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Sheer Genius
by Stephen Eramo
He is the first to panic in any threatening situation, but the crew of
Atlantis couldn’t do without Dr Rodney McKay or the man who plays him, David
Hewlett…
It’s said that a good offence is the best defence, but not too long ago out
heroes on Stargate Atlantis discovered that is not always the case.
In the third season cliff-hanger finale First Strike, a decision was
made to attack the Human-form Replicator world before its ‘people’ could
make a second attempt to invade the city. The robots subsequently sent an
immensely powerful energy weapon to destroy Atlantis, resulting in several
injuries and heavy damage to the city, especially the control room, which
too a direct hit from the Replicator weapon. David Hewlett, who plays Dr
Rodney McKay, was present for the filming of that particular scene.
“That was the biggest explosion we’ve ever had on this show”, says Hewlett.
“There was glass everywhere, and it was the sugary, rubbery fake glass that
disintegrates as soon as you stand on it. When that happens it becomes very
slippery and you fall all over the place, which is exactly what I did,
because, of course, it’s all about me”, jokes the actor. “Seriously, this is
a great cliff-hanger episode as it throws a bunch of balls up into the air
and you’re thinking, ‘Something is going to drop’.
“These guys”, he says referring to the Atlantis writers and
producers, “are really good at doing the unexpected, you know? They’ve been
working on Stargate for 10 years and they know how to make an impact.
I think last seasons ender is a perfect example of how they can sort of
shake you up and make you want to come back and find out what’s going on. It
definitely spins the programme off in a different direction for year four.”
At the end of First Strike, Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan)
decides the only way to save Atlantis is to fly it into hyperspace. Although
they eventually manage to elude the Replicator weapon, the city
inadvertently ends up lost when it returns to normal space. As a result, the
Atlantis expedition spends the fourth season opener Adrift and the
following episode Lifeline not only looking for a new home, but also
dealing with a deadly new enemy as well as the ‘loss’ of their leader, Dr
Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson).
“This was another of those weird saying goodbye moments like we had last
season with Sunday and Carson Beckett”, notes Hewlett. “We’re
essentially saying goodbye to Torri and the Weir character as we know it.
Again it’s always rather uncomfortable, like dealing with death in life, if
you know what I mean. It’s this strange sense of what do you say, what don’t
you say, how much of this discomfort I’m feeling is my character’s and how
much of it is me as a person in this circumstance. So it was sort of
bittersweet because as actors we know what’s going to happen, but it’s
important not to play what you know. That’s one of the challenges when you
film things out of order like we do, so you’ve got to remember that stuff”.
The actor continues, “As episodes go, I have to say these”, Adrift
and Lifeline, “are some pretty neat ones. Again, visual effects-wise
they’re huge, and they also set the tone for the rest of the year. This is
very much like a season of change, and they’re dramatic changes. We’ve got
some new faces on the show as well as some old ones, and we see them
interacting, but on new levels. It’s a really neat approach for year four
because the writers have come in, sort of deconstructed what we’ve already
done and are saying, for example, ‘wait a second, we haven’t seen Rodney
have a chat with Ronon (Jason Momoa). There’s interaction but we haven’t
seen much of the day-to-day chat stuff’. So we’ve begun exploring more of
those moments. These first two stories set that up by throwing our
characters out of whack, and then have them struggle to sort of pull things
back together again”.
Following Dr Weir’s unexpected departure, Stargate SG-1’s Colonel
Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) arrives on Atlantis to take over the
running of the base, much to McKay’s chagrin. “I think it really complicates
everything for my character”, says Hewlett. “I sound so serious about it,
but it’s his concern that makes it so funny and fun to watch. McKay honestly
believed he was going to be in charge. The chain of command went Weir,
Sheppard and then McKay. He had an argument about this with the Caldwell
character in a Season Two story (The Long Goodbye). In it McKay was
like, ‘This is a science base and I’m in charge when Weir and Sheppard are
out of commission’.
“So this time, as sad as McKay is to lose Weir, he sort of assumes that he’s
the one who’s taking her place”, continues the actor, “and when Carter shows
up it’s a huge shock to him. He’s like ‘This is my base; I’m the pro here
who answers the questions, not you!’ To top it off, all of a sudden this old
life of McKay’s from his experiences with Sam and the SG-1 team has come up
again, and it’s like hitting a window. He’s going along just fine and then,
bang, Carter is in control. Out of the blue, McKay’s insecurities start
coming back along with those concerns I spoke of earlier. With Atlantis
isolated from earth at the start of Season four, McKay felt like he was the
go-to guy. Now he’s working with someone he knows is a challenge to him,
both intellectually and just from a position of power.
“Of course, all that ongoing tension between McKay and Carter is so much fun
to play, and Amanda is great at that. We look for moments where our two
characters hate what each other is saying, or hate someone’s reaction to it,
or whatever, and just run with it. One of my favourite moments so far from
this season – and I don’t even know if it’s going to make it into the show –
is when Sheppard is eyeing this sexy alien friend who has come to help us
battle the Replicators, and McKay has this look of ‘Hey, all right, get a
look at her’. Then he glances over at Carter and is embarrassed, so he gives
her one of these, ‘it’s OK, you’re hot too’, looks. It’s those types of neat
little double-takes that we get to do, and Amanda is so amazing at picking
up on them. There’s this instant history that comes with McKay and Carter
and we’ve been having such a good time playing with that.”
As if having Sam Carter around isn’t enough to unsettle McKay, he also has
to deal with another visit from his sister Jeanie (played by Hewlett’s real
life sibling, actress Kate Hewlett). She first appeared last year in the
episode McKay and Mrs Miller and now this season she returns in
Miller’s Crossing. “We’ve got Kate back, which I know is going to make a
lot of fans happy”, enthuses Hewlett. “She had a terrific repartee with
Steven Culp, who’s done a million things, but is probably best known for
playing one of the husbands on Desperate Housewives. In this
Atlantis episode he plays a wonderful villain who really isn’t a
villain, but more of a guy who does all the wrong things for the right
reasons.
“So Steven and Kate got on like a house on fire, and we all had a great time
working on this episode. I think the hardest part was keeping a straight
face. Kate, Steven and I just lost it on numerous occasions, and we were
doing really serious stuff too”, he chuckles. “Jeanie is just a constant
source of frustration for Rodney. There are some hysterical scenes where the
two of them are trying to escape from a building, and it’s like watching a
British comedy because they’re snapping back and forth at each other,
arguing about the wrong things at the wrong time. Kate really is a pleasure
to work with and I hope the writers decide to bring Jeanie back again
because she’s such a fun character”.
Listening to the energy in Hewlett’s voice, he obviously thinks highly of
Atlantis’s forth season and he hopes fans respond in kind. “For Joe Mallozzi
and Paul Mullie”, the writers and executive producers who’re Atlantis’s
new showrunners this year, “this is kind of like their season one”, says the
actor. “This is when they get to really spread their wings and they’re being
very smart about it. Joe and Paul are eager to make their mark, but they
also are very respectful of what’s been established. I think the first half
of this season rocks and I can’t wait to see what they do with the second
half”.
Fond Farewell
Although it was difficult for Hewlett to say goodbye to his friend and
fellow Atlantis cast-mate Paul McGillion at the end of the season three
episode Sunday, he was glad to have had the chance to shoot the final
scene between McKay and Dr Beckett.
“Filming that last scene with Paul was quite subdued”, recalls the actor.
“We’d goof around all the time, no matter how serious the scenes were. Even
in Sunday where we lost Paul’s character, he goofed around to the
end; that’s Paul. However, prior to us shooting that little tag scene at the
conclusion of Sunday, everyone was laughing and saying ‘Oh David and Paul on
the blue-screen. Like that’s not going to be goofy’, and it actually ended
up being kind of morose and really quite depressing. That said, it seemed
like a suitable send off for Paul and his character, and it was heartfelt.
“Of course, the other thing, and the most important thing, is that Paul will
be returning for two episodes this season. I haven’t seen him for ages. I’ve
been storing up abuse since he left, so by the time he gets back I intend
on destroying him,” jokes Hewlett.
Breakfast Time
Mush to the delight of Stargate fans, Hewlett’s first self-made
feature film venture, A Dogs Breakfast, which he directed and
co-wrote with his fiancée Jane Loughman (and also one of the film’s
producers) has had special screenings around the world, and is now available
for download on the internet.
"Stargate fans are so web savvy and have just been so cool about sort
of promoting the film themselves and marketing it with posters, T-shirts and
all sorts of things”, says Hewlett. “So I think it’s appropriate that the
film’s debut is online, and the fact that we’ve got a digital premiere on
iTunes and Amazon is pretty incredible.
“The actual DVD is coming out on September 18th and that’s going to be a
blast because Jane has put together four behind-the-scenes shorts about the
filming of the movie. So there’s a bunch of material that the fans will not
have seen yet, and we also did a commentary that includes Mars,” David’s and
Jane’s dog and one of the ‘stars’ of the film, “and a special mystery guest
star”, teases the actor.
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