- "The SG teams just agree that you know, when they send their iris code through the wormhole, they like to know that there's a real person on the other ... other end, someone that they can trust to get it right."
- ―Walter Harriman[src]
Norman Walter Davis Harriman[6] is a Chief Master Sergeant at Homeworld Command. Prior to being assigned to Homeworld Command, he was stationed at Stargate Command. His post was as a technician in the Stargate Operations room, responsible for a lot of outgoing activities there.
Biography[]
Background information[]
He is trusted with much, and is known to be loyal to his work. He is the one who began the "chevron seven locked" phrase on the Stargate completing its dialing sequence, as part of a way to change things up. He's following the strict protocols in the military, and is known to know exactly what the commanding officer wants, before he even has to say it. This was the fact when Brigadier General Jack O'Neill took command over Stargate Command and seemed to be helpless without him. He also did such actions when Major General Henry Landry succeeded O'Neill as commander of the SGC. As of his promotion to Chief Master Sergeant, he was the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) at the SGC. He is married and has two sons. (RPG: "Friends and Foes: Stargate Season Two") (SG1: "Children of the Gods", "Heroes, Part 1", "Heroes, Part 2", "Zero Hour", "Avalon, Part 1")
1997[]
When the Stargate Program was restarted, he dialed Abydos in order for Colonel Jack O'Neill to retrieve Dr. Daniel Jackson. Later, he dialed Chulak for SG-1 and SG-2 to attempt to rescue Sha're and Skaara. (SG1: "Children of the Gods")
He attempted to stop the Goa'uld in Major Charles Kawalsky from dialing the Stargate to Chulak but the Goa'uld overpowered him and broke his arm. (SG1: "The Enemy Within")
1998[]
He assisted in the repairs on the Stargate when it overloaded and sent Captain Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill to the Beta Gate in Antarctica. (SG1: "Solitudes")
During Apophis' attack on Earth, he detected the flash from a shock grenade on Klorel's Ha'tak and helped coordinate the evacuation of the Alpha list to the Alpha Site. (SG1: "The Serpent's Lair")
2000[]
When the Eurondans attempted to contact Stargate Command, he assisted Major Samantha Carter in deciphering their radio signal. (SG1: "The Other Side")
2001[]
When an Entity from P9C-372 entered the Stargate Command mainframe, he along with Major Samantha Carter suffered electrical burns. (SG1: "Entity")
When Stargate Command was negotiating with the Aschen, Major Samantha Carter assigned him to search for planets that held a Stargate in a 300 Light year radius of Volia. He discovered that one of the four planets found was P4C-970 that had been locked out of the Dialing computer by Major General George S. Hammond's order a year earlier. (SG1: "2001")
2002[]
When Anubis tried to destroy Earth with a Naquadah asteroid, he was at the control station and was visibly horrified by the possible deaths of SG-1. Harriman stayed at his post until the last Alpha Group left and then was told to go with them by Major General George S. Hammond along with Major Paul Davis. Harriman was clearly reluctant to go and had to be ordered to leave by Hammond. Following orders, he evacuated to the Alpha Site. (SG1: "Fail Safe")
When Colonel Frank Simmons tried to take over the SGC and make his own band of Marine Jaffa, was involved with Sergeant Siler in a plot to get General Hammond and Harold Maybourne through the Stargate as illustrated by the fact that he lied about the address that he dialed during Siler's "test" of the Stargate and sent them to Chulak instead of P5C-12 as he claimed. When SG-1 returned, Simmons ordered Harriman to keep the iris closed and relieved him of duty. As he stood up, Harriman pretended to trip and land on the palm scanner in the process then refused to fix "accidentally" opening the iris because Simmons had relieved him of duty. (SG1: "Survival of the Fittest")
2003[]
He traveled to Vis Uban with Major General George S. Hammond to run the mission control during the Battle to destroy Anubis' mothership. He evacuated to Earth when Anubis targeted the base with his superweapon. (SG1: "Fallen")
When SG-1 returned after five months missing, Harriman was on duty and was shocked by the return of SG-10 who had been trapped on P3W-451 for five years, drawing Hammond's attention to it. Later, while escaping to P3X-500, Dr. Daniel Jackson was forced to shoot Harriman with a zat as he was on duty during the night shift. Daniel felt bad about having to shoot Harriman and wondered if the man was always on duty given how often he was in the Control Room. (SG1: "The Cost of Honor")
2004[]
Walter on board the Prometheus in 2004
He was stationed on Prometheus with Major General George S. Hammond during the Battle of Antarctica. He manned the weapons chair. (SG1: "Lost City, Part 2")
When a plant from P6J-908 affected power throughout Stargate Command, he worked with MSgt. Sylvester Siler to get the Stargate back online. (SG1: "Zero Hour")
He was in the Stargate Operations room when the Stargate was stolen by The Trust. He along with Sgt. Mackenzie were questioned by Dr. Daniel Jackson.(SG1: "Endgame")
On the mission to Atlantis, he flew an Alkesh when the crew of the Prometheus returned to claim it from Vala Mal Doran. (SG1: "Prometheus Unbound")
He was aboard the Prometheus when it attempted to make a voyage to the Pegasus galaxy to assess the Atlantis expedition's situation (No one had heard from them since their departure). He was one of the officers offloaded to a Goa'uld Al'kesh by Vala Mal Doran who intended to sell the Prometheus to a fellow arms dealer, Tenat. He and Dr. Lindsey Novak repaired the Al'kesh and followed Prometheus. Eventually, Dr. Daniel Jackson was successful in securing the ship, turning it around to pick up Harriman and the others who were stranded. Prometheus did not make it to Atlantis. (SG1: "Prometheus Unbound")
2005[]
The Atlantis expedition had an opportunity to send a very brief data transmission to Earth. The "intergalactic e-mail" is successfully sent to Stargate Command and received by Harriman and Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter. (SGA: "Letters from Pegasus")
He informed Major General Henry Landry that the Daedalus had headed back to Atlantis and was out of range. (SGA: "Critical Mass")
After Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell disappeared on P9G-844, Harriman ran a UAV sweep for him without success. When Mitchell suddenly returned weeks later, Harriman announced his IDC causing Daniel to accuse Harriman of joking. Harriman assured Daniel that he would never do that and it was indeed a returning Mitchell. (SG1: "Babylon")
2006[]
While Martin Lloyd worked with SG-1 on his Wormhole X-Treme movie, Harriman manned the control station. Eventually the Stargate was fixed and SG-1 were set to go on Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell's 200th trip through the Stargate. Major General Jack O'Neill joined them and convinced Major General Henry Landry to come as well. In return, Landry invited Harriman on the mission. Harriman was reluctant, stating he wasn't appropriately dressed, but Landry and Jack insisted so Harriman rushed from the Control Room to the Gate Room, somehow getting changed into an off-world outfit along the way. Before leaving with SG-1, O'Neill and Landry, Harriman confirmed that the other SG teams were waiting for them on the other side with cake and banners, presumably for Mitchell. (SG1: "200")
2008[]
When the Wraith took over the Midway Station and used the McKay/Carter Intergalactic Gate Bridge to reach Earth, Harriman was on duty in the SGC Control Room. After receiving the Midway IDC, Harriman opens the iris and stares in confusion at the Wraith bomb that comes through. Along with all of the other personnel in the base, Harriman is stunned by the bomb and is still unconscious when Teal'c and Ronon Dex reach the Control Room. Along with the other Control Room personnel, Harriman has begun to revive by the time that James Coolidge contacts the military to bomb the SGC with a nuclear warhead. Harriman overhears Ronon and Coolidge discussing the Wraith in the base and is shocked to hear it, questioning the two if there are really Wraith in the SGC. However, Ronon and Coolidge ignore him. (SGA: "Midway")
Harriman was seen in the SGC Control Room, telling SG-9 who'd just returned from a mission that Major General Hank Landry would be down for a short briefing. A few minutes later, Harriman was later overheard telling another tech that after about ten years and over a thousand email requests, he'd finally gotten his own parking spot. It was also shown that Harriman like Daniel Jackson now wore new glasses, replacing the circle-shaped glasses Harriman had been wearing since the beginning of the series. (SG1: "Continuum")
2009[]
During the Battle of the Super-hive, Harriman is on duty and during Atlantis' reentry into Earth's atmosphere, reports to Colonel Samantha Carter that several commercial vessels in the North Pacific have reported a fireball streaking across the sky. After Atlantis reestablishes contact with the SGC, Harriman is just as relieved as everyone else and Carter orders him to get the President on the phone for her as "Atlantis is coming home." (SGA: "Enemy at the Gate")
He transferred to The Pentagon possibly working for the Homeworld Command. (SGU: "Air, Part 1")
Alternate realities[]
Alternate Harriman
- In an alternate reality, Walter Harriman worked as a technician in the SGA under the command of Brigadier General Jack O'Neill. His position was similar to the one which he holds in our reality. He was killed by the Jaffa in the service of Apophis who invaded Cheyenne Mountain in 1998. For reasons unknown, he wore civilian clothes in this reality. (SG1: "There But for the Grace of God")
Alternate Harriman
- In another alternate reality, he was at Area 51 working to locate the Wraith who had crashed on Earth in 2009. (SGA: "Vegas")
Alternate timelines[]
Alternate Harriman
- In an alternate timeline where the Aschen were present on Earth, he was no longer part of the United States Air Force as there was no need for the military. By 2010, he was the operations tech adviser at the SGC that had now become a museum for people to visit. He discovered Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter when they attempted to steal a GDO in order to send a message back in time through the Stargate to their past selves in 2000, thus altering history. While he wanted to report them, O'Neill promised to explain to him what was going on (never intending to do so) and he informed them that the real GDO was on President Kinsey's desk. (SG1: "2010")
Personality[]
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Equipment[]
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This section requires expansion |
Weapons[]
- H&K MP5A3 submachine gun: To be added
Other equipment[]
- Battle Dress Uniform: To be added
- Service Dress Uniform: To be added
- Flight suit: To be added
Vehicles[]
- Prometheus: To be added
- Vala Mal Doran's Al'kesh: To be added
Service Awards and Decorations[]
Over the course of his military career, Walter Harriman has received a number of awards and decorations for his service in the United States Air Force. (SG1: "New Order, Part 2").
Harriman's rack on his shirt depicts the following decorations:
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Air Force Commendation Medal
- Air Force Achievement Medal
- Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
- National Defense Service Medal
- Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
- Air Force Longevity Service Award
- Air Force NCO PME Graduate Ribbon
- Air Force Honor Graduate Ribbon
- Air Force Training Ribbon
Appearances[]
Behind the scenes[]
- He was sometimes referred to as Walter Davis, although Harriman is the most commonly used and the name Walter Harriman is referenced by the character himself in the episode "Avalon, Part 1" and "Home".
- His name (Walter) and ability to answer leaders before they even make a request are reminiscent of Cpl. Walter Eugene "Radar" O’Reilly on M*A*S*H.
- The reason for his being called both Walter Davis and Walter Harriman was that, originally, his name was supposed to be Walter Davis but it was changed in season 8 by the show's writers, due to the existence of a "real" Walter Davis in the U.S. Air Force.
- "Norman" was a result of the name "Sgt. Norman Davis" being visible on his uniform during many episodes of SG-1.
- The name "Walter" came from an ad lib made by Richard Dean Anderson during the Season 4 episode "2010".
- The name "Harriman" was the result of Don S. Davis referring to him as 'Airman' in "There But for the Grace of God", but his accent made it sound like Harriman.
- He is one of the few characters to have been in all SG-1 season premieres and both the series premiere and series finale.
- Walter and Samantha Carter are the only two characters to appear in every season of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis; and the first season of Stargate Universe.
- Along with Samantha Carter and Kevin Marks, he is one of only three characters to appear in the final episodes of both Stargate SG-1 ("Unending") and Stargate: Atlantis ("Enemy at the Gate").
- Walter appeared in the series premieres of both Stargate SG-1 ("Children of the Gods") and Stargate Universe ("Air"). The only other characters to do so are Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter.
- Walter is one of only eight characters to appear in all three series, the others being Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Rodney McKay, Richard Woolsey, Bill Lee and Kevin Marks.
- Walter is the recurring character with the biggest number of appearances in Stargate SG-1.
- Along with Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Teal'c, George S. Hammond and Sylvester Siler, he is one of only seven characters to appear in all ten seasons of Stargate SG-1.
- Along with John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir, Teyla Emmagan, Samantha Carter, Radek Zelenka and Chuck, he is one of only eight characters to appear in all five seasons of Stargate: Atlantis and the only one who was never a member of the Atlantis expedition. However, Carson Beckett appears in Season One to Three while his clone appears in Seasons Four and Five.
- Gary Jones, like many Stargate actors, was cast in a guest appearance in an episode of Stargate co-creator Brad Wright's new show Travelers, in which he played a landlord leasing an apartment to one of the main characters.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 (SG1: "Children of the Gods")
- ↑ (SG1: "Stargate SG-1: The DVD Collection 9")
- ↑ (SG1: "Avalon, Part 1")
- ↑ (SG1: "New Order, Part 1")
- ↑ (SGU: "Air, Part 1")
- ↑ Stargate SG-1: The Ultimate Visual Guide
[]
- Walter Harriman in Kathleen Ritter's Lexicon.
- GateWorld's article on Walter Harriman in The Stargate Omnipedia
- Walter Harriman article on Stargate SG-1 Solutions' The StargateWiki