Congratulations. You're finally in charge!

I'm finally in charge. I'm finally Captain Janeway. If you live long enough...

That's a better way to look at it. You're not replacing Amanda Tapping...

No-one can replace Amanda Tapping. The fans say, How do you feel about having to fill Amanda Tapping's shoes?" I said, look, "I would rather wake up in the morning, go into the bathroom and see Amanda Tapping than me." So I understand how the fans feel. She's a great actress and a beautiful person. I, on the other hand, am a very good actor and a very beautiful person.

I understand there's going to be a journey for Woolsey this season.

Yes, I'm changing. I'm growing. I'm becoming less of a dick. I appreciate the fact that he's Richard Woolsey and not Dick Woolsey, because that would be hard. To go to work every day and have people calling you "Dick" all the time.

And part of his epiphany comes from just not being able to work the technology.

I had two or three very humorous moments, where I don't know how to use the doors, I don't know how to find the cafeteria... I'm the new guy. And also, because he's not sort of a people person, people don't feel comfortable walking up and saying, "Mr. Woolsey, the cafeteria's this way." But I am warming up, and people are starting to feel sorry for the fact that I'm kind of a loner. I think by the end of the season, all the regular guys are going to, if not love me, respect me.

And you have a thing where you have nine pages of dialog where you argue in front of a tribunal?

I have the big dialog days. You play a hologram on Star Trek, and you have to spew line after line. I spoke in paragraphs on Star Trek. So I think they liked the fact that I handled dialog pretty well, so they give me stuff to say. But on the other hand, now that I'm playing a human and not a hologram, I'm allowed to say things like, "Well, uhh," or "You know..." which I could never do before. I had to be precise and I could never funfer. Now that I'm just a person I can funfer occasionally. Not funfer like soap opera actors funfer when they can't remember their lines, which is one of my favorite things to watch. "Hey, uh, you know man." That kind of thing. I don't do that.

What was it like working with Andy Dick on Voyager?

The first day on the set, he said to me, "Hey your name is Picardo. It's so close to Captain Picard. Do the fans make fun of you?" And I said, "Excuse me. Your name is Andy Dick, and you're going to make fun of mine?" And after that, we got along pretty well. He's wild. That was the week that the TV Guide article came out about him while we were shooting. What should I say? It was very, uh, revealing. I know that he likes to expose lots and lots about his life. Which I admire and respect, but actually, you know what? I don't think my life is quite as exciting as his.

I think your life is way more exciting than his at this point.

I like that you think that.

On Voyager, you were playing this artificial life form. Unlike Data, you looked human, but you weren't. You were like the opposite of Data.

He was more human than me. Especially early on. Wow, you've got it all. In fact, the next time I get interviewed, I'm going to call you. Because you understand my role on Star Trek even better than I did.

Did you try to convey that you looked human but weren't?

I did try to do this sort of funny, Johnny-on-the-spot kind of... But Data also moved in this exaggerated sort of way. I liked being a know-it-all. Of course, he was a know-it-all too. But I was sort of a stuffy, arrogant, curmugeonly know-it-all, where he was a childlike, sweet and Pinnochio-like know-it-all. We were both know-it-alls. Is it knows-it-all or know-it-alls?

New Not-So-Friendly Alien Races:

"We are introducing a couple of new races," Mallozzi spilled. "There are a number of civilizations that will be standing up on their own." But they aren't the huggable E.T. type of Aliens. "They [the new Aliens] will be coming in a big way in the mid-season two parter [where] Daniel Jackson comes to Atlantis. He's following a lead and he needs assistance. They make a discovery [of some device] that alerts an alien race that is also seeking out the device. This alien race ends up coming to Atlantis, and it's not a friendly house call."

But wait — there are loads more new aliens. "We introduce another new alien in [that] episode, I love the look of this race," said Mallozzi. "They are a race that we'd love to bring back and are discussing it.

Pegasus Galaxy United Nations:

All of the alien races in the Pegasus Galaxy will band together to form a United Nations. It will be mostly made up of the civilizations that have been oppressed by the Wraith. Mallozzi explains that they will be, "calling Atlantis to task for the trouble they've caused." Obviously for brining the Wraith out in the first place.

Bill Nye The Science Guy Comes To Atlantis:

Picardo was very excited for the cameo role of his friend and TV scientist, Bill Nye the science guy. On Atlantis he will also be playing a scientist that visits the crew looking for something important. That sounds like the alien race mentioned before, fingers crossed for Bill Nye in Alien prosthetics.

Woolsey Is Allowed To Eat At The "Cool Kids" Table:

Unfortunately for some Woolsey, isn't always going to be the play-by-the-rules Commander for very long. Within the first few episodes Mallozzi revealed that Woolsey has to "throw out the playbook" and break the rules he once swore to protect. In the episode "The Seed," Woolsey faces the first major crisis of his command. "There's not a lot of humor in this," says Picardo. "He can't simply follow the rule book. He's broken protocol about five times in his first crisis. The very next episode, "Broken Ties," is Woolsey getting used to the technology of the base. He's running a base but doesn't know any of the technology." But this only endears him more to the gang at Atlantis. But it's a rocky road to complete acceptance. Picardo shared that there are a few moments of "you're starting to grow on me" between him and Sheppard, when he reveals that he doesn't know if he's the best Commander he can be. But who knows what will happen to this delicate balance of respect when he tries to get Ronon Dex to file his paper work in future episodes.

Atlantis Welcomes The Ladies:

Mallozzi admitted that the departure of Col. Samantha Carter left the gender scales a little "unbalanced." So we can look forward to Stargate "introducing a lot more potentially recurring female characters."

New Woolsey Judges Our Bald Atlantis Commander:

In the episode "Remnants," Woolsey is judged by the person who replaced him. The IOA comes in and is none too pleased that Woolsey has become a bit cavalier about the rule book he once treasured and it he may even get sacked. Picardo explained that, "He becomes a character that the audience can sympathize with. You come to realize that he is leader material."