(Some mild spoilers ahead for S3-S5)
While in a discussion at the WDC, I started to think about Todd, and the ways he has - and has not - changed since his introduction. I thought folks who are not regulars at the WDC might want to join in, so I'm starting this thread so all can have a share.
The thoughts came to me while discussing the Wraith from The Defiant One. Writer/director Peter DeLuise, and actor James Lafazanos, both made some comments about the guy:
~~~~~
Peter DeLuise, who wrote and directed the episode, said, "I got to try to envision what the Wraith were like 10,000 years ago. I tired to create a more barbaric version of the Wraith, because they are quite stoic, more cool-headed than I think they would have been in the past. I left it a little ambiguous, but I tried to impy that the guy have been there for 10,000 years. He had been there since the original attack on Atlantis."
James Lafazanos, who portrayed the Wraith ('Greg'), said, "He's supposed to be ancient, even beyond the age of most Wraith. So I felt that he was kind of like an old pirate, because he was the commander of a ship that crash landed on this planet and he was the only remaining one because he ate all the cargo and his crew. That tells you something about him!
"Peter DeLuise had a vision for sure, that this one Wraith was pretty much wild, a real bruite that had no code of ethics at all, not even amongst Wraith. He was smart, but just animalistic. I remember on the days we were out there in the Richmond desert, he was really pushing me, more than any other episode with any other Wraith character, to really show the buck-wild animal that Wraith can be. And I think it came across."
~~~~~
Now, I know that different writers, directors and actors have different visions for the characters, still I can't help but to compare Todd to this Wraith from The Defiant One, since both are 10,000+ years old...both from the same stock, so to speak.
So, first - how is Todd similar? How is Todd 'a more barbaric version of the Wraith', 'a real brute...the buck-wild animal that Wraith can be'?
I think this can easily been seen in Common Ground, where Todd has shown his most vicious side yet. He's brutal in the kill, certainly nothing like the 'dainty' Steve when he attempted to feed. In CG we watch as Todd savors Sheppard many times, and he is far from polite about it. Barbaric? Perhaps. He snaps necks, kills 6 men in a matter of moments, and speaks with snarls and grunts and hisses. Surely a more barbaric, less stoic, Wraith than most we have seen.
Even after his exposure and interaction with humans, and his reintroduction into a now more refined Wraith society, Todd still shows that wild side every now and then, especially in episodes like The Queen, Infection, and The Lost Tribe. Some say that Todd has been 'humanized', but I disagree. Todd is not 'humanized', though he has learned how to put on a human front while interacting with the Lanteans, a front that he dropped when he slit the Primary Queen's throat, and when - in a sick and desperate state - he lashed out at Sheppard.
Not human...just learning how best to play the game.
Even with his assumed air of human sophistication, Todd remains essentially what he has been for 10,000 years - a grizzly ol' Wraith, one that still resists the refinement of his own kind. What a contrast between Todd - with his unkempt hair and (as Chris Heyerdahl revealed in an interview) his jagged, broken nails - and the silken-haired, perfectly manicured Steve.
And yet -despite being a Wraith from a more barbaric time - Todd has vision, and has shown both a desire and ability to change. Even if such a change is simply to benefit himself, it's still more than what most Wraith are willing to do, and shows an unusual amount of open-mindedness for someone of his kind, and especially his age. In this, if in nothing else,Todd has truly evolved.
So...any thoughts? Please share!
das
While in a discussion at the WDC, I started to think about Todd, and the ways he has - and has not - changed since his introduction. I thought folks who are not regulars at the WDC might want to join in, so I'm starting this thread so all can have a share.
The thoughts came to me while discussing the Wraith from The Defiant One. Writer/director Peter DeLuise, and actor James Lafazanos, both made some comments about the guy:
~~~~~
Peter DeLuise, who wrote and directed the episode, said, "I got to try to envision what the Wraith were like 10,000 years ago. I tired to create a more barbaric version of the Wraith, because they are quite stoic, more cool-headed than I think they would have been in the past. I left it a little ambiguous, but I tried to impy that the guy have been there for 10,000 years. He had been there since the original attack on Atlantis."
James Lafazanos, who portrayed the Wraith ('Greg'), said, "He's supposed to be ancient, even beyond the age of most Wraith. So I felt that he was kind of like an old pirate, because he was the commander of a ship that crash landed on this planet and he was the only remaining one because he ate all the cargo and his crew. That tells you something about him!
"Peter DeLuise had a vision for sure, that this one Wraith was pretty much wild, a real bruite that had no code of ethics at all, not even amongst Wraith. He was smart, but just animalistic. I remember on the days we were out there in the Richmond desert, he was really pushing me, more than any other episode with any other Wraith character, to really show the buck-wild animal that Wraith can be. And I think it came across."
~~~~~
Now, I know that different writers, directors and actors have different visions for the characters, still I can't help but to compare Todd to this Wraith from The Defiant One, since both are 10,000+ years old...both from the same stock, so to speak.
So, first - how is Todd similar? How is Todd 'a more barbaric version of the Wraith', 'a real brute...the buck-wild animal that Wraith can be'?
I think this can easily been seen in Common Ground, where Todd has shown his most vicious side yet. He's brutal in the kill, certainly nothing like the 'dainty' Steve when he attempted to feed. In CG we watch as Todd savors Sheppard many times, and he is far from polite about it. Barbaric? Perhaps. He snaps necks, kills 6 men in a matter of moments, and speaks with snarls and grunts and hisses. Surely a more barbaric, less stoic, Wraith than most we have seen.
Even after his exposure and interaction with humans, and his reintroduction into a now more refined Wraith society, Todd still shows that wild side every now and then, especially in episodes like The Queen, Infection, and The Lost Tribe. Some say that Todd has been 'humanized', but I disagree. Todd is not 'humanized', though he has learned how to put on a human front while interacting with the Lanteans, a front that he dropped when he slit the Primary Queen's throat, and when - in a sick and desperate state - he lashed out at Sheppard.
Not human...just learning how best to play the game.
Even with his assumed air of human sophistication, Todd remains essentially what he has been for 10,000 years - a grizzly ol' Wraith, one that still resists the refinement of his own kind. What a contrast between Todd - with his unkempt hair and (as Chris Heyerdahl revealed in an interview) his jagged, broken nails - and the silken-haired, perfectly manicured Steve.
And yet -despite being a Wraith from a more barbaric time - Todd has vision, and has shown both a desire and ability to change. Even if such a change is simply to benefit himself, it's still more than what most Wraith are willing to do, and shows an unusual amount of open-mindedness for someone of his kind, and especially his age. In this, if in nothing else,Todd has truly evolved.
So...any thoughts? Please share!
das
But this is just a superficial thing that has no bearing on the character himself. The two things about his appearance that have not changed are the aforementioned unkempt hair and nails.
But I would say that personality-wise, Todd is very much the same Wraith as he was 10,000 years ago...a bit wild, a bit less stoic than what I consider to be 'younger Wraith', such as Steve. 
)
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