Shep and the team in season 5

[SpaceCowboy]

I think the problem with that is that she is supposed to be part of the team... I'm not sure what Rachel's status is supposed to be on the show. She wasn't leading lady, that was for sure in the last 4 seasons. Maybe she is in 5, I don't know how that works really...
Anyway, as I was saying... I think the Teyla-fans (of who I am one) are just frustrated to have such a wonderful character with so much awesome potential being completely wasted away, like other characters. They all suffer from it except McKay. I think the McKay-fans are the happiest in the fandom (could be mistaken of course). And the whole pregnancy-storyline in 4 didn't do her any good, au contraire it hurt the character some more in my opinion (I know people who liked it).

Not that it matters much, but I have always understood that opening credits meant a lot in terms of who was the "star" of the show. I imagine that billing has a lot to do with the status of the actor and what kind of contract they have with TPTB. From the start, JF was the lead-off man and RL was batting third, that's pretty good. For S4, AT replaced TH batting second billing. I wonder if RP is going to slide into that spot now, or if RL and JM will move up in the batting order. I imagine DH will always be the "And Starring..." at the end of the credits; batting clean up in a way (I know the analogy kind of falls apart at this point).

SGA draws its strength from its ensemble cast. Each of them brings strengths and weaknesses that make for good drama and character interaction. Each should have an opportunity to shine, but in the end, Sheppard is the glue that holds everything together. Even in those episodes where he is not the primary, he plays an important role. One example that just pops to mind is his brief appearance at the beginning of "Missing". It was important to the story that someone comment about Teyla's "hot date", and Sheppard was the best one for that job.

Let's face it, if it weren't for Sheppard, we wouldn't have the team at all. He personally selected Teyla, Ford and McKay, and then fought to have Ronon added when Ford was no longer there. He provides comic relief when necessary, just like O'Neill did in SG1, and he is able to drop the hammer when it is necessary.

Sheppard is the star of the show; and hopefully that will not change.

[CazzBlade]

Well said to you!

I think you hit the nail on the head in your post. It's the fact that there's information about episodes and storylines for the other main characters and none for Sheppard. That's what I find particularly difficult to understand, and I actually find it quite hurtful too.

I mean how would TPTB feel if their favourite character on a show they loved appeared to them, from spoilers, not to have anything much going on for him in a new season of the show? Especially if said character wasn't a minor one, but the leading man, whose name appears first in the credits? Would they be worried, feel the writers etc weren't interested in the character, or certainly didn't care about the fans of the character? Because that's what it's looking like to me. That they just don't care about Shep fans. Otherwise why no reassurances, or tidbits? Oh, sorry, I forgot Shep has a couple of nice moments with Ronon in Ronon's dedicated episode, where Woolsey and Teyla have some great scenes....

If there was no information about any characters or their centric episodes then I would be ok with it all. It's the inequality I can't stand. One character seems to be being forgotten about deliberately, certainly in terms of spoilers from one of the executive producers, and I can't understand why. Is it a good old yanking of our chains? If it is...nice and not funny any more. If it's not, why nothing much for Sheppard?

I don't begrudge Ronon development at all. Jason deserves it. But I can't help but feel sad when I read that Jason has had the opportunity to delve more into Ronon and that he's had an opportunity to really get to grips with his character and will be giving us glimpses we haven't seen before. I don't feel Joe has ever been given that chance for Sheppard, not even in Outcast really, which I enjoyed immensely.

McKay always gets meaty episodes, some more than others, granted, but the fact that, yet again, he gets another tear jerker quite frankly grates. I loved Tao of Rodney, but that was a tear jerker. Why can't Sheppard get one of those types of episodes too? I'm not saying I don't want the other main characters to have their centric episodes, I do. But I want my favourite to get that opportunity too.

I always think of something Joe F said in season 2. He wanted a meaty episode like McKay gets, and Martin Gero said to him that he didn't basically know what Joe was complaining about, because Joe had lots of screen time. MG just didn't understand what Joe was saying. Poor Joe. That really sums it all up for me. Do none of the writers WANT to write for Sheppard? Are they all fighting over themselves to write for the other characters? I find it bizarre that there are so many excellent FF writers who write wonderful Sheppard stories, with him very much in character, and yet giving us just a little bit more of a glimpse of the man.

As for the apparent lack of team episodes? Well, that is disappointing too, as I said earlier. Having the odd one here and there and having the team split up just doesn't appeal to me any more. It just doesn't work as well if it goes on too long, I think.

There also in season 4 often weren't 'B' stories in many episodes. Sometimes I agree those do take away from the main plot. However, in quite a few episodes last season I craved them. I don't know if we're getting two stories simultaneously being told in episodes this year, but last year the fact that sometimes characters were missing or virtually missing from whole episodes made me unhappy and again made me feel wanting the team together or at least the characters mainly being in the stories.

Precisely!

I think the problem with that is that she is supposed to be part of the team... I'm not sure what Rachel's status is supposed to be on the show. She wasn't leading lady, that was for sure in the last 4 seasons. Maybe she is in 5, I don't know how that works really...
Anyway, as I was saying... I think the Teyla-fans (of who I am one) are just frustrated to have such a wonderful character with so much awesome potential being completely wasted away, like other characters. They all suffer from it except McKay. I think the McKay-fans are the happiest in the fandom (could be mistaken of course). And the whole pregnancy-storyline in 4 didn't do her any good, au contraire it hurt the character some more in my opinion (I know people who liked it).

I see Teyla as the leading lady, especially now!

A lot of the Teyla fans in the JT thread didn't like the pregnancy storyline as well and are worried with how they are going to deal with the bambino in S5

[CazzBlade]

Not that it matters much, but I have always understood that opening credits meant a lot in terms of who was the "star" of the show. I imagine that billing has a lot to do with the status of the actor and what kind of contract they have with TPTB. From the start, JF was the lead-off man and RL was batting third, that's pretty good. For S4, AT replaced TH batting second billing. I wonder if RP is going to slide into that spot now, or if RL and JM will move up in the batting order. I imagine DH will always be the "And Starring..." at the end of the credits; batting clean up in a way (I know the analogy kind of falls apart at this point).

SGA draws its strength from its ensemble cast. Each of them brings strengths and weaknesses that make for good drama and character interaction. Each should have an opportunity to shine, but in the end, Sheppard is the glue that holds everything together. Even in those episodes where he is not the primary, he plays an important role. One example that just pops to mind is his brief appearance at the beginning of "Missing". It was important to the story that someone comment about Teyla's "hot date", and Sheppard was the best one for that job.

Let's face it, if it weren't for Sheppard, we wouldn't have the team at all. He personally selected Teyla, Ford and McKay, and then fought to have Ronon added when Ford was no longer there. He provides comic relief when necessary, just like O'Neill did in SG1, and he is able to drop the hammer when it is necessary.

Sheppard is the star of the show; and hopefully that will not change.

Yep, if you think about who each character is closest to you would say for Rodney it is Sheppard, for Ronon it is Sheppard and for Teyla it is Sheppard! I like how they are mixing it up like with Ronon and McKay but they would still go to Sheppard first

[Jumper_One]

I see Teyla as the leading lady, especially now!

how so?

A lot of the Teyla fans in the JT thread didn't like the pregnancy storyline as well and are worried with how they are going to deal with the bambino in S5

what were they supposed to do? TBTB had to deal with it, one way or the other and RL sure didn't want to leave the show

[CazzBlade]

how so?

Well, she's the veteran female in the cast now. We still barely know Keller so she can't be the leading lady. And I am a JT shipper so you know leading man with leading lady makes sense to me

what were they supposed to do? TBTB had to deal with it, one way or the other and RL sure didn't want to leave the show

No, its not that they included the pregnancy its the way they handled it. They thought Kanaan was a big after thought and he and Teyla had absolutely no chemistry. I'll have to ask Bluealien to come over and explain, she is constantly writing epics on the subject

[Briangate78]

From Joe M's blog...

Watched the director’s cut of Daedalus Variations this afternoon. Andy Mikita did a terrific job on this one. Wow! Talk about a visual effects extravaganza! For those of you who enjoy “team” episodes in particular, this is one to look forward to.

[Jumper_One]

Well, she's the veteran female in the cast now.

she's always been the veteran female because both Weir and Sam weren't part of Shep's team thus didn't go off world. not much has changed imo

We still barely know Keller so she can't be the leading lady.

of course not, she's a doctor (no offense)

And I am a JT shipper so you know leading man with leading lady makes sense to me

oh ok

No, its not that they included the pregnancy its the way they handled it.

what would you have done differently?

They thought Kanaan was a big after thought and he and Teyla had absolutely no chemistry.

it's not as if they had a lot of scenes together

I'll have to ask Bluealien to come over and explain, she is constantly writing epics on the subject

please do

From Joe M's blog...

yup seen that

[ruby_caspar]

Not that it matters much, but I have always understood that opening credits meant a lot in terms of who was the "star" of the show. I imagine that billing has a lot to do with the status of the actor and what kind of contract they have with TPTB. From the start, JF was the lead-off man and RL was batting third, that's pretty good. For S4, AT replaced TH batting second billing. I wonder if RP is going to slide into that spot now, or if RL and JM will move up in the batting order. I imagine DH will always be the "And Starring..." at the end of the credits; batting clean up in a way (I know the analogy kind of falls apart at this point).

SGA draws its strength from its ensemble cast. Each of them brings strengths and weaknesses that make for good drama and character interaction. Each should have an opportunity to shine, but in the end, Sheppard is the glue that holds everything together. Even in those episodes where he is not the primary, he plays an important role. One example that just pops to mind is his brief appearance at the beginning of "Missing". It was important to the story that someone comment about Teyla's "hot date", and Sheppard was the best one for that job.

Let's face it, if it weren't for Sheppard, we wouldn't have the team at all. He personally selected Teyla, Ford and McKay, and then fought to have Ronon added when Ford was no longer there. He provides comic relief when necessary, just like O'Neill did in SG1, and he is able to drop the hammer when it is necessary.

Sheppard is the star of the show; and hopefully that will not change.

Well, Robert Picardo is such a big name that he will probably be at the end of the credits with DH, especially since Jewel will also be in the main credits this season. So, the way I think it will (and should) go is: JF, RL, JM, JS, with RP and DH. That's what they did when they had that number of characters before - they had two at the end, David and Paul.

I totally agree with you about Sheppard - he is the star, but I also think McKay is a very very close second. Though McKay has, proportionally, been given too much development. Don't get me wrong - I'm a big McKay fan, but I don't think the development of other characters should be sacrificed to keep having stories about him.

Ronon is my favourite SGA character, so I'm very happy about the spoilers appearing about him. I'd like to hear more Teyla development, but I'm used to being disappointed on that score by now. I'm actually quite looking forward to Whispers (you know that will end up being all about Sheppard and Beckett anyway) and can't wait to see Picardo on the show. As for lack of Sheppard spoilers thus far - I'm not worried. It's very early on and they're still spinning, and I'm sure Sheppard will continue to be the great wise-cracking flyboy wounded soul we all know and love, and have plenty of great plotlines.

What I want to see more of is team storylines. SGA have proven they can do it really well - Condemned, Vengeance, Aurora etc... but so far it looks like Daedalus Variations is the only one we've got

[Lorr]

From Joe M's blog...

Watched the director’s cut of Daedalus Variations this afternoon. Andy Mikita did a terrific job on this one. Wow! Talk about a visual effects extravaganza! For those of you who enjoy “team” episodes in particular, this is one to look forward to.

The problem is that we rarely get true "team" episodes. It's one of the things I loved about SG1, and soooooo miss that kind of ep in SGA. That way we'd get good (hopefully) stories that would have all four main characters prominent in each ep.

I know RL being pregnant last year kind of messed up any hope of that, but it didn't sould like TPTB were aiming for team stories anyway.

I also realize it would be difficult to come up with original stories for the team since SG1 had 10 seasons plus 2 movies with many, many team stories. But the writers are clever guys, so I would hope that a whole new galaxy could produce something! Geez, they could have the Ancients leaving behind more than one failed experiment or have another race having visited or even hiding in Pegasus!

I'm hoping and trying to be optimistic, but I think the show runners have favorites and not-so-favorites. People are drawn to what they like. TPTB are no different, so they are going to go with that which they feel the most affinity. I'm just going to trust they temper that with some level of equity.

[Briangate78]

The problem is that we rarely get true "team" episodes. It's one of the things I loved about SG1, and soooooo miss that kind of ep in SGA. That way we'd get good (hopefully) stories that would have all four main characters prominent in each ep.

I know RL being pregnant last year kind of messed up any hope of that, but it didn't sould like TPTB were aiming for team stories anyway.

I also realize it would be difficult to come up with original stories for the team since SG1 had 10 seasons plus 2 movies with many, many team stories. But the writers are clever guys, so I would hope that a whole new galaxy could produce something! Geez, they could have the Ancients leaving behind more than one failed experiment or have another race having visited or even hiding in Pegasus!

I'm hoping and trying to be optimistic, but I think the show runners have favorites and not-so-favorites. People are drawn to what they like. TPTB are no different, so they are going to go with that which they feel the most affinity. I'm just going to trust they temper that with some level of equity.

I am sure we will see more "Team" eps for Season 5 than Season 4 since RL is back to her regular self and not expecting.

[SpaceCowboy]

Well, she's the veteran female in the cast now. We still barely know Keller so she can't be the leading lady. And I am a JT shipper so you know leading man with leading lady makes sense to me

Well said. Teyla plays a great "straight woman" when Sheppard slips into his O'Neill, smarta** mode. She is the female lead, and as such deserves to get more to do.

As far as the JT shipper aspect, while I think they would make a fascinating couple, is it not the tension between them and the assumptions of the fans and other characters that is far more interesting. In other words, it is the anticipation of the event rather than the event itself. My greatest fear is that if the JT ship ever sailed, SGA would have officially "jumped the shark".



"I can see you shiver with antici..........pation!" Dr. Frank N. Furter

[Killdeer]

No, just no..... please. Surely I'm not the only Sheppard fan here who thinks that making him be in love with Teyla would be bad for his character (and hers), am I? He's her team leader for crying out loud. And no, I didn't like Jack/Sam either - that very much damaged Jack as a character for me. (And no, I'm not pro John/Elizabeth either).

[Jumper_One]

No, just no..... please. Surely I'm not the only Sheppard fan here who thinks that making him be in love with Teyla would be bad for his character (and hers), am I? He's her team leader for crying out loud. And no, I didn't like Jack/Sam either - that very much damaged Jack as a character for me. (And no, I'm not pro John/Elizabeth either).

you're not, ITA S/J was different imo but there's no reason for any love story/triangle in Atlantis

[Killdeer]

you're not, ITA

Thank you!

[jelgate]

No, just no..... please. Surely I'm not the only Sheppard fan here who thinks that making him be in love with Teyla would be bad for his character (and hers), am I? He's her team leader for crying out loud. And no, I didn't like Jack/Sam either - that very much damaged Jack as a character for me. (And no, I'm not pro John/Elizabeth either).

No but I'm an anti-shipper