First Lieutenant Aiden Ford,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the 2004 Canadian-American

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

television series ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper ...

'', a

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...

show about a combined civilian and military team exploring another galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by

Rainbow Sun Francks Rainbow Sun Francks (born 3 December 1979) is a Canadian actor known for his role as Lt. Aiden Ford in the television show ''Stargate Atlantis'', and his recurring roles on ''The Listener'', ''The Umbrella Academy'' and ''High Fidelity''. Ea ...

, Aiden Ford is introduced as a main character in the

season one Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguat ...

premiere " Rising", holding the

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Ford is a regular in season one. He appears in a recurring role

season two Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...

and appears once in a dream sequence in the season five premiere episode

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

. He later reappears in the official continuation novel ''Stargate Atlantis Legacy: The Third Path'' in which his ultimate fate is revealed.

Television

Lieutenant Aiden Ford is introduced in the series premiere, " Rising", where he is stationed at the Antarctica outpost. Ford served in the

Stargate Command Over its decade of existence, science fiction TV series ''Stargate SG-1'' developed an extensive and detailed backdrop of diverse characters. Many of the characters are members of alien species discovered while exploring the galaxy through the S ...

(SGC) before and is twenty-five years old at the beginning of the first season.
— Sheppard: "Ford? How old are you?"
— Ford: "Twenty five, sir." Ford served as John Sheppard's

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

after the events of "Rising" until a Wraith feeds upon Ford during a Wraith attack on

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

in season 2's "

The Siege, Part 3 "The Siege" is the season finale for season one and season premiere for season two of the military science fiction television series ''Stargate Atlantis'', and the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first episode of the series overall. The episode ...

". An exploding grenade blows them off a building into the ocean, and Ford's unconscious body and the still attached Wraith are recovered over an hour later. Ford survives after having an overdose of Wraith enzyme and later undergoes mental and physical changes. Ford develops a solid black left eye and becomes more aggressive and paranoid, fleeing Atlantis with a stolen Puddle Jumper. The Atlantis team encounters him again in "

Runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

" where they learn that Ford began killing Wraiths throughout the Pegasus galaxy to harvest their enzyme that gave him abnormal strength. Ford is presumed dead when he deliberately jumps into the culling beam of a Wraith dart, but the Atlantis team encounters him again in the mid-season 2-parter "

The Lost Boys ''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American supernatural black comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jeremia ...

"/" The Hive". The Wraith-enzyme allowed Ford to awake immediately after rematerializing on board a Wraith-hive ship, from where he escaped only to build up a small strike force of young men following his suit by informing them about the benefits of the Wraith-enzyme. Ford asks the Atlantis team for help in destroying an entire Wraith Hive-ship, but the mission fails and forces Sheppard to leave Ford behind on an about-to-explode hive ship. Ford is only seen again in Sheppard's dream in the season 5 episode "

".
— Ford: "You don't remember rescuing her eylabecause you didn't. Just like you never rescued me."
— Sheppard: "I have had a chance to rescue a team mate before, and it slipped through my hands. I am not letting that happen again."

Literature

Ford reappears in the official novel continuation ''Stargate Atlantis Legacy: The Third Path''. To their surprise, the team finds Ford alive and with a group of nomadic humans known as the Travelers. He explains to Sheppard he managed to escape the hive ship before it was destroyed, but crashed on the planet over which the battle took place. With the help of the Travelers, he recovered from his addiction but it took so long that he could no longer find Atlantis afterwards. Ford began leading a guerilla campaign against the Wraith, aided by the Travelers. He also now has a wife and son and regrets his previous actions under the Wraith enzyme. At the end of the novel, Ford is safely returned to Earth with his wife and son and reunites with his cousin and grandparents.

Conceptual history

After the end of season 1, the series producers, and the actor himself, felt that Ford had not worked as intended and was highly underused as a result. Unwilling to write him out, the writers came up with an idea to make the character more important, but that downgraded him to a recurring character. Producer

Joseph Mallozzi Joseph Mallozzi (born 16 October 1965) is a Canadian writer and producer. He is most noted for his contributions to the ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Stargate: Atlantis'' and ''Stargate Universe'' television series and as showrunner of ''Dark Matter'' ...

said in 2009 that "We can assume

ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, USA * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austral ...

went down ..with the ship" in " The Hive".

was disappointed about the evolution of his character, saying Ford did not evolve a

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

which the other characters did. Although Francks called the situation "tough", he reacted positively towards the development of character during the second season. After announcing that

Ronon Dex Ronon Dex is a fictional character in the 2004 science fiction television series ''Stargate Atlantis''. Played by Jason Momoa, he is from Sateda, a civilization which was at a technological level comparable to Earth in the mid-20th century before ...

would become a

main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

in the ''Atlantis'' series, they followed up with another announcement saying that they had reduced Ford to a

recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...

in the series. Many fans were disappointed with this new development because many felt he didn't have time to "prove" himself in the new series and that the character was never fully developed compared to the other characters in the show. Many campaigns to save the character were created after the announcement, the most notable being the F.O.R.D. campaign. Francks said that the change was not a "blow", since he and

Brad Wright Brad Wright (born May 2, 1961) is a Canadian television producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (with Jonathan Glassner), ''Stargate Atlantis'' (with Robert C. Cooper) and ''Stargat ...

had already discussed the change. He was also more positive in the change of

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...

for the character, saying he was a "big part" of the second season compared to

where they hadn't had enough episodes to broaden the character. When asked about reducing Francks' role in ''Atlantis'', Wright replied "The change in status means that Francks will not appear in every episode, and will not be listed in the show's opening credits."

Reception

Fans of the character set up campaigns to get Ford back as a

later in

season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. They sent various petitions to the producers, cast and crew of ''

'' to change their minds. Fans of the character even put up a website under the name F.O.R.D., which in turn was also the name for one of the campaigns fighting for the revival of the character.

References

External links

Aiden Ford
at

scifi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Aiden Fictional lieutenants Stargate characters Fictional United States Marine Corps personnel Television characters introduced in 2004 it:Personaggi di Stargate Atlantis#Aiden Ford