“I am pleased to announce that Carson Beckett will be returning to Atlantis for a two-part story in the back half of season four. When he returns for the two-parter, it will be Carson Beckett in the flesh,” Stargate Atlantis executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi told fans involved in the Save Carson Beckett campaign.
How does a character return from death if he was blown to bits in an explosion, placed in a coffin, given a funeral, and buried by his grieving family? “Well, I don’t want to give too much away but I can say it won’t be an AU [alternate universe] version of Carson – or a time-hopping Dr. Beckett either,” Mallozzi offered.
“Let’s just say that Beckett becomes a product of his own genius, to some extent. And we see not only old friends but old enemies. It’s a pretty neat two-parter, and it’s going to be pretty intense. The ending of the two-parter is wonderful, too. I think the fans are going to love where it goes, shall I say,” David Hewlett told SCI FI WEEKLY.
Beckett’s actor Paul McGillion also didn’t help much in figuring out how the good doctor returns when he was recently interviewed by TrekMovie.com: “I can’t tell you much about them except to say that I do come back. It is a great reveal and its clever with the way they have done it. It does have something to do with previous episodes of Atlantis and there is a connection there. “Kindred Part 2” is a heavy episode for Carson and I think the fans are going to love it, especially the ‘Save Carson Beckett’ fans who spent so much time to get the character back. He is a character that wears his heart on his sleeve and I think a lot of fans can relate to the guy and it is a nice tip of the hat to the fans.”
How accepting will the team be of the Carson Beckett they found held as captive by Michael for an apparently long time? And just how long of a time was it? According to Mallozzi, hints as to Carson’s being held by Michael were included late in Season Three: “The groundwork had been subtly laid way back in Season 3’s Vengeance in which, after some discussion with Carl and Martin, it was decided to go back and layer in a clue pointing to Michael’s involvement in the seeming resurrection. Isn’t it funny how Michael’s made so much progress with the retrovirus? It’s like he’s taken our research and made it his own,” Mallozzi told fans in his run-down of “The Kindred Part 1” in his personal blog. Mallozzi wrote the first part of the two-parter, but Alan McCullough had the honor of writing tonight’s second part, which also includes more on Michael’s research and involves Teyla and her people. What plans does Michael have for Teyla’s unborn child? How did Carson help Michael create a new retrovirus and Hoffan drug? Incredibly, Carson’s past is very much tied into Teyla’s future.
Is Carson a friend or a foe after being with Michael for over a year, and does his oath as a doctor to do no harm still apply? Tune in tonight at 10pm Eastern on the SCI FI Channel to find out, but be aware, Mallozzi has warned, “There won’t be a dry eye in the house when this one airs.”
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