by Will Lemon | 15 July 2025

Stargate:Atlantis was a spinoff of Stargate:SG-1. It featured a team of scientists who traveled to the Pegasus galaxy after Daniel Jackson discovered a seven-symbol gate address left by the Ancients. This team presumably was comprised of folks from different countries. 

 

The military contingent (again, presumably) represented the US Air Force's interest since they were in control of the Stargate program and to provide security in case they faced hostilities. The original commander was fed on by the Wraith queen (basically space vampires) so Maj. Jon Sheppard, his second, assumed command. Lt.  Aiden Ford was on Sheppard's team but after one season he was written off the show having been driven mad by Wraith enzyme when a Wraith attempted to feed off him.

 

In subsequent interviews Rainbow Sun Franks expressed no ill-will toward the producers claiming his departure was mutual. Their explanation was dubious stating, in part, his character had little backstory. This made no sense since other characters were equally ambiguous. Sheppard had next zero back story. All we knew about him was encapsulated in one sentence delivered by Col. Sumner in the first act, "He doesn't follow the chain of command." McKay was just as ill-defined.

 

All parties also claimed the character wasn't "developed" enough and therefore needed to leave the show. Really? Who's fault was that? The producers were watching the show seeing this happen yet had no thought to step in and course-correct. That is exactly what they are there for.

 

Now, I obviously was not in the room during these conversations but I also did not just fall off the turnip truck. There's an old saying among writers, "write what you know". Caucasian men tend to have great difficulty writing characterization for anyone who doesn't look like them. Several Star Trek characters(all women) went through the same thing. They didn't have either the time, talent or inclination to effort a better narrative for Franks and to a certain extent Tori Higginson(Dr. Elizabeth Weir) who was struggled to balance her feminity with her authority.

 

Sci-Fi always does this to Black and female characters. They create these shallow characterizations in the periphery and then when the actor gets bored they let them quit and say "their departure was mutual". In Ford's case they devised this swan song by having him become somewhat enhanced by the Wraith enzyme, turning him into a villain. In retrospect, it seems odd. Ford had minimal impact for most of the season then suddenly he's a villain doing all kinds of damage. That direction was disrespectful to to the character and to Francks.

 

​They soon reverted to familiar tropes of having a hyper-masculine alien to match the protagonist's hyper masculinity like 'Teal'c' or 'Worf' or 'Hawk' which they found in Jason Momoa in 'Ronon Dex'. Unfortunately, when you make these changes with an established cast even after one season, someone gets displaced. As mentioned before, in Buck Rogers with Col. Wilma Deering being shelved and sexualized. The showrunners/writers should have respected the character more with better writing in both cases.​

​

It's too bad none of them had a Martin Luther King Jr. to convince them to stick it out like Nichelle Nichols. She was going to leave Star Trek until MLK asked her to reconsider. It was a much different time and there were larger issues to consider. But is it really that different? Here we are with another actor of African descent on a sci-fi tv show underutilized from day one. Same song, different verse.

​

The sad truth is Lt. Aiden Ford was always going to be a prop for Maj. John Sheppard. He always had a shelf life, I believe, from the show's inception. And let's be honest, Sheppard had this air of condescension with Ford, calling him a 'kid' on several occasions. He did the same thing with Ronon referring to him as 'Chewie' reducing them both to sidekick status. Sheppard was definitely the star and everyone else was there to affirm him.​

​

Lt. Ford seems to be another casualty of the entertainment machine which is often fueled by ignorance, inepttitude and capitalism. While the show went on to a successful five year stint leaving an indelible mark on the sci-fi community, it did so by relying on sixty-year-old stereotypes.