Why such terrible casting choices?

[laconicsax]

My fiancee and I were big Stargate SG-1 fans and recently decided to give Atlantis a second chance, so we added the earlier seasons to our Netflix cue. It seems that every other episode has a terrible casting choice--good actor, just bad choice.

In the pilot, they cast Garwin Sanford in a recurring role as one of the series regular's love interest. What's wrong with that? Oh, nothing, except the fact that he played a recurring character in SG-1. A recurring character who was much loved and died tragically. They also cast Christopher Heyerdahl as a recurring character. He played a significant character in a 7th season episode of SG-1.

A few episodes later, they cast Courtenay J. Stevens in a big role for one episode. He played it well, equally as good as the the recurring character he had in SG-1. A recurring character who was much loved and died tragically to save everyone else. The very next episode, we see Allison Hossack in a prominent role, playing the same type of character she played in an episode of SG-1. Later, we get to see Richard Cox in a prominant role. He played a fairly major character in an episode of SG-1.

This is only as far as we've gotten in the series (midway through season 1), but seriously, who the hell is making these decisions? I just read that a new series regular that's being added for the 5th season is played by an actress who played a different character in an earlier episode of Atlantis. What the fuck? Do they think that no one notices stuff like this?

[DS1]

1. and why do people in cheap sci-fi series ALWAYS walk around in robes?

what the fuck's with the robes all the time? is it to cut down on tailoring prices?

[laconicsax]

2. Probably to distinguish themselves from those who wear pants.

[Dr. Strange]

5. It's not always robes...

[Swede]

3. Is the Atlantis series okay?

I loved SG-1,but never sat down to watch Atlantis yet.

[Xithras]

6. I think it's OK if you don't expect it to be SG:1

There are some plot holes big enough to drive a truck through though, so those who like continuity and coherent story lines usually rage against it.

For example: When the Wraith were first introduced, a big deal was made about their remarkable healing abilities and the massive firepower needed to kill even one. There was a great build up as it was realized that humanity was facing an enemy that actually WAS physically superior (faster, stronger, more intelligent, telepathic, and almost indestructible), and it wasn't clear how they would be defeated. These people had enslaved an entire galaxy for countless millenia, and had even sent the mighty Ancients fleeing in fear, and the Atlantis team had given them knowledge of Earth and the number of edible humans in our galaxy.

Then that all went away. The Jenai(sp?) and Replicators became the enemy, and the Wraith simply became another storyline. Threat to the galaxy? Naw, they're too busy sqabbling among themselves to be a threat to anybody. One human battlecuiser (primitive by Ancient standards) can now destroy a Wraith Cruiser, and individual Wraith fighters can now be killed with two or three bullets, or even a solid whack to the head. The inconsistency can be infuriating.

Still, I'd rather watch Atlantis than watch American Idol.

[Xithras]

4. Hate to admit this...but I hadn't noticed.

I did notice when Garwin Stanford was recast because he has a very distinctive face and has been in a lot of movies in large roles, but most of the one-episode actors on Stargate and other SciFi are solid C list actors with forgettable faces. I don't think that most people pay all that much attention to them.

The problem, I think, is the limited talent pool. These roles don't pay that much and SciFi films in Vancouver, not LA. The number of actors of sufficient talent to play those roles, who are willing to do so for relatively low pay and in an area like that, is somewhat limited...perhaps a few hundred. When you factor in that SG1 and Atlantis have cranked out nearly 300 episodes combined, it becomes clearer why they might want to "recycle" some talent from time to time. They spread it out enough to ensure that most people wouldn't notice. I sure didn't. When I looked up those names I realized that you were right, but none jumped out at me at the time.

[laconicsax]

7. I may just remember faces really well.

SG-1 recycled some actors, but not many for speaking roles. They reused Aaron Douglas having him as two different Jaffa in two different episodes. Steve Bacic played two different recurring roles, but I didn't notice since the first one he played one barely spoke and you rarely saw his face. The guy who played young Hammond in "1969" played a major in an episode of the 8th season, but I didn't notice until the second time I watched it because he was on screen for about 5 minutes total and was hardly important. They also reused the guy playing the scientist from "Window of Opportunity" in the 10th season and I noticed immediately because he was pretty prominent in both episodes.

I really think that they screwed up on Atlantis though by using people who had played characters who were either central to the story or recurred on SG-1.