Vala Open Forum

[Amanda Eros]

were any of SG-1 really with their family/friends? their lives came down around them, and they were basically left alone to deal with it. jack and sara broke up after charlie killed himself (though some argue that the divorce was his fault). he then managed to fight back from the brink of suicide to save innocent people instead of doing the easy thing for him.
sam's family was tore apart because her dad blamed her brother (as she did). she still went on and followed her father, most likely despite the hate from her brother, graduated at the top of her class at AFA and went on to become the person that could save her father (and the galaxy) and reunite her family.
daniel was thrown into foster home(s), because his grandfather abandoned him. yet he still went on to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, and most have worked very hard to get back on the right track.
after his father died, teal'c and his mother had to flee their home and go to chulak. he turned that trauma around and used it to become first prime (at the time, a very good thing). then, when he turned on apophis he was thrown into totally unknown world with people that wanted to experiment on him (no, jack doesn't count, IMO). doesn't seem like any of them had people to turn to. he managed to get through all of that and start the free jaffa nation and become the valuable member of SG-1 and the Tau'ri he is today.
yes, all the circumstances are different, but they still went through very traumatic and clinically depressing experiences and still managed to not only be moral and fix their problems, but be great.

I had written a post similar to this before reading this, so yeah I deleted it so not to say everything twice. Though one more point would be that Jack was tourtured in an Iraqy prison for a month.

And Jonas had to undergo brain surgery to remove a tumor only to have Anubis place a brain reading device into it. I'm also guessing that he didn't really have any family because we never saw him say that he missed them.

[Simhavaktra]

Well, it was quite hard considering the fact that Beachhead was the episode in which Vala was leaving, but this little "chocolate" moment between Vala-in-Daniel's-body and Sam in "Crusade" was really cute

Tastes truly differ.

I thought that lick-the-plate and get chocolate ice cream on one's nose schtick was revolting, and unfunny enough to make me wince.

[ParadoxRealities]

Tastes truly differ.

I thought that lick-the-plate and get chocolate ice cream on one's nose schtick was revolting, and unfunny enough to make me wince.

i thought it showed sam's only real job in the new!show.
so yeah, i winced. think i broke my remote as well (poor thing's been getting a lot of that this season).

[Hubble]

Tastes truly differ.

I thought that lick-the-plate and get chocolate ice cream on one's nose schtick was revolting, and unfunny enough to make me wince.

Don't they though? But, I'm with you. It was absolutely so contrived, IMO and just not funny at all. Can't decide whether that was the worst scene, whether it was the "Let's Make Babies," or the one where Vala was talking to the Appropriations Committee members about "boys and their toys." All 3 of those just absolutely made me cringe.

[ReganX]

Tastes truly differ.

I thought that lick-the-plate and get chocolate ice cream on one's nose schtick was revolting, and unfunny enough to make me wince.

For somebody with urgent news, she certainly took her time delivering it.

The ice cream on the nose trick is cute with small children, not adults.

[Madeleine]

Skaara doesn't seem to have behaved like Vala, and Kendra was described as never having hurt anyone. She seems to have used her Goa'uld abilities only to heal.

Sam was taken as a host against her will twice and Jack agreed to serve as a short-term host only to have his symbiote abduct him and abandon him to be subjected to torture.

Being a former host does not excuse Vala's actions.

Skaara and Kendra were returned to loving families or were recieved by caring friends. Sam and Jack never had so sit inside their own bodies while an interloper used them to kill and torture. The circumstances are vastly different.

And no, they don't excuse Vala's actions. But who cares? Vala is a fiction. The point of her is not To Be Upstanding And Worthy. The point of her is to be interesting. All the arguments against her that have run along the lines of "she annoys me" and "I don't like how she makes Daniel behave" and stuff, that I get. But how is it at all relevant whether she's good or bad?

She's a self-serving and duplicitous person, with enough compassion that if she can help other people without inconveniencing herself she will. She's an ally by default. Who else on Stargate is like that? No one. Baal and Yu have been in that sort of position at times, but the relationship that Vala can build with SG-1 makes her a different sort of character than Baal or Yu. Harry was a lovely foil for Jack, but he's been turned into a responsible person by this King lark he's on.

Vala's interesting and new. The Ex-Host stuff, while not an excuse for theft, is an interesting dimension to her. The theft and stuff itself is interesting too, cos it makes her relationship with the rest of the team different in nature to the other inter-team relationships. There's very little conflict between Daniel, Sam and Teal'c, and scarcely much more between those three and Cam or those four and Landry. To have the potential for actual arguments and disagreements is a good thing, I feel.

And I totally get why plenty of people will not agree with any of this. It's all my opinion. I just do not get why people who accept Yu and Kinsey and Replicarter and Maybourne are refusing to accept Vala because of her morals. Refusing to accept her because she's annoying? Makes sense. Refusing to accept her because she's immoral... I don't get it. Fiction can get very boring if people are only ever allowed to be good.

[Uber]

And as we saw in Prometheus Unbound and The Powers That Be, Vala also was using her Goa'uld abiilites to heal.

It would be great to have them both to talk about their experiences.

And you know this is one of the things that give me hope for the character interactions.

Sam and Vala have a very unique connection. Both were unwilling hosts of a symbiote. Both suffered immensely because of their experiences, although I'd argue that Vala suffered significantly more than Sam as her time as a host was protracted and her deliverance from Qetesh was less than perfectly executed...meaning she was left to suffer at the hands of those her symbiote terrorized.

I posed this to Joe Mallozzi eons ago and I still hold it true that an opposites attract friendship between these two women is a goldmine waiting to happen...just like the slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) antagonistic friendship between Jack and Daniel. Sam and Vala have that potential and more because of their unique bond.

Imagine the potential character development open for both of these women...the dramatic, angsty moments these two could share as they revisit their traumatic experiences and bond over it...the humor of putting Vala and Sam together too. Sam has a really snarky side that I think Vala could easily bring to the surface...and that right there is worth its weight in gold.

Vala could maybe gleen some of Sam's respect for authority. Maybe learn to be more of a team player.

Sam could learn to loosen up a bit more and plus it'd be a great way to revisit the Jolinar story arc, which was briefly touched upon in Ripple Effect with Martouf although the name Jolinar was never uttered (GROWL).

My favorite fantasy episode has them driving each other nuts, getting into a major problem and working together to save the day/save the team/save the galaxy.

All I can say is these two powerhouse actresses (I certainly wouldn't support this notion with lesser thespians) have the ability to make magic here...IF they're given the chance.

[Madeleine]

And you know this is one of the things that give me hope for the character interactions.

Sam and Vala have a very unique connection. Both were unwilling hosts of a symbiote. Both suffered immensely because of their experiences, although I'd argue that Vala suffered significantly more than Sam as her time as a host was protracted and her deliverance from Qetesh was less than perfectly executed...meaning she was left to suffer at the hands of those her symbiote terrorized.

I posed this to Joe Mallozzi eons ago and I still hold it true that an opposites attract friendship between these two women is a goldmine waiting to happen...just like the slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) antagonistic friendship between Jack and Daniel. Sam and Vala have that potential and more because of their unique bond.

Imagine the potential character development open for both of these women...the dramatic, angsty moments these two could share as they revisit their traumatic experiences and bond over it...the humor of putting Vala and Sam together too. Sam has a really snarky side that I think Vala could easily bring to the surface...and that right there is worth its weight in gold.

Vala could maybe gleen some of Sam's respect for authority. Maybe learn to be more of a team player.

Sam could learn to loosen up a bit more and plus it'd be a great way to revisit the Jolinar story arc, which was briefly touched upon in Ripple Effect with Martouf although the name Jolinar was never uttered (GROWL).

My favorite fantasy episode has them driving each other nuts, getting into a major problem and working together to save the day/save the team/save the galaxy.

All I can say is these two powerhouse actresses (I certainly wouldn't support this notion with lesser thespians) have the ability to make magic here...IF they're given the chance.

From your keyboard to TPTB's ears

[Formerhost]

And you know this is one of the things that give me hope for the character interactions.

Sam and Vala have a very unique connection. Both were unwilling hosts of a symbiote. Both suffered immensely because of their experiences, although I'd argue that Vala suffered significantly more than Sam as her time as a host was protracted and her deliverance from Qetesh was less than perfectly executed...meaning she was left to suffer at the hands of those her symbiote terrorized.

I posed this to Joe Mallozzi eons ago and I still hold it true that an opposites attract friendship between these two women is a goldmine waiting to happen...just like the slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) antagonistic friendship between Jack and Daniel. Sam and Vala have that potential and more because of their unique bond.

Imagine the potential character development open for both of these women...the dramatic, angsty moments these two could share as they revisit their traumatic experiences and bond over it...the humor of putting Vala and Sam together too. Sam has a really snarky side that I think Vala could easily bring to the surface...and that right there is worth its weight in gold.

Vala could maybe gleen some of Sam's respect for authority. Maybe learn to be more of a team player.

Sam could learn to loosen up a bit more and plus it'd be a great way to revisit the Jolinar story arc, which was briefly touched upon in Ripple Effect with Martouf although the name Jolinar was never uttered (GROWL).

My favorite fantasy episode has them driving each other nuts, getting into a major problem and working together to save the day/save the team/save the galaxy.

All I can say is these two powerhouse actresses (I certainly wouldn't support this notion with lesser thespians) have the ability to make magic here...IF they're given the chance.

Definitely. Let's hope TPTB are reading this thread

[Deevil]

Skaara doesn't seem to have behaved like Vala, and Kendra was described as never having hurt anyone. She seems to have used her Goa'uld abilities only to heal.

Sam was taken as a host against her will twice and Jack agreed to serve as a short-term host only to have his symbiote abduct him and abandon him to be subjected to torture.

Being a former host does not excuse Vala's actions.

Are you suggesting that because person X dealt with the death of their grandmother for example, well, person Y should deal with it the same way?

If so, you are not taking into consideration very different personalities, environments, experiences, relationships, needs, wants and haves. Your ignoring the one thing that should be very obvious, person X isn't person Y and thus they are going to deal with each situation differently.

So, why should Vala be good and sweet like Kendra and Skarra? She isn't either of them. Her experiences were different, because no 2 peoples experience of anything is the same.

So Vala is dealing the best way she knows how, just as everyone else did.

Sure, she is a-moral, but that's not a terrible thing. It's just different to what we are used to seeing. But where is it written that every character has to be good and wholesome and the ultimate hero? It would be unrealistic to portray the universe as such, considering our own world is plagued with the same issues.

[scarimor]

<snips to the chase>
Vala's interesting and new. The Ex-Host stuff, while not an excuse for theft, is an interesting dimension to her. The theft and stuff itself is interesting too, cos it makes her relationship with the rest of the team different in nature to the other inter-team relationships. There's very little conflict between Daniel, Sam and Teal'c, and scarcely much more between those three and Cam or those four and Landry. To have the potential for actual arguments and disagreements is a good thing, I feel.

Yes, gimme conflict. We do need more conflict on SG-1. It's something which Atlantis has noticeably more of and is the better for, imo (and I am first an SG-1 fan).

The thing I don't want to see is the predictable "it must be conflict between the only two females on the team" thing. It will be great to see Sam and Vala as allies and find character-conflict not between them, but between them and others.

[Simhavaktra]

And I totally get why plenty of people will not agree with any of this. It's all my opinion. I just do not get why people who accept Yu and Kinsey and Replicarter and Maybourne are refusing to accept Vala because of her morals. Refusing to accept her because she's annoying? Makes sense. Refusing to accept her because she's immoral... I don't get it. Fiction can get very boring if people are only ever allowed to be good.

For me, at least, part of why I can accept Kinsey, Maybourne, et cetera is because they aren't constantly being pimped as the greatest thing since the invention of advertising, the most amusing thing since the invention of comedy, the sexiest thing since the invention of titillation, the best thing to happen to Stargate since the invention of Stargate. :shudders:

There're no "oh, poor, poor, poor Kinsey - I think his mama must not have loved him therefore it's okay if he's a disgrace to his office and abuses his position" explanations made to gloss over his actions. There're no "who cares if he and his abused civilizations on x-number of planets and got SG-1 hurt and in trouble on multiple occasions, all ought to be forgiven 'cause Harry Maybourne's funny!" statements, explicit or implied to, used to urge me to love Harry Maybourne. There's no connotation of "or else" or "you're wrong" being implied if I dislike them. There most definitely is, from TPTB at least, if I dislike Vala.

No one implies that I'm wrong, or a bad fan, or simply lost to reason if I don't adore Yu and Replicarter and Kinsey and Maybourne. All of these are implied, on various occasions by varied sources, if I don't adore Vala. I am one of those lamentable people that detests having anything rammed down my throat, and that's how I feel about the 'wonderfulness' that is Vala. It's being rammed down my throat. And the more anything is rammed down my throat, the harder it sticks in my craw.

[KatG]

I just do not get why people who accept Yu and Kinsey and Replicarter and Maybourne are refusing to accept Vala because of her morals. Refusing to accept her because she's annoying? Makes sense. Refusing to accept her because she's immoral... I don't get it. Fiction can get very boring if people are only ever allowed to be good.

I can't speak for others but all the ones that you mentioned were re-curring characters. They'd come in, cause whatever damage they were going to cause and be gone. SG-1 would manage to fix it or at least manage it and that would be it until the next time they showed up.

With Vala, it's different, not only did we get her 5 episodes straight (which I get that she was supposed to be a fill in for Amanda, which by the way I don't think was necessary, there were other ways to handle it, but that's another story), and then two episodes at the end, now we get to see her every single week, on a regular basis in S10. I could have handled the occasional guest appearance, I might even have enjoyed it (although I doubt it as she just grates on my nerves), but not every single week. I wouldn't want to see Harry, Yu, Ba'al, Replicarter or Kinsey, every single week either.

So, for me, that's why I have a problem with Vala. She is a foil, a means to shake things up, just like the others, but we dont' need that every episode, and that's where my concern lies.

[Skydiver]

So, for me, that's why I have a problem with Vala. She is a foil, a means to shake things up, just like the others, but we dont' need that every episode, and that's where my concern lies.

and that's the main crux. Everyone else that has been mentioned is here for a bit, serves their purpose, goes away. They're the plot device, the antagonist to move the plot

vala????

vala is evidentally the new star of the show if the spoilers are anything to go by. She seems to be the focus of every single new episode that we have info for.

So she is worlds apart from kinsey and replicarter and maybourne and even anise. She's not going to be IN the show, she's apparantly going to BE the show.

Which is pretty scary that a show that has previously focused on the trials and tribulations of these 'normal' humans (plus the odd alien) trying to find their way around the universe/galaxy, is turning into the Vala Mal DOran show with her consort Daniel and those other sidekicks, that blond chick and that black dude oh and there's that other guy, what's his name?????

So instead of focusing on the human race and the plot thread of becomnig the fifth race, what do we have now????? Liars and cheaters anonymous????

but that's ok, because she's fun!

spookily enough, the guys at Tailhook were just having fun too.

[ParadoxRealities]

*Elmer Fudd crouches behind some trees. Vala creeps up behind him, munching on a carrot.*

Vala: Whatcha doing?

Elmer: Quiet! I'm hunting Vala's!

vala season
sam season
mitchell season
daniel season

you have any idea how long it took me to find a pic of elmer without a gun? that's what i get for trying to obey Sky's modding.