Runner (episode)

This article is about the episode. For the title, see Runner.

Runner
Production
Series	Stargate: Atlantis
Episode	2.03
Production #	203
Original air date	July 29, 2005 (Sci-Fi Channel) August 1, 2005 (The Movie Network) November 2, 2005 (Sky1) March 11, 2006 (M6) August 2, 2006 (RTL II) August 15, 2007 (AXN)
Written by	Robert C. Cooper
Directed by	Martin Wood
More Information
Gallery
Transcript
Credits
Chronology
Preceded by	"The Intruder"
Followed by	"Duet"

"Runner" is the third episode of the second season of Stargate: Atlantis. It is also the 200th produced episode in the Stargate franchise.

Synopsis

After finding a dead Wraith on P3M-736, the Atlantis expedition find evidence that a missing Aiden Ford is responsible. When searching for him, it is not only Ford they find.

Plot

On P3M-736, Major Evan Lorne and a botanist, Dr. Parrish, are walking through a forest. While Parrish is interested in the vegetation, Lorne grows impatient. Suddenly they find a dead Wraith and so they return to the Stargate. However they are watched by Lt. Aiden Ford from a tree.

Back at Atlantis, Lorne informs the others and Dr. Carson Beckett reveals that the enzyme sac was removed which identifies Ford as the one who did it. Dr. Rodney McKay however is not pleased to go to the planet since it has a very high UV rate. Later Lt. Colonel John Sheppard talks with Colonel Steven Caldwell who reminds him that Ford is now a threat to the base, much to Sheppard's annoyance.

McKay suggests using a sunblock.

The team then flies to the planet with a Puddle Jumper and start to search the planet. Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan examine the place where the dead Wraith was found. McKay and Lorne talk about Ford while searching for him. Suddenly both teams see someone and chase that person. Before they can catch him, Teyla and Sheppard are shot. Lorne then contacts Atlantis and informs Dr. Elizabeth Weir about the situation.

At daybreak, Sheppard and Teyla wake up in a cave and are confronted by a person who threatens them with a FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon. He then tells them that his name is Ronon Dex and he has a flashback about when he was in the military fighting the Wraith. Back at the Stargate teams start to search for their missing comrades. In the meantime Sheppard and Teyla talk with Ronon and he tells them that he has seen Ford and he again has a flashback about when Ford killed the Wraith. They tell him more about Ford and what has happened to him until Ronon leaves.

While McKay talks with Lorne the Major is stunned by Ford who then takes McKay with him because he wants to prove that he is now much better. At the cave Sheppard and Teyla free themselves and confront Ronon and Teyla realizes that he is a Runner. He tells them that he was implanted with a Wraith tracker and then hunted. Afterwards he takes the two by surprise and holds Sheppard at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Ford tells McKay what has happened to him since he left Atlantis. At the cave Sheppard makes a deal with Ronon which includes removing the tracking device from him. In exchange Ronon will help them capture Ford.

Wraith tracker extraction.

Back in Atlantis Weir informs Dr. Carson Beckett about the situation but he is not happy. Back on the planet Ford starts to quarreling with McKay and then leaves to free Sheppard and Teyla but McKay follows him. At the cave Teyla talks with Ronon about his situation and he tells her that he has been hunted for seven years. Suddenly Sheppard and Beckett arrive and Beckett starts to examine Ronon, while Sheppard watches from a short distance away. Beckett is finally able to remove the device (although he had to do it while Ronon was awake and threatening Teyla with his weapon) but then Ronon passes out.

Meanwhile, Ford stuns two soldiers and McKay angrily shoots on him then runs away. Suddenly the gate dials and three Wraith Darts come through. At the cave Ronon has left and attacks Ford who wants to kill McKay. The two fight until Sheppard intervenes and then Ford runs away. Sheppard confronts him but Ford runs in the culling beam of a Dart.

Back at Atlantis the team informs the others but Caldwell is angry with Sheppard. Sheppard then visits Ronon and brings him to the control room where he is shown a picture of his world Sateda, the Wraith having left the world in ruins.

Notable quotes

McKay: Look, I want to get Ford back just as much as everyone else. But have you seen my complexion?
Teyla: (sarcastically) Yes.
McKay: It's very fair. This isn't fair.

Sheppard: How come it smells like I'm on vacation?
McKay: (putting on sunscreen lotion) Mmm, could it be the simulated tropical aroma of cocoa butter?
Sheppard: Strong enough for anyone within five miles to smell you.
McKay: Like they haven't been tipped off by the Aqua Velva.
Sheppard: It's dark.
McKay: Yeah, well the sun will be up in 2 hours, 43 minutes and... 10 seconds.
Sheppard: It's raining.
McKay: So we'll be cold and miserable. Look, the cloud cover will depreciate a small percentage of UV rays but 95 per cent of deadly is still deadly.
Lorne: Dr. Parrish said a day or two of exposure wasn't going to kill us.
McKay: And Dr. Parrish has a PhD in what? Right, botany!

Sheppard: And, Major, you get McKay.
Lorne: Lucky me...

Lorne: Wow, you must really be some kind of genius.
McKay: Well, as a matter of fact I... eh, wait a minute, why would you say that now?
Lorne: Something has to have kept Colonel Sheppard from shooting you all this time.

McKay: What kind of special training do you guys have to go through to get this sort of mission?
Lorne: You guys?
McKay: Yeah, you know... Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. It's a great place to start.
Lorne: And by "this mission" you mean hunting down a skilled weapons expert hopped up on Wraith drugs in the pitch black of an alien planet?
McKay: Yes.
Lorne: Actually, I skipped that course in Major School.

Lorne: I was hoping Lieutenant Ford might recognize a friendly face and just turn himself in.
McKay: What, you mean me?
Lorne: Well you were friends, weren't you?
McKay: Oh yeah, when we weren't out on harrowing missions we used to hang out together. I'd share my dreams of a self-sustaining fusion and he would talk of how you could sever a man's torso with a P-90.

McKay: By my calculation we have been exposed to 327 millisieverts since the sun came up. May not sound like much to you, but I've been keeping a running tally of my lifetime exposure to radiation. X-rays, cellphones, plane rides, the whole unfortunate Genii nuclear reactor thing. My God, last week we flew dangerously close to the corona of a sun. As it is I may have to forgo reproducing.
Lorne: Yeah, it's funny. I was just thinking that might be wise.

(Sheppard and Teyla are sitting on a cave floor and tied together back to back)
Sheppard: What the hell are you doing?!
Teyla: Getting my hand free.
Sheppard: Doesn't feel that way!

Ford: (to Rodney) Why don't you drop your gun? I know what you're like with weapons — I wouldn't want it accidentally going off while it's pointed at me.

Weir: Pack up what you need.
Beckett: I don't think an operating room and bloody army would fit through the gate.

Sheppard: You heard of Androcles and the lion?
Beckett: Aye. And who are you in this retelling? The Romans?

(Beckett to Ronon Dex while operating on him in the open without sedative)
Beckett: Look, I just wanna say one last time: I really don't think this is a good idea. We're cutting very close to your spinal column here, if you're to flinch...
Ronon: I won't flinch.

McKay: You can't kill an unarmed, upside down man!

Cast

Main Characters

• Joe Flanigan as Lt. Colonel John Sheppard
• Torri Higginson as Dr. Elizabeth Weir
• Rachel Luttrell as Teyla Emmagan
• Rainbow Sun Francks as Lt. Aiden Ford
• David Hewlett as Dr. Rodney McKay

Guest Stars

• Paul McGillion as Dr. Carson Beckett
• Jason Momoa as Ronon Dex
• Kavan Smith as Major Evan Lorne
• Mitch Pileggi as Colonel Steven Caldwell
• Jonathon Young as Dr. Parrish
• Dan Payne as Lt. Reed
• James Lafazanos as Wraith
• Ari Solomon as Billick (Uncredited)
• Eddy Huber as Coughlin (Uncredited)
• Colin Decker as Marine (Uncredited)
• ? as Sherman
• ? as Marine

Notes

• Major Evan Lorne comments that the other team hadn't made contact since "26:30 Atlantis Standard Time," implying the Atlantis base has a longer day than Earth.

• When Dr. Carson Beckett analyzes Ronon Dex' back with the Lantean medical scanner, the Ancient text states 'Scvnbdhs Duhckeif Nffdyjd' with ASFTJMK' along the right side.

• This is the first episode in which none of the off world teams carry name, country or Atlantis expedition patches, signifying their attempt to hide the fact that Atlantis still exists.

• In many ways the episode "Runner" bears a striking resemblance to the old fable Androcles and the Lion, which is mentioned by Lt. Colonel John Sheppard during the episode.

• In the first flashback, Ronon is firing a Genii shotgun. These rifles came from the makers of Blade Trinity from whom they also got the set that is used for parts of Atlantis.

• This episode takes place one week after the events of "The Intruder".

• Dr. Rodney McKay refers to being exposed to nuclear radiation on the Genii homeworld in "Underground".

• This is the last episode where Rainbow Sun Francks is credited as a regular cast member.

• Even though Jason Momoa and Paul McGillion became regular cast members in Season 2, he is credited as a guest star in the DVD version and would not be in the opening credits until the following episode "Duet".

• Major Evan Lorne came to Atlantis on the Daedalus' second trip back from Earth. He was last seen in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Enemy Mine".

• Kavan Smith (Major Evan Lorne) is best known for playing Det. Joe Kavanaugh on Sanctuary, Agent Jed Garrity on The 4400 and Deputy ANDY on Eureka.

• Jonathon Young (Dr. Parrish) is best known for playing Nikola Tesla on Amanda Tapping's show Sanctuary.

• Dan Payne (Lt. Reed) previously played Anubis' Ashrak in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Allegiance", Nirrti's Jaffa commander in episode "Metamorphosis", SSgt. Allan in the episode "Fragile Balance", Kull Warriors in several episodes, Vala Mal Doran in the episode "Prometheus Unbound", Wraith warrior in the Stargate: Atlantis episode "Rising" and Jaffa in the episode "Sacrifices".

• James Lafazanos (Wraith Commander (Runner)) previously played Jimmy in the Stargate: Atlantis episode "Rising", Steve in the episodes "Suspicion" and "Poisoning the Well", Mister Hooper in the episode "The Defiant One", Gordon in the episodes "The Gift", "The Siege, Part 2" and "The Siege, Part 3" and Bob in the episode "The Siege, Part 1".

Goofs

• Throughout the scene at 18:23 Rodney complains of being extremely hot, however every time Rodney exhales with his mask off in this scene (starting at 18:34) you can clearly see his breath condensing in the air (which would only occur in a very cold, dry environment as was likely the case in the Canadian forest they filmed in for this episode). For one reason or another this take with David Hewlett's condensing breath, out of all the other outdoor scenes this episode, was not edited or reshot for continuity.

• When Ronon Dex shoots Lt. Colonel John Sheppard from the bushes, the shot comes from Sheppard's right yet Ronon steps out from his left. In the DVD Commentary for this episode, Director Martin Wood explains that the Visual Effects team had mistakenly believed Ronon would be coming from the opposite side.

• When Major Evan Lorne and Dr. Rodney McKay are chasing Lt. Aiden Ford through the woods, Lorne pauses and says "..Lost him." to the right of his left shoulder, equipment can be seen (a blue box of some kind).

Other languages

• French: Chasse à l'homme (Manhunt)
• Russian: Беглец (The Runaway)
• Hungarian: Az üldözött (The Pursued)
• German: Der Läufer (The Runner)
• Japanese: ランナー Rannā (Runner)

External links

• Runner on GateWorld. (backup link)
• Runner article on Stargate SG-1 Solutions' The StargateWiki