Radek Zelenka
| Radek Zelenka | |
|---|---|
| Stargate Atlantis character | |
| First appearance | "Thirty-Eight Minutes" |
| Last appearance | "Enemy at the Gate" |
| Portrayed by | David Nykl |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Nationality | Czech |
Dr. Radek Zelenka is a fictional character of a scientist in the television series Stargate Atlantis, portrayed by David Nykl. He is a member of the original expedition from Earth to the Ancient city of Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy, which he joined after turning down a job at Masaryk University in his home country Czech Republic. His expertise on Ancient technology is only surpassed by Dr. Rodney McKay, with whom he shares a friendly rivalry. Zelenka's planned one-time appearance in the season 1 episode "Thirty-Eight Minutes" was followed by a recurring role for expository scenes with McKay and the leader of the expedition. Zelenka has since appeared in approximately half of each season's episodes and also appeared in the crossover episode "The Pegasus Project" of Stargate SG-1. The series finale of Atlantis, "Enemy at the Gate", marks his last appearance. For his portrayal of Radek Zelenka, David Nykl was nominated for a 2005 Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Supporting Performance by a Male".
Dr. Radek Zelenka is a careful and precise scientist of the original Atlantis Expedition who often supplements the scientific decisions of the "equally brainy" Dr. Rodney McKay, with whom he has a friendly rivalry. He frequently appears in the control room with McKay and the leader of the Atlantis expedition for expository scenes to lay out an episode's premise to the audience, and is "a key player in helping the Atlantis team stay one step ahead of the bad guys as well as solving some of its most perplexing scientific conundrums".GateWorld's David Read felt that while Zelenka may "play second fiddle to Rodney", he is also "the only one who even has the potential to put McKay down." Actor David Nykl explained that Zelenka has "reasonably well honed social skills" and "can put up with a lot of stress [...] and a lot of pressure, particularly from McKay and the situations that he can get into", but he may be too focused and determined to get one thing done.
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