Reese - should she be brought back?

[Ham]

I'd be a bit sad if they brought Reese back. Menace was really powerful stuff, and more so because she was destroyed at the end. If she came back it would taint Menace. I know that 'no one's really dead in SF' but sometimes I think it's a good thing for dead to mean dead.

Emphasis mine.

I will quote two of my prior posts:

And since I don't want the ending of Menace to be tarnished in any way, this new Reese would be a completely new entity.

And later...

I don't want to see the same Reese android back because that would undermine the ending of Menace which I'm against, but if she were replicated, then it would be like a whole new character.

I am against Menace being tarnished as well. That's why I suggested a whole new version of Reese.

Why? What purpose would she serve?

What purpose does any baddie serve? To be bad and give the heroes something to fight against right?

Even if they bring in a replicator that looks like her, as you suggest, without the personality it would not be the same. And her body was destroyed with the original Asgard homeworld by that artificial black hole. Requiescat in paces.

Emphasis mine.

1. That's the point. To give her a new evil personality. A twisted version of the real thing.

2. I can't remember if Reese's body was destroyed, but are you seriously saying the replicators wouldn't be able to replicate a new one made from nanites?

Reese was too flawed to truly be able to choose her fate. Fifth is mature and complex enough to understand good and evil, if from a very weird perspective, and act accordingly. Far more scope for interesting stories.

Hence a "new" replicated version of Reese - one without the flaws of the original.

[Beatrice Otter]

I can't remember if Reese's body was destroyed, but are you seriously saying the replicators wouldn't be able to replicate a new one made from nanites?

Reese's body was on the Asgard homeworld; that was how the Asgard got the Replicators to congregate there. New Order

Spoiler:

That world was destroyed by an artificial black hole created by the Asgard; only one ship of Replicators escaped; that ship was destroyed by Thor; only a few Replicators (including Fifth) escaped.

While the Replicators could almost certainly duplicate her physical form, I doubt they could duplicate her mind without the original to use as a template. They might be able to come up with a facsimile, but then we run into the old question of why would they? I just can't see them caring about her anymore, even Fifth.

Hence a "new" replicated version of Reese - one without the flaws of the original.

But the flaws were what made her Reese. They were who she was.

What you're describing is a new character who just happens to look like Reese. In which case, why make her look like Reese at all? It's pointless. I'm not saying characters can't grow and change, but you can't just create something new out of whole cloth and call it the same thing. Look at Mayborne--it took him eight seasons to go from bad guy slime to dubious slime to good guy slime (and he's not even that slimy anymore!).

[Ham]

While the Replicators could almost certainly duplicate her physical form, I doubt they could duplicate her mind without the original to use as a template. They might be able to come up with a facsimile, but then we run into the old question of why would they? I just can't see them caring about her anymore, even Fifth.

In my original post, I said:

Since the Replicator's have now taken humanoid form and some of them have human qualities and traits, I think it would be interesting to see them search for their "creator" and ultimately replicate a new version of Reese.

It would be the Replicators way of searching for their "God" so to speak.

But the flaws were what made her Reese. They were who she was.

What you're describing is a new character who just happens to look like Reese. In which case, why make her look like Reese at all? It's pointless.

It's not pointless if the Replicators would like to give their creator a second chance at life. I don't want to get into this too deep as to not to offend anyone religious, but don't you think there are some people around the world who would offer the God they worship new life if they could? And if they could, do you think they'd change their God's appearance? Why couldn't the Replicators do the same? If good people would do this, why not machines?

I'm not saying characters can't grow and change, but you can't just create something new out of whole cloth and call it the same thing.

When did I say this new Reese would be the same thing? I clearly said - and I will quote myself once again:

And since I don't want the ending of Menace to be tarnished in any way, this new Reese would be a completely new entity. One that is evil, unemotional and mature, having nothing in common with the original. She would be the Replicator's twisted version of what their creator was/is and could become a recurring baddie on SG-1.

I'm not asking for the old Reese to be repaired and given character growth in the span of an hour, I'm saying the new one would be a twisted version of the original.

[Beatrice Otter]

In my original post, I said:

It would be the Replicators way of searching for their "God" so to speak.

It's not pointless if the Replicators would like to give their creator a second chance at life. I don't want to get into this too deep as to not to offend anyone religious, but don't you think there are some people around the world who would offer the God they worship new life if they could? And if they could, do you think they'd change their God's appearance? Why couldn't the Replicators do the same? If good people would do this, why not machines?

That an artificial intelligence would do it, I have no problem with. But we're talking specifically about the Replicators, here. When have the replicators ever shown any inclination of any need for a deity? They were derisive of her in "Unnatural Selection," all except for Fifth. Fifth wasn't derisive, but was concentrated on what was happening there-and-then, not the past. Since them, he's grown vengeful and focused on the SGC and Sam Carter. Which absorbs him completely. The actual replicator bugs don't care, they're little more than drones; given a template of Reese they extrapolated the humanform replicators. Without a template, they have neither the motivation nor the will to do such a thing.

When did I say this new Reese would be the same thing? I clearly said - and I will quote myself once again:

I'm not asking for the old Reese to be repaired and given character growth in the span of an hour, I'm saying the new one would be a twisted version of the original.

And to repeat myself, why bother with a flawed copy? Who cares? Why not just come up with a new character?

Your original question was if people thought Reese should be brought back. I've said that for me, the answer is no. Repeatedly. Obviously, your answer for the question is different.

[Ham]

That an artificial intelligence would do it, I have no problem with. But we're talking specifically about the Replicators, here. When have the replicators ever shown any inclination of any need for a deity?

It was just my own little theory on how Reese could return. If there are more Replicators out there like Fifth, with human traits, it's not far-fetched to think that they would do develop the human trait of searching for their creator.

They were derisive of her in "Unnatural Selection," all except for Fifth.

I don't remember the human replicators being derisive of Reese in Unnatural Selection, but maybe that's just my memory.

Fifth wasn't derisive, but was concentrated on what was happening there-and-then, not the past. Since them, he's grown vengeful and focused on the SGC and Sam Carter.

Um, Fifth couldn't concentrate on the past as he wasn't given any real growth in that one episode. He was shown as naive and trusting which perfectly suited the plot. However, as we saw later, he was felt hurt, betrayed and did seek vengeance. That is not the trait of a mindless drone.

The actual replicator bugs don't care, they're little more than drones; given a template of Reese they extrapolated the humanform replicators. Without a template, they have neither the motivation nor the will to do such a thing.

Because those were the drone replicators, but imagine if there were more like Fifth.

And to repeat myself, why bother with a flawed copy? Who cares? Why not just come up with a new character?

Because obviously a new character - both in personality and appearance - would not be Reese now would it? The thread question was:

Reese - should she be brought back?

And when it appeared to me that some people misunderstood what I was asking, I revised it to:

Should the Reese character be brought back in some new capacity?

Even with a new personality, Reese could "come back" as long as the same actress plays her. Isn't this what they did with every actor who became a Ga'ould? Didn't they get "new" evil personalities but it was the same actor playing the character? Sure they could have another actor play it, but it's not the same.

Your original question was if people thought Reese should be brought back. I've said that for me, the answer is no. Repeatedly. Obviously, your answer for the question is different.

In my original post, which I now believe many people did not read, I said:

Since the Replicator's have now taken humanoid form and some of them have human qualities and traits, I think it would be interesting to see them search for their "creator" and ultimately replicate a new version of Reese.

That's just what I (personally) thought would be interesting as a way to give the Replicators more depth as a whole. Then at the end of my post I said:

Of course, that's only my little idea of how it could be done, but even if you don't like that, would you like to see Reese return?

In other words, I wasn't saying that's how it should be done, but how it could be done. If your answer is "no" she should not return, that's cool. I didn't expect anyone to agree with me actually. Just don't tell me it can't be done with poorly argued reasons like "Why" and "Who cares?" I'm simply asking a question, nothing more. If TPTB can bring Daniel Jackson back from ascension and even put him back in the body of MS, they can certainly bring Reese back if they wanted to. There is nothing inherently illogical about it if it were to be done. The question is, should it be done?

[Madeleine]

You asked <<that's only my little idea of how it could be done, but even if you don't like that, would you like to see Reese return?>>

I think no, I think having her back in any way at all would taint Menace. And I have read all your earlier posts. But I still think I'd be sad if she came back.

Beatrice asked <<What you're describing is a new character who just happens to look like Reese. In which case, why make her look like Reese at all? It's pointless.>> and you gave a very reasonable answer in terms of why the Replicators might want to make an ersatz Reese, but I read B's question in terms of what would be the point *dramatically*? rather than what would be the point to the Replicators.

In terms of the show, what would be the point of the character being resurrected in any way? I can't see any reason. If she related at all to Daniel it would be either Menace II (which would weaken Menace) or it would be a retread of Daniel vs Replicarter (which would weaken Reckoning only if it topped Reckoning, otherwise it would just be a bit Damp Squib). If she relates to the other characters instead... well none of them had much connection with Reese before and Reese won't be 'herself' anyway so why saddle a brand new episode with hangovers from Menace that won't serve any purpose dramatically except to weaken that scene where Reese gets scared that Daniel & co will turn her off again, or to weaken the ending of Menace.

JMO, as ever.

[Ham]

I think no, I think having her back in any way at all would taint Menace. And I have read all your earlier posts. But I still think I'd be sad if she came back.

I had a hard time reading your post because you used >>> instead of quotes , but once I read it, I dug your response and opinion. In a way, I agree. That's why I came up with the 'whole new character' bit because I hate when great episodes are tainted with the "They're back from the dead" story.

ETA:
But truthfully, why not Reese? I mean, is Replicarter any better than Fifth? Isn't it just another replicator trying to consume everything? What dramatic purpose does it serve to have AT play that role as opposed to the other actor? Now whether or not Reese should be brought back is the question I'm asking and no ones opinion is wrong on the matter, but as I read Beatrice's replies, it seems to me that she's arguing that it can't be done and I'm saying it can - logically, believably and easily.

[Agent_Dark]

I'd be great if we saw the actress who played Reese return on Atlantis or something. I thought she did a great job on Menace

[Ham]

I'd be great if we saw the actress who played Reese return on Atlantis or something. I thought she did a great job on Menace

I agree. Danielle Nicolet (Reese) was fantastic. In fact, I think...

Spoiler:

TPTB should change Ronan Dex's sex to female and cast her.