Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill Ship Discussion Thread

[hlndncr]

What I read is that BW believed it might have been better as a two part episode, not that it was ever intended to be.

From the companion book:

Wright said, "It's one of those 'love it or hate it' episodes for most fans, and my own feeling falls somewhere in between. At the last Gatecon in Vancouver, several fans told me that O'Neill would never give up on going home, and that I was wrong to suggest he would go native after only three months." Wright suggests the episode might have been a good two-parter, and that there could be more story to tell.

Ultimately, I think BW was right not to revisit Edora, nor do I believe there was enough material for two episodes. I think the story was told as well as it could have been.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

What I read is that BW believed it might have been better as a two part episode, not that it was ever intended to be.

From the companion book:

Wright said, "It's one of those 'love it or hate it' episodes for most fans, and my own feeling falls somewhere in between. At the last Gatecon in Vancouver, several fans told me that O'Neill would never give up on going home, and that I was wrong to suggest he would go native after only three months." Wright suggests the episode might have been a good two-parter, and that there could be more story to tell.

Ultimately, I think BW was right not to revisit Edora, nor do I believe there was enough material for two episodes. I think the story was told as well as it could have been.

ah well i never read any of the companion books. are any of them still in print?

[hlndncr]

ah well i never read any of the companion books. are any of them still in print?

I don't know. I got them at a library sale for like $1 each.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

I don't know. I got them at a library sale for like $1 each.

d'oh!

[Lucycat]

Wow, very detailed review, hlndncr! I haven't watched that episode in years, it is one I tend to avoid, but perhaps I will watch it again after reading your comments.

[Ikorni]

Good review, Hlndncr! I don't think I can bring myself to rewatch that episode after seeing once all those years ago still.

[fems]

That summary made me giggle.

One of the things (aside from the whole Jack/Laira thing) that bothered me about this episode is that they seem to have forgotten all about the stranded Edorans on Earth! That's one of the major reasons I think Laira is a selfish *beep* who wants to get her hands on Jack no matter what. I mean, I get that they had to harvest and rebuild but she and the other villagers could have helped Jack dig up the gate afterwards (like Jack did, later in the day or post harvest) so that their own people could return home! But no, let's just forget about them and make Jack forget about his planet because that way she could get a new baby with the hunky alien.

[hlndncr]

That summary made me giggle.

One of the things (aside from the whole Jack/Laira thing) that bothered me about this episode is that they seem to have forgotten all about the stranded Edorans on Earth! That's one of the major reasons I think Laira is a selfish *beep* who wants to get her hands on Jack no matter what. I mean, I get that they had to harvest and rebuild but she and the other villagers could have helped Jack dig up the gate afterwards (like Jack did, later in the day or post harvest) so that their own people could return home! But no, let's just forget about them and make Jack forget about his planet because that way she could get a new baby with the hunky alien.

Laira does mention that her people can never come home again and Jack doesn't dissuade her of this. I think Laira and the villagers believe the gate is gone, not just buried, and that it is more important to rebuild than dig on the vague hope they might find the gate and be able to make it work again. Frankly, if they had found it, I don't think they would have been able to remove the naquadah iris over it; so it would have been wasted effort when the villagers are worried about survival.

[picardythirds]

Thanks for the review, Hlndncr! I am glad that I'm not alone in liking this episode. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is my favorite, but as you pointed out, several rather pivotal things happened in this episode. I think that post-100 days SG1 was much much stronger (once Jack and Sam mended their fences...he did sort of brush her off at the end there) in terms of bonding that pre-100 days.

The only thing I disagree about is that the kid was stupid - yes, he probably should have stayed with the others, but he did figure out that the cave was where the people stayed in the last meteor attack. I don't recall Daniel saying anything about that, so I thought the kid was clever in putting two and two together. but I digress...

I like Laira the way I like Kerry...okay so I like Kerry a little more since she knew when to quite, but I liked how strong she was, even though her request of Jack was a little weird and out of the blue.

I do think that one of the things (because it's filmed well), we tend to forget in this ep is the passage of time. Some of the scenes could be the next day, others the next week. In some cuts it's hard to tell.

Anyway, aside from the Janet/Sam scene, I also rather enjoyed the following exchange...

: LAIRA, when’s the big show start?

LAIRA: Soon. Be patient.

: Oh, I’m patient. I’m nothing if not patient. When’s it start?

LAIRA (to the others): Is he always like this?

: Quite frequently.

Bonding, see?

[Starship Trooper]

Any chance I could go on the next list? I can't do the beautiful banners, but I'd love to do a review at some stage.

[brendini]

Any chance I could go on the next list? I can't do the beautiful banners, but I'd love to do a review at some stage.

We should be doing sign ups for season 4 soon, I think. And it's okay if you can't do the banners; some of us just borrow them

[fems]

Laira does mention that her people can never come home again and Jack doesn't dissuade her of this. I think Laira and the villagers believe the gate is gone, not just buried, and that it is more important to rebuild than dig on the vague hope they might find the gate and be able to make it work again. Frankly, if they had found it, I don't think they would have been able to remove the naquadah iris over it; so it would have been wasted effort when the villagers are worried about survival.

Yeah, but they could have tried. Laira (and the rest of her remaining people for that matter) just comes across as a quitter: every time something bad happens they just grieve for a hundred days and move on. I'm not saying they should have abandoned the harvest but Jack managed to be digging around the gate site the entire time, so why couldn't the other villagers? Heck, if they'd all pitched in then they wouldn't have had to work there everyday and could have done it in shifts while the rest of them worried over the harvest and rebuilding. Jack would have been able to help out more with both too if his time wasn't 'wasted' on digging around because others helped him out.

Not to mention that it was Laira's son who was responsible for getting Jack stranded there so it wouldn't hurt the boy or even Laira to take some responsibility and offer to help Jack out. If not for Jack to get home then at least in the hopes of getting their friends and families back.

And for all we know the naquadah could have been removed by the villagers. Even if that wouldn't be possible then Jack could have dialed the SGC to let them know he and the other Edorans had survived but that there was some kind of iris over the gate, probably melted naquadah that they needed to remove before he could go through the wormhole.

Any chance I could go on the next list? I can't do the beautiful banners, but I'd love to do a review at some stage.

I believe there's time to volunteer once a season is done. Someone (was it suzi last time?) will organize the rewatch and people will post which episode of the next season they want to write a review about. For the previous seasons it was basically whoever got there first (and the organizer gets first choice, obviously) got the episode of their choice but there were already ideas for more than one person per episode for season 4 since there are so many favorite/shippy episodes there.

[Starship Trooper]

We should be doing sign ups for season 4 soon, I think. And it's okay if you can't do the banners; some of us just borrow them

I believe there's time to volunteer once a season is done. Someone (was it suzi last time?) will organize the rewatch and people will post which episode of the next season they want to write a review about. For the previous seasons it was basically whoever got there first (and the organizer gets first choice, obviously) got the episode of their choice but there were already ideas for more than one person per episode for season 4 since there are so many favorite/shippy episodes there.

Thanks for the info. I would really like to review Entity.

But I will be good and wait patiently for the organiser.

[Sparky She-Demon]

Thanks for the info. I would really like to review Entity.

But I will be good and wait patiently for the organiser.

I can think of a few episodes I'd like, but I too, will wait for the organizer!

[fems]

And you know, you could always write your own review regardless of whose turn it is. At least, I think that was the original concept: have one person per episode assigned to keep track of the rewatch and encourage others to share their views of the episode(s). But it usually just ends up with the assigned person writing a complete review and others reacting to that or giving their own input, just not as elaborate.