Hewlett looks back on Season Four

Beware SPOILERS for Season Four of Atlantis below!

Production on Season Four of Stargate Atlantis has come to a close, and the cast are taking some well-deserved time away from the sets. David Hewlett (Dr. Rodney McKay) recently took time out with GateWorld just prior to becoming a daddy (story), where he discussed his favorite stories from this year.

Aired episodes of Season Four have already featured personal moments with McKay, particularly spending time at the bedside of his girlfriend, Katie Brown. It seems as though the character is well on his way to maintaining a good impression with her. But don’t hold your breath. “I can say that McKay is truly the least romantic person alive,” Hewlett said. “He is absolutely the most disastrous date and I hope to God none of it rubs off on me because I will lose [my fianc‚e] Jane so fast.”

The episode in question is “Quarantine.” “[It’s] hilarious. It’s the pairing off of all of the cast. The most unlikely couples at a time. Unlike any other man on any kind of television show, I get locked in a room with the beautiful Katie Brown and then have an emotional breakdown.”

The episode’s author, Carl Binder, took some heat while visiting the set while Hewlett was shooting. “I was like, ‘Yeah, lemme see if I’ve got this straight. We’ve got a room full of trees and tropical plants, and the lovely Katie Brown and McKay, and what do you do? You make me act like an idiot.'”

David admits that the schedule for Season Four’s episodes has been extremely hectic. “This season is insane,” he said. “We’re bouncing all over the place shooting stuff. I’ve got to be careful because I’ll launch into [talking about] the wrong enemy. All of a sudden we’re being attacked by Replicators and we’re supposed to be being attacked by Wraith. It’s like ‘Oh, sorry guys. Wrong episode.'”

The upcoming two-parter “The Kindred” will return Paul McGillion to The Bridge Studios sets as the late Dr. Carson Beckett. Hewlett was eager to have him back, at least for a short time. “It’s a pleasure, just because I haven’t had anyone to really beat up badly. Emotionally, and insult as much as I do usually with Paul. So it’s nice to have him back and really get the knife in there.

“Let’s just say I’ve reduced his involvement in our life down to a snack. He’s the snack-size Beckett now. I kept making jokes. ‘Oh, look, there’s a little bit of you over there.’ Because he exploded.”

When asked about his favorite episode, there is little contest. “I’d have to go with ‘Miller’s Crossing,’” he tells GateWorld. The episode will make the second appearance of Jeannie Miller, Rodney’s sister. “I love the McKays. The McKay brother-sister thing is just too much fun, and it gets a great spanner thrown in the works as well. I end up having to buy her a car, I think.

“It’s just so much fun to be able to bring the strange, abusive, disrespectful relationship that [my real-life sister] Kate and I have for each other to the screen and pretend that, somehow, it’s being created. It’s kind of fun to air the dirty laundry on cable television.”

A rumor has been circulating the Internet that “Miller’s Crossing” might include the death of Jeannie. Is this true? “Well, it’d be the first time I heard of it,” Hewlett said. “That’s the beautiful thing about sci-fi. If you can explode and come back, I think we’ve all got a shot.”

New episodes of Stargate Atlantis air every Friday night on the SCI FI Channel in the United States. Stick with GateWorld for more!