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

[keshou]

I LIKE Vala. Do I think she should be a regular on SG-1? No. She's outrageous, she's annoying, she's a pot-stirrer, - in other words she would make a great recurring character.

5 or 6 episodes in a ROW is too many - although I understand they contracted Claudia to cover while AT was out. But 6+ times a year to come in and stir things up? I think that would be great.

And this is coming from someone who was very leary of seeing Vala back in S9. PU just had WAY too many cringeworthy scenes imo.

I certainly don't think Vala should "END". Way too much potential if the writers manage to use her character in the right way.

[valaCB]

Riiiight...whatever.

*starts humming...People are strange...

Ok...OK...im strange

[KatG]

for all the vala-haters out there...

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

...suggestions...anybody??

I'm not a Vala hater, although I did start out not liking her so much. I do have to admit that she's grown on me, but...

I think there's way too much focus on Vala/Daniel. Yes, they had to compensate for AT's absence, but I would have liked to have seen more of Daniel/Teal'c and Daniel/Mitchell and Teal'c/Mitchell to mix it up a bit.

They could even have done a couple of more Sam cameos with Mitchell. Apparently they're good friends. I don't think it would have been that far off, for Mitchell to maybe touch base with her from time to time, maybe to bounce ideas/feelings off of her as he settles into his new role, maybe even to keep trying to convince her to come back. And it would have been very easy to do. They could have gone ahead and shot BB's scenes looking at and talking to the monitor and then shot AT's when she got back and filled it in. That's what they did with Avalon I, so they could have just added a few more.

Honestly, I think a lot of people's problems with Vala, stem from too much Vala all at once. If they'd mixed things up a bit more, made it part of the story but not all of the story, I doubt that there would be nearly this much controversy.

[KatG]

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."

There you go again. Believing everything you read. All the interviews leading up to S9 were publicity. They were meant to build up the show, get people excited and get them watching.

What if MS had said "I can't believe that brought Claudia Black back to do 5 episodes as Vala. This is the stupidest storyline I've ever had to work with. Now that Rick is gone, and Amanda is out for 5 weeks, the show is seriously going down the tubes"

Would people have been as likely to tune in? I doubt it.

Would you have been so quick to believe it since it doesn't fit with your viewpoint? I doubt it.

And I'm not saying that MS feels that way. He may honestly be ecstatic about "Vala". It still doesn't change the fact that some of the fans aren't. And they're not going to be, regardless of what MS says.

[KatG]

So I'd say you leapt to some mighty big conclusions. One I can disprove right off. I still watch the show, and I never much cared for Daniel, and I don't much care for Vala either (a waste of Ms. Black's talents as far as I am concerned).

Wow. DB and I actually agree on something. The world may very well be getting ready to end.

I mainly watched for Sam and for Jack and not just the shippiness factor either. I just liked the two characters and what they brought to the show. But I'm still watching and not hating it although it has nothing to do with Vala. I'm rather hooked on the Ori storyline at the moment and am waiting to see where it goes. And of course I'm looking forward to Sam's return.

[KatG]

I don't know why they've put her on the show....She is stupid to death... she makes stargate looks stupid and non-serious.... Season 9 would have been good if she was not on the show.....

KILL VALA please!!!!
I praise the lord that she will never come back.....

I don't think Vala's stupid at all. I think she knows exactly what she's doing. She's cunning and manipulative and it's how she operates.

Do I like it? Not necessarily, but it in no way means she stupid.

[Publius]

While I admit and agree that Vala is often to sexualized (that 'dress' she wore was over the top), the character has really SAVED season 9 for me. So far this whole Ori nonsense has been REALLY awful. I mean are they SO completely out of ideas that they HAD to re-use the aliens posing as gods thing that they just resolved? I fear SG-1 has jumped the shark with the Ori.

The thing that kills me is that it's not like Stargate lacks potential storylines withuot the Ori. The new Jaffa nation alone could occupy us for a season. A civil war could have erupt between them. The potential as a metaphor for the difficulties in Iraq alone are compelling.

We still haven't been introduced to the Furlings. Goa'uld hungry for vengeance could well arrange attacks on Earth (using subtler methods) now that they no longer have a nation for the Asgard to punish.

How are the Tok'ra handling their sudden lack of a mission statement? What about a storyline where the gate program once and for all becomes public knowledge? How about some more Nox stuff? And dare I even mention getting back to some good old-fashioned one-offs? Most of SG-1's best sci-fi has been in one-offs with no continuity impact.

But Vala has made the early season tolerable. Yes the comedy is a little schticky, and no I wouldn't want her and Daniel to dominate the landscape forever, but she is the only thing holding my interest during an otherwise dreadfully boring and weak first few episodes. Atlantis isn't exactly great either. The highlight of my Friday night TV now is Firefly re-runs.

[ShimmeringStar]

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?
<some snippage>
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.

I agree the question is still very much open. It may be half-answered by the time the mid-season break here in the U.S. comes around, but it likely won’t be until the end of season before the trend can be official for certain, no matter what Ms. Hammer or other SciFi PTB may declare....

Good question in that first paragraph. Both in general to the new spin/direction the show has taken and in relation to this thread’s topic – Vala. Speaking for myself (a non-Neilsen household) I know my plan is to watch the show through the end of the season, although it’s by no means with the same anticipation that I had the past 2 years that I’ve been watching it. I know how certain aspects of the show are making me feel right now, but (*sighs*) I’ll keep tuning in, hoping to see some of that “classic old Stargate” that Wright and Cooper said in that interview on GW that they’d be delivering this season.

But I agree – it will be interesting to see how the ratings go over the long term, especially after we pass by these Danny and Vala-centric episodes.

[ShimmeringStar]

I LIKE Vala. Do I think she should be a regular on SG-1? No. She's outrageous, she's annoying, she's a pot-stirrer, - in other words she would make a great recurring character.

5 or 6 episodes in a ROW is too many - although I understand they contracted Claudia to cover while AT was out. But 6+ times a year to come in and stir things up? I think that would be great.

Yep keshou, she's perhaps best in small doses to spice things up and contribute to the storyline, but not be *the* story for 5 eps straight.

I don’t dislike Vala. In fact after the second episode when she was being burned that first time – I went “oooooo” very much appreciating this powerful scene and the fact that the writers had taken her, and Daniel, to a place where there was so much great potential to leap from, both in developing her character and in any potential ship between V & D. And the following week saw the serious potential ignored (IMOHO). And this past week’s ep it was just trounced down. I’m not of big faith that this Friday’s ep will change that. (But hope springs eternal…… )

And I know for me it doesn’t matter that CB was AS in the series she previously acted in (or even that BB was MC). I’m deciding if I like her by how Vala is written by the SG PTB and how she is played by CB. I’m disappointed somewhat by how she’s been written, but have to give CB kudos for pulling off the so-so writing the best she can.

So, no… I’m definitely *not* in the wishing Vala would die camp as the threadstarter claimed to be, but I am a bit of the mind that like jalapeno peppers, the character may be better as something best sprinkled on the show in smaller doses, not swallowed in one big gulp as the main meal.

[Furling God]

Can we just burn her again and revive her again so both sides will be happy?

[WhatFateAlmondRoca]

Can we just burn her again and revive her again so both sides will be happy?

What, AGAIN? Did they hire the Marquis de Sade to ghost write for RCC???? Or is that Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam ("burn her, burn her" from Holy Grail)

Third time's a charm....


Thanks for the levity in this discussion - it was time!

[KatG]

I don't think I jumped to any big conclusions. Daniel Jackson's a very popular character. Remember when MS wanted out in season five. Remember the major marketing campaign to bring him back. Remember season six. I'll go as far as saying he's the most popular character on the show.

I don't think that proves that he's the most popular. It just proves that he has the most fanatical fans. Given the backlash that happened as a result of the marketing campaign I doubt you'll see the same thing happen for any of the other characters. People are just too leery of it.

[ValaMalduran]

Darth Buddha wrote:

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.

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.

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?

I have to say I find your comments quite offending.
Just because we appreciate someone's acting talent doesn't mean we're taking everything that's written -good or bad- about Claudia Black at face value. We're very well aware of the mechanics of press and promotion.

You ask if we expect actors to talk negative about their peers in commentaries and interviews citing Star Trek as an example. Regardless of what they said in I&C's we still know that they didn't get along. If there's negativity and animosity it will surface somehow.
To implement that everyone -SG1 actors, producers and writers - would talk positive about Claudia Black only to sell the new season is a very cynical approach IMHO.

Stargate DVD commentaries themselves always seem pretty honest to me. They DO talk about things that didn't come out the way they wanted and about collaborations that weren't as enjoyable.

A.

[Kalliope]

Darth Buddha wrote:





I have to say I find your comments quite offending.
Just because we appreciate someone's acting talent doesn't mean we're taking everything that's written -good or bad- about Claudia Black at face value. We're very well aware of the mechanics of press and promotion.

You ask if we expect actors to talk negative about their peers in commentaries and interviews citing Star Trek as an example. Regardless of what they said in I&C's we still know that they didn't get along. If there's negativity and animosity it will surface somehow.
To implement that everyone -SG1 actors, producers and writers - would talk positive about Claudia Black only to sell the new season is a very cynical approach IMHO.

Stargate DVD commentaries themselves always seem pretty honest to me. They DO talk about things that didn't come out the way they wanted and about collaborations that weren't as enjoyable.

A.

Thanks for support, ValaMalduran DarthBuddha's amunition actually killed me.

[KatG]

I have to say I find your comments quite offending.
Just because we appreciate someone's acting talent doesn't mean we're taking everything that's written -good or bad- about Claudia Black at face value. We're very well aware of the mechanics of press and promotion.

You ask if we expect actors to talk negative about their peers in commentaries and interviews citing Star Trek as an example. Regardless of what they said in I&C's we still know that they didn't get along. If there's negativity and animosity it will surface somehow.
To implement that everyone -SG1 actors, producers and writers - would talk positive about Claudia Black only to sell the new season is a very cynical approach IMHO.

Stargate DVD commentaries themselves always seem pretty honest to me. They DO talk about things that didn't come out the way they wanted and about collaborations that weren't as enjoyable.

A.

In all fairness to Darth, I don't think he was talking about all Claudia Black fans, just the one in particular he was posting to, and given the poster's history it's not off base.

I also don't think that he was implying that everyone was talking positive to sell the new season, only that it was possible and that the poster should take what she reads with a grain of salt.