Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill Ship Discussion Thread

[hedwig]

Oh the good ol' days when things looked a bit cheesier. Was that Chris Judge doing the voiceover?

No.

[SaraBahama]

Ok, peeps!

Review under construction...will have it up shortly. Sorry about the delay -busy weekend!

[SaraBahama]

Uh...I'm not going to get it done tonight, as it's 11:40 and I have to go to bed since I have to work tomorrow. I am planning to complete it and post it tomorrow evening. Thanks, everyone, for your patience.

[Samfan13]

Uh...I'm not going to get it done tonight, as it's 11:40 and I have to go to bed since I have to work tomorrow. I am planning to complete it and post it tomorrow evening. Thanks, everyone, for your patience.

No worries SaraB! Will be looking forward to it

[SaraBahama]

A Matter of Time

Summary:

SG-10 is trapped on a planet that falls victim to a newly formed black hole. Upon attempting to gate in to retrieve them, the wormhole begins drawing power directly from the black hole and cannot be shut down. As time slows within the facility relative to the outside world, increasing gravitational distortion threatens to put Earth in jeopardy.


Favorite Scenes:

: Look, I know I should know this by now. I swear it'll be the last time I ask. These wormholes we go through, they're not always there, right?
: No, sir. It can only form between two open gates.
: What's with the worm part? The worm thing. I-I don't get that.
: That's just a metaphor.
: Right. I knew that.


: Perhaps with rest, the answers will come.
: Hey, Teal'c. You know anything about quantum gravity?
: Nothing.
: Apparently, neither do I.
: What do these equations represent?
: Probably a life's work. I don't have that much time, unfortunately.
: How may I be of assistance?


CROMWELL: Man, she is—
: Way smarter than we are. I know.



General Overview:

First, let me say that I always liked Lt. Graham Simmons and wish we had seen more of his character in the series *Muse rouses with interest –I stuff her back in her trunk*.

Now: back to the review already in progress…

I was reminded that gravitational time dilation makes my head hurt -even my daughter was asking “HOW much time has passed? NO WAY!” but using this as a major plot device was perfect for a Stargate episode.

I really enjoyed the character interaction in this episode: there is regret and grief in Jack’s voice when realizes that SG-10 is beyond help, and he says that he recommended Henry Boyd for command of that team. We don’t even have any back story on Henry Boyd, and already we know that he has impressed Jack O’Neill enough to earn his respect and recommendation: I’m impressed, and suddenly, I want to know more about Henry Boyd. Then there’s Colonel Frank Cromwell: I don’t like him at first, he’s abrupt and…well…I guess he’s commanding, which is technically exactly what he’s supposed to be. Then the tension is so thick when he first encounters Jack that you could cut it with a knife, and finally when they are alone you get this sudden blurt of back story that gives us a glimpse into Jack’s past, and it’s not rosy. I love how they parallel Frank leaving Jack behind and Jack having to be the one that left Henry Boyd behind…

CROMWELL (Points to the monitor and Boyd's image): Well, what about him?
: That is a totally different scenario.
CROMWELL (Forcefully): That is the same damn thing, Jack.

I always suck in a sharp breath at this moment and wait for Jack’s answer…which never actually comes –Sam interrupts them at this moment.

We get another brief character moment when Sam is topside, trying to figure out a solution to the problem: Teal’c comes to sit with he and offer his moral support. It warmed my heart the first time I saw it, and it did so again on the rewatch (which is why I included it in favorite scenes). He doesn’t say much, but you can feel his honest concern for Sam.

The ending scene, where the production team had to make it look like Jack and Frank were descending toward the Stargate rather than moving horizontally across the set, was very well done, and I would love to see a behind-the-scene filming of that one.


Sam and Jack:

I, like many shippers, love the wormhole discussion between S/J: it really has no purpose directly in the episode, except to make you laugh and your heart to burst with the cuteness (which mine did again as I rewatched this episode).

There is the sharp reprimand that Sam receives from Jack later when suggesting that they continue to observe the effects of the black hole: she is focused on the fact that this opportunity for scientific observation will likely never come again, he is so moved by the loss of life playing out on the screen in front of him, he’s barely keeping it together. There is a similarity between this moment and ‘Singularity’ when Sam says: “I don't want to belittle what's happened here, but if we just pack up and leave, SG-7 and all these people will have died for nothing.” At that time, Jack concedes and he stays behind to observe while she goes back to Earth with Cassie, but in this moment, he is too disturbed by the prolonged death that Henry Boyd and his team are facing to give any consideration to her point. I’m not saying that Jack is wrong: sometimes you can get so caught up in your own perspective that you don’t realize that you are being callous until someone else shows you a different point of view.

I see a lot of concern for Jack when Sam is helping them prepare to descend into the gate room to place the bomb, and she calls out to warn him against the falling glass, and she and Teal’c desperately haul on the ropes to get him clear of the blast…and I know that all of these things can be explained in the context of a chain of command, brother-at-arms way, but I think that’s what is so compelling about Sam and Jack –their relationship is not one-dimensional.


Fic Recommendation:

The novels “A Matter of Honor” and “The Cost of Honor” match this episode perfectly, and if you’ve not read them, I think they are certainly worth your time. I even see ship in them (as I see subtle ship in the episodes); they are written by Sally Malcolm (Sally Reeve) –a shipper.

I also have a friend here on GW that has a WIP that spins off this episode, supposes that Frank Cromwell survived (was in transit when the Stargate jumped to a different gate), and follows his ensuing adventure. She’s not a shipper –it follows Frank, and explores the friendship between Jack and Frank. When she’s done, I’m planning on reading it.

I didn’t see a Campfire for this one…is that true, Pol??? If I overlooked it, please direct me there.


Note: I hope this was coherent -I enjoyed the rewatch, but capturing it in a review was rather more daunting that with previous eps that I've done.

[Sparky She-Demon]

Virtual green SaraBahama!

[Ikorni]

Great review, SaraBahama. I rewatched the episode and realised how much I liked it for how there must have been a story between Jack and Henry Boyd (the Cromwell/Jack saga interests me less) which wasn't explored. It also made me want to read the Cost of Honor series by Sally Malcolm when SG-1 launches a daring rescue of the team.

More importantly, I liked how Jack corrects Sam that people, rather than the science, needed to come first.

[SGSuzi]

the novels you mention by sally malcolm i take it these are part of the Stargate books you can buy. Has sally done any fanfiction available on ff.net or anywhere aswell ?

[Ikorni]

the novels you mention by sally malcolm i take it these are part of the Stargate books you can buy. Has sally done any fanfiction available on ff.net or anywhere aswell ?

Yep, Sally Reeve on samandjack.net.

[SGSuzi]

Yep, Sally Reeve on samandjack.net.

awesome thanks

[SGSuzi]

Im nearly caught up and i know what we are missing.....hlndncr's gorgeous little drabbles for each ep, and chance of you doing them for this season too, i loved your season 1 ones

[hlndncr]

Im nearly caught up and i know what we are missing.....hlndncr's gorgeous little drabbles for each ep, and chance of you doing them for this season too, i loved your season 1 ones

I'm planning on it. I've just been dragged in so many directions lately. I have a list of ideas if I can ever sit down for more than a few minutes at a time.

But I promise I'll do it before we start season 3.

[meredithe5]

A banner for this episode... I just love that quote

[fems]

Out of curiosity, did anyone else think Cromwell was going to say something else before Jack cut in?

[Sparky She-Demon]

Out of curiosity, did anyone else think Cromwell was going to say something else before Jack cut in?

Probably!