Anti-Vala thread - For complaints about the character ONLY!

[chocdoc]

For Vala haters...Any hope that the Nielsen ratings will support your POV is dashed.

(You'll see what I mean when they are posted)

I don't think their point of view would be dashed by Nielsen ratings. Many shows that some people think are not good still get very high ratings!! I guess what I am saying is that high Nielsen ratings do not necessarily indicate a "quality" show! I am often amazed at what the general public like, but what's important to Scifi is that enough people like it. That's all that matters.

[Crichton]

for all the vala-haters out there...

what would you have done differantly with these first 5 episodes??

...suggestions...anybody??

[MediaSavant]

I don't need anyone else to validate my opinion that most of the time Vala is dragging SG1 down.

That's fine. But the reality is that fans who say, "the producers should do this because *I* say so--which is the tone of the original post--aren't the people the producers listen to.

And shouldn't we be talking about Vala, not the fans who like or dislike her?

Okay, Vala's a great character. The Nielsen ratings during her run have been healthy. *If* they stay that way and if she's still usable as a character when this run is over, the producers/writers have great incentive to bring her back. They've already stated at Comic-con that they love writing the character.

I understand the need to vent, but all the venting in the world won't change the situation if the marketplace has spoken.

[smurf]

for all the vala-haters out there...

what would you have done differantly with these first 5 episodes??

...suggestions...anybody??

Give Cameron Mitchell some character development?
Teal'c something to do?
Give Vala some depth and less jokes?
Not rush the Ori story into one mad Daniel fast-talking session?


I don't hate Vala, but putting her "story" front when you have other major characters to deal with seems a bit off.

[JackDaniel41]

For Vala haters...Any hope that the Nielsen ratings will support your POV is dashed.

(You'll see what I mean when they are posted)

And your point is... People who still like this show are MS fans only *and* now Vala fans. I like MS too but I don't like what Vala's doing to his character OR should I say TPTB.

[Darth Buddha]

I understand the need to vent, but all the venting in the world won't change the situation if the marketplace has spoken.

A little early to make that call, I'd say.

There's a new flavor to the show, and some new stars. So you've got the old faithful showing up, and the fans of the new stars. Will the fans of the new stars stick around when Vala isn't around? Will the old fans stick around if the show continues to have more of a "Farscape" feel than it used to?

Those are good questions. Consider "Enterprise". The Star Trek faithful showed up, for a season, and then left in droves. That's with a fan base that goes back what, almost forty years now?

Stargate definitely has a more Farscape feel to it now (without a lot of the things that made me like Farscape, btw). In addition to the more slapstick take on humor, did you note the Farscape-isms? I'm sure there is a list elsewhere so I won't start here.

Cameron Mitchell is very reminiscent of John Crichton (too much so, perhaps?), Vala is not very reminiscent of Aeryn, perhaps more of Chiana or Jenavian (non-Farscapers whon't know who that is).

Will that wash with long-time Stargate fans over the long term? I think that question is still open. Will just Ben Browder with the "regular" Stargate SG-1 squad satisfy the "Far-gaters" enough to keep them coming back? Also probably still open.

Declaring victory by claiming "the market has spoken" at this point is what I'd expect from Bonnie Hammer... and maybe advertising agencies chase numbers blindly enough that they'll buy it. I'm a little more patient in seeing how the trends play out.

[Kalliope]

And your point is... People who still like this show are MS fans only *and* now Vala fans. I like MS too but I don't like what Vala's doing to his character OR should I say TPTB.

But MS loves it Here it's an excerpt from his interview for TV Zone Special #64: "Obviously, having Claudia back this year was a treat. I don't think I've ever smiled and laughed so much on this show. Claudia brings so many ideas to the table all the time. When it comes to our two characters, we see them as having a sort of Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn dynamic, not so much of tension, but rather constant antagonism. Their bickering leads to a lot of comedy and always spices up dull exposition scenes. Vala brings out a side of Daniel that I hadn't really had the chance to play before. She pushes certain buttons on him that no one else is able to, and I just love that."

[the dancer of spaz]

Yeah... We all know how much MS and the crew are enjoying CB and this season. They've made that abundantly clear.

But, again, that doesn't have much to do with the Nielsen masses or the fans who go online.

[Darth Buddha]

But MS loves it Here it's an excerpt from his interview for TV Zone Special #64: "Obviously, having Claudia back this year was a treat. I don't think I've ever smiled and laughed so much on this show. Claudia brings so many ideas to the table all the time. When it comes to our two characters, we see them as having a sort of Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn dynamic, not so much of tension, but rather constant antagonism. Their bickering leads to a lot of comedy and always spices up dull exposition scenes. Vala brings out a side of Daniel that I hadn't really had the chance to play before. She pushes certain buttons on him that no one else is able to, and I just love that."

Good grief, Kalliope, have you ever heard of things that people say whether or not they are true?

He's trying to sell the show after some major cast changes so he can keep his job. He'd say that even if he despised her personally. Not that I'm saying he does, but rather that giving credence to promotional fluff interviews is fairly naive.

Or is it naivete? If there were an interview out there that were less than complimentary, would you find it so credible? I wonder.

[BackStageJim]

Yeah... We all know how much MS and the crew are enjoying CB and this season. They've made that abundantly clear.

LOL .... if the masses only knew ... <wink wink>

[the dancer of spaz]

While I tend to agree that this season was DEFINITELY hyped up by the show's cast and crew, I'd still like to think that they really DO like their jobs.

I'm a hippie like that.

[Kalliope]

Good grief, Kalliope, have you ever heard of things that people say whether or not they are true?

He's trying to sell the show after some major cast changes so he can keep his job. He'd say that even if he despised her personally. Not that I'm saying he does, but rather that giving credence to promotional fluff interviews is fairly naive.

Or is it naivete? If there were an interview out there that were less than complimentary, would you find it so credible? I wonder.

Just one question: have you listened to or read a transcript of "Prometheus Unbound" commentary?

[Kalliope]

Good grief, Kalliope, have you ever heard of things that people say whether or not they are true?

He's trying to sell the show after some major cast changes so he can keep his job. He'd say that even if he despised her personally. Not that I'm saying he does, but rather that giving credence to promotional fluff interviews is fairly naive.

Or is it naivete? If there were an interview out there that were less than complimentary, would you find it so credible? I wonder.

In this particular case, I don't see ANY reason not to believe Michael and Claudia complementing each other.

[GateTraveler]

Actually MediaSavant has a point. If the ratings stay high while Vala is on and drop when she leaves, she will be back - probably for good - no matter what is written here. As MediaSavant says, this forum represents a very small portion of the general audience. While tptb probably use it for getting more immediate and specific feedback than ratings can provide, it isn't the most important factor. Ratings will drive what is done with Vala long term more than anything else - just like they do with all shows.

[Darth Buddha]

While I tend to agree that this season was DEFINITELY hyped up by the show's cast and crew, I'd still like to think that they really DO like their jobs.

I'm a hippie like that.

I can't disagree with that sentiment, but the bottom line is, we'd never know from any official release, any interview, or any DVD extra if they didn't, now, would we?

Just one question: have you listened to or read a transcript of "Prometheus Unbound" commentary?

Do you actually consider the commentary anything other than product?

Do you actually believe that you'd be any more likely to hear anything negative there, or anything even less than joyously happy and ubeat, any more than you'd expect to hear the dirt from Star Trek on a DVD extra?e

Would you expect to hear any of George Takei's axes regarding William Shatner? Or from Nichelle Nicole that she was boffing Gene Rodenberry?

Would you expect, perhaps, to hear about the tense relations between Duchovney and Anderson on an X-Files DVD extra? Or about Dean Cain and Terri Hatcher's differences?

Of course you woudln't. At least you wouldn't if you actually thought about it, rather than taking it at face value because it confirms what you'd prefer to believe.

I guess my question for you is, why do you think this is worthy of any more weight than fluff promotional pieces? Ah, I guess I answered my own question in the paragraph before, didn't I?

In this particular case, I don't see ANY reason not to believe Michael and Claudia complementing each other.

YOU wouldn't, of course. So long as it is hyping your favorite girl, you aren't going to question anything... or am I wrong about that?

Actually MediaSavant has a point. If the ratings stay high while Vala is on and drop when she leaves, she will be back - probably for good - no matter what is written here. As MediaSavant says, this forum represents a very small portion of the general audience. While tptb probably use it for getting more immediate and specific feedback than ratings can provide, it isn't the most important factor. Ratings will drive what is done with Vala long term more than anything else - just like they do with all shows.

There ya go. That IS a reasonable conclusion to draw from available data, and from what we know about network types. If the ratings crash, they'll probably bring back Vala. They may in fact be planning on the future Vala episodes to test that very theory. If they don't go back up when her additional episodes air? Then they'd likely not make it permanent. Truth be told, if they were to be in ratings trouble at that point, they might not have a devil of a lot of time to experiment.