Scifi actors seem to pop up in any other scifi shows, don't they? Not that I am complaining. It's just somewhat weird for folks watching something with you. In such cases, you are likely to slap your forehead and exclaim 'Of course, that's Trip!' For anyone else who loves spotting these details (strangely enough the aforementioned friends of mine were not so appreciative of such interruptions), here are a few from Stargate Atlantis:

Ryan Robbins

For the longest time, the word Genii comes to mind when you think of this guy. He was the more reasonable Genii commander, as opposed to the trigger-happy, slightly creepy Koyla. You know where else you can spot him these days? He's Henry Foss in Sanctuary, a show that can be described as the modern take on the 'haven for all mutants' concept. For a lot of folks, there is always the threat of being typecast. Play a scientist in one flick, you are likely to be offered another such role in another flick. Look no further than Jeff Goldblum for an example.

In the case of Robbins, the man makes a smooth transition from military man to tech dude. It is an interesting change since moviemakers don't think that these two types of men belong to the same species. For them, types who are gun-totting lifesaving types and those who tap away at keyboard and accomplish equally amazing feats are so far apart that you almost always need a gruff voiced muscle man for one and neurotic effeminate man for the other. Good to know that both shows starring Robbins found the best middle ground.

Connor Trinneer

I watched Star Trek Enterprise after watching Stargate Atlantis and so missed this connection. Remember Michael Kenmore, that angry “I used to be a Wraith and you took it away from me” guy? The one Atlantis sort of experimented on? His character added an extra angle to the Wraith-human struggle where there were folks rooting for him to build his own troop of minions. Alright, just me then. Well, like I mentioned earlier, emo Michael can also be seen in Enterprise as one of the vital, equally likable characters – Trip! That's quite a change from Mr Minion Man. In this series he plays the good-hearted, somewhat impulsive chief engineer. If you caught the Trekkie episodes prior to the Atlantis ones, it is hard to imagine that good old Trip and Michael are the same person. You know, Mr Goldblum might want to take lessons from these folks.

Christopher Heyerdahl

This is another Atlantis/Sanctuary crossover. In Atlantis, he's the charming, treehugger type of guy. It's actually a relief that he is one of the most vocal Athosians around since the guy can be logical and calm in tense situations. Alright, so he has had his moments but at least he never really blew a fuse unlike someone like say, the whiny Dr. Kavanagh. Well, Heyerdahl lulls everyone into a false sense of security before popping up as Jack the Ripper in Sanctuary. With amazing teleportation powers to boot! In this case, his character has more shades of gray and the audience is kept guessing as to his true intentions in some matters.