Bounty (1015)

[Pitry]

I was a little disappointed they didn't mention what happened in the shroud, althought I think some time has past here.

see, here's one of my main problems with the path they chose to go with for the Shroud. Too easy to hit the reset button and pertend nothign has happened...

[golfbooy]

You want pithy? Don't bother watching.

It's not Stargate. It's not anything. It's just a bunch of random scenes strung together by the flimsiest of "plots". It's not even full of sound and fury, it's just plain old nothing. And there's certainly no signifying going on. Bounty is far and away the worst episode of season ten, and probably one of the absolute worst, most pointless episodes that the show has ever, ever done. And SG-1 has done more than 200 of them.

The wrongness of this episode is not Mitchell's fault. Well, it's not his fault in the same way that Stronghold and Off the Grid were his fault. No, this was the writers totally and willingly abrogating all responsibility to tell a story that is in any way coherent or in concert with the rest of the show, season, whatever. The only way that the awfulness of this episode can be attributed to Mitchell is in the necessity to write something, anything for the character. It's episodes like these (and there have been way too many of them) where the character's weakness is fully revealed. These writers don't know how to fit Cameron Mitchell into a Stargate story. They don't. So, instead of producing a mutated monster like Off the Grid, they just decided not to write an SG-1 episode at all. My God, I can't believe how bad this sucked. The idea that something this ridiculous passed the muster of so many people while it was being made is enough to scare me off of the whole show.

As things go, I didn't expect the teaser to be the best part of the episode. I've never liked the Lucien Alliance. The idea is somewhat sound, but the execution has been horribly slipshod, resulting in me be subjected to regular visits from cartoon characters like Netan and sundry bounty hunters. Here again the Alliance and its cohorts are displayed as a comic book regime, full of arch villains perpetrating evil acts upon each other and the general populace, with nary a thought being given to their motivations or objectives. And speaking of motivations, I still haven't figured out SG-1's. Why are we destroying kassa shipments? Are we protectors of the galaxy at large? Do we police the universe, are we the intergalactic DEA? Aren't there bigger fish to fry? And did we just release a bounty hunter on a mission to assasinate the head of the Lucien Alliance? What?

Bounty tries to make up for it's lack of plot by conjoining as many "cute" moments as the writers thought they could resonably get away with. Daniel's assault at the library is bizarre and pointless. Not to be outdone, Sam's and Dr. Lee's "performance" on stage at the conference with goofy space guns is equally asinine. Only Teal'c's ambush is played straight, and the intelligence with which Chris Judge imbues the character is the only thing to save this segment from descending into bufoonery as well. He must not have gotten the memo on this story's tone. Either that, or he got a different director. Each moment could have been used more effectively. The conference was perhaps most worthwhile for the glimpse as to how alien tech is disseminated, but the manner in which Dr. Lee is portrayed at this point just makes me cringe. Of course, my face is permanently contorted after seeing how Daniel dispatched his assasin. I like Loony Tunes more than the next guy, but wow.

For all the criticism that gets slung around about how Richard Dean Anderson joked too much as O'neill in the later years, and how he became "Cosmic-giddy Jack", there is no way this cartoon would ever have been made while he was still around. Slapstick, goofball sight gags that mock the audience for watching and the characters for participating were not his thing. It's too bad that the show has lost that respect. If this is the epitome of the show's humor these days, then by God I'm thankful it's been put down. It was a mercy kill.

I'd talk more about the plot, but I am unable to locate it. Neither can I expound upon how Bounty fits in with the current storyline. Nor can I really talk about the great character development that Bounty afforded the team. In fact, the only thing I can find to talk about is how bad it is. So, I'll stop. Oh, who am I kidding? I can't stop yet. Doors that slam shut at the push of a button, a patented Krusty the Clown hand buzzer that knocks a guy out after we get to delightfully watch his head bob around, and bad guys shoving other bad guys into broom closests all help Bounty to convey its utter crappiness. And let's not forget the stellar performances of the guest characters in this one. Cam's bumbling friend, all the inept bounty hunters, the stereotypical high school flunkies, and, yes, even Mitchell's remarkably uninteresting or unique family all highlight the mediocrity of this script.

After a handful of episodes wherein the character has grown and been used to great effect, Vala here is again reduced to simple slapstick comedy. There's no real depth behind her words or actions, save in the quick scene where she mentions Tomin with melancholy. It's the worst kind of regression, with the writers ineptly falling back on a character's barest traits and totally ignoring any growth that may have been achieved through previous experiences. For a better look at the writers performing similar criminal acts, see Rodney Mckay on Atlantis, who often exhibits similar bouts of develoment followed by regression.

This was supposed to be a Mitchell episode, but I kind of think that Vala stole most of "his" scenes from him. There's almost no interaction between Cam and his parents, or between Cam and Daryl. The best stuff in the episode for Mitchell was between him and Amy, but even that never aspired to be more than the worst kind of cliche. I'm glad that there's the hope of something more there for Mitchell as I think it would help develop his character some, but I'm also astoundingly certain that it will never, ever come up again. Go figure. Overall, I expected Cam to be front and center more in this.

I briefly mentioned Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c above, and now I find there's little else to say. I find such scant use of so many characters criminal, and am left dumbfounded at how little work the actors have to do sometimes. I suppose in some wholly mercenary way, this is the sweetest deal imaginable for Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Chris Judge.

I hate that Beau Bridges can't, even after two years on the show, come anywhere close to saying "Goa'uld" correctly. And Landry continues to be the most incompetant commander ever created. "Yeah, Colonel, there's a pack of bounty hunters after you. What's that, you can't hear me? Eh, nevermind then. You have a good time." I'm shocked that he even bothered to hurry SG-1 along to save the day. Backup is not Landry's usual M.O.

Ultimately, I can't fathom a worse indictment of TPTB's ability to produce 20 quality episodes in a season than Bounty. This is the point where I once again express my abundant joy at SG-1's end as a weekly series, and it's move to a less quantitative, but hopefully higher quality format. I don't think the concept is dead and I do think that the writers, especially Cooper and Wright, are capable of producing great stuff centered on SG-1. But I've almost no confidence left in anyone else. Mitchell didn't deserve to have yet another atrocious episode pinned to his character, yet here it is. I feel sorry for everyone involved.

ETA: I forgot about the hand waving of the whole event, including Asgard beaming tech, rings, personal shields, and ray guns. I imagine this was something akin to The Dead Parrot Sketch. So, General Landry sent in a bunch of goons to strongarm the guests into signing nondisclosure agreements. Right, good one. That definitely solves that.

[Platschu]

We can see Mitchell's mother now. Than who visited him in the hospital (9x01 Avalon)? Was she his grandmother?
http://imdb.com/name/nm0924729/

[Raj_2006]

They FINALLY! have a working energy weapon it works 100%, it only didn't work when dr lee was demonstrating because of wht he or sam said about development. And wht was tht on top? it looked like a mini naquadah generator?

[OakRidge]

but I really have to question the wardrobe choices for Vala, come on she's not a teenager, those denim shorts and the midriff-less shirt thing was too much.

I like the wardrobe choice for Vala.




Sexy!!!!

[Datum666]

hMM I DONT THINK ITS DESSLER FROM 24 CAUSE I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO KNOW FOR SURE WHO SHE IS. ANT OTHER IDEA OR IF ANY KNOW WHO THE FEMALE BOUNTY HUNTER WAS.

[racer24t]

This was a great episodei lke vala more and more. I was wondering how do you get screen caps like that those are neat any help please.

[OakRidge]

This was a great episodei lke vala more and more. I was wondering how do you get screen caps like that those are neat any help please.

I used the VLC Media Player.

[CamMitchell]

It was one of the greatest episodes I've seen, especially the Cam/Vala interaction and Cam's parents were great once more.

[P-90_177]

I enjoyed this. I really enjoy the comedy episodes. Would have liked to see more of daniel but still can't complain. I really enjoyed cam/vala/cams parents scenes. And how Cam was freaked out by his mother. It was a nice moment.

[Matt G]

Right...

1. Vala was thick as a plank! What the hell was the point of mouthing off like that?

2. I guess the background on Cam sounds solid enough.

3. Overall though, the bounty hunter stuff got slightly corny in places.

Better than Mehmento Boring but The Shroud laughs all over it!

[Detox]

Okay, In my personal opinion that episode was SO bad.

Spoiler:

First of all, the bounty hunter touching a guys neck so hes head start flipping around really fast. Well some people would probably consider that funny, but I just got the feeling "oh no, that did not just happen!". In my opinion that kind of "cheep-bad-sucking-makeyouwannapuke-scen" belongs in let's say Ghostbusters (no pun intended) not sg-1?

Second. Well now a lot of people know about advance technology since it was used on the prom (rings as example). Have I missed an episode, or is the stargate not to be hidden from the general public anymore? There wasn't even some talk about how to cover up those events in the episode.

Sorry for my bad spelling and grammar. I suck at spelling

At the end, Mitchell said they all had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He also said something about it being best, because noone would believe them anyways.

[sgeureka]

Off topic

This was a great episodei lke vala more and more. I was wondering how do you get screen caps like that those are neat any help please.

- VLC Media Player: Ctrl+Alt+S (you can change that, and you can set the directory in the set-up)
- Windows Media Player: Ctrl+i
- Power DVD: C (you can set the directory in the set-up)
- WinDVD: Click on the Camera button (you can set the directory in the set-up)
- [countless other programs that allow screen shots...]
- Some video programs also allow pushing "PrintScreen" on your keyboard (right to F12) when a video file plays, and you can then open an image editor and paste.

[Lt. Colonel Ryu Gaia]

Well, after watching the episode, it turned out to be precisely what I expected it to be: a piece of very, very well written fanfiction. I like that it's a different direction for an SG-1 episode to take, although it's not really very SG-1ish at all. Not a bad episode, just not an SG-1 episode. Fanfiction. Nothing more or less.

[BJX]

I find it hard to really decide what I think about this episode. I guess the best way to put it is that it was an enjoyably bad episode, if that makes any sense.

There was alot to like in this episode but also alot to hate. I think the story was great but it was executed terribly. There was no cohesion, it just went randomly from one place to another, from one tone to another, in the change of a scene. It never felt like there was a thread keeping everything together. Was this suppose to be a full-on lighthearted episode or was it suppose to be a serious episode with dashings of lightheartedness thrown in? I don't know. If the bounty hunters were suppose to be serious and threatening and create a sense of danger for the viewer then they failed miserably, and throwing in stupid looking aliens and that cringe-worthy head-spining thing did nothing to enhance the dramatic nature of the episode. If it was meant to be slightly tounge-in-cheek then it failed completely and why set up such a story (that is integral to the series) and do it comedicly?

I hated the resolution too. It completely disregarded one of the most basic elements of the series; The secrecy of the Stargate programme. I loved season 9 and I really like season 10 but the truth is nothing like this would ever have occured in seasons 1-6. Things like tis betray the nature and believability of the show.

However, even with all the major problems with it, there was so much to enjoy. I absolutely loved Cam and Vala in Kansas. Vala was hilarious, and I really liked seeing the personal side of Cam. That character just keeps growing on me, and I liked him to begin with.

Tealc firing a staff weapon again! How long has it been? Wonderful.

More reason to believe Daniel is a homosexual! What straight man in his right mind would turn down an offer like that from a woman like that.

You gotta love Dr. Lee too. Bit of a stud, who'd have thought.

The teaser was fantastic. Blowing up the space train was brilliant.



The execution of the story may have been abysmal but the character interaction, of which there was alot, made the episode enjoyable. It's just a shame that this episode must unfortunately sit uncerimoniously with INSIDERS and COMPANY OF THIEVES (although nowhere near as bad as that episode) as an episode that had the potential, and really should have been, a phenomenal episode. Like I said earlier, I don't believe you would have seen these faults, not only in this episode but also Insiders and COT, in Seasons 1-6 nor do you see these mistakes in Atlantis. If an episode fails in Atlantis, or the failures in seasons 1-6, it's because the episode was doomed to fail to begin with. I can only conclude that it has something to do with the showrunner, or maybe more appropriately for the SG-1 episodes this season, the man who is not running the show.