What's with the rampant loss of characters? ~spoilers up to Doppelganger~

[HellBringer18]

I've heard the writers say several times that you cant have a SciFi series where everyones life is in serious danger every episode, and not kill off a character that people know, and are emotionaly attatched to to some extent.

Dont get me wrong, Carson Beckett was my favourite character on the show untill he died. I didnt like that they killed him off at all. But whining does not change anything, and i agree... you cant have a SciFi show where the peoples lives are in serious danger every episode, and never kill one of them.

[Falcon Horus]

I've heard the writers say several times that you cant have a SciFi series where everyones life is in serious danger every episode, and not kill off a character that people know, and are emotionaly attatched to to some extent.

Yeah right... SG1 didn't have so many big losses, now did they? Seems to me like a huge contradiction or maybe working with double standards. (I think)

[Mattathias2.0]

Yeah right... SG1 didn't have so many big losses, now did they? Seems to me like a huge contradiction or maybe working with double standards. (I think)

Daniel Jackson (Season 5)? The Abydonians (Season 6)? Janet Frasier (Season 7)? Jacob Carter (Season 8)? Chekov (Season 9)?

[Falcon Horus]

Daniel Jackson (Season 5)? The Abydonians (Season 6)? Janet Frasier (Season 7)? Jacob Carter (Season 8)? Chekov (Season 9)?

Michael Shanks wanted out so he doesn't count. All the others you mention were all killed off when TPTB thought the show would be cancelled and there would be no more seasons.

And the rampant killing didn't start until the end of the 6th season (not counting DJ due to MS own wish to leave). SGA has lost more characters in its first 3 seasons than SG1 in 10, or in their first 3 seasons for that matter.

[Amakusa]

The fact that some people are getting so worked-up about a minor character I barely remember being in the show is amusing. I felt as much about the latest death as I did about a red-shirt dying-- which is nothing. But it's not as if that character fell down an elevator shaft with no car in it.

As for Dr. Weir I really didn't feel as if her being gone was much of a loss, considering she hardly did anything on the show. In fact, the only thing I really remember her doing was playing video chess on her laptop. Carter wasn't brought in to replace Dr. Weir so much as Dr. Weir ended up at the same dead-end that Ford ended up by the end of Season 1, so the writers did a second Ford-thing and did a twist to make her interesting. And let's face it, the writers know that worked for Ford, and it more-or-less worked for Dr. Weir, too.

I used to be one of those people that didn't like how they were getting rid of Ford, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was better this way. So far, the same is going for Dr. Weir, except I doubt I liked her in the first place.

[cavalierlwt]

The psychiatrist was a minor enough character that her death didn't bother me other than it does seem to signal a belief by TPTB that killing character makes the show more dramatic, a 'must see'.
Hey, I didn't like it when they messed up Ford's character. I realize the writers are doing the best they can, but they're on the wrong track if they think killing charaters and bringing in new blood is what makes SGA good.

I guess they don't get it, we like the interaction of the characters that we've come to know. That's what make the show, along with compelling story arcs. Just as the Shep/Rodney dynamic is funny, so is the Rodney/Zalenka dynamic, in fact having Zalenka act as 'straight man' and foil to Rodney takes some of edge off of Rodney's unlikeability. Kind of like the way Meathead used to play counterweight to Archie Bunker.

As far as making the storylines compelling, it's simple--cut Atlantis off from any contact or help from Earth. No gating to it, no communications, no Daedalus. That scary on-their-own feeling is what made things so compelling in earlier seasons.

[AutumnDream]

No really, I just want to know the reasons and reasoning behind this spectacular failure in writing.

Actually, killing her off went a long way in establishing the threat and mood of the episode. TPTB's failure in writing is more commonly never having the guts to do anything permanent or extreme to solidify emotional impact.

[AutumnDream]

Because you can't have a villain that survives 10 seasons. That would be interminably boring.

Apophis coming back would have been cooler than the Ori.

[prion]

Actually, killing her off went a long way in establishing the threat and mood of the episode. TPTB's failure in writing is more commonly never having the guts to do anything permanent or extreme to solidify emotional impact.

It would have an impact if we saw an impact. Sorta like when Beckett died. THe next episode. Beckett? Beckett who? The writers aren't very good at the emotional aspect of the show, but they're good at blowing things (and people) up.

[SG13-NightOps]

Actually, killing her off went a long way in establishing the threat and mood of the episode. TPTB's failure in writing is more commonly never having the guts to do anything permanent or extreme to solidify emotional impact.

I agree with this sentiment, but I will say that Carters speech after she died seemed to elicit more emotion from the death than the actual scene itself.

If people didnt die the show would be fluff. If the only people that died were redshirts the show would be stuck in a cycle of supermanism.

As for SG1 being less drastic - by the second episode, 3 major characters were taken over by Goa'uld and one of them was killed.

Before we have the usual "What Qualifies as a Major Character" argument, lets remember that at that time, the most we had before it was the Movie - and all three of them were major characters at that point in time. We were not looking back over 10 years at the time TEW first aired.

[Willow'sCat]

It would have an impact if we saw an impact. Sorta like when Beckett died. THe next episode. Beckett? Beckett who? The writers aren't very good at the emotional aspect of the show, but they're good at blowing things (and people) up.

Yes but if the characters show emotions they can't be hero's or some rubbish like that. But to be honest Rodney was upset in Sunday and they all looked shell shocked. OK no it wasn't carried over and Vengence was a dog of an ep to not have included Beckett (that was just wrong) but he was mentioned in First Strike again, even if it was by Keller. He is hardly forgotten in the way some of the characters have been including Ford, Bates, Groin(?). And of course

Spoiler:

Beckett like Weir comes back...

I don't care if minor or recurring characters get killed or leave and are never heard from again, but yes, please have someone acknowledge that. Now as much as I hate he Shweir implications of it, it was probably a good thing to have Sheppard still mention Weir in the first ep after she goes MIA. Personally it felt like being hit over the head with the bleeding obvious but it is better then no recognition at all of her being gone. Also many peeps who missed the first few eps would have had a WTF moment when Carter turned up.

I assume they will have a back up Doctor to take over from Kate, I can't imagine only one shrink dealing with the whole of Atlantis, but whether we see them or not is another matter. I don't count Kate as important on the show, she was nothing more then a plot device... never had an ep of her own or even a b or c plot of her own like say... Janet on SG-1.

The same goes for Katie Brown...

Spoiler:

if they kill her off or write her out it will make no difference to me as she was only ever there as a plot device to show Rodney has a softer side.... well mostly a snarky softer side she was never there to be an important character in her own right.

I think only Radek and Lorne hold those places with fans. Recurring and to many very important to the show, to many the only reason to watch the show!

Now I would be mightily pissed off if they got killed.

[macktheknife]

I've stopped caring all that much, the way the show is going it will be cancelled either at the end of this season or next season.

[arjumand]

. . . but poor heightmeyer, every time she'd come up with a solution for someone, she'd be wrong. like trying to convince michael that ppl weren't acting differently around him? wrong. and trying to help teyla and weir in echoes. wrong again. she could never catch a break maybe they'll replace her, but have an offscreen character who'll help them. coz goodness knows they need it if their dreams are anything to judge by

See, I didn't really care about Heightmeyer's death that much, except regarding the fact that her death is supiciously close to Carson (male) being replaced by Keller (female), and as such smacks of "Girl cooties! Must get them off!"

But regarding the character herself, she has been called the worst psychiatrist in two galaxies, and I'm afraid I must agree. In Echoes she was horrifyingly sexist in her attitude, fobbing off Teyla and Elizabeth with tranquilisers, and only taking the situation seriously once Ronon was affected.
And Michael - I have no words to describe how incredibly unethical her entire course of action was there. Of course, the whole command team was doing things which could be compared to going into a minefield labelled 'Ethics' and lobbing hand-grenades all over the place. But Carson, while skirting the edge of breaking the Hippocratic Oath, was nevertheless convinced he was helping Michael by dewraithifying him, so at least he could wriggle out of it.
But Heightmeyer? Once she had accepted Michael as a patient, she should never have agreed to lie to him, no matter what he had been - if she was pressured into it she should have resigned rather than be forced into unethical behaviour - after the whole debacle ended she should have been struck off (do they do that to doctors in the U.S.?).
After watching Michael I kept imagining people making up reasons why they did not want to visit Heightmeyer in a professional capacity: "It's against my religion!" How could anyone ever trust her again? Even if it was a secret project, in a closed community like Atlantis, gossip is a given, especially after the Marine was killed.

Sorry about the tl;dr, but after watching Michael I really hated Heightmeyer - but I suppose I really hated the writers for this one: why can't they write any occupation correctly? Is research so hard?

Nevertheless, I still love Atlantis, and I will still watch, even if they kill off everyone except the team - I'll be annoyed, and write lots of snippy things here, but I'll still watch!

[Mattathias2.0]

I feel the same way regarding Heightmeyer. I was fine with her in The Gift, but once I saw Michael I became very disguested by her. I felt that she just didn't hold up to any standards she should of as a psychiatrist. I thought Echoes was a good episode, but I found Heightmeyer having no reason being in the episode (except just to be in it).

I hope that if they bring in another psychiatrist that they do a heck of a better job with him/her.

[Merlin's_Legacy]

First off, I'm glad they finally found a way to kill off Heitmeyer. She was a lame character from the get-go.

Now, as irritated as I was about Carson dieing, here's my take on it: Pointless deaths happen in Real Life every day. The setting of the episode was sort of a "what happens in everyday life for these people" episode. No his death had no great meaning, and was overall pointless, but that makes it all the more profound for those around him.

Making Weir into RepliWeir was a way of taking her out of the picture temporarily and permanently if needed. Amanda Tapping had another year on her contract. Rather than just buy it out, it may have seemed like a good idea to see how she worked out on the other show. If she works out, they may ask her to stay, but if not, they have a way to bring Weir back.

As for Zalenka, I've heard varying reports there. Many of them say he's going to get more screen time this season than ever before.