S10: Critique & Contemplation

[Petra]

I don't think Doctor Lam was that bad, when she was being a doctor. The problem was the whole Landry/Lam issues which went no-where and just seemed to pad episodes and give Bridges more to do.

I agree, I really didn't care for that relationship.
I don't have anything against Lam per se, but I still wish they brought back some old doctors from SG-1, like Dr Warner. He appeared in a few early eps and I got the impression he was right after Janet in chain of command.
oh, wait! It couldn't be done! It would mean continuity...how could I forget?

[EvenstarSRV]

I don't think Doctor Lam was that bad, when she was being a doctor. The problem was the whole Landry/Lam issues which went no-where and just seemed to pad episodes and give Bridges more to do.

I agree, I think it was to the detriment of the Lam character to bring in the Landry relationship so soon after her introduction and making it such a major part of the character.

What I liked about Janet was that the vast majority of the time her part in the episodes focused on her role as doctor/SGC CMO. She had other storylines like Cassie, but they were never the focus of her character except for Rite of Passage I think.

With Lam, I think it would have been better for the writers to have focused on letting Lam just be a doctor and the CMO before bringing in any other storylines. Unfortunately I think the writers did the same thing to Keller on Atlantis, to her detriment as well.

[mapsc]

Through the first 8 years of SG1 there was only 1 character/villain/ally that I really didn't like. Pete. In s9/s10 we got Mitchell(should've been 2IC), Vala(should''ve been recurring), Landry(decisions regarding Mitchell and Vala made him look incompetent), Lam(should not have been Landry's daughter), the Ori(Goa'uld redux), and the Lucian Alliance(space pirates?). I didn't like any of them. What are the odds? Even that Goa'uld they introduced in Beachhead, Nerus?, made me cringe. When I saw that seen where he had a food fight with himself in the cell, all I could think of was "So this is the new SG1". Depressing. I will never understand how they thought this would work.

Mike

[jckfan55]

I agree, I think it was to the detriment of the Lam character to bring in the Landry relationship so soon after her introduction and making it such a major part of the character.

What I liked about Janet was that the vast majority of the time her part in the episodes focused on her role as doctor/SGC CMO. She had other storylines like Cassie, but they were never the focus of her character except for Rite of Passage I think.

With Lam, I think it would have been better for the writers to have focused on letting Lam just be a doctor and the CMO before bringing in any other storylines.

I agree. I think we felt we came to know Fraiser even though we really knew nothing of her personal life--other than Cassie and a few references over the years. I think what made us feel that way is that her personality and caring for SG1 came through as she did her job. She never really had a personal storyline and we came to love her nonetheless. I have to credit TR a great deal for that.

[Allie_Kreek]

Mitchell(should've been 2IC), Vala(should''ve been recurring), Landry(decisions regarding Mitchell and Vala made him look incompetent), Lam(should not have been Landry's daughter), the Ori(Goa'uld redux), and the Lucian Alliance(space pirates?). I didn't like any of them.

Yeah I agree with you. I've said before that CB was wasted on the Vala character. There were times when Vala was a really good character especially when she was with the husband (I've actually forgotten his name) and some of the scenes with her daughter. But too often she was playing the space bimbo and it really started to annoy me! Landry never had the same presence as Hammond. I always got the impression that they were trying to make out that Landry was really strict but most of the time he was away with the fairies! And don't get me started on Lam being Landry's daughter! Can we say cheap?! Mitchell should have been eased in, not a Colonel and after re-watching Avalon I still don't get what he won a MOH for! And as for the Lucian Alliance, they make me think Spaceballs.

I'm starting to agree that it is better to look at S9/10 as a different show. Maybe then I wouldn't be so critical... ... MAYBE!

[EvenstarSRV]

I agree. I think we felt we came to know Fraiser even though we really knew nothing of her personal life--other than Cassie and a few references over the years. I think what made us feel that way is that her personality and caring for SG1 came through as she did her job. She never really had a personal storyline and we came to love her nonetheless. I have to credit TR a great deal for that.

I think that's the crux of the matter, most of the character development Janet received was with or in relation to the other SG-1 members rather than in isolation, which helped build and reinforce her bonds to the team. In contrast, most of Lam's development seemed to be with Landry, with no real bonding scenes with the others characters that I can remember.

I think the Mitchell character also suffered from a similar kind of development in isolation from the team in season 9. Episodes like Babylon and Stronghold, while developing aspects of his character, didn't do much to build bonds between him and the others SG-1 members, IMO.

[HPMom]

I remember Janet in "The Broca Divide." I think it was one of the first times we saw her or at least one of the first times she was given any real airtime. I immediately liked her – there was warmth and caring and just a general likability about the character (and the actress).

I never saw Lexa on Andromeda; Dr. Lam was my first view. While I think Lexa is gorgeous, I didn't care for Lamb – didn't hate her, just thought she was a big nothing. Probably a combination of how the character was written AND acted. Even when she was being the doctor, I didn't care for the personality, nor the acting. Whatever they were trying to do with the character and with her relationship with Landry just ending up being a flat out failure, in my book.

I agree about her acting. My kids always joke about of her lack of voice inflection. They'll jokingly say "I saw Mom the other day, it was hard." in that deadpan almost emotionless other than a bit of anger voice (a line from "The Fourth Horseman"). But then I saw Lexa in The 4400 and she could actually act so I have to believe it was the direction. I think Fraiser was such a vivacious likable person they wanted to try to make Lam different but just ended up making her a dud.

I do think they should have worked more at having a relationship between Mitchel and the other members of SG1. I think if they were dead set on putting an inexperienced gate traveler in charge of SG1 they should have played up on the fact that he was inexperienced. Like in "Prototype" when he thaws out the Anubus mutant by randomly hitting a switch. Daniel says "New Guy!" in that cute Daniel way. I thought that was great. I definitely think there was much better interaction between the 4 of them when Vala wasn't around.

[kennythewraith]

Yeah I agree with you. I've said before that CB was wasted on the Vala character. There were times when Vala was a really good character especially when she was with the husband (I've actually forgotten his name) and some of the scenes with her daughter. But too often she was playing the space bimbo and it really started to annoy me! Landry never had the same presence as Hammond. I always got the impression that they were trying to make out that Landry was really strict but most of the time he was away with the fairies! And don't get me started on Lam being Landry's daughter! Can we say cheap?! Mitchell should have been eased in, not a Colonel and after re-watching Avalon I still don't get what he won a MOH for! And as for the Lucian Alliance, they make me think Spaceballs.

I'm starting to agree that it is better to look at S9/10 as a different show. Maybe then I wouldn't be so critical... ... MAYBE!

well i think he got the medal of honor because he took out a ship that was about to destroy the cargo ship,killing sg1, and helped save the planet before crashing and nearly dying...maybe????

[RealmOfX]

well i think he got the medal of honor because he took out a ship that was about to destroy the cargo ship,killing sg1, and helped save the planet before crashing and nearly dying...maybe????

None of which entitle him to that particular honour. Are you at all familiar with the conditions upon which that rare honour is handed out? If not you could possibly look it up or there was a thread on the subject here at GW that contained a lot of information.

[Petra]

well i think he got the medal of honor because he took out a ship that was about to destroy the cargo ship,killing sg1, and helped save the planet before crashing and nearly dying...maybe????

hi Kenny *waves* glad you decided to enter the dragon's lair..

Anyway, I'll probably won't put it as eloquently as some posters here, but I think the main reason why people hate the whole MOH thing is that it isn't believable in terms of canon. SG-1 saved the world repeatedly, and all they got was the Air Medal in season 2. Now, even assuming that you are right about taking out a ship about to destroy SG-1's cargo - which wasn't shown in the orginal Lost City battle - he still wasn't doing anything special, since his orders were "protect SG-1 at all costs". And you don't get MOH for following orders, you get it for doing something above the call of duty. From what we were shown, Mitchell did nothing of the sort. Moreover some people are angry that the new footage from Avalon stole Hammond's moment of glory, because in Lost City it was Hammond aboard Prometheus who protected SG-1.

And as for "crashing and nearly dying" he wasn't the only pilot who got shot down. Did all the others were offered places on SG teams and awarded MOHs? It's rather doubtful. Actually one could argue that he wasn't all that great a pilot if he was shot down, apparently shortly after the battle began..

If you read the posts from a few pages back, I'm sure you'll find all the answers. I just hope I didn't scare you

[kennythewraith]

i did read back a ways.im not too sure of what it takes to get the MOH but im not going to hate or scrutinize the character because he may have deserved it or not.i dont see how that took away from hammonds contribution.they had quite a few 302s who all have stories about the dog fight...and they all contributed to saving sg1 including mitchell.maybe they did receive the same offer or maybe they couldnt take a new post because they were injured too severely.we dont know cuz they brought cam in...who i was fine with.
lol im being brave ...trying out this part of the forum.thanks for the welcome col sga

[RealmOfX]

i did read back a ways.im not too sure of what it takes to get the MOH but im not going to hate or scrutinize the character because he may have deserved it or not.i dont see how that took away from hammonds contribution.they had quite a few 302s who all have stories about the dog fight...and they all contributed to saving sg1 including mitchell.maybe they did receive the same offer or maybe they couldnt take a new post because they were injured too severely.we dont know cuz they brought cam in...who i was fine with.
lol im being brave ...trying out this part of the forum.thanks for the welcome col sga

Actually none of us are hating the character here, however most of us (of the long time posters) have problems the poor performance of the writers and how we perceive that they dropped the ball in S9 & S10. We find no reasonable excuse for ignoring canon, sloppy writing or poor planning to integrate new characters into a long running series.

I found a couple of links that may help for the Medal of Honor information :
http://www.medalofhonor.com/
GW thread Mitchell: Medal of Honor?

[Melora]

i did read back a ways.im not too sure of what it takes to get the MOH but im not going to hate or scrutinize the character because he may have deserved it or not.i dont see how that took away from hammonds contribution.they had quite a few 302s who all have stories about the dog fight...and they all contributed to saving sg1 including mitchell.maybe they did receive the same offer or maybe they couldnt take a new post because they were injured too severely.we dont know cuz they brought cam in...who i was fine with.
lol im being brave ...trying out this part of the forum.thanks for the welcome col sga

Hi there!

First of all, welcome to the thread.

Here's a little info on the MOH to put it in perspective -

There have only been five Medals of Honor awarded during the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All the men who received these awards sacrificed themselves to save the lives of their fellow soldiers. One soldier knowingly threw himself on top of a grenade to save the lives of his fellow Marines. It is not something awarded for just doing what you are supposed to be doing. It is not offered to everyone who contributed in a battle. It is given to individuals who knowingly put their lives on the line, usually sacrificing their own lives in the process, to save others. Reading through the recipients stories makes it all the more unbelievable to me that the writers decided to give Cam this award. I do wish they had given him something like the Silver Star or Distinguished Flying Cross instead.

http://www.history.army.mil/moh.html

I also doubt everyone who fought in the Antarctic battle was offered any job they wanted. The military usually doesn't work that way.

ETA: RoX's links explain the whole debate pretty well too.

[kennythewraith]

Actually none of us are hating the character here, however most of us (of the long time posters) have problems the poor performance of the writers and how we perceive that they dropped the ball in S9 & S10. We find no reasonable excuse for ignoring canon, sloppy writing or poor planning to integrate new characters into a long running series.

I found a couple of links that may help for the Medal of Honor information :
http://www.medalofhonor.com/
GW thread Mitchell: Medal of Honor?

thanks for the links i will definatly take a look at them.as for seasons 9/10 i enjoyed them.yeah it was different from the other 8 seaosn but i dont see how they ignored canon and i dont think the writing was that sloppy when comapared to some of sga's writing.and the poor planning could be because they thought seaosn 8 was the end and then got the pick up,also working on another show doesnt help.

[Petra]

i did read back a ways.im not too sure of what it takes to get the MOH but im not going to hate or scrutinize the character because he may have deserved it or not.i dont see how that took away from hammonds contribution.they had quite a few 302s who all have stories about the dog fight...and they all contributed to saving sg1 including mitchell.maybe they did receive the same offer or maybe they couldnt take a new post because they were injured too severely.we dont know cuz they brought cam in...who i was fine with.
lol im being brave ...trying out this part of the forum.thanks for the welcome col sga

You are welcome

Nobody is trying/ will try to make you hate the character. RealmOfX just explained what is being discussed here. I stress discuss, because it really is a constructive criticism, backed up by "proofs" - examples from various episodes. It's just that some fans, who love everything SG-1, have some difficulty with understanding us I rarely post here, but it's mainly bacause folks here are so great that I rarely have anything to add