But why not? Did they all have their own projects?
Apparently. :) Since Elizabeth implied the IOA was going to have to send someone else in if a replacement was needed. (I've never been that clear on how much the IOA cared about Atlantis, beyond making sure the US military didn't have too strong a hold.)
And why did Keller come to Atlantis to begin with?
Jennifer constantly pushes herself, so I think an answer is implied, but yeah, she's never specifically said why exactly she came.
His reasons for coming at all are given in "Rising" when it's clear he's got special skill with Ancient tech and ZPMs...
Rodney in Rising isn't really Rodney, though. At that point he's written as, and Hewlett is playing him as, a different character. There's the science stuff, yes, but it's not character stuff. His character gets established in the next episode, where we see why John would choose Rodney for the away team. It's when Rodney showed himself and established his place in the series.
"Hide & Seek" proves that he's got some courage under the cowardice, but it's not his only or most defining moment.
I'd argue that it was the episode that defined his character; especially as this is the first we really see the "real" Dr. Rodney McKay. There was nothing in Rising to suggest Rodney could handle going off world. Hide and Seek established that when push came to shove, Rodney could handle the life and death stress of an adventurer. It's only because of what Rodney did in Hide and Seek that he was on the puddle jumper in 38 Minutes.
Hmm... actually, chatting about this... I'm wondering if we ask different questions about the characters? How we define for ourselves who they are and how they work? (I'm kind of thinking as I type, so this might not make any sense, fair warning! *g*) The stuff about Rodney's expertise with the science stuff (ZPM, etc.) left me cold. I mean, it didn't tell me anything more about his character than his uniform and props did. For me, it was his reactions to the personal shield (cool way to play), and his handling of the final danger (willing to cowboy up) that told me what made Rodney tick.
So now we have Jennifer. She shows up with a doctor's bag, that fact gets tucked into my "character bag". What I'm looking at is her behavior during the medical crisis that follows, in which she reacted with professionalism and authority. So Elizabeth's faith (and that of her staff) was well placed as far as I'm concerned. Next up, Missing.
Even in "Missing," she had to be coddled by Teyla most of the way...
But that's my point. She started off having to be coddled, scared, etc. But she stepped up. She crossed the bridge, though it terrified her. And she refused to let Teyla compromise her ethics for Jennifer's sake. And she shot the bad guy.
Her picking up the gun at the end did show initiative (though it was to help Teyla and to save her own life, and not risking it as Rodney's situation was).
Well, I said Jennifer was like Rodney, not his clone. ;) But Jennifer did risk her life in saving the bad guy in the first place (that's where she told Teyla not to compromise her ethics for Jennifer's sake). Which is why he thought she'd be unwilling to shoot him. And why I see this as a character defining episode and a character defining scene. Jennifer is willing to risk herself to help others, but she's also willing to stand up to aggressors to protect others. She's compassionate but not weak.
And considering Teyla was already inviting her to a special Athosian feast, just the two of them, without her teammates, I'd say she was pretty accepting of Keller already.
Jennifer replaced Carson. Which means she replaced Carson's role as personal doctor to the Athosians. This was Teyla introducing the new doctor to her people. It wasn't Teyla inviting her new gal-pal to a night of picking up guys and painting toe nails. (Teyla wasn't actually planning to hang around with Jennifer considering her dressing up for Kanaan. Probably the reason Teyla didn't invite her teammates. *g*)
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2008-09-25 03:26 am (UTC)Apparently. :) Since Elizabeth implied the IOA was going to have to send someone else in if a replacement was needed. (I've never been that clear on how much the IOA cared about Atlantis, beyond making sure the US military didn't have too strong a hold.)
And why did Keller come to Atlantis to begin with?
Jennifer constantly pushes herself, so I think an answer is implied, but yeah, she's never specifically said why exactly she came.
His reasons for coming at all are given in "Rising" when it's clear he's got special skill with Ancient tech and ZPMs...
Rodney in Rising isn't really Rodney, though. At that point he's written as, and Hewlett is playing him as, a different character. There's the science stuff, yes, but it's not character stuff. His character gets established in the next episode, where we see why John would choose Rodney for the away team. It's when Rodney showed himself and established his place in the series.
"Hide & Seek" proves that he's got some courage under the cowardice, but it's not his only or most defining moment.
I'd argue that it was the episode that defined his character; especially as this is the first we really see the "real" Dr. Rodney McKay. There was nothing in Rising to suggest Rodney could handle going off world. Hide and Seek established that when push came to shove, Rodney could handle the life and death stress of an adventurer. It's only because of what Rodney did in Hide and Seek that he was on the puddle jumper in 38 Minutes.
Hmm... actually, chatting about this... I'm wondering if we ask different questions about the characters? How we define for ourselves who they are and how they work? (I'm kind of thinking as I type, so this might not make any sense, fair warning! *g*) The stuff about Rodney's expertise with the science stuff (ZPM, etc.) left me cold. I mean, it didn't tell me anything more about his character than his uniform and props did. For me, it was his reactions to the personal shield (cool way to play), and his handling of the final danger (willing to cowboy up) that told me what made Rodney tick.
So now we have Jennifer. She shows up with a doctor's bag, that fact gets tucked into my "character bag". What I'm looking at is her behavior during the medical crisis that follows, in which she reacted with professionalism and authority. So Elizabeth's faith (and that of her staff) was well placed as far as I'm concerned. Next up, Missing.
Even in "Missing," she had to be coddled by Teyla most of the way...
But that's my point. She started off having to be coddled, scared, etc. But she stepped up. She crossed the bridge, though it terrified her. And she refused to let Teyla compromise her ethics for Jennifer's sake. And she shot the bad guy.
Her picking up the gun at the end did show initiative (though it was to help Teyla and to save her own life, and not risking it as Rodney's situation was).
Well, I said Jennifer was like Rodney, not his clone. ;) But Jennifer did risk her life in saving the bad guy in the first place (that's where she told Teyla not to compromise her ethics for Jennifer's sake). Which is why he thought she'd be unwilling to shoot him. And why I see this as a character defining episode and a character defining scene. Jennifer is willing to risk herself to help others, but she's also willing to stand up to aggressors to protect others. She's compassionate but not weak.
And considering Teyla was already inviting her to a special Athosian feast, just the two of them, without her teammates, I'd say she was pretty accepting of Keller already.
Jennifer replaced Carson. Which means she replaced Carson's role as personal doctor to the Athosians. This was Teyla introducing the new doctor to her people. It wasn't Teyla inviting her new gal-pal to a night of picking up guys and painting toe nails. (Teyla wasn't actually planning to hang around with Jennifer considering her dressing up for Kanaan. Probably the reason Teyla didn't invite her teammates. *g*)