S10: Critique & Contemplation

[Mandysg1]

I was listening to the commentary for Insiders (the multiple Ba'al episode) and they were saying they added the scene with Barrett & Sam in the cafeteria b/c the ep ran short. they said something about having to do it based on actor availability. My first thought was, "no wonder they had Amanda do it--it's not like she was doing anything else that season."

Sad but true And yet who did they call to join SGA in season 4?

It is telling that with the 3d movie (if it ever gets made) they wrote it Jack centric, and from what I heard Sam heavy too. No Vala, Landry and perhaps Cam light(?).

I guess when Brad is in charge he likes to go back to the 'old' tried and true ways of SG1

[Skydiver]

I have read somewhere on these forums that Amanda was the only cast member that was not contacted about returning to the series in Season 9. (Apparently with Jack gone, they seemed to feel Sam had nowhere to go in the series????) She actually had to call the producers herself to find out if she was going to be returning or if she ought to look for other work. She was told they simply didn't know what to do with her character. But evidently they decided they wanted/needed her and so worked out a contract with her. And as shown by Seasons 9 and 10, they indeed seemed not to know what to do with her. But I'm still very happy she returned (since I would not have continued to watch had she not been included).

amanda told that story at a con

One reason that's been given, or among others is:

there were hopes to put her on SGA for that show's season 3(?) but fan outcry, other factors, had them change that

concerns/issues/questions about amanda's availability post baby

and other bits and pieces of pure speculation and conjecture

[suse]

How... unwise of them.

To be fair they were deciding on how to use her. On SG-1 and SGA. Still, it stung (me) that they did that at the same time they hired Claudia as a full time cast member. I'd have been concerned too.

I remember being uber ticked off that one place almost immediately called CB SG-1's new leading lady.

suse

[slurredspeech]

To be fair they were deciding on how to use her. On SG-1 and SGA. Still, it stung (me) that they did that at the same time they hired Claudia as a full time cast member. I'd have been concerned too.

I remember being uber ticked off that one place almost immediately called CB SG-1's new leading lady.

suse

I'm just saying, it would have been a very unwise decision to replace Carter with Vala. Though one could argue they did sort of do that anyway, and she was definitely sidelined, underused and they - sadly, at certain times - even deteriorated the character, the Carter/Amanda moments we did get were still oh so precious.

They should have built those seasons around her (as the leader and a seasoned professional) and Daniel and Teal'c, and eased in the other, newer characters. Yet we got an almost dyametrically opposite sitation.

So I have to go back to unwise.

[EvenstarSRV]

I'm just saying, it would have been a very unwise decision to replace Carter with Vala. Though one could argue they did sort of do that anyway, and she was definitely sidelined, underused and they - sadly, at certain times - even deteriorated the character, the Carter/Amanda moments we did get were still oh so precious.

They should have built those seasons around her (as the leader and a seasoned professional) and Daniel and Teal'c, and eased in the other, newer characters. Yet we got an almost dyametrically opposite sitation.

So I have to go back to unwise.

I think beyond any apparent effect on Carter, it seems to me that Vala essentially did become the lead character of the show in S10. It felt like she was the only one who had on-going story arcs (joining the SGC/SG-1, dealing with Adria/Tomin, ship with Daniel), while the others got 1 or 2 episodes but otherwise seemed to mostly facilitate the plot.

And even S9, as much as the middle did focus on Mitchell and the rest of SG-1 to an extent, still had almost a third of the season centered on Vala, esp in the arc-heavy shows. I've never seen a show so taken over by a guest character before, it just seems odd.

[Melora]

I think beyond any apparent effect on Carter, it seems to me that Vala essentially did become the lead character of the show in S10. It felt like she was the only one who had on-going story arcs (joining the SGC/SG-1, dealing with Adria/Tomin, ship with Daniel), while the others got 1 or 2 episodes but otherwise seemed to mostly facilitate the plot.

And even S9, as much as the middle did focus on Mitchell and the rest of SG-1 to an extent, still had almost a third of the season centered on Vala, esp in the arc-heavy shows. I've never seen a show so taken over by a guest character before, it just seems odd.

Yep. Vala didn't just become the lead female character. She became the lead character overall. I would also say Daniel was her co-lead in the first few episodes of Season 9 and throughout Season 10 with Vala often playing the role of ditzy sidekick.

Cameron had one episode that focused on him before Beachhead and that was Avalon. After that, he pretty much became the B-story with Teal'c. Once Vala left, he was in the spotlight for the rest of Season 9 until she once again returned in Crusade. It baffles me that TPTB gave the guest character more focus than the new lead character. Makes me wonder what Cam's character would have been like if the writers hadn't been so distracted by Vala. Would they have developed him more gradually and realistically? Or would they have made the same mistakes they did?

At the very least, it wouldn't have seemed so much like a Cam Mitchell overload in the middle of the season if they had spaced out his focal episodes a little more. And his character probably would have seemed a lot less pointless in Season 10. Then again, by then a lot of the damage had already been done. But IMO there was really no excuse for focusing so many of the episodes on Vala or Daniel/Vala.

[suse]

The brother-in-law, who wouldn't dream of being on online fandom, called Vala "Comic Relief".

[leiasky]

I guess when Brad is in charge he likes to go back to the 'old' tried and true ways of SG1

Well if it works why 'fix; it? Ahh, the old team. Arguably the best of them all.

[Skydiver]

in Voyager, Jeri Ryan was the girlfriend of Berman, the show's 'boss'....hence the speculation of just why 7 of 9 got such a focus of the show. the boss had a fondness for the actress, so 'took care' of her character

now, on SG1, claudia was NOT, NOT, NOT, and i'll say it again, NOT in a relationship with coop. both people are happily married. That said, he, as show runner, seemed to have some very definite fondness issues for the actress and her character, thus the character seemed to become the co-star of the Daniel and Vala Comedy Hour.

Coop had his favorites and he played to them.

His show, his choice.

(and a precursor to what we saw with SGA when Joe and Paul seemed to fall in love with the shep/keller/mckay dynamic and the rest fell to the background)

However, a show's success resides upon acceptance of the show. You can have a narrow focus if there are enough viewers out there that like that focus and watch. (for example, Dexter, mostly about a serial killer, yet it pulls good enough ratings and award nominations).

The daniel/vala dynamic just wasn't as popular as Coop personally felt it was. Same with the shep/mckay/keller dynamic. TPTB certainly seemed to love it. But, by and large, general members of the public didn't seem to like it quite so much. so ratings fell and the shows ended.

It's fine with show creators to put forth their preferences. But, if they want to keep doing it and keep the show going, they need to have a feel for what viewers in general will like.

[hedwig]

Well if it works why 'fix; it? Ahh, the old team. Arguably the best of them all.

No argument at all from me.

[Col. Tomorian]

Nothing in the Stargate franchise can beat the original SG-1. Nothing.

When it comes to season 9 & 10, the episodes are aging very well. My first impression of SG-1 without Jack was negative. As we get further and further away, I began to appreciate all the EPIC story telling in season ten. I can watch season ten on a wide screen tv, and walk away as if I just watched a film. They did a great job in theatrics.

"Pegasus Project" was the best episode ever!

[Ashizuri]

No argument at all from me.

Me either.

They did a great job in theatrics.

A lot of season 10 came across a bit too melodramtic to me, particularly episodes centered around Vala (Memento Mori/Family Ties) and many that delved heavily into arthurian stories. Mitchell and the dragon was like sometime out of a made for tv movie.

When I think of "Epic Stargate" I think of Lost City 1 and 2. Or Heroes. Or Abyss.

"Pegasus Project" was the best episode ever!

Not the best ever for me, but I do think it comes close to being the best in season 10. Line in the Sand was pretty phenomenal though.

[jckfan55]

One of the problems for a lot of us w/ S9 &10 is that Coop fell in love with his creation. Just as Sky said. when you have what is basically an ensemble show and write one or a pair of characters (Rodney/Keller) to the exclusion of all others it's just bad for the show. Even to this Carter fan when they went a bit Carter heavy in S7 it felt a bit out of whack. (of course to me a lot of that was my anti-ship perspective too)

Another prob w/ S9 &10 is RCC wanted to be writing a different show. I watched only a few minutes of SGU and I could see the effort not to be traditional Stargate. personally i think it would be more creative to not use the crutch of the Stargate universe if you truly wanted to do something original. But then I may just be bitter.

[hedwig]

One of the problems for a lot of us w/ S9 &10 is that Coop fell in love with his creation. Just as Sky said. when you have what is basically an ensemble show and write one or a pair of characters (Rodney/Keller) to the exclusion of all others it's just bad for the show. Even to this Carter fan when they went a bit Carter heavy in S7 it felt a bit out of whack. (of course to me a lot of that was my anti-ship perspective too)

Another prob w/ S9 &10 is RCC wanted to be writing a different show. I watched only a few minutes of SGU and I could see the effort not to be traditional Stargate. personally i think it would be more creative to not use the crutch of the Stargate universe if you truly wanted to do something original. But then I may just be bitter.

I'm just being nosy, ... but am wondering why you think Season 7 is "Carter heavy"? There were 5 episodes that were more focussed on her than the other team members. The rest were either team focussed or split between Jack, Daniel or Teal'c (Teal'c, as usual, had the least focus of anyone). Did I miss something?

[Col. Tomorian]

Not the best ever for me, but I do think it comes close to being the best in season 10. Line in the Sand was pretty phenomenal though.

I was thinking in the lines of season ten. Lol... I wasn't clear.

I thought season ten was a good change of pace. Since Jack was no longer being use, I thought it was important to change things up.