Five Interviews Murphy Brown Never Conducted by elementalv (crossing challenge)

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Title: Five Interviews Murphy Brown Never Conducted
Author: elementalv
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Post-canon, so somewhat spoilerish for Enemy At The Gate.
Notes: Roughly 650 words. Also, I really miss Murphy Brown. A lot.

Carson Beckett

MURPHY BROWN: I understand you were responsible for developing the gene therapy that allows up to 47 percent of those who receive it to use Ancient technology.

CARSON BECKETT: Aye, that I was.

BROWN: I believe you also developed a procedure for turning Wraith into human beings.

BECKETT: Yes, that’s right.

BROWN: So based on the available records, is it safe to say that you’re the type of doctor who’s willing to move forward at any cost?

BECKETT: I’m sorry, but what?

BROWN: Come on, Dr. Beckett. It’s not as if you received FDA approval for your gene therapy. And as for the Wraith, you apparently experimented on them freely. In fact, there are some who are calling you the Dr. Mengele of Pegasus.

BECKETT: What? Who would say such a terrible thing?

BROWN: Why don’t we set that question aside for the moment. Instead, perhaps you could tell our viewing audience what you really hoped to accomplish on Atlantis.



Rodney McKay

MURPHY BROWN: Good evening. Tonight, my special guest is Rodney McKay, PhD, PhD, head of science on Atlantis. Doctor McKay, I’d like to begin by expressing my thanks to you for the research you’ve done on Earth’s behalf over the years. It must have been very difficult for you to work with no hope or expectation of recognition outside a very select group of scientists and military personnel.

RODNEY MCKAY: Actually, Murphy — it’s all right if I call you Murphy, isn’t it?

BROWN: Yes, of —

MCKAY: Actually, Murphy, it wasn’t terribly difficult. After all, the work I was doing was, as you pointed out, on Earth’s behalf and, dare I say, to ensure Earth’s continued existence. In fact, this might be a good time to point out just how many times I’ve brought our people — our very planet — back from the brink of utter destruction.

BROWN: Or perhaps it would be a good time to ask about that solar system you destroyed.

MCKAY: Excuse me — what? Where did you hear about — that’s still classified!

BROWN: One solar system. Gone in the blink of an eye, thanks to your hubris.

MCKAY: It was only five-sixths of a solar system! Get your facts straight!



Teyla Emmagen

MURPHY BROWN: Ms. Emmagen, I’ve been following your efforts to return Atlantis to the Pegasus galaxy, and I have to say I’m very impressed.

TEYLA EMMAGEN: Thank you.

BROWN: There are many who say Atlantis belongs here on Earth. What is your response to that?

EMMAGEN: The Ancestors —

BROWN: The Ancients —

EMMAGEN: The Ancestors —

BROWN: Ancients —

EMMAGEN: Ms. Brown, is this your history, or is it mine?



John Sheppard

MURPHY BROWN: Colonel Sheppard, I think I speak on behalf of the entire world when I say thank you for your willingness to sacrifice yourself in the defense of our planet.

JOHN SHEPPARD: Well ... you’re welcome.

BROWN: Was it difficult to make the decision to deliver the nuclear warhead yourself?

SHEPPARD: No. Not really. It was pretty much a no-brainer, when you get right down to it.

BROWN: It must have been a no-brainer. After all, it’s pretty clear that not a lot of thought went into that plan.

SHEPPARD: Excuse me?

BROWN: Think about it — detonating a nuclear weapon in high orbit wasn’t exactly the greatest thing for Earth’s ecosphere, now was it?

SHEPPARD: Maybe not, but I think it’s a hell of a lot safer for the population than, say, getting culled.

BROWN: And isn’t that just a typical military response to any threat? Nuke ‘em, and we’ll worry about the fallout later.



Ronon Dex

MURPHY BROWN: Mr. Dex, I understand you were a runner for seven years. Is that correct?

RONON DEX: Yes.

BROWN: Perhaps you could tell me more about that.

DEX: Okay.

BROWN: Well?

DEX: Well what?

BROWN: What was it like?

DEX: Hard.

BROWN: And?

DEX: Hard pretty much covers it.

Comments

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

Ahahahahaha!

Oh, these are awesome. The end of the Teyla one made me very happy. And the end of the John one, oh, man. And the end of the Ronon one! There's fabulous punch in these. &hearts!

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

God, I loved Murphy Brown, but her biases were so clear at times. I have to admit to a secret yearning to see Rodney and Murphy end up in bed together. Or not. I suspect their respective egos would shove them out of bed before anything interesting could happen.

Enough rambling. Glad you enjoyed these!

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

This crossover made my day. Murphy interviewing the Pegasus Expedition after the Stargate Program is made public? Perfectly in character and I can see Miles Silverberg and Richard Woolsey reacting 'off-camera'.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Except -- didn't MIles leave before the end? What was Lily Tomlin's character? Because I think she'd have a lot of fun playing with Woolsey (kind of the way cats like to play with mice).

[rhianona]

awesome. I love the interviews with Ronon and Teyla. it's awesome.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Yay! And thanks. I had fun with them.

[scififreak.livejournal.com]

Haha, these are questions I'd love to see asked by a no-nonsense reporter like Murphy. I love how she lures them into a false sense of security with the flattery and praise at the beginning and then rips the rug from under them at the end.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

And the thing about Murphy is that she can be counted on to take a position and hold it, regardless of how insane it might be.

[misses Murphy like whoa]

[anitac588.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha!!!!! I love it. Spot on Murphy Brown.
PS She might have said to John -- off camera --You remind me of a guy I used to date, Scott. Tought me about planes and lift off. Say are you free tonight?
John would have said, then, Damn, I never see that coming.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And I did consider that angle but decided to keep the focus on Sheppard and company.

[mirabile-dictu.livejournal.com]

HAHA! These are great! And yes, I also miss Murphy quite a bit.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Yay! And thanks.

Murphy was truly awesome, especially the way the show always brought topical subjects into play. Canon RPF for the win!

[allyndra.livejournal.com]

Really good Murphy voice. I could hear her through each of these.

This is a fun idea, and you did a great job with it.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I had fun with this, especially remembering the way Murphy approached her subjects.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

*GLEEEEEEEEE!!!*

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

You know, I almost sent this to you late last night for a beta request, but then I thought, "No, I'll sleep on it." And then I woke up this morning and thought, "No, it's stupid, I won't bother." And then I reread it and thought, "Hey. Not so sucky as I thought it was."

The moral of this story is that if I'd sent it to you the way I should have, I could have saved myself -- nah. Never mind. I still would have gone through the "this sucks" phase.

[sigh]

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

This is a hoot and a giggle.

Or four giggles and a hoot, maybe.

Julia, not thinking well at all today

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Do you need caffeine? Or a massage?

Tara, wants to help with the thinking issue because she's helpful that way.

[vonnix.livejournal.com]

*rotfl*

That's hilarious. Pure comedic brilliance.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks.

[larianelensar.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, hit them all right on target...great!

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

I love, *love* hearing that I nailed character voices.

[sasha-feather.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Teyla's is my favorite.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

I personally think Teyla doesn't need her sticks to wipe the floor with anyone. She can do it with a lift of her eyebrow. (Because she's just that awesome.)

[skieswideopen]

Hilarious! I love all of the interviews, but especially Ronon's--he would be a challenge for any journalist.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

I don't imagine Ronon understands about the role journalists play in society. I also think the only way he would have been lured to the interview would be with catering.

[tikiaceae.livejournal.com]

You go, Teyla!!! *g*

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Teyla is my personal hero.

[badwolf36.livejournal.com]

These were awesome. XD So how the entire team would react to those sorts of questions. Much love. Thanks for sharing!

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for letting me know.

[captain-tibbs.livejournal.com]

Loved these, even though I have no idea who Murphy Brown is. I especially liked Ronon's interview :)

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

I'm so sad to hear you don't know about Murphy Brown, but I'm glad you enjoyed the story regardless. Thanks for letting me know.

[silver_galaxy]

OMG a crossover with Murphy Brown!! This was brilliant. I loved the way everyone responded to Murphy's questioning, very in character :)

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

The hardest part was keeping all action out of it and letting the dialogue carry the story and the characters. Fun, but, you know, hard. :-)

[melagan.livejournal.com]

Excellent Murphy Brown! Awesome!

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you!

[rellan.livejournal.com]

LOL at Ronan's interview. Although, she did get him to say five words at once. Go Murphy.

I miss her too. :(

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

If anyone could get Ronon to speak that much at once, Murphy could.

She would have been awesome during the Bush Jr. years, don't you think?

[ariadne83]

Hahaha Ronon could stymie the most determined interviewer. I loved the Teyla one, too, because hell yeah it's her history. I felt sorry for John being sucker-punched, but Rodney really held his own. "It was only five-sixths of a solar system! Get your facts straight!" Ahahaha I hear that in a vivid, snippy tone and I picture with the folded-arms, chin-lifted-in-defiance pose *loves*

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

John's a big boy. Admittedly, Murphy in full stride is a bit more intimidating than a Wraith queen, but John can deal.

[cissasghost.livejournal.com]

These were all pretty great, but I think I like the Ronon one the best. I just sorta love Ronon.

(And no, Murphy Brown is NOT that old. And besides, Murphy Brown is iconic.)

(And saying something is iconic is in no way the same thing as saying, "What's wrong with kids these days that they don't know about . . . . ")

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Murphy *is* iconic. I wish the show were in syndication in this area.

[jellopony.livejournal.com]

It's been close to 10 year if not more....so...if someone is in there early 20s...do you really think Murphy appealed to the 10-13 year olds?

It would be like asking them if they knew who ran the desk at the Blue Moon Detective agency.

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

The main problem, I think, is that the show isn't in syndication. But still, ten years isn't a long time, and even if the pre-teen set wasn't interested, their parents likely were. Then again, that presupposes an American audience.

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

EMMAGEN: Ms. Brown, is this your history, or is it mine?

♥ Teyla like whoa.

Ahahaha, Ronon!

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Teyla didn't get nearly the love she should have on the show. *sigh*

[livrelibre.livejournal.com]

nice!

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[saphanibaal.livejournal.com]

I second the love for all of these, particularly Teyla's, and I suspect it would be deeper if Ms. Brown meant more to me than "some reporter interviewing them."

[elementalv.livejournal.com]

That's the challenge of crossovers -- trying to convey enough of the second 'verse so that even those not familiar with it will enjoy the story. That said, I think Teyla's interview does a good job of conveying Murphy's prejudices: she was always willing to showcase women's achievements, but her arrogance always shone through. She and Rodney McKay are spiritual twins, I think.