Stargate Technicians
Summary
There are several people who work behind the scenes to make the SGC run smoothly. Extremely important personnel are those who man the controls of the dialing computer and iris of the stargate.
Season One
The technician we've seen on duty the most has been at the SGC since it was reinstated in the pilot, 1.01-1.02 "Children of the Gods". His name has changed over the years, but "officially" it has become "Walter Harriman".
Season Two
The next technician named in the program is Technician Davis, being credited first in the episode, 2.02 "In The Line Of Duty". Most of the time she has been credited with the name "Technician". Introduced in the same episode is another technician, her name never being given. This same unnamed technician has also served in other positions in the SGC, including security and surveillance, and actually first appeared in the Season One episode, 1.14 "Hathor". First introduced as a lab assistant to Captain Carter in the episode, 2.07 "Message in a Bottle", Lt. Graham Simmons has also acted as a stargate technician. Another unnamed technician, this one being male, was introduced in the episode, 2.19 "One False Step".
Season Three
Technician Vern Alberts made his first appearance in the episode, 3.15 "Pretense".
Seasons Four Through Eight
The next new technician, Sgt. O'Brien, was introduced in the Season Eight episode, 8.04 "Zero Hour":
When the rogue NID group known as The Trust stole the stargate out of the SGC's embarkation room using Asgard beaming technology, Sgt. Harriman and his co-worker, Sgt. Mackenzie, were on the graveyard shift. They had just talked about nothing exciting going on at 3:00 AM, only to be surprised, and a bit concerned that they would be blamed, when the stargate was stolen while their backs were turned as they were getting themselves coffee in the Control Room. Fortunately, for them, there were no ramifications for their being the ones on duty when the crime was committed, but Daniel Jackson did reprimand them for getting coffee while on duty (as a joke, but these poor fellows weren't laughing). After the stargate was retrieved from The Trust and placed back into the SGC, a jamming device was installed to prevent further attempts to steal the stargate in such a manner. (8.10 "Endgame")
Duties of the Stargate Technician
In an interview conducted by Emmett Bregman, the journalist hired by the outgoing President of the United States to document the SGC, in the episode, 7.17 "Heroes Part 1", Sgt. Walter Harriman outlined the primary duties of the stargate technician:
- input the coordinates and initiate the dialing sequence
- announce as each chevron is encoded (or locked)
- open and close the iris with the palm scanner
According to Sgt. Harriman, they have tried various automated scenerios, but the SG teams all agreed that they much prefer that a human is on the other side when they send their iris codes (from their GDO's) through the wormhole. Harriman said that they trusted a person on the other side would get it right and that trust gave all the other stargate technicians a great sense of pride.
Episodes
- 1.01 "Children Of The Gods"
- 1.14 "Hathor"
- 2.02 "In The Line Of Duty"
- 2.07 "Message In A Bottle"
- 3.15 "Pretense"
- 7.17 "Heroes Part 1"
- 8.04 "Zero Hour"
- 8.10 "Endgame"
Related Characters
Related Articles
Actors
- Gary Jones as Sgt. Walter Harriman
- Laara Sadiq as Technician Davis
- Tracy Westerholm as Unnamed Female Technician
- Tobias Mehler as Lt. Graham Simmons
- Daniel Bacon as Unnamed Male Technician
- Bill Nikolai as Technician Vern Alberts
- Pierre Bernard as Technician O'Brien
- Scott Owen as Technician Mackenzie
--DeeKayP 09:33, 11 Jul 2004 (PDT)