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Chris Judge's ideas of expanding the focus of Stargate

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    Chris Judge's ideas of expanding the focus of Stargate

    As we all know, the essential focus of Stargate has been "us" (Earth) and our stargate and our interaction with "Them", and the effect of what happens to "them" on "us" one way or another.

    Judge is proposing focusing on the fate of the Jaffa or maybe the origin of the Jaffa, but it appears that this does not necessarily require a focus on "us" in relation to the stargate system. The entire focus of Stargate has to be resolved. Otherwise Stargate will just end up "all over the map," and people will eventually lose interest.
    Stargate, SG1 etc. are about "US" and our relationship to humanoid species throughout the galaxy, etc., as well as parallel universes.

    It is possible that SG1, Universe and Atlantis were losing steam because of too many of "them" having less of a realistic focus on us on Earth. Ori, Replicators, and even Asgard, etc.?

    I also realize that using the ancient Egyptian religion has its limitations as a model for further expansion to other religions and cultures of Earth history. After all, could Stargate couldn't really introduce an enemy of "Krishna" or Buddha, etc. despite the apparent attempt of introducing Tibetan style Buddhistic/tantric culture. So Egyptian culture is a safer choice.
    Could a new SG1 reintroduce a "Return of the Goa'uld" scenario? Or the Wraith from the other galaxy? I hope not, because I found the Wraith to be disgusting, and only watched one season of Atlantis.
    Those are my musings for today.....

    #2
    The problem with doing that is that the Jaffa have a rather bland, stereotypical science fiction way of expressing themselves. The reason they work in Sg-1 is because there are usually people who riff off their behavior and when they get their own stories it's in small doses and centered around a character the audience knows and likes (Teal'c, Bra'tak).

    You can't take a whole culture of "straight man" types and base an entire show off of them. Their point in Sg-1 is that they are incredibly serious and either get angry because they don't get the joke or, in the case of someone like Teal'c, their struggle to try to conform makes them funny. Teal'c, even after all the progress he has made, can't fill the role of their comedic counterpart and the warmth fans feel for him from his years of playing the reluctant straight man will only carry a show so far.

    For a show to exist that tries to bring greater attention to the Jaffa, there needs to be that human element in the form of a joint operation or at least one Jack-type person who acts as a consultant to the Jaffa and is the focus. Their personalities simply require the kind of conflict that a human character can provide to make them work. Without that it's like having a show based on a ship full of Datas or a show about a culture of people exactly like Ronon and a movie all about Chewie and his family. Seeing these characters interact with clones of themselves is dull because they exist to be counterbalanced by more dynamic characters. Take away their counterbalance and there's no reason for them to be the beloved characters that they are.

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      #3
      Excellent comments, Xaeden. If they abandon the focus on Earth the situation will be even worse, and simply become a chip off Star Wars.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Davey View Post
        It is possible that SG1, Universe and Atlantis were losing steam because of too many of "them" having less of a realistic focus on us on Earth. Ori, Replicators, and even Asgard, etc.?
        No, not really. SGA has changed quite a bit as a show over time, and especially the whole love interest was boring. SG1 as a concept, continued in SGA, had simply run it's course. You can only do so many variations of it before you have to go somewhere new. SGU was that attempt at somewhere new, though that created its own set of problems.

        I don't think the earth centric focus is the issue. The issue is that the whole asgard tech thing rendered the original premise obsolete (IE underdogs fighting for survival) while others like the Replicators and Ori simply weren't as interesting. I liked the Replicators as this faceless unstoppable force, and IMHO the human form replicators just showed it wasn't THAT interesting beyond this scope.

        Similarly, the Ori were just "what if the goa'uld were actual gods". Plus, the more insane the predicament, the more insane and OOT the solution. Blow up a space-ship? Ok. Blow up a sun? Stretching it. Defeating actual gods? It's worse with the Ori since their defeat required no less than two separate over the top Ancient mcguffins to defeat.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Davey View Post
          I also realize that using the ancient Egyptian religion has its limitations as a model for further expansion to other religions and cultures of Earth history. After all, could Stargate couldn't really introduce an enemy of "Krishna" or Buddha, etc. despite the apparent attempt of introducing Tibetan style Buddhistic/tantric culture. So Egyptian culture is a safer choice.
          Baal was not from the Egytian pantheon, neither was Nirrti or Yu, or Marduk for that matter.

          In the summit episode in season 5, there are several goa'uld present with no relation the Egyptian pantheon so they most certainly did expand. And in Demons (s3), they even bring in the devil himself.
          Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

          Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

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            #6
            Yes, Falcon Horus, you are correct. I should have referred to what would be called "dead religions."

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              #7
              Good point, thekillman!

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Davey View Post
                Yes, Falcon Horus, you are correct. I should have referred to what would be called "dead religions."
                I wouldn't necessarily call them "dead", especially since the Greek pantheon is making a comeback.
                Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                  I wouldn't necessarily call them "dead", especially since the Greek pantheon is making a comeback.
                  You mean there's people going around half-naked dressed in togas drinking and stuff?
                  Spoiler:
                  I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to—I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Chaka-Z0 View Post
                    You mean there's people going around half-naked dressed in togas drinking and stuff?
                    Sounds like any other student group in my town... but in reality... yes, sorta...

                    An article about the comeback of Hellenistic Paganism from 2006.
                    Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                    Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Falcon Horus View Post
                      Sounds like any other student group in my town... but in reality... yes, sorta...

                      An article about the comeback of Hellenistic Paganism from 2006.
                      Meh why not? Surely some Pagans rites will not be allowed but other than that I don't have any problems with this.
                      Spoiler:
                      I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to—I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        You have to watch the American Gods series. It is a very confusing fantasy series with lots of 18+ scenes. It is good and bad. Very artistic and way too violent. But if you love mythology then it is a must. There is only one season yet, but the second season is on the way.
                        "I was hoping for another day. Looks like we just got a whole lot more than that. Let's not waste it."

                        "Never underestimate your audience. They're generally sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively to quality entertainment."

                        "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Neil Gaiman rulz!

                          Just saying...
                          Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                          Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Platschu View Post
                            You have to watch the American Gods series. It is a very confusing fantasy series with lots of 18+ scenes. It is good and bad. Very artistic and way too violent. But if you love mythology then it is a must. There is only one season yet, but the second season is on the way.
                            Will put on my to watch list. I enjoy mythology / history shows very much (and sci-fi obviously). I've also heard a lot about The Last Kingdom which is next on my watching list. I really enjoyed Vikings and I heard the Last K portrays the story of Alfred the Great, which kind of follows Vikings storyline.
                            Spoiler:
                            I don’t want to be human. I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly, because I have to—I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid, limiting spoken language, but I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Chaka-Z0 View Post
                              Will put on my to watch list. I enjoy mythology / history shows very much (and sci-fi obviously). I've also heard a lot about The Last Kingdom which is next on my watching list. I really enjoyed Vikings and I heard the Last K portrays the story of Alfred the Great, which kind of follows Vikings storyline.
                              I have yet to see the second season but The Last Kingdom is indeed very interesting to watch.
                              Heightmeyer's Lemming -- still the coolest Lemming of the forum

                              Proper Stargate Rewatch -- season 10 of SG-1

                              Comment

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