Success Rate

[Ripple in Space]

The running gag among the Characters, TPTB, Actors, and Fans is is McKay really better than Carter? Has anyone ever compared the actual success rates of the characters?

Scientific Endeavors Success Rate:
Carter (SG-1 S1-S3): ???
Carter (SG-1 S1-S10): ???
McKay (SG-1 - SG-A S3): ???

Top 3 Biggest Mistakes:
Carter (SG-1 S1-S3): ???
Carter (SG-1 S1-S10): Red Sky (she overruled the dialing program when it wasn't connecting for good reason and almost wiped out the people on the planet). ?, ?.
McKay (SG-1 - SG-A S3):

• Accidentally blew up a Solar System.
• Connecting to Rod's parallel universe (Depleting the ZPM).
• ?

Top 3 Best Successes:
Carter (SG-1 S1-S3): Designing the SGC's Dialing Computer. ?, ?
Carter (SG-1 S1-S10):

• Purposely blew up a sun, crippling Apophis's fleet.
• Designing the SGC's Dialing Computer.
• ?

McKay (SG-1 - SG-A S3): Repairing the Orion (saving half a planet's population & destroying a Wraith Hive), ?, ?

Nothing hypothetical, what are the "facts"?

NOTE: Constantly Updating

[Night Spring]

Hmmm. I think you need to include McKay's SG-1 appearances in 48 Hours and Redemptions. In both episodes, McKay's ideas were either proved wrong or didn't work out. Carter was correct in 48 Hours, but it was Jack and Daniel who actually procured the means to get Teal'c out of the gate. In Redemption, it was Jonas who came up with the idea that saved Earth.

For McKay's Top 3 Success, I'd definitely include using lightning to power the shields in The Sorm/The Eye, though half of that credit should probably go to Zelenka. Figuring out that the virus in Hot Zone was nanites is also a strong candidate. Also, figuring out how to send a message to SGC in Letters From Pegasus.

For biggest mistake,

Spoiler:

connecting to Rod's parallel universe

in McKay and Mrs. Miller. I think that would count as McKay's second biggest mistake to date. And I don't know whether turning on that device in Tao of Rodney should count or not, I mean, that was a very stupid thing to do, but there was no scientific deliberation involved.

[ReganX]

For Sam
- Stopping Earth getting sucked through a black hole.
- Building a particle accelorator.
- Saving the Asgard from the Replicators (and, indirectly, saving every planet, including Earth, covered by the Protected Planets Treaty)
- Destroying Apophis' fleet by blowing up a sun.
- Saving Earth from destruction by asteroid by flying said asteroid through the planet.
- Getting the Prometheus out of the nebula.
- Saving the galaxy from the Replicators (partial credit to Jacob/Selmak and Ba'al)
- Saving alternate-Earth from the Ori.

[Commander Ivanova]

Sam made a big mistake in Gemini in trusting Replicarter enough to work with her. That all went pear-shaped resulting in Daniel's death (one of them anyway) and Replicarter gaining all of his knowledge etc.

[ReganX]

Sam made a big mistake in Gemini in trusting Replicarter enough to work with her. That all went pear-shaped resulting in Daniel's death (one of them anyway) and Replicarter gaining all of his knowledge etc.

Sam wasn't the one who would have made the final decision over whether or not to work with Replicarter. Jack and probably his superiors would have had to approve it.

[Night Spring]

Sam wasn't the one who would have made the final decision over whether or not to work with Replicarter. Jack and probably his superiors would have had to approve it.

But she did recommend that they work with RepliCarter, and her recommendation was what influenced Jack (and any other higher-ups he may have consulted) to go with that plan.

[ParadoxRealities]

But she did recommend that they work with RepliCarter, and her recommendation was what influenced Jack (and any other higher-ups he may have consulted) to go with that plan.

agreed, but is it scientific?

[ReganX]

But she did recommend that they work with RepliCarter, and her recommendation was what influenced Jack (and any other higher-ups he may have consulted) to go with that plan.

She might also have recommended that the SG team uniforms be replaced with glittery pink tutus. Doesn't mean that they were going to agree to it.

Sam recommending a course of action would not have obliged Jack or anybody else to accept her recommendation; it would be their decision and their responsibility.

To be honest, I think that the biggest mistakes in "Gemini" was how working with Replicarter was handled, another officer should have been in charge; there was no way that Sam could have been objective about Replicarter and Replicarter knew Sam's mind so well that she was able to manipulate her.

[Kales]

Carter mistake: Red Sky, she overruled the dialling program when it wasn't connecting for good reason and almost wiped out the people on the planet. She acknowledges it in... the ep with Felger, Avenger 2.0.

And... McKay flags up that the interface she built ignores a lot of things that were built into the DHDs for good reason.

However (and to stop this being a Carter-bash post): She did built that interface in the first place.

kay x

[ReganX]

Carter mistake: Red Sky, she overruled the dialling program when it wasn't connecting for good reason and almost wiped out the people on the planet. She acknowledges it in... the ep with Felger, Avenger 2.0.

And... McKay flags up that the interface she built ignores a lot of things that were built into the DHDs for good reason.

However (and to stop this being a Carter-bash post): She did built that interface in the first place.

kay x

I think that should count as one of her successes; she was able to create an interface with Ancient technology, an achievement the Tok'ra considered impressive.

Without a dialling device, they would never have been able to use the stargate in the first place.

[ParadoxRealities]

Carter mistake: Red Sky, she overruled the dialling program when it wasn't connecting for good reason and almost wiped out the people on the planet. She acknowledges it in... the ep with Felger, Avenger 2.0.

agreed; she wasn't the only one behind that mistake, but it does lie partially (in large part) at her feet.

and Regan, that's what she's sayin'

[Night Spring]

agreed, but is it scientific?

Hm. Okay, not a scientific mistake, I agree!

[Night Spring]

ooh, I thought of a Carter mistake -- in Solitude, when she and Jack got jumped to the Antartica gate, she kept attempting to dial earth, without ever trying another address. Every time I see that, I keep shouting at my TV screen, "Try another address!"

[jenks]

I think Carters 'perfection' is her greatest flaw as a character, it's what makes her so boring imo.

Spoiler:

McKay is such a good character I just can't help but take his side, I just hope Carter's character doesn't act like she did in Pegasus Project, like she was in charge and knew the score and McKay was just the scientific mule...

[ReganX]

Oh, definitely. But it didn't really have consequences. Maybe a little frostbite & hypothermia, lol.

In Red Sky, if it wasn't for the Asgard, she would've exterminated an entire planet. She would've knocked Hitler down to the #2 worst genocidal human being born in the 20th Century .

Hitler wasn't born in the 20th century.