Tamara Johansen
Encyclopedia
First Lieutenant
Tamara Johansen (also known as T.J.) is a fictional character
in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
-Syfy
television series Stargate Universe
, a military science fiction
serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is travelling in a distant corner of the universe. She is portrayed by Canadian
actress Alaina Huffman
.
Johansen is a US Air Force medic who comes from a poor background. Not able to afford medical school, she considered the US Air Force her best option. Johanson made her first appearance in the pilot episode, "Air
", first broadcast in the United States
and Canada
in 2009. It was later revealed Johansen is pregnant with Colonel Young's child after the two had an affair before being stranded on the ship.
was her best option. However, after receiving a scholarship, she elected to leave the Stargate program to attend medical school, much to the dismay of IOA representative Camile Wray. After Doctor Simms dies during the attack on the Icarus Base, she is the only medically trained person aboard the Destiny, and is forced to assume doctor-like responsibilities over the rest of the people aboard ship. Lieutenant Johansen is third in Destinys chain of command, after Colonel Everett Young
and First Lieutenant Matthew Scott
.
In the pilot episode, it's said that TJ resigned from her position as paramedic, and although it's not revealed why, it's obvious Col. Young knows more about it. It's later revealed via a dream Col. Young has that he and TJ were romantically involved with each other prior to arriving on Destiny, and that when their affair ended, TJ decided to resign. While visiting an Earth-like planet, TJ tells Chloe that she is pregnant with Colonel Young's child, and that conception occurred about 15 weeks earlier, while they were still at the Icarus base. It is unclear if the pregnancy prompted her desire to resign her commission. In any event, although she was scheduled to leave two weeks before the evacuation to the Destiny, she did not leave as planned for reasons never made clear. Eventually she tells Young about the pregnancy, and he promises her they will make it work.
Weeks later, Destiny is taken over by the Lucian Alliance, and battle ensues. In the finale of the first season, TJ is shot in her abdomen, and although she survives, her very premature daughter does not. However, while unconscious, TJ sees a vision of her baby being kept safe by Dr. Caine and some other Icarus refugees who had remained behind on the alien Earth-like planet (named "Eden" by the crew) in the episode "Faith". This leads TJ to believe that some kind of mystical, religious force has protected her baby. However, some time later, Caine and the others return, without any memory of the baby in "Visitation" (episode 2.09). The people of Destiny believe that all of the people who had been left behind on the planet died, and the aliens who had made the planet resurrected them and returned them to the Destiny, but that they could not resurrect their souls, so all of them die again, after remembering the circumstances of their first death. Young believes that the Destiny implanted the memory into TJ in order to help her to cope with her baby's death. TJ still holds out hope that there was some truth to her vision.
TJ is well liked by everyone of the crew. Chloe starts to see TJ as her friend, and even Dr. Rush and Lt. Greer, who generally do not like people, seem to have the utmost respect for her. As their time on the Destiny lengthens, TJ begins performing increasingly complicated medical procedures, including a kidney transplant. Nearing the end of the series she finds out that the alternate her on Novus died of ASL which cannot be cured, though they download some of the archives from the planet there is no cure found in the archives.
, executive producer of the two prior Stargate TV shows, considered Huffman's audition in December 2008 "so good that, quite frankly, we would've been crazy not to cast her".
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
Tamara Johansen (also known as T.J.) is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
-Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
television series Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
, a military science fiction
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is travelling in a distant corner of the universe. She is portrayed by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actress Alaina Huffman
Alaina Huffman
Alaina Huffman is a Canadian film and television actress, also known professionally as Alaina Kalanj ....
.
Johansen is a US Air Force medic who comes from a poor background. Not able to afford medical school, she considered the US Air Force her best option. Johanson made her first appearance in the pilot episode, "Air
Air (Stargate Universe)
"Air" is the three-part opening episode of the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe. The first two parts aired on Syfy in the United States on October 2, 2009, while the third part aired on October 9. In Canada, SPACE aired the first two in tandem with Syfy...
", first broadcast in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2009. It was later revealed Johansen is pregnant with Colonel Young's child after the two had an affair before being stranded on the ship.
Character arc
She comes from a modest background and dreamed of being a doctor but couldn't afford medical school and the Air ForceAir force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
was her best option. However, after receiving a scholarship, she elected to leave the Stargate program to attend medical school, much to the dismay of IOA representative Camile Wray. After Doctor Simms dies during the attack on the Icarus Base, she is the only medically trained person aboard the Destiny, and is forced to assume doctor-like responsibilities over the rest of the people aboard ship. Lieutenant Johansen is third in Destinys chain of command, after Colonel Everett Young
Everett Young
Colonel Everett Young is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the...
and First Lieutenant Matthew Scott
Matthew Scott (Stargate)
First Lieutenant Matthew Scott is a fictional character from the science fiction television series, Stargate Universe, the third live-action series in the Stargate franchise, which centers on a group of soldiers and civilians trapped on the Ancient vessel Destiny. He is portrayed by Brian J. Smith...
.
In the pilot episode, it's said that TJ resigned from her position as paramedic, and although it's not revealed why, it's obvious Col. Young knows more about it. It's later revealed via a dream Col. Young has that he and TJ were romantically involved with each other prior to arriving on Destiny, and that when their affair ended, TJ decided to resign. While visiting an Earth-like planet, TJ tells Chloe that she is pregnant with Colonel Young's child, and that conception occurred about 15 weeks earlier, while they were still at the Icarus base. It is unclear if the pregnancy prompted her desire to resign her commission. In any event, although she was scheduled to leave two weeks before the evacuation to the Destiny, she did not leave as planned for reasons never made clear. Eventually she tells Young about the pregnancy, and he promises her they will make it work.
Weeks later, Destiny is taken over by the Lucian Alliance, and battle ensues. In the finale of the first season, TJ is shot in her abdomen, and although she survives, her very premature daughter does not. However, while unconscious, TJ sees a vision of her baby being kept safe by Dr. Caine and some other Icarus refugees who had remained behind on the alien Earth-like planet (named "Eden" by the crew) in the episode "Faith". This leads TJ to believe that some kind of mystical, religious force has protected her baby. However, some time later, Caine and the others return, without any memory of the baby in "Visitation" (episode 2.09). The people of Destiny believe that all of the people who had been left behind on the planet died, and the aliens who had made the planet resurrected them and returned them to the Destiny, but that they could not resurrect their souls, so all of them die again, after remembering the circumstances of their first death. Young believes that the Destiny implanted the memory into TJ in order to help her to cope with her baby's death. TJ still holds out hope that there was some truth to her vision.
TJ is well liked by everyone of the crew. Chloe starts to see TJ as her friend, and even Dr. Rush and Lt. Greer, who generally do not like people, seem to have the utmost respect for her. As their time on the Destiny lengthens, TJ begins performing increasingly complicated medical procedures, including a kidney transplant. Nearing the end of the series she finds out that the alternate her on Novus died of ASL which cannot be cured, though they download some of the archives from the planet there is no cure found in the archives.
Conceptual history
In the character breakdown for the series, Tamara Johansen was originally named Tamara Jon, and was of Asian descent. After Huffman was cast for the role, the character's surname was changed to Johansen and her ethnicity was changed to European. Joseph MallozziJoseph Mallozzi
Joseph Mallozzi 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. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of Stargate SG-1s fourth season in 2000...
, executive producer of the two prior Stargate TV shows, considered Huffman's audition in December 2008 "so good that, quite frankly, we would've been crazy not to cast her".