If S6 Had Happened - Daniel as a regular? SPOILERS for all aired SGA episodes

[Killdeer]

On the commentary for the S5 mid-season two-parter (First Contact/The Lost Tribe) Martin Gero says that they were hoping to bring Michael Shanks over to Atlantis as a regular in S6 if it had happened.

What are your thoughts on this? How do you think they would have done it, and how do you think it would have affected the current characters? Do you think it would be a positive thing for the show or a negative thing? Would they have gone to a seven-member cast/five-person team? Do you think one of the current cast might not be present? If so, who?

Obviously this is all speculation since we did not get a S6 and won't ever know for sure how it would have played out. But I thought it might be interesting to discuss what might have happened.

[Lythisrose]

It makes me sad that they thought they needed another character, they didn't even use the ones they had to full advantage.
I like Daniel, but Atlantis didn't need another major cast change.
But it kind of makes me glad that they didn't do a Season 6, if this was the direction they were headed, so, silver lining?

[Ltcolshepjumper]

It makes me sad that they thought they needed another character, they didn't even use the ones they had to full advantage.
I like Daniel, but Atlantis didn't need another major cast change.
But it kind of makes me glad that they didn't do a Season 6, if this was the direction they were headed, so, silver lining?

I agree. They underused Ford, they underused Carson, they underused Weir, they underused Teyla, they underused Carter, they underused Ronon, they underused Woolsey...

there is a trend. Not to mention the fact that it's a little too late for Daniel to do something useful in Atlantis, unless every ep involved some new Ancient discovery. The time for that was Seasons two and three, when they were still actually trying to positively develop the wraith and ancients. But that would get old fast.

[Killdeer]

I was thinking that if any characters were to be cut, it would probably be Ronon. Sheppard's the military character, McKay's not going anywhere, and if they get rid of Teyla, they would have an all-male team. But then I remembered what BW said about why they brought Ronon on board in the first place (here).

So I don't know. Maybe they were planning to try to move toward a more ensemble format, rather than a team-based format? Or maybe they really WERE planning on a five-person team. That didn't end up working so well on SG-1, but maybe they thought it did.

[DigiFluid]

I'm kind of glad they didn't. Atlantis was already largely sub-par in the writing department, particularly when it came to characters. I would've been really unhappy if they'd gotten their hands on an(other) SG-1 alum long-term.

[Skydiver]

i'm not a daniel fan, so on that front, it would have actually had me turning off the set, not turning it on (as it was, i 'watched' FC/LT with the set muted because the rod/daniel bickerfest was just more than i could deal with)

from a more withdrawn perspective, how would he have fit? he's an archaeologist and linguist so how does he fit into the show? they're in the middle of a war not an exploration. how does an archaeologist fit in? Or were they gonna ascend him again? Oma wiped his memories the first two times, so they'd have to rewrite canon to have him suddenly remember all things ancient (not that that's stopped them before)

and then the more practical standpoint, if the show was crunching the budget, how were they gonna pay him? how could they afford a 7 person cast? Especially since i doubt MS was gonna get the standard starting salary and was probably going to be receiving compensation commensurate to his length of time involved in the franchise. so they'd likely h ave to let people go to afford him, and even then face an even harsher ratings expectation to pay for the increased budget

so, i don't see how an archaeologist fits into a war zone, they'd have to totally rewrite canon to have him suddenly un-amnesia about his time as an ascended being, and i fear that at least a couple of the current actors would be written out to pay for him. And I also don't see how the mckay/daniel rivalry could play out as anything but a whinge fest between the two characters.

were they going to get rid of woolsey and make daniel the boss? since when did he EVER exhibit the administrative ability to run a city? I'd buy woolsey's rapid transition from 'high strung, slightly pissy, kinda well meaning bureaucrat than i'd buy Daniel - king of the 'focus on the immediate to heck with the long term' being qualilfied to administer a city

[DigiFluid]

Daniel would've worked excellently had he been a member of the cast from Day 1. But you're right, the way things went (awry, IMO) over the five years of the show, he really wouldn't have had a place to fit in come season 6.

[Ltcolshepjumper]

I was thinking that if any characters were to be cut, it would probably be Ronon. Sheppard's the military character, McKay's not going anywhere, and if they get rid of Teyla, they would have an all-male team. But then I remembered what BW said about why they brought Ronon on board in the first place (here).

So I don't know. Maybe they were planning to try to move toward a more ensemble format, rather than a team-based format?

It's funny, because it seems as though the series went from ensemble to team-based format, isntead of the opposite way. If you notice, Season 1 had so many other characters, major and minor, that reappeared multiple times in the season. It also seems as though tptb's attempt to make SG1-lite ruined SGA (Sheppard=Oneill, Mckay=Carter, Teyla=Daniel, Ronon=Tealc).

Daniel would've worked excellently had he been a member of the cast from Day 1. But you're right, the way things went (awry, IMO) over the five years of the show, he really wouldn't have had a place to fit in come season 6.

ITA. The gradual degradation of the series really ruined any chance of quality crossovers from the SG-1 cast. Just looking at the differences between Sg1-Carter and Sga-Carter, I'd say adding Daniel in Season 6 would be tantamount to adding another Zelenka (someone to rub heads with Mckay, as in First Contact). If that's all he would do, it wouldn't be worth it. However, Daniel would definitely have worked well in Season 1. But, of course, the series would have had to adjust its portrayal of the Ancients and Wraith(that probably would have been a good thing). And, judging by JoeM's possible Season 6 episode list, Season 6 would have been a continuation of Season 5, rather than introducing new and exciting plots.

[Skydiver]

from day one, about the only way i could see him working out

him and weir kinda co-lead. she ran the expedition, he coordinated the translations/explorations. dial rod down A LOT, have him be calmer so daniel's 'passionate monologues' wouldn't clash. daniel and teyla could coordinate, him learning from her about the peggy galaxy.

he could even be a bit of a support for shep, standing up for the 'downtrodden' so to speak Shep, who was thrust in over his head

but to toss him in in season six?

cynical me reads that as a desperate ratings ploy and a season long bit of stunt casting

what would have bitten them in the tush, however, I don't think daniel is as popular as his more vocal fans think he is. He does have a very passionate and dedicated fan base, but not the general and wide spread draw that other actors have.

SG-1 seemed to bank on daniels popularity for season 9 and 10, and it didn't really serve them well. Daniel is a very divisive character and if you want to pump up a show, you pick one that has a much broader appeal and isn't divisive at all.

[LoneStar1836]

Yikes!! That's a scary thought. Thankfully Atlantis was put out of its misery.

It would have been a negative for me and a negative for the show...as if it needed another negative. What was wrong with writing for the characters you already have?

Imo, it would have been a ploy to bring in old SG-1 viewers who didn't watch SGA. ActionJackson wasn't exactly my favorite character during those last seasons of SG-1 (course I didn't have a favorite period...just whoever happened to annoy me less in any given episode).

What would they need him for anyway? McKay was basically he and Carter combined into one.

He paired with McKay would have been overload and possibly the straw that broke the camel's back for me leading to me giving up the show all together.

[Skydiver]

yeah, they'd have had to give up the mckay character or completely change him to compliment daniel instead of competing with him

[DigiFluid]

from day one, about the only way i could see him working out

him and weir kinda co-lead. she ran the expedition, he coordinated the translations/explorations. dial rod down A LOT, have him be calmer so daniel's 'passionate monologues' wouldn't clash. daniel and teyla could coordinate, him learning from her about the peggy galaxy.

he could even be a bit of a support for shep, standing up for the 'downtrodden' so to speak Shep, who was thrust in over his head

Good lord, in six sentences you've written a better approach to Atlantis than was taken in the real world for five years

[dasNdanger]

Nah. Daniel had his series, and if one more SG1 character crossed over to SGA then it would have been just been SG1 all over again. Better would have been to give more screentime to a character from within Atlantis, and in this my vote would go to Todd. It's the logical choice since the show was about the Wraith as much as it was about Team Atlantis, but was never about the original SG1 team.


das

[Ltcolshepjumper]

Now taht you mention it, Daniel probably would have saved Atlantis from the horrible dropoff that was Season 2 (hey, SGA probably wouldn't have become a solely action series). How he would have been with Sga's downturn?- probably as good as he was in Season 10 (not very good). In the end, Daniel would have given SGA one more year probably. Still, it would have been something. Inserting him in at any point after Intruder would not have worked.


By the way, if any character needed to be developed more, it would be teyla, not Todd. Todd recieved more development in two years than Teyla did in four.

[Killdeer]

and then the more practical standpoint, if the show was crunching the budget, how were they gonna pay him? how could they afford a 7 person cast? Especially since i doubt MS was gonna get the standard starting salary and was probably going to be receiving compensation commensurate to his length of time involved in the franchise. so they'd likely h ave to let people go to afford him, and even then face an even harsher ratings expectation to pay for the increased budget

This is the part I think I'm having the hardest time wrapping my brain around. Would they really have gone for a seven-member cast? And if not, who would have gotten cut?

were they going to get rid of woolsey and make daniel the boss? since when did he EVER exhibit the administrative ability to run a city? I'd buy woolsey's rapid transition from 'high strung, slightly pissy, kinda well meaning bureaucrat than i'd buy Daniel - king of the 'focus on the immediate to heck with the long term' being qualilfied to administer a city

I highly doubt they would have made Daniel the boss. They seem to love Robert Picardo, and I can't see them getting rid of him. If they'd wanted Daniel as the boss they could have brought him in when AT left, but I can't remember ever getting any indications that TPTB ever even considered that option, in spite of fan speculation about it. I could be wrong about that though.

It's funny, because it seems as though the series went from ensemble to team-based format, isntead of the opposite way. If you notice, Season 1 had so many other characters, major and minor, that reappeared multiple times in the season. It also seems as though tptb's attempt to make SG1-lite ruined SGA

Well I think so too, but maybe they were thinking about trying to move back the other way again? After all, there wasn't much team in S5 anyway (in my opinion anyway).