Did TPTB focus on McKay (and McKeller) destroy Stargate Atlantis in your opinion.

[Linda06]

Now I'm wondering why they bothered having Zelenka on the show.

The same could be said for the rest of the characters whose name wasn't McKay

So Rodney could have somebody specifically to pick on regularly, rather than random scientists.

I liked Zelenka better than Rodney actually.

Me too

Teyla was a main cast member just as Weir/McKay and Ronon were.... When Weir left Sam was first female name in the credits but yet only appeared in 14 episodes, after that Teyla was first female in the credits.. but it didnt seem to mean anything. As I said they were all main cast but they only wanted to write about McKay.. thats why they wanted to make Weir a recurring character as they didn't know what to do with her character.

She was? Well I never........

If Rachel wasn't a lead, she wouldn't have been listed as a star of the show, along with Joe, Torri and David. She would have been listed as a guest star, a recurring star, or something else.

Plus, in the 5th season, she was listed right after Joe in the credits. All the others came after her in the credits.

"Supporting" cast generally doesn't get listed in the "starring" credits.

Well you know, even wallpaper has to be credited

But seriously, Rachel being right after Joe in the credits doesn't really mean much, she was barely there. If I didn't know any better I'd think they had a competition going to see who can come up with the best way to have Teyla busy with something so she wasn't in the way of a certain somebody's screentime

[chrono trigger]

I liked Zelenka better than Rodney actually.

me too

[WraithRichard]

Sorry to necro this, but after much discussion with friends, I came to a (possible) conclusion on what 'ruined' Atlantis.

In literature, one needs a way to get from point A to point B; something needs to move the plot along with events or actions that cause change. While the cast was increasing, the writers seemed to also be expanding the roles a character would play in Atlantis (Keller wasn't just a Doctor, a romantic interest, someone creative with puzzles, she had to be able to beat up wraith, do anything with computers, handle social situations, etc, etc.)

It seems only she and Rodney had their flaws taken away in this sense, which took over roles other characters could fulfill, or opportunities for other characters, no matter how minor, to perform the same duties.

[Falcon Horus]

And...

so...

well... what is your conclusion exactly?

[WraithRichard]

And...

so...

well... what is your conclusion exactly?

That was it. It wasn't the romance, it was that while they forgot who they were writing, they were dead set on restricting themselves to certain characters. For instance, once the psychotherapist was dead, they refused to create another character to fulfill that role, even when they couldn't fulfill that role before.

[Falcon Horus]

Ah right... yeah, I see what you mean.

[maxbo]

Yes, TPTW made SGA much smaller than it should have been by focusing too much on on the personal and professional life of Rodney. As you mentioned, things that could have been covered by non-Rodney, non-Keller characters were often given to them to the detriment of the other characters and the show overall. Storylines were often slanted so that they had to be Rodney-focused when it would have been refreshing to see different takes on how the team got out of jams.

And, speaking of Kate Heightmeyer's role, I hated that they had the nerve to have Keller cover that role in The Shrine. That was so forced, so unbelievable that it was just one of the many things made that episode unwatchable in its entirely for me upon repeat viewing. I don't know how long the idea for The Shrine was in the works, but if it was discussed during Season 4 then I wonder if that was partly why Kate was killed of that season. After all, if Kate had been alive during The Shrine then viewers would have wondered why she wasn't the one interviewing and assessing Rodney during his mental decline.

The writers either didn't understand or didn't care that telling the same stories about Rodney's life over and over wasn't a good idea. It's laughable and sad that they announced that the show needed Keller to freshen things up when all they did with Keller was give her storylines (Carson's retro-virus, for example) and character abilities (like Teyla's stick fighting) similar to the characters the writers considered stale. For instance, in addition to giving Keller Carson's retro-virus storyline, Tracker was Keller's version of Carson's Runner episode. Yeah, that's some fresh storytelling.

It was all too clear that TPTW never had a clear plan for Keller, beyond using her as a love interest, even though they claimed the character was needed to open up fresh storylines. Fresh storylines... what a joke.

[Lythisrose]

That was it. It wasn't the romance, it was that while they forgot who they were writing, they were dead set on restricting themselves to certain characters. For instance, once the psychotherapist was dead, they refused to create another character to fulfill that role, even when they couldn't fulfill that role before.

What bothers me is they created such an interesting variety of characters on SGA and then, by focusing so much on their favorites, lost so many potentially fascinating aspects of that universe.

[maxbo]

What bothers me is they created such an interesting variety of characters on SGA and then, by focusing so much on their favorites, lost so many potentially fascinating aspects of that universe.

Same here. Although I complain about the writing for SGA... a lot, I've always given the writers credit for creating interesting characters that I wanted to know more about and a premise that I wanted to see developed more. After all, we're talking about the legendary lost city of Atlantis. That alone should have sparked a wellspring of creative ideas.

So much potential, yet so little interest among the writers in exploring that potential. What a waste.

[WraithRichard]

What bothers me is they created such an interesting variety of characters on SGA and then, by focusing so much on their favorites, lost so many potentially fascinating aspects of that universe.

True. They probably decided to limit the possible events as well as cast. There are man things to follow up or bring up, or even just play with that are new.

[Saquist]

It's not like the Doctor and Seven in DS9.
While Seven was interesting for most...Keller isn't plot and story wise.

McKay is more entertaining than the Doctor on Voyager but they did over use his Deus Ex Powers a bit much.

No they didn't ruin Atlantis...
The writing itself ruined Atlantis. It was extremely mediocre for the last few years except for year 4 with the First Strike Series. But with Voyager and Atlantis the characters were SO interesting and Likeable that we tuned in anyway with at least some interest but you have to keep the story going, it can't stagnate.

They clearly didn't know what they were doing with Becket, Weir or Ford or where the whole Wraith thing was going either.

[WraithRichard]

It's not like the Doctor and Seven in DS9.
While Seven was interesting for most...Keller isn't plot and story wise.

McKay is more entertaining than the Doctor on Voyager but they did over use his Deus Ex Powers a bit much.

No they didn't ruin Atlantis...
The writing itself ruined Atlantis. It was extremely mediocre for the last few years except for year 4 with the First Strike Series. But with Voyager and Atlantis the characters were SO interesting and Likeable that we tuned in anyway with at least some interest but you have to keep the story going, it can't stagnate.

They clearly didn't know what they were doing with Becket, Weir or Ford or where the whole Wraith thing was going either.

I'd say it IS like seven or the doctor then. Both of them got a lot of screentime and were heavily developed to the point that episodes where they are central characters (even the only characters for most of the episode) are derided for it mistakenly.

The problem wasn't their presence, but the lack of everyone else; no one else was developed because the writers had no idea what to do with any of them.

[bluealien]

I can't even say that McKay was all that developed either.. his character changed and regressed to suit the plot... I found McKay interesting in season one.. but he went downhill from there. It didnt help that they kept recyling the same old plots to put McKay in the limelight.

By season 5 I was tired of McKay so even with all the screentime he got I can't say I found him an interesting character.

[hedwig]

Having rewatched SGA numerous times, I've come to the conclusion that the writers let Rodney do all the whining and complaning and insulting and various other behaviors that the other characters were not allowed to. As a civilian, he didn't have to be respectful to anyone .... and was blatantly not respectful to anyone. His behavior was over the top, and it is astounding to me that Elizabeth or Sheppard didn't put him in his place. Instead, they let him carry on repeatedly and be as insulting as he wanted to be, no matter who he was ranting at.

Just because his expertise was needed on the expedition was no reason for a leader to allow him or anyone else to behave like that.

So in my mind he got to do say all the things others may have wanted to, and behave like a 5 year old having a temper tantrum any time he wanted to, without being called on the carpet for it.

Sheppard called out Teyla for hitting Bates in Season 1 (which, even if he deserved it, shouldn't have happened). But he rarely did that to Rodney for his stinky behavior to others on the expedition.

If the team leaders on the expedition got to rate their co-workers on performance and behavior, there should have been something similar for the leaders, and Elizabeth would have had a list so long it would have circled Atlantis several times from people with complaints about McKay, and she should have stepped in and stopped him.

[Skie]

Same here. Although I complain about the writing for SGA... a lot, I've always given the writers credit for creating interesting characters that I wanted to know more about and a premise that I wanted to see developed more. After all, we're talking about the legendary lost city of Atlantis. That alone should have sparked a wellspring of creative ideas.

So much potential, yet so little interest among the writers in exploring that potential. What a waste.

Yes, that annoyed me the most too. Just thinking about how the solved the puzzle of Teyla being able to sense the Wraith. Lots of series start with something like that, that one character can feel something or has otherwise an "esoteric" ability. But here the explanation was a totally scientific one (as scientific as it can be with telepathy), but yeah, I mean no other fancy explanation. I really loved the fact that she had some wraith DNA.
Another sad thing was that in the beginning they put a lot of work into the Athosians and also in Halling. I liked in HIDE AND SEEK, while the story was nothing special they incorporated Jinto and Halling in it. I would have liked to see more of Jinto and the other Athosians and their culture.