Your opinions on the introduction of Mitchell

[ShardsofGlass]

I've been complaining that Mitchell hasn't had much to do so far this season. In fact, in all but a couple of episodes, he's been nothing more than scenery, and hasn't seemed to be much of a leader. I think that for the new leader of SG-1, they should've given him more to do by now and that he seems pretty ineffectual. In fact, Daniel feels more like the leader than Mitchell, imo. Plus, we barely know Mitchell.

It's also my opinion that the writers are afraid of upsetting the RDA fans -- and maybe just regular SG-1 fans -- so they're purposely pushing Mitchell into the background. (Or maybe they just liked Vala so much that they wanted her front and center in all of her eps that they couldn't use Mitchell because people would've been upset that Stargate was turning into Farscape.) But I think they've gone too far in trying to not upset people, if that's is indeed what they were trying to do.

But I've heard from other people that they're glad Mitchell hasn't been pushed more. Being cautious with his character has worked for them, and so far they like him. (IMO, it's hard not to like someone who does little more than support the regular cast and is also a fan of them.)

So anyway, what do you think? Have TPTB done a good job of introducing Mitchell? Or should he have gotten more to do by now? Does he feel like the leader to you? Or does it make sense for his character to be hang back while he waits to see whether the rest of the team will join SG-1?

[AGateFan]

Well, he doesnt really have a team to lead both Daniel and Teal'c are civilians and not working for him so they can do pretty much whatever they want, plus they are both more experience then him, plus there have not been too many actual military situations. So given the types of eps that were on I think his introduction was fine.

Now once we get into the actual war, if he is just kicked back doing nothing and letting the Daniel take the lead, then I would be concerned. Daniel could be a lead in diplomatic matters but not in military ones, he would have a hard time making the tough decisions (i.e. killing Reese). Hopefully Mitchell (despite his seeming pacifism) is a good ole "lets blow em up" type. Otherwise the team will lack the balance that SG-A did. You need at least one gun-ho type and Daniel and Carter are not that and Teal'c is more of the quite I will kick your az only if I have too type.

[rosewood]

I’d love to see Teal’c really lose it and go off all over Garek.

Back to Mitchell… I don’t see Mitchell as a pacifist. There’s a long way between being a pacifist and expressing reluctance in nuking a planet on your third mission. That just tells me he’s not an irresponsible gun nut/loose cannon type. I think Mitchell's drawn a weapon in nearly every episode so far? He had no problem telling Pendergast to “open up with everything they got” until a better solution came along before Carter realized they were powering the force field. Mitchell didn’t say “run away” like Garek did either, so I have to think Mitchell stays in the thick of things.

I agree that TPTB should get on reconstituting the team and have Mitchell do more (and Teal'c for that matter). If at the end of Episode 7 we still have only SG-Me, that is TPTB's screwup (imho).

[Maxum]

First, I don't understand why Mitchell is the leader in the first place. He has no experience (as far as we know) of extensive offworld travel. Sam has tons of that experience, and I think she is more than capable of leading the team. Mitchell should be ranked under Carter, and he should gain experience through working with SG-1. That's the biggest problem I have with Mitchell. Why would you put a man who has FAR less experience than Sam, Daniel and Teal'c with off world travel, and make him THEIR leader? That's the part I find the hardest to comprehend. The leader of a unit (any unit) should have more experience than those under him/her. It forces the others to automatically look to you for answers and guidance. Jack O'Neill was a black ops soilder and an Air Force Colonel. Daniel and he went through the gate for the first time together. Since Daniel was not military, he definitely looked to Jack for leadership. Carter came later and so did Teal'c, and by that time Jack had experience traveling through the gate and dealing with the enemies he would find there, and as a result, SG-1 had no problem following his lead. He proved a great leader.

With that said, you are now placing Mitchell, who by no fault of his own, doesn't even have 1/8 of the experience that the other members of SG-1 have, and he's the leader? Frankly, based on what I know about SG-1, I would follow Daniel's lead any day of the week before Mitchell's, due to Daniel's eight + years of experience of off world travel and the enemies he has encountered (and survived) alone.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ben Browder (loved Farscape), and I think he'll work out fine as a new addition to SG-1, and he'll gain experience and be a great leader. However, he shouldn't automatically have that title because he's the "military type."

[rosewood]

Yep, I agree, Mitchell has been poorly introduced. Which I think was sort of the point of the thread - how well have TPTB introduced Mitchell? I gave them an A- right after episode 1, but we're in ep 6 now and I give them a C+ overall. It mostly comes down to not explaining the character moves.

The idea that the team is disbanded and Mitchell's going to run an entirely new team is plausibe, if new people actually showed up. The idea that SG1 will be reconstituted and Mitchell in charge of the old gang is a tougher sell to me too. Thus far, TPTB haven’t explained anything about all their people moves. (Question #1 being “where’s Jack?” and Q2: Why's Landry in charge?)

I assume TPTB have a reason for not explaining the character transfers. Last I knew though, leaving the audience confused was considered poor writing....

The band may be back together, but they arent' ready to take the stage yet. The writers haven't given us a scene where somebody, presumably Landry, says what everyone will do and hands out the assignments and they all nod in agreement and say 'go team!' (ok, the go team is not necessary). But thus far, everyone's "thinking about it."

With what we saw last week about the Ori, I think we need Carter’s brain to work on new weapons to stop whatever will come through that SuperGate. We just learned her last project, the Mark IX won't be effective. I’d say we need Daniel to do his archaeology/ancient thing. We need Mitchell to run the missions. I guess we need Teal’c to raise an eyebrow and cheat at b-ball.

This is a question of roles and responsibilities on a team. If I were Landry, and running SGC, I would view Carter's brain as far more valuable compared to her leadership skills given the current threat. I would put her in the hotseat to figure out some tech to fight the Ori. I can argue that having Carter’s role be primarily as a scientist on the team is valid. That is a strategic decision, irrespective of whether Carter deserves or is qualified to be the SG1 team leader. I don’t think Carter (or anybody) could do the research and run the missions both well. When faced with a universe to save, I'd rather have Carter's brain working overtime on the science/tech and Mitchell running the missions (imho).

Which brings me back to Mitchell... thus far he still has no team.

[MediaSavant]

I think they did fine in the first two episodes up until the sword fight, which I liked. But, then they backed off too much and made him a secondary character.

I don't have any sense that the writers know what they want to do with him or where they see him fitting in. I'm a big fan of Browder's from Farscape and it pains me to see him not being used to fulfill his full potential.

They can prove me wrong in the next few episodes, of course.

[the fifth man]

So far, I've liked the way he's blended in with everyone else. But for those who think he's been under-used so far, I think that should change pretty soon. I liked his role in "Beachhead", and think once sg-1 is officially a team again we'll see much more out of him as a character. Especially if he is to lead the team.

[mo24]

I feel that they need to give Mitchell a lot more screen time to develop his character than they have, unless they plan on getting rid of him.

The first couple of episodes of the season were pretty decent in that respect. The fighter pilot scenes with Mitchell were not the greatest, but it added a little to the background. I expected to see a lot more, but it just hasn't been there.

The majority of the S9 episodes have basically been 'The Daniel and Vala show'. Mitchell and Teal'c have taken a backseat and have been given very few lines all season. I think this could come back to bite TPTB in the butt if they continue this way, particularly in Mitchell's case.

With Vala out of the picture now, it will be interesting to see what they do with the story in the upcoming episodes.

[Gaterelle]

I feel that they need to give Mitchell a lot more screen time to develop his character than they have, unless they plan on getting rid of him.

The first couple of episodes of the season were pretty decent in that respect. The fighter pilot scenes with Mitchell were not the greatest, but it added a little to the background. I expected to see a lot more, but it just hasn't been there.

The majority of the S9 episodes have basically been 'The Daniel and Vala show'. Mitchell and Teal'c have taken a backseat and have been given very few lines all season. I think this could come back to bite TPTB in the butt if they continue this way, particularly in Mitchell's case.

With Vala out of the picture now, it will be interesting to see what they do with the story in the upcoming episodes.

Daniel and Vala show? Heh. I'm not surprised neither disappointed that Daniel finally gets some attention and some lines. He is, after all, the big character from the original movie (with Jack) so why shouldn't he have the lead now?

And with Vala out of the picture I suspect the story will be less interesting...

[ChillinTheMost]

The more I think about it, I kind of consider the first 6 episodes to be like a summer vacation. It was the Daniel and Vala show, to some extent. No problem with that. I enjoyed the shows. Vala is fun.

Not that there weren't a lot of heavy and serious moments, but the general feel I get when I think back on the first 6 episodes is humor. Lots of humor surrounding the darkness.

But now, with Vala gone, it feels like we might be getting down to the meat of things. The vacation is over and it feels like tonight's episode is like a new season starting and we'll, hopefully, get a chance to really meet the new characters and have the team work together - all four of them.

So, to answer the original question: Even though we've been "introduced" to Mitchell, tonight should start letting us really get to know him. [I hope.] I definitely think it is time to bring him out of the shadows.

[mouser2d2]

ok come on-- give a mitchell a break!!!!!!!!!!
daniel went through alot at the end of last season--- not all fans were to happy with it either. maybe it was just the writers way of giving daniel some time to heal- by giving him a chance to make decisions. vala at least didn't die on him-like some others have.
mitchell is being worked in slowly.
sam shouldn't be given the lead yet-- she quit remember. so did daniel and teal'c. mitchell is in charge of SG1 because there really isn't an team yet, only a leader and some past SG1 members helping out. until the team is secure-- there is only a leader, chosen by jack-- and that is mitchell. once he actually has a team- maybe he can lead them. until then, all he can do-is go along with these other people and try to pull something off.
i think the writers need to start officially putting the team together.

[Skydiver]

i think they're doing the best that they can with what they have to work with

first of all, it's still not sg1. the team still is SG-ME (and we know what a bugger ME was ) so it's hard to have cameron actualy leading people he's not in charge of. He may be the boss of the mission, but he's not specifically the boss of sam daniel or teal'c. They're not on his team and i think that he is a little intimidated by all thier knowledge

in my opinion, up until beachhead, and even including it in a way, has just been the half time show. The season starts tonight because this is the first eps where ALL the kids have been together. and as such, it's the first chance for cameron to be made leader and to be leader

now in a real world perspective, i think that tptb were in limbo. yes, they didn't want to annoy the jack fans by pushing cameron. Personally, i found the 'cameron mitchell infomercial' that we got in avalon to be a bit trying. I found the flashbacks very tiring and felt that they built him up way too much way too fast and all he needed was the 'naturally curly hair' to be a true marty sue. Fortunately, for me anyway, they toned that down and i've found him a bit more likeable although there are times when he still sounds like he's channelling Jack's lines

they also had claudia on the show....and wanted to avoid the 'ship cameron and vala' ideal and further insinuation of Farscaping the show....so as long as vala was front and center, daniel was going to be her main interactee, not cameron. It was to be teh Daniel and Vala show and both cameron and Teal'c have been relegated to supporting roles.

they also didn't want to annoy the sam fans by having sg-1 exist without her, and without sg1 cameron didn't have anything to lead....and we've been through this before.

Personally? i think cameron will fit in just fine. i like how he's not all in your face, throwing a fit and demanding that he get what he wants right now!!!!!!

to me, season 9 is very much less of a full season and more of an extended pilot/spin off filling time until the real show could get started with the creation of the 'new' team.

beachhead was a teaser adn season 9 starts tonight...and i think cameron will be more of a boss as the episodes go on. Just as soon as he gets a team to boss around

[MediaSavant]

I feel that they need to give Mitchell a lot more screen time to develop his character than they have.

When you consider that he's joining a show where most of the other characters have eight previous seasons of "character development" they have to realize they have some catching up to do. They need to throw in few more character moments, but they haven't.

Even Landry got some character moments with Lam.

They gave the impression in the first episode that they'd give more backstory, but then they quickly backed off. Anyone of us--even the casual viewers--can reel off personal details about Sam,Tealc, and Daniel, but, after six episodes, what do we know about Mitchell? Very little other than he's (1) very good looking, (2) a good pilot, (3) somehow survived an injury that was supposed to leave him paralyzed, (4) had a grandma who was a churchgoer, (5) is probably from the South.

At least we know that Landry is divorced and has a daughter with which he has difficulty on a personal level.

[Maxum]

Frankly, we know more about Mitchell than we do about Landry, Dr. Lam, or Vala. It's only the seventh episode, still have 14 more to go. Don't worry, the next episode will feature Mitchell's character. It looks good.

[valaCB]

Frankly, we know more about Mitchell than we do about Landry, Dr. Lam, or Vala. It's only the seventh episode, still have 14 more to go. Don't worry, the next episode will feature Mitchell's character. It looks good.

I agree