Rodney McKay - The Weakest Link

[jenks]

Hmmm, he's the best written character, and the most important character in the show... sounds like the strongest link to me.

[fumblesmcstupid]

I feel really sad for all of these fans who just seem to naturally blame/bash/harp on McKay!

I bet if Rodney had been the one to Awake the Wraith, then it would be OPEN SEASON for insults and a whole lot more hate and constant rants and threads!

Yet the fact that Sheppard is the one to give the Wraith their wake up call, seems to go un-noticed!

Rodney has stated many times that he is petty, arrogant and bad with people!

he knows his faults and yet he still has friends!

These friends KNOW his faults and still like him!

[Jumper_One]

Hmmm, he's the best written character, and the most important character in the show... sounds like the strongest link to me.

what about Shep?

[starfox]

I'm beginning to wonder about all the people that continue to insist that Rodney is a poorly-written character. And I'm starting to wonder if people understand that one of his roles as a character on SGA is to provide comic-relief. There's nothing wrong with that. Every show has one and it doesn't necessarily mean that he can't be played as a serious character at other points in time.

His character is the butt of many jokes, true. His character provides the laughs, sometimes the idiocy, but his character has also provided some very poignant dramatic moments. That is not the definition of a poorly-written character.

If by poorly-written one means that the writers don't take into account his character's growth from one episode to the next, I think that a look at his character at the beginning of season 1 to the end of season 4 would say differently. Sure there have been some inconsistencies with portrayal in certain episodes (Quarantine comes to mind), but every character has suffered through that for the sake of certain plot elements. But overall, Rodney has certainly developed as a character. That's undeniable.

It's not that he's all-around poorly-written; he's a great character. It's that he's used as comic relief in instances where it's been established that he's grown past that, or used as comic relief in a purely slapstick sense when it's completely unneccessary. Like the scene where Ronon was teaching him to fight and he was wearing a martial arts uniform and completely covered in padding. I don't expect to see him without said outfit because I think he's awesome and a secret super-gangster, I expect to see him without said outfit because he's a grown man who should know how ridiculous it is. That's the kind of stunt I would expect from SG-1's Lee or Felger, not a main character. Having McKay copy Ronon's movements but much more sloppily and comically would have been just as funny and sidestepped the paranoia-overriding-common-sense moment.

I don't mind McKay being less than a superhero at times. I do, however, mind seeing a faux pas so bad that I have to turn the sound off on my television until the moment passes. It's little things, like when someone else has to cut off his "insulting comment, I didn't mean to be insulting I meant other insulting comment, well, not that but still insulting comment" rambles instead of him saying, "Wow and I need to stop talking now." It's not that I think he shouldn't still be funny and clueless, it's that no one is that clueless after four years of spending your time with adequately socialized individuals.

I think another problem is that Atlantis doesn't have a Felger or a Siler, although they seem to slowly be moving Zelenka in that direction. Rodney has to be the brilliant scientist/sometimes hero and the King of Awkward Social Situations, which makes his development sometimes seem like one step forward, two steps back. He'll care about people but he doesn't necessarily show that he respects them. Which is a very Rodney thing, but I think we still need a moment where he verbalizes that respect so that the audience can see it. It doesn't even have to be a heartfelt moment, just a simple "Yes, of course, I think you can do it, it's your thing. I wasn't aware that you needed to be told that, I thought you were somewhat more confident than a 13 year-old girl," would suffice.

[Amalthea]

I haven't read every post in detail, so I apologize if I step on someone's toes.

The issue the writers have had to contend with in transposing Rodney from SG1 to Atlantis is that on SG1 he was a foil for Carter. He was written to get her scientific blood boiling so there could be amusing, smart-people banter between the two of them. He was there to provide an alternate explanation to events to enable more suspense and humour, but in the end, he was there to be wrong about everything.

So, while he could have faded away into SG1 oblivion, when Atlantis came about, they had an opportunity to bring him back since at the end of the day, he was rather entertaining and David Hewlett is a good actor. Therein lies the conundrum. They couldn't just make him instantly the All American, now could they? We wouldn't have accepted that. It was weird enough for him to generally be right about things!

I think they have done very well with Rodney. They have kept him true to his original story, while at the same time giving him a few heroic moments. I personally have enjoyed his character growth. It makes him and the show different from SG1. Deep down, he cares about the team and respects them all, he just has a different way of showing it.

So that'll be a resounding NO from me... Rodney is not the weakest link.

[thekillman]

and i love his "amazed""or "OH NO" face. hilarious. hes good. i'd hate a second carter. mckay is a realistic representation of a smart guy

[Rac80]

and i love his "amazed""or "OH NO" face. hilarious. hes good. i'd hate a second carter. mckay is a realistic representation of a smart guy

McKay is a representation of a caricature of "the smart guy". I know many scientific professional people and not a single one of them acts as asinine as Mckay does. As my hubby says (oh yes btw HE also has a PhD) "guys like that can't hold a job!" McKay is everything that is perceived as bad about scientists....selfish, awkward, and egotistical! That is definitely NOT a realistic view!

[Linda06]

McKay is a representation of a caricature of "the smart guy". I know many scientific professional people and not a single one of them acts as asinine as Mckay does. As my hubby says (oh yes btw HE also has a PhD) "guys like that can't hold a job!" McKay is everything that is perceived as bad about scientists....selfish, awkward, and egotistical! That is definitely NOT a realistic view!

Don't forget his incessant whining....I can't imagine many scientists whine as much as he does even if they are in a dangerous situation

[ToasterOnFire]

McKay is a representation of a caricature of "the smart guy". I know many scientific professional people and not a single one of them acts as asinine as Mckay does. As my hubby says (oh yes btw HE also has a PhD) "guys like that can't hold a job!" McKay is everything that is perceived as bad about scientists....selfish, awkward, and egotistical! That is definitely NOT a realistic view!

Hmm...I've met plenty of scientists and I know of enough who would sacrifice and backstab others for the sake of their own research, who have awful personal/management skills, and who think their research is better than everyone else's. While McKay's attitude is obviously exaggerated for TV, I'd say that the fundamental attributes are indeed present in the scientific community.

Not that being selfish, awkward, and egotistical is limited to scientists, anyway.

[Rac80]

Hmm...I've met plenty of scientists and I know of enough who would sacrifice and backstab others for the sake of their own research, who have awful personal/management skills, and who think their research is better than everyone else's. While McKay's attitude is obviously exaggerated for TV, I'd say that the fundamental attributes are indeed present in the scientific community.

Not that being selfish, awkward, and egotistical is limited to scientists, anyway.

IMHO you are wrong! but that is the point- it's all our opinions! we all look at issues from our own angles! the scientists I know (one of whom I am married to ) are all well-adjusted ADULTS!

[Reiko]

Not that being selfish, awkward, and egotistical is limited to scientists, anyway.

» Television producers for example ...

» But ITA. I don't think there is anything wrong with Rodney as a character other than he has suffered from overusage without Weir and Beckett to balance him.

[Rac80]

» Television producers for example ...

» But ITA. I don't think there is anything wrong with Rodney as a character other than he has suffered from overusage without Weir and Beckett to balance him.

wow! I NEARLY agreed with you! who would have thought???? But yes....there was waaaaaaaaaaaay overusage of Rodney!

[stclare]

wow! I NEARLY agreed with you! who would have thought???? But yes....there was waaaaaaaaaaaay overusage of Rodney!

Thats great now there can be waaaaay to much overusage of Keller, and we can all hate her instead oops i think some people already do

i dont think screen time is the issue for me, its the quality of the screen time that counts. Quarrie was a waste of an ep for Rodney as far as im concerned he had screen time but it was terrible. id rather see him less but with better quality and cosistency. the same with Keller I dread her as a regular because im concerned she will be used as a love crutch or worse.

so i still think Mckay is NOT the weakest link.

[elliecat]

Thats great now there can be waaaaay to much overusage of Keller, and we can all hate her instead oops i think some people already do

i dont think screen time is the issue for me, its the quality of the screen time that counts. Quarrie was a waste of an ep for Rodney as far as im concerned he had screen time but it was terrible. id rather see him less but with better quality and cosistency. the same with Keller I dread her as a regular because im concerned she will be used as a love crutch or worse.

so i still think Mckay is NOT the weakest link.

I agree with this. And I don't think McKay is the weakest link at all.

[stclare]

I agree with this. And I don't think McKay is the weakest link at all.

Its weird because I also think he is one of the best written charcters and has enjoyed some of the best development. i just despair when they forget that and regress him to make him fit the story.