I think even if I hadn't seen the scene on GA it wouldn't have been quite as powerful. Both times, I "knew" it'd blow up, but on SGA it didn't seem to be as intense as it should have been. It wasn't McGillion's performance, maybe it was the editing that rubbed me the wrong way.

Or... maybe the writers were pushing too hard to make his exit an heroic one. On GA it didn't feel as forced because the guy who died was a bomb expert. Or maybe it was because of that ridiculous bomb tumor plot. Dunno.

Like I said before, it might have been better if the bomb had exploded during the surgery, killing everyone. That would have been cool because then Carson and his assistant would have given their life for a noble cause, but without succeeding. But that would have been too harsh, I guess.