Am I the only one that has a issue with Vala?

[vartech]

I have watched the show from the beginning and enjoy it. I have to say I am sad to have seen Richard Dean Anderson leave. but I still watch. I know the show is fantasy but there are moments that are just out there. For instance take Vala, A thief, liar and user. She has stolen from SGC and used them, Yet she is a going to be a member? Hey what happen to the best of the best? Or wait is she be best thief, liar user so she belongs on SG-1. Lets face it in real military she would be in jail.

[HyperCaz]

I actually liked Vala in Prometheus Unbound. She was funny and fresh character. I was even pleased when she turned up in season 9. But then her presence started to bug me. I like her character a lot, but I couldn't handle it in so many episodes in a row. About this whole season 10 thing, I have mixed feelings. Vala is great, but a regular role is totally wrong for the character. Recurring, yes, every so often.

But there's only so much I can take.

[AGateFan]

You are not the only one that has an issue with Vala.

If vala is included as a member of SG-1 then all credibility of the show has been lost irredeemably. She is not the heroic archetype the other members were. She is an Anti hero, more fit as a member of the NID like Maybourn.

There is no way in heck that she should be a member of the team, based on earth, or in anyway associated with the SGC unless she is in jail for the assault and near murder of General Hammond and the crew of the Prometheus. But heck TPTB don’t care about credibility or redeamability anymore, if they did then vala never would have been able to take over the Prometheus anyway. Its all about fanboy "fun" now.

Vala IS a Mary-Sue. So good job professional writers of SG-1 you have sunken to the depths of the worst of fan fiction. Give yourselves a big ole pat on the back.

Is my upsettedness showing? (and yes I know thats not a real word, but pulling crp out of our azes is now the stargate way, so I want to play along too)

[jckfan55]

No, you're not the only one. I think the pro-Vala fans are just more vocal.

[Seshat]

No, you are certainly not the only one. Seems to be little we can do about our discontent, however. It's rather like having the candidate you vocally objected to and vehemently campaigned against win the election. We're stuck with her. I guess the only thing I can add is that the folks who like her will get lots of what they want. I've already had more than enough, thank you very much. But then I'm not an 18-25 year-old panting schoolboy, so I don't fit the demographic SciFi was aiming at anyway. I DO have a larger pocketbook, though, which counts when it comes to DVD sales and the lack thereof.

BTW, no offense to Claudia, whom I liked enormously as a dramatic actress.

[Skydiver]

you're not the only one. there are a lot of folks who either aren't fond of the character or aren't crazy about her becoming a regular.

time will tell if she's a mistake or an asset to the show

[binkpmmc]

I have watched the show from the beginning and enjoy it. I have to say I am sad to have seen Richard Dean Anderson leave. but I still watch. I know the show is fantasy but there are moments that are just out there. For instance take Vala, A thief, liar and user. She has stolen from SGC and used them, Yet she is a going to be a member? Hey what happen to the best of the best? Or wait is she be best thief, liar user so she belongs on SG-1. Lets face it in real military she would be in jail.

Add me to the list of those that thinks vala is a horrendously bad sci-fi cliche that cheapens and degardes a show that was once respected for it's depth, drama, good-writing, etc., now it's just cheap, sexually laden innuendo and fanboy hi-jinks of the worst kind. She is a caricature and SG is her cartoon. Joe Mallozzi always has said anime is his favorite - well now he has his cartoon to write for.

[majorsal]

i don't like vala. i don't want vala on this show. 'the ties that bind' was the worst non-stargate episode i've ever seen, and i fear we have more coming our way with vala becoming a regular.



sally

[nell]

I have a problem with Vala being a regular. However, she would be acceptable to me if she were like Urgo. He, too, was annoying, caused trouble, and lied. Although he was a bit endearing when he regressed and begged SG-1's forgiveness. Urgo was comic relief. SG-1 reacted to Urgo with some funny scenes. The best part about Urgo is that he was a one-time guest. Can you imagine Urgo being on week after week? Oy, wrong on so many levels!!! Well, that's what I imagine it will be like with Vala. Very wrong!!!

[chocdoc]

I have watched the show from the beginning and enjoy it. I have to say I am sad to have seen Richard Dean Anderson leave. but I still watch. I know the show is fantasy but there are moments that are just out there. For instance take Vala, A thief, liar and user. She has stolen from SGC and used them, Yet she is a going to be a member? Hey what happen to the best of the best? Or wait is she be best thief, liar user so she belongs on SG-1. Lets face it in real military she would be in jail.

Just to let you know: there are a number of posters who feel as you do -- they are posting on other threads such as in Stargate News--the Claudia Black thread, in General Discussion-- the Vala and Season 10 thread, in the Season Nine section-- the anti-season 10 thread and the SG-1 and Vala thread.

Also in various other threads. Varying negative, positive, and apprehensive posts!

[Lightsabre]

I gotta say, and I don't think this is OT, that I liked Vala.
I thought she was funny and I loved the way she played the team off one another and made life hell for them.
And there were some great scenes, like when Cam gets back to Prommie and tells them the cave is collapsing and Daniel just says, 'What did you take'?

I thought that 'Ties that Bind' wasn't a great SG ep, but it had heart. It was funny and helped to show that Mitchell isn't as green as everyone thinks, he handled the bazaar and monastary and all pretty well.

I thought 'Powers that Be' was a good one. Vala seemed to really care for those people, by the end anyway, if not at the start.

And I really think that show needs some one who irreverent, funny andwilling to do the right thing.
Vala fits the bill.

[helio9]

I have watched the show from the beginning and enjoy it. I have to say I am sad to have seen Richard Dean Anderson leave. but I still watch. I know the show is fantasy but there are moments that are just out there. For instance take Vala, A thief, liar and user. She has stolen from SGC and used them, Yet she is a going to be a member? Hey what happen to the best of the best? Or wait is she be best thief, liar user so she belongs on SG-1. Lets face it in real military she would be in jail.

I'm not too fond of it myself. The Irony is that if she were a mediocre theif and liar, she'd be in jail. But since she's so good are being a thief and a liar, she managed to escape. Really strays from the SG-team norm.

[P-90_177]

I'm sort of pleased Vala is going to be a permanent member but I hope it doesn't get old and take out all the militaristic stuf out of the show which I've kind of noticed recently. I mean in seasons 1 - 7 Carter always had to keep to her rank with O'Neill but now with her and Mitchell having the same rank, they can be all buddy, buddy.

[Linzi]

I've also watched SG1 since the beginning. I was sad to see RDA go, but season 8 didn't work for me, and something had to change.
I like BB very much, though from what I've seen so far he needs more screen time and character development,(the same could be said for Sheppard on Atlantis, IMO).
Vala, however has me somewhat confused. I loathed Prometheus unbound,yuk, is all I can say!
Yet at the beginning of season 9 I liked Vala, breath of fresh air comes to mind. However by the third episode I was getting concerned by her general demeanor, and by the end of her 5 episodes was glad to see her go. She is a fun,frothy, likeable character - in small doses, IMO. Thus having her as a series regular poses serious problems for me. I find it hard to accept that a place on SG1 would be made for Vala, but possibly at the expense of Carter. That I find not only disturbing, but worrying about the direction the show may take.
For Vala to be a successful character in my eyes several developments would need to occur. Firstly, she'd have to be 'toned down', not be such a sexual cliche and pose around showing off her threepennies! A bit of body and sexiness is attractive, too much is quite honestly an insult at times to the viewer and Claudia Black. Secondly she needs to have some moral centre to her character. SG1's team has always been a team that tries to do the right thing, not 'rip people off' for their own gratification.
If her character can be more balanced and not dominate the show I wouldn't have so much of a problem with her, but at the moment Vala is a very one dimensional character for me, and though she injects humour at times, she does come across as very lightweight. I do want Carter to be on SG1 though, I don't want her to be shoved in the corner somewhere, so if Vala replaces Carter I would have a problem with that too.
Thus overall, yes I have an issue with Vala and am concerned she has been made a series regular.

[gooner_diva]

You are certainly not the only one. Unfortunately, the pro-Vala armada has been far more vocal in the past.

First of all, I'd like to say I respect Claudia Black and that this post is in no way directed against her.

SG-1 has always been about heroes, albeit not perfect ones, but they were never professional thieves and (scantily clad) liars. I don't know if they'll go as far as making this caricature a member of SG-1, but if that does happen, it will seriously undermine the reputation of US armed forces. Let's just contemplate this for a second: Vala with an iris code. Preposterous. SG teams are the first line of defense of this planet. She'd sell us out in a blink of an eye UNLESS they're planning to "reinvent" her character to suit a more general audience in which case I can only say: why her and not someone else? Like, I don't know, Carter who's been there for NINE YEARS and showed nothing but honour and determination? To have a loyal character like her hopping between galaxies to allow more screentime for Vala is baffling and damaging for Atlantis as well.

Besides, her cheap sexual innuendo is damaging the show and it is only because of the teenybopper demographic that TPTB think that any sort of majority of fandom supports Vala. It frightens me to read how Mallozzi and others LOVE her and love writing her, blah blah. Whoever thought the same people who enjoyed O'Neill's self-deprecating humour would enjoy crude sexual references as well? Stargate has never been about that. And don't say "oh, but shows evolve". Sure they do, but not to the point of irrecognition. What's even worse, the storylines have had to be bent to suit her. Just look at the first 6 episodes of Season 9: they featured the worst ever line "let's make babies" and the worst ever Stargate episode The Ties That Bind, the most un-Stargate, unfunny scavenger hunt. I don't care how many more times Mallozzi says how cool and funny it was. All I can say is that I'm not the only one who thought it was an abomination and let's not forget here you're writing for an already established audience which means you have a moral responsibility to the fans who've watched this show for years (not to mention spent hundreds of pounds on DVDs) to keep your "brilliant ideas" in check in case it turns out no one but you liked them.