But we don't want him back. Spoilers for Sunday and later season 4

[Willow'sCat]

Daniel Jackson died how many times?

Not sure what your point is. And for me once was enough and really unless I missed a previous "death" he ascended he didn't really die and we pretty much knew he ascended, so there was always, as lame as it is, hope that he would return.

With Carson, he looked pretty dead to me. Now I am thinking "Sunday" will go from my second favourite episode of Season 3 to my least, yes even Irresponsible is looking good if Carson just pops up in Season 4 as "Carson".

Although I wouldn't be happy if he popped up as an AU either as I think we have had enough AU eps in Stargate, and by the sounds of one of the new eps.... well lets just say that horse has been flogged and is on its way to the glue factory. Enough already!

Joe M said something about a hint in one of the eps... well in the end of "Sunday" Rodney does say something like "the Universe is a big place who knows maybe we'll bump into each other again".

Maybe Rodney is the only one who "meets" Carson, I could live with that.

It is just a thought.

[ToasterOnFire]

Now come on guys, just because you can't think of a good reason doesn't mean the writers couldn't.

Not all that comforting, considering I easily thought of a better way to kill Carson (Michael) than what the writers ended up doing (OMGTUMORZBOOM!).

[Mister Oragahn]

1. Beckett has been gibbed, but some machine glued the pieces together and he's back. Not a zombie mind you.
2. Beckett is from an alternate universe.
3. Beckett is synthetized, possibly from a lantian machine or stored blueprint inside an asgard beaming core.
4. Beckett has ascended and lurks around.
5. Beckett returns to the physical plane, after ascending, like Daniel did twice. Docs fall quite often.
6. Beckett is a robot.
7. Beckett is a clone.
8. Beckett is from the future or the past.
9. Beckett is a hologram.
10. Beckett is a flashback.
11. Beckett is a mind implanted entity (chemical, genetical, mechanical or magical). - Don't ask. Think Scorpius/Baltar.
12. Beckett is a vision due to the whales' psychic powers, especially Sam. But this makes people's ears bleed. And of course they had to transport them in a water tank crammed into a Klingon ship.
13. Dallas. The end of season 3 was a dream/nightmare.
14. Other.

[Alipeeps]

Joe Mallozzi specifically stated in the Q&A with savecarsonbeckett.com that it won't be 2, 8 or 9 out of your list above...

[ShadowMaat]

Daniel shouldn't have come back, either. But that's a subject for a different thread.

[Willow'sCat]

Daniel shouldn't have come back, either. But that's a subject for a different thread.

Many, many differnet threads.

[Silverwings]

Eh, I'd be OK with him staying dead if:

1. It wasn't such a dumb death in the first place, and
2. that his friends mourned for more than the last 15 minutes or whatever of Sunday
3. We're assured no more idiotic publicity stunts involving the death of characters... or their resurrection... or their ascension... or their Borgification/Wraithification/whatever...

And most importantly...
4. The next time Shep or Rodney or whomever is in a stupid situation where they should die (shouldn't take long), they do die and stay dead. And that it matters. May as well make a consistent, "realistic and dangerous" universe. Besides, Zalenka needs Rodney's desk.

Death may well make the series "darker" and such, but for it to really matter, no more last-minute saves, no Wraith "gift of life", no miracle DNA machines. Colonel Sumner died in the first two episodes. That our happy band of Gate trippers has lasted as long as it has is a miracle in itself. :shrug:

But sure, if you hate Carson in the first place, well... to each their own. ;D

[ShadowMaat]

For me it isn't really an issue of liking or not liking a character: if someone dies, I think they should stay dead. Concocting some scheme to bring the dead back to life is, with very few exceptions, a fairly pathetic tactic. It cheapens the death of the character, makes death in general pretty meaningless, and it makes the ones writing the "resurrection" look as if they're pulling stuff out of their collective ass. Which is pretty much exactly what's happening. It also makes it seem as if the writers are wishy-washy and unable to commit to a solid decision, which is also usually true, particularly if said death served no greater purpose in the first place, which I believe is the case with Carson. Sure, it showed us his level of dedication to those around him, but ultimately? Nothing changed. The Atlantis crew went on as if nothing had ever happened and since the character he saved was a marginal one it ultimately has no effect at all. What did Tumor Dude ever do before? What has he done since? Have we ever even seen him again?

Sure, it's great to know that Carson cares about everyone, even the little people, but since the show itself doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone who isn't Shep or McKay on the main cast, what difference does it make?

TPTB didn't seem to know what to do with Carson while they had him, so why bother bringing him back? His return will undoubtedly be just as gimmicky as his death and if it serves any greater purpose than to boost ratings (and the egos of the writers) I'll be amazed. The means of bringing him back will probably be nothing but a MacGuffin- used for this one specific purpose but useless in all other instances. Otherwise ANYONE who died could be magically resurrected thus making death in the SGverse even more of a joke than it already is. Which is really saying something.

I liked Carson well enough and I was sorry to see him go- and a bit angry, too, since TPTB apparently only made him a main character so that they'd have someone expendable to kill off without risking any of the "real" characters- but I still believe the dead should STAY dead, regardless of who it is and how much I care about them. If Lorne ever dies, I'd want him to stay dead, too. I may wish TPTB into Hell for it, but I'd wish worse if they tried to bring him back.

[vaberella]

^^ I really like TPTB, but I have to stand by the above post, by Shadowmaat, 100%. I really don't want Carson back. I like the guy and he was one of my faves and I'm glad for others who wanted him back, as I've said in the past. But I can't wrap my head around him coming back and if that in anyway can be viable.

[Silverwings]

For me it isn't really an issue of liking or not liking a character: if someone dies, I think they should stay dead. Concocting some scheme to bring the dead back to life is, with very few exceptions, a fairly pathetic tactic. It cheapens the death of the character, makes death in general pretty meaningless, and it makes the ones writing the "resurrection" look as if they're pulling stuff out of their collective

aaaaanyways, yeah, that's why I don't buy the "keeping it real" excuse. The heroes get away from scrapes that should have killed them time and time again. I really don't see that level of silly situations as being much different from resurrecting a character. It's just all so much pulling stuff from, um... yeah... that it's just par for the course. Death doesn't mean anything already because risk doesn't mean anything. Shep should have died in 38 minutes, the what, third episode? And why do the bad guys have Stormtrooper aiming units?

It's fiction. It's silly. It's escapism. As for Carson being resurrected or not, I'm OK enough either way (though I think it was inane to kill him). I just don't like stupid stunts pulled for PR and covered up with a hasty veneer of "let's keep it real" because the whole stupid premise is anything but real.

[sanssong]

I supposed I can suspend belief on Carson's mode of re-entry as long as it's not, "oh, he didn't really die." Been there done that with BSG, not up to doing it again.

I also fall in the camp of not wanting Carson back full time. Not that I didn't love him while he was around, but I honestly didn't miss him in the last half of S3, so that tells me, I can do without him.

Was that the fault of bad writing? Meh... could be. But I think it's got more to do with Carson no being esential to most of the plots for Atlantis. And that in the end is why he is now recurring.

I don't want Carson back full time in S5 should we have one, but I'm content to let the ratings for S4 speak for themselves on that front.

[KindlyKeller]

I have to agree with you here.

'However, I loved Sunday, and thought the way Beckett died was so pointless and unecessary, that it made it more poignant - reminding us all that sometimes when your number's up, well, your number's up!

Exactly! This was exactly what I thought. See, in life, not every demise fits into some significant "plot arc." If I got hit by a bus tomorrow, that would really be horrible for anyone in my life who likes me, and it would be senseless, but it would just be another universial machination.

The dangerous that these people deal with all the time, people are bound to perish, and it's not always going to be amidst a profound act. Sometimes, people go down senselessly, and it's all the more saddening.

[Mister Oragahn]

Beckett? Who's that guy?

His own real shining moment was in Poisoning the Well, back in season 1, and then he was a secondary.

I thought he became a main character because the writers realized they had something to tell about him, but it appears it was only because of fan idolization or whatever.

Point being, he never got any chance to shine that much, safe a few moments like in Phantoms or that brief moment in Siege part 3 with Ford.

Sunday and the explosive rollmops is an embarassment and makes no sense.

So him being back doesn't concern me. I don't care. He died lamely, he can be resurrected lamely.

All it does is that it amuses me, and gives me ammo to use against the Wrighters... sorry, the writers.

[ShadowMaat]

I thought he became a main character because the writers realized they had something to tell about him, but it appears it was only because of fan idolization or whatever.

He was made a regular because TPTB knew they'd have to kill off someone for shock value and- in order to show how serious it all was- it had to be a regular. They couldn't nix Shep or McKay because they're the only two characters on the show, they couldn't nix Ronon because they'd already nixed Ford to bring him in and they couldn't nix Teyla because she was the only one who looked good in a skirt and halter top. That meant bumping up someone and since Carson was a fan favorite, he was the most likely choice.

And yes, thank you, that's all just my opinion.

[KindlyKeller]

He was made a regular because TPTB knew they'd have to kill off someone for shock value and- in order to show how serious it all was- it had to be a regular. They couldn't nix Shep or McKay because they're the only two characters on the show, they couldn't nix Ronon because they'd already nixed Ford to bring him in and they couldn't nix Teyla because she was the only one who looked good in a skirt and halter top. That meant bumping up someone and since Carson was a fan favorite, he was the most likely choice.

And yes, thank you, that's all just my opinion.

Probably the wrong place to pose this to you, as it's off-topic, and please take no offense to this because you and I have never had an issue, but what is it that keeps you watching the show(s) and talking about it (them) on here? I get the impression you no longer get any enjoyment out of Stargate.