How Stargate Atlantis Turned The Simpsons' Duff Beer Into A Crucial Plot Device

Syfy

"Stargate Atlantis" ran from 2004 to 2009, and during that time it managed to keep a longstanding tradition alive. That is, the show included a reference to "The Simpsons," thereby continuing a custom that started all the way back on "Stargate SG-1." In the "Atlantis" Season 5 premiere, Joe Flanigan's John Sheppard uses Duff Beer as part of a trick question to determine whether he's dealing with allies or alien enemies. The fictional lager is Homer Simpson's beer of choice and has appeared throughout "The Simpsons" since its very first season. It is, as Homer once said, the cause of and solution to all life's problems. In "Atlantis," it proved to be the former.

"Atlantis" was a spin-off from "Stargate SG-1," which ran for 10 seasons before being canceled. During that time, the "SG-1" writers established an enduring link with "The Simpsons," most notably via Richard Dean Anderson's character Colonel Jack O'Neill, who was a self-avowed "Simpsons" fanatic. The relationship was reciprocal, too. There's a whole "Simpsons" episode filled with "Stargate" Easter eggs in which Anderson himself appears. Marge's sisters Patty and Selma are also obsessive fans of the actor's previous and best-known show, "MacGyver," and a major "Simpsons" star had a cameo on "Stargate SG-1" when none other than the voice of Homer Simpson, Dan Castellaneta, showed up in the Season 8 episode, "Citizen Joe."

But the "Simpsons"/"Stargate" connection went beyond "SG-1." When "Stargate Atlantis" debuted in 2004, it retained the franchise's subtle yet consistent connection to Matt Groening's beloved animated series — though it took until Season 5 to do so.

20th Television

The "Stargate Atlantis" Season 5 premiere, "Search and Rescue," follows Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and his team as they try to escape the wreckage of Michael Kenmore's (Connor Trinneer) facility. In the Season 4 finale, the crew triggered a booby trap designed to destroy the lab if unauthorized users accessed its main database. Trapped beneath a fallen beam, Shepherd struggles to free himself but is unsuccessful and comes close to giving up until he hears a rescue team digging through the debris.

Almost immediately, however, Shepherd becomes suspicious when he enquires whether combat engineer Harris is part of the crew and learns that he is. The problem is, Harris is on leave at the time, and Shepherd begins to suspect the "rescue crew" might be Human-Wraith Hybrids sent to capture them.

In order to confirm his suspicions, Shepherd poses a question to the newly-arrived crew: "If we get out of here, beer's on me, boys. What do you like, Duff Beer or Oprah Ale?" Duff is very much a fictional beer brand that first appeared in the 1990 "Simpsons" episode "Homer's Odyssey" and has remained part of the series throughout its now-37 seasons. So, when the crew responds with "Duff," Shepherd tells Jason Momoa's Ronon Dex, "They don't watch 'The Simpsons' or drink beer." This tells Shepherd all he needs to know, and the pair agree to "shoot until they can't shoot any more."

This remains the only "Simpsons" reference in "Stargate Atlantis," which was canceled by the Sci-Fi channel in 2009 after five seasons. Still, brief though it may be, it's a nice way to keep a longstanding tradition alive and a moment that Jack O'Neill would surely be proud of.