David Telford

Col. Telford

WARNING: SPOILERS

The following article contains SPOILERS. Proceed at your own risk.

Summary

From MGM: Stubborn and supremely confident, Colonel Telford is the head of the team that was selected to take the first journey through the Stargate using the ninth chevron. He is a life-long, highly skilled military man who is also an F-302 pilot.

Personal Data

• Birthday:
• Birthplace:
• Marital Status:
• Children:
• Parents:
• Siblings:
• Stargate Program Rank: United States Air Force Colonel
• Stargate Program Position: Commander of the Stargate Team that was to take the first trip through the Stargate with a nine-chevron address

Before Joining the Stargate Program

Rachael writes: "What is Colonel Telford’s first name?" Answer: "Colonel Zak Telford. I’m not sure about the spelling of his first name however. Could be Zak, Zach, Zac, Zack, or ZzaaakK!" (Joseph Mallozzi, Weblog for July 17, 2009)

AnneTeldy writes: "Am I confusing two characters? I thought Rush’s name is Zachary???" Answer: "Rush’s first name is Nicholas. Telford’s first name was Zak – but it didn’t clear so we had to come up with an alternate." (Joseph Mallozzi, Weblog for August 17, 2009)

Stargate Command

"Right now what we know of him is that he is this military man and that he's very much 'toe the line', 'authority of the chain of command'. And he is thwarted at every turn, it seems, because he had a mission in the beginning. He's supposed to lead the away team through the Stargate into an address that is unknown. So he's very intrepid; he's a brave guy; he's a courageous guy, and because of that, maybe he's a little full of himself, you know, or maybe it's just the tight-fitting uniform." (Lou Diamond Phillips, MGM Q&A with Lou Diamond Phillips video)

Icarus Base and Destiny

"Telford is an Air Force pilot, a Colonel. He's the intrepid leader of this team that's going to go where no man has gone before, so to speak. Unfortunately, everything goes terribly awry, and a number of these scientists, civilians, and some of the military personnel find themselves stranded universes away from Earth, and unfortunately, Telford is separated from this group. A very stalwart individual, he's very much a military man who had a mission and now is denied that mission. This was his be-all and end-all and [he] so very, very much wants to help rescue these people, wants to bring them to safety, to get them home." (Lou Diamond Phillips, MGM Character Profile video)

Telford was at Icarus Base when it was attacked. He took an F-302 into the space battle, but was unable to hold off the great many enemy ships from making it to the ground. When he sees thousands of enemy troops ready to storm the Base, he orders Col. Everett Young to evacuate through the Stargate back to Earth where they will rendezvous. Now back on Earth, Telford realizes that his expedition has been lost, and soon he refocuses his efforts to find them. (Based on spoilers for "Air"; see Solutions Blog: SGU: New Recurring Character Adds More Conflict, January 23, 2009)

After the stranded crew aboard the Destiny made contact with Earth via the Ancient Communications Stones, Telford and Young exchanged bodies. While Telford, in Young's body, briefed those on the Destiny about the efforts being made to bring everyone home, Young was given the chance to talk with his wife about his situation. (Based on spoilers for "Air"; see Solutions Blog: SGU: New Recurring Character Adds More Conflict, January 23, 2009)

Key Episodes

• SGU 1.01 "Air Part 1"
• SGU 1.02 "Air Part 2"
• SGU 1.03 "Air Part 3"

Gallery

• MGM: Character Profile and Gallery

Related Characters

• Col. Everett Young

Related Articles

• Ancient Communications Stones
• Ancients
• Destiny
• F-302
• Icarus Base
• Stargate
• Stargate Program

Actor

• Lou Diamond Phillips

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--DeeKayP 16:26, 23 July 2009 (UTC)