Did SGA go downhill ?

[Rac80]

Lose*

Sorry but it drives me mad when people say loose when they mean lose!

*sigh*

I don't kneed to be tolled wen i mizpel a werd like yur mi tetcher. It comz off sounding reelly pertentious. sew If youz dont like my speling then scrll down.

you know the saying fumbles...an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure....and there was definitely a pound or so there.

[x Varda x]

My answer: nope.

I liked the whole thing from start to finish. Although there were the odd one or two episodes I didn't like, my overall impression was one of greatness!

[coZma]

Here are the number of episodes per season that I enjoy to re-watch:
Season 1 : 19/20
Season 2 : 13/20
Season 3 : 10/20
Season 4 : 7/20
Season 5 : 8/20

So to answer your question : The show started going downhill somewhere in season 2

[Linda06]

Probably would have involved Rodney cloning himself in order to solve an impossible problem, and thus being a valid reason for Rodney appearing in every scene

Well in that case I'm glad I wouldn't have been watching season 6

They were producing excellent eps all the way till the end, so to me that is as indication of a show not going downhill. So totally agree with you.

But call me silly but I'd rather talk only about the good and not the bad. Negativity for any show is just too much sometimes.

*quivery lip* But but.......I'm a devout pessimist, I can't help it *starts bubbling up*

*sigh*

I don't kneed to be tolled wen i mizpel a werd like yur mi tetcher. It comz off sounding reelly pertentious. sew If youz dont like my speling then scrll down.

Ooh you spells lotsa wor wrang Your gitin kept ahind in skool

[Linda06]

here are the eps I thought were copied and why:
Gou'ald infection: Sga's Critical mass= sg1's the enemy within
getting help from your own mind: Sga's Grace under pressure= Sg1's grace
time limit: Sga's 38 minutes= sg1's 48 hours
Stargate used to control crime ga'sCondemned= sg1's prisioners
getting sentenced for the past: sga's Sateda= sg1's Cor-Ai
getting "infected by your enemy: sga's Real World (replicators) = sg1's In the line of Duty (Jolinar)
brainwashed by your enemy: sga's Broken ties= sg1's threshold.

Yes some of the execution of the storylines were different...but they still reused the same ideas in these eps. SGA even did it within their series "the Tao of Rodney" and "the Shrine" basically the same idea.

Don't get me wrong, I loved SGA, but I also have felt TPTB dropped the ball and didn't give it the time/attention it deserved.

You forgot the most obvious one of all. SG-1's A hundred days and SGA's Epiphany

[magictrick]

here are the eps I thought were copied and why:
Gou'ald infection: Sga's Critical mass= sg1's the enemy within
getting help from your own mind: Sga's Grace under pressure= Sg1's grace
time limit: Sga's 38 minutes= sg1's 48 hours
Stargate used to control crime ga'sCondemned= sg1's prisioners
getting sentenced for the past: sga's Sateda= sg1's Cor-Ai
getting "infected by your enemy: sga's Real World (replicators) = sg1's In the line of Duty (Jolinar)
brainwashed by your enemy: sga's Broken ties= sg1's threshold.

Yes some of the execution of the storylines were different...but they still reused the same ideas in these eps. SGA even did it within their series "the Tao of Rodney" and "the Shrine" basically the same idea.

Don't get me wrong, I loved SGA, but I also have felt TPTB dropped the ball and didn't give it the time/attention it deserved.

That's really interesting actually, I never thought of these specific similarities between the 2 shows.

I have to say though I enjoyed 38 minutes a lot more than 48 hours.

[poundpuppy29]

Season 3 was my favorite season out of the whole series but after what happened to Weir they lost their heart so season 4 is when they started to go down hill for me

[vszulc]

Meh, maybe I'm not truly a hardcore fan, or maybe it's me who's the hardcore fan, and you guys aren't

But something like a character getting killed off never ruined it for me. Sure I was sad when Beckett died, or Weir for that matter (Especially the second time around), but I always found their replacements and the changes it brought interesting.

IDK, I guess I like the show for so many reasons, that the lack or addition of a single character didn't do that much to me.

And yeah, there was a lot of Sheppard/McKay episodes, but let's face it. They were prob the actors with the most on screen chemistry in that show.

Yeah, I could have wished for Teyla and Ronan to be developed more, but Teyla DID see some growth. McKay especially developed during the show methinks.

I never found the Michael arc to be that engaging, and I think that TBTP mostly wasted an awesome enemy like the wraith. But all in all, that's just nitpicking.

They definetly deserved a sixth and probably a seventh season. Even today I notice that they're fan favorites (Heard a report about a recent con, where the lineup to get an autograph with Hewlett and Flannigan was an hour long, whereas hardly anybody paid attention to the SGU cast who appeared at the same con. Could be just hearsay though)

Sigh.

As much as SG1 had a certain charm, SGA will be the Stargate series for me. I haven't quite given up on SGU yet, but I have a feeling that it'll be at least a couple of years, before a Stargate show can get close to Atlantis.

[magictrick]

But something like a character getting killed off never ruined it for me. Sure I was sad when Beckett died, or Weir for that matter (Especially the second time around), but I always found their replacements and the changes it brought interesting.

The replacements had the potential to be interesting, but weren't (i.e. Carter).

IDK, I guess I like the show for so many reasons, that the lack or addition of a single character didn't do that much to me.

I think any time you remove or add a character you have to make sure its done to further the series in some way, not just for the sake of doing it. I didn't see any of the additions or removals (except Ronon for Ford which was good) as beneficial in the long run. Ok Todd was a great addition, but I'm talking about the regulars.

And yeah, there was a lot of Sheppard/McKay episodes, but let's face it. They were prob the actors with the most on screen chemistry in that show.

Yeah, I could have wished for Teyla and Ronan to be developed more, but Teyla DID see some growth. McKay especially developed during the show methinks.

The writers mostly wrote for Shep and Rodney. When you're wallpapered, its hard to have chemistry with anyone.

I never found the Michael arc to be that engaging, and I think that TBTP mostly wasted an awesome enemy like the wraith. But all in all, that's just nitpicking.

I think when a major arc in the series fails to engage you as a viewer, its not nitpicking, but unsuccessful writing.


Just providing an opinion with a different perspective, all in good fun

[Cory Holmes]

While SG-1 always had a slightly irreverent sense of humour and charm to it, I always felt that Atlantis took that, ran it into the ground, kicked dirt on its face, then did a humilition conga on top of it. Not slightly due to David Hewlett's amazing comedic timing and Martin Gero's total lack of excuse, SGA developed a noticable slapstick streak as the show went longer.

Also, I agree that too much Rodney didn't do it any favours.

[YoshiKart64]

Atlantis went downhill for me in Season 4. After the removal of Weir and Beckett took effect it was clear that the show had made a mistake. They had got a cast that would extremely well together and changed it up when it should have been developing it. Forcing Carter into the show really didn't work at all.

But as many people have said the biggest mistake the show made was with the writing, it never really managed to step out of SG1's shadow due to a real lack of creativity. A lot of Atlantis fans hate Brad Wright for choosing to start something new, but I think it's clear even he was disheartened at where Atlantis ended up. Season 5 featured some of the worst episodes of the entire franchise.

Did Atlantis need to be serious like SGU - no. Did it need to go a in a completely different direction (in it's latter half at least) and actually have some compelling storylines - yes.

[thekillman]

Carter was a Pro but too much like "this is a spinoff of SG1 *rub in face*"


i think Woolsey should've been there earlier. skip carter, go directly to Woolsey. i thought he was VERY interesting. a bit timid. a guy that has a load on him, as we see him as an IOA d*ck but he's just a human. very interesting guy IMO. so yea, skip carter and get to woolsey. that's an improvement.

i think Weir the half-replicator was an awesome idea, but my god the rest reeked of Replicarter/Tappinator. i loved Fran.

actually i don't think the show went downhill per se. it's more that it... shifted focus. from story to rule of cool and looks of awesome. EATG, well i rewatch that because it's a bunch of awesome, visually that is. plot-wise it's shallow, but it looks cool.


i think Vegas was interesting because it was so fresh. it was really different and i love that. i think the First Contact/Lost Tribe thing was awesome and included some of the coolest suits and props ever. unfortunately the pergasgard have a cool half-time of 30 minutes. the asurans had a badass halftime of a season.


i mean, the Asurans, as uber as it gets, and suddenly they're cannon fodder. i think the APBW's were cool but the writers clearly had no idea what to do with them.

[asdf1239]

i think the APBW's were cool but the writers clearly had no idea what to do with them.

they should have done nothing with them.

they're an instant kill fallback. ships are no longer any threat to the daedalus and the only way they could become a challenge is through special conditions such as teyla on the cruiser. it is just "please make that ship go away" if they want to destroy it. 2 shots to obliterate a hive is ridiculous.
i wish they hadn't even introduced them in unending.

[zbir]

If "going downhill" means "I started disliking it" then it was S4
I loved Weir's character an Carter was off for me (- however I liked Woolsy).
But what settled my overal perception on SGa was Keller - her character was simply bad [IMO; bad written and bad acted]. I disliked some characters before (Michael, for example), but not to the extent to alter my enjoyement of the show.
And to my horror, she kept gaining "weight" on the expense of the characters I loved.
The McKay emphasys didn't bother me at all, since I love his character; although when I saw him handling an axe in Brainstorm was more than I could bare.

But I still would like more of a downhill SGA than no SGA at all

[ZRFTS]

To me, the show went downhill around the 4th and 5th season. This of course being the time when SG-1 writers were added after that show was canceled. Many attempts were made to make it into SG1 including bringing Carter onto the show and focusing on characters like Todd the Wraith and Rodney/McKay a bit too much; it also dropped it's focus on the questionability of the world and the ambiguity of the Wraith as a whole and turned them into what I think are the equivilant of Shakesphere stage actors.

While there were some good episodes among the travesty, I still think it lost it's way mainly because it didn't expand from SG1, it just became it. Episodes like "Midway" were mainly praised by fans because of Teal'c/Ronan and not because of the content of the episode like the story or the dialogue and who can't forget "Vegas" which is mainly interesting due to it's CSI-like aping and alternate universes.

Not only that but not enough went into exploring the characters and everything went into mindless "action" and generic sci-fi plots. Season 5 contains the most examples of this with episodes like "Tracker" and "First Contact" which did nothing but rehash old SG1 plots. I would of liked to see an episode that focused on Sheppard or Rodney like that episode "Outcast" but we didn't even got that, instead we got Keller episodes which while being somewhat good, got tiring because she stole the focus from the entire cast.

So yeah, it went downhill and it brought along the cast which is a shame. Season 5 has got to be the death-knell for the show; there was nothing memorable about it and every plot had the sense of filler to it. Except for "The Shrine" and "The Prodigal".