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November 10, 2008

Spoilers!

Just kidding. Actually, there were going to be a lot of great spoilers in this blog, which is about the upcoming Stargate Atlantis episode entitled "Remnants". You see, I sat down with Joe and we had a lengthy conversation about the origins of the story, and in the midst of this conversation (which was going very well, by the way) something clicked and Joe realized that just talking about the origins of the story would give away the third act twist. And who wants to watch more than half of an episode knowing what the twist is? How lame would that be? So we went back to basics and started over.

"Remnants", Joe told me, is a bittersweet Woolsey story. It deals with Woolsey's sense of alienation as the leader of Atlantis. You see, Woolsey is the outsider; he's in your typical "lonely at the top, tough to be the boss" scenario and he deals with it by keeping to himself, for the most part. Joe explained a little more about Woolsey for me: beneath that authoritarian, by the book commander, he's a bit socially awkward (Joe's words, not mine!). Joe continued: "as a kid in high school, Woolsey was always the last picked for sports teams. But it's this awkwardness that makes him human."

So Joe had this initial story line in mind for Woolsey, but when he sat down to write the episode he quickly realized he needed a lot more beats. So he made the script into three separate stories that all dovetail in the conclusion.

The Woolsey plot deals with the end of his probationary period and the IOA making a determination on whether he will continue to lead Atlantis. Joe liked that story line because the shoe is definitely on the other foot for Woolsey, who was the IOA's representative for years until he became the leader of Atlantis.

In the Sheppard story line, we will see the re-emergence of an old nemesis, who pushes Sheppard to his limits. In Joe's opinion, Sheppard is the one character we know the least about. So in this story we find out a little more about what makes him tick. The last plot line involves McKay and Zelenka and gives us some insight as to their relationship. Joe has always seen this relationship as having the potential for mutual respect, but that respect is buried beneath their respective egos.

So, at the end of the day, this is very much a character driven episode. Joe concluded, "it's about surface impressions versus inner realities."

And there were wildly divergent opinions about the script on the first reading. Robert C. Cooper found it too literary, while Carl Binder has steadfastly maintained that it's one of his favorite stories (but that guys a known suck-up, so who can say?). The network execs are generally wary of stories that don't have a ticking clock or immediate jeopardy. But don't worry, I've seen the producer's cut, and this is a great episode. Will Waring did a superb job directing, and there was a lot of material to pare it down to time, so it's jam packed.

Enjoy!

Posted by Alex Levine at November 10, 2008 11:53 PM