 
Also, you don't want to get into situations where, for the Wraith, you have to escalate. You have to win some, they have to win some, and you have to come up with reasons why you're winning, they have to come up with reasons why they're easier to beat, and the Wraith, we had legitimate things. They were being decimated by the Replicators. They're in a civil war because of their food supply, and so they're easier to deal with. Because otherwise they're overwhelmingly impossible to deal with.
The Replicators, we felt that was true for them. The Replicators are amazing bad guys because they are invincible to a certain extent and need to be wiped out all at once. We didn't know how many more stories we could do where it was us rubbing up against them and us getting out by the skin of our teeth. Then it diminishes the series and it diminishes them as bad guys.
For us, we thought, "Well, if we're going to do this, let's really do it." Let's come up with an 11- or 12-episode idea where they back us into a corner and we have no choice but to do this incredibly risky mission. With the help of Todd and with the help of Larrin. So that's why. It was just a great story.
GW: My second question about the Replicators has to do with that. The question is, and I take this back to "Unnatural Selection" and the introduction of the human form Replicators, I look at it in terms of the O'Neill philosophy: They're machines. We need to neutralize the threat. The Carter philosophy: well, they're sentient people, living beings.
And it seems at least from "First Strike" forward, Earth has taken the O'Neill philosophy -- that they are not people. They're machines. Do you think that the Replicators were, or are, in any way sentient, and if so, does that mean that we've committed an act of genocide?
MG: I think they are sentient, but the problem is that they were committing acts of genocide themselves. Their strategy was not just killing the Wraith, which we have no problem killing, by the way. That was my original idea for the "Hot Zone" virus, but it seemed too dark at the time. It was a last-minute ploy for the Ancients. They would wipe out human populations so the Wraith wouldn't feed.
Turning a sentient enemy into a giant ball of neutronium may be the necessary thing to do -- but is it the right thing to do? | |
Robert [Cooper, executive producer] was "The Ancients would never do that," and I had to agree. It just didn't seem like something the Ancients would do. So "who the hell did this?" And so that was always in the back of our heads. Once [the Replicators] headed out in their battle against the Wraith it made sense to me that they would start taking out human populations because they don't care about humans. They care about defeating the Wraith, and the best way to defeat the Wraith is to essentially take away their food supply.
That can't be allowed to happen. They are sentient but they have no morality, and if it's [an] "us versus them" type of scenario, I think anyone in their right mind would choose them.
That being said, the whole final scene of "Be All My Sins Remember'd" is "Listen, they're kind of still alive, but in a much more manageable form because there's one ship left." That's got a very interesting story coming up in Season Five that Carl has written. Carl can tell you about that one.
GW: We've heard a little bit about somebody named Michael Shanks coming to Atlantis this year. Can you give us any context for that visit and does that episode have a title yet?
MG: It does! It's called "First Contact." It is going to be the first part. The second part is ... well, that title is still up in the air. That title is fairly telling. I'm not gong to say anything about that title.
Basically the premise is that Shanks, or Daniel, shows up in Atlantis to do some research. He's been excited about coming to Atlantis for five years now. Things have finally calmed down on the S.G.C. side to give him some free time. So he's coming to Atlantis to do some research on Janus. And that's all I'm going to say.
GW: Oh, Janus! Yeah, the time travel guy.
MG: [But] it's not a time travel story.
GW: To do some historical research on him?
MG: Yep. He wants to know more about him. And McKay finds it very frustrating because McKay feels like he's followed up any leads that are promising. McKay is kind of angry.
GW: He thinks it's kind of a done deal?
MG: Yeah, he thinks it's someone coming over to check his work, basically, and is not the happiest that Daniel is coming to Atlantis. Also, McKay is very territorial and he likes being the head Ancient guy.
But I think it's one of the best scripts I've ever written. Both Mark [Savela] and Andy [Mikita] and I feel a great pressure to outdo "This Mortal Coil" and "Be All My Sins." We are on our way.
GW: What are some of the other stories you'd like to tell this year that are spooling in the back of your mind? Any "Sunday"'s that we can help push forward?
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Daniel Jackson will return to the home of the Ancients in Season Five. |
MG: Oh, man, I wish! Well listen, people helped push forward for "Sunday" and were very upset that we did it. I feel like I co-opted the fan base. They were like "Wha, wha-wha-wha, what did you do? We helped you do this!"
GW: "You said it was going to be a 'day off!'"
MG: Yeah, exactly! [Laughter] That's right. "You jerk!" It's been an interesting year because I'll write the season premiere and the mid-season two-parters, which are big episodes, and I'm going to do one more which I'm also going to direct, but I have no idea what it's going to be yet.
I'm so focused on getting this two-parter really, really great. So I'm not sure. I think, ideally, it will be a smaller, quieter episode and [will] save some money.
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