Dex vs. Ford

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Atlantis is boring and sad without Ford...all I can think about when I watch the show is how his character got screwed. They don't feel like a family anymore without Aiden, and that was my favorite aspect of the show.

Dex is a murderer.

I agree with you Ford was screwed. It seems they save all the other
main characters, but with Ford No! Maybe his contract was for only for
the one season? If so they could have given him another Contract and
in season 2, still bring in Dex, but Ford could have had his own command.
But I realize you can not have more than two people of color in a starring
role, so when Dex was brought in Ford or Teyla had to go. Naturally Teyla
stayed and Ford had to go. That is just the way it is, maybe one day that
will change, but I'm thrilled that there are still two people of color in a
star role.
Lt. Geo. Jr.

[Major Tyler]

But I realize you can not have more than two people of color in a starring role, so when Dex was brought in Ford or Teyla had to go.

WHAT THE HELL?!?!!? ARE YOU JOKING?! I'm gonna let you tell me that you're joking before I type what I really want to type.

[Linzi]

By the way you said it, it sounded like you were saying he's dead. Which there is no proof of.

I would like to see them both work together too.

At the London Expo, Joe Flanigan said Ford's not dead, and that there's a good chance we'll see him again.

[Major Tyler]

At the London Expo, Joe Flanigan said Ford's not dead, and that there's a good chance we'll see him again.

WOOHOO!!!!

[newtrekker]

At the London Expo, Joe Flanigan said Ford's not dead, and that there's a good chance we'll see him again.

Yeah, well so far after 'The Hive' they haven't even mentioned Ford and how they are going in the search for him. Sounds to me we won't see him for a while or TPTB just doesn't care about him.

[Shep'sSocks]

Atlantis is boring and sad without Ford...all I can think about when I watch the show is how his character got screwed. They don't feel like a family anymore without Aiden, and that was my favorite aspect of the show.

I dunno, I didn't get any sort of family feel when Ford was there.

[Major Tyler]

I dunno, I didn't get any sort of family feel when Ford was there.

Characters like Peter, Bates, Markham, and Stackhouse also contributed to the family feel...they're all gone now.

[Wraith Scientist]

Ford.

Dex is such a terrible, terrible character in my opinion. If I were in charge I'd dumped him through a Stargate to a Wraith planet without a DHD a long time ago.

For starters, his oughtright agression is so totally inappropriate for any sort of negotiation or exploration. The only real use for him is a mission where you want to go in and kill everything with no regard for stealth or subtlety. He is completely out of control, and seems to be mentally unstable and motivated solely by adernaline-fuelled rage and hatred.

In Michael, they were trying to convince the guy that everything was normal and avoid making him suspicious, so what does Mr Dex do? Act mega-hostile and beat the guy up. Repeatedly. Real good Mr Dex, that's right, that'll get the guy nice and settled in in no time. If I were them I'd have had him pumped him full of sedatives and thrown him in the brig the moment he looked like he was going to cause a problem.

He's also the second alien in the team. That leaves one scientist and one Earth soldier. Yeah, real smart, only having one person in the official chain of command in the team. Teyla's useful, because she has lots of knowledge about Pegasus, can sense the Wraith, and is reasonable, but Ronon is just a berzerk, sociopathic loner who isn't much use unless you like bloodbaths. He also distracts plots and time from Teyla's already much-underdeveloped character.

He also insists on using his useless pistol thing. It fires balls of 'red stuff' that go so slow you could probably dodge them at long range, and give away your position like a signal flare, not to mention the fact that it glows in the dark. It doesn't have anything even approaching the most basic sight, but it's not like he even pretends to aim the thing anyway. He also has a sword. A sword!? Yeah, like that's going to be useful against ranged weapons

He's OK if you're out specifically hunting Wraith, or trying to kill something, and only then because the Wraith footsoldiers are more thick than he is, but for the general exploration team he's just all wrong. Ford was Earth military, less likely to cause a diplomatic incident, and brought an innocence to the team.

[Shep'sSocks]

Characters like Peter, Bates, Markham, and Stackhouse also contributed to the family feel...they're all gone now.

Markham and Stackhouse, yes, because they were the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Atlantis. Peter, hmm, maybe. Bates, definitely. He was the crabby older brother and were Ford not supposed to be an officer, I'd get him as the younger brother character. I just didn't get Ford as an officer; my military friends hated the portrayal. They said Ford should have been a new recruit, Specialist type rather than an officer. That fitted, officer wise, no way.

[Shep'sSocks]

Ford.

Dex is such a terrible, terrible character in my opinion. If I were in charge I'd dumped him through a Stargate to a Wraith planet without a DHD a long time ago.

For starters, his oughtright agression is so totally inappropriate for any sort of negotiation or exploration. The only real use for him is a mission where you want to go in and kill everything with no regard for stealth or subtlety. He is completely out of control, and seems to be mentally unstable and motivated solely by adernaline-fuelled rage and hatred.

In Michael, they were trying to convince the guy that everything was normal and avoid making him suspicious, so what does Mr Dex do? Act mega-hostile and beat the guy up. Repeatedly. Real good Mr Dex, that's right, that'll get the guy nice and settled in in no time. If I were them I'd have had him pumped him full of sedatives and thrown him in the brig the moment he looked like he was going to cause a problem.

He's also the second alien in the team. That leaves one scientist and one Earth soldier. Yeah, real smart, only having one person in the official chain of command in the team. Teyla's useful, because she has lots of knowledge about Pegasus, can sense the Wraith, and is reasonable, but Ronon is just a berzerk, sociopathic loner who isn't much use unless you like bloodbaths. He also distracts plots and time from Teyla's already much-underdeveloped character.

He also insists on using his useless pistol thing. It fires balls of 'red stuff' that go so slow you could probably dodge them at long range, and give away your position like a signal flare, not to mention the fact that it glows in the dark. It doesn't have anything even approaching the most basic sight, but it's not like he even pretends to aim the thing anyway. He also has a sword. A sword!? Yeah, like that's going to be useful against ranged weapons

He's OK if you're out specifically hunting Wraith, or trying to kill something, and only then because the Wraith footsoldiers are more thick than he is, but for the general exploration team he's just all wrong. Ford was Earth military, less likely to cause a diplomatic incident, and brought an innocence to the team.

Funnily enough, you've listed a lot of reasons why I like Ronan and not Ford.

[Jedi_Master_Bra'tac]

Ford.

Dex is such a terrible, terrible character in my opinion. If I were in charge I'd dumped him through a Stargate to a Wraith planet without a DHD a long time ago.

For starters, his oughtright agression is so totally inappropriate for any sort of negotiation or exploration. The only real use for him is a mission where you want to go in and kill everything with no regard for stealth or subtlety. He is completely out of control, and seems to be mentally unstable and motivated solely by adernaline-fuelled rage and hatred.

In Michael, they were trying to convince the guy that everything was normal and avoid making him suspicious, so what does Mr Dex do? Act mega-hostile and beat the guy up. Repeatedly. Real good Mr Dex, that's right, that'll get the guy nice and settled in in no time. If I were them I'd have had him pumped him full of sedatives and thrown him in the brig the moment he looked like he was going to cause a problem.

He's also the second alien in the team. That leaves one scientist and one Earth soldier. Yeah, real smart, only having one person in the official chain of command in the team. Teyla's useful, because she has lots of knowledge about Pegasus, can sense the Wraith, and is reasonable, but Ronon is just a berzerk, sociopathic loner who isn't much use unless you like bloodbaths. He also distracts plots and time from Teyla's already much-underdeveloped character.

He also insists on using his useless pistol thing. It fires balls of 'red stuff' that go so slow you could probably dodge them at long range, and give away your position like a signal flare, not to mention the fact that it glows in the dark. It doesn't have anything even approaching the most basic sight, but it's not like he even pretends to aim the thing anyway. He also has a sword. A sword!? Yeah, like that's going to be useful against ranged weapons

He's OK if you're out specifically hunting Wraith, or trying to kill something, and only then because the Wraith footsoldiers are more thick than he is, but for the general exploration team he's just all wrong. Ford was Earth military, less likely to cause a diplomatic incident, and brought an innocence to the team.

I agree with that 100%

IMO, Ronan should have never have been introduced, and they should have kept Ford. Ford was a fun character, Ronan is thick, aggresive and narrow minded. He beleives any problem can be solved by beating someone up, or killing a wraith. He's always so sure of himself, like in "Epiphany", when Mckay explains that time is moving faster, in a tone that says "what do you know? you're just a scientific genius".

I really don't understand why TPTB felt they needed to replace a character that brought fun to the show, with someone who feels that every problem should be solved with violence.

[Arctic Goddess]

Ford just never caught on. Maybe he didn't have enough history to be interesting. Dex has history.

[ata_beckett]

Gah. Can't pick.

Pre-Enzymey Ford had that great child-like quality to him sometimes, and he was absolutely adorable with the way you could tell that Shep was his hero (I swear, there's this LOOK in 38 minutes where I always expect him to go "I love you, sir.").

And Enzymey-Ford was just a great turn for the character to take-- almost a complete 180 from where he was originally. He was dark, interesting and psycho in a way that wasn't psycho enough to make us hate him.

However, I LOVE Ronon and the way everything is just so cut and dry for him (Wraith? Kill it.). I DO think that he's probably a better asset to the team than Ford (considering the guy did little besides kill wraith for seven years), but character-wise? I think they're both fantastic.

[Twinchy]

I want Ford back on the show!!!

I came across “Stargate: Atlantis” only just a few months ago by accidentally zapping into a preview for a rerun of the Season 1 final “The Siege I & II” as double feature. Even though I was heavily biased (I don’t like “SG-1”) I decided to watch it. And, wow, these eps were really great! At times a little predictable – e.g. in ‘The Siege III’

Spoiler:

John getting beamed out of the Jumper before blowing up the Hive

(that was pretty obvious at the end of ‘The Siege II’ even for a new viewer like me) – but I don’t care about that as long as it is well done and entertaining me.

From the very beginning of the episode’s teaser I took to Lt. Ford – he’s my fave – and was happy to learn in the credits that he was a regular on the show. I loved his humour and his 'Ford-to-the-Rescue' style (which can also be seen in many other eps) – e.g. stunning the Wraith Bob before he could feed on John!
Unfortunately things didn’t turn out well for him and – having witnessed Peter Grodin’s death just minutes earlier – I suspected right on there was no way he could possibly get out of his stand-off with the Wraith alive. Consulting imdb.com confirmed my fears by not listing RSF as cast from Season 2 onward.
Getting to know in ‘The Siege III’

Spoiler:

that he actually did survive but left Atlantis nonetheless

surprised me me a lot and made me sad.

Catching up on the entire Season 1, I liked Ford’s bravery and his way to deal with things very much. He had great team dynamics, humour and a brilliant timing, especially when it came to solving a dangerous situation at the last possible moment (look at ’38 Minutes’, ‘The Eye’ or ‘The Defiant One’, only to name a few).
He was always reliable, a skilled fighter and showed on numerous occasions that he used his head for more than just wearing caps!
Personally, I was most impressed by his tricking Kolya and his men into thinking they had downed him with the anaesthetic arrow in ‘The Brotherhood’, only to attack them when they were up close and completely oblivious to him.
Ok, he lost but at least he tried!

I don’t understand why TPTB got rid of him in the first place. As for me, he was a great second-in-charge for John and a nice and fun buddy to have around. Or as Dr Beckett expressed it in ‘The Eye’:“You’re such a nice young lad until put in charge…”
In Addition to that my first thought was what’s John going to do without his help?, since Ford watched his back and saved him so many times throughout the first Season. The guy really lived up to his ‘Ford-to-the-Rescue’ image!

So, bring him back on at least for a recurring role in a few eps per season.

Or, at the very least, do me the favour of ending his character’s ordeal by letting John and Elizabeth send him back home to his grandparents (after Dr Beckett treats his addiction!) like in ‘The Lost Boys’

Spoiler:

when John promised him to have him back with his folks within the hour.

On the other hand I like Ronon quite well, too. He is sort of a loner - but after 7 years as a runner who could blame him? - although has a good sense of loyalty, especially to John and Tayla, and usually keeps to the chain of command. He's an awsome fighter, too but I like him more for his rare softer moments. Like in 'Trinity' when he lay on his bed (almost) weeping

Spoiler:

after his fellow Satida soldier told him that 300 of his people survived the Wraith attack.

Very touching, indeed.
I have to admit that his I'm such a tough guy and if there's anything tougher, I'm that too sometimes feels a bit exaggerated...
Nonetheless he has an interesting background - being a Satida soldier and a runner - and really has a good team dynamic with the gang.

Saying that, I wouldn't want one gone at the expense of the other, so I didn't vote on the poll at all, since there was no 'both' button.
I'd like them both to stay on the show. Think of how in 'The Lost Boys'

Spoiler:

the two of them fought together back to back on the hive ship before getting stunned and captured.

That was a memorable moment, no doubt about that.

[Da Princess]

I much prefer Ford. I like Ford because he was just a normal guy...like me. He's the only character I could relate to on any level. As far as Dex goes, he hasn;t really done anything that Ford couldn't have done (except murder someone). I certainly don't "blame" Dex for Ford's departure, but I just don't see him as more interesting or "better" than Ford.

Ford is how I would be (or would wish to be) on Atlantis, and I sure hope he comes back.

Hi Major Tyler. It's me Krissy again. How are you? I'm fine. I prefer Ford too, because Aiden was a nice guy, yet a good soldier. He had a good balance, you know Ford knew when to be nice, and when to be tough, Capiche? And for a soldier, Ford had a wonderful sense of humor, he really did which was a great addition to the show & team. I also thought that Ford & Teyla would have made a cute couple, cause Ford is such a nice guy. But I think that Teyla is a little older than Ford. But now that Ford is gone, they are trying to hook up Teyla with Dex, and I guess that's ok.

Your right about Dex he hasn't done anything that Ford couldn't do. After all Ford, was Second in Command right? Dex may seem more interesting than Ford, because they gave more of Dex's background, and developed his character more than Ford. Even though Dex is a new character. Yeah I think that it was a BIG mistake not developing Ford's character more, and taking him off the show, or team. So really Dex isn't more interesting than Ford, we just know more about Dex than Ford that's all. But for those that do prefer Dex, I respect your opinions ok.

Rain, if you do see this, I'm your #1 fan. I really miss your character on SGA, Ford was one of my fav characters on SGA, please come back if you get the oppurtunity. Come back, Rain pretty please with strawberries on top.

Does anyone know if Rainbow Sun Francks has a fan mail address? So that his fans can write to him? If anyone knows what it is, please tell me. Thanks.

P.S. No the addition of Ronon to SGA didn't make losing Ford any easier to me. It made it worse, cause they replaced Ford with Dex, and no one can EVER take Ford's place. I have nothing against Ronon, ok.