Oh, you! I haven't even commented on the sexual chemistry meta yet! Stop it.
Devil's Advocate:
Why is Keller the head of medicine on Atlantis, and not another older, more experienced doctor?
Because Joe M. thought she was wonderful in Instinct and wanted her back at the first opportunity, which was as a replacement for Carson. Would an older actress have worked better in that role? Absolutely. But TPTB are desperately trying to hang on to that 18-24 year male audience and hoped it would work.
Why is she sitting with the team in "Doppelganger" when we've never seen anyone else sit with them, not Elizabeth or Carson or Heightmeyer or Lorne?
Well okay, that made perfect sense to me. They needed a setup so she could reminisce about her worst nightmare and Sheppard wasn't there, so I didn't feel like she was intruding on the team. And at the end, when no one wants to go to sleep they all gather at the same table in the mess hall, including Carter. One big unhappy family mourning the loss of an important expedition member.
Why is Ronon interested in her after nine years of celibacy, out of all the other women on Atlantis and elsewhere in Pegasus?
Why not Keller? He sees her often, what with all the sparring accidents and she is a doctor, like his late wife, so that's something familiar to him. And he can't stay celibate forever. A part of character development is moving on.
Why does Rodney say "I love you" to her when we never heard him say it to Katie Brown or Sam or anyone else.
Because it was day 6 and he was losing it. And he always overstates his intentions and feelings. And screaming 'Where's JOHNNNN???!! I want John!!' when the supposed object of his desire is standing behind the camara taping him says more about that statement than anything else.
Seriously though, I agree with you on most points. My main peeve is that she's too young for the part. Keller would have been great as a secondary character, but to put her in the position as Head of Medicine, well, it's a bit of a stretch.
You have to take into account real life production problems though. Rachel Luttrell was pregnant, so they gave her extra time off (which I'm sure she appreciated), but it meant less screen time. I know from Joe M.'s blog that Jason Momoa was cut out of a number of scenes around the time his wife [ETA or girlfriend - not sure] was due, because they couldn't risk for him not being there during crucial takes. All that meant extra scenes for Keller and they probably thought they had established her character enough to give her even more screen time in season 5 and give the show a slightly "younger" look.
So I can live with her character. I just hate, hate, hate the stupid love-triangle. It doesn't work for me; Jennifer doesn't seem romantically interested in Rodney (more freaked out at being alone with him actually), Rodney falls in love with every woman who shows a mild interest and Jason Momoa already confessed in an interview he doesn't think that Keller is Ronon's type. There's no sexual tension, no romance, the people involved don't seem to want it. It fails on all levels.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2008-09-24 07:49 pm (UTC)Devil's Advocate:
Why is Keller the head of medicine on Atlantis, and not another older, more experienced doctor?
Because Joe M. thought she was wonderful in Instinct and wanted her back at the first opportunity, which was as a replacement for Carson. Would an older actress have worked better in that role? Absolutely. But TPTB are desperately trying to hang on to that 18-24 year male audience and hoped it would work.
Why is she sitting with the team in "Doppelganger" when we've never seen anyone else sit with them, not Elizabeth or Carson or Heightmeyer or Lorne?
Well okay, that made perfect sense to me. They needed a setup so she could reminisce about her worst nightmare and Sheppard wasn't there, so I didn't feel like she was intruding on the team. And at the end, when no one wants to go to sleep they all gather at the same table in the mess hall, including Carter. One big unhappy family mourning the loss of an important expedition member.
Why is Ronon interested in her after nine years of celibacy, out of all the other women on Atlantis and elsewhere in Pegasus?
Why not Keller? He sees her often, what with all the sparring accidents and she is a doctor, like his late wife, so that's something familiar to him. And he can't stay celibate forever. A part of character development is moving on.
Why does Rodney say "I love you" to her when we never heard him say it to Katie Brown or Sam or anyone else.
Because it was day 6 and he was losing it. And he always overstates his intentions and feelings. And screaming 'Where's JOHNNNN???!! I want John!!' when the supposed object of his desire is standing behind the camara taping him says more about that statement than anything else.
Seriously though, I agree with you on most points. My main peeve is that she's too young for the part. Keller would have been great as a secondary character, but to put her in the position as Head of Medicine, well, it's a bit of a stretch.
You have to take into account real life production problems though. Rachel Luttrell was pregnant, so they gave her extra time off (which I'm sure she appreciated), but it meant less screen time. I know from Joe M.'s blog that Jason Momoa was cut out of a number of scenes around the time his wife [ETA or girlfriend - not sure] was due, because they couldn't risk for him not being there during crucial takes. All that meant extra scenes for Keller and they probably thought they had established her character enough to give her even more screen time in season 5 and give the show a slightly "younger" look.
So I can live with her character. I just hate, hate, hate the stupid love-triangle. It doesn't work for me; Jennifer doesn't seem romantically interested in Rodney (more freaked out at being alone with him actually), Rodney falls in love with every woman who shows a mild interest and Jason Momoa already confessed in an interview he doesn't think that Keller is Ronon's type. There's no sexual tension, no romance, the people involved don't seem to want it. It fails on all levels.