Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay, Ph.D, is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, two military science fiction television shows about a military team exploring two galaxies (Milkyway, and Pegasus) via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by Canadian actor David Hewlett, McKay was a main character in all five seasons of Stargate Atlantis (2004 2009). Earlier he held a recurring role in Stargate SG-1 for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2006 2007). In 2011 McKay was featured in an episode of Stargate Universe. Doctor Rodney McKay is a contractor for the United States Air Force and makes his first appearance in the Stargate SG-1 episode "48 Hours", the fourteenth episode of Stargate SG-1 Season 5, as a scientist who joins the fictional Stargate Program.