S10: Critique & Contemplation

[Strix varia]

Maybe Vala helps there - she's not exactly a polite or diplomatic person, so if she thinks Mitchell's plans are dumb, she'll say so and maybe she'll be prepared to smack him over the head when (not if) he's being an idiot.

Oooo! Now that I might actually enjoy.

I do think I would like Mitchell more if he actually listened to the other people on his team.

[Skydiver]

Thanks chocdoc! I just read it. I'm wondering if it goes in depth, or if it just kinda skims of the surface. I don't really blame anyone if it does ('specially not Browder), I suppose. I just wish we could get to the meat-and-potatoes, so to speak, of the issue at hand. Is he the leader, or is he the frontman for a band of merry men with varying positions? I just don't know. But if no one's willing to actually address the issue, I'd just as well not read anything about it at all - especially when it seems to all be about the same thing.

i think it probably means that he, as an actor, knows that cam has no business leading...but he also know that those lovely sexist folks at skiffy are pushing for him to be the leader, so the writers have to write him AS the leader (or have to write it vague) thus he's likely playing cam not as 'the boss' but as 'yeah, ok, let's pretend huh????' in an effort to balance that the fine folks at skiffy want to see and what he and the writers know is right

[ReganX]

i think it probably means that he, as an actor, knows that cam has no business leading...but he also know that those lovely sexist folks at skiffy are pushing for him to be the leader, so the writers have to write him AS the leader (or have to write it vague) thus he's likely playing cam not as 'the boss' but as 'yeah, ok, let's pretend huh????' in an effort to balance that the fine folks at skiffy want to see and what he and the writers know is right

Do you mean that he is playing Mitchell as somebody pretending to be in charge even though he knows, deep down, that he is in no way qualified to give SG-1 orders or that he is playing it that Mitchell is somebody Sam, Daniel and Teal'c are humouring by allowing him to keep the fantasy that he is charge or a bit of both?

[kazzyk]

I dont know--but I think S10 will bring a more in charge Cambo. If they address it at all and there is a duality about it--it will be something like cambo in charge off world action/fighting bad guys etc... and Sam in charge of all things science and tech. Just my opinion.

[Skydiver]

i think that the ACTOR knows that the character has flaws and knows that he has issues.

but, in the end, he has to do what the writers tell him to do (since we no longer have any independant exec producers that aren't writers, thus have no 'objective' pov to even things out. I think he has to do what the directors tell him to do and i think THEY have to do what the fine folks at skiffy - the ones that wouldn't know creative adn responsible and who think that wrestling is scifi, who think that all scifi is zero plots and flashy sfx, are calling the shots

In other words, even if ben knows that cam has flaws, his hands are pretty much tied. he doesn't have the authority to push for changes, and even if he did, they'd probably ignore him, just like theyu've ignored claudia and amanda in the past. cause, you know, teh writers know all, know best and anyone that can't see their greatness are just uneducated fans with issues

[LaCroix]

i think that the ACTOR knows that the character has flaws and knows that he has issues.

but, in the end, he has to do what the writers tell him to do (since we no longer have any independant exec producers that aren't writers, thus have no 'objective' pov to even things out. I think he has to do what the directors tell him to do and i think THEY have to do what the fine folks at skiffy - the ones that wouldn't know creative adn responsible and who think that wrestling is scifi, who think that all scifi is zero plots and flashy sfx, are calling the shots

In other words, even if ben knows that cam has flaws, his hands are pretty much tied. he doesn't have the authority to push for changes, and even if he did, they'd probably ignore him, just like theyu've ignored claudia and amanda in the past. cause, you know, teh writers know all, know best and anyone that can't see their greatness are just uneducated fans with issues

I agree. The last time where both writers and producers had any independent thought or action was when the show was on Showtime.

Showtime let them have free hand to develop, to create. As of right now there's one too many suits in the mix.

[Amanda Eros]

I agree. The last time where both writers and producers had any independent thought or action was when the show was on Showtime.

Showtime let them have free hand to develop, to create. As of right now there's one too many suits in the mix.

:sigh: One would think that since the suits are educated that they would know that they don't know anything when it comes to making a good tv show... sadly this isn't the case. They think more about making money then they do at quality. Which is sad because that is only short term profits. If they had half of a brain all together they would realize that producing quality, even if it is pricey at first, would lead to more DVD/Book/Magazine/action figgure/etc sales in the long run.

[ReganX]

i think that the ACTOR knows that the character has flaws and knows that he has issues.

but, in the end, he has to do what the writers tell him to do (since we no longer have any independant exec producers that aren't writers, thus have no 'objective' pov to even things out. I think he has to do what the directors tell him to do and i think THEY have to do what the fine folks at skiffy - the ones that wouldn't know creative adn responsible and who think that wrestling is scifi, who think that all scifi is zero plots and flashy sfx, are calling the shots

In other words, even if ben knows that cam has flaws, his hands are pretty much tied. he doesn't have the authority to push for changes, and even if he did, they'd probably ignore him, just like theyu've ignored claudia and amanda in the past. cause, you know, teh writers know all, know best and anyone that can't see their greatness are just uneducated fans with issues

It's a shame because I'm sure that Ben Browder could offer them some insight into what he thinks would work for Mitchell. He is the one who has to put himself in Mitchell's shoes for however many hours a week.

[Skydiver]

It's a shame because I'm sure that Ben Browder could offer them some insight into what he thinks would work for Mitchell. He is the one who has to put himself in Mitchell's shoes for however many hours a week.

you would think. but when - apparantly - the show is being run by suits that insist that it follow a formula, creativity is shot out the window in favor of predictibility

[the dancer of spaz]

It's a shame because I'm sure that Ben Browder could offer them some insight into what he thinks would work for Mitchell. He is the one who has to put himself in Mitchell's shoes for however many hours a week.

It's interesting that Ben Browder feels he needs to be so deferential. I mean he IS the lead. And while his magazine reaffirmed the theory that he's just a humble guy who really DOES know his place in the grand scheme of things, I would THINK the official "lead actor" would have more of a say in how to portray his character.

That said, it reminds me of something that's been bothering me lately. I've been thinking about it for months now, but I kept forgetting to mention it.

Did anyone read William B. Davis' interview with Sci Fi World last fall? At the time, TFH hadn't even aired yet, and we were just beginning to see how craptastic the rest of the season was going to be by then. Anyway, he mentioned that, "I was not given a lot of information and so I had to pretty much make up my own back story. He was certainly theatrical." All in all, the interview was short, Davis didn't seem too enamored with the role, and at the time I thought he was just being an old coot.

Upon reflection, after seeing S9, I have to wonder if they really did just cast this well-known sci fi actor and kinda hope for the best, without fully developing his character and the backstory. For Davis, it was of course a paycheck, but the process of acting, of drawing from a preconceived backstory, is supposed to also give an actor the sense that the writers have invested at least SOME time and energy into creating that character - and not that they simply wrote a prior for the sole purpose of being played by a "name" actor.

I mean, if their goal is to throw a bunch of well-known (and well-paid) actors in our faces, in the hopes that people will watch, it would certainly explain why they may be low on funds. And it certainly won't make up for the fact that the stories are contrived.

On a lighter note, I like the new promo 10x better than the other one. It shows almost everyone (I saw Teal'c for TWO nanoseconds this time, instead of one) equally. We'll see how it plays out later, I guess.

[Skydiver]

Upon reflection, after seeing S9, I have to wonder if they really did just cast this well-known sci fi actor and kinda hope for the best, without fully developing his character and the backstory. For Davis, it was of course a paycheck, but the process of acting, of drawing from a preconceived backstory, is supposed to also give an actor the sense that the writers have invested at least SOME time and energy into creating that character - and not that they simply wrote a prior for the sole purpose of being played by a "name" actor.

I mean, if their goal is to throw a bunch of well-known (and well-paid) actors in our faces, in the hopes that people will watch, it would certainly explain why they may be low on funds. And it certainly won't make up for the fact that the stories are contrived.

i think that's a lot of it. they're casting names, recognizable genre names, it doesn't matter what the role is, that's immaterial. they just wanna cast names so that they can promote 'this show's actor so and so is in this week's episode'

tehy don't care that this actor is playing a throwaway character and fulfilling a role that any old generic actor can play, they just want the promotability

it's kinda like s10. skiffy doesn't care if - to many - season 9 and 10 are crud...they just care that they can promote the 'longest running us scifi show'

it's immaterial if, in the eyes of fans, the show ended with s8 and season 9 and 10 are just cheap reproductions.

i think casting is being seen the same way

[ReganX]

i think that's a lot of it. they're casting names, recognizable genre names, it doesn't matter what the role is, that's immaterial. they just wanna cast names so that they can promote 'this show's actor so and so is in this week's episode'

tehy don't care that this actor is playing a throwaway character and fulfilling a role that any old generic actor can play, they just want the promotability

it's kinda like s10. skiffy doesn't care if - to many - season 9 and 10 are crud...they just care that they can promote the 'longest running us scifi show'

it's immaterial if, in the eyes of fans, the show ended with s8 and season 9 and 10 are just cheap reproductions.

i think casting is being seen the same way

Using recognizable name actors gives them a safety net, a group of people that they can reasonably assume will tune in simply because the actor in question is taking part and who will, naturally enough, be predisposed to liking the character they play.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that every Ben Browder/Claudia Black/Beau Bridges/whoever fan is going to automatically like the character they play, but I imagine that a mediocre or even badly written character has a better chance of a positive reception if they are played by an actor with an established fanbase than they would if they were played by a newcomer.

Unfortunately, the safety net means that TPTB can take the easy way out with the character and leave them as a one-dimensional stereotype, something they would not be able to get away with if the character in question was played by an unknown actor.

In a way, a similar safety net applies to the show itself. There are viewers who, while they may not like the show as it is now, will continue to watch because of elements of the show as it was. Hypothetically speaking, how long do you see SG-1 lasting had Mitchell's character, as he has been written, been the star and center of the show from Day One, with Season Nine as the first season?

[AGateFan]

i think that's a lot of it. they're casting names, recognizable genre names, it doesn't matter what the role is, that's immaterial. they just wanna cast names so that they can promote 'this show's actor so and so is in this week's episode'

tehy don't care that this actor is playing a throwaway character and fulfilling a role that any old generic actor can play, they just want the promotability

it's kinda like s10. skiffy doesn't care if - to many - season 9 and 10 are crud...they just care that they can promote the 'longest running us scifi show'

it's immaterial if, in the eyes of fans, the show ended with s8 and season 9 and 10 are just cheap reproductions.

i think casting is being seen the same way

Is it just me or was the show 10 times better when all the guest characters and such were played by unknown actors getting a break.

Other then RDA no on else on the show was "known" but they MADE the show. They took characters that the writers had no reason to put effort into (but seemed to) and made them great characters. Now we get these actors who are supposed to be stars (but none other then Beau Bridges and Lou Gossett are really known outside of their little nitch) and the writers have need to put effort into these characters (but seem not to) and the characters are all weak.

[ReganX]

Is it just me or was the show 10 times better when all the guest characters and such were played by unknown actors getting a break.

Other then RDA no on else on the show was "known" but they MADE the show. They took characters that the writers had no reason to put effort into (but seemed to) and made them great characters. Now we get these actors who are supposed to be stars (but none other then Beau Bridges and Lou Gossett are really known outside of their little nitch) and the writers have need to put effort into these characters (but seem not to) and the characters are all weak.

Unknown actors mean that the writers have to concentrate on creating believable, interesting characters if they want people to like them. The character needs to have a solid foundation.

[Skydiver]

yep, it's easier to bank on the name carrying the weight

and honestly, with absolutely no offense to CB at all...if vala was played by no name nubile young actress....do you think she'd have the loyal and vocal fans that she has?????

anyone wanna bet how many of vala's fans simply love the actress enough that they'll give her a free pass on anything????

easy way out