Paul McGillion Has A Theory About Why Carson Beckett Was Written Off Stargate: Atlantis

A spin-off of the long-running military science-fiction series "Stargate SG-1" was always going to be compared to its parent show, but "Stargate Atlantis" fared quite well in its own right. Rolling out a new, lovable team of explorers (the First Atlantis Reconnaissance Team or AR-1 for short), the series put its own spin on the "Stargate" universe and was arguably just as enjoyable as its predecessor. Unfortunately, "Stargate Atlantis" was abruptly canceled after season 5 due to financial reasons, and the planned "Stargate Atlantis" sequel movie that could have changed everything, "Stargate: Extinction," never came to be.

Even when it was still going strong, "Stargate Atlantis" wasn't wholly exempt of disappointment. The show's first season saw Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) rise to a fan-favorite status. Popularity wasn't enough to protect the character, though, and in "Stargate Atlantis" season 3, episode 17 ("Sunday"), Beckett died when his patient's tumor exploded. The sudden and frankly absurd nature of the popular character's demise remains one of the most controversial deaths in sci-fi TV history, and the show eventually backtracked by rolling out a cloned version of the character late in season 4.

Rumors of the death had been circulating for a while, and there was even a fan movement to save Beckett. McGillion confirmed in a post-season 3 interview with GateWorld in 2007 that he had also been well aware of the death in advance. He also shared his suspicion that Beckett's explosive exit was an attempt to keep "Stargate: Atlantis" interesting after the parent show's cancellation:

"I think 'SG-1' got canceled and they wanted to shake things up, so to speak. Losing a beloved character might do that. I think it has, and the response, for me, certainly has been very flattering."

Apart from addressing his personal theory of why Beckett was written out of "Stargate: Atlantis," McGillion wanted to note who he specifically doesn't blame for the situation. As he stated in the interview, the actor not only knew about his exit in advance, but he was actually quite close to writer-producer Martin Gero, who penned his exit. As such, McGillion made a point of noting that Gero is blameless:

"I think a lot of people blame the writers for things like that, and I think he's just an information vessel, so to speak. It's not his fault the character got written out. 

Though McGillion said that he missed playing the character, Dr. Beckett's death scene didn't exactly mark the end for him. That impending stint playing Beckett's clone in seasons 4 and 5 notwithstanding, he still had plenty more scenes to go afterwards, seeing as the show filmed out of sequence. Still, even if McGillion hadn't had this and copious fan support to cushion the blow somewhat, he'd likely have viewed his time on the show as a massive net positive. As he told GateWorld:

"I spent three years on the show. From what started out being a recurring character we didn't even know, maybe three or four episodes, all of a sudden I was in 17 of the first 20 and they made me a regular. I got nothing but good things to say about those guys. They gave me a great opportunity."