It's another SciFi Friday night
Mar. 11th, 2006 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gategrrlFinale Night
Stargate SG-1
I think I have to stop reading or paying attention to spoilers. Was this episode, Camelot, fun? Sure - it had a lot of different threads going on, lots of spaceships, a giant Stargate hanging in space, a huge space battle, Daniel being Daniel, Mitchell being Mitchell, Sam volunteering for something, and Teal'c going to find extra allies at the last minute (something the SGC should have been doing for a long time before the Ori actually showed up, I might add).
What was good: As I said, the characters remaining mostly in character, with all having a part to play. A script that moved along without much scene wastage. And yes, for me, confirmation that Sam the Wonderhorse Carter is now giving Fan Service by showing that no, she's not the brilliant be-all and scientific end-all in the known universe. It's about fucking time, really, and of course it had to be a snarky Asgard off-handedly telling her that HE figured it out when she couldn't. Like I said, about fucking time.
The bad: Mitchell falling asleep while Daniel is doing his research. He's been toned down. But he's still not leadership material. He doesn't have the "gravitas" to carry it off. That's what Beau Bridges is there for, and he was absent from this episode. Too many friggin' space ships. This IS Stargate SG-1 after all. Sure, there was the giant cousin to the room-sized version in the Gateroom...but honestly. And I really despise the use of the Asgard technology, although I'm surprised that the writers held out for so long from using it like this - meaning, every single fucking episode practically. And in this one, more than several times. What is the point of having the Stargate at all? Why not just shut down the program for good?
Stargate Atlantis
Okay. So, Weir doesn't sleep well at night, and Mengele-Beckett is starting to really question the decisions he's made to develop this serum thing for the Wraith. Wonderful. The wonderful sliding ethical playground that is Atlantis. I wish I could agree with some panel people from Escapade that this sloppy writing opens up all sorts of wonderful character shading and is actually masterful character development in disguise...but...no.
All it does is paint these people into worse puppets than the their own enemy the Wraith AND the Genii. Sheppard is a ruthless expert killer when he's not being goofily charming; Rodney is an incompetent dork when he's not being an expert saving their collective asses; Weir has the luck of the Irish when she makes bad decision after bad decision; Teyla keeps going along with every single one of Weir's bad decisions, mostly because I think Weir is the White Chick in Power and for no other reason; Beckett's ethics are about as Teflon as Weir's and although he questions what he's DONE he can't look BACK and see why his experiments have these awful outcomes and why he should not have gone down those roads to begin with ... folks, there's a reason there are medical ethics boards and doctors talking about the ethics of science and medicine and transplants and so forth, so that ethically challenged doctors like Beckett have other people's judgements to fall back on when their own compass veers wildly.
Storywise, okay, decent "conclusion" from the set-up that was going on all season long (and yes, I've watched just about all the episodes this season). But...the payoff was a bit weak. The pay-off only worked by making our Heroes dumb as posts and trusting as the hick that fell off the proverbial turnip truck in the big wide city.
Battlestar Galactica
My head is still spinning from this one. I mean, WTF? The final half hour just completely turned the series on its head...and I'm not so sure it's a GOOD thing. I guess it is, because surely we needed more dreary planetary action, only this time not set on a jungly Caprica, but on a muddy ball called New Caprica. I suppose the show would have gone into total boring mode after yet another season of The Great Chase, with the characters in the same relationship paradigms they were set in before. But the changes were so sudden, which is why my mind, it spins. The switch to Baltar in charge was a OTT with his whoring in his presidential jet while the rest of humanity lives in the muddy dregs of the planet he "forced" them all to live in. After a year, you'd think that some permenant structures would have been built, but I suppose they're still living in tents as an indication of what a shitty leader he turned out to be.
I wonder if Gaeta now feels he should have kept his mouth shut -- but I'm also a firm believer in, most times, people get the leader they asked for. BSG does run into the King as Magical Ruler mode (or King knows best) trope, so it WAS nice to see the people who "know" better, who ARE the "real leaders" decide to let the process go the way it was "meant" to, even if it does turn out to be detrimental to the people as a whole. There is an aspect of Moses coming down the mountain and finding the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf in this episode. Although there is a component of "haha, told you so, you idiots" in this plot line. IF Roslyn and Adama hadn't gone through with being honest about the election, then none of them would be in this position. After all, even when Roslyn's wrong, she's Right. She's the ruthless leader who's unethical decisions MAKE SENSE through the writing of the plot and character-through-lines. Unlike the sloppy characterization of Weir on Atlantis. The difference between these two female leader characters is like night and day.
There's much to chew on about this episode and this series and where it's headed...but I can't finish this right now. (have family obligations at the moment)
Later!
Stargate SG-1
I think I have to stop reading or paying attention to spoilers. Was this episode, Camelot, fun? Sure - it had a lot of different threads going on, lots of spaceships, a giant Stargate hanging in space, a huge space battle, Daniel being Daniel, Mitchell being Mitchell, Sam volunteering for something, and Teal'c going to find extra allies at the last minute (something the SGC should have been doing for a long time before the Ori actually showed up, I might add).
What was good: As I said, the characters remaining mostly in character, with all having a part to play. A script that moved along without much scene wastage. And yes, for me, confirmation that Sam the Wonderhorse Carter is now giving Fan Service by showing that no, she's not the brilliant be-all and scientific end-all in the known universe. It's about fucking time, really, and of course it had to be a snarky Asgard off-handedly telling her that HE figured it out when she couldn't. Like I said, about fucking time.
The bad: Mitchell falling asleep while Daniel is doing his research. He's been toned down. But he's still not leadership material. He doesn't have the "gravitas" to carry it off. That's what Beau Bridges is there for, and he was absent from this episode. Too many friggin' space ships. This IS Stargate SG-1 after all. Sure, there was the giant cousin to the room-sized version in the Gateroom...but honestly. And I really despise the use of the Asgard technology, although I'm surprised that the writers held out for so long from using it like this - meaning, every single fucking episode practically. And in this one, more than several times. What is the point of having the Stargate at all? Why not just shut down the program for good?
Stargate Atlantis
Okay. So, Weir doesn't sleep well at night, and Mengele-Beckett is starting to really question the decisions he's made to develop this serum thing for the Wraith. Wonderful. The wonderful sliding ethical playground that is Atlantis. I wish I could agree with some panel people from Escapade that this sloppy writing opens up all sorts of wonderful character shading and is actually masterful character development in disguise...but...no.
All it does is paint these people into worse puppets than the their own enemy the Wraith AND the Genii. Sheppard is a ruthless expert killer when he's not being goofily charming; Rodney is an incompetent dork when he's not being an expert saving their collective asses; Weir has the luck of the Irish when she makes bad decision after bad decision; Teyla keeps going along with every single one of Weir's bad decisions, mostly because I think Weir is the White Chick in Power and for no other reason; Beckett's ethics are about as Teflon as Weir's and although he questions what he's DONE he can't look BACK and see why his experiments have these awful outcomes and why he should not have gone down those roads to begin with ... folks, there's a reason there are medical ethics boards and doctors talking about the ethics of science and medicine and transplants and so forth, so that ethically challenged doctors like Beckett have other people's judgements to fall back on when their own compass veers wildly.
Storywise, okay, decent "conclusion" from the set-up that was going on all season long (and yes, I've watched just about all the episodes this season). But...the payoff was a bit weak. The pay-off only worked by making our Heroes dumb as posts and trusting as the hick that fell off the proverbial turnip truck in the big wide city.
Battlestar Galactica
My head is still spinning from this one. I mean, WTF? The final half hour just completely turned the series on its head...and I'm not so sure it's a GOOD thing. I guess it is, because surely we needed more dreary planetary action, only this time not set on a jungly Caprica, but on a muddy ball called New Caprica. I suppose the show would have gone into total boring mode after yet another season of The Great Chase, with the characters in the same relationship paradigms they were set in before. But the changes were so sudden, which is why my mind, it spins. The switch to Baltar in charge was a OTT with his whoring in his presidential jet while the rest of humanity lives in the muddy dregs of the planet he "forced" them all to live in. After a year, you'd think that some permenant structures would have been built, but I suppose they're still living in tents as an indication of what a shitty leader he turned out to be.
I wonder if Gaeta now feels he should have kept his mouth shut -- but I'm also a firm believer in, most times, people get the leader they asked for. BSG does run into the King as Magical Ruler mode (or King knows best) trope, so it WAS nice to see the people who "know" better, who ARE the "real leaders" decide to let the process go the way it was "meant" to, even if it does turn out to be detrimental to the people as a whole. There is an aspect of Moses coming down the mountain and finding the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf in this episode. Although there is a component of "haha, told you so, you idiots" in this plot line. IF Roslyn and Adama hadn't gone through with being honest about the election, then none of them would be in this position. After all, even when Roslyn's wrong, she's Right. She's the ruthless leader who's unethical decisions MAKE SENSE through the writing of the plot and character-through-lines. Unlike the sloppy characterization of Weir on Atlantis. The difference between these two female leader characters is like night and day.
There's much to chew on about this episode and this series and where it's headed...but I can't finish this right now. (have family obligations at the moment)
Later!
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 09:30 pm (UTC)Gah. Seriously?
I am trying so hard with Atlantis but I can't help but feel that place if filled with a bunch of idiots. Not just idiots, mind you, but unethical, non-motivated, lemming-type idiots.
I am not usually this cadid and forceful in my opinion but I can't take it anymore.
I liked SG-1. Aside from stupid ships, I don't have too many complaints. I give a pass on ships in finales since there always seems to be ships in finales. But it would have been more eventful if they hadn't been overdoing shipdom all season long.
I don't watch BSG at the moment. (I did last year and I loved it.) The show is too heavy for me right now. I can depress myself. I don't need any help.
But I can say that I find the female characters much more believable there than say SGA. I am fine with SG-1 as I think Sam is great this year.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 11:53 pm (UTC)The writers HAVE been "taking her down a peg" this year. I'm wondering why, frankly, since they've been so enamored of her (Sam and AT) for so long. I don't know if I can chalk it up solely to RDA leaving the show, either and taking his ship with him. Perhaps it's because Vala is their new Mary Sue - she's young, sexy in an in-your-face way, ribald, and not constrained in any way by being in the military. Or who knows...maybe the writers finally bought a genuine clue that NO ONE likes a priggy priss who's *always* right and never gets taken down for mistakes, nor shows remorse for those mistakes.
I've been easing up on Sam this year: she hasn't had as many chances to makes those screw-ups Weir has had on Atlantis. And Tapping is finally injecting the *right* kind of humor into Sam - which is to say, contextual humor that works for the character in the situations she finds herself in (the poking in Arthur's Mantle).
no subject
Date: 2006-03-12 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-12 03:20 am (UTC)Even so, I enjoyed this episode for what it was and I loved that Daniel was back driving the story. I was hoping for a really good last episode to usher out the old show (for me) and I wasn't disappointed in that sense.
Atlantis? Well, hehe. *g* It was a good episode in the sense that it was entertaining enough to watch, but once again I do wonder what the heck they are possibly thinking with painting pretty much all of their main characters as ethically challenged idiots. I still liked the episode anyway for the moments because that's all I care about with Atlantis. I liked Rodney and Ronon paired up and I loved the briefing that John and Rodney gave together. *g*
Reactions
Date: 2006-03-12 03:38 am (UTC)Here are some thoughts sparked by your comments (excluding SGA, which I don't watch.)
Mitchell doesn't bother me (much) - and I found his snoozing when given the opportunity fairly in character -- if he can't contribute to the research, and doesn't want to distract Daniel -- what else is he going to do?
I am beginning to believe that original:Sam seems to be back - a fact for which I am incredibly grateful.
BSG:
I am completely bowled over by the risks this show takes -- I think the changes are good for exactly the reason you identified -- the "they lost; they ran; they got chased by the bad guys" storyline only takes you so far.
The colonies seem to have quite an imperial presidency -- I had gotten the impression that the Quorum of Twelve would be some sort of check on the President's powers. Apparently, the President has become an absolute Monarch without the ubiquitous press noticing.
The only regret I have about Season 3 is that it won't start until October.
Take care.
Re: Reactions
Date: 2006-03-12 07:18 am (UTC)My BSG opinion/review is a bit scattered, but the more I thought about that episode, the more stuff seemed to come into play...and I thought it was hilarious, really, how almost everyone except Admiral Adama and Roslyn ended up paired with someone else! Um..Noah's ark, anyone? (snarfles)
There weren't any indications of Roslyn's "Women Must Give Birth" dictum. Perhaps Baltar reversed it as soon as he got into office? I wonder if that's going to be a plot point later on, what with all of these couples, military and otherwise, being together.