Stargate Atlantis/Season 4: Focus on Character2
Spoiler alert! Level: minor
As the fourth season launches, Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) the Atlantis commander lies in a coma. Without her expertise, the team muddles through a crisis situation.
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) struggles to adjust as he assumes an unaccustomed leadership role as base commander, setting up a not-unexpected but intense conflict with the fast talking, socially inept physicist, Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett). As nerves fray, confident fly-boy Sheppard even seems – dare I say - a little hurt by McKay’s inadvertent slights.
Naturally, the only way to solve their problem (eventually) is to head deep into enemy Replicator territory.
Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) is missed. He’s replaced by Jewel Staite who is very young and somewhat miscast as a medical doctor. She was probably recruited to attract the 18-34 Firefly demo (a good idea, in theory). She’s a lovely actor who has a lot of range, and she displays maturity beyond her years. In one scene she delivers bad news with believable feeling and compassion. I like her – a lot. I just think the series is better served if McGillion was permanently reinstated. Perhaps the writers could fashion a more appropriate role for the lovely and talented Staite.
In the early years, Sheppard was too much the wise-cracking, fly-boy cliche. But the character has deepened into a more complicated personna. In spite of his fly-boy swagger, and wry humor, he plays his part these days with a hint of vulnerability. Mallozzi says they’ll be exploring more of Sheppard’s backstory this season.
Torri Higginson was excised to make way for Tapping, a transition that could have been awkward. Tapping admitted (during our interview) she was “painfully aware” that Atlantis was “not my show.” “I wanted to be careful about how I approached it,” she said. But she also pointed out that the “cast has been phenomenal and David [Hewlett] and I have a long-standing relationship." (Hewlett’s McKay was first introduced as a character on SG-1.)
Tapping is transitioned without overriding the remaining veterans. The writers deserve some credit for finessing her introduction. Tapping looks better than ever in work overalls, and very fresh in minimal make-up, with her (now) long hair casually held back in a loose bun. And – oh, by the way – Carter’s been promoted.
For anyone still longing for Stargate SG-1, there are echoes of it in Atlantis. Carter’s sidekick is Dr. Bill Lee (Bill Dow), a SG-1 scientist with a penchant for stating the obvious. Chris Judge (SG-1’s Teal’c) makes an appearance later this season and Mallozzi hopes to cast more SG-1 actors. (See my upcoming interview with Joe Mallozzi for more.)
PatrickD commented:
Too much McKay! It seems like ALL the 4th season episodes so far have been "McKay saves the day"...except for one where they specifically put him locked in a room where he couldn't save the day and then kept pointing that out to us. I'm sick of freakin' McKay. Let Carter and Sheppard have some good episodes and send McKay on leave for a few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I like the character...but we've been getting WAY too much of him lately.
Mary mcnamara commented:
Hi All - just checked the screener this morning, because I couldn't stand it any longer. :) ooops! you're right! Sheppard said "colonel," not General. hey, thanks for the correction everyone! Elyse, yes - agree. I was surprised that we didn't see more of Carter, actually. and, yes...time will tell. but again, so far, I do think the writers are to be credited for the respectful manner in which Carter's intro to the team was handled. (I wonder if some of this was Tapping's doing. When I spoke to Amanda I hadn't yet seen the screeners. But she indicated she had a hand in at least one of the story lines. that interview will be up in a couple of days.) So often, cast changes are mishandled - clumsy and insulting to the viewer but this is not the case here. Also - without getting into major spoiler territory - the door is certainly left WIDE open for more Higginson participation - and we do get so see her again later in the season, correct? Btw, I thought Higginson was terrific in her last appearances. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. mm
mary mcnamara commented:
Hi all: Hmmm - I'll tgo back and look at the screeners again this afternoon but...I think it was "General." they mentioned that she'd been promoted. wasn't Carter promoted to Colonel during a ceremony on SG-1? (trying to recall...)
Elyse commented:
Thanks for the article on SGA. You've always done a great job of giving the SG shows some press :)
Yup, Carter is now a 'full bird colonel,' not a general, and while she has minimal time in Adrift and Lifeline, only time will tell if the character is integrated without 'overriding the remaining veterans.'
Otherwise, quite looking forward to the rest of your interviews. Thanks!
KC commented:
Hi! I'm so glad you're covering the series later this week. I just had to nitpicks:
First of all, we've been told by Executive Producer Joe Mallozzi that Torri Higginson's role was minimized before the decision to bring Amanda Tapping on board was made. We were also told that she was among a list of actors who would replace Ms. Higginson's role as base commander. Have you heard otherwise?
Secondly, I think she's been promoted to Colonel, not General. :)
I'm looking forward to your interviews with the Stargate Atlantis cast and crew!
