(no subject)
Stargate and Atlantis used to be just something to get through before BSG came on, but I'm really, really trying to like them on their own merits. The problem? From what I've seen, the world portrayed on LJ - fics and meta - is better than the actual shows. Stop being so awesome, fandom! You've ruined me for mediocre sci-fi!
Or as I like to think of it, The Vala Show. Cause really. Claudia Black can pretty much do anything except be un-hot. (Pigtails! Love!) Everything the writers throw at her: trickster, backstabber, maternal, heroic, martyr, S&M wear, Ren Faire dress, you name it, she nails it. I even believed she loved Random Dude She Was Married To and given he was basically a cardboard cutout, that's quite the accomplishment. With any other actor, it would seem like character assassination to take this lying manipulative thief, miraculously knock her up, and make her all noble and part of the team, but what CB's selling, I'm buying. While I appreciate the A-plots, they're much less dynamic for me than What's Going On With Vala. I mean, does anyone actually think they're going to kill SG-1? Wait, what's the name of the show again?
(Off-topic, they are merciless to the redshirts on these shows! If you have a name but aren't in the opening credits, buh-bye. No, really. Sergeant Morrison "and [your] team", thanks for playing. Ackerman, see you. I bet no one wants to sit with SG-1 in the cafeteria because there's a better than average chance they'll get hit by stray mashed potato fire in the food fights.)
I was initially fascinated by the Ori. I mean, the idea of an enemy that draws strength from its believers throws into question the whole nature of faith, now to mention being a hard-ass dilemma to solve: How do you defeat zeal? Plus, shades of the Jasmine arc, which I loved. But now, they're just another technologically superior force that will be defeated by a MacGuffin at the eleventh hour, we know it, they know it, moving on. And that's much less interesting.
I may have been yelling "Make out!" at my television when Cam was in Vala's face at the end there. Ben Browder and Claudia Black need more scenes together, 'cause wow, hello, chemistry. In fact, I think they should have their own show, still set in space somewhere, still with guns and aliens and stuff, only instead of olive jumpsuits, they should wear black leather. Sounds like a winner to me!
Weir is coming off as petulant, unapologetic, and tiresome. If I sensed even a hint of inner turmoil or angst over her decisions, I might like her more in this storyline, but she's just all about defending herself from the Big Bad Bureaucrats and keeping her job. Which is not to say I didn't enjoy her interplay with Sheppard (Oh my god, jump on that! Or sex up Ronon. Either one, for reals. I'm starting a campaign: Get Weir Laid.) or even disagree with her attitude, but it makes for an unconflicted - and therefore boring - and unlikable character. I'm not sure if it's the writing or the portrayal, but she's reading wholly unsympathetic to me.
Because really, it was a phenomenally bad decision to a) think the retrovirus would solve all their problems, b) test the retrovirus the way they did, and c) make a deal with the Wraith for the retrovirus. Not to mention creating their own Lord of the Flies/Alcatraz situation on that planet. I realize that many of their decisions are reactive, but c'mon! Did they not think of what would happen? Did they not think that the humans they created would be any less human? I mean, bring on the morally ambiguous motivations! Just let there be consequences for them. And by making Michael "The Bad Guy" and removing him from the equation in the latest episode, you sidestep the whole issue.
Michael is, to me, the most fascinating character on the show, as he's uniquely placed to straddle the line between human and Wraith. As he's the living proof of their screw-ups, he's also the one with the most potential for invoking conflict and change among the ATLs. (Plus, um...I find him kinda sexy.) He should be there, in their faces, all the time, for them to deal with. I see Teyla and Beckett as the only ones willing to deal with Michael as an individual and accept that their decisions have far-reaching implications, while the others remain stagnant and clueless. And while they may be the protagonists, it certainly doesn't mean they're the heroes.
Or as I like to think of it, The Vala Show. Cause really. Claudia Black can pretty much do anything except be un-hot. (Pigtails! Love!) Everything the writers throw at her: trickster, backstabber, maternal, heroic, martyr, S&M wear, Ren Faire dress, you name it, she nails it. I even believed she loved Random Dude She Was Married To and given he was basically a cardboard cutout, that's quite the accomplishment. With any other actor, it would seem like character assassination to take this lying manipulative thief, miraculously knock her up, and make her all noble and part of the team, but what CB's selling, I'm buying. While I appreciate the A-plots, they're much less dynamic for me than What's Going On With Vala. I mean, does anyone actually think they're going to kill SG-1? Wait, what's the name of the show again?
(Off-topic, they are merciless to the redshirts on these shows! If you have a name but aren't in the opening credits, buh-bye. No, really. Sergeant Morrison "and [your] team", thanks for playing. Ackerman, see you. I bet no one wants to sit with SG-1 in the cafeteria because there's a better than average chance they'll get hit by stray mashed potato fire in the food fights.)
I was initially fascinated by the Ori. I mean, the idea of an enemy that draws strength from its believers throws into question the whole nature of faith, now to mention being a hard-ass dilemma to solve: How do you defeat zeal? Plus, shades of the Jasmine arc, which I loved. But now, they're just another technologically superior force that will be defeated by a MacGuffin at the eleventh hour, we know it, they know it, moving on. And that's much less interesting.
I may have been yelling "Make out!" at my television when Cam was in Vala's face at the end there. Ben Browder and Claudia Black need more scenes together, 'cause wow, hello, chemistry. In fact, I think they should have their own show, still set in space somewhere, still with guns and aliens and stuff, only instead of olive jumpsuits, they should wear black leather. Sounds like a winner to me!
Weir is coming off as petulant, unapologetic, and tiresome. If I sensed even a hint of inner turmoil or angst over her decisions, I might like her more in this storyline, but she's just all about defending herself from the Big Bad Bureaucrats and keeping her job. Which is not to say I didn't enjoy her interplay with Sheppard (Oh my god, jump on that! Or sex up Ronon. Either one, for reals. I'm starting a campaign: Get Weir Laid.) or even disagree with her attitude, but it makes for an unconflicted - and therefore boring - and unlikable character. I'm not sure if it's the writing or the portrayal, but she's reading wholly unsympathetic to me.
Because really, it was a phenomenally bad decision to a) think the retrovirus would solve all their problems, b) test the retrovirus the way they did, and c) make a deal with the Wraith for the retrovirus. Not to mention creating their own Lord of the Flies/Alcatraz situation on that planet. I realize that many of their decisions are reactive, but c'mon! Did they not think of what would happen? Did they not think that the humans they created would be any less human? I mean, bring on the morally ambiguous motivations! Just let there be consequences for them. And by making Michael "The Bad Guy" and removing him from the equation in the latest episode, you sidestep the whole issue.
Michael is, to me, the most fascinating character on the show, as he's uniquely placed to straddle the line between human and Wraith. As he's the living proof of their screw-ups, he's also the one with the most potential for invoking conflict and change among the ATLs. (Plus, um...I find him kinda sexy.) He should be there, in their faces, all the time, for them to deal with. I see Teyla and Beckett as the only ones willing to deal with Michael as an individual and accept that their decisions have far-reaching implications, while the others remain stagnant and clueless. And while they may be the protagonists, it certainly doesn't mean they're the heroes.