From a fellow writer - Please hear me out.

[GhostPoet]

If you had asked me if Ford should go or stay during the beginning of Season 1 I would have said "go"...but over the past few episodes Ford has really been growing as a character.
In a way...even if Ford is only a smaller role during Season 2...this could be an advantage for the character. I think the experience he will go through will make Ford harder, tougher and over-all a much stronger character with alot more depth. I'd like to see that and then bring Ford back full time during Season 3. And if we have to have the new character (which I think sounds very interesting) then why not a 5th member to the team? or at the very elast he can work at Atlantis.

[Wass]

Well I hope Ford comes back full time during season 3 of Atlantis.

[ShadowMaat]

The way I see it, the writers have a hard enough time juggling the characters already on the team. And now they're juggling the formula and upping MORE people to main character status and dumping Ford off to the side and I really wonder how they're going to carry it off in a way that will benefit ALL the characters.

When it was Shep, Ford, McKay and Teyla on the team with Weir in command it was Shep, McKay and Beckett who got all of the development, with good stuff from Zelenka and then tidbits from Weir in the latter half of the season. Ford and Teyla are basically non-existent.

Now, there's going to be some new military dude in control with Shep, McKay, Dex and Teyla on the team, with Beckett kicking around, too, and Weir still around somewhere. To say nothing of Zelenka still interfering with McKay's grandstanding. WTF??

Concentrate on developing what you HAVE before you go adding in new things. That would be MY advice.

[GhostPoet]

I think the change is vital for Ford in order to make him a better character..it's funny but...Ford getting only partial screen time during season 2 would actually HELP the character in the long run if he is brought back in season 3 full time.

As for Teyla...yea...she needs work. She needs a 2 parter episode that centers around her and something to do with her past...something depressing or dark that gives her character a deeper sense of purpose.

I honestly don't remember why she's helping them....and that should be what her life centers around...let's see something happen with her past...maybe her are mass slaughtered by a Wraith invasion...or maybe she's not even really from the place she says...maybe she's from another planet and something is going on there with that...
Just give us some meat...not a shake diet.

[ShadowMaat]

And that's part of the sad thing... Other than Shep and McKay, a majority of the character development all occurs in the SECONDARY characters. So yes, Ford stands a much better chance of getting meatier stuff in S2 because he ISN'T main cast. That's great for Ford (and all the other recurring peeps), but it's kinda sad for all the main cast who get ignored. Namely, at this point, Teyla. And if they slack off on Dex, too... *shrug* Whatever. My point remains- TPTB need to figure out what to do with the people they already have, not bring in new characters because their current ones aren't "gelling".

[LordAnubis]

If you had asked me if Ford should go or stay during the beginning of Season 1 I would have said "go"...but over the past few episodes Ford has really been growing as a character.
In a way...even if Ford is only a smaller role during Season 2...this could be an advantage for the character. I think the experience he will go through will make Ford harder, tougher and over-all a much stronger character with alot more depth. I'd like to see that and then bring Ford back full time during Season 3. And if we have to have the new character (which I think sounds very interesting) then why not a 5th member to the team? or at the very elast he can work at Atlantis.

Personally, I never saw him as a critical character or one worthy of much attention. You know how on SG-1 Daniel, Jack, Sam, and Teal'c will each get a show devoted to them from time-to-time? I could never see a special show devoted to Ford, who is undeveloped. He's not much of a character, IMO. I always figured if someone on Atlantis had to die, it would be him.

I disagree with anyone who says his character has grown. How? He's hardly on for more than five minutes at a time. I'd say Dr. Zelenka has become more central to the SG-A team than Ford, who's just another solider more or less.

However, I don't see why Ford has to go and this Dex person has to come on board. I think Dex seems like a cliched, lame character, based on what I've read. Plus, he's just...really ugly from his pic. I don't think he's going to add much. So, what I'm saying is, why not just keep Ford? At least he's got a purpose and has been around.

Don't get mad at me for saying this stuff. I know many of you like Ford, and I'm not saying I don't, but I'm just saying his character, IMO, isn't developed and he seems rather pointless in the scheme of things. If they were gonna keep him, I'd say flesh him out more and give him some personality. At least he can put Beckett in his place.

[impulsivelad]

Yeah, I never saw Ford as a main character anyway, so him being reduced to a recurring character is something I’m not going to notice. I do think Dex is a cliché character (from what I’ve also read) and shouldn’t be a main character either. I say stick with the characters you do have and work on them…

As for Teyla...yea...she needs work. She needs a 2 parter episode that centers around her and something to do with her past...something depressing or dark that gives her character a deeper sense of purpose.

This is a horrible idea. This is the sort of thing you do with a ‘guest star’ not a main character. You develop them slowly over time, almost every episode should have a character defining moment (either big or small) that develops the character. It’s what they’ve done with Shep, McKay, Beckett, and even Zelenka. It’s why those characters seem more real, not because they had a lame 2 parter reveling a dark past, but because the character’s personality have been reveled to us over time. That’s how you make Teyla a real person and not just some hot chick with a stick.

[ShadowMaat]

AFAIC there was only one brief moment when Teyla's character became remotely interesting and that was when (The Gift)

Spoiler:

she was possessed by a Wraith.

For the first time in the whole season, I sat up and took notice and thought, "OOoo, now THIS could be interesting!" But then the moment was over. *sigh*

[Easter Lily]

As for Teyla...yea...she needs work. She needs a 2 parter episode that centers around her and something to do with her past...something depressing or dark that gives her character a deeper sense of purpose.

I honestly don't remember why she's helping them....and that should be what her life centers around...let's see something happen with her past...maybe her are mass slaughtered by a Wraith invasion...or maybe she's not even really from the place she says...maybe she's from another planet and something is going on there with that...
Just give us some meat...not a shake diet.

I agree that Teyla needs work and bucketloads of it... as an alien she's not terribly alien... she adapted too readily, she looks like she understands more than she should. She just slid into the team. Okay she kicks serious ass but there must be more to her than stick fighting, surely? Okay she had a slight altercation with Sheppard in Letters but that told me more about him than about her. In The Gift she looked like she could be interesting but then it's just a darkside thing... it doesn't add anything to her CHARACTER. Then they made her all moody and angry... huh?
Maybe she needs to have tugroot soup more often.

[ShadowMaat]

Very true, the darkside thing. And personally I hated her in Letters. I hated her attitude, I hated her comments, I hated everything. Ye gods, please, SOMEONE figure out how to write her or send her off to rule the Athosians in Offscreen Land. *sigh*

[Easter Lily]

I disagree with anyone who says his character has grown. How? He's hardly on for more than five minutes at a time. I'd say Dr. Zelenka has become more central to the SG-A team than Ford, who's just another solider more or less.

At least with Ford, I catch a glimpse of his CHARACTER... he tries hard to please, he is gutsy when he needs to be, he's a caring grandson, he's loyal and a good man to have in a tightspot... OK, maybe he hasn't "grown" all that much but he hasn't really had to take much of the heat.
Zelenka, Beckett, Sheppard and McKay are personalities... when they're on the screen they shine... because they distinguish themselves onscreen. All I ask is that Teyla be more consistently developed as a character.

[ShadowMaat]

Ford also manages to get in some good snarks. Unfortunately, they tend to get ignored. *sigh* Good ones in The Brotherhood and The Gift. Probably others, but those are the most recent ones to spring to mind.

[deckard]

Ive been watching Stargate and Atlantis since the begining, and one of the things that i've loved over the many years is the writers willingness to do strange, creative things with the direction of their characters. They've all had something happen to them that has really worked out well to test and expand the characters personality, and thankfully, each one has worked out well.

My point of view is that the problem with Ford's character isnt that he's poorly writen or acted- his character just doesnt have a lot to work with. Ford is to Atlantis as Barney is to Half Life. Frankly it's not suprising that this is the outcome in the first season.

It seems to me that the writers/producers/powers see this and are pulling a daniel jackson on Ford in Season 2, and I think that's great. Ford's character needs to go through some trials and tribulations, much like how O'Neill had a past with covert ops/Iraq and Sheppard's universal scorn by his commanding officers about his past involving disobeying orders- a trait that has already caused him friction with Weir. Ford's character simply couldnt have done the same things. He's to wet behind the ears.

I find it kind of dissapointing that the powers that be dont take this opportunity to flesh out Ford in an arc over season 2, but I can also see the advantage in cuting his character down in order to give the character time to gain a bit of mystery and wisdom with whatever it is he has to endure.

Atlantis has supprised me a lot in the second half of its first season, mostly with sheppard's impressive body count in The Eye and seeveral twists and turns that i didnt expect. There are always going to be hit and miss episodes, but considering the the consistantly high quality coming out of stargate, I have faith that they'll do the right thing with Ford's character.

-2 cents from a gateworld forum noob

[Im_just_guessing]

Personally, I think Sheppard and Ford are the only good characters in the show so far. Everyone else...reminds me of plastic for some reason...not their acting necesarily...they just make me think of plastic (yeah, I know, wierd)

But when Ford was taking the pistol to the bug on Sheppard, CLASSIC!

[LoneStar1836]

Okay she kicks serious ass but there must be more to her than stick fighting, surely?

Knife fighting. That’s gotta count as a whole other dimension to her character.

In a way...even if Ford is only a smaller role during Season 2...this could be an advantage for the character. I think the experience he will go through will make Ford harder, tougher and over-all a much stronger character with alot more depth.

Maybe. Seeing as how Beckett received plenty of attention and development, imo anyway, and he is supposedly only reoccurring as while Ford was full time.

I share in the sentiment that they don’t need another character added to the show at the moment because they couldn’t write for the ones they had anyway. If they had a difficult time writing for Ford and Teyla this season, it doesn’t seem anymore likely that they will find more time in season 2 to write for them, the regulars Shep and McKay, plus the so-called regular Weir, plus more Beckett, plus this new Dex character. Adding this new guy to the mix doesn’t bode well for Teyla. She may be the next on the chopping block unless they are only keeping her around for the sex appeal. She can be more if properly written for as Ford could have been more this season if an effort had been made to try to incorporate each into more episodes this season other than during the obligatory a**-kicking scenes or blowing s*** up scenes. Guess with this new Dex guy, they get two for the price of one. He kicks a** while blowing s*** up.

I thought Ford was going to be a core character to the show when I first saw the Lowdown, but he and Teyla were basically shunned in S1 in the eps. I’ve seen so far. I like Ford, and it is a shame that RSF has to be demoted to reoccurring in order for his character to get any focus.