But descriptions aside, good news for fans of the hit series. The green lit season 5 will see a revamped cast, with favorites all around. With the pickup of Sanctuary, Amanda Tapping is leaving to work on that full time, but will still appear in several episodes. Also, possibly one of Stargate’s favorites, Dr. Daniel Jackson, will also be making an indeterminate amount of visits to Atlantis during the fifth season.
“But quit holding back the story,” I hear you yelling. OK then, the new base commander is going to be played by Robert Picado, known to Stargate fans as Dr. Richard Woolsey, the International Oversight Committee representative. According to the press release, “The team, led by Lt. Colonel Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), Teyla (Rachel Luttrell), Ronon (Jason Momoa) and Dr. Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite), must adjust to his unique leadership style.”
This leads us to our next piece of news, and that is the likelihood that Jewel Staite will become a permanent cast member. She has hitherto never been named amongst the cast in such releases, and this indicates that she will be filling out the opening credits (about time too!). There is also Stargate precedent, with Paul McGillion as Dr. Carson Beckett being added to the permanent cast for seasons 2 and 3.
And, in a show of truly extraordinary journalistic skill, that leads me to our next piece of news. McGillion will be returning for 5 episodes this season as the beloved Dr. Beckett. We pretty much knew it was coming, and this just proves that, but how and why is an entirely different question.
I want to take a moment though to ponder the decision to bring Robert Picado on as full time base commander. Star Trek fans will remember him as the enigmatic Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager, and will no doubt join me in praising acting talents that surpass most these days. When he first appeared on Stargate, I immediately thought it would be hard to view him as anything but ‘the Doctor.’ But within seconds he had eliminated that from my mind, and began to cultivate a character that we have both loved and hated.
With a “unique leadership style,” Picado is sure to light up the screen with his witty dialogue and almost bumbling efficiency, and I cannot wait to see the news broken to Shepherd and Ronan.
Needless to say, I am very happy with this casting choice, and hope that others feel the same way too.
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