Ending the Series: "Team" concept overrated

[Adamixoye]

Okay, now that I have your attention...

This is my first post, but I've been lurking for almost a year. Just so you know. Also, since this is somewhat about ending the series, I put it in the Season 8 folder, but maybe it should be general. I'm not sure which is better.

I read in some of the "ship" and "ending the series" threads that many people, regardless of shippiness, really want the series to end with a "team" episode, because to them, that's what the series is all about. A similar complaint is all the S7 episodes that were focused on the individual characters and not enough about the team.

But I believe the team concept is a little overrated. From where I'm sitting, the show is not about any one thing in particular. Yes, I know it's "Stargate SG-1", but it's debatable whether the key in that title is "SG-1" or "Stargate". The show is about the Stargate, it's about the aliens, it's about the action, it's about the characters, it's about the interactions of the characters (including both "team" and ship or the lack thereof), and I'm sure I could think of some more if I wanted to.

I've been watching the show since it first came out in syndication, then caught up when it went to Sci-Fi. The point is, by the end of this year I will have watched 8 seasons over 7 years. I don't care if the last episode is "team-centered" or not, what I want is as much closure as possible throughout this season. That includes storylines with the Goa'uld, Jaffa, Tok'ra, Asgard, Replicators, any ship, etc.

I only want things left open if it's done for the sake of a movie, and that movie actually gets made. What I don't want is it to be like "The Pretender" and the TV movies that followed, where they raised more questions than they answered before (apparently) people got bored, and they decided not to make any more movies.

[Lord Loz]

I agree with absolutely everything you said :thup:

[David85]

It's not that people got bored with "The Pretender" it's no one had a clue whatwas going on. They were going to make like five TV movies and they cost to much and stopped them. Plus they never advertised them.

Anyways, Stargate...

It's called Stargate Sg-1, it's about the team SG-1 just like Atlantis will be about the city. It's also about the Stagate, but the team is the main charater otherwise it would just be calle d"Stargate". I want the team together, but that doesn't means they have to be together for the whole thing. Like start as the team and then have Sam go off and help someone, Teal'c help fight something, and Daniel and Jack doing something else. But's it's a team before anything.

[SG1Team4ever]

I don't think that the team concept is overrated...I think that the team is really what defines the show and keeps me watching. Unfortuantely I also think that the writers have forgotten this with all the silly IMO ship... I would like a good episode that features the team and tells us what happens to them in the future. For more on this see my post in How they should end the series thread.

[SGSlugger]

Don't judge a book by its cover....


The beginning was about SG-1 the Team, but the series has evolved to a point where just following the team isn't enough. Season 7 had more one-person featured episodes, and I think that TPTB kinda went a little overboard. I like seeing how they live out their lives.

[epiphany]

I don't, especially not with the incredibly boring way the writers write those lives. They do absolutely no justice to the characters. I'm just glad that at this point they've basically ignored Daniel in that regard(the one area I'm fine with them leaving him out of it) because I tremble with dread just thinking of the ruination they would leave in their wake. They really have no imagination and no depth when they try to flesh out the "personal" lives of the characters. Sometimes a little mystery is a good thing.

[ShadowMaat]

A little insight into the characters is nice, but I think it's something that should be taken in moderation... and not too often. For me, Stargate is about the stories- the exploration of alien worlds and far-flung human cultures, the defense of Earth (not just America) against terrible alien threats, the general thrill of discovery and rush of adrenaline that accompany any good action-oriented shows/books.

For years I felt that those qualities were embodied in SG-1, both as a team and as individuals. Season 5 saw them starting to stray away from that and while season 6 had a lot of eps I enjoyed, I wouldn't say it was really a "team" oriented season. How could it be? Jonas Quinn was introduced and- IMO- remained an intrusion upon the team for almost the entire season. I felt that Jack started to get cold and distant and kinda pissy. The team lost cohesion not only because Jonas was never truly accepted (despite the patch-job the writers tried to cram on at the end), but because Jack started to act as if he didn't care. There were still some good stories to be had, but they remained separate from the characters.

This disassociation became more prominent in S7 when, I feel, the writers pretty much gave up attempting to write quality stories about exploration and defense and started slapping together whatever sprung to mind. Often, what sprung to mind were the characters. Individually. So the spotlight turned away from the themes that had drawn me to the show and focused on all the "I's" in the team: there were Sam Eps and Daniel Eps and even one or two Teal'c Eps (miracle of miracles), but there was very little "team" left that I could see and there wasn't much point to a lot of it, anyway.

Oh, sure, there were some grand stories explored, but often they came across as being grand for the sake of being grand rather than for the sake of telling a good story. Sensationalism, pure and simple. If there was some recycling of plotlines in S6, it was worse in S7, at least in my opinion. Stories we have seen elsewhere (including earlier seasons of Stargate itself) were repackaged and sold as being "new and different" when they were anything but. And the "homage" to Star Wars was just a little too blatant for my tastes and read as a "gotta waste some time" ripoff rather than a genuine tip of the hat.

S7 showed us... well, it showed ME that there is no team, not anymore. It's just a bunch of individuals running around trying to keep things together and failing to realize that there's nothing left to keep and that "together" has gone the way of the dodo.

The characters are virtually unrecognizable from the ones I fell in love with in earlier seasons. Jack isn't the only one suffering from attrition. The situations are either far too recognizable or not worth recognizing in the first place. If "team" is overrated, it's only because "team" doesn't exist anymore.

It's sad... and it's one of the reasons I've stopped watching the show.

The above post is strictly the viewpoint and interpretations of the author and is not meant to imply any facts, except as they relate to the author.

[Ugly Pig]

S7 showed us... well, it showed ME that there is no team, not anymore.

Maybe not in the episodes you watched. There was however plenty of team in Lost City.

[ShadowMaat]

Maybe not in the episodes you watched. There was however plenty of team in Lost City.

ONE ep (or two, I suppose) featuring team? Sorry, but that isn't enough for me. I want more.

[Ugly Pig]

ONE ep (or two, I suppose) featuring team? Sorry, but that isn't enough for me. I want more.

I won't deny that in general there's been a bigger focus on the individual characters rather than the team this season. It just doesn't bother me the way it does you.

[ShadowMaat]

I won't deny that in general there's been a bigger focus on the individual characters rather than the team this season. It just doesn't bother me the way it does you.

That's because I'm such a sensitive soul while you're such a... well, your sig really says it all, doesn't it?

[Teal'c]

ONE ep (or two, I suppose) featuring team? Sorry, but that isn't enough for me. I want more.

So you completely blocked out all those comments prior to Season 7, about how it was going to focus more of Sam, Daniel and Teal'c, with Rick's lessened time... or does remembering that they told us spoil your arguments?

[Ugly Pig]

That's because I'm such a sensitive soul while you're such a... well, your sig really says it all, doesn't it?

Beautiful, ain't it? Oink!

Aaaaand, to keep this on topic: While I don't think every episode needs to be team-centric, the final episode definately should be. It just wouldn't be right to go out with an episode focusing on just Sam, or Daniel, or Teal'c or even Jack.

[Adamixoye]

Aaaaand, to keep this on topic: While I don't think every episode needs to be team-centric, the final episode definately should be. It just wouldn't be right to go out with an episode focusing on just Sam, or Daniel, or Teal'c or even Jack.

See, I think that's a false dilemma, depending on your idea of what a "team-centric" episode is. What about an episode that just wraps up as many storylines as possible (or, better yet, a multi-episode arc that does that). It might focus on certain member at times, the team at others, and the enemies and allies of Earth at others.

While I disagree with a lot of what ShadowMaat said, one thing I definitely agree with is that Stargate is about the stories, which is probably the best way to summarize one thing I was trying to say earlier. Good characters, good character interactions, good villians, good action, good special effects, etc.--these things are components to a good story. We can argue about the relative importance of those, but it would be silly to say that it boils down mostly to any one of those things. But I think some people have done that with the "team" concept.

I actually like the direction the show has taken since it went to Sci-Fi, at least in certain areas. I don't agree with everything the writers have done, and I'm not sure I could really say it's better or worse than seasons 1-5, but I like the fact that the show has evolved. There are fewer random stand-alone episodes. Even episodes that seem sort of stand-alone at the time turn out to be part of relatively significant arcs. Maybe someone will dispute that, because I'm sure you can think of many stand-alone episodes in S6 and S7, but it feels that way to me. The Lost City, Teal'c losing junior, the ongoing Tau'ri-Jaffa-Tok'ra alliance or lack thereof...these are major arcs that the show didn't contain early on. It makes sense, too. In the beginning of the show, Earth was just learning about what's out there; now they are in it whether they like it or not, and have to deal with all the enemies and alliances that they have made.

One of my least favorite episodes of the early seasons is "One False Step". There were some good moments, but it was an isolated mission that added nothing to the Stargate universe (and it was a little boring). But it was a "team" episode. On the other hand, TBFTGOG was a great episode IMO, even though it wasn't "team". All the characters were there, though, and interacting. So if you call TBFTGOG a "team" episode, we're arguing slightly different points.

P.S. Re: Pretender. I said "apparently", as I didn't really know why they stopped making them. Lack of money makes sense. My only point is, that was a show that never wrapped things up properly, and I don't want Stargate to suffer the same fate (particularly with the possibility of a movie, that makes everything dicey).

[ShadowMaat]

So you completely blocked out all those comments prior to Season 7, about how it was going to focus more of Sam, Daniel and Teal'c, with Rick's lessened time... or does remembering that they told us spoil your arguments?

I took it to mean that it would focus on them as a team.

But whatever. You guys have your opinions, I have mine, and I'm starting to get tired of it all. A question was asked, a question was answered, let's move on.

The original poster's view is that the team concept is overrated. I disagree and I hope that the series finale will include them all AS A TEAM with no spotlight shining on any one particular character. Or pairing.