February 5, 2008: Extra! Extra! Read all about it! - Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

In case you hadn’t noticed, that long-awaited Atlantis season 5 press release finally came out today (check it out here: http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=2&id=48051)

For those of you who just got back from the moon and may have missed it, here are the salient points –

1. Woolsey assumes command of the Atlantis expedition!

I’ve always admired Robert Picardo’s work in shows like China Beach and Star Trek: Voyager and we had been looking to cast him for a long time. Finally, the opportunity presented itself in SG-1’s Heroes I and II in which he played the button-down Trust attorney Richard Woolsey. He was a fun, albeit not all-that-likable character, and it wasn’t until his next appearance, in the episode Inauguration, that we caught a glimpse of the man beneath the officious façade. Despite being innately hard-nosed and by-the-book, Woolsey redeems himself at episode’s end by allowing his own moral compass to guide him rather than blindly follow the directions of his scheming employer, Vice President Kinsey. In ensuing appearances (Prototype, The Scourge, Return I and II, and the Seer), he proved himself at times obtrusive, fastidious, and, yes, a pain-in-the-ass, but also loyal, intelligent, and above all, principled.

Way back at the end of season three when we were considering a new commander, Woolsey was one of the first names that popped into my head. I thought he would be a great choice – an established player in the Stargate universe and an interesting character that could offer much in the way of potential conflict. It also didn’t hurt that Bob is a nice guy, and a wonderful actor who has hit it out of the park every time he’s appeared on the show. After much discussion though, it was decided at the time that Carter would be a better fit. And we had a great season with her. But with Amanda having made the difficult decision to commit herself to another project, the opportunity to bring in Woolsey presented itself once again. And, this time, we took it.

Of course, his appointment does beg certain questions, the chiefest being: If Carter was appointed commander of the Atlantis expedition as a military response to the ongoing replicator and wraith threat, what has changed between then and now? Good question. Tune into season 5 to find out.

2. The beloved Dr. Carson Beckett returns for five episodes!

It’s impossible to write “Dr. Carson Beckett” without using the term “beloved” I’ve noticed. Anyway, yes, it’s true, Paul McGillion will be back with us for 5 episodes. It was great having him back on set in season 4 and we all look forward to seeing significantly more of him this year. “How is this possible?”you ask. “I thought he was dead!”you say. Hey, now that you mention it, he WAS dead! How does that work? Well, tune in to the last few episode of season 4 to find out.

3. Daniel Jackson will be guesting in some episodes.

So far, we’ve got a terrific, BIG two-parter planned. I suspect that the page count in the Daniel/McKay scenes (featuring the two fastest-talking actors in show business) will have the scheduling gurus doing back-flips. Remember that new enemy I mentioned? Oh, and Marty G. will be doing the honors on this one.

4. Samantha Carter will appear in several episodes.

Given Amanda’s upcoming commitment, it’s impossible to offer an exact number of episodes. As I said, it really has everything to do with a) her schedule and b) the types of stories we come up with. However, I can say that, at present, we do have her locked in for two.

5. No mention of the Weir character

I’ve already stated our intention to pay off the storyline we hinted at in Be All My Sins Remember’d. We have the story in place and, once a deal is closed, you’ll be the first to hear about it.

For those of you asking about which line in the teaser poem refers to Outcast:

“Wallace’s research a menace let loose.”

Today’s blog is dedicated to birthday boyorgirl Konman72 and Sara who sent Lulu a practical yet fashionable E-Collar.

Let’s tackle the mailbag –

Aquarian writes: “ Is the Michael storyline going to be revisited at all in S5?”

Answer: Although we’ve yet to slot a story (or two) into the schedule, you can be sure we’ll see him pop up at some point in season 5.

PG-15 writes: “Was Bill Dow really sunburned, or was all of that makeup just to set up the joke that Dr. Lee got called in from vacation?”

Answer: No, he wasn’t really sunburned. That was scripted.

RaeveAva writes: “Where did you and the rest of the SGA writers, get your sense of humors?”

Answer: We were born with them. Except in the case of Marty G. His was genetically engineered.

Thornyrose writes: “When the decision was made to cast Hewlett, was there a lot of revising of scripts early on?”

Answer: Definitely. The McKay character is very different from the character Brad and Rob originally envisioned for the role.

MaryA writes: “I was wondering if you would be so willing as to confirm or deny Acastas Kolya’s reappearance in Season 5?”

Answer: Funny you should mention Kolya. I had a conversation with Robert Davi last week (coincidentally, a day after I spoke to Richard Kind, aka Lucius, concerning a chocolate article he came across recently). Although there are no stories in the works for either character – hey, this is scifi. Anything is possible.

Maren Sievert writes: “ I’ve herad that dogs like yours are prone to have breathing problem because of the way the nose is. Can you confirm that?

Answer: Confirmed. Jelly is particularly bad. She even snores when she’s awake.

Iamza writes: “have you read Susannah Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell yet?”

Answer: It’s sitting on my bookshelf. I’ll get around to it – eventually.

Marko writes: “I’m glad that he’s going to remain the team leader, but as for there being no discussion about promoting him… why on earth not? Carter made lieutenant colonel one year before he did; wouldn’t it then make sense for him to be promoted to full colonel one year after her, that is, in season 5?”

Answer: It would make sense if it was simply a matter of putting in the hours but, in fact, merit has a lot to do with it. Does Sheppard deserve to be made full bird Colonel? I guess you’d have to argue your case to the promotions selection committee.

Grace writes: “ You can say that Michael Shanks will ‘guest star’ in several episodes, but you can’t give the same statement for Torri.”

Answer: Yep, that’s about it. Michael Shanks will be in two episodes. So far.

Mark B writes: “Can you confirm if Jewel Staite will be regular or recurring next season?”

Answer: Jewel will be a regular next year.

Lea writes: “Woolsey’s so incredibly annoying…”

Answer: So was Dr. Rodney McKay the first time we met him in Redemption I and II.

Inpa writes: “The mysterious character Porter, was an announcement about her *not* included because the actress hasn’t been decided, because she won’t be *significant enough* in the show, or some other reason?”

Answer: She has yet to be cast and we have yet to see how significant a role she will play in season 5.

Inpa also writes: “Also how was the decision to bring Woolsey over made, I know the writers have said it was considered when thinking who would be in charge for season 4. Was it a quick obvious decision or did it require a lot of thought?”

Answer: It took us approximately three seconds.

Emily writes: “I finished reading Bright of the Sky. I was a little concerned about it since it kind of straddled the line between sci-fi and fantasy (imo) and I’m not a huge fan of fantasy, but overall I thought it was a good read. My least favorite storyline was actually Quinn’s…”

Answer: Funny you should say that. I was all onboard with the Quinn storyline until the narrative shifted to Sydney. At that point, Quinn’s quest became secondary to the far more interesting, character-driven Sydney storyline. Although there were interesting elements in Quinn’s drive to rescue his daughter, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in Sydney’s plight.

Farscapefan writes: “what the hell are you thinking sending Daniel to Atlantis WITHOUT Vala? You know very well that these two are totally incomplete without another around! And I swear, I’m gonna hate you forever if you make Daniel act like Vala doesn’t exist at all and there won’t be at least one mention of her.”

Answer: Done and done. I’ll cross you off my Christmas card list.

Mrs.B108 writes: “Will Season Five introduce new enemies alongside its new Atlantis personnel?”

Answer: Yep.

Amyfo writes: “Joe look what I found, I think you’ll enjoy this.
http://www.linein.org/media/screenclean.swf”

Answer: Yeah, that’s how I keep my monitors clean. Jelly can’t get enough.