Stargate Universe's Alaina Huffman - Space Medic
11/28/2010
by Steve Eramo
How cool is Stargate Universe‘s Alaina Huffman. Having spent the past few days traveling through hyperspace and saving lives onboard the Ancients starship Destiny as Lt. Tamara “TJ” Johansen, the actress has very kindly come in on her day off to talk about her work on the series. In Universe’s first season two-part cliffhanger finale Incursion, TJ was among those taken hostage when the Lucian Alliance boarded Destiny. It was a tension-filled time for the lieutenant, who was also pregnant, as was Huffman in real life, but happily for the actress, she enjoyed the experience far more than her TV alter ego.
“We started out the first season with [producer] Andy Mikita [who directed Universe’s three-part opener, Air], ended the season with Andy, and had a few of Andy’s episodes in-between, so that was great,” recalls Huffman. “He knows Stargate extremely well, so to have him in control of this big finale was reassuring.
“For me, because TJ was being held captive by the Lucian Alliance, I really didn’t work with my fellow cast mates, but, instead, the actors who were playing members of the Lucian Alliance. We had Rhona Mitra [Kiva, leader of the Lucian Alliance], and it was a pleasure to work with her. When I first read the script, I kind of cornered [series co-creator/execute producer] Rob Cooper and asked, ‘Can she stay?’ However, I think it worked out better for Kiva to have a limited yet strong impact. I just loved that character. We have a lot of Alpha male characters on the show, so it was nice for a change to have a female in power, even if she was on the wrong side..."
