Memento Mori (1008)

[Farscapefan]

your logic is flawed.

teal'c, YEARS after being an official member of the team, had to get permission to leave the base and, quite often, didnt' leave alone. in fact, it wasn't until season EIGHT that teal'c was able to leave the base unescorted

I can't see landry saying 'no, vala can't leave' unless she had a record of misbehaving in public, however i can see daniel asking landry, landry warning him to warn her to watch what she says and remind her to keep her mouth shut about teh sgc, and then saying 'ok, have fun, but remember, you're responsible for her. you take her out of here, you need to bring her back'

Daniel asking for permission however, is yet another of those 'non-plot moving' scenes (not to mention a pesky technicality) which is why it wasn't mentioned. it's up to the viewers to ASSUME that daniel asked for and got permission

Well... yeah, but Teal'c isn't looking exactly like an Earth human. And Vala is. This is I think the main difference.

[Farscapefan]

I think it was more the surprised looks on everyone's faces at the end when Vala mentioned their "date" that makes it seem like no one knew where they were at the time, rather than not showing a scene of Daniel asking permission. If they had known, wouldn't they have shrugged off Vala's date comment? This is the same woman who said she had sex with Daniel and was pregnant.

Oh yeah... how convenient to remember the BAD things only. Right. But perhaps Daniel remembers that exactly the same woman SAVED HIS LIFE taking the shot which was aimed at him. Give me a break...

[Agent_Dark]

Well... yeah, but Teal'c isn't looking exactly like an Earth human. And Vala is. This is I think the main difference.

O.o

Christopher Judge looks pretty human to me... It's not like he's wearing prosthetics for his role.

[scarimor]

Abe White, A Suit:

[reading] "While we love the emotional journey that Charlotte takes in this script, we feel there are things that could make this story more accessible to a general audience. Number one: a high-speed motorcycle chase."

The laughter had barely subsided when Sydney, NSW native Toni Collette -- playing the actor playing the lead character -- showed up two scenes later and distracted/manipulated the producer & director by showing lots o' skin.

Smirk.

Get out of here! That's too much Cue Twilight Zone music.

[scarimor]

O.o

Christopher Judge looks pretty human to me... It's not like he's wearing prosthetics for his role.

Yeah. He just wears a hat or something to cover his tattoo. I don't get either.

[Dani347]

Oh yeah... how convenient to remember the BAD things only. Right. But perhaps Daniel remembers that exactly the same woman SAVED HIS LIFE taking the shot which was aimed at him. Give me a break...

What on earth does the fact that SG1 & Landry know that Vala likes to tease Daniel with sexual references have to do with saving his life???? And, how does Daniel's rememberance have anything whatsoever to do with what I posted? My post was about the others knowing Vala and knowing to take references to romance/sex between her and Daniel with a grain of salt. It had absolutely nothing to do with how Daniel felt or what Daniel remembers. Daniel was really a very minor part of my post.


Oh, and I never said any of that was bad. You did.

[Pitry]

Yeah. He just wears a hat or something to cover his tattoo. I don't get either.

*cough* or doesn't and everyone still thinks it's okay... Yeah, plausibility is such a great thing.

As for whether people knew or not they were out for dinner, for me it was the part I did enjoy about the reaction - Landry's WTF look and shrug at Daniel - that said he didn't know.

[Agent_Dark]

*cough* or doesn't and everyone still thinks it's okay... Yeah, plausibility is such a great thing.

As for whether people knew or not they were out for dinner, for me it was the part I did enjoy about the reaction - Landry's WTF look and shrug at Daniel - that said he didn't know.

Well, when you get down to it, I've seen alot of people do stranger things to their bodies than wear gold emblems on their foreheads.

[Skydiver]

well, if they honestly meant to imply that daniel just larked off and took vala out and didn't get permission/clear it with anyone, strike another point for 'screw plausibilty/reality, we gotta have fun'

because, procedure would be for daniel to get permission and clear it with his bosses. if for no other reason than to cover his own tush because, if she misbehaved in any way, said something, did something that exposed the program (you know, like getting kidnapped and having to get the police involved, thus having to explain how this missing person is a nobody that popped out of thin air and doesn't have a past, ID or anything, thus forcing the Air Force to scramble and create a past for this person teh police are looking for)

basically, even if it wasn't daniel's fault that she got kidnapped, if daniel took vala out without permission, it WOULD be his fault that he exposed her to the risk and nearly got her killed. He, if he took her out without permission, would be responsible for her being kidnapped since she was made vulnerable by his decision

however, if he got permission from landry and let cam know, hey, responsibility is on thier shoulders and if anyone from the joint chiefs has an issue with an alien getting 'loose' and the resulting publicity, it lands in Landry's lap

for me? Daniel is a responsible and considerate adult. He'd have asked for permission.

[KatG]

So the show is suddenly getting canceled and Stargate fans are becoming Stargate haters. That's not to say that you have to like every episode. But because this episode didn't take place in a space ship with explosions and tons of action it becomes a bad episode? I used to think Stargate wasn't about explosions or space ships. I thought it was supposed to be about characters and plot development. We got that here. We even got team bonding.

Did we get character development? What did we learn about Vala, other than the fact that she pissed off another Gould when she was Q'tesh? That's not really a surprise is it? It seems that she pissed alot of people off when she was Q'tesh and even after she wasn't. Let's see, we found out that she can fight, but we knew that from Prometheus unbound. We found out she was curious and quick on her feet and likes to tease Daniel, but then we knew that too. So I don't really see any character development. Why not actually let us see Vala's memories, kind of like they did with Sam and Jack and Martouf in Jolinar's Memories/The Devil You Know. Show us what she was like as Q'tesh. Show us what she was like right after Q'tesh was removed. This could have been so much more. But it just wasn't. It was as someone said just surface stuff.

As for team bonding, where? I saw Cambo leave everyone behind and ride off to the rescue. I saw her bond with Daniel there at the end and I saw them give her the patch and say she earned it, but I have yet to see what in this episode made them take that step and make her a member of the team.

I do have to give CB credit though. She took a subpar script and acted her heart out, and did a great job with what she was given. She just wasn't given much, imo.

[Albion]

*cough* or doesn't and everyone still thinks it's okay... Yeah, plausibility is such a great thing.

I don't see why not. Personally, I've never understood why the gold emblem was such a worry to the SGC that Teal'c had to have a collection of hats to wear whenever he went outside. As Agent Dark points out - and I completely agree - we see strangers walking down the street all the time with all manner of body adornments, many of them positively bizarre. I really don't think that anyone would look at Teal'c twice in this world and this time. And if anyone did think to ask what it was about, any number of throwaway excuses would work and never be questioned too deeply.

Now, whereas I don't believe the emblem constitutes any problem, I think the main reason that Teal'c was banned from going outside was probably more to do with the fact that he had a kangaroo pouch in his stomach for several years. What if he had an accident while he was out there roaming around? Run over by a car? Slight shock for the ambulance staff and the doc who tried to help. Cue instant tabloid headlines.

And then there was the possibility of a symbiote leaping out of said pouch and getting loose among the population of Earth. Probably not too likely, but I'm sure it worried the security services a whole lot and helped ensure Teal'c stayed on base all those years. You know how paranoid those guys can be and even the slightest risk of alien contamination would have been too much for them to accept.

Having said that, none of that applied to Teal'c after he went onto tritonan and they still wouldn't let him leave the base on his own. And Jonas looked perfectly human, had no such considerations to worry about, and was still barred from leaving the base for several months after joining the SGC.

So the Vala/Human -v- Teal'c/Alien theory doesn't really hold a lot of water. Especially when you add Jonas into the mix.

So I do find it somewhat surprising that they would let Vala out so soon, especially when she hasn't the faintest idea of the notion of discretion, can't keep her big mouth shut, and surely represents a huge security risk for that reason alone.

Looking like favouritism to me.

But then I've given up looking for the military accuracy and attention to realistic detail on this show anymore. So can't say that it really surprises me that Vala gets what everyone else didn't. Clearly, these days, the writers will write what suits them to get to their plot. Regardless of how much sense it makes or doesn't make.



Albion

[DEM]

I don't see why not. Personally, I've never understood why the gold emblem was such a worry to the SGC that Teal'c had to have a collection of hats to wear whenever he went outside. As Agent Dark points out - and I completely agree - we see strangers walking down the street all the time with all manner of body adornments, many of them positively bizarre. I really don't think that anyone would look at Teal'c twice in this world and this time.

Great post, Albion! However, I don't agree completely with this assertion about Teal'c's emblem. No, it may not look "alien", but it doesn't look "middle of the road", either. "Gold emblem in middle of forehead" would work against the image SG-1 would be trying to represent out there in the real world. Therefore, I understand their desire for discretion.

[Dani347]

I don't see why not. Personally, I've never understood why the gold emblem was such a worry to the SGC that Teal'c had to have a collection of hats to wear whenever he went outside. As Agent Dark points out - and I completely agree - we see strangers walking down the street all the time with all manner of body adornments, many of them positively bizarre. I really don't think that anyone would look at Teal'c twice in this world and this time. And if anyone did think to ask what it was about, any number of throwaway excuses would work and never be questioned too deeply.

Now, whereas I don't believe the emblem constitutes any problem, I think the main reason that Teal'c was banned from going outside was probably more to do with the fact that he had a kangaroo pouch in his stomach for several years. What if he had an accident while he was out there roaming around? Run over by a car? Slight shock for the ambulance staff and the doc who tried to help. Cue instant tabloid headlines.

Also, there have been a couple of times when people have seen his tattoo, and it didn't cause mass panic or "the aliens are among us!" But, you're right, Junior popping up to say hello would get a lot of attention.

And Jonas looked perfectly human, had no such considerations to worry about, and was still barred from leaving the base for several months after joining the SGC.

Good point

[Skydiver]

very good point.

in fact, jonas was there a year, was he EVER allowed out unescorted? and he had tons more discretion than vala has

[LaCroix]

Did we get character development? What did we learn about Vala, other than the fact that she pissed off another Gould when she was Q'tesh? That's not really a surprise is it? It seems that she pissed alot of people off when she was Q'tesh and even after she wasn't. Let's see, we found out that she can fight, but we knew that from Prometheus unbound. We found out she was curious and quick on her feet and likes to tease Daniel, but then we knew that too. So I don't really see any character development. Why not actually let us see Vala's memories, kind of like they did with Sam and Jack and Martouf in Jolinar's Memories/The Devil You Know. Show us what she was like as Q'tesh. Show us what she was like right after Q'tesh was removed. This could have been so much more. But it just wasn't. It was as someone said just surface stuff.

As for team bonding, where? I saw Cambo leave everyone behind and ride off to the rescue. I saw her bond with Daniel there at the end and I saw them give her the patch and say she earned it, but I have yet to see what in this episode made them take that step and make her a member of the team.

I do have to give CB credit though. She took a subpar script and acted her heart out, and did a great job with what she was given. She just wasn't given much, imo.

Kat you wrote what I was feeling when I watched this episode.

I wanted to see something other than the norm as of late. I wanted to see a
Kendra or Sarah Gardner type episode. I wanted to see thru Vala's eyes what
Q'tesh did and maybe a statement by Vala of the true horror of re-living it again. But there was none.

What I saw was stock footage being played out on a Dell laptop of past episodes. Maybe if TPTB took the money that they spent on the highway/freeway scenes, maybe my view wouldn't be skewed.

I also commend CB for giving her best. And I also commend AT, CJ, BB, and MS for giving their best.