Shanks' thoughts on "Bad Guys" FINALLY

[Ripple in Space]

FINALLY! While many of us were bashed for bashing the over-the-top comedic-to-serious acting in "Bad Guys," I feel so vindicated hearing the performer (of the performance) in question agreeing with us.

As I said months back from watching the episode's premiere, the direction/production was horrible. Any 10yr. Stargate fan can tell you that Shanks is a very good actor (especially by television standards). He's pulled off drama & comedy, nerdy & cool seamlessly, to the point of making some of the 8-fig salaried A-listers look bad. Yet in this episode his performance seemed amateurish. Going for extreme OTT drama to comedy, without transitions, it just screamed of community theater.

As a longtime fan, I was pretty sure Michael didn't just forget how to act, so I blamed the direction. Just a poor episode overall. Now putting MS aside, Vala was... Vala. She was fine, and her performance was on par with the other eps. (though a little more silly). All of the guest stars were ridiculously over the top. The guard was like a character from one of those low budget semi-independent brit-coms. And they were all just bottom-of-the-barrel.

Lack of Carter is rarely a good thing. Teal'c didn't have much to say. And Mitchell, I can't imagine many fans or hatters saying that this was a strong Mitchell ep.

I just think this whole ep felt like amateur hour. A 10-year drama going for OTT Comedy? Some say they tried to return to Sg-1's S1-6 roots of exploration, but you can't even compare this eps to the worst of the Jack/Daniel eps.

I'm so glad MS saw the same thing...

[PG15]

He said that the 22 minutes that were cut was why it felt so jarring.

So I guess they could've worked on the editing a bit.

[Ripple in Space]

Well yeah, cutting that much, and pasting together the important bits was production/direction error. The director drew out the scenes too long, and the production slapped them together poorly.

Btw, I just read his blog, and I'd be shocked if he doesn't read the message boards. He seems to speak the same lingo. I love how he talks about some eps as "filler episodes" and people on here freak out if someone labels an episode that.

Personally I think filler episodes only came into the equation in S8, and they were just budding at that point. By S9 & 10, many eps seem like they were just written to get an episode out there.

While "filler" has become the label (on here) for any ep that doesn't further the overall arc, I disagree. In the early seasons, plenty of the exploration episodes barely had direct Goa'uld contact, and they weren't filler, they were what the show was about, EXPLORATION. I loved those eps, and they built the show into a 10 yr franchise. That being said, recent eps like "Uninvited" are pure filler.

[MasySyma]

Not all no-Ori arcs are filler, just as not every early episode dealt with the Goa'uld.

However, sometimes the writers lose the definition of "stand-alone episode" and replace it with "something that fills up time."

Ex. Window of Opportunity--Great episode, and mostly well received

Ex. Bad Guys--not so well received--took up space

[PG15]

Umm...we call episodes "filler" because that's basically the official showbiz term for it.

[Platschu]

They should release the extended version (42+22 mintues long) episode on DVD. I think this can be the best advertisment for fans to buy it.

[flynn1959]

They should release the extended version (42+22 mintues long) episode on DVD. I think this can be the best advertisment for fans to buy it.

Yes they should, I would pay good money for that one!

[Platschu]

This will not happen, because they won't cost money to the music, effects for the new scenes. But the extended episodes would be so cool. The "Threads" was great and I think everybody like the new scenes, the longer episode. JM mentioned so many scenes were cut out from "Ripple Effect" too.

[g.o.d]

This epi sux.That's all I want to say

[Stef]

This epi sux.That's all I want to say

Um....good post.....

I would actually be very interested in seeing those extra 22 minutes...especially the scene that MS says makes Daniel's outburst make more sense.

I may be in the minority, but I actually really enjoyed this episode. I'm not sure if the actor's justification is a good judgement though. I've read articles from actors who have hated a good movie simply because they didn't like their scenes or how they acted. I say it's all a matter of opinion...and his shouldn't be worth more than anyone else's.

Although, I like his point about how him and BB never seem to share a scene together. Very strange.

-Stef

[Natasha]

I actually kinda liked this ep. Agreed it isnt one of the best but I thought it was fun.
Daniel's scene with the 2 women did seem a little out of character for him but I understand why he yelled at them. They were getting on my nerves as well.
It would be interesting to see what that missing scene was though. Hope they do have deleted scenes on the DVDs. Bet they wont though .

[Ripple in Space]

I'm not sure if the actor's justification is a good judgement though. I've read articles from actors who have hated a good movie simply because they didn't like their scenes or how they acted. I say it's all a matter of opinion...and his shouldn't be worth more than anyone else's.

Actor's justification alone might not mean much, but his criticism of the [*******ized version of the] episode is the same criticism us fans have been making since "Bad Guy"'s original release months back. Since Daniel has never been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and we've yet to find planets where every inhabitant is an over-the-top buffoon, this episode doesn't make much sense.

[ShardsofGlass]

I couldn't disagree more with MS. I loved this ep. I thought all the actors were great. The direction seemed fine to me. It's rare that a SG ep has this much energy and wit. I'm a Mitchell fan, and I loved him in this. In fact, I loved all the characters. Daniel totally cracked me up. Teal'c was menacing in a nice way, which was funny. Vala was smart and not childish or goofy like she is in so many other eps. Mitchell was a strong leader, and I enjoyed his dry wit.

I have no complaints. I honestly am glad Michael wasn't in charge of editing this ep because I am quite happy with what we got.

[Callista]

I'm with you, ShardsofGlass. I really liked it too. While I thought the security guard guy wasn't the best, I enjoyed everyone else in this episode. Sure it was kind of silly, but I don't mind silly every once in a while. It entertained me and, frankly, that's why I'm watching TV. There's enough horrible stuff going on in reality, I enjoy a bit of an escape from time to time.

Not really much of a spoiler, but just in case:

Spoiler:

And, to me, Daniel never came across as really mean or scary when he was yelling. He just seemed extremely frustrated. Maybe he had a headache after getting tazered.....that would make me a bit perturbed as well . The hostages certainly didn't believe he was a "bad guy".

I even liked Joshua Molina, and I couldn't stand his character on "the West Wing".

While it would be nice to see those 22 minutes, I think the episode worked fine without them. MS's comment made me think back to some interview he or Christopher Judge gave (I think it's on one of the old commentaries or special features) where they said the two of them watch the episodes together and sit there telling eachother how much they s*&%^d in any given scene. I'm sure they look at things from an entirely different perspective from the regular viewers.

[Starxgate]

So theres 22 minutes worth of Deleted Scenes for this Episode ? I wonder how much we will see on the Season 10 DVD since there will be Deleted Scenes on the DVD