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Stargate SG-1: Looking Back on Season 10

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    Stargate SG-1: Looking Back on Season 10

    When it comes to “Stargate SG-1”, there is the inevitable comparison to the history of “The X-Files”. Speaking of each series alone, there is a distinct pattern that was followed, even if it was completely unintentional. While there’s a lot of dispute in each fandom regarding how that pattern was received, there are particular similarities that are brought to mind by the final seasons of each series.

    Many fans consider the first five seasons of “The X-Files” to be the classic incarnation of that series, where the conventions and most creative aspects of the concept were explored. The first five seasons of “SG-1” were aired on Showtime, and are considered by many to be the “classic SG-1”, by which all subsequent seasons are measured.

    “The X-Files” suffered an annual concern regarding cancellation and involvement of the primary cast members during its middle period, ending with the seventh season with an episode that brought the series full circle. After the fifth season, “SG-1” shifted to production under the Sci-Fi Channel, which coincided with cast changes and similar issues regarding cancellation. This period lasted until the end of the eighth season, when the plot threads of the “classic SG-1” were effective wrapped up in a manner that (you guessed it) brought the series full circle. Fans have long debated the quality of the material during these similar periods of each show.

    The eighth season of “The X-Files” marked the departure of David Duchovny, forcing the introduction of a new main character, John Doggett. This decision split the fandom into three distinct camps: those fully embracing the change, those strongly against the change, and those willing to see how it was handled. The result was a great deal of bad feeling.

    Similarly, in the ninth season of “SG-1”, the departure of Richard Dean Anderson forced the introduction of a new main character, Cameron Mitchell. The response was nearly identical. As with “The X-Files”, the writers had a choice to make: commit to the changes and focus on those supporting the move, or attempt to appease those wishing for things to be as they were.

    In the case of “The X-Files”, the writers struggled with the possibility of losing fans. While the “new direction” initially introduced some additional elements of the massive series mythology, those concepts were never fully developed. Instead, the writers tried to continue with the existing elements, and the series ended with little sense of resolution or direction. In particular, the writers failed develop Doggett as fully as they could have, especially in the final season, when the character should have been in the spotlight, if the producers wanted the series to survive in its new incarnation.

    “SG-1” has fared somewhat better, though some of the criticisms remain. The ninth season introduced the Ori, an enemy very different from the System Lords of the Goa’uld but connected to elements of the Ancients, a race that had been important over the course of the series as a whole. By embracing the concept of the Ori as a new threat worthy of development, the writers avoided the appearance of stringing out more of the same, now-repetitive material. The ninth season attained a Critical Myth average rating of 7.3, or slightly above average.

    Coming into the tenth season, there was every reason to think that this creative resurgence would allow the writers to explore the ideas introduced with the Ori more fully. The first half of the season seemed to be moving with the same urgency as the ninth season. When it came time for the landmark “200” to air, the news came down: the series would be cancelled at the end of the season.

    This presented a complication for the audience. Most of the season had been filmed already, with the material chosen with a longer series lifespan in mind. Unfortunately, this meant that the second half of the series was heavily laden with “character-based” episodes. Many of these episodes were mediocre and unsatisfying, and as the season progressed, it was hard for the audience to rationalize why so much of the remaining time was spent on stand-alone material instead of resolving the new Ori arc.

    This was further complicated by the approval of two direct-to-DVD films, which would extend the story beyond the actual end of the series. The producers decided to relocate the resolution of the Ori arc from the series finale to the first film (“The Ark of Truth”), leaving the series proper with a massive lack of resolution. Looking back at the final season, there was very little progress in Mitchell’s character development, and with the films likely to be more plot-driven, the opportunities that did exist felt wasted.

    Turning back to the comparison with “The X-Files”, the irony is that the series tried to end on a definitive conclusion, and the result was a disaster. Because so much of the final season was spent trying to make everyone happy, there was little direction and the finale was an exposition-laden attempt to gloss over inconsistencies. At least part of this attempt was driven by the unlikelihood of any further chance to provide a more organic conclusion (despite the amount of time granted the production to craft a conclusion to the series).

    In contrast, the final season of “SG-1” is not, in essence, the end of the series. The endpoint has yet to be determined. As such, the season (and the series) could not end in any definitive manner. Instead, after a string of stand-alone episodes that left the audience frustrated, the series ended with an installment that brought the series to nothing more than a momentary rest.

    So “SG-1” ends as a series but doesn’t have an ending; the season is therefore incomplete. While the resulting frustration is mitigated by the knowledge that the story will eventually come to a conclusion, the fact remains that the coherence of the season was affected. The result was a Critical Myth average rating of 6.9, effectively average. Looking back at the quality of the series since its departure from Showtime, this is in keeping with that trend. That said, it’s unfortunate that the series couldn’t end on a stronger note.


    John Keegan
    Reprinted with permission
    Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2007
    All rights reserved
    Link: http://www.criticalmyth.com

    #2
    I definitely agree with much of what you said.

    However, the X-Files didn't just have the problem of regurgitating traditional story lines they also had the problem of the main thread to resolve. And unfortunately for the X-Files that main story (aliens working with gov't officials to colonize/create hybrids/experiment, etc) were specific to their central character, Mulder. When Mulder left the storyline was not resolved leaving it up to the other characters to make Mulder's battle their own battle. I had a HUGE problem with Scully doing a 180 on her character in terms of how she approached the strange circumstances she was placed in. It was obvious that she was just filling Mulder's shoes. So you had the main character gone, supporting cast attempting to fill the void and now new characters trying to develop themselves while at the same time dealing with issues that don't concern them.

    Now look at how Stargate handled this difficulty. At the end of season 8 the main storyline (the Snakes ) was DONE. Finally! The characters went fishing and O'neill retired. So now what, right?

    Well, you just had a strong go at a story of resistance, oppression, politics and FREEEDOOOOM! Now we're looking at Mythologies, religion, faith and family. New focus on different aspects of societies. We've had 8 years seeing how different cultures handled politics, what about religion?

    A shift in focus makes a shift in characters more natural. It's easier for new characters to come in because they don't truly have to deal with the same mess the other main characters did. For instance, you won't have to worry about Mitchell facing off with Apophis and biting nails over whether he can convince the audience of being sufficiently personally affected. Why should we care about character X when we have character A whose been dealing with these baddies for years and years?

    You can start from scratch. But, Stargate still retained many of the same characters. I loved the whole Blues Brothers "Getting the band back together". Cameron's cries for reconciliation echoed the fans desires. His helplessness was ours. And who didn't laugh watching him trying to hit up random Jaffa (including the hawt babe) to join his team. I also appreciated how he approached the old SG1 people with an air of "A team isn't me. It's you. I want to join you"

    In short, I think Stargate handled the switch much more smoothly, seamlessly, and creatively than X-Files ever did. I think that given another season or two SGC could have been looked back on as being just as good or even better than SG1.

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      #3
      I would agree that SG-1 handled it better.

      In terms of XF, they could have used season 8 as a transition point, to get enough time to wrap up the Mulder arc and set the stage for Doggett's story. Doggett's story seemed to delve into more spiritual aspects of the mythology, which could have been connected in some manner, but didn't have to be. It was a direction that Doggett and Reyes could have owned, and would have if the producers (and network) had been willing to end things with Scully and give the new characters the reins for season 9.

      They didn't, and so we had writers trying to keep the Mulder mythology stringing along as the main arc without the central character related to the arc. They tried to bring Doggett's background into it, but it never really came together as well as it could have. It would have been a lot better to take what was in "Empedocles" (late season 8) and develop more out of that.

      Comment


        #4
        I have to disagree with the article. The Ori were nothing more than the Gou'ald in new costumes. Gee, an alien race pretending to be gods to get power and have humans worship them - where have we seen that before?[/sarcasm].

        As for Doggett, I liked him a helova lot more than I liked Mitchell. At least Doggett acted like a mature man and you could see him being placed in his position. Mitchell acted like an immature fratboy from day one and I still don't get why he was allowed in the SGC at all, not to mention leader of the premier team.

        Unfortunately, this meant that the second half of the series was heavily laden with “character-based” episodes. Many of these episodes were mediocre and unsatisfying, and as the season progressed, it was hard for the audience to rationalize why so much of the remaining time was spent on stand-alone material instead of resolving the new Ori arc.
        Again, I disagree. I loved the last half of S10 and thought that the show was being rejuvenated and that the character based episodes were far superior to the Bori-centered eps.

        The author seems to think that the Bori were an interesting, original concept that the viewers agreed. From what I've seen on various bb's, most of us fan disliked Mitchell, thought the Bori were a dull rehash of the Gou'ald and like character based eps.

        Comment


          #5
          The one thing The X Files did better was phasing out it's star. Fox Mulder was the star of The X Files for seven years, was slowly phased out over the coarse of Season 8, then returned for the series finale.

          Jack O'Neill was the star of SG-1 for eight years. When Season 9 begins... he's simply gone. Granted, he has cameos in two episodes, but it felt forced in that they simply don't require his pressence. Then he's gone for just over a year. He returns in Season 10 for a comedy episode and a major Ori event episode, marking his final appearance in the series.

          In the end, O'Neill got the better finale than Mulder. "The Shoud" is fantastic where as "The Truth" is comparable to the Enterprise finale "These Are the Voyages..."

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Daniel Jackson View Post

            In the end, O'Neill got the better finale than Mulder. "The Shoud" is fantastic where as "The Truth" is comparable to the Enterprise finale "These Are the Voyages..."
            I agree. I really liked the way O'Neill was portrayed in "The Shroud". Definitely the better finale for a character.
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