38 Minutes Week

[em_kellesvig]

Zelenka!

Radek Zelenka was intended to be a one-off character for this episode only. The producers brought him back for "The Storm" to help McKay carry the incredible load of exposition the script required. Somehow, he managed to stay for the entire run of the series. Cool.

(And his little crush on Elizabeth Weir was inspired acting by David Nykl.)


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"38 Minutes" 1x04

Comments

[tinah.livejournal.com]

Oh, I never knew that! I'm glad he stayed, he's a great character!

In some ways he's very much like Rodney, a physics/math/computer geek, one of the very few people who can give Rodney a run for his money intellectually, but as opposed to Rodney he seems like a very gentle, courteous person ( unless Rodney pushes him too far! ;-). I loved their scene in "Tao of Rodney"!

The inclusion of Czech phrases every now and then is amusing ( even though I don't understand a word of it ) and helps add the impression of this being a truly international expedition. Everybody else speaks perfect English ( American, Canadian, British, Scottish ) but it makes sense that some of these people wouldn't speak English as their native tongue.

[em_kellesvig]

Gateworld.com has the Czech to English translations for each script that includes Zelenka, as well as any other (Earth) languages. Some of what David Nykl threw in there is just hysterical -- as well as incredibly rude. *grin*

I really enjoyed the balance between the two characters. I'm so glad they found a place for Radek. Fandom certainly did.

[that-which.livejournal.com]

I kind of love that he's czech, because given what the political situation in his country was while he was growing up and in school, seriously, how is Rodney McKay scary?

[tygtig.livejournal.com]

Oh, Radek. I love him. One of those characters that was sorely underused in the series - but on the other hand turned out to be very versatile in fandom!

Except Radek in Vegas, I always felt sorry for him.

[em_kellesvig]

I thought they used him well; he was always there when they needed him but didn't get shoved in when he wasn't. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen more of him but that's the difference between a reoccurring character and a regular. :)

[melagan.livejournal.com]

I have so much love for Radek!

David Nykl did a wonderful job in this role and I loved every minute of him on screen.

[em_kellesvig]

I loved him even when he wasn't onscreen. All the little McKay asides about "Well, actually it was Zelenka's idea..." were delightful. McKay hated sharing credit but he always did.

[popkin16]

I love Radek ♥ He was able to handle Rodney and function as his second-in-command and he was a fantastic character all around. David Nykl is amazing :)

[em_kellesvig]

Radek handled McKay so well. Hell, anyone who'd been on Atlantis very long learned to handle McKay but Radek just rolled with his bs. Terrific character all around. :)

[popkin16]

I bet all of Rodney's "minions" created methods for dealing with Rodney. Like if he's grumpy, they first have Miko bring him coffee, and if that doesn't work then they get him some food to bring his blood sugar up. And if nothing works, they go to Radek, who always seems to know just what to do to get Rodney to stop being a monster~

[rissabby.livejournal.com]

Wow. I had no idea that Radek was intended to be a one-off character. Thank goodness they realized how appealing he was, and kept him.

Did you know that Mallozzi is blogging about Atlantis, episode by episode? He just started a couple days ago.
http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/june-6-2012-days-of-stargate-past-atlantis/

[em_kellesvig]

Thank you for the link! I didn't know about the recap. :)

IIRC, the decision to bring Radek back was discussed on the DVD commentary for one of episodes, maybe even this one. I'd have to go back and check. (No pun intended.)

[wanted-a-pony.livejournal.com]

Whew, I'm so glad TPTB had a flash of good sense & decided to make Radek Zelenka a permanent character! Not only was he great in SGA, he's been fantastic in fanfic! (What would we do without SGA's convivial bootlegger & essential LBD?? ;-)

[em_kellesvig]

I don't know what we'd do without Zelenka! In canon, he's the perfect foil for McKay; in fanfic, he's just perfect!