The Storm

The Storm
Production
Series	Stargate: Atlantis
Episode	1.10
Production #	110
Original air date	September 17, 2004
Story by	Jill Blotelvogel
Teleplay by	Martin Gero
Directed by	Martin Wood
More Information
Gallery
Transcript
Credits
Chronology
Preceded by	"Home"
Followed by	"The Eye"

This episode is part 1 of 2; it is followed by "The Eye".

Gallery

Episode

Transcript

"The Storm" is the tenth episode of the first season of Stargate: Atlantis.

Synopsis

A storm covering twenty percent of Lantea that strikes every twenty to thirty years is brewing and is heading straight for the mainland, and then Atlantis. As most of the expedition takes shelter on Manaria, a small group stays behind to work out how to save the city. Unfortunately, a Genii strike team, led by Commander Acastus Kolya, takes the opportunity to seize Atlantis for the supplies the expedition promised them, and as a result, both Drs. Weir and McKay are caught in the crossfire, prompting Sheppard to embark on a solo rescue mission as he attempts to take Atlantis back from the clutches of the Genii.

Previously on Stargate: Atlantis

Major John Sheppard's team meets the Genii, a seemingly primitive society but discover this is just front for an advanced culture living in an Underground Bunker. Sheppard and Cowen, the leader of the Genii, decide to form an alliance but Sheppard informs him the Wraith have awakened and the Genii plan to destroy the Wraith as they sleep with atomic weapons five years from now was no longer possible. In order to advance the timetable for the plan Dr. Rodney McKay helps speed up the creation of atomic weapons and Sheppard and Cowen plan a recon mission to a Hive ship. On the mission, Tyrus is stunned and Teyla Emmagan is forced to leave him behind. When the team returns to the Genii homeworld, Sora Tyrus blames Teyla and Cowen warns Sheppard not to make an enemy of the Genii.

Plot

Sheppard and Teyla find an approaching storm.

Major John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan are on board a Puddle Jumper, flying over the ocean en route to Lantea's mainland. Sheppard and Teyla discuss how the latter's people, the Athosians, are settling in. Teyla has said that she heard from Halling that their first crops may have a good yield. She also mentions that the Athosians are still talking about the possibility of returning to Athos, their homeworld, even though the Wraith have scorched it bare in retaliation for their resistance. Their conversation is cut short when they notice a vast storm cloud ahead, which stretches across the horizon, even as it is seen from a high altitude.

Sheppard decides to investigate and alerts Atlantis. Elizabeth Weir, who is on the other end, could not fully understand what Sheppard said, as there was static in the transmission. However, she does make out that Sheppard is doing some "weather forecasting". The Jumper is now over Lantea, and Sheppard and Teyla see the storm cloud covering approximately twenty percent of the planet. Sheppard learns via the heads up display that the storm will pass through the Athosian settlement, and will then hit Atlantis.

Some time later, Sheppard and Teyla, along with Weir, Lieutenant Aiden Ford, Doctor Rodney McKay and Doctor Radek Zelenka, are discussing the storm. McKay notes that Lantea is approximately the size of Earth, where the storms of the latter usually stop building up when they hit land, but as Lantea's mainland is significantly smaller, the storm will just continue to gain momentum. According to the Atlantis database, the ocean gets unseasonably warm every twenty to thirty years, which would cause the storms. Zelenka further notes that it is actually two storms that is converging on each other. There are very few options to survive the storm, as in the past Atlantis has a shield that would protect the city, but since there is now not enough power to activate it, Atlantis is vulnerable, and incredibly brittle unprotected; high winds will cause serious structural damage, and flooding could sink the city. There are still twelve hours until the storm front hits, so McKay and Zelenka are to work on a plan.

After the conference, Weir talks to Sheppard about evacuation plans, since Zelenka seems genuinely concerned about the storm. Weir orders Sheppard to take Ford and see if any planet would take in the Atlantis expedition "for the night".

Teyla and Beckett aid in the Athosian evacuation effort.

Teyla is in the Athosian settlement, helping her fellow people abandon the settlement and taking town the tents. Doctor Carson Beckett, who was originally in the mainland to inoculate Athosian infants, is helping, albeit very reluctantly.

Sheppard and Ford are offworld in Manaria, a planet Atlantis previously settled a trade agreement with. They discuss with Smeadon, who is reluctant to want to take on the entire population of Atlantis. Smeadon states that he would want something in return, but Sheppard merely says that the expedition would "owe them one"; a favor. They eventually and grudgingly reach a tentative arrangement with Smeadon, insuring that their generosity will not be forgotten.

McKay and Zelenka are arguing while in the conference room with other scientists to work on a solution. McKay insists that using Naquadah generators would be far too inefficient to power the shield. Zelenka notes that McKay's condescending attitude is not pleasant to work with. When Sheppard and Ford return with the good news, they hear that the expedition is now more likely to survive offworld; over 70% of the mainland will be affected by the storm, and if they stay there and Atlantis sinks, they would be stranded on the planet.

Back on Manaria, Smeadon is alone in a room and takes out a communication device from a drawer and activates it. He talks to "Relay Station Two" on the other end, and wants him to relay a message to Cowen, of the Genii; Smeadon has something to trade with him.

On Lantea's mainland, the winds are starting to pick up when the Athosians are being evacuated onboard Puddle Jumpers. Ford tells Teyla they should evacuate faster, as they should know how serious the storm is. Teyla says that some are still hunting, and are skeptical of the storm; Teyla admits that she would understand their skepticism should she not see the storm coming from space.

In Atlantis, McKay and Zelenka discuss the rarity of hurricanes in their home countries; Canada and the Czech Republic, respectively. McKay then mentions he was once almost struck by lightning. Very quickly after lightning was mention, they are both struck with an idea. They run to Weir in the control room to discuss their new plan; Atlantis has several lightning rods, which channel the lightning to the ocean through four grounding stations, in order to protect the city from its electrical effects. They propose disabling the grounding stations; many hallways are lined with a superconductive material that allows low voltage transfers, and without the grounding stations, those hallways would become supercharged when lightning hits. If they could channel that momentary power surge, it could power the shield. Both scientists still recommend evacuating most of the expedition, save a few members, as the control room is the only safe place in the city. Weir gives them the go ahead.

In the Underground Bunker of the Genii homeworld, an unarmed middle-aged man is facing off against three Genii, Sora Tyrus being one of them, armed with staffs. Despite being outnumbered, the middle-aged man disables the first two with ease, and is now up against Sora. He manages to subdue her by trapping her hand between her staff and his, before flipping Sora to the ground. They are interrupted by a young private, who addressed the man as Commander Acastus Kolya. Even though Kolya was asked not to be disturbed, the private tells him that Cowen wishes to speak to him immediately.

Back on Lantea's mainland, the winds are getting ever stronger, Beckett, Ford and Teyla still remain. Teyla tells them there are still three Athosians out hunting in dense vegetation, making it impossible for a Puddle Jumper to land and retrieve them. Another Jumper, Jumper Three, is ready to leave, but Ford and Teyla wish to stay until the hunting party returns. A reluctant Beckett vows to stay as well.

The Atlantis expedition evacuate to Manaria.

Kolya meets with Cowen, who tells him to ready his strike force to invade Atlantis, since the storm will present them a rare opportunity to arrive, take the supplies they need and leave before the storm hits. Kolya opines that the team are not yet a strike force, and they are not ready. Cowen however, insists that they are considering that there will be less than ten people in Atlantis, most of them being scientists. Meanwhile, in Atlantis, with four and a half hours until the storm hits, the expedition and Athosians are being evacuated to Manaria.

While in Manaria, Smeadon is drinking moonshine with Doran, a young Athosian, who is now clearly inebriated. Doran discusses trading his farming skill set in exchange for a piece of Manarian land. However, Smeadon has used this opportunity for several Genii soldiers, including Kolya and Sora, to ambush him. They get a hold of his Garage Door Opener and force him to reveal the steps in order for the Atlantis expedition to deactivate the Stargate shield.

In Atlantis, McKay, Sheppard and Weir, along with two guards, are all who remain in the city. They prepare to disable the grounding stations. While McKay and Weir will take one each, Sheppard will take the other two, even though there are further away from the nearest transporter than the others. While Sheppard is dismayed to learn he has the furthest stations, he agrees to it.

Back on the mainland, it has begun to rain heavily and the Athosian hunting party have returned and board the Puddle Jumper with Beckett, Ford and Teyla. Ford tells Beckett, who is piloting, to take off. However, Beckett believes that taking off is no longer an option, as the weather is now so severe, that "even Major Sheppard would have a hard time flying through this". He suggests they should wait out the storm, as the Jumper should be safe enough, and there are enough rations and water to last.

The winds start to reach Atlantis as Sheppard makes it to his first grounding station. Meanwhile, McKay and Weir have already finished deactivating theirs. Over the radio, McKay guides Sheppard on how to deactivate it, which succeeds. When Sheppard starts his run to the next grounding station, the two guards in the Gate room are conversing. One of them states his desire to bring bacon to this galaxy, as it is "the food that makes other food worth eating". Just then, the Stargate activates, and they receive an Athosian Iris Deactivation Code. The woman on the other end of the radio transmission informs them there is an attack on Manaria, with several wounded. One of the guards lowers the shield and then alerts Weir of the situation. As Weir picks up the pace, several people step through the Stargate, including Sora who is disguised as an Athosian. As the guards tend to them, Kolya, who was posing as one of the wounded on a stretcher, stands up and, with a pistol on each hand, shoots both of them. As the "Athosians" take off their disguises to reveal they are Genii soldiers, Sora is dismayed to find the guards dead and admonishes Kolya for it. Kolya however, ignores her and tells her to secure the room.

McKay and Weir are being held hostage by the Genii.

Weir, still running to the control room, alerts Sheppard of the wounded party, not knowing yet it is a ruse. When McKay and Weir arrive, they see themselves being held captive. Kolya correctly guesses their identities, and then asks for Sheppard's location. Sheppard is overhearing the conversation via radio, and decides to abandon his run to the last grounding station, and goes to the Jumper bay. Kolya announced to McKay and Weir that the Genii are now in control of Atlantis.

Sheppard enters a Jumper to arm himself, and later manages to get hold of Jumper Two; Beckett's Jumper. The communications prove to be somewhat problematic from the storm, Sheppard hears they are still on the mainland. When Ford learns the Genii have gained a foothold in Atlantis and are holding McKay and Weir hostage, he wishes to aid Sheppard, but Beckett tells them that he is not a good enough pilot to fly through the storm, further stating; "It was a bad idea an hour ago, it's an idiotic one now". Furthermore, there are three Athosian passengers. Although Sheppard is frustrated that he is not going to receive back-up, he encourages them to stay put and to return as soon as they can. Ford wishes his superior luck in the meantime.

Kolya admires the look of Atlantis as he properly introduces himself to the hostages. He assures Weir that the rest of the Earth's expedition has no idea of the Genii invasion. He claims that he and his men will leave Atlantis peacefully in return for supplies the Genii "vitally need", including all of their C-4, medical supplies, a Jumper, and the Wraith data storage device they stole from their last encounter. On top of that, he wants to know where Major Sheppard is. Weir attempts to lie her way out of the situation, but Kolya states that he knows a lie. McKay presses a button on a console and hides it while relaying what Kolya said to Weir. McKay activates the city's public address system, which allows Sheppard to hear what McKay was saying. As Sheppard gets to work to sabotage the Genii's operation, Kolya realizes what McKay is doing and tells him to get off the console. He then has Weir escort Sora and other Genii soldiers to get to the supplies. In the meantime, he forces McKay to stay with him, to tell him why he is still in the city. Kolya guesses that McKay is here to work on a plan to save the city. When McKay tries to insist he did not say anything about saving the city, Kolya's man takes out a knife to get him to talk.

As Sora and her soldiers look over a lab, she asks Weir where Teyla is. Weir realizes Sora is Tyrus' daughter and attempts to assure her that Teyla did not physically kill him. Sora angrily tells Weir to stop talking, and continues packing up the Wraith storage date device. Meanwhile, other Genii soldiers make it to the armory and find boxes with C-4 explosives labeled on them. However, they find the boxes have been emptied and replaced with a radio.

Weir returns to see that Kolya has tortured McKay for information (his arm is bleeding). McKay admits that he revealed his plan to save the city. The soldiers return to present Kolya with the radio. Sheppard readily answers and informs Kolya that he has hidden the C-4 where the Genii will never find it. However, if Kolya lets his people go, he will reveal the location of the explosives. Kolya, however, admits that he now knows about the expedition's plan to save the city, and now intends to seize Atlantis for his own means. "Atlantis will be ours or the ocean's", he says.

Beckett's Jumper weathers the storm.

The storm is still at full force on the Lantean mainland. Inside Jumper Two, Ford is frustrated that he has not heard from Sheppard. When Beckett asks why the Genii would attack them, Ford responds with their history with them; namely that they did not end on the best terms after they stole some of their gear, did not give them the C-4 they were promised, and the Genii believed that Teyla killed one of their own (Tyrus was actually stunned by the Wraith after he killed a human prisoner inside a cocoon). Ford again wants to return to Atlantis, but Beckett states the winds outside are over 110 knots, and they will not be going anywhere.

Weir meets with Kolya, who is now sitting at her chair in the Commander's office, and attempts to dissuade him from what he is doing, ensuring that the descendants of the Ancients are the ones who are meant to use Atlantis to destroy the Wraith, but Kolya is amazed by her arrogance, believing his people may be equally -- or more -- close to the ancestry of the Ancestors. (He does not realize that the Tau'ri have inherited the Ancient gene or inoculated with the gene therapy to operate Atlantis' systems) He intends to use Atlantis himself to destroy the Wraith, and is arrogant enough to believe he will win. Then, a Genii soldier approaches to tell Kolya that Sheppard is at the last grounding station.

Sheppard has arrived and after looking at the life signs detector he finds two Genii nearby, following him. Kolya instructs his men to only use lethal force if necessary, despite his previous assurances that he would be unharmed. Sheppard walks around the control panel to track the Genii's movements, before he walks away from it. Impatient, one of the soldiers tries to confront Sheppard, only to be gunned down for his attempt. The second soldier moves away from his cover and fires his shotgun, which misses Sheppard and hits the control panel. Sheppard quickly takes cover and shoots him dead as well. He returns to the panel to find it seriously damaged by the shotgun blast. He gets back with Kolya on the radio to tell him about the damaged panel, and that two of his men are dead, as well as informing him that he has lost whatever credibility had with Sheppard in the first place.

"KOLYAA!!!"

Angered at the news, Kolya takes out his pistol and tells Sheppard to say goodbye to Weir before he aims it at her. Sheppard bargains that if she dies, he will activate the city's self-destruct. However, Kolya knows that they would need the command codes from at least two senior members to activate it (he likely acquired the knowledge from interrogating McKay) and he now intends to "take one of them out of the equation". Sheppard tries to bargain with him again by allowing him access to a Puddle Jumper, but he gets no response. Sheppard tries numerous times to get Kolya to answer back, but again gets no responses. He later screams out Kolya's name as it begins to rain on Atlantis.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Notable quotes

Ford: How could something as big as Atlantis just sink?
Sheppard: I'm sure the passengers on the Titanic were asking themselves the same question.

Sheppard: McKay will come up with something.
McKay: I will try, but despite what you all may think, I am not Superman.
(Sheppard looks around)
Sheppard: Was anyone seriously thinking that?
(Weir, Teyla and the other scientist shake their heads 'No')
Ford: No sir.
Zelenka: Never.

(The science team is trying to come up with a solution to a problem while being very short on time)
McKay: You're right. If only we had a magical tool that could slow down time. I foolishly left mine on Earth - did you bring yours?
Zelenka: You know, you're not pleasant when you're like this, McKay.
McKay: I'm always like this.
Zelenka: My point exactly.

McKay: I'd give us a better than 90%-
Zelenka: -70-
McKay: 80% chance.

Weir: The city can handle that?
McKay: Yes. Theoretically.
Sheppard: Like "dinosaurs turned into birds" theoretically or "theory of relativity" theoretically?
McKay: (looks confused, since there is no "hierarchy" of theories) What? Um, somewhere between.

Sheppard: Wait a second, are these things even close to a transporter?
McKay: Uh... yes. Elizabeth's is.
Sheppard: And mine?
McKay: It's a brisk walk away.
Sheppard: And by "brisk" you mean "far"?
McKay: (nods) And by "walk" I mean "run".

Beckett: I think it's best if we wait it out. We're safe as long as we're in here. We've got rations, and we have plenty of water.
Ford: Yeah, especially outside! (referring to the rain)

Soldier: Bacon.
Other Soldier: The one thing you wish you brought with you is bacon.
Soldier: Hey, it's the food that makes other food worth eating.
Other Soldier: You wish you brought bacon to another galaxy?

Sheppard: I'm not finished yet!
Kolya: Neither am I. Say good-bye to Dr. Weir.
Sheppard: The city has a self-destruct button. If you hurt her, I'll activate it. Nobody'll get Atlantis.
Kolya: Even if it exists, Major, you need at least two senior personnel to activate it. And I'm about to take one of them out of the equation.
Sheppard: Kolya!

Cast

Main Characters

• Joe Flanigan as Major 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

• Robert Davi as Commander Acastus Kolya
• Erin Chambers as Sora Tyrus
• Ryan Robbins as Ladon Radim
• Paul McGillion as Dr. Carson Beckett
• Michael Puttonen as Smeadon
• Colm Meaney as Chief Cowen
• David Nykl as Dr. Radek Zelenka
• Don Ackerman as Doran
• Cory Monteith as Genii Private
• Colin Corrigan as Guard
• Jason Diablo as Guard
• Lauro Chartrand as Genii Soldier
• Jon Johnson as Parker (Uncredited)
• Andre Benjamin as Walker (Uncredited)
• Craig Fraser as Marine (Uncredited)
• Brett Chan as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• David Neale as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• Joe Blair as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• Paul Cummings as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• Marc Petey as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• Shohan Felber as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• Todd Mann as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• Flynn Falcone as Genii Soldier (Uncredited)
• ? as Marine

Notes

• Although the episode begins with a "previously" segment, none of the cast members announced "Previously on Stargate: Atlantis".

• Atlantis expedition country members seen: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Scotland, United States.

• The effects of the storm upon Atlantis continue to be mentioned and remain prevalent even into the expedition's fifth year.

• This episode marks the first appearance of Commander Acastus Kolya who becomes an enemy of the expedition and a personal enemy of Major John Sheppard through season 3.

• When Teyla Emmagan, Lt. Aiden Ford and Dr. Carson Beckett are talking about the Genii, Teyla mentions that they falsely believe she killed Tyrus and Beckett gives a look to Ford indicating he is unsure as to whether to believe her, Ford gives a look of disgust at his mistrust.

• According to the Atlantis database, every 20 or 30 years the sea around Atlantis gets unseasonably warm. Previously the Ancients either strengthened the shield or submerged the city deep enough not to be affected by the massive storm that is created.

• The Manarians were first mentioned in "Underground". Sgt. Bates' team had initiated a trade agreement with them off screen during the episode.

• Despite using English in the speech, it is obvious that Genii writing is different from English alphabet (as it was previously shown by the inscriptions on the walls of their bunker), that's why Kolya couldn't immediately guess the purpose of the radio on which John Sheppard had written "Talk."

• The plot of this episode has some similarities to that of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Invasive Procedures", in which Colm Meaney (Cowen) also appeared.

• Torri Higginson (Dr. Elizabeth Weir) co-starred in Stephen King's Storm of the Century, which contains similar elements as this episode. Both take place during terrible storms and each has a villain who takes the community hostage and claims he'll leave if they give him what he wants.

• Parts of this episode and the the following one resembles the movie Die Hard. Sheppard hunts down the enemy one by one in a closed building just like John McClane. Coincidentally, Robert Davi appeared in Die Hard as well.

• This is the only episode of Stargate: Atlantis written by Jill Blotelvogel.

• Cory Monteith (Genii Private) made his acting debut in this episode. He would go on to appear in Stargate SG-1 in the episode "200" as a young Cameron Mitchell. From 2009 until his death in 2013, Monteith starred in the hit FOX series Glee.

• Ryan Robbins (Ladon Radim) is best known for playing Henry Foss on Sanctuary, Charlie Connor on Battlestar Galactica and Tector Murphy on Falling Skies.

• Colin Corrigan (Guard) previously played Medical Team Leader in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Lifeboat". He is best known for playing Marine Allan Nowart in Battlestar Galactica.

• Michael Puttonen (Smeadon) previously played Simian in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Prisoners".

Goofs

• During most of this episode, Dr. Radek Zelenka loses his accent.

• Around about the 20 minute mark, Dr. Rodney McKay is explaining how they will charge the shield generator using the lightning from the storm. Dr. Elizabeth Weir seems surprised as if hearing this for the first time despite being told this already by McKay and Zelenka a few minutes earlier.

• While Commander Acastus Kolya is practicing his defense arts he is clearly wearing a Lululemon top. Something that he couldn't have in the Pegasus galaxy.

• While Commander Acastus Kolya is practicing his defense arts with sticks, there are two types of fighting sticks – one with stripes and one plain. During an interlude in the exercise, a striped stick is handed to a woman and a plain stick is handed to a man. In the next immediate scene, the same woman is standing with the plain stick.

• Around the thirty-nine minute mark, a conversation takes place between two different technologies, Major John Sheppard talking into the Genii communicator while Kolya answers back on the Tau'ri radio. While this is technically possible if they both are either FM or AM and on the same frequency, it is an unlikely coincidence. Made more problematic by military radios using encryption.

• When Teyla Emmagan, Lt. Aiden Ford, and Dr. Carson Beckett are outside the Puddle Jumper bringing in the Athosians, it is raining; however, when they enter the Jumper, all three of them show no signs of being wet.

Awards

• Nominated Leo for "Dramatic Series: Best Overall Sound" (Gord Hillier, Dave Hibbert and Kevin Sands)

• Nominated Leo for "Dramatic Series: Best Supporting Performance by a Male" (David Nykl)

Other languages

• German: Der Sturm (The Storm)
• Poland: Cyklon (Cyclone)
• Czech: Bouře (The Storm)
• Hungarian: A vihar (The Storm)
• French: En Pleine Tempête (In the Middle of the Storm)
• Italian: L'Uragano (The Hurricane)
• Spanish: La Tormenta (The Storm)
• Russian: Шторм (The Storm)

External links

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