He’s the smartest man in Atlantis.
He’s got the biggest ego in the Pegasus Galaxy!
And he doesn’t know the meaning of the word “impossible.”
He’s Dr. Rodney McKay, lead scientist of the Atlantis expedition and a member of John
Sheppard’s reconnaissance team.
Actor David Hewlett has played Rodney through five seasons of Stargate Atlantis, plus guest
appearances on SG-1 and SGU.
Here are our picks for Rodney McKay’s five best episodes.
First, a couple of Honorable Mentions:
The first is DUET.
The second season episode of Atlantis sees the headstrong military lieutenant, Laura
Cadman, trapped inside Rodney’s body.
The two vie for control of his body, as McKay goes on a date with Katie Brown … while
Cadman would really rather be spending her time with a certain handsome, Scottish doctor.
If this was a David Hewlett list instead of a Rodney McKay list, “Duet” would definitely
be on it.
It’s an acting tour de force for David, who gets to play two very different characters
in conflict with each other … all leading up to a sci-fi kiss for the ages.
Also getting an honorable mention is Season Two’s TRINITY.
It’s not exactly a McKay episode per se, but it does accomplish something really important
for his character.
The team discovers an abandoned Ancient experiment on what’s left of the planet Doranda.
McKay spins up Project Arcturus, which has the potential to generate unimaginable amounts
of energy -- many, many times the amount of a Zero Point Module.
But, like the Ancients, McKay can’t control the reaction … leading to a catastrophic
detonation that levels three-fifths of the Dorandan solar system.
“Trinity” shows Rodney’s flaws, and in stark contrast.
For all his brain power, it’s now made clear to him, and to Sheppard – and to the audience
– that he won’t always be able to pull out that techno-babble solution just in the
nick of time.
Rodney McKay is human.
Now, to our Top 5 episodes:
#5: GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
Out on a test flight for a repaired Puddle Jumper, McKay is in a dire predicament when
the ship’s systems fail and it crashes into the ocean.
The pilot sacrifices himself to give Rodney a chance, but things look pretty hopeless
as the tiny ship begins to sink deeper and deeper into the depths.
He also has a head injury, and begins to hallucinate someone to talk to … none other than his
old flame, Samantha Carter.
Amanda Tapping guest stars in an episode that, from the first frame, has “fan favorite”
written all over it.
It’s so much fun to see Sam and Rodney bouncing off each other again, especially when she
represents part of his own subconscious.
And it’s the best sort of McKay story, as he has to quickly move from one problem to
the next in order to survive – sealing the forward bulkhead, keeping himself warm, scrubbing
CO2 from the air, and eventually signaling his friends so that they can rescue him.
#4: THE LAST MAN
This is a “what if” episode, a road not traveled.
A solar flare unexpectedly sends John Sheppard to Atlantis an astonishing 48,000 years in the future.
The ocean is gone and the city is uninhabited, half-buried in the drifting sands of a vast desert.
The only thing to keep him company is a holographic projection of an aged McKay, programmed to
greet Sheppard – and give him a mission that could redeem a bad situation.
As he guides his friend step-by-step through a plan to get him back to his own time, Rodney
tells John the story of what happened to everyone after he left.
Teyla, having been abducted by Michael, was eventually found dead.
Much of the team subsequently died in a losing fight against Michael and his hostile takeover
of the Wraith.
Rodney himself had fallen in love with Dr. Keller, only to lose her to a terminal illness.
It’s a powerful story full of friendship and emotion, a terrific set of performances
wrapped up in a classic sci-fi premise.
Every moment of the episode feels loaded with consequences.
#3: MCKAY AND MRS. MILLER
Back in Season One the writers scripted McKay to mention a brother that he has back home.
Actor David Hewlett asked if he could change that to a sister, since he had a real-life
sister – Kate Hewlett – who is also an actor.
From there it was a hop, skip, and a jump to “McKay and Mrs. Miller,” which introduced
Kate as Rodney’s on-screen sister, Jeannie.
Herself a brilliant scientist, Jeannie has given up the academic life to raise
her young daughter, Madison.
But after she hits upon a genius mathematical proof, Samantha Carter and the Air Force recruit
Jeannie to join her brother’s research in a distant galaxy.
This is such a great episode.
And it’s not just because we get to see Rodney with a family member who knows him
so well (and teases him so well – “Meredith!”).
The science experiment turns out to be a way to draw energy from a parallel universe.
But what comes over the subspace bridge instead is “Rod” McKay – a handsome, confident,
equally brilliant version of Rodney.
So we also get to see David playing two versions of himself, made all the more fun by the fact
that Rod seems to represent everything Rodney wishes he could be.
#2: TAO OF RODNEY
There’s always a new, disused corner of the city of Atlantis to explore.
In this third season episode an Ancient laboratory is discovered, where the Lanteans apparently
used to research the concept of ascension.
Dr. McKay is caught up in the device when it unexpectedly activates, and walks away
with superpowers like a super-charged brain, mind-reading, and the ability to heal with a touch.
Of course, there’s a catch: his mortal flesh can’t handle the upgrade.
Rodney is going to die … unless he himself can find a way to “release his burden”
and ascend to the noncorporeal plane.
“Tao of Rodney” is the perfect McKay episode because of the ways that Damian Kindler’s
script plays with the tension between who McKay is and who he could be, and between
the caustic exterior he presents and the vulnerability and loyalty he hides beneath the surface.
#1: THE SHRINE
Series co-creator Brad Wright returns to the keyboard in Season Five, penning an episode
that is poignant and gut-wrenching, but still never ceases to be entertaining.
Rodney contracts an illness that is familiar to the Pegasus Galaxy.
Known to Teyla and Ronon as the “second childhood,” the disease appears somewhat
like rapid-onset Alzheimer’s.
In a matter of days Atlantis’s most brilliant mind is reduced to the point where he can
barely communicate, barely recognize the people around him.
Making the episode even better is the way that it’s shot, with video diaries documenting
Rodney’s slow descent over the course of a couple of weeks.
And Jeannie makes an emotional return, trying to reach her brother as he slowly disappears
inside his own mind.
“The Shrine” is Stargate Atlantis at its very best.
David Hewlett puts in a career performance.
It’s our favorite McKay episode, not so much because it’s all about Rodney but because
it shows how much Rodney means to his friends.
From the pier scene with Sheppard to an alien cave where the team plans to say a final goodbye,
the episode aches with the sorrow – and the hope – that only true friendship can create.
So what are your favorite McKay episodes?
Leave a comment below with your picks, and your suggestions for future videos!
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