Cameron - Discussion and Appreciation

[Kas]

Oh, and we've been using Society Against Cruelty to Cameron since we first saw him in those darned crash flashbacks! The SACC LIVES ON!!!

It's providence!

[the fifth man]

I can't wait to see what kind of development we see out of Mitchell in the second half of this season. I think he was really coming along nicely, and then we run into the brick wall that is the season hiatus. Figures.

[Kas]

I can't wait to see what kind of development we see out of Mitchell in the second half of this season. I think he was really coming along nicely, and then we run into the brick wall that is the season hiatus. Figures.

HI Fifth Man, so true... things just start warming up with the Mitchell character and team, and they do this!

Oh well, a lot to look forward to... Serenity on the Big Screen, rewatching all my DVDs... Lost - remaining completely unspoiled for British TV Carnivale S2, Hex... The 4400 S2, starting soon... (not a fav, but I want to see what happens). I expect we'll get all the new Premiere US shows sometime after the Stargates have finished airing here - so not so much interference and not an issue.

Sometimes, it works to have Series Starting throughout the year rather than in one Fall swoop.

[Galaxygrl]

LOL! I actually like the name... perhaps because I also remember the show with the actor who had the name. I think it fits well together



This is an attitude that for the life of me I will never understand. Ben is not a newby to the world of acting, why on earth should he keep having to justify his status or career? It's like when people say he uses his hands a lot - copying Jack!!?? Well, excuse me but Ben in a very physical actor...he's always used his hands, body movements as a whole as well as eyes, expressions to speak volumes. Why can't people just check his volume of past work?

It's also the same annoyance I feel when they say that he shouldn't have the billing, but should be behind long-term but secondary characters...I can't understand the attitude. It's 'well, I never heard of him/watched him in Farscape so therefore, he shouldn't have the billing'... Crazy thinking... it's due to your whole body of work which gives you a certain clout within the industry as well as the proven ability and talent to headline already.

If people want to check out some of Ben's great acting- Farscape starts on WGN Chicago next saturday Octorber 1. Sorry don't know the time but i will find out and post it here.

[greytop]

In Phototype, I believe, we had another opinon that show what Ben had thought of a certain episode. I believe that the episode is Metamorphosis, about the DNA machine. He thought it was cool.

[greytop]

If people want to check out some of Ben's great acting- Farscape starts on WGN Chicago next saturday Octorber 1. Sorry don't know the time but i will find out and post it here.

It starts on my local UPN channel, in Kansas, that same day at 11pm, right after the Altantis and the new season of SG-1. (I'll be taping it, Farscape that is.)

[Kas]

It starts on my local UPN channel, in Kansas, that same day at 11pm, right after the Altantis and the new season of SG-1. (I'll be taping it, Farscape that is.)

From what I understand though, most stations are starting with the Season Premiere and then jumping ahead to S2 'Dream a little Dream'... this is so disappointing to see, as newbies to the show will not have a clue what's going on... Farscape is a continuous character drama and so much will be lost by showing them in haphazzard out-of-sequence manner.

[ChillinTheMost]

From what I understand though, most stations are starting with the Season Premiere and then jumping ahead to S2 'Dream a little Dream'... this is so disappointing to see, as newbies to the show will not have a clue what's going on... Farscape is a continuous character drama and so much will be lost by showing them in haphazzard out-of-sequence manner.

WHAT??? Are they insane? It's not like they're even skipping to an episode that they hope will grip the audience.

Well, dren. And they wonder why FarScape couldn't build an audience when they Frell around with it like this. They must have hired the SciFi Channel as consultants.

[Kas]

WHAT??? Are they insane? It's not like they're even skipping to an episode that they hope will grip the audience.

Well, dren. And they wonder why FarScape couldn't build an audience when they Frell around with it like this. They must have hired the SciFi Channel as consultants.

Ahhh, apparently this was the first and second airings of the week. If you watch the first airing at the same time weekly, Season 1 will be in order. If you watch the 2nd airing of the week, they are starting with Season 2 and running in order. Not so bad then.

[Neelan_Liquor]

In Phototype, I believe, we had another opinon that show what Ben had thought of a certain episode. I believe that the episode is Metamorphosis, about the DNA machine. He thought it was cool.

I believe what he said was "Cool file," meaning the report he'd read sounded cool, not that the actual DNA resequencer was cool. I'm sure Jack (or whomever else might have written up that report... Jonas?) would have made the machine sound pretty horrific.

I think Cameron was interested in the science behind the report, and that's what made him think it was cool. Hmmm, maybe he read Sam's report.

[Kas]

From Joe Mallozzi's latest blog:

1. Why isn't Carter leading SG-1? Why has the character been demoted?

We had a number of challenges facing us with the start of season 9. One was the introduction of a new team member: Cameron Mitchell. The other was Amanda's pregnancy which would keep her out of the show for the first six episodes of the season. Rather than going the "new guy joins the team" route, Robert opted for something a little different. We had finally wrapped up 8 seasons worth of loose ends, so it was natural that our characters would be moving on. Simply put, their main mission accomplished, the individual members of SG-1 were finally free to pursue areas of personal interest. In Teal'c's case, that meant helping the free Jaffa. In Daniel's case, it meant finally going to Atlantis. And, in Carter's case, it meant helping Cassie through a rough time, and focusing on the Research and Development of the technology we had acquired over the years. So, when Mitchell came aboard, there was no SG-1. He was given command of a team that he would have to rebuild. Ideally, he wanted to "get the band back together" - and that meant Daniel, Teal'c, and Carter. So who is leading the team? They both are. The two have reached a mutual understanding whereby they can alternate command on various ops. "Impossible!"some will undoubtedly howl. That goes against regs! Maybe. And it goes against regs to have two Colonel's on the same team. But rather than giving Carter command of SG-22 (and following her adventures in another spin-off series), we thought this would be a nice compromise.

Well, way to go guys! What a cop-out (IMO). Talk about trying to appease fan groups too much. And I have absolutely nothing against the character of Samantha Carter... it's just the whole way this has been set up. Mitchell was told to lead and given leadership of SG-1, the others all off doing their own thing. He spent time and effort to get the team he wants back together... Landry actually seems to turn to CM more for confirmation etc... (he's acknowledging his leadership)... he is called SG-1 Leader and has greater time in grade.

Everything fits, until you get this statement from the producers which goes against the military regulations that they were so adamant had to be followed in the past but worse than that they have taken away the only real thing to define the character of Cameron Mitchell in one foul swoop (IMO). Samantha Carter, as well as having all the Science, the numerous degrees, and all the other super traits they've endowed her with, just has to have joint command as well. However, so far she's been portrayed to be a 2IC role, just taking charge when Mitchell is absent - on a seperate side mission, which is how it should be. In the military you need a definitive chain of command on ground missions or all hell could break loose. The way it has been played so far, Mitchell is Command Leader... you can't have 2 officers disagreeing in real situations... when it comes to the overriding decision, this is falling to Mitchell.

All I can say is it's no wonder Ben has said he's really trying to find the Mitchell character, he's not being allowed to have the total defining military leadership that so far is his whole character. The other characters can go on just as they have before... they seperate Mitchell, make the other 3 come up with solutions and have Carter question him unnecessarily on occasion (eg: setting up the equipment in Prototype)... Mitchell had already told the men to do that but she had to go and say that it wasn't visible until night, stopping the men from obeying Mitchell and look to her... until she said they could set it up anyway... Why act as though you are questioning Mitchell and his knowledge every step of the way?

No doubt about it... Ben has got a tough job finding the real character in Mitchell with this trying to appease all bases TPTB have got going. Stupid thing is, this should not have been any sort of an issue (and probably isn't with the general viewership). The group had gone seperate ways, a new military officer was brought in to reform a team - end of story. I hate it when showrunners don't have enough courage to go with the story. IMO, if they were intending to do this, they should have given Mitchell some other really personal-only definitive to him traits for Ben to work with.

[ShardsofGlass]

Kas,

I agree with everything you've said. I'm so angry whenever I think about this show. I remember those interviews with Ben where he couldn't tell the interviewer about the character and implied that Mitchell wasn't that defined yet. At the time, I figured that he didn't want to divulge anything, but in actuality, Mitchell wasn't defined yet! First they sideline him for most of the first half of the season, and then we find out that he's not really the leader they say he is on the show! No wonder Mitchell seems to step back and not lead so often. Way to weaken a character and make him appear ineffectual.

[Kas]

Kas,

Way to weaken a character and make him appear ineffectual.

I have to say that I agree. What this statement does is undermine Mitchell as a strong character. Is he always going to be 'the new guy' to the PTB and writers? As being an out and out military man is virtually all we know of Mitchell, a courageous one who is more than capable of leading elite forces, then this statement makes me actually fearfully of the way that the character is going to be written. This and other comments from Mallozzi just demonstrates that they don't know who the character is or what to do with him. They are trying to play so safe with the original characters that they are doing Mitchell and Ben a great disservice. They are seeming to make the character weaker than he should be, just to not overshadow what has gone before. Ben the actor, already has had to overcome the odds, letting his work do the talking and he's doing great with what they give him... only trouble is - it's not clear where they want to go. C'mon guys, you brought Ben Browder, a lead actor, on for a reason - use the man! Write him a character to match his abilities.

[scifihigh]

I have to say that I agree. What this statement does is undermine Mitchell as a strong character. Is he always going to be 'the new guy' to the PTB and writers? As being an out and out military man is virtually all we know of Mitchell, a courageous one who is more than capable of leading elite forces, then this statement makes me actually fearfully of the way that the character is going to be written. This and other comments from Mallozzi just demonstrates that they don't know who the character is or what to do with him. They are trying to play so safe with the original characters that they are doing Mitchell and Ben a great disservice. They are seeming to make the character weaker than he should be, just to not overshadow what has gone before. Ben the actor, already has had to overcome the odds, letting his work do the talking and he's doing great with what they give him... only trouble is - it's not clear where they want to go. C'mon guys, you brought Ben Browder, a lead actor, on for a reason - use the man! Write him a character to match his abilities.

I think everyone is missing the point here. Mitchell (Ben) was given the leadership of SG-1. He wants to learn from the best and the best are Daniel, Carter, and Teal`c. In the eppy "Ex Deus Machina", when he was handing out the patches, he was asking each member to rejoin SG-1. They each agreed by taking the patch that he would be the leader. Even Carter. They (Mitchell and Carter) might share the same rank, but she is deferring to him. Also, in "Protype", she was not undermining his leadership, she was clarifing that the black hole can only be seen at night. (IMO)

[Kas]

I think everyone is missing the point here. Mitchell (Ben) was given the leadership of SG-1. He wants to learn from the best and the best are Daniel, Carter, and Teal`c. In the eppy "Ex Deus Machina", when he was handing out the patches, he was asking each member to rejoin SG-1. They each agreed by taking the patch that he would be the leader. Even Carter. They (Mitchell and Carter) might share the same rank, but she is deferring to him. Also, in "Protype", she was not undermining his leadership, she was clarifing that the black hole can only be seen at night. (IMO)

Firstly Hi Scifihigh... Welcome to the thread *waves*

In regards to your post... I agree, you would think so wouldn't you? That is what we've been shown on screen and that is what I assumed. It's just Joe Mallozzi's comments in his blog and a recent mag. that lead some to question exactly what they want with Mitchell and how they are portraying him. I must confess that I was wrong about Prototype... I've just rewatched it and where I had thought Mitchell had already told the men to set up, he hadn't. He just said in Carter's hearing 'Let's see what all the fuss is about', so she took over the science side - that's perfectly acceptable, as it's her area of expertise.

From everything we've seen onscreen, Mitchell is leader and so I guess that is cannon. I just wish that TPTB would stick to their decision and back it up in their statements. I can't see joint command in field ever working and is not strict military protocol... however, if they keep splitting them up, I guess Carter will lead that side and also have say so in a science mission. But my guess is that they will all defer to Mitchell when an ultimate decision has to be made. It is his team... you're right. That much has been made clear.