Science fiction is a large network of influences and overlapping ideas. Just as viewers will find a good dose of “Star Wars” in “Battlestar Galactica”, they will notice more than a small “dune” and “2001: a space odyssey” in “Star Wars”. The “Stargate” franchise is no exception. David Hewlett, who appeared for the first time on “Stargate SG-1” before playing a more important role in the spin-off “Stargate Atlantis”, explained how he was inspired by the British Science Fiction series, “Doctor Who”. Hewlett portrayed Dr. Rodney McKay in the “Stargate” universe, an astrophysicist and entrepreneur for the US Air Force. McKay had a remarkable intellect, which often helped him save the day but also made him arrogant unbearable.
In an interview with Gateworld in 2005, while he was still running “Stargate Atlantis” and when “Doctor Who” had just returned to television, Hewlett explained how his love for science fiction started with the BBC series. “I grew up on science fiction. I love science fiction. During my free time as a child, I made science fiction with my friends with 8 millimeters,” Hewlett revealed, before giving “Doctor Who” a specific cry. “‘Doctor Who’ is what brought me. I do ‘Doctor Who’ ‘indeed. I don’t understand why [Ninth Doctor, Christopher] Eccleston would move away from the first season! “Hewlett’s passion for” Doctor Who “is clear, just like the impact that the series has had on its work in the field of science fiction.
Doctor who de David Hewlett on Stargate
Hewlett confirmed: “” Doctor Who “is one of those things that have definitely influenced McKay”, before detailing the specific inspiration he took from “Doctor Who” for his role “Stargate”. “The original” Doctor Who “, well behind, [Jon] Pertwee and [William] Hartnell and all these guys – they were grumpy old men. “While Hewlett was notably younger than the stars of” Doctor Who “he mentioned, there were certainly notes of their more abrasive approach to the doctor who made Rodney McKay.
“Doctor Who” sees his main character, a lord of time known only under the name of Doctor, regularly cheats death by regenerating. Thanks to this process, the character changes his whole body, or allowing the role of easily redesign. The first doctor of William Hartnell very well adapted the model of “grumpy old men” that Hewlett mentioned, but with a sparkle in his eyes. The third doctor of Jon Pertwee was a hero of primary and appropriate action, who often looked at the military staff around him. Their influence on Hewlett McKay should be clear for any fan of “Stargate” and “Doctor Who”.
In the same interview, Hewlett joked saying that once his time on “Stargate Atlantis”, he could “come back as, you know, Davros or something”. On “Doctor Who”, Davros was a crazy scientist and creator of the Daleks, the most emblematic monsters in the series. After playing an arrogant science fiction hero on “Stargate”, this megalomaniac supervillain would have been a change of rhythm for Hewlett.
