Season Five : Complaints and Misgivings

[TameFarrar]

Your secret is safe. I get the feeling Brad was not happy as well. I still think in 20 years we may get a behind the scenes special and we may discover SciFi was pushing for these cast changes. If that's the case I'll owe RCC and JM an apology.

well until then.... I am going to continue believing that BOTH of them leave alot to be desired as showrunners

[ses110]

TPTB might as well shown Sam/Cam flipping a coin for leadership of SG-1. Mitchell has no gate training and is just handed SG-1 over Sam with a ton of training. Mitchell plays a part in helping SG-1 and get injured and he automatically gets to pick his assignment? Mitchell was doing his job.

[TameFarrar]

I don't think folks realize how much say the network has in the decision making. Yes, If I want the best case scenario it would be to keep Weir on Full-time and as leader. Do you ever think someone from SCI FI said to the producers, well we are cancelling SG-1, and you have Amanda Tapping still under contract, maybe you should put her on SGA?

I think the networks have some say in every show personally

however I don't think this far into a show they would force any casting changes. In the case of Weir and Sam... I firmly believe that was the TPTB just making a decision

I was not real thrilled with even MORE SG-1 cross over...cause i think Shadow made the best point earlier that SGA was making it as its OWN SHOW for just a little while before they started bringing over the SG-1 cast and the show has just never really been on its own.... sadly I feel that has been lazy show making and lazy writing on TPTB's part

[ses110]

I could see that happening. I think the mistake that was made was TPTB should have tried checking with AT to see if she wanted to commit to Atlantis for the long haul before putting her on Atlantis. AT has been playing the same character for 11 years and TPTB new of her involvement with her new show. Now TPTB have more cast changes.

[cajuncayenne]

I have never recovered from near the ending of season 3. My complaints include the rapid cast changes. Characters we cared about gone and replaced then replaced again.

I don't feel that the writers write very well. Some do but most do not. Female characters often appear wooden and inconsistent. Season 5 brings a team of women and a full time keller. No doubt they will be extremly youg and attractive and be poorly written. Teyla is a huge example. She has never been written well. This includes the boyfriend thing.

I have huge misgivings about Keller. These complaints stand by themselves even when you take away the fact that she repaced carson in order to draw in more male viewers and so she could give ronin a girlfriend. I like the actress but not the character. She will be left in charge so Carson will be a lab checker or expendable team member number 5.

The multiple changes in leadership also concern me. I liked Weir even when the writers did what I mentioned above. I like woolsey but he will be comic relief or a huge void. It will depend on how Shep and McKay are writen. I don't care for anything Larrin related and I think the lack on canon memory is annoying.

Here is the big kicker....I don't want sg1 characters on atlantis. Thats why the show was made. So it would not be sg1. I don't want Sam, Daniel or Tealc to have two part arcs on Atlantis. I want Atlantis characters to be well written and used in well written stories about themelves.

[ses110]

I never excepted Mitchell and Vala. I though SG-1 would not work as soon as i heard about BB and CB. It's nothing against BB and CB. They seem like great people. I though it was to much of a change and a shock to the system in bringing in two stars from another SciFi show. I though most long time fans would not except it. I think TPTB should have just added the Hailey character. That gives you two women on SG-1 and you could have the teacher and mentor relationship. It would have been interesting and the Show would still feel like SG-1. I also though the Ori were a bad idea.

[TameFarrar]

I guess I don't really think of Woolsey as an SG-1 character since he was only a few episodes. However, I would like to see SGA stand on it own feet and not continue to rely on SG-1 throwbacks ...be it story lines, characters OR writers

that would be my biggest misgiving AND complaint...

oh and I have long lamented how horribly they write the women...again I will site Shadow's earlier post though ALL of the writers in this franchise have written the women poorly, be it male or female. So the need for some GOOD fresh writers would be a welcome relief

[TameFarrar]

perhaps a female writer?

possibly...you would hope a female writer would have a bit more insight into how a female would react in certain situations BUT if even the female writer is not a good writer it won't much matter

[ShadowMaat]

I've just come up with a brilliant theory to explain everything: Atlantis is TPTB's midlife crisis. It explains everything! What do men having a midlife crisis do? Cling to their treasured past (SG-1) and go after younger and younger women (just look at the cast). A man going through a midlife crisis can be a lot like a horny teenage male- obsessed with sex/women, fast rides and in this case we'll add in big explosions, too (and not go in any pervy directions with that, thank you). Atlantis has a LOT more ships than it used to- none of them bigger than Atlantis itself, and we all know men are obsessed with size.

That's gotta be it. All the problems with Atlantis, from the prevalence of busty females to the juvenelizing of the characters to the bigger and better ships to the inability to stay on one subject (or one cast line-up)... SGA is a midlife crisis. I rest my case.

[TameFarrar]

and viola...just like that we know the answer...wanna take on Male Bonding rituals next

[Redhooks]

My biggest complaint for season 4, which is now a misgiving for season 5, is the overall uneveness of the episodes for this series. It is hard for me to believe sometimes the same writers have written some excellent episodes and then turn around and put out some real stinkers. I think that the writers on the show are competent enough, but by having them around for so long most of the good ideas have already been mined from their brains. I think that they just need some new blood in the room when they are "spinning" ideas for episodes. I think that is why there seems to be a number of episodes that seem like re-hashes of previous SG-1 stories because it was probably the same writer who came up with the original idea and still thinks it is good one. As much as this show is written by "committee," it seems like it waters down some of the more interesting off-beat type episodes. "Too many cooks spoil the soup." I also think the lack of a show bible has been detrimental to some continuity over the 4 seasons it has been on.

I noticed a lot of hate for Larrin in the early posts on this thread and I have to say as a big Jill Wagner fan, I am not real happy with how Larrin has been written so far, either. In the spring and summer when there was a lot of talk about this character and how she was going to be a strong female leader, I thought this was a great role for Jill to get. Then when I started seeing some of the preview clips for Travelers, I started to become worried that Larrin was being written much different than my intrepretation of a strong character. When I saw the episode I knew that a strong, smart female leader was not the way the character was written. She was more the cliched hot, strutting hard-ass female who did not show much in the way of leadership ability.

While Travelers does have some good moments, I think the overall plot was poorly conceived in that it was a bad introduction episode for "the new, powerful, and technologically advanced human race" that TPTB had been touting all summer. We really learn nothing detailed about the Travelers and are only given brief glimses as to who they are and how did they get to the point that they are at. I think I learned more about the Travelers by reading and seeing interviews with Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie than I did in the episode. Instead, Travelers was more a comic relief/action exercise with a lot of over the top dialogue and not much substance outside of a few good ideas ("you should have said initiate inertia dampners" being the best idea/moment of the whole episode.) Sheppard was alternately shown as very dumb/out of character and then smart and competent. Unfortunately, the dumb moments out numbered the smart ones to me. In BAMSR, Larrin was not given any intelligent lines and again was used as comic relief although I thought it was better done than it was in Travelers due to the fewer times it occurred. It seemed like she was there only because the Travelers ships were needed and there was no real explanation as to why they would join an alliance with the Wraith and let them know they existed. I hope in season 5 that she is written more of the way she was promised when season 4 was being filmed then what ended up on the TV.

[Linzi]

Like Ali, I have concerns about Carson in season 5. I don't understand why you'd kill off a character, just to bring him/her back really. I'm hoping I'm wrong and that the way he's incorporated into the show will be good.

I have one main concern though. That's the character focus episodes. I haven't always enjoyed the way in season 4 that some episodes have been dedicated to one sole character to the exclusion of everyone else. I understand season 4 had baby issues, and so understand, but I'm not sure I want episodes with one character and not really anyone else. Even if it's my favourite character. I enjoy my fav characters WHEN they interact with the team, and I am worried that if this trend continues into season 5 that I will be disappointed at the lack of a team feel to the show.

[Reefgirl]

My only complaint is Weir not returning next season. There was so much potential in that story arc that could of likely gone on for several episodes. I am afraid if they visit the story arc without Weir, it will not be as interesting and likely very dull.

Unless they hit that Reset button with a jackhammer and bring back Blonde Weir from SG-1 you're going to be out of luck, I seriously doubt that Brunette Weir (Seeing as we're not allowed to mention actors by name) will be seen again, not after they way the Ways were parted

I've just come up with a brilliant theory to explain everything: Atlantis is TPTB's midlife crisis. It explains everything! What do men having a midlife crisis do? Cling to their treasured past (SG-1) and go after younger and younger women (just look at the cast). A man going through a midlife crisis can be a lot like a horny teenage male- obsessed with sex/women, fast rides and in this case we'll add in big explosions, too (and not go in any pervy directions with that, thank you). Atlantis has a LOT more ships than it used to- none of them bigger than Atlantis itself, and we all know men are obsessed with size.

That's gotta be it. All the problems with Atlantis, from the prevalence of busty females to the juvenelizing of the characters to the bigger and better ships to the inability to stay on one subject (or one cast line-up)... SGA is a midlife crisis. I rest my case.

I couldn't have said it better myself, I'd green you but I can't so have an unofficial one

At the moment I can't think of a good enough reason to watch series 5

Personally I think the bringing back of Carson is a knee-jerk reaction to the hysteria from 2 years ago when it was announced that he was leaving the show, the show runners realized that they'd made a huge mistake with their decisions to get rid of him and bringing him back to rectify their mistake and drag the Carson fans back is too little too late.

The cast changes don't bother me but the facts that the boobs are getting bigger is, why not get Pamela Anderson and Jordan in and stop fannying around trying to convince the fan's that this is the direction the show needs to go in and the characters will bring depth to Atlantis

My biggest gripe is the lack of fresh writers, the only thing that will save the show and make me watch again is if they clear out the Frat Boy mentality that has ruined the last series and a half of a once great show and get in some fresh blood, like Paul Cornell and Stephen Moffat who can write proper creepy sci fi

[Kliggins]

I think the networks have some say in every show personally

however I don't think this far into a show they would force any casting changes. In the case of Weir and Sam... I firmly believe that was the TPTB just making a decision

I was not real thrilled with even MORE SG-1 cross over...cause i think Shadow made the best point earlier that SGA was making it as its OWN SHOW for just a little while before they started bringing over the SG-1 cast and the show has just never really been on its own.... sadly I feel that has been lazy show making and lazy writing on TPTB's part

I have never been a fan of the SG1 over in SGA from season 1. I always wanted SGA to be its own show and that has been disappearing more each year. It is only one of the things that disturbs me about season 5.

[Kliggins]

For me its not really about the kissing or the flirting itself...its more the overall mentality behind it and the writing that goes along with it. Its how they make the character out to be.

In the Original Star Trek Kirk always dealt with the *women or woman of the planet* and usually ended up either fighting on their behalf, sort of as a chivalrous action, kissing the woman or drooling around her and making a mistake that put the crew in some sort of jeopardy and the action began.

That is not to say that Spock or McCoy didn't have their moments as well with a woman or two or some sort of sexual tension that got the whole crew in trouble its just that Kirk was the main Lead Male and did it the most often....That is what I think of when I call it Kirking.

So my definition is a bit different then most others here on the Forum. Its sort of a *dumbing down of a Male Lead JUST because there is a woman in the scene...does that make more sense???

You make perfect sense and I am surprised the PTB continue to do it, becauase it really doesn't work in today's television. In the late 60's,() yes, I remember them, a lot of television was like that with the male leads being very manly and the females being helpless. I kind of give Kirk and those like him a little slack because of the era the show aired. Now, I think it just weakens a character and makes that character seem dated as if they should be in Star Trek and not SGA.