He's back!!!!! What do you think about it?

[Briangate78]

It's the best joke ever... but they shouldn't have bothered. A clone?!? Come on!

Spoiler:

Oh yeah it was a joke. Best joke EVAH! Funniest episode EVAH!. I laughed my @ss off when they put Carson into the stasis chamber and everyone was saying goodbye.

[Mitchell82]

Great! I missed him alot IMO he is the Scotty of SGA. Yeah his career is more like Bones but I think you get my point. I am thrilled he is back.

[Briangate78]

Great! I missed him alot IMO he is the Scotty of SGA. Yeah his career is more like Bones but I think you get my point. I am thrilled he is back.

Yup, and I think it was well done also. So how are you feeling? Heard you were under the weather over the weekend.

[The.Road.Not.Taken]

i am glad because i wanna see his interarction with keller but i really didn't like the way they did it

[Mitchell82]

Yup, and I think it was well done also. So how are you feeling? Heard you were under the weather over the weekend.

Slightly better but the flu takes along time to get over. After getting a fever on Sunday night I knew I was pretty sick so I went to the ER and my blood pressure was very low. The minute they first took it it was 60/40. Not only do I have the flu I have a sinus infection. So long story short I'm feeling slightly better but I wouldn't wish this on my worse enemy. Now Jelgate maybe.........J/K.

[Mitchell82]

i am glad because i wanna see his interarction with keller but i really didn't like the way they did it

Personally I think they did that really well. She definatly looked uncomfortable for obvious reasons. I can't wait to see more of that.

[Skydiver]

Indeed - Hallowed are the Mods! Thanks Skydiver, its nice that I am not the only one thinking along those lines. I do hope that the season 5 eps will go a long way to correct this whole carry on, but for my money I am paying closer attention the the SG1 movies.

That brings up another thought - this clone of Beckett, they couldn't let him return to Earth. How could they? Even though he acts like Dr B, there is no way to know what kind of mental programming Michael put into the clone. It would be too dangerous. I guess that means the end of the possibility of seeing Becketts family, far less the chance for Dr B to return to Scotland.

(Do we have a crying Beckett Smilie?)

becket WOULD bring up the tricky ethical issues of who is 'real' and identity and self and all that...but i doubt they'll touch on it.

they toyed with it with clone jack and then dropped it and i bet they'll drop this too. clone carson (cc for short) will be like the AU harry on voyager, dude, killed him off for effect then lookee here, a nice and easy replacement.

i would think it'd be just as heart breaking had it been the real carson in captivity who is then dealing with just how easily he was replaced.

[Briangate78]

i am glad because i wanna see his interarction with keller but i really didn't like the way they did it

Personally I think they did that really well. She definatly looked uncomfortable for obvious reasons. I can't wait to see more of that.

I loved when Keller puts her arm around Carson while helping him to the stasis chamber and says we will find a cure and will have top people working on this. That really touched me.

becket WOULD bring up the tricky ethical issues of who is 'real' and identity and self and all that...but i doubt they'll touch on it.

they toyed with it with clone jack and then dropped it and i bet they'll drop this too. clone carson (cc for short) will be like the AU harry on voyager, dude, killed him off for effect then lookee here, a nice and easy replacement.

i would think it'd be just as heart breaking had it been the real carson in captivity who is then dealing with just how easily he was replaced.

I think it will make it more of a moral issue and more interesting. This new Beckett who thinks and acts like the original Beckett will have a lot to prove, or want to prove that he is Beckett and not just some clone.

[Linzi]

I'm not happy with Carson's return. He died in Sunday and it's an insult to me, who sobbed her heart out when he got blown up, that he's back as a clone, and what position is he going to hold in season 5? Saw it coming a mile off, knew he'd have genetic issues...predictable much.

He should have stayed dead or come back as CMO, IMO.

Spoilers for season 5, and Beckett and Keller:

Spoiler:

If he was coming back in season 5 as CMO, in a reduced, recurring role I would be happy. But, Keller is CMO and now a regular, and where does that leave Beckett? I think TPTB have made a mistake here, to be frank.

I liked Beckett as CMO. I never doubted him, his skills or his compassion. Can't say the same for Keller, to be honest. Now what? Beckett's back for five episodes squeezed in as a doctor helping out on teams? That's doing to him what I hated in previous seasons: squeezing him in episodes for the sake of it. It didn't work then, and Beckett became a clown and supposed comic relief, which irritated me. Why should it work now? If TPTB wanted him back, he should have returned in his old role, as CMO, IMO.

Keller hasn't worked out in the role. She's not compassionate, certainly not believable as CMO, too full of self doubt and doesn't have a commanding medical presence. She should have been cast as a junior doctor. I feel I've given her long enough to settle in, and I'm not loving her. I don't dislike her, but Carson should be back as CMO, even if he's a clone, I think.
Just my two cents on the situation.

[Mitchell82]

I loved when Keller puts her arm around Carson while helping him to the stasis chamber and says we will find a cure and will have top people working on this. That really touched me.

Same here.

I think it will make it more of a moral issue and more interesting. This new Beckett who thinks and acts like the original Beckett will have a lot to prove, or want to prove that he is Beckett and not just some clone.

Especially with Woolsey at the helm. Lots of potential for conflict.

[Briangate78]

I'm not happy with Carson's return. He died in Sunday and it's an insult to me, who sobbed her heart out when he got blown up, that he's back as a clone, and what position is he going to hold in season 5? Saw it coming a mile off, knew he'd have genetic issues...predictable much.

He should have stayed dead or come back as CMO, IMO.

Spoilers for season 5, and Beckett and Keller:

Spoiler:

If he was coming back in season 5 as CMO, in a reduced, recurring role I would be happy. But, Keller is CMO and now a regular, and where does that leave Beckett? I think TPTB have made a mistake here, to be frank.

I liked Beckett as CMO. I never doubted him, his skills or his compassion. Can't say the same for Keller, to be honest. Now what? Beckett's back for five episodes squeezed in as a doctor helping out on teams? That's doing to him what I hated in previous seasons: squeezing him in episodes for the sake of it. It didn't work then, and Beckett became a clown and supposed comic relief, which irritated me. Why should it work now? If TPTB wanted him back, he should have returned in his old role, as CMO, IMO.

Keller hasn't worked out in the role. She's not compassionate, certainly not believable as CMO, too full of self doubt and doesn't have a commanding medical presence. She should have been cast as a junior doctor. I feel I've given her long enough to settle in, and I'm not loving her. I don't dislike her, but Carson should be back as CMO, even if he's a clone, I think.
Just my two cents on the situation.

Season 5 Spoilers..

Spoiler:

With at least 5 eps next season they are setting up for a return. He will be that doctor/scientist going on missions like in the old days. I sorta read some spoilers. I hope and truly believe he will get more than 5 eps. 5 eps is not set in stone according to Joe M.

As per the clone thing. It makes the show more SCI FI and brings it back to it's genre roots. I thought this through and bringing back the original Carson would of been very hard to do. Even if Michael was able to create a clone, could he have done this in such a short time between the events of "Misbegotten" and "Sunday" which was really only a few months in the time-line.

[ShadowMaat]

Especially with Woolsey at the helm. Lots of potential for conflict.

Actually, I can see that as a way to rally support for Carson Copy (CC, right? ). Right now the team's still a bit iffy on CC and they want to believe it's "their" Carson come back to them- more or less- but Michael's interference may have made things a bit hinky. No one blames CC per se, but there still seems to be a bit of a question about him (or I felt there was, anyway).

When Woolsey shows up he's undoubtedly going to be anti-CC, rightly pointing out that the "real" Carson died and that CC poses a security threat. If not calling for him to be outright destroyed, he certainly isn't going to want CC to be let in on any info about Atlantis, its missions, its personnel, or anything else that might be leaked back to our enemies. He'll probably try to make it more of a POW situation than a Lost Friend Returned. And in a way, he's right: this isn't Carson, it's just a copy and we don't know what his "true agenda" might be- heck, he might not even know (sleeper agent, anyone?), but he's already "proven" himself to be unreliable in that confrontation with Michael and we can't be sure just how much control Michael retains over him or how far away that influence extends. Can he be controlled over vast distances? Can Michael "read" CC's thoughts? Maybe CC will even agree with him; I figure he's gotta be feeling guilty over his inability to rescue Teyla.

This, however, will firmly solidify the team in CC's corner. Even if they agree that it isn't the original Carson it's still some version of him and thus he's a friend, not an enemy. I also don't know how the team reacted when Woolsey was around the last time or what will precipitate his takeover, but there'll probably be some resentment there and a tendency to take the opposite stance from him. Plus, like I said, it's Carson. Maybe not the original but undoubtedly real enough for his friends. They'll want to bolster his confidence and will believe (more or less) that the encounter with Michael wasn't his fault and that something can be done to counteract any control Michael may still have over him. Team Atlantis will circle their wagons and rally around their friend and Woolsey's paranoiac tendencies will be ignored as bureaucratic BS.

Of course, for now he's still a Scotsicle so he can be wholly ignored until a more convenient time.

[Briangate78]

Spoiler:

Actually, I can see that as a way to rally support for Carson Copy (CC, right? ). Right now the team's still a bit iffy on CC and they want to believe it's "their" Carson come back to them- more or less- but Michael's interference may have made things a bit hinky. No one blames CC per se, but there still seems to be a bit of a question about him (or I felt there was, anyway).

When Woolsey shows up he's undoubtedly going to be anti-CC, rightly pointing out that the "real" Carson died and that CC poses a security threat. If not calling for him to be outright destroyed, he certainly isn't going to want CC to be let in on any info about Atlantis, its missions, its personnel, or anything else that might be leaked back to our enemies. He'll probably try to make it more of a POW situation than a Lost Friend Returned. And in a way, he's right: this isn't Carson, it's just a copy and we don't know what his "true agenda" might be- heck, he might not even know (sleeper agent, anyone?), but he's already "proven" himself to be unreliable in that confrontation with Michael and we can't be sure just how much control Michael retains over him or how far away that influence extends. Can he be controlled over vast distances? Can Michael "read" CC's thoughts? Maybe CC will even agree with him; I figure he's gotta be feeling guilty over his inability to rescue Teyla.

This, however, will firmly solidify the team in CC's corner. Even if they agree that it isn't the original Carson it's still some version of him and thus he's a friend, not an enemy. I also don't know how the team reacted when Woolsey was around the last time or what will precipitate his takeover, but there'll probably be some resentment there and a tendency to take the opposite stance from him. Plus, like I said, it's Carson. Maybe not the original but undoubtedly real enough for his friends. They'll want to bolster his confidence and will believe (more or less) that the encounter with Michael wasn't his fault and that something can be done to counteract any control Michael may still have over him. Team Atlantis will circle their wagons and rally around their friend and Woolsey's paranoiac tendencies will be ignored as bureaucratic BS.

You basically gave an example to why Clone Carson could have a lot of potential and is a more "Complexed" and "Dynamic" story arc than if the real Carson returned.

Don't we want a 3D show and not just something simple and everything is all happy joy joy at the end? What fun is that?

Carson has a lot to prove, and this whole Michael thing is very interesting in how it will play out.

[Mitchell82]

Actually, I can see that as a way to rally support for Carson Copy (CC, right? ). Right now the team's still a bit iffy on CC and they want to believe it's "their" Carson come back to them- more or less- but Michael's interference may have made things a bit hinky. No one blames CC per se, but there still seems to be a bit of a question about him (or I felt there was, anyway).

When Woolsey shows up he's undoubtedly going to be anti-CC, rightly pointing out that the "real" Carson died and that CC poses a security threat. If not calling for him to be outright destroyed, he certainly isn't going to want CC to be let in on any info about Atlantis, its missions, its personnel, or anything else that might be leaked back to our enemies. He'll probably try to make it more of a POW situation than a Lost Friend Returned. And in a way, he's right: this isn't Carson, it's just a copy and we don't know what his "true agenda" might be- heck, he might not even know (sleeper agent, anyone?), but he's already "proven" himself to be unreliable in that confrontation with Michael and we can't be sure just how much control Michael retains over him or how far away that influence extends. Can he be controlled over vast distances? Can Michael "read" CC's thoughts? Maybe CC will even agree with him; I figure he's gotta be feeling guilty over his inability to rescue Teyla.

This, however, will firmly solidify the team in CC's corner. Even if they agree that it isn't the original Carson it's still some version of him and thus he's a friend, not an enemy. I also don't know how the team reacted when Woolsey was around the last time or what will precipitate his takeover, but there'll probably be some resentment there and a tendency to take the opposite stance from him. Plus, like I said, it's Carson. Maybe not the original but undoubtedly real enough for his friends. They'll want to bolster his confidence and will believe (more or less) that the encounter with Michael wasn't his fault and that something can be done to counteract any control Michael may still have over him. Team Atlantis will circle their wagons and rally around their friend and Woolsey's paranoiac tendencies will be ignored as bureaucratic BS.

Of course, for now he's still a Scotsicle so he can be wholly ignored until a more convenient time.

That is exactly why I can't wait to see how this plays out.

[raduzhok]

I made a point of not looking at/reading anything about s5 because I prefer to be surprised. It was difficult, however, to not know Carson was returning. That, however, left a lot of personal speculation on how it would happen.

I was excited to see Carson in the preview before The Kindred aired... My imagination went wild... my thought was, it might be replicator carson, but they explained that he was a clone in K2.

What was disheartening was the fact that for an hour I got to see Carson, in whichever form, and then suddenly, at the end, they're putting him in the deep freeze. I thought, why bother to have brought him back if you're just going to send him away? That above everything made me feel cheated.

Obviously, from reading this thread, it points to a fuller (5 eps???? are they planning on really killing him off this time?) return next season. I can only hope that it's not going to be so short lived that it will have not been worthwhile. I love Paul, and have always enjoyed seeing him. I watch the old eps and cheer when he's still in the credits. I just fear that it's all a tease and I'll end up being disappointed, again.

The impact of what happened in SUNDAY was heart wrenching. If they put him down now, it will never have that same powerful emotional effect. I will always be glad to see Carson, to hear Carson, but I'm not sure I'll be glad what they've done to/with him.

What is a person if not a sum of all his memories?

That doesn't bode well for those who have amnesia!

As an audience member, I feel manipulated. - My fondness for the character is being used as a bribe to watch the programme... I don't like feeling like this, - part of me is screaming that I should be grateful that Paul McGillion is back as a sort-of version of Beckett. But assuming this is it, and there is no clever involved plot arc within plot arc at work here, for me it just isn't enough. I can only hope I am proved wrong.

That's exactly how I felt... manipulated... and as I said, only to have it seem like a carrot was being dangled in front of me... to have Carson put on a back burner (as they have done with Elizabeth).

Waiting to see what happens (which may be a long wait since the last of S4 is airing this Friday and who know when S5 will show up in the schedule)...

Rad