Season Five : Complaints and Misgivings

[Skydiver]

i have a funny feeling it'll be like Enterprise...where thier 'fixes' ended up being too little, too late.

I got tired of watching because it was boobs, butts adn bombs. i got sick of t'pol's boobs hanging out all the time just as i got sick of them stripping down to thier underwear every other episode. and that annoyed me more than any rampant rewriting of 30 years of canon

the show was just shallow and cheap and i - who'd watched all the treks to that point - just turned off the set after a season or two and gave up on it

Manny Coto tried from all i hear, but too much damage had already been done, and it wasn't just that series that was damaged, the franchise as a whole is a bit dinged up. because it's left such a sour taste in peoples' mouths that they dont' want to try another reimagining (there's a spin doctored word for 'copy')

[Ice Wolf]

The problem is that unlike Enterprise's PTB, Mallozzi and co are 'fixing' the show in the wrong direction. Instead of writing intelligent, thought provoking and exciting stories that serve the characters, they are moving heavier into more "boobs, butts and bombs".

[Skydiver]

they're in the equivalent of enterprise's season 3 - deeply in denial that anything is wrong and wtih absolute faith in thier own views of how it should be (or totally in the thrall of a network directing them in the BBB direction)

But, unless skiffy/mgm dictates some changes in the head office, nothing will change. We'll get more like seasons 9 and 10, a few 'good' ones intersperced amongst what many deem to be a season of stinkers...laying down teh path to cancellation

I personally felt that season 5 was kinda a gimme just to hit episode 100. taht if skiffy wanted more money from MGM they were more likely to cough it up.

season six, however, will - still my opinion - be a lot less of a gimme and something they'll really have to fight for.

What's so sad, these guys CAN do stuff with a wide appeal. We've all watched adn enjoyed episodes that they've written. it's just that, good writers don't necessarily make good show runners.

the cast changes for season 5 may give the show a shot in the creative arm...or it could just be one change too many because, no matter how good the actors are, if the stories are weak, the show is weak.

and i'm seeing - still my opinion - a distinct lack of creativity and willingness to do something new and innovative and a simple settling for 'well, we've done it this way for years......'

[justhere1971]

You know people get stuck in a rut all the time. In the work place specially. You do what is comfortable, proven & easy to do. Who wants to do more work, is the thinking behind that IMO.
The fact that they see no probelm with rehashed stories, that they themselves have done beforer is what worries me the most. They think by re-writing one/two scenes, they've created something entirely different. If you look at this from a let's say a research paper prospect, gosh that's pledgerism. Although, I don't think you can pledgerise your own work, but it doesn't give me much faith in their abilities.
Like you said, it's a fact that they can do better. It's also a sad fact that they don't want to. IMO of course. As far as the cast changes. I am over that. There's no way to go back to what once was. The feel will never be the same even if they do reinstate everyone. It will feel hollow. Too much bitterness and arguments have passed for it to go back to it's former glory.

I would gladly admit I was wrong, if they can revitalize the show and give me something to be excited about. John Sheppard alone is not cutting it much for me. I love Rodney & John together, but not this slapstick comic act they've got going at the moment.

[Skydiver]

IMHO, the way to get out of a rut is to bring in some fresh minds....AND THEN LISTEN TO THEM and try something new.

these folks have been doing the same jobs for the better part of a decade in an industry where people are normally only employed for a year or three at a time.

what has made bsg so interesting for me is that - it seems - ron moore goes 'mmhm, so if starbuck and this other person are chasing the 'red baron'....well starbuck's the star, she'll shoot it down'...and then doing just the opposite.

it's not predicitble.

stargate and atlantis are predictible.

and wehn we can predict the ending, it frees up our minds to find the nits to pick and makes it easier to criticize.

[Falcon Horus]

There's one certainty I know... If SGA gets cancelled during or right after season 5, I won't be fighting for it to come back. No way!

[g.o.d]

IMHO, the way to get out of a rut is to bring in some fresh minds....AND THEN LISTEN TO THEM and try something new.

I've been saying this since S2.

these folks have been doing the same jobs for the better part of a decade in an industry where people are normally only employed for a year or three at a time.

yes, and that's the problem. I think they believe they're writing excelent and interesting episodes. Current TPTB won't change, they'll keep writing boring filler episodes about 2-3 persons. I think SGA is doomed.


I still can't believe taht those same people wrote great season 1

[Integrabyte]

Where there is a will there is a way. So far there is no "will" from TPTB. They take things for granted and do not put their minds at work to do something creative. They know they have the fanbase so the keep on doing what they did so far, throwing the fans some bones here and there. The changes in SGA SEASON 5 remind me of the changes in SG1. This is the first step to cancel the show. Season 4 was more important than they think.

[Dr Weir]

They need women on the TPTB team!!!

*Hides.*

[marielabbott]

You know people get stuck in a rut all the time. In the work place specially. You do what is comfortable, proven & easy to do. Who wants to do more work, is the thinking behind that IMO.
The fact that they see no probelm with rehashed stories, that they themselves have done beforer is what worries me the most. They think by re-writing one/two scenes, they've created something entirely different. If you look at this from a let's say a research paper prospect, gosh that's pledgerism. Although, I don't think you can pledgerise your own work, but it doesn't give me much faith in their abilities.
Like you said, it's a fact that they can do better. It's also a sad fact that they don't want to. IMO of course. As far as the cast changes. I am over that. There's no way to go back to what once was. The feel will never be the same even if they do reinstate everyone. It will feel hollow. Too much bitterness and arguments have passed for it to go back to it's former glory.

I would gladly admit I was wrong, if they can revitalize the show and give me something to be excited about. John Sheppard alone is not cutting it much for me. I love Rodney & John together, but not this slapstick comic act they've got going at the moment.

Yup. I'll give season 5 a chance, most likely, but even so, it will never be the show I loved before season 4. Too much has changed for me.

I think this has been mentioned before (and I know it can be applied to fans as well), but--groupthink? Maybe TPTB have a case of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

[Dr Weir]

My comment is based on the observation, and I'm not the first to point out, that the vast majority of those disgruntled with what SGA has become are women, not really sure why, are most men really so much more easily pleased?

[justhere1971]

I'd like to repond to that, but I think I will p-off people.

But no, I don't think men are easier to please than women. I think it's the caring/not-caring factor.

[Dr Weir]

There's no way to go back to what once was. The feel will never be the same even if they do reinstate everyone. It will feel hollow. Too much bitterness and arguments have passed for it to go back to it's former glory.

In theory if TPTB did that it would seem artificial and desperate; even less of a reason to watch.

[Integrabyte]

They frelled up things badly with this Hotel approach. Fire Torri, bring Amanda. Fire Amanda, try to bring Torri back. Torri said no, now they chose someone else. Like a frelling hotel...people come and go

[justhere1971]

They frelled up things badly with this Hotel approach. Fire Torri, bring Amanda. Fire Amanda, try to bring Torri back. Torri said no, now they chose someone else. Like a frelling hotel...people come and go

Does it have a flashing "vacancy" sign on?

In theory if TPTB did that it would seem artificial and desperate; even less of a reason to watch.

ITA with that. It would seem desperate. I think the best move would be to keep going and concentrate on writing better stories. If that means bringing in fresh blood, then let's do so. I think that's exactly what this group needs. Fresh blood, fresh mind - not the same people who've been looking at it for the last decade. If they believe in shaking up the show so much to improve it, why not the same be applied to PTB? Let's shake things up to better it.