the city (Although it should be said he was wearing an impenetrable personal force field at the time), or evacuate entire populations from planets about to be destroyed. In "The Defiant One", he is torn between staying with a dying man or going to help the outmatched Sheppard, with the other man observing McKay's personal growth for feeling like that and only ending when the other man shot himself so that McKay could help Sheppard without feeling guilty. He often provides comic relief in addition to his considerable technological expertise, and his ability to find solutions in situations of imminent death have been used against him several times to motivate him. His ability and habit of speaking quickly is used to great comedic effect many times in the series, particularly when explaining just how "screwed" they all are. His relationship with Dr. Keller is also used for comedic effect, as no one believes that they are dating, not even Colonel Sheppard. McKay's character frequently makes references only a Canadian of his age would get. On one occasion he laments he hates ropes, that they are the reason he only got a silver ParticipACTION Badge. On another he offers to give a bewildered Sheppard the "Coles Notes" version of an explanation. It is not clear where in Canada he was raised, but references to Fort McMurray and West Edmonton Mall suggest northern Alberta. McKay has a predilection for women with short blonde hair—particularly (or perhaps because of) Col. Samantha Carter. He named the people of Geldar after a blonde girl he once dated, and went so far as advising the women to wear their hair in a manner similar to Col. Carter's. In "Grace Under Pressure", a hallucination of Carter tells McKay the reason they could never have a relationship is because "you don't work with people, you don't trust them". By his own admission, he has always envied Carter's aptitude for creativity and for having a "sixth sense" when it comes to problem solving . He has called Carter "an artist", and although he considers himself smarter than Carter, he believes her to be wiser. McKay's biggest fear (as seen in "Childhood's End") is children. He also has a fear of being eaten by a whale after being read Moby Dick by his father in his childhood. He admitted one of his bad habits is "reacting in a certain way