Picardo on 'Stargate' and Richard Woolsey

[TrekToday]

Richard Woolsey is more than just a man with a crusty exterior, according to Robert Picardo, who plays the government bureaucrat.

As reported by Starlog.com, "Richard Woolsey is a government administrator, a think tank type of personality," said Picardo. "I like to think of him as a neoconservative who plans the best way to do something, but then when you put him in the field, in the actual situation of real danger, he immediately falls apart! He's the guy who's good at intimidating other people in the conference room, but in the real world, he just doesn't have it. Richard is my tribute to people who plan military conflicts, but have never been in one."

But Picardo wants fans to give Woolsey a chance. "I don’t think Woolsey will ever be as lovable as the Doctor turned out to be," Picardo explained, "but under his crusty exterior, he’s a bit of an overgrown child, and see what happens to him."

Picardo has had as much fun working on the two Stargate series as he had working on Star Trek: Voyager. "I like working with both casts very much, but SG-1 was around longer, so those actors were more relaxed, goofed off and had a little more fun," he explained. "It reminds me of the goofing off we did on 'Voyager'. You can do that when you've been around each other for a good length of time. There’s a nice chemistry between the SG-1 actors, even for someone like me, who comes from outside the group. They're so kind to me on both shows. They welcomed me and made me part of the club."

Now that he is a regular on Stargate: Atlantis, Picardo is looking forward to the new season with anticipation. "I'm excited and looking forward to beginning our season," he said. "'Star Wars' is the only franchise with Star in the title that I've yet to conquer!"

To read more, head to the article located here.

[Chindogu]

From what I've seen so far Picardo is pretty good at adding some tension and conflict within the main characters of the show. And they are at least using him, unlike Col. Carter.

[Temis the Vorta]

Richard is my tribute to people who plan military conflicts, but have never been in one.

Why does anyone writing for SG:A think we want to see a character like that onscreen, anyway? How about someone who plans military conflicts and knows exactly what the ramifications are? There's only one place for a character like Woolsey to go - to face his frak-ups and get a clue - but that's so boringly obvious that I hardly can look forward to seeing it.

The last thing I want to do when I turn on the TV is spend time with idiots I feel nothing but contempt for. I do that all day at work.

[TJinPgh]

I enjoy Picardo's work. I do worry that he's in danger of being typecast, though.

From Voyager to 4400 to Atlantais and SG-1 and Smallville....