Why do people have so much hate for season 5?

[Jper]

I'll recycle this from the Ronon/Jennifer Appreciation thread. You can go read the entire discussion there if you want, but this is pretty much what I have to say on the subject of my two biggest problems with SGA season five. I think most of my other problems are even caused or related to one of the two or both.

Personally, my biggest problem: I just don't understand why the writing was so incredibly inconsistent for the fifth season... For example, since I was talking about Tracker the other day: In Tracker Rodney's character seemed to suddenly have lost all his development from the previous seasons, and Ronon was reverted back to just being the mad-man, grumpy Satedan, and you-know diminished to just his usual stereotype role...

I'm sorry, but I really did not see any team-work (between Rodney and Ronon) in Tracker which was what I wanted to see, I saw just the opposite. Ronon and Rodney barely putting up with each other...

Personally I disliked Tracker for the fact that IMHO it illustrated what my biggest problem with SGA season five was. The loss of any overall structure/plot/storyline keeping the episodes of season five together combined with the totally horrid and unnecessary lurvee triangle of doom. I'd rather had seen Ronon and Keller end up together instead of this whole Ronon-Jennifer-Rodney thing that did ruin part of the "team-atmosphere/bond". I don't care if it was supposedly "realistic".

What I did like, the only thing I liked, in Tracker, was Jennifer. At least most of the time she was the character I think she ought to be. And according to "that character", I do indeed believe, if she'd found out about Rodney-Ronon-last-scene she'd have told them both to get lost... However, the more I think about this, the more it makes me realize how inconsistent (and weak) Jennifer's character/writing was. One episode would be like Tracker, then suddenly she'd revert back to whimpering and whining as if "Missing" (Jennifer and Teyla episode) had never happened...

Of course Tracker is the example of the whole lurrvee triangle of doom. The whole Ronon-Jennifer-Rodney thing. Which for me was the second worst thing of season five. Not so much the focus on a more "romantic angle", but the way that romantic angle was so badly thought-out.

I think most of you here know, that in theory, I'd have liked Rodney/Jennifer (In theory, 'cause I have lots to say about the actual thing on screen that we saw, that I didn't like.), but I could have dealt with Ronon/Jennifer, too. Why? Well, if it had been portrayed consistent and good, starting after Quarantine, it totally wouldn't have bothered me. IMHO Trio (in season four) was the turning point for Jennifer, and from then on, it was Jennifer/Rodney for me. But, for Christ's sake, then stick with it! Suddenly in season five, it was like Trio had never happened, and there was this whole Rodney-Ronon thing! Both Ronon's and Rodney's character suffered heavily due to this IMHO!

But then again, I have never understood TPTB, if it had been me I'd have paired Rodney up with Cadman in season three (even season 2, starting with Duet), or at least explored that more... Then if that was actually present, Rodney-Jennifer would never have been an option and Ronon-Jennifer would probably have been the way to go!

Don't misunderstand me, though, I totally think Rodney-Katie was THE way to go for some character development for Rodney. I really think Rodney needed that, including the whole Quarantine thing! But! But! At least then afterwards let Rodney keep this, let this development be, instead of just writing like it never happened!

See, that's what I don't get. First we have Quarantine. Obviously lovely moment for Ronon & Jennifer. End of a good story arc with good development for Rodney's character without too much focus on it. It fitted into out usual SGA episodes. Absolutely well/nicely done. No problems with me. Then we have Trio where this happens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj5YfnENYfY

Okay, still no problem with me. Obviously TPTB want to move on...
And then season four even ends with Jennifer-Rodney.
All good and well, me looking forward to season five, no problems...

But then season five. Suddenly Trio and TLM didn't happen? Ronnon suddenly is interested again?! And Jennifer doesn't seem to be moving on anymore from Ronon to Rodney, but is caught in between? And at first you think, well this isn't right, I'm misreading this, and then Tracker happens, and then I was like WTF? Ronon and Rodney are going to fight over it? And then it all fell apart.


From my POV, but I could be wrong, in season four they move away from Ronon-Keller and they did stop showing it, but then suddenly in season five it was there again. And to me that felt like so "out of the blue" and annoying, certainly in the beginning. That totally didn't make any sense for me, and that was (is) my biggest objection against Ronon/Jennifer. I thought they were lovely in Quarantine, but then it sort of got "lost".

As you can see, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I think season four was the main reason I went with Rodney-Jennifer, and the beginning of season five was the main reason why I couldn't stand Ronon-Jennifer at that time. I bet for persons who are more into Ronon-Jennifer it's something similar.

I'm still at loss whatever happened so suddenly between S4 and S5, 'cause I will really never understand this. Martin Gero sits there in the video I've just posted doing all this explaining and it all fits for season four, and where they want to go and all, but then when I watch season five I see nothing of what he's telling us anymore.

Anyways, I think it's pretty clear what bothered me with or about almost everything I didn't like... I always thought it was a lack of consistency. Discarding actual previous events/development like they/it had never happened.

[jelgate]

Because it became the Rodney McKay Show. The rest of the characters were downgraded even more with Ronon and Teyla basically disappearing

[Linda06]

Because it became the Rodney McKay Show. The rest of the characters were downgraded even more with Ronon and Teyla basically disappearing

Disappearing? Where? Where? *goes off in search of Ronon and Teyla*

[jelgate]

Disappearing? Where? Where? *goes off in search of Ronon and Teyla*

Try at the bottom of the ocean

[Linda06]

Try at the bottom of the ocean

I can't swim Yes yes you heard right, a goldfish who can't swim

[Gem of Tigress]

For me S5 wasn't so bad, but...
Identity wasn't needed.
The whole McKeller ship thing i didn't like.
Vegas and EATG were disasters in fact i think Vegas was the worst eppy in the entire series.
S5 started out well but after First contact and the Lost tribe it didn't stay consistent.
In the latter half of the season it seemed Ronon and Teyla had dropped off the city.

the rest of the season was fine. but it was these points that made it not the same for me.

[KEK]

Vegas is like Marmite apparently. For many people it's one of the best of the series.

[General Jumper One]

I liked season 5, in fact I like them all, all of SG-1, all of Atlantis, and all of SGU so far.

[Linda06]

Vegas is like Marmite apparently. For many people it's one of the best of the series.

Vegas does seem to be a love it or hate it ep eh I'm in the hate it group

[Lythisrose]

In the Vegas Lover's camp here!

[General Jumper One]

In the Vegas Lover's camp here!

me two

[Jper]

I'm in the love group, but then again if you evaluate the S5 episodes as solely standalone episodes, most were pretty solid, it's the strings keeping them together that are seriously missing or working in the opposite direction. There was no consistency, coherence or connection between the episodes in the fifth season imho. That was the problem for me.

So I liked Vegas... EatG, though, that one was horrible. The-never-to-be-mentioned-drive for example is reason enough for me to dislike that episode.

[EvilSpaceAlien]

I'm gonna copy a post I made in another thread.

For SGA I have to compare it to Alias, because there are some similarities in how the shows developed. Alias had a great first season, brilliant second and third seasons which turned the show into the best show on television, and then a pretty good fourth season, and a truly awful fifth season with sharkjumping that almost made me want to top myself.
Now SGA also had a great first season which made the show one of the best on tv, and pretty good second season, a meh third season with a few gems, a meh fourth season with some gems, and a CRASH! BOOM! BANG! disaster of a fifth season. I'm surprised that FEMA didn't go in and took control of it, because things were going so badly. And the series finale was probably one of the worst ones I've ever watched. Just a rushed piece of *obscene things removed as to not frighten the little children*. Sure, it had cool space battles and such, but it was all flash, no substance.
*mini rant over*

It had way too much focus on McKay and McKeller, not nearly enough screentime for Teyla (did she even have more than ten lines during the last season?), and most of the episodes were just downright boring and it felt like we had done it all before. I can honestly tell you that the only episode I was exited whiel watching was First Contact, the rest of the episodes were just meh. And Enemy of the Gate is one of the worst series finales I have ever watched. Vegas is one of the episodes I actually did like a little because it was so different that the rest of the stuff Atlantis had done in the past.

[General Jumper One]

i wish people had more hate for Season 5 hating threads

[VampyreWraith]

I'm in the love group, but then again if you evaluate the S5 episodes as solely standalone episodes, most were pretty solid, it's the strings keeping them together that are seriously missing or working in the opposite direction. There was no consistency, coherence or connection between the episodes in the fifth season imho. That was the problem for me.

So I liked Vegas... EatG, though, that one was horrible. The-never-to-be-mentioned-drive for example is reason enough for me to dislike that episode.

I agree with all of this. I think that what you mentioned was the main reason why season 5 wasn't one of the best seasons of SGA. There was also a lack of equal development for all the characters; some characters, at times, seemed overdeveloped; while others seemed to all but disappear.