Season Five : Complaints and Misgivings

[erb]

As for Zelenka, whether the shoes thing was a joke or not, they're still leaning towards making him some kind of perv and I hate that. I bet if Shep went around sniffing hair it'd be seen as cool and kinda sexy, but for Radek it's just creepy.

I hate them trying to make him some kind of pervert, as well.

My husband said the same thing you did when I was talking to him about Zelenka and sniffing hair. A studly character would cast a different light on the action.

I'm sure if Ronon had done the same, Keller would have described it dreamily as being so romantic. But, I gather Zelenka is supposed to be creepy according to Carter and Keller.

Thanks for that.

[Jackie]

I give JF a lot of credit for trying to make things better. I'm not sure he gets enough support from the rest of the cast. I'm sure there is fear from most actors to even speak up and complain.

there is fear for most employees to speak up and complain in other business too. Over all...if you're not happy where you are working it's best to find another job.

Staying in a job that you hate just makes ya miserable along those in the same boat with you.

It think the show would be set to be tied if DH found another job.

AT left and the best they could do to replace her was Woosley. Just imagine what they would do with no Rodney! (Maybe actually try to write for the other characters?)

[Jackie]

I hate them trying to make him some kind of pervert, as well.

My husband said the same thing you did when I was talking to him about Zelenka and sniffing hair. A studly character would cast a different light on the action.

I'm sure if Ronon had done the same, Keller would have described it dreamily as being so romantic. But, I gather Zelenka is supposed to be creepy according to Carter and Keller.

Thanks for that.

I also ways like Zelenka becuase he would foil with Rodney. One of the best Zelenka moments was in the first few eps this season when he got a projectile of debris through his leg and he had to continue to fix the thing on the outside of the city. Towards the end of the ep, they have him returning to work with a cane and leg brace becuase he knew he was needed.

Yep, give him one heroic moment then turn him into a perv...that sound like tptb to me.

[Chrysalis]

Gah! I can't green any of you! Stop talking so much sense!

My thoughts on SG1 after season 8 -- I think they just wanted to get to the magical 10 years, just as on Atlantis, they wanted the magical 100 eps. I don't think Atlantis is guaranteed a life beyond season five. The five is all it takes to reach 100 eps. After that, it's on its own.

Joe Flanigan's the only one who speaks out because he knows his worth in the whole thing. I heard him speak at Burbank. He talked about actors knowing who they are and going for jobs like that instead of trying to be the leading man when they're a character actor, etc. He's leading man material. He knows that.

I heard Jason Momoa speak once too, about how he went out skateboarding with Joe, and the whole time he was watching him going "If this guy hurts himself, I'm out of a job". They all know how important Joe is in the equation. That gives him the ability to speak about his views without being under thread of the axe.

They did originally want Ben Browder for the role, but really -- if they brought him in as a replacement because Joe wanted out or anything like that, it would kill the show. Without him, they have no show, just as SG1 was effectively over and just filling time to get to 10 years without RDA.

[ses110]

TPTB better hope DH does not leave because they will be forces to write for other characters. I guess that's why TPTB give Rodney most of the screentime and storylines. I give DH a lot of credit for playing the McKay character. It cannot be easy. It also cannot be easy fro the rest of the cast who get very little screentime. It cannot help cast harmony.

[ses110]

alyssa your not helping either making so much sense youself. It's getting out of control. lol. I think you nailed it with the 100 episode. That's a magical number and IMO a big reason Atlantis is getting a fifth season. Scifi also wanted that 200 episode of SG-1 for the record. I doubt most of Hollywood cares less about that record.

[magictrick]

Well there are 11 pages already and I can't read through all of it, so most likely most of these have been mentioned already.

I don't find the cast/character changes appealing. To be more specific the leadership change to Woolsey is not something I'm looking forward. I don't mind the character as the occasional guest on the show, but his personality is annoying and seeing him as the leader of Atlantis is just too much.

I guess him and the rest of the Atlantis team would be squaring off a lot more than with previous leaders (who seemed to be more protagonists, whereas Woolsey seems to be more antagonist) and this is supposed to spice up the show, but I'm having doubts on whether it would work.

Weir not coming back is also a downside. In fact, that whole story line of writing her off the show was not done in the best way. This opened room for too many cast changes to happen, not something of an SG formula. SG-1 succeeded because the cast was so consistent for the first 7 seasons - now SGA is just shuffling characters everywhere.

[Falcon Horus]

On the other hand, though, it's more likely that Lorne and Zelenka would get killed than one of the more nubile characters. *sigh*

It would suprise me in the least if Zelenka were to bite the dust in season 5.

Just imagine what they would do with no Rodney! (Maybe actually try to write for the other characters?)

They replace him with Kavanagh.

I heard Jason Momoa speak once too, about how he went out skateboarding with Joe, and the whole time he was watching him going "If this guy hurts himself, I'm out of a job".

Now I'm envisioning JF doing all these cool tricks and stuff on his skateboard.

It also cannot be easy fro the rest of the cast who get very little screentime. It cannot help cast harmony.

I had a funny thought last night as I finished wordcount for The Game. I wondered briefly how Rachel and Jason find their lines. Do they highlight them or point them to the right page?

[ses110]

I heard aboth that. I just think it very hard for a show to continue without the big star and RDA was a producer as well. He brought more to the table than just acting. After 8 years and your star wants to leave I think you should end the show. I know it was not the Jack O'Neill show but he is a very difficult chracter to replace.

[ToasterOnFire]

Is anyone else very fearful that Teyla's baby will be kidnapped? Man, I do not want to see that happen. Cliche, cliche, cliche.

I fear Teyla's baby will be a no-win sitation for me. It's born with super wraith-sensing abilities? Meh. It's some freak experiment of Michael's? Meh. It's stolen and/or killed? Meh. It's perfectly normal and the show turns into SGA: The Baby Years? Yeah, even a talented PTB would have trouble pulling that off, and this PTB ain't that.

I would have rather seen TPTB not bring RL's pregnancy into canon and instead focus on the disappearance of her people. Up the angst and conflict too - so far all we've seen are some mildly harsh words between Shep and Teyla, followed by Teyla agreeing with pretty much everything he's said. Nah, I'd rather see Shep and Carter outright forbid Teyla to take time off from the team to find her people and Teyla say "Screw this then, I'm going off on my own." Maybe even bring Ronon into it - perhaps he'd support her over the Earthers and go with her. I've been wanting a PG vs. Earthers conflict since the teases in Trinity. I doubt TPTB will ever go there - conflict within the team is not their cup of tea.

[Falcon Horus]

I would have rather seen TPTB not bring RL's pregnancy into canon and instead focus on the disappearance of her people. Up the angst and conflict too - so far all we've seen are some mildly harsh words between Shep and Teyla, followed by Teyla agreeing with pretty much everything he's said. Nah, I'd rather see Shep and Carter outright forbid Teyla to take time off from the team to find her people and Teyla say "Screw this then, I'm going off on my own." Maybe even bring Ronon into it - perhaps he'd support her over the Earthers and go with her. I've been wanting a PG vs. Earthers conflict since the teases in Trinity. I doubt TPTB will ever go there - conflict within the team is not their cup of tea.

^^Would make a great fanfic...

[dana]

I fear Teyla's baby will be a no-win sitation for me. It's born with super wraith-sensing abilities? Meh. It's some freak experiment of Michael's? Meh. It's stolen and/or killed? Meh. It's perfectly normal and the show turns into SGA: The Baby Years? Yeah, even a talented PTB would have trouble pulling that off, and this PTB ain't that.

I would have rather seen TPTB not bring RL's pregnancy into canon and instead focus on the disappearance of her people. Up the angst and conflict too - so far all we've seen are some mildly harsh words between Shep and Teyla, followed by Teyla agreeing with pretty much everything he's said. Nah, I'd rather see Shep and Carter outright forbid Teyla to take time off from the team to find her people and Teyla say "Screw this then, I'm going off on my own." Maybe even bring Ronon into it - perhaps he'd support her over the Earthers and go with her. I've been wanting a PG vs. Earthers conflict since the teases in Trinity. I doubt TPTB will ever go there - conflict within the team is not their cup of tea.

Or any conflict TBH...I have yet to see the Sheppard/Carter conflict they were promising. Who knows maybe there will be conflict Sheppard/Woolsey, since Misbegotten he wanted to put a smackdown on him.

[Reefgirl]

It would suprise me in the least if Zelenka were to bite the dust in season 5.

If you think the fandom imploded with Weir and Carson were killed off you wait until TPTB announce they're killing off Zelenka I've trapsed around these boards and lurked in some very strange pthreads and I've never found anyone who's had a bad word to say about Zelenka. I've seen posts that go something like "ABC was a total jerk in this ep he deserved everything he got" or "XYZ should never have been bought in in the first place, she can't cope" I've never seen any comments like that about Zelenka anywhere, it's the first time I've seen universal condemnation of the treatment of a character, usually there has been some "HA!! about bloody time too" from someone, but not this time. If TPTB keep up this line with Zelenka it's not going to come back and bite them on the a$$, it's going to chew it up and spit it out

[miss_kaylee]

If you think the fandom imploded with Weir and Carson were killed off you wait until TPTB announce they're killing off Zelenka I've trapsed around these boards and lurked in some very strange pthreads and I've never found anyone who's had a bad word to say about Zelenka. I've seen posts that go something like "ABC was a total jerk in this ep he deserved everything he got" or "XYZ should never have been bought in in the first place, she can't cope" I've never seen any comments like that about Zelenka anywhere, it's the first time I've seen universal condemnation of the treatment of a character, usually there has been some "HA!! about bloody time too" from someone, but not this time. If TPTB keep up this line with Zelenka it's not going to come back and bite them on the a$$, it's going to chew it up and spit it out

True dat. Isn't a lot of poster unhappy they way Carter, McKay and Keller talked about Zelenka in Trio?

[Falcon Horus]

...it's the first time I've seen universal condemnation of the treatment of a character, usually there has been some "HA!! about bloody time too" from someone, but not this time. If TPTB keep up this line with Zelenka it's not going to come back and bite them on the a$$, it's going to chew it up and spit it out

Oh, I completely agree. He's such a likeable character and David Nykl does such an awesome job bringing him to life. I just love his Czech murmuring and you can bet on it I will promptly start laughing when he starts off in Czech. He's hilarious, and serious when it calls for it.