The McCullough-Mitchell Effect

[Dani347]

Okay, this may be weird, but I think this is one case where the writers should basically say "screw the viewers." I mean, they should have an idea of who Mitchell is (and should have had an idea from the start) and not go around changing things in case the audience responds in a way they didn't like. This trying on this behavior or that behavior and changing it around based on the audience response just creates a character that comes off as having some kind of personality disorder.

[Skydiver]

yeah, cause if she doesn't it's gonna be a very long 20 episodes.

not to hijack this thread, but it does tie in a bit. shards has a point. cam has baggage and has had to fill in for an existing character while vala is 'fresh and new' and isn't really trying to replace anyone (yet that is. time will tell)

but, vala does have baggage. she has 7 episodes in the show and 90% of the time, her behavior in that 7 episodes was the most controversal of her run.

many of tptb have said that vala will need to change to fit in. as much fun as her being OTT was for many, it's just not practically sustainable for the long run.

but will folks still accept her when she changes? will those that fell in love with the pirate who'll say/do anything still enjoy her when she conforms more to what people see as acceptible?

in many ways, vala has MORE baggage than cam. Cam has been bound by a need to act within a certain set of parameters. Vala doesn't have that and since so many have enjoyed her being OTT and 'fun'....can she survive when she's toned down to become more sustainable for the long haul?

and will these writers be able to find a status quo for her to adhere to? it's taken them 17 eps for cameron, and he's the 'star' of the show.

also the writers aren't 'in love' with cam and, i would hope, have a more objective way of looking at him. They are and have said that they are in love with vala. so will they be able to write the character in a reliable and consistent manner or will vala turn into plot device of the week?

[valaCB]

Okay, this may be weird, but I think this is one case where the writers should basically say "screw the viewers." I mean, they should have an idea of who Mitchell is (and should have had an idea from the start) and not go around changing things in case the audience responds in a way they didn't like. This trying on this behavior or that behavior and changing it around based on the audience response just creates a character that comes off as having some kind of personality disorder.

I read somewhere that Ben wanted to play Mitchell this way...

Found it. From TV Zone Special (#67)

"For me, it's simply been a case of showing up to work and finding out how Mitchell responds to various situations, and I take that on a story-by-story basis. What's probably been the most interesting, again, for me, is seeing how differentently he interacts with each of the characters around him, and also how he behaves on-base as opposed to off-world. You see different facets of Mitchell's personality depending on where he is and who he's with, which I think is perfectly appropriate. He's definitely not a one-size-fits-all type of guy," smiles the actor. "Yes, it might make the definition of the character a little less clear cut, but on the other hand it makes him a lot more fascinating and textured. Being (at) the end of the season and pondering where Mitchell is at now as compared to the start, I've just tried to hone more facets of the character and did my best not to lock myself into too many specifics early on."

I really don't like your decision sweet Ben

[Skydiver]

I really don't like your decision sweet Ben

neither do it. it may have been more fun to experiment and explore...but it has made mitch pretty schizo and added an air of unreliability to the character

[valaCB]

neither do it. it may have been more fun to experiment and explore...but it has made mitch pretty schizo and added an air of unreliability to the character

I think he could had done it if he had drawing it even more slowly through season 10. For right now it's too fast (for me) and that's why his character looks like a schizo.

[Skydiver]

you just never know how he's gonna act. will he be the responsible co that i saw in scourge or will he be the wise cracking wise off that he was in off the grid?

If i was working with a person that acted this irrationally, i wouldn't want to. i would see him as too unreliable and dangerous

this kind of behavior destroys his credibility with me.

we keep hearing that cam is the best and has joined the sgc because he's such a great pilot and offier and such....then i see him acting like a 12 year old and i have to wonder 'what are they thinking?'

[ShardsofGlass]

neither do it. it may have been more fun to experiment and explore...but it has made mitch pretty schizo and added an air of unreliability to the character

I think Ben was just responding to the scripts he's been given and the direction of whichever director was working on an ep. It's easy to lay the blame squarely on Ben because he's the one you see, but as Ben has pointed out in many interviews, creating Mitchell is a collaborative process. Someone at Bridge liked the way he portrayed Mitchell during those drug dealing scenes on OTG or they would've had him change it. Someone liked the script when they saw it of having Mitchell decide to face the drug dealers on his own. In fact, as far as I know, it's the showrunners job to make sure characters are consistent from ep to ep. He has final approval over everything, I believe.

I'm not saying Ben is blameless but there are a lot of cooks stirring this pot.

Also, I truly think they didn't concentrate on who Mitchell was until Collateral Damage. I read the latest SG magazine, and there's a blurb for every ep from S9 in there. In CD and then Stronghold, they talk about how they're finally developing Mitchell in these eps. And I remember an interview with Ben from the beginning of the season when he said that Crichton (from Farscape) was a really well-defined character right from the start. He didn't come right out and say that Mitchell wasn't that, but the implication was there, imo.

I guess my point was that while Mitchell has been being developed, Ben seems to have given them different aspects of Mitchell to look at, and it was up to other people to pick what they liked the best. Clearly they liked him in OTG and Stronghold or we wouldn't have seen the eps air with Mitchell the way he was. Or maybe they liked him initially and decided later to go back to how he was in, say, Ethon. I have no idea. I just know a lot of people are involved in shaping this character. Hopefully, they like him now because I do.

[ShardsofGlass]

you just never know how he's gonna act. will he be the responsible co that i saw in scourge or will he be the wise cracking wise off that he was in off the grid?

If i was working with a person that acted this irrationally, i wouldn't want to. i would see him as too unreliable and dangerous

this kind of behavior destroys his credibility with me.

we keep hearing that cam is the best and has joined the sgc because he's such a great pilot and offier and such....then i see him acting like a 12 year old and i have to wonder 'what are they thinking?'

Can I just say that it's this kind of hyperbole that kills all intelligent discussion about something. Mitchell took a few chances in a couple of eps. He wasn't acting like a 12 year old. He wasn't irrational. And if we're truly looking at his complete character, then you have to include the myriad of times where he was a good leader and acted competently.

I think if we were to compare a list of Mitchell's accomplishments in S9 and compare them to the times he may have been a little rash, the good stuff would far outway the bad.

There are a lot of blanket statements made about Mitchell over and over on this board, and it really gets tiresome.

[Dani347]

I read somewhere that Ben wanted to play Mitchell this way...

Found it. From TV Zone Special (#67)

"For me, it's simply been a case of showing up to work and finding out how Mitchell responds to various situations, and I take that on a story-by-story basis. What's probably been the most interesting, again, for me, is seeing how differentently he interacts with each of the characters around him, and also how he behaves on-base as opposed to off-world. You see different facets of Mitchell's personality depending on where he is and who he's with, which I think is perfectly appropriate. He's definitely not a one-size-fits-all type of guy," smiles the actor. "Yes, it might make the definition of the character a little less clear cut, but on the other hand it makes him a lot more fascinating and textured. Being (at) the end of the season and pondering where Mitchell is at now as compared to the start, I've just tried to hone more facets of the character and did my best not to lock myself into too many specifics early on."


I really don't like your decision sweet Ben

I have to agree. And, this isn't a blame everything on Ben. But, I have to admit I've been kind of disappointed in some things I've read in how he approaches the character. It just seems like it's "I'm just here to read the lines." I prefer when the actors have an idea of who the character is, and when they have enough of an idea to sometimes speak up if they feel that the character is behaving in a way that's out of character. Sure, sometimes they lose the battle, but I'd rather have the feeling that the actor has a feel for the character. I want to think if BB was asked, "just who is Cameron Mitchell" his answer wouldn't be, "whatever the writers want him to be."


And, as far as playing a person differently depending on who they're interacting with, I agree with that -up to a point. Mitchell (hopefully even more developed next season) has a different relationship with Teal'c than he does with Daniel than he does with Sam than he does with Landry, all based on the fact that they're all different people. I'd expect him to act different with them. But, not so different that it seems like Mitchell is a different person. And, that's not being one guy fits all thing. That's what people are. They have their own personalities. Some things about Mitchell do seem like different facets. But, other things seem to be like he's playing someone else completely.

[Dream-a-Little]

I do also think that ben has some input, but i'm not sure how much. yes, he's an experienced actor...but just how much input does he have? i mean, lookat amanda. 7 years on the show and she doesn't want sam to kiss pete in affinity and she's overruled and 'forced' to do things the director's way.

Unless you are an actor who is also a producer on a show, you are going to have as little or as much control over your character as the producers and writers choose to give you. Some show runners give their actors a lot of freedom, some do not. None of the actors on the show are currently producers. I know some, like Amanda as you've mentioned above, have remarked about having to do things that they felt were not right for their character. In the end it comes down to do I not want to "kiss Pete" enough to risk losing my job and have my now former bosses bad mouth me as not being a team player and someone who is "difficult" to any future people I might want to try to work with?

I know that BB has repeatedly stated in interviews that Mitchell would be the end result of a lot of peoples input. And to be fair, in an established show you really can't let a new series regular come in and do whatever he wants with the character. The show is too big an investment for too many people to do that. But in the end, as show runner of record, the final decisions for who this character should essentially be should have rested with Robert Cooper as does the responsibility for the consistent portrayal throughout the season irregardless of who is writing or directing the current episode. In the end the buck should stop with him. Instead, it feels like the “a lot of peoples input” has gone beyond just input and instead evolved into no one person willing to, or able to make a final and decisive call. Without one person having the final say, you end up with inconsistencies and contradictions.

[Dream-a-Little]

Okay, this may be weird, but I think this is one case where the writers should basically say "screw the viewers." I mean, they should have an idea of who Mitchell is (and should have had an idea from the start) and not go around changing things in case the audience responds in a way they didn't like. This trying on this behavior or that behavior and changing it around based on the audience response just creates a character that comes off as having some kind of personality disorder.

From your post to the producers ears!

[Dream-a-Little]

I read somewhere that Ben wanted to play Mitchell this way...

Found it. From TV Zone Special (#67)



I really don't like your decision sweet Ben

Actually I think that is just a diplomatic way of saying that he plays the character as written.

[ShardsofGlass]

Actually I think that is just a diplomatic way of saying that he plays the character as written.

I totally agree. Ben wants to stay in the good graces of the people who hired him, so he's not going to criticize them.

[Skydiver]

true. you do not mess in the sandbox you're playing in

all in all, all of them are very good at keeping the fingers pointing all different directions. that way no on ever says 'it's _____ fault'

and since blame is spread around everywhere, no one is really at fault

[smurf]

I read somewhere that Ben wanted to play Mitchell this way...

Found it. From TV Zone Special (#67)

"For me, it's simply been a case of showing up to work and finding out how Mitchell responds to various situations, and I take that on a story-by-story basis. What's probably been the most interesting, again, for me, is seeing how differentently he interacts with each of the characters around him, and also how he behaves on-base as opposed to off-world. You see different facets of Mitchell's personality depending on where he is and who he's with, which I think is perfectly appropriate. He's definitely not a one-size-fits-all type of guy," smiles the actor. "Yes, it might make the definition of the character a little less clear cut, but on the other hand it makes him a lot more fascinating and textured. Being (at) the end of the season and pondering where Mitchell is at now as compared to the start, I've just tried to hone more facets of the character and did my best not to lock myself into too many specifics early on."

I really don't like your decision sweet Ben

Good find.
I'd said in a different thread I wish I knew what Ben wanted to do with the character. Now I do.
It's a terrible acting choice.

Actually I think that is just a diplomatic way of saying that he plays the character as written.

If it is I'm still kind of disappointed. After being acclaimed for Farscape I had him down as a much more confident actor than he apparently is.