Bounty (1015)

[Vargarv]

And did anyone else notice that when Teal'c was ambushed at the stargate that when he fired back his staff weapon was still closed?

I just checked and u r right, the staff was closed and it fired !!!, seconds later it was open but anyway they screwed up.

[MB.Eddie]

Pretty solid filler ep. Nice to see a bit more of the Lucian Alliance, and that cargo train was cool Also was cool to see a heap of Bounty Hunters at work.

This was a good ep for all the characters to go their own direction, and i think they pulled it off quite well. It was nice to see Vala with someone else other than Daniel, and she was great again in this ep. Im so glad they brought her into the show.

I'd give this ep 8/10

[travis]

Not bad ep not as good as the last four but still watchable. Vala was just harlarious as usal. The best bit was when the assasin got hit by a bus LOL I was on the floor just cacking it. Though I new it was gonna happen it still was a suprise as it just happen so suddenly and randomly lol.

[suse]

Quite the opposite, I'm afraid. I believe I've liked it for too long, and with too discerning an eye. I approach it with the expectations of the past, not the reality of the present, and as such find it lacking where there is no chance for remedy. This was not an episode that exhibited professional quality or in any way met the standards the show has set for itself. That's the long and the short of it.

Ah, yes. That pesky "lowering of standards to enjoy the show" strikes again. I ithnk I've lowered mine almost far enough now. And it's been a while since I watched any reruns.

On topic: Who thinks getting someone to take over the Lucien Alliance will backfire? I must say I agree witht golfbooy; I was shocked when SG-1 let a bounty hunter that was after them go so he could take out the boss. I guess there's no assassins guild in this universe.

What happens when that "blood" clears? He goes after those that can expose that he turned on a contract. Assuming there is a twisted form of "honor" in his profession. Well if the show hadn't been cancelled.

suse

[the dancer of spaz]

OK, Bounty was enormously silly and a pretty contrived (I'm thinking "Beverly Hills 90210: The Reunion"), but there were moments that really seemed to redeem it for me. For one thing, Vala had, and continues to have, the best one-liners on the show. While this episode was Cameron's character episode, Vala stole the show.

From her inappropriate mentioning of her and Cameron's supposedly "intimate" moments together in front of his parents, to her casual inquiry about taking a life insurance policy on Cameron, I had to smile. She can be such an obnoxious handful sometimes, but Vala's really grown on me. What can I say?

One side note about Vala: As much as I don't like it when Vala seems to get free reign of any situation, I don't see the point of having the supposed he-men, Daniel and Cameron, put her in her place by shouting at her or using physical force. Something about that just rubs me the wrong way, because it tends to happen at, imo, inappropriate times. Still, BB and CB's chemistry together is undeniable, so that's always a bankable plus.

I also think I'm officially a Cam/Amy shipper. Plus, she's already seen what he does all the time first hand, so no biggie in that department. Hate to say it, but Cam's a pretty simple man. There's a reason why Vala was bored with her. She's a completely different breed that probably fits right in with Cameron's tastes. And Vala and Darrell? I found that to be a very cute dynamic - one devoid of any future, but cute nonetheless. They're totally on the same wavelength in terms of personality, so maybe a friendship was born. But I thought it was interesting that she's still loyal to Tomin after all this time. That relationship is currently the most convoluted imo, and I hope they explore it further.

Daniel and Teal'c were pretty much out of the picture, as was Sam to some extent. I liked how she and Dr. Lee interacted. Over the years, there's been some question as to whether the two scientists actually get along, but seasons nine and ten pretty much proved to me that they do have a nice working relationship. Their mix-matched pairing is pretty cool, and the look on Sam's face when she saw the ladies' expression was, as promised, priceless.

I kinda wonder if this is the last of the Lucian Alliance or not. I understand they wanted to shake it up from the Ori every once in a while, which is totally understandable, but the LA have been kinda meh for me. They need to either make that particular group of villains more menacing (and realistically so), or they need to have SG-1 annihilate them and all of their little kasa thingies once and for all.

I won't go into how I'm confused about what Daniel's particular bounty hunter was on about in the library, or how the hologram stuff confuses me (How can they see out into the crowd? Or move from one spot to another without disappearing like Sam did on stage?). Those are nit-picky things that I'm sure others have already brought up and answered.

Overall, it was an OK filler episode - not nearly as cringeworthy as Off The Grid.

[Mitchell82]

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.

Question. Is their a single episode you do like? You pretty much say thatSG-1 has had 200 crap episodes, so why the hell do you even watch? landry is far from a incompetant comander he is in fact a great comander and Landry is not the only one who has a problem sayin goa'uld corectly. TPTB have done a great job in coming up with 20 solid eps a year. Most are great eps and some good. I happen to like or love all epsiodes just some betteer than others. They actually do quite well. As to the episode in question it was handled well. It was meant to be light hearted which it was, and also had good action. It was also very sweet from time to time.
As to the public learning about technology the only place that was an issue was the renuion. The other p;lace they thought iut was part of the demo, and the woman never saw the weapon very well. They handled the reunion incident just like the military would. A NDA was signed by each person so no security breach. This was all around a solid episode.

[the fifth man]

Wow, this episode was way better than I expected it to be. TPTB really did a great job with the concept of this one. I'd give it a solid 8/10.

[Gwynevere]

I wasn't expecting anything out of this episode but it was really good. I think I liked it because everybody was doing their own thing. Cam and Vala were hilarious and I thought it was really funny when that bounty hunter got hit by the bus(it was very unexpected). I also liked when Cam was falling over his chair, that was hilarious. I have to mention that I really like Cam and his high school crush(blanking on the name right now) they had really nice chemistry.

[Quinn Mallory]

Fun episode that far exceed my low expectation of it going in. Good amount of team action in the beginning and end for an episode where everyone is more or less split up.

Now on to nitpick, I can't believe SG-1 would spend that much time dealing with the Lucian Alliance with the Ori being such a threat (especially with the extra ships) but that's more of my issue with the Lucian Alliance arc for this season. Second, quite a bit of seredipidous things worked for SG-1 such as that female bounty hunter being hit by bus and the bounty hunters missing their original shots but I'll take the extra suspension of belief in the fun episode.

[Hubble]

Question. Is their a single episode you do like? You pretty much say thatSG-1 has had 200 crap episodes, so why the hell do you even watch? landry is far from a incompetant comander he is in fact a great comander and Landry is not the only one who has a problem sayin goa'uld corectly. TPTB have done a great job in coming up with 20 solid eps a year. Most are great eps and some good. I happen to like or love all epsiodes just some betteer than others. They actually do quite well. As to the episode in question it was handled well. It was meant to be light hearted which it was, and also had good action. It was also very sweet from time to time.
As to the public learning about technology the only place that was an issue was the renuion. The other p;lace they thought iut was part of the demo, and the woman never saw the weapon very well. They handled the reunion incident just like the military would. A NDA was signed by each person so no security breach. This was all around a solid episode.

I think you misinterpreted Golfbooy's comment. I'm pretty sure he wasn't saying that all 200+ episodes of Stargate SG-1 have been crap episodes; I took it to mean he was saying that this was possibly one of the worst, most pointless episodes ever – out of the more than 200 episodes.

My feelings on this episode mirror GB's. I think this was a crap episode - which seems to be a minority opinion so far. It's nice that you enjoyed it. Not everyone did.

[PG15]

What can I say? Anything would look bad after First Strike. Fortunately, Bounty is faaar from bad. As usual, I was greeted with a solid hour of entertainment; not great, but it pleased me, and that's all it matters.

As some have said, this was a fun episode. There were quite a few character moments, most of them from Vala, whom I love and who was supremely hot this episode.

Anyway, the points:

Unlike past episodes, all of the guest stars were not-annoying. Darrell was hilarious, and reminds me of quite a few people I know. Amy was sweet, even though it's likely we'll never see again. She seemed "real", unlike many other one-time-love-interests. The main bounty hunter was very suave, as was expected, and not once did I think he was acting stupid, which is a major minus in a villain, obviously. It was nice to see Cam's dad again, but I couldn't help remembering that the actor was actually younger than Ben Browder. And lastly, his mom was just so...motherly (it's late at night here). And who can forget the pie? I love pie!

Did I mention how hot Vala was in this episode? Yeah, I'm a young male, you don't have to check my profile.

But really, I thought Vala shone in this episode; even though she seems to have regained some of her...let's say promiscuity-ness of a year past, she always seemed like in control. Like Darrell said, she can be very intimidating. But then, that's what's so awesome about her! Loved all of her little moments with Cam, the straw-in-the-mouth, the shooting range, you name it!

Above all else, this episode made me laugh. I chuckled at Darrell starring at Vala's behind, I giggled when Teal'c, so casually, pulled out the zat and shot his would-be assassin, I chortled at Dr. Lee's womanizing (he deserves it ), I snickered at Danny's assassin getting hit by a bus, my side split at hearing Vala's various strange stories of her past, I...uh...LOLed at Cam and Vala's oh-so-couple-like words to each other at the end of the ep, and...well, there's much more where they came from.

Did I mention how much I love the thesaurus? Very useful things...

Oh yeah, before I forget, did anyone else catch the "Binder Prize in Physics"? Who knew Carl had it in him?

Lastly, I just like to mention that, once again, I failed to predict a lot of the twists. Ok, I saw Danny's assassin from a mile away, but I did not see neither of the Chimera tricks, nor did I see the ending coming. I guess Netan's dead meat now eh? Pfft, he's always been just a poser.

All in all a solid, entertaining hour of television. Even though it didn't match up with the last 4 heavy-weight episodes, it was nice to get a little break, and a little chance to laugh out loud.

Score: 8/10

[RealmOfX]

Question. Is their a single episode you do like? You pretty much say thatSG-1 has had 200 crap episodes, so why the hell do you even watch? landry is far from a incompetant comander he is in fact a great comander and Landry is not the only one who has a problem sayin goa'uld corectly. TPTB have done a great job in coming up with 20 solid eps a year. Most are great eps and some good. I happen to like or love all epsiodes just some betteer than others. They actually do quite well. As to the episode in question it was handled well. It was meant to be light hearted which it was, and also had good action. It was also very sweet from time to time.
As to the public learning about technology the only place that was an issue was the renuion. The other p;lace they thought iut was part of the demo, and the woman never saw the weapon very well. They handled the reunion incident just like the military would. A NDA was signed by each person so no security breach. This was all around a solid episode.

Question. Why do you always take issue with the people who express an opinion that differs to yours??

Apart from being against forum rules, it is really tiresome. Especially when someone goes to the trouble of saying why they don't like something or how it could be better. You see, some people do actually have standards and don't like everything that is shoved under their noses, unlike some.

You disagree with an opinion then fine, put forward a countering opinion about the episode NOT the person.

I thought it was a pretty lousy ep full of juvenile humour that wandered all over the place haphazardy and had some good visual effects. Others don't agree which is fair enough, at least someone enjoyed it. I happen to agree that Landry is a bad commander though not the most incompetant as I've seen worse but then I don't expect everyone to agree with that, not even 24 year olds in Retail masquerading as majors. Opinions vary, get used to it.

[spaceangel]

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.

You know, while you have every right to your opinion I think that you are being a bit hard on the fans that enjoyed this, and on the actors. You may have more of a point about the writers. But not every episode has to be part of the massive plot arc that SG-1 has accumulatd over 10 years. In fact I'm sure that has what has lost viewers. Sometimes it's too much effort to pick up every reference to the past.
Also with reference to RDA...'slapstick ...gags that mock the audience for watching and the actors for participating were not his thing'. Are you sure about that? SG-1 has always been pretty self-referential and there have been many occasions that Iv'e felt a hint of mockery for the audience. But hey, I think they always come in useful when I'm starting to forget that it realy IS just a TV show and not RL.
Anyway, I can't feel sorry for finding this a delightful episode. When I watch I want to be entertained. Soemtimes I want meat, sometimes I want sugar!

[Commander Ivanova]

When I watch I want to be entertained. Soemtimes I want meat, sometimes I want sugar!

Nice way to put it. Similarly, I like eps with huge honkin' space guns and mega explosions but I also like a bit of fluff or character development. Doesn't matter if they're in the same or different episodes.

[Hyperwarp]

Bounty =

Yeah, dumb episode, but was fun to watch! Gave me a few good laughs!

PS: And Daniels Assassin?