Category: Features

“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.”

After viewing the episode, please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler preview videos:

• MGM: The Kindred, Part 2
• SCI FI: The Kindred, Part 2″

“The last few episodes of season four should come with a 3-hanky alert,” stated Stargate Atlantis executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog. Kicking off a succession of intense arc-driven episodes is tonight’s “The Kindred Part 1”, written by Mallozzi and directed by Peter Woeste.

“All I can say without giving too much away is that we’re planting some interesting seeds that will emerge, and it gives this season’s plots a twist in a very clever way,” Joe Flanigan told Starburst while they visited him during the filming of “The Seer” in which Davos delivers some difficult news to Teyla who is searching for her people, the Athosians, who vanished without a trace in “Missing”: “I can tell you only this: they are still alive, but they are shrouded in darkness. I know you will continue to search for them no matter what I say, but I must warn you — you may not like what you find.”

As Teyla gets closer to her son’s delivery, she has a vision of her lover Kanaan who communicates that he’s still alive. Encouraged by this mysterious message, she persuades Sheppard to take her on the mission to find and rescue her people. How accurate will Davos’s warnings turn out to be?

“The Kindred” also presents another mystery to be solved by the team: a new sickness is spreading across the galaxy and thousands of lives are threatened by it. Concurrent to this sickness is the apparent poisoning of Wraith. Could the two incidents be related? Sheppard’s former ally Wraith “Todd” may hold the answers as he once again reaches out to Sheppard for help.

And finally, the return of one of the Expedition’s own is an unexpected find as Sheppard’s team seeks the truth behind the disappearance of the Athosians and the deaths of many, but certainly, this can’t possibly be their very own Dr. Carson Beckett alive and apparently in the hands of the enemy for a very long time, can it?!

Just as some mysteries are solved, more are defined. Could all of them have something in common? Tune in tonight at 10pm Eastern to lift the darkness and after viewing, please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler preview videos:

• MGM: The Kindred, Part 1
• SciFi: The Kindred, Part 1

Ever since his introduction as the resident “alien warrior” type on Stargate Atlantis, fans have debated if Ronon Dex can take out the masterful Jaffa warrior Teal’c in a fight. Debaters have duked it out on fan forums, trying to assess both warriors’ training, mental control, and sheer brute strength to determine on whom they’d place a wager. The final verdict? That’s what’s going to be presented in tonight’s episode, “Midway”, written by Carl Binder and directed by Andy Mikita, when Teal’c comes for a visit to Atlantis to offer guidance to Ronon in standing up to the scrutiny of the International Oversight Advisory (IOA).

Now, some people might think this is just totally unfair that Ronon is under such review. After all, he’s helped Sheppard save people on Earth twice this year alone (“Miller’s Crossing”, “Outcast”) and played a major role as a Pegasus expert in not only saving the lives of every Earthling in Atlantis (“Tabula Rasa”), but also of several human populations that were under the threat of destruction by the Asurans (“Be All My Sins Remember’d”). So, why is Ronon’s evaluation of great concern?

Well, there was that test of loyalty incident when Ronon met up with his fellow Satedans (“Reunion”), or maybe it’s just a usual process, but for whatever reasons, Carter feels that perhaps Ronon could benefit from the experience of a fellow alien who has had to deal with Earth’s political machine for over a decade: her former SG-1 teammate and long-time friend, Teal’c. If anyone knows about the inner struggle of loyalty between the saviors of the galaxy and his own people, it’s Teal’c. He’s lived both lives to their fullest, finding the common, or middle, ground, and carefully keeping it all in balance. This balance didn’t come easily, so his mentoring of Ronon could be seen as one of his last duties as an aging warrior, like Master Bra’tac before him: to pass on his knowledge of how to win one of the most important battles a warrior will ever face: the one within himself alone.

But, there is another middle ground that will be tested first, before Ronon finds his balance and sits before the IOA committee: a Wraith invasion at the Midway Space Station of the Intergalactic Gate Bridge. The Midway Station is almost like Ronon himself, stuck between two worlds and bridging them both. The two warriors put aside any personal animosity to fight side-by-side in a battle that determines the fate of billions of lives and for which there can be no compromise.

After viewing (10pm Eastern on the Sci Fi Channel), please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler Video Previews and Articles:

• MGM: Midway
• SciFi: Midway
• SciFi: Alex Levine’s Blog entry for “Midway”
• TV Guide Online: Christopher Judge Previews His Return to Stargate!

If one were tasked to define Ronon Dex, eventually one might start talking about his physical features, including his hair. And a question might pop up: Does his hair significantly define him? Even within the stories of Stargate Atlantis, Ronon’s hair has become a character almost completely to itself as it flies in all directions when he’s in action, or is fashionably tied back during his more sedate times, or acts as a little storehouse for his knives. Little did the audience know that the dreads worn by Ronon weighed six pounds and were causing neck problems for his actor Jason Momoa.

Regular visitors of executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi’s personal blog have read how the production of Season Five has a major question to answer: Do Ronon’s dreadlocks define the character significantly enough that they require Jason to keep them, even if they are causing him physical pain?

After filming was completed for Season Four last fall, Momoa came to the producers to ask if he could cut his hair. “Paul [Mullie] and I wanted to accommodate him but were a little concerned given that the first episode of season 5 will pretty much pick up events as we leave them in the final episode of season 4, and we figured the fans might notice the not-so-subtle change in hairstyle,” explained Mallozzi in his personal blog. “Well, after getting on the phone with Jason’s hair expert (no kidding), we arrived at a solution. Jason could lose the dreads provided he held on to them.”

Momoa recently came by the studio for a costume fitting sporting his new haircut (Mallozzi published a few pictures in his blog). Mallozzi explained the compromise they reached, “According to Jason, without the six pounds of hair that had been weighing him down (6lbs!), he felt strangely unbalanced at first. Nevertheless, he readjusted and has been enjoying the freedom and feel of his new look. However, very soon, he’ll be undergoing the two day/16 hour process that will re-attach the dreads for our season premiere. For continuity’s sake, his character has to have them in for our first episode,” and then adds, “but I have given him the option of losing them completely later in the season.”

Mallozzi, who has stated that he prefers that Momoa keep his hair short, has even written a scene to explain a change in hairstyle in the third episode, “Broken Ties”, if Momoa decides to get rid of the dreads. “Although many, especially Jason, feel that the dreads are a unique part of the Ronon character, the ultimate decision as to whether he keeps them or not will rest with him. It’s his neck after all.”

So, what do you think will happen to Ronon’s dreads? Visit our on-site forum, or leave your comments below, to discuss this character-defining issue. 🙂

Tonight’s episode of Stargate Atlantis, “Trio”, written by Martin Gero and directed by Martin Wood, involves a mismatched trio of Expedition members who have fallen into an old mine shaft and can’t get out. Where’s the Daedalus when you need it? And what about this whole adventure makes it good, bad, and ugly?

The Good: Showing that “no good deed goes unpunished,” Col. Samantha Carter, Dr. Rodney McKay, and Dr. Jennifer Keller are trying to do the good thing by helping a population move from an area fraught with seismic activity. While crossing a field, McKay falls through the ground into a subterranean chamber. What’s worse, in trying to see how he is, while on the edge of the hole, Carter and Keller fall down too. Which leads, of course, to the bad…

The Bad: They can’t get out. What’s worse, they hurt themselves trying. Where is the Daedalus that Caldwell doesn’t save the day and beam them out? Why aren’t any other Expedition members missing them? Is this chamber lined with something that prevents communications? Are the tremors going to bury them for good?

The gimbaled set built for Stargate: Continuum impressed executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi so much that he wanted to use it in his show. Mallozzi, executive producer and co-showrunner Paul Mullie, and writer and producer Martin Gero took a tour of the set back in May 2007 (beware of spoilers for Continuum and other Atlantis episodes at this link). “As they started her up, I took one giant step over and positioned myself facing a corner of the massive structure, assuming that in the unlikely event the sides dropped off, they would collapse to either side of me and I would be able to walk off relatively unscathed. I know, I know. Silly of me. It was all very safe in Wray Douglas’s infinitely capable hands. Nevertheless, I did experience a few seconds of sheer terror when they decided to test the thing – while I was inside. It tilted. It rocked. It shimmied and shook. My life flashed before my eyes. Martin and Paul, meanwhile, were casually spitballing a story which could make use of the magnificent set once Continuum was done with it.”

That story became “Trio”. Script coordinator Alex Levine wrote in his scifi.com blog that the episode was supposed to be an inexpensive “bottle” episode, taking advantage of an existing set. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy or as inexpensive as they thought. Levine lamented, “But in shooting Continuum, the producers realized the set didn’t gimble enough – only about 8 degrees. So they raised the set so it could slant to 20 degrees. There’s your first big expense.”

Another expense included the time it took to shoot the episode. Levine explained that there were eight different stunt gags in this episode alone, all of which take time to set up for safety and realism. Levine watched a featurette produced by Ivon Bartok for the Season Four DVDs and related what director Martin Wood said about filming this episode: “His job, as he explained it, is to push the real action as far as possible, right up to the point that it becomes dangerous for the actors. Then the stunt men and women are called in. And according to James Bamford, our intrepid stunt coordinator, the stunts in this one are awesome.”

The Ugly: And finally, we get to the ugly part. What could possibly be so ugly about this whole trapped-in-a-box scenario that allows for great character interaction? You’ll have to tune in tonight at 10pm Eastern on the Sci Fi Channel to find out!

After viewing, please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler preview videos:

• MGM: Trio
• SciFi: Trio

In tonight’s episode of Stargate Atlantis, “Outcast”, Sheppard returns to Earth to attend his father’s funeral. Up until this point, those who have worked with Sheppard in Atlantis hardly know anything of his history, and it appeared that Sheppard was fine with leaving his past—and family—behind. Accompanied by Ronon, Sheppard returns to a life now almost as alien to him as it is to Ronon. What made Sheppard decide that living in Antarctica was better than living on the sprawling family estate—to basically become a self-made outcast?

While at Sheppard’s father’s wake, Ronon and Sheppard are asked to help track down a human form Replicator created in an Earth lab. Following the groundbreaking work done by the late Henry Wallace (“Miller’s Crossing”), the Replicator was created under the project name “Archetype”, and when the investigation into Wallace’s use of alien nanotechnology threatened to uncover the unsanctioned development of a new form of Replicator, the man responsible for creating “him” in the lab attempted to dispose of him, but he escaped.

Archetype’s programming is still in its prototype stages, making him unpredictable and dangerous when threatened. His will to survive puts people in jeopardy, especially now that Archetype feels that he must do anything to protect himself when his own creator turned on him. Archetype has himself become an outcast simply for what he is. And now, Sheppard and Archetype are destined to meet in a most tragic way.

Tune in tonight at 10pm Eastern on the Sci Fi Channel and after viewing, please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler preview videos:

• MGM: Outcast
• MGM: Joe Flanigan on Sheppard’s Romantic and Family Life
• SciFi: Outcast

Tonight’s episode of Stargate Atlantis is “Harmony”, written by Martin Gero and directed by William Waring. Sheppard and McKay relunctantly agree to escort a young princess, named Harmony, in a rite of passage to the ruins of the Great Temple of Laros to become the new queen after her mother’s death. According to the people’s tradition, Harmony should do this trek through the forest alone to meditate and pray and then return, but Harmony’s older sisters, Flora and Mardola, feel that Harmony is too young to go alone. These two sisters believe that they aren’t breaking the rules if outsiders like Sheppard and McKay go with Harmony.

On the way to the ruins, the three encounter Genii soldiers who wish to do them harm. The peace and quiet of the forest is broken with weapons fire. Apparently, Harmony is the target of assassins, but who doesn’t love this bratty, precocious, demanding little darling of a princess enough that they wish for her to be dead? Well, it might not take a rocket scientist like McKay to figure out that not all is well in Denmark, or wherever. Should Sheppard and McKay survive the attack, will they be able to point their fingers at one of Harmony’s sisters or someone else in the peaceful little queendom that supplies the Atlantis Expedition with grain and fruits (including “that Dala thing” that McKay can’t get enough of because it is sweet and salty all at once) in exchange for medical supplies and warnings about Wraith activities?

Two Stargate SG-1 veterans are featured in “Harmony”: Harmony is played by Jodelle Ferland, who played the “seven-year-old” Adria in Season Ten’s “Flesh and Blood”; and Harmony’s sister Mardola is played by Crystal Lowe, who played Nya in Season One’s “Emancipation”. Executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi took pictures and video footage of most of the forest scenes at Widgeon Park, which is about an hour to an hour-and-a-half away from Vancouver. Fans were kept up to date with the shooting in Mallozzi’s personal blog, and MGM has a featurette entitled “On Set with Joseph Mallozzi” that accompanies him throughout his visit to the shooting.

Because there was so much behind-the-scenes material given to fans in Mallozzi’s blog, he decided to open his Photobucket account (under the name Baron Destructo — long story for some other time, perhaps?) so that visitors can pick and choose from his many short videos (which also include spoilers for other episodes — as well as many personal videos of Mallozzi’s dogs — so be careful in your selections).

Tune in tonight at 10pm Eastern on the SCI FI Channel to see if Harmony lives to see her next birthday, and after viewing, please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler Preview Videos:

• MGM: Harmony
• SCI FI: Harmony

Tonight’s episode of Stargate Atlantis is “Quarantine”, written by Carl Binder. During normal daily activity, the city suddenly initiates a quarantine lockdown, trapping people all over without a way out or a way in. If there is really a contagion in the city, Dr. Keller can’t get to her patients, and this could be a very bad thing.

Script coordinator Alex Levine explained in his scifi.com blog that “Quarantine” is a “bottle episode”, meaning that the production used existing sets and had very few, if any, guest stars. After having spent a large portion of their budget on the visual effects of “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, the writers decided to go more toward a character-driven story with this episode. The story centers around the relationships emphasized by the odd pairings that result from the lockdown: Carter and Zelenka in a transporter; McKay and Dr. Katie Brown in her lab; and Keller and Ronon in the infirmary.

Although “Quarantine” is a “bottle episode”, it doesn’t mean that there are no visual effects. Levine described the development of this episode’s VFX sequence, “Lastly, I should mention the amazing VFX sequence of the tower climb. When Carl envisioned the script, he knew most of it would take place in interiors, so, even though this was a bottle show, it was going to need a breathtaking sequence to open up the episode. So you get to see your hero, Sheppard, in a death defying climb up the Atlantis tower. Carl called it a ‘visual showpiece’, which is exactly what it is.”

Find out which relationships thrive and which are strained as the city takes over tonight on the Sci Fi Channel at 10pm Eastern and then visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss the episode.

Spoiler preview videos:

• MGM: Quarantine
• SciFi: Quarantine
• Yahoo TV: Rodney Makes an ‘Atlantis’ Proposal