So, who actually liked Rodney McKay?

[Automission]

Did you find him believable as a character? It seems almost everyone dislikes/hates him these days, so I'd ideally like to see a discussion on why. Though this thread is mainly so we can have a topic and see the actual figures of who loves him and who hates him.

Three choices really, (As i dont think you can make a poll )

• Love him
• Hate him
• Loved him at first, then hated him

As for me, I pretty much hated him from the outset. His attitude was far too whiny, and he seemed to really be dependant on everyone to save him, but when it came to technology he was overly smug, to quite an obvious fault really.

Please note, I do not blame David Hewlett, the actor at all. It was really just how the character was written. Though I do wonder if some of it was his own personal interpretation or not....

[RodneyIsGodney]

First off, you can have a poll. All you need do is ask a mod and they'll organize one.

Secondly, I love McKay! Which should be obvious.

Admittedly, It was not love at first sight, he grew on me.

[hedwig]

I neither loved nor hated McKay. I tolerated him, and would have continued to do so if he had not become what seemed to be the focus of the series at the expense of the other characters by at least the 4th season and from then on. I simply got fed up with the constant focus on him.

However, I do know people who simply quit watching SGA by the end of the 3rd season because they couldn't stand watching him anymore.

[OneillTwo"LL"s]

I thought he was a pest at first, but as time went on, I got used to him, but after awhile I liked him alot. Mckay and Sheppard together are a great team for Atlantis, I really enjoyed them, it was cute that he ended with Jennifer!

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

Me. He's fun to crash into windows.

[dragongirl]

he is great at almost killing people and then taking ownership of other peoples brilliant ideas.

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

And blowing up solar systems. Can't forget that.

[dragongirl]

true

[fumblesmcstupid]

saving the day......

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

after messing it up *insert explosions*

AMC, you're explosion happy.
AMC: Why do you think I loved Transformers 2 so much?

[fumblesmcstupid]

Because everyone else is not as smart as RODNEY the Wonder Smart Guy is and has to clean up after everyone else.......

[Aragon101/Loneranger-1]

Because everyone else is not as smart as RODNEY the Wonder Smart Guy is and has to clean up after everyone else.......

Maybe a comparison of how many catastrophes he's averted that weren't and were his fault is needed.

As a writer, i see the issue with McKay right away, he's EASY to write for. everything has a flow and 99 times out of ten he'll do the whole disarming the nuclear bomb with 007 seconds left It's like being given a hammer, all of a sudden everything looks like a nail and you HAVE to use that hammer.

He's the "funny" character as well as teh "smart" character as well as the one with the lovable faults (Debatable) as well as teh snarky one, as well as the "wants to be family man" as well as the social misfit.... argh, the list goes on.

Basically it's so easy to write for him, you lose focus on everyone else. He's also got teh biggest backstory out of them all so referencing stuff with him is easier (such as Jeannie, Sam, Piano, Lemons, Russia, the SGC Yadda yadda yadda)

Whereas what do we really know about the other main character? Sheppard... Suicidal Hero that likes ferris wheels and hates clowns. it took 4 seasons to even find out if he has family... Not to mention Ronon and Teyla

As far as like or dislike him? I'd have to say i have a love/hate of teh character. David Hewlett plays him awesomely and i love his interactions with the others... but its too much. When you watch Atlantis you become gorged with McKay and want to see the others... but you have to wait for episodes like Outcast to get that and it's just not enough. McKay starts to grate on your unless he's your favorite and it ruins the abiltity for alot of people to like the show. FalconHorus had all these numbers written up and it's pretty much statistical proof that Stargate Atlantis became the McKay Show.

The Character, Love him
What they did to Atlantis WITH him... not so much.

[fumblesmcstupid]

OMG the writers and their MAN CRUSH of Rodney was just lame!

There are so many other characters on Atlantis John, Teyla, Ronon, and Zalenka but they took the easy way out and "Let it happen to Rodney" became a catch phrase with the writers.

That is one of the things that irked me the most about them.

The last season was just a perfect example of how NOT to write for an ensemble show!

Other TV shows should have to watch SGA as a mandatory requirement so that the show that they write for will not become the *ONE GUY* show

[Lythisrose]

I loved him, except when he was part of "McKeller." Then I was disgusted with him.
The McKay and Sheppard banter and the times when The Team interacted with each other were my very favorite parts of Stargate Atlantis. I also loved his moments with Radek and Carson. These moments sadly became few and far between in the last season.
But if the writers wouldn't have had such a fixation on McKay and just let him be one of an ensemble cast who each got time in the sun to shine, I would have nothing at all negative to say...
(course I am a McShepper from way back, so might be a bit biased!!!)

[badwolfSG]

I didn't really liked him at first but as the season went on I found that I like him. However at the end(of the last season) I was not liking him at all, but that's not really Rodney fault, I'm a big Ronon/Keller shipper!

[suse]

I found Rodney absolutely hilarious in S1 of SGA. Loved to hate him on SG-1 - he was a good foil.

In S2 I started to find the near constant whining annoying.... and it went downhill from there. There were a few moments I still liked the character, but not in 'peril' situations.

suse

[Krisz]

I have to admit to liking the character. I found a way I could switch off when the 'whining' got too much. I liked how he developed from the arrogant insecure guy that no one could tolerate in SG-1, to the point where the arrogant edges were smoothed a little by his interactions with his team mates in Atlantis. I for one found in 'The Shrine', we saw the side of him that he found hard to come to terms with, and hid with his arrogant behaviour. It showed how his team mates saw this side of him, even if he didn't want to. His moments with Zelenka throughout the series really brought this home I felt.

In some ways I think, even though it seemed like SGA was 'Stargate - McKay', he couldn't be who he was without the interaction with the other characters. He became the better man for knowing all the others in Atlantis.

[Nanjana]

I loved him from the begining...He is so much fun! To me it's like that: Atlantis would not be Atlantis if McKay would not be there! He is so great!

[Jeff O'Connor]

Aragon said it very, very well. McKay was an excellent character, but he was just entirely too easy to write for. They gave him so many traits that everything got a bit too caught up in him.

And the fact that he had like 90% of the backstory agitates me to this day. Sheppard was always my favorite character, but 'Outcast'-level history lessons on him were few and far between. The actress who played his ex-wife, whose name sadly escapes me at the moment, well anyway, she was slated to come back in the fifth season but it didn't happen for whatever reason. Maybe the writers just wrote one Rodney episode too many again.

[Cold Fuzz]

Aragon said it very, very well. McKay was an excellent character, but he was just entirely too easy to write for. They gave him so many traits that everything got a bit too caught up in him.

And the fact that he had like 90% of the backstory agitates me to this day. Sheppard was always my favorite character, but 'Outcast'-level history lessons on him were few and far between. The actress who played his ex-wife, whose name sadly escapes me at the moment, well anyway, she was slated to come back in the fifth season but it didn't happen for whatever reason. Maybe the writers just wrote one Rodney episode too many again.

I won't comment on McKay, other than that I have already discussed my views on his character on another thread already.

Shep's ex-wife was played by Kari Wuhrer I believe. I would have liked to have seen her and Shep in another episode together. I do wish Sheppard's backstory was developed in greater detail. His family life, especially how he didn't get along with his brother, seemed real intriguing. If Atlantis had gone on for another season or two, I definitely would have liked more Sheppard stories.