Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Stargate Atlantis - Alex Levine Blog Update - 'Enemy at the Gate'

From Alex Levine's SciFi.com blog update for January 6, 2009:

(Please follow the link for the complete blog update.)



Not the End

... I sat down with Paul Mullie today, who wrote the finale for Atlantis, entitled "Enemy at the Gate". Paul told me that when the writers came up with this final episode, they didn't know at the time it would be the last episode. However, because it is also the 100th episode of the series, they had always wanted it to stand on its own, so the story wasn't planned as a cliff-hanger. As you probably all know, cliff-hangers are de rigueur for season ending episodes so the viewers will anticipate the beginning of the next season. Also, cliff hangers are a good way to deal with actors who are in the last season of their contracts; for example, you put all the characters in a big explosion, and if the studio can't come to terms on a new contract for some of them, well... I know it sounds harsh, but it would be even more harsh to you viewers to write a character off the show off-screen after the fact.



... By the way, this episode is dedicated to Don S. Davis, who recently passed away. Don played General Hammond on SG-1 for years. In addition to a dedication card at the end of the episode, the writers also honored Don's passing by writing into the episode the off-screen
passing of Don's character, General Hammond. It is a fitting tribute and done in a very classy way, as I'm sure you will agree when you see it ...

.. Thanks to you fans for five great years!

Posted by Alex Levine at 7:21 PM

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