First plots details on Atlantis‘s ‘Michael’

The first information has arrived for “Michael,” an episode of Stargate Atlantis set to air late in Season Two. Written by Carl Binder and directed by Peter DeLuise, the episode will go before cameras in mid-August.

Beware of spoilers in the report below!

Michael Kenmore, a young Lieutenant in his late 20s or early 30s, awakens in the Atlantis infirmary. He has an endearing, boyishly handsome way about him, but is also sometimes edgy and unpredictable. Michael has amnesia, and can remember nothing whatsoever about his past or his role on the base — though Teyla reassures him that they are friends, and that he heroically allowed himself to be captured by the Wraith so that his team could get away.

Now he has been rescued from his captors. Drs. Beckett and Heightmeyer (Claire Rankin) work with him to redevelop his physical and mental state.

But Michael believes that the others are keeping secrets from him, and soon he learns the true nature of his existence: He was a Wraith. Dr. Beckett has developed a drug with a retrovirus that transforms the recipient, suppressing the iratus bug (the large insects encountered in “Thirty Eight Minutes”) elements and leaving only the human aspects.

This is possible only because the Wraith evolved from the bug, which fed on humans and gradually incorporated human DNA into its own (“The Gift”). Daily injections are required to maintain the altered condition. The drug’s creation has had some bumps along the way, though (likely referring to Sheppard’s experience in the upcoming episode “Conversion”).

Michael is shocked and disturbed, and objects to the team’s notion that being a Wraith is some sort of disease that can be cured. Sheppard justifies the decision based on the fact that they are at war. Now that they have successfully tested the drug, their long-term goal is to be able to deploy it as a biological weapon and turn the inhabitants of entire Wraith hive ships into humans.

Ronon, meanwhile, makes an unsettling observation: Beckett’s drug may be able to make a Wraith look like a human and talk like a human, but he’ll still be a Wraith. Michael later confesses to Dr. Heightmeyer that while he still has no memory of being a Wraith, he is realizing that the urges and instincts are still very much a part of him.

Guest characters include Michael and recurring character Dr. Kate Heightmeyer (Atlantis’s resident psychologist).

“Michael” will air in early 2006 on The SCI FI Channel! Learn more about the new season in GateWorld’s episode guide.