Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) and Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite) do not appear in the episode, despite being credited during the opening title sequence.

Talking to journalists, McCullough linked the story to that of the Flying Dutchman, a mythical ghost ship that drifts forever in the ocean with no chance of returning home.

Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) views a log entry from the Daedalus commander, Colonel Sobel, who the team has never heard of before.

To keep the ship from being burned up, McKay (David Hewlett) increases the rate at which the alternate reality drive activates, warning that his modifications are irreversible.

By the time the episode aired, Sobol was female (portrayed by Tracy Waterhouse), she held the rank of Colonel instead, and her name was spelled "Sobel".

However, the episode's writer and supervising producer, Alan McCullough, deliberately turned the map 90 degrees and changed the color from green to orange, so as to make the ship different from the normal Daedalus.

He also said that he originally planned the team to visit a reality where the Ancients won the war against the Wraith, but this idea was dropped as it would detract from the main storyline.

[9] "The Daedalus Variations" was given a household rating of 1.3, making Stargate Atlantis the fourth most viewed series for the week on Sci Fi Channel.

They were beaten by ECW on Sci Fi (with 1.4), Ghost Hunters International (with 1.6) and the season three premiere of Eureka (which earned the highest rating of 2.1).

It was praised for being a "fun filler" episode, and Pyle enjoyed the scene where the two Sheppards converse, and the space battle, believing only Battlestar Galactica could beat them.