SGA 5.12 "Outsiders" Episode Guide

Précis

The Balarans are survivors of Michael’s release of the modified Hoffan drug and have joined the village of another planet as a place of refuge where Dr. Beckett is working in a clinic. They considered their survival as a blessing until they learn that the Wraith are on their way to their new homeworld to wipe them out.

Guide | Transcript

MGM/SciFi.com Official Summary

Col. Sheppard and his team locate Dr. Carson Beckett on an alien planet where he is treating a small group of survivors of the Hoffan plague. These patients, who escaped a Wraith attack on their home world, Balar, have found sanctuary and friendship on this alien planet. But that same evening, a party of Wraith warriors appears before the village’s councilors, demanding that the refugees be turned over to them—threatening total annihilation if they refuse.

The Balarians, aware that they are not only immune, but lethal, to a wraith feeding, fear there is no chance the townspeople will continue to harbor them. And they may be right. Despite Sheppard’s best efforts, it appears the original residents intend to sacrifice the newcomers in order to save themselves.

Cast

• Joe Flanigan as Lt. Col. John Sheppard
• Rachel Luttrell as Teyla Emmagan
• Jason Momoa as Ronon Dex
• Jewel Staite as Dr. Jennifer Keller
• Robert Picardo as Richard Woolsey
• and David Hewlett as Dr. Rodney McKay

Guest Stars

• Paul McGillion as Dr. Carson Beckett
• Joel Polis as Elson
• Sean Tyson as Jervis
• Agam Darshi as Novo
• Sarah Deakins as Renni
• G. Michael Gray as Safaris
• Aaron Craven as Wraith Commander
• Tyler McClendon as Male Wraith

Production

• Written by Alan McCullough
• Directed by William Waring

Related Articles

Keywords

• Atlantis
• Balarans
• Hoffan Drug
• Wraith

Other

• Season Five Episode Guides
• Episode Guides
• Season Five Transcripts
• Transcripts
• Previous: SGA 5.11 "The Lost Tribe Part 2" Episode Guide
• Next: SGA 5.13 "Inquisition" Episode Guide

Related Links

Official

• Official MGM Stargate Atlantis Website
• SciFi Channel 5.12 "Outsiders" Episode Guide

Fan

• Solutions On-Site Forum: Season Five Discussion Board
• Solutions News and Spoiler Blog
• Stargate Screencaps: Season Five

Galleries

Stills Galleries

• MGM: Episode Stills
• Andreas at LJ: Episode Stills
• Dryope at LJ: Episode Stills

Production Galleries

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

• Concept Drawing: Inside a Mining Tunnel (May 21, 2008)
• Concept Drawing: Wraith Slide Reader (like for blood sample slides) (June 4, 2008)
• Video: Outsiders Village 1 (June 6, 2008)
• Video: Outsiders Village 2 (June 6, 2008)
• June 9 entry has several behind-the-scenes images of cast, crew, props, and set for this episode.
• June 12 entry has several on set images of Wraith actors Tyler McClendon and Aaron Craven in their make-up.
• Video: Paul McGillion in "Beckett Back for Outsiders" (June 13, 2008)
• Video: Tyler and Aaron are "Wraith on the Lot" (June 15, 2008)
• June 21 entry has several pictures of Paul McGillion as he poses for the camera.
• June 24 entry has several images of props, set decor, Wraith, Will Waring, N. John Smith, and a screencap of a monitor of a Wraith raising his feeding hand at Beckett.
• Will Waring's entry into the "Spot the Pineapple" game he plays in all of his episodes (June 27, 2008)
• Concept Drawing: Village (August 8, 2008)

Production Notes

• "We have an idea for episode 12 (and are looking for a suitable location)..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, March 22, 2008.
• "Alan is focused on his third script..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 11, 2008.
• "Next to thinking up with episode titles, coming up with names for aliens and off-world villagers is one of the most challenging aspects of this job. In preparation for an upcoming script, we recently set aside time to brainstorm some terrific names. So far, we’ve got: Philip Seymour Hoffan, Felicity Hoffan, Carey the story’s pariah (aka Pariah Carey), and, my favorite, David Hassel the Hoffan (aka David Hassel Hoffan). An entire afternoon well spent." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 28, 2008.
• "We have Alan McCullough’s location episode (q.v. yesterday‘s David Hassel Hoffan entry)..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, April 29, 2008.
• "Outsiders will be Alan’s follow-up to The Queen..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, May 8, 2008.
• "I returned to the production offices late this afternoon - anxious, exhausted, slightly nauseous, and more than a little combative. In other words, I was in a the perfect mood to give a fellow writer notes on his latest script. Today, that writer happened to be Alan McCullough. The script: Outsiders. Alas, I got to do very little screaming/script-throwing/couch-jumping. Alan wrote a solid first draft of what is going to be a really good episode. Damnit! And I’d made it a point to wear my couch-jumping shoes today too." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, May 14, 2008.
• Concept Art for this episode reveal that it is now episode 513 (Mallozzi's blog, May 21, 2008).
• "Okay, I'll admit it...I'm confused. We're shooting three episodes, roughly at the same time, this week and I'm just completely wiped out. This is the time in the season where I personally become just about as grumpy and McKay-like as is acceptable in polite society. McGillion was in today so I gladly took most of it out on him...he loves it! He was here to shoot one scene from the episode we start on Friday ('Outsiders' is it?) and the rest of the day is 'Inquisition'. I'm just focusing on making sure I say the right lines for the right episodes and not kill anyone (or more likely have anyone kill me!) in the process ;-)" — David Hewlett in his blog, June 4, 2008.
• "Between the long stretches spent seated at my desk staring blankly at my laptop screen, I did find the time to - Say hi to Paul McGillion who was in shooting his scenes for Outsiders." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 4, 2008.
• "I popped downstairs to say hi to Cheeky Lil Devil and Linz who visited the studio today - watching Will and co. shoot scenes from Outsiders, having lunch with Joe and David and, the high point of their visit, spending time with yours truly on Stage 6." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 11, 2008. (Pictures of the two fans are included in the entry.)
• "Since we had some free time, Alan I headed down to Stage 2 where second unit was shooting the Outsider’s hive sequences. On the way, we ran into actor Tyler McClendon, the actor I cast as Ronon’s wraith captor in Broken Ties. On the strength of his eerily menacing performance in that episode, Tyler has earned a spot on our recurring wraith rotation. Truth be told, this isn’t Tyler’s first franchise appearance - but even an eagle-eyed fan would have trouble recognizing Lt. Banks from Avalon I, Cameron Mitchell’s doomed co-pilot during the battle with Anubis’s fleet over Antarctica, under all that make-up. While we were talking to Tyler, we were joined by actor Aaron Cravon who is playing the part of the wraith commander. Aaron, it turns out, has put in not one but two previous Stargate appearances, playing the part of Captain Kyle Rogers in Rules of Engagement, and the opportunistic Matar in Line in the Sand. Despite the hours of early-morning prosthetic application and their cumbersome leather coats, both Tyler and Aaron seem to be having a good time on set." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 12, 2008.
• "The episode I’m filming right now is called “Outsiders” and it’s my third episode this season of the five that I’m doing, or the minimum of five. It’s an episode written by Alan McCullough. We have Will Waring directing. It’s a lot of Wraiths and a lot of conflict. David Hewlett and I have a ton of stuff, there’s a lot of Beckett and McKay stuff in it. We’re doing a scene right now that’s hopefully pretty funny. The whole crew is laughing at our scene in a Wraith Dart so it’s really funny. We’re having some really good laughs doing it. It’s been great. David and I are pretty much throughout the episode and we have a lot of stuff together. So it’s a big Beckett and McKay episode." — Paul McGillion in Pop Culture Zoo interview, June 15, 2008.
• "He’s [Beckett] basically exactly the same. I think he’s much more handsome in season five. [laugh] He’s been away from craft service and he’s dropped a few pounds! But no - there was some comment in our first episode back, ‘The Seed’. There’s a little awareness [that he’s a clone] at first, but that’s diminished now. ‘Outsiders’ is my third episode back, and I think it’s almost like, ‘Whatever!’ [laughs] You know that it’s Beckett. I don’t have any special super powers or anything. There’s really not too much comment. ... The interesting thing is that Beckett had this happen to him, and hopefully the writers will look into that. Because you never know what happened to him, really. You don’t know what special things he might have to offer. That’s becoming apparent in this episode, so that’s cool." — Paul McGillion, MGM Close Up, June 17, 2008.
• "We finished shooting episode 14 (Outsiders) and prepping episode 15 (Prodigal) before heading off on hiatus." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 18, 2008.
• Masterchief writes: “Joe you said Outsiders is episode 14, is this correct?” Answer: "I’m referring to the shooting schedule." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 19, 2008.
• "Every Stargate director had a signature piece they liked to work into every episode. In Martin Wood’s case, it was the big wrench. In Peter DeLuise’s case, it was himself. In Will Waring’s case, it’s the pineapple. According to Will, it started when he was an up and coming camera operator. The director of the low budget movie he was working on asked him to do a little on camera performance - simply drive his car through the shot. He did but, unbeknownst to him, there was a pineapple rattling around in the back window. No one else seemed to notice and, thinking it was kind of funny, Will decided to make it his signature. All well and good until he was working on a comedy and included a pineapple as a background piece. When the director saw it in the dailies, he went berserk and chewed Will out. He was beside himself until the star of the move, Danny Devito, asked him what was up. The director explained and Devito responded with: “I think it’s funny.” Well, if Danny Devito thought it was funny, then it was funny enough for the director. Not only did they keep the pineapple in the shot, they used it as a recurring motif throughout the rest of the movie (culminating in, I believe, a pineapple beach stand in the closing scene). So, if you ever see Will’s name in the credits, start playing spot the pineapple." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, June 27, 2008.
• "Didn’t really get a chance to spend much time on set as there were a number of issues to deal with up in - what the VFX department refers to as - The Room of Doom. Alan’s Producer’s Cut of Outsiders ..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, July 21, 2008.

Further Reading

• Joseph Mallozzi's Blog
• Solutions: SGA S5 Spoilers: "Outsiders", May 27, 2008.
• David Hewlett's Blog, June 4, 2008.
• Pop Culture Zoo: A Conversation with Paul McGillion, June 15, 2008.
• MGM: Close Up: Paul McGillion, June 17, 2008.
• Alex Levine's scifi.com blog, October 14, 2008.
• Solutions, "Outsiders": The Needs of the Many. . ., October 17, 2008.

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--DeeKayP 06:54, 22 May 2008 (PDT)