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Why was Paul McGillion written out of Atlantis?

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    #16
    Originally posted by Davey View Post
    If removing Paul and Terri involved the contract of Amanda Tapping why doesn't she appear in every single episode in Season 4? It seems she's in every other episode or every third one, and considering she's running Atlantis, it seems strange.
    That may have been the time she was working on the Sanctuary webisodes which would explain why she wasn't in every Season 4 episode.

    Signs by Scifan and me. | My Forum - Planet TV Role Play | My Fan Fiction | My Mini City - Rygel City

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      #17
      The same thing happened when her show switched to TV: They offered AT a deal and they wrote her character out of show by having Carter return to Earth to join her SG-1 friends for the Ba'al extraction ceremony. Which puts Stargate:Continuum right after that episode "Search and Rescue".

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        #18
        Either way it isn't fair to Paul and Torri. If it was a matter of the contract for a full season, it's ridiculous to turn around and say, "OK, if you don't want to be in every episode for some reason, no problem."

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          #19
          She's in 14 episodes in season 4. I can tell you that from memory because, at the time, showrunner Joseph Mallozzi linked that to his explanation that he wrote out Weir and replaced her with Carter. He never explained why he couldn't simply scale back Torri Higgenson's role, but they continued to give Tapping's replacement, Robert Picardo, only 14 episodes in season 5. The rational was that the reduced time allowed them to make more of the show about the team.

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            #20
            SGA's failure (mistakes):

            1- Ronon did not get sufficient writing, dialogues and backstory. We know what Momoa is capable of (Frontier) maybe TPTB didn't know him well at the time.

            2- Carter came back: Sorry I love her very much but AT didn't belong in SGA. Her acting was off and the script as well, I think that's because the writers were conflicted with having 2 genius (McKay) in Atlantis, they ''dumbed her down'' to prevent rendering McKay useless.

            3- Tori & Paul got written out: Weir was great in her role as leader of the SGA expedition, Paul, well I didn't know before reading comments he was that popular, I thought he was a tad annoying so didn't really mind Jewel instead. Also clumsy of TPTB to bring both back a couple times later on.
            Spoiler:
            I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to—I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.

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              #21
              I completely agree with you on #1 and #2, but for #3, I'd add that Torri's and Paul's characters were basically the foundation of the show. Without them, the show just wasn't the same and it became something that it wasn't. It fell apart completely. The "Ghosts in the Machine" episode was the final nail in the coffin for SGA. Also, I'd say that not sufficient episodes dealt with the exploration of the city itself, the history of the Ancients seen in "Before I Sleep" (assuming here there were various groups of Ancients all across the universe) which lead to the lack of the actual mythology that actually resolved around the city and the Pegasus Galaxy themselves, as well as the possible plots where certain characters could be connected to the city more than they can think (Teyla, Ronnon, Wier and maybe Ford). Some missed opportunities for great storylines that could enable for at least 5 more seasons for Atlantis.

              SGA had a great set of cast members, but TPTB obviously didn't know what to write for their characters, i.e. for the characters they developed. But that's probably MGM and Syfy to blame for, since they wanted TPTB to run TWO shows at once, thus preventing them to really & completely focus on the series since they had to still run SG-1 AND give it the "main show" treatment. SGA was always going to be a side-show, the #2 show, even if it got the chance to run for a couple of more seasons. I mean, even SGU got MORE attention by its creators and was treated BETTER and more seriously since they made the show resolve around the characters.

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                #22
                Originally posted by Mnikolic View Post
                SGA had a great set of cast members, but TPTB obviously didn't know what to write for their characters, i.e. for the characters they developed. But that's probably MGM and Syfy to blame for, since they wanted TPTB to run TWO shows at once, thus preventing them to really & completely focus on the series since they had to still run SG-1 AND give it the "main show" treatment. SGA was always going to be a side-show, the #2 show, even if it got the chance to run for a couple of more seasons. I mean, even SGU got MORE attention by its creators and was treated BETTER and more seriously since they made the show resolve around the characters.
                Could have hired new writers...
                Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

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                  #23
                  Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                  Could have hired new writers...
                  $
                  Originally posted by aretood2
                  Jelgate is right

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                    #24
                    Originally posted by jelgate View Post
                    $
                    Writers really don't cost all that much.
                    Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                    Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

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                      #25
                      It compounds more than you think. Adding more writers means it would have to be taken out from something else in the budget
                      Originally posted by aretood2
                      Jelgate is right

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                        #26
                        It seems that when the cloned Beckett appears in episodes no one relates to the fact that this person is not the real Carson Beckett. But surely the feelings of Atlantis folks is that as much as they feel he is "their" Carson Beckett, the fact is he isn't at all. Yet this ambiguity never seems to come through in any episodes.

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                          #27
                          A few people mentioned sex appeal coming into play. I actually though (and still think) Paul was sexier than Jason Momoa or even Joe Flanigan. I personally never saw the appeal of Jason or his character Ronon. At least Paul’s Dr. Beckett was warm and personable. But, then, even now that he’s Aquaman, Momoa’s not really my type.

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                            #28
                            Originally posted by ChicagoGuy View Post
                            A few people mentioned sex appeal coming into play. I actually though (and still think) Paul was sexier than Jason Momoa or even Joe Flanigan. I personally never saw the appeal of Jason or his character Ronon. At least Paul’s Dr. Beckett was warm and personable. But, then, even now that he’s Aquaman, Momoa’s not really my type.
                            As you demonstrate, such "appeal" is highly dependent on the person taking it all in.

                            No matter what PTB might think.
                            Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                            Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

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                              #29
                              Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                              As you demonstrate, such "appeal" is highly dependent on the person taking it all in.

                              No matter what PTB might think.
                              Hell if I was ever in the same room as Momoa I’d probably giggle like a school girl and wanna touch his arms... and I’m straight.
                              Please do me a huge favour and help me be with the love of my life.

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                                #30
                                I remember I was so happy when Carson became a regular character in season 2. And then the next season they kill him off? He was my favorite male character (along with McKay). My favorite female character was Weir. The whole series changed, it wasn't the same after they were gone. It became even more annoying when Beckett's replacement became romantically involved with my remaining favorite.

                                As for Ronon, I have never understood his appeal, either.

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