S10: Critique & Contemplation

[Skydiver]

he was a conundrum

never seen the gate before yet was qualified to lead a 9 year veteran

stuff like that screams 'friend of a friend behind the scenes manipulating'

they can't have it both ways. he can't be the wide eyes innocent AND be qualified to lead a team.

I do agree, having him be one of the other team leaders would have made sense. or major mitchell, in command until he steps aside for sam when she returns, would have made sense

but coop was so obsessed with the hard sell that he didn't think it through. I have to wonder if mitch is like the Ori...and idea coop had and brouht to life, but something he never really sat down and throught through. to this day, he STILL can't explain the ori. he cant' explain how they work. and if he doens't know, how are we supposed to accept them?

[ReganX]

The little girl tey cast was just too cute to be evil. She remineded me of the pepsi girl from years ago. Curly hair and all. Older Adria is just eye candy for the guys and some gals.

Actually, I've seen the girl who played middle Adria - Jodelle Ferland - in other things, and I would say that she would have been more than capable of playing evil Adria. She's done quite a bit of horror-type stuff.

[Skydiver]

i don't think creativity and originality held a candle to titilation and easiness

the adult was easier since ther were no child labor laws. not only is she easier to schedule, the adult is so much more fun to dress, and as we've seen since coop took the reins, muscle shirts on the guys and as much cleavage as possible on the girls.

it's all about cliches and sex to coop. and a childish villian isn't cliche nor is she sexy

[ReganX]

No, everything had to be swept under the rug and ignored for Cameron - although I honestly think that the writers didn't see a problem with Cameron's actions when they were actually writing them. Maybe in hindsight - hence the scene in Uninvited...

I would say that the scene in "Uninvited" was TPTB realizing that, despite their hard sell, a significant number of viewers saw how illogical Mitchell's command was and that it was contributing to a dislike of the character.

I don't think that it occured to them that anyone would be seriously bothered by the fact that Sam lost command in favour of a newbie - they'd give him a CMOH, after all! - and by the time they realized it, it was too late to fix their mistake so they tried to salvage it and wound up making it look like Mitchell's leadership, the only role and purpose (aside from plot device initiator) they had given him, was very much in name only.

[Skydiver]

traditionally...the harder the sell, teh more skeptical the buyers.

mitch was pushed so very hard that it was quite pathetic. it was such an overkill that it actually made people question him more than they wouldhave.

coop is so far out of touch with his 'fans' that it's no wonder that he killed teh show. if you don't know who you';re making something for, how can you make something that appeals?

[ReganX]

traditionally...the harder the sell, teh more skeptical the buyers.

mitch was pushed so very hard that it was quite pathetic. it was such an overkill that it actually made people question him more than they wouldhave.

coop is so far out of touch with his 'fans' that it's no wonder that he killed teh show. if you don't know who you';re making something for, how can you make something that appeals?

Exactly. By making his entrance as seamless as they did, by forcing it down viewers' throats that he was a big hero and that SG-1 owed him everything and that he got the band back together, etc, and by shielding him from criticisms by other characters and suggestions that maybe, just maybe he didn't deserve command and wasn't ready for it, TPTB managed to highlight just how weak a character they had produced.

[Jackie]

traditionally...the harder the sell, teh more skeptical the buyers.

mitch was pushed so very hard that it was quite pathetic. it was such an overkill that it actually made people question him more than they wouldhave.

coop is so far out of touch with his 'fans' that it's no wonder that he killed teh show. if you don't know who you';re making something for, how can you make something that appeals?

And just imagine what he can do to Atlantis! We will have a bigger, badder, more boring enemy than before. The wraith swept under the rug. No mention of Weir or Carson. More Irristable type eps. No Hermoid, no Caldwell, more treking and more Rodney now that he has AT to play off of. Oh, yippy!

As far as the underdevloped Ori--I already know that I will have to fill in those voids that Cooper left in the fic I'm writing where Sam is Adria's mother. I will be placing Sam in the Ori galaxy and I even have to devlope the whole community where she is living.

How the Ori feed off of prayers will have to be explained, exact number of Ori. How they got to be evil, the Ori past and the very first ascended Ori will have to play a role. I will have to have an ultimate consequence for the Ori's actions.

I will have to develop the priors and explain the lack of female priors as well as colored or asian. I will have to throughly explain how the prior get's thier power. What abilities they have and explain the physical appearance as well.

I will go beyond the wall of fire and actually show the ascended inter acting. I will also bring in the ascended from our galaxy, Oma and Skaara.

As the final solution to the Ori problem, I will find the Furlings. They will hold the key to how to stop them.

I really hated the "weapon to kill an ascended" thing the show did. It was too easy of a way to destroy them.

During the course of 8 years the ascended were set in this galaxy as being much tougher than what they ended up being in season 9 and 10. Cooper had a good idea with making an ascended being that like to manitpulate--but presented it all wrong.

[dipsofjazz]

Exactly. By making his entrance as seamless as they did, by forcing it down viewers' throats that he was a big hero and that SG-1 owed him everything and that he got the band back together, etc, and by shielding him from criticisms by other characters and suggestions that maybe, just maybe he didn't deserve command and wasn't ready for it, TPTB managed to highlight just how weak a character they had produced.

I agree with everyone about the oversell. The more they pushed, the more I pushed back, to the point where I just wanted to see the back of him forever.

This was all before I'd actually seen one episode of s9. Once I did see what they'd done - noob in charge, Sam losing SG-1 without any decent backstory, etc, etc, etc - the damage had been done.

I'm afraid, for me, TPTB can do nothing to redeem Mitchell.
I think that he is just a badly written, unnecessary character.

[saberhagen83]

he was a conundrum

never seen the gate before yet was qualified to lead a 9 year veteran

stuff like that screams 'friend of a friend behind the scenes manipulating'

they can't have it both ways. he can't be the wide eyes innocent AND be qualified to lead a team.

I do agree, having him be one of the other team leaders would have made sense. or major mitchell, in command until he steps aside for sam when she returns, would have made sense

but coop was so obsessed with the hard sell that he didn't think it through. I have to wonder if mitch is like the Ori...and idea coop had and brouht to life, but something he never really sat down and throught through. to this day, he STILL can't explain the ori. he cant' explain how they work. and if he doens't know, how are we supposed to accept them?

Yes that would have been much better, had Mitchell been a major and took command of the team while Sam was off, where ever she was. And when she came back, she would rightfully take back command from the 2nd in command. Just like Sam did before when Jack was in charge. Or, I could see Mitchell being a Colonel and take charge of SG1. But ONLY if he was introduced in a way that he had been in command of another unit before and had plenty of gate experience. Jack wasn't chosen to lead SG1 for no reason, it was the flagship team and he had the most experience of the gate from the mission to Abydos. I don't think they thought it through at all, they just forgot Sam was a Lt. Col and made him the same rank and apparently didn't know how to introduce him properly. Shame really...

And The Ori...

I can't see much difference from Goa'uld, except for the fact that the Goa'uld were far more entertaining. They were more animated, the Ori, or rather, the priors just talk and give a planet some deadly desease and that's that. Their goal is the same as the Goa'uld, but less interesting and entertaining. Badly developed bad guys, just like Mitchell I'm afraid. Also how often did we actually see a Ori? 3rd ep only comes to mind. While we saw Apophis and other Goa'ulds during the first few seasons on several occations.

traditionally...the harder the sell, teh more skeptical the buyers.

mitch was pushed so very hard that it was quite pathetic. it was such an overkill that it actually made people question him more than they wouldhave.

Ain't that the truth. They did their big misstake at the start of S9, and when they tried to repair the damage it was forced upon the viewers. Trying too hard to develop Mitchell (without much success I might add) didn't make me like him more, rather the other way around.

[Skydiver]

And just imagine what he can do to Atlantis! We will have a bigger, badder, more boring enemy than before. The wraith swept under the rug. No mention of Weir or Carson. More Irristable type eps. No Hermoid, no Caldwell, more treking and more Rodney now that he has AT to play off of. Oh, yippy!

As far as the underdevloped Ori--I already know that I will have to fill in those voids that Cooper left in the fic I'm writing where Sam is Adria's mother. I will be placing Sam in the Ori galaxy and I even have to devlope the whole community where she is living.

How the Ori feed off of prayers will have to be explained, exact number of Ori. How they got to be evil, the Ori past and the very first ascended Ori will have to play a role. I will have to have an ultimate consequence for the Ori's actions.

I will have to develop the priors and explain the lack of female priors as well as colored or asian. I will have to throughly explain how the prior get's thier power. What abilities they have and explain the physical appearance as well.

I will go beyond the wall of fire and actually show the ascended inter acting. I will also bring in the ascended from our galaxy, Oma and Skaara.

As the final solution to the Ori problem, I will find the Furlings. They will hold the key to how to stop them.

I really hated the "weapon to kill an ascended" thing the show did. It was too easy of a way to destroy them.

During the course of 8 years the ascended were set in this galaxy as being much tougher than what they ended up being in season 9 and 10. Cooper had a good idea with making an ascended being that like to manitpulate--but presented it all wrong.

and all that stuff..is what he should have done.

I mean, when i write a fic, i have to give my characters a good reason to do something. If i write an au of foothold, where sam is experimented on...i've had the idea for years but i have yet to come up with a good reason beyond 'goody, i get to whump sam' so i've never written it

[the dancer of spaz]

Yes. Their incorporation of Mitchell is one reason why I'm still mildly concerned about how they're going to bring Carter into Atlantis.

Sam Carter is currently a hard sell for many Atlantis fans. So will they learn from their mistake? Or will they make it another seamless transition where everyone automatically respects and listens to her?

[Skydiver]

i hope that joe learns from others' mistakes and just lets sam join the show. let fans decide if they like her or not. cause youcan't tell them how to think or what to feel. they have to decide for themselves

which is what coop didn't do. he didn't let them decide, he TOLD them what to think and like...and then got huffy when we took expection to being told what we should like...and mocked when we didn't

[ReganX]

Yes. Their incorporation of Mitchell is one reason why I'm still mildly concerned about how they're going to bring Carter into Atlantis.

Sam Carter is currently a hard sell for many Atlantis fans. So will they learn from their mistake? Or will they make it another seamless transition where everyone automatically respects and listens to her?

I'm hoping that the fact that AT isn't going to be brought onboard as lead is going to avoid some of the problems they had with Mitchell. Plus Atlantis hasn't been running as long.

Bringing in a new character into a long-running show is difficult at the best of times, but worse if the new character is to be lead because they tend to be given a more prominent role within the story and their backstory is rushed.

TPTB have had ten years with Sam, they're not starting from scratch and she's going to be filling a role that the character is ready for.

[ReganX]

i hope that joe learns from others' mistakes and just lets sam join the show. let fans decide if they like her or not. cause youcan't tell them how to think or what to feel. they have to decide for themselves

which is what coop didn't do. he didn't let them decide, he TOLD them what to think and like...and then got huffy when we took expection to being told what we should like...and mocked when we didn't

With a little care, they should be able to handle Sam's inclusion on Atlantis well. The more they go for a hard sell, the more they'll hurt her chances of being welcomed.

[the dancer of spaz]

i hope that joe learns from others' mistakes and just lets sam join the show. let fans decide if they like her or not. cause youcan't tell them how to think or what to feel. they have to decide for themselves

Unfortunately, history is repeating itself, because JM is telling everyone that they'll love Carter and Keller once they get to know them, and once they see them in the series. I think that tactic is turning people who are already upset off even more.

ETA: What Regan said.

At any rate, I feel like Uninvited really was TPTB's only admission on screen that their handling of Mitchell wasn't as superb as they thought it was.

And unfortunately for Ben Browder, Coop and Co. then decided that they'd done enough for Cameron, and left him to decorate the scenery alongside Teal'c and Sam.

It was pretty ridiculous that they had all of the (Sam, Teal'c and Cameron)character-centric eps in the last half of the season. They really should've spread the eps out, and thought those eps through: Bounty was ludicrous, TRNT was a bit half-baked and Talion was disturbing.

In my opinion, Teal'c and Cameron were the most neglected of all of the characters this season, but Chris Judge and Ben Browder were really good sports about it.