The Cam and Vala discussion thread

[valaCB]

I like Cam but don't like Vala, it's annoying having to watch her all the time now.

I think exactlly opposite
although Cam was much more likable in season 10

[immhotep]

No and thats all im saying on it, stop making the new characters the scapegoats, Jack left, he needed to be replaced, they chose Cam to do it and that decision should be good enough. The new characters are just as engaging and interestng to watch grow and develop as SG1 ever was with Jack in the past.

[mother-goose]

YES the did kill it! Personally I think they needed a year of cam being around on the show but not being the leader of sg1, maybe he could have been on another team or something, not just jumping straight in!

I have always thought reynolds should have joined sg1, i know i know he's a marine but he's been there for years and he knows what its all about which is basically everything cam doesnt have. I don't think reynolds should lead sg1 i really think carter should, natural progression and all that, plus she has experience and then reynolds could make up the team, I think that would be great.

I do have a problem with Vala's character as in there is no need for her to be in every episode!

[Farscapefan]

No and thats all im saying on it, stop making the new characters the scapegoats, Jack left, he needed to be replaced, they chose Cam to do it and that decision should be good enough. The new characters are just as engaging and interestng to watch grow and develop as SG1 ever was with Jack in the past.

Couldn't agree more, immhotep

[leaper]

Most people I know, who are Stargate SG1 fans, enjoy the show's main concept, they aren't into "ships", screen time for any particular actor, or picking apart storylines..they just enjoy the ride. Guess that's a NO from me

[Tanith]

Easy answer NO! Ben Browder and Claudia Black don't work in the office of whoever decided not to order a new season so they can't of been the reason for it, it's as simple as that. Anyone who thinks that 2 actors have the power to end a series is nuts.

[MB.Eddie]

Most people I know, who are Stargate SG1 fans, enjoy the show's main concept, they aren't into "ships", screen time for any particular actor, or picking apart storylines..they just enjoy the ride.

I tend to agree. Im like that, and so are most people i talk to. Sure they may have a favourite character, but the love the series for what it is.

[Pitry]

I think that the choice of new characters killed stargate. Perhaps it would have been best to just leave it at 3 team members - or maybe a wholly different character was required - another alien or something. But as it is I think the 2 new characters were overall rather lame altho there was some good Daniel/Vala chemistry. Anyone agree with me?

edit - i need a life - this is my 200th post

If you're talking about quality, that's up to your own taste.

If you're talking about the cancellation, I'd have to say no. MHO of course, but I don't think one has to do with the other.

[DianaT17]

Not for me!

I actually hated Mitchel when I first saw Season 9. But when I saw it again on DVD and didn't notice any of the things I didn't like first time around! I think I was just agains him because I listened to the voices online and focused on the things I didn't like.

I like Mitchell now and I have always liked Vala and love her so far in Season 10. I think the team is great as it is right now, with 5 members. I was surprised to find that I didn't find it weird in any way that Vala was now supposed to be part of the team. It just felt natural.

[tears of blood]

Cant say im a huge Vala fan myself, since i really didnt like Season 9 as much, but Mitchell was a great character.. and hopefully will continue to be, things take time to grow and i think he has grown a lot as a character.

[scoey]

I think that the choice of new characters killed stargate. Perhaps it would have been best to just leave it at 3 team members - or maybe a wholly different character was required - another alien or something. But as it is I think the 2 new characters were overall rather lame altho there was some good Daniel/Vala chemistry. Anyone agree with me?

edit - i need a life - this is my 200th post

Vala does a good job making me enjoy the show less whenever she's on screen. But then again, maybe I just don't appreciate one dimensional "sassy lady" characters like I should. I've got no problems with Mitchell though.

[ParadoxRealities]

No and thats all im saying on it, stop making the new characters the scapegoats, Jack left, he needed to be replaced, they chose Cam to do it and that decision should be good enough. The new characters are just as engaging and interestng to watch grow and develop as SG1 ever was with Jack in the past.

while some fans may be using them as scapegoats, that they are just as interesting as Jack in an opinion, one that NO ONE knows how many people have.

Easy answer NO! Ben Browder and Claudia Black don't work in the office of whoever decided not to order a new season so they can't of been the reason for it, it's as simple as that. Anyone who thinks that 2 actors have the power to end a series is nuts.

this is about the characters, not the actors. the quality of characters affects the perceived quality of the show, which affects ratings, which affects the amount of money scifi gets to offset the cost of the show, which affects whether the show stays on the air. they're not the ONLY things that do this, not by any means, but they are a part. and we don't know how large a part.

Most people I know, who are Stargate SG1 fans, enjoy the show's main concept, they aren't into "ships", screen time for any particular actor, or picking apart storylines..they just enjoy the ride. Guess that's a NO from me

i can agree with everything except the "no". i myself, and most people i know, in and out of fandom, care more about the premise of the show than anything else. however, many if not most of them think that Mitchell and Vala changed the premise of the show. or at least that their characters were the main vehicle for it (up to you whether you interpret that as them killing the show). not saying this is what most people think, i don't know, just some.

[Lord Shiva]

I'll tell you right now, that I've tried to watch SG-1 since it came to Scifi many times, and I just couldn't get into it until they brought Ben Browder on board. So here's some anecdotal evidence of at least one fan who joined the show in Season 9. I'm sure I'm not alone. In fact, I know I'm not alone. And in my opinion the writing is the same or better than any of the other seasons I've tried to watch.

I've been a constant fan from the moment I got my first season DVD set (didn't have Showtime at the time), so I've watched it since it came to Sci Fi, personally... but usually I missed episodes and before I knew it I just waited for the DVD lol

However, season 9 changed that - I agree with you that the writing is the same or better then the other seasons. I was impressed with the storyline, impressed with the characters, and I saw the team interaction where others apparently did not. So you are defnetely not alone

[ReganX]

this is about the characters, not the actors. the quality of characters affects the perceived quality of the show, which affects ratings, which affects the amount of money scifi gets to offset the cost of the show, which affects whether the show stays on the air. they're not the ONLY things that do this, not by any means, but they are a part. and we don't know how large a part.

I think it depends on the individual viewer. I tend to be more interested in the characters than anything else on a show. If I like the characters and enjoy their interactions, the storyline is a secondary concern. I have lost interest in shows after the departure of a favourite character, but on the flipside, if a character I dislike leaves a show I watch sporadically, my interest in that show can increase.

For me, ‘Stargate: SG-1’ was more about the SG-1 part than the Stargate part. I definitely enjoyed the storylines of Seasons One through Eight but it was the characters that made sure I kept watching. Had Mitchell been a character I could like, or even a character I disliked but on whom there was relatively little focus, my enjoyment of the other characters would have balanced out my dislike of Mitchell and of the Ori storyline.

For another viewer, it might be the opposite situation, their primary interest might be the storyline and they might adjust to cast changes more easily as long as the plot held their interest.

We cannot know, however, how many characters-focused and story-focused viewers there are, how many enjoy both characters and stories in fairly equal measure and how many watch (or watched) the show for other reasons.

A lot of changes were made for Seasons Nine and Ten, the most visible being Jack’s absence, Mitchell, Vala and Landry’s presence, the absence of the Replicators as villains, less focus on the Goa’uld and the introduction of the Ori storyline. Each of those individual changes had the potential to both gain and lose viewers, as did the combination of the changes. Unless TPTB’s goal was the end of the show, which I doubt – why bother bringing in three fairly well known actors, at least two of whom had to relocate for the show, if they only ever intended to give them a year or two of work? – I imagine that they hoped that the number of viewers gained by their changes would equal or exceed the number of viewers lost, but this has not been the case.

I think that the characters of Mitchell and Vala lost some viewers, but I don’t think that they were the sole causes of the ratings drop nor do I know how many viewers their arrival cost the show.

Short of taking a poll of former viewers who stopped watching regularly or at all in Seasons Nine and Ten, we can only speculate.

[esoap524]

200,000,000,000% agree with principia man, and you get a green for it!!

Cam is such a poor addition in my opinion its so unbelievable!! He does not at all have any facial expressions. He was great in Farscape, but what happened to him!! I do not like it and think that it has killed the show, I think it went down the bucket ever since, RDA left. Its a sad week for us all. I just hope that another network can pick it up and soon so they can write a good season finale!!

I think RDA leaving was what hurt, not Mitchell/Vala coming in. If anything, I think they bought the show two more years.

I do agree Ben was better on Farscape than on SG1 but Farscape was better written, or, at least, the character he played was.

And someone else said they all need to get laid more (hee!). Well, how can I disagree with that?