Our trip down SGA memory lane continues with…
Back in season one’s Letters from Pegasus, McKay makes mention of a sister. In truth, in the script, he makes mention of a brother but David requested the gender change since he had a sister who happened to be an actress and, should a future episode call for an appearance by Rodney’s fictional sister… Well, as it turned out, two seasons later, we were looking to cast Rodney’s sister Jeanie and David’s sister, Kate, ended up auditioning for the role. And nailing it.
Probably this episode’s most shocking revelation is the fact that Rodney’s real name is Meredith. Seriously. What sane parent would name their son Meredith? The name Rodney, which caused much consternation among the writers when we first floated the idea of transferring the McKay character over from SG-1 (“His first name is what? Rodney? Can we change it?”), suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.
Among the interesting tidbits that Rod reveals about his alternate universe is the fact that Jeanie has three kids -not just one – named Madison, Bradley, and Robbie. Coincidentally, Bradley Wright and Robbie Cooper were the show’s creators and show runners.
One of the more amusing elements of this episode is the introduction of the AU Rodney McKay, Rod, who ends up charming Jeanie and the team while, simultaneously, annoying the hell out of our Rodney. I’ve always loved AU episodes for their ability to offer us a glimpse of what might have been. Ripple Effect, The Road Not Taken, Vegas – all offered interesting variations on our characters, the result of different circumstances, different decisions. I suppose I enjoy these glimpses because they make me think of the different paths I could have taken over the course of my life and how those alternate decisions may have played out, how the repercussions of those choices would have shaped a different me.
I’m sure you’ve all played What If?, thought about those linchpin moments in your life when you made a decision that changed things for the better or worse. How different would my life be if: 1) I hadn’t sent out resumes to about a hundred production companies, back in the day, in the hopes of landing a job as a script reader, landing instead a shot at writing the animation script that ultimately launched my career?, 2) I’d never suggested to Paul that we should consider a writing partnership, 3) I turned down the opportunity with Stargate, choosing instead to maintain my comfy freelance lifestyle in Montreal rather than rolling the dice and moving to the other side of the country?, 4) I hadn’t made some truly regrettable relationship choices?, 5) I’d just rolled the dice, like I’d done with Vancouver, and simply moved to L.A. after Stargate ended?
Of course 5) is still a possibility.
So what about you? What were your top 5 What Might Have Been moments?





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