Review:
Vala was introduced in this episode.
That's it. That's what was good about this episode. That's the only thing that was good about this episode.
On to the negative:
First of all, if you're going to write an episode for Daniel fans, you should write it for Daniel fans. In my experience, people who fall in love with kind, considerate, understanding, ethical, geeky genius characters are usually not also fans of slapstick humor.
Second, did anybody care about Lt. Novak's hiccups? Anyone? It wasn't funny, and it certainly wasn't interesting, although it was a bit enlightening - I learned why some people don't think drinking from the opposite side of a glass works - it's because they interpret the instruction wrong (see footnote for unsolicited advice
).
Third, this episode was the perfect example of everything that's been wrong with Daniel's characterization for this entire season. He was petulant at the beginning, stupid throughout, and, worst of all, when he had Vala in the brig, and he could freely talk to her, he didn't use the opportunity to try to understand why she stole the ship. Totally unlike Daniel. Where's the person who asks questions? Who tries to find creative, mutually-beneficial solutions to conflicts? Who listens to people?
And that's not even counting the plot holes the size of brontosauruses.
Rating: 2 out of 10. It only rates that high because of Vala.
Footnote on drinking from the opposite side of the glass. The way Novak did it, I wouldn't be surprised if it made her hiccups get worse. She did two things completely wrong.
First, she was sitting, and bending way over at the waist. You need to be standing and bending at the spine - at chest level, and at the shoulders. The entire point of drinking from the opposite side is to force your body into a posture that's so awful that you can barely breathe except in tiny breaths that barely allow your diaphram to move at all. Bend your shoulders way forward and concentrate on the collapsed feeling in your chest.
Second, she was slurping and taking big gulps. You don't slurp - slurping leads to coughing, and coughing with hiccups is bad - and in fact, if you're doing it right, you can't slurp, because slurping requires breathing. You fill the glass almost to the rim, affix your top lip to the glass (expect a wet chin and some spillage until you get the hang of it), and allow the water to pour in small amounts into your mouth. The idea is to take several frequent, tiny swallows with no air.
Do this for at least 45 seconds. You should be able to fit in at least 10 tiny swallows into that time. Then take a last swallow, wait a second, then straighten up (not terribly quickly). Take several slow, moderated, NOT DEEP, breaths, kind of like you're sleeping. Wait for the moment when you know the hiccups are gone. Avoid sudden movements, taking very deep breaths, laughing, or coughing for at least 5 minutes. Has never failed for me.
Vala was introduced in this episode.
That's it. That's what was good about this episode. That's the only thing that was good about this episode.
On to the negative:
First of all, if you're going to write an episode for Daniel fans, you should write it for Daniel fans. In my experience, people who fall in love with kind, considerate, understanding, ethical, geeky genius characters are usually not also fans of slapstick humor.
Second, did anybody care about Lt. Novak's hiccups? Anyone? It wasn't funny, and it certainly wasn't interesting, although it was a bit enlightening - I learned why some people don't think drinking from the opposite side of a glass works - it's because they interpret the instruction wrong (see footnote for unsolicited advice
).Third, this episode was the perfect example of everything that's been wrong with Daniel's characterization for this entire season. He was petulant at the beginning, stupid throughout, and, worst of all, when he had Vala in the brig, and he could freely talk to her, he didn't use the opportunity to try to understand why she stole the ship. Totally unlike Daniel. Where's the person who asks questions? Who tries to find creative, mutually-beneficial solutions to conflicts? Who listens to people?
And that's not even counting the plot holes the size of brontosauruses.
Rating: 2 out of 10. It only rates that high because of Vala.
Footnote on drinking from the opposite side of the glass. The way Novak did it, I wouldn't be surprised if it made her hiccups get worse. She did two things completely wrong.
First, she was sitting, and bending way over at the waist. You need to be standing and bending at the spine - at chest level, and at the shoulders. The entire point of drinking from the opposite side is to force your body into a posture that's so awful that you can barely breathe except in tiny breaths that barely allow your diaphram to move at all. Bend your shoulders way forward and concentrate on the collapsed feeling in your chest.
Second, she was slurping and taking big gulps. You don't slurp - slurping leads to coughing, and coughing with hiccups is bad - and in fact, if you're doing it right, you can't slurp, because slurping requires breathing. You fill the glass almost to the rim, affix your top lip to the glass (expect a wet chin and some spillage until you get the hang of it), and allow the water to pour in small amounts into your mouth. The idea is to take several frequent, tiny swallows with no air.
Do this for at least 45 seconds. You should be able to fit in at least 10 tiny swallows into that time. Then take a last swallow, wait a second, then straighten up (not terribly quickly). Take several slow, moderated, NOT DEEP, breaths, kind of like you're sleeping. Wait for the moment when you know the hiccups are gone. Avoid sudden movements, taking very deep breaths, laughing, or coughing for at least 5 minutes. Has never failed for me.
Thanks for that enlightening explanation! I've always wondered how drinking out of the other side of the glass worked.
Hey, Mitchell! You want a turn? 
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