queen) in addition to your one-offs (Daedalus Variations, The Shrine)." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, May 19, 2008.
  • "Teyla also sees her abilities get out of hand in an episode in which she touches the mind of a Wraith Queen, which activates her Wraith DNA. According to Luttrell, Teyla "embodies" the Wraith Queen--the actress will appear in full Wraith makeup--and becomes 'the leader of an alliance of Wraith.'" — Sci Fi Wire, Atlantis Focuses on Wraith, May 20, 2008.
  • "Back at the office today. Watched a director’s cut of The Queen ..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, May 20, 2008.
  • Excerpt from Rachel Luttrell interview at Sci Fi Wire, Luttrell is Atlantis' Mom, May 22, 2008:
It's not surprising that Luttrell's two worlds are starting to overlap. Preparing for an episode in which Teyla physically transforms into a Wraith, Luttrell realized that she would have to nurse her baby while wearing full Wraith prosthetic makeup. She was extremely nervous about it. "I was going to look like a monster," she said.
Luttrell's castmates weren't much help. "I thought it was hilarious," admitted Joe Flanigan, who plays John Sheppard. "I was giving her a hard time. I was saying, 'No, your child's going to be permanently scarred.'"
Luttrell was so worried that she tried working up to the Wraith makeup. "I'd spent the two weeks prior to that putting on avocado [colored makeup], and ... 'Look, crazy Mommy!'" But in the end, everything turned out OK, she said. "I like to believe he is incredibly enlightened," she said. "But perhaps all babies are. I went into the trailer, and he laughed."
  • "Another praiseworthy performance comes compliments of Rachel Luttrell in The Queen. A really nice range of emotions for Teyla in an episode chock full o’ crosses, double-crosses, and an atypically ruthless turn for the new mom. Throw in Todd, an intriguing proposal, and that creepy new-look wraith and you’ve got one of the best episodes of the front half." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, May 28, 2008.
  • "It’s a Friday afternoon in May at Bridge Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia and the weekend getaway is looming, but there is still work to be done on the Stargate Atlantis set before the cast and crew can head home for a quick break – or some line learning, just as likely. Christopher Heyerdahl, who portrays the show’s resident Wraith Todd, heads back to Stage 2 for his next scene, along with another actor who is making his début as Atlantis’s first bald Wraith commander. Close behind them is Rachel Luttrell, looking quite unlike her usual style as Teyla. It is all in aid of the fifth season episode The Queen, where she disguises herself as a Queen Wraith to gain the confidence of the enemy and, in doing so, carry out a plan that could change the Wraith’s feeding habits and help save Humankind." — TV Zone #229 interview excerpt, accessed May 29, 2008.
  • Airelle writes: “How many queens do the wraith have, or are they in different hives?” Answer: "It’s impossible to tell how just many they have, but there is a Queen for every alliance. More on wraith politics in The Queen." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 1, 2008.
  • "Falling on some stuff we culled from Michael's research, we make a proposition to Todd later in the year. The episode I'm just finishing right now, it's called 'The Queen'. We set up the episode. We go to Todd with a gene therapy we've managed to develop using Michael's research, which we believe will make the Wraith able to process food and thus not have to feed on humans anymore. ... Like Michael did! Exactly. So this is something that obviously would be very valuable to us and we're trying to pitch Todd on it to help us develop it further and test it. Of course, Todd, who's always got his own agenda, asks us to do something in return, which is what then the episode becomes about. It becomes a very Teyla-focused story. Essentially what Todd requires is he's joined an alliance of other hives, but the only way you can be -- he's had to fake his way in and lie and say that he had a queen on board. I don't want to say more. Perhaps I've already said too much. But it goes in an interesting direction after that. It's a combination of a story that I pitched and a story that Alex Levine, our story coordinator, pitched last year. He pitched a story where there was a Wraith summit and we tried to infiltrate it. We were trying to infiltrate a Wraith summit and we needed to go in undercover. Using that pitch, as well as some story elements that I pitched this year, we built the story. ... It helps that she [Teyla] has some Wraith DNA already." — Alan McCullough in Gateworld interview, published June 4, 2008.
  • "It's funny, in 'The Queen', the one I'm writing right now, he [Woolsey] wasn't in it in the first draft and we're talking about possibly using him for a scene in the second draft, but again it's just a scene, and we're hoping maybe we can figure out a way to do it in a believable fashion where we can be on the base but not have Woolsey sitting in on the discussion." — Alan McCullough in Gateworld interview, published June 4, 2008.


Further Reading


--DeeKayP 21:01, 3 April 2008 (PDT)