Originally posted by golfbooy
I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying the Solitudes discussion. I think that it's still one of the top ten best SG-1 episodes ever. And despite my rather unenthusiastic views of the work he's done on Atlantis, every time that I see certain SG-1 episodes that Brad Wright has written, my esteem for him as a writer and producer goes right back through the roof. Solitudes is one of those episodes. It is a terrific script based on a superb idea. Every single one of the actors is awesome in Solitudes, RDA and AT most of all. The sparse, unembellished setting and almost nonexistent lighting in the crevasse work beatifully in making the two characters, O'neill and Carter, the main focus of the story. The interaction and experience that these two people are going through is entirely engaging. Stories and episodes like this are peppered throughout SG-1's long run, and they're the main reason why I'm so damn disappointed in season nine.
Episodes such as Solitudes give the actors so much room to really make the characters work, to give them genuine depth and feeling. SG-1 didn't become so close simply because the writers called them "SG-1", slapped some patches on their shoulders and stuck'em in a obscene looking space ship. SG-1 became so close because the show used to focus on the shared experiences of the four leads. Let me put it another way. If this episode was written today, the most important part of Solitudes would be the fact that we found a second stargate. And, sure, that was really cool and important back then too. But the existence of a second stargate is entirely an afterthought in Solitudes. The closing shot of the episode is the second gate, and it's the first time in the episode where you pull back and realize, "oh yeah, holy crap, it's another gate!". That's a testament to how powerful the script is, and it's a testament to how spectacular AT and RDA were in the episode. They made that episode about Carter and O'neill.
Episodes such as Solitudes give the actors so much room to really make the characters work, to give them genuine depth and feeling. SG-1 didn't become so close simply because the writers called them "SG-1", slapped some patches on their shoulders and stuck'em in a obscene looking space ship. SG-1 became so close because the show used to focus on the shared experiences of the four leads. Let me put it another way. If this episode was written today, the most important part of Solitudes would be the fact that we found a second stargate. And, sure, that was really cool and important back then too. But the existence of a second stargate is entirely an afterthought in Solitudes. The closing shot of the episode is the second gate, and it's the first time in the episode where you pull back and realize, "oh yeah, holy crap, it's another gate!". That's a testament to how powerful the script is, and it's a testament to how spectacular AT and RDA were in the episode. They made that episode about Carter and O'neill.
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