Avalon, Part 1 (901)

[LORD MONK]

Loved it.

Vala - HOT
BB - Allot better then I thought. Still needs to grow.
Carter - Need to take command when she gets back.
Everyone else - Just as I expected. GREAT

Here is my two cents.

[LMichelle]

Now that's I've watched it four or five times, I've got a few nitpicks:

1. I *really* need to know why the team broke up. I felt like I missed an ep somewhere.

2. Landry shouldn't have interrupted Daniel's presentation in the briefing room. Not once, but twice.

3. Vala should've worn a regulation uniform when she went off world with them.

4. Daniel lives in a house, right? Why did he offer Cameron the keys to his apartment? Unless it was for his quarters on the base.

[AGateFan]

Now that's I've watched it four or five times, I've got a few nitpicks:

1. I *really* need to know why the team broke up. I felt like I missed an ep somewhere.

2. Landry shouldn't have interrupted Daniel's presentation in the briefing room. Not once, but twice.

3. Vala should've worn a regulation uniform when she went off world with them.

4. Daniel lives in a house, right? Why did he offer Cameron the keys to his apartment? Unless it was for his quarters on the base.

I dont normally comment on peoples reviews because everyone gets to have their own opinion... but these are nitpicks so here is my opinion on each nitpick... for what its worth.

1. I would have liked to have seen something more but all the reasons given were good, but they should have at least mentioned where Jack went.

2. Daniel was Pratteling, it may not have been nice but is something that would have probably happened in the real world a long time ago.

3. Actually they didnt go offworld and why would she wear a uniform, shes not a member of the team or the Air force or even an earth citizen. No ones asking her to be and shes not asking to be. They didnt give her a weapon or any other supplies why would they give her clothes. In fact they didnt want to take her at all but had to because Daniel had to go.

4. Daniel lived in an apartment, then he lived in a tent, then he lived in an apartment, then in one ep he was living in a house. I am guessing being the nomatic kind of guy he is he was just renting. And as someone said in another thread the events of Chimera may have gotten him booted from his rental so its back to the apartment..... We dont know one way or the other if Daniel ever actually owned a house so we cannot assume either way.

[TheCorpulent1]

Good nitpicks. I had some of the same questions myself, so here are my thoughts on them.

1. I *really* need to know why the team broke up. I felt like I missed an ep somewhere.

I've always been a fan of the in medias res approach, so that was all right by me. Their absences are adequately explained and "Moebius" still feels like the close of one chapter, complemented by "Avalon's" beginning of a new one to me.

2. Landry shouldn't have interrupted Daniel's presentation in the briefing room. Not once, but twice.

I loved that part, actually. It shows that Jack's impatience with scientists is still being kept alive in the show. I always thought that one of his funniest traits and it's nice to see that Landry inherited it from him (or perhaps gave it to him, since they go back a ways). Plus, as AGateFan pointed out above me, Daniel does have a tendency to skirt around the point, indulging in exposition on things that a military person wouldn't care about. I always figured Hammond was just being courteous to Daniel by not interrupting him all these years, but clearly Landry's not quite as nice a guy as Hammond is.

3. Vala should've worn a regulation uniform when she went off world with them.

I thought about this one too, mostly because I thought it was kind of in bad taste to have Vala traipsing around with cleavage to spare. But then I remembered that Bra'tac doesn't get outfitted with a spare SG uniform every time he visits, nor does Jacob or many other aliens who are only working with the SG teams on a provisional basis. Like it or not, that kind of clothing IS part of Vala's character (hopefully a part that the writers will move beyond soon) and it's far from unprecedented for an alien to keep his or her own clothes on off-world missions. Plus, she's technically not working with any SG unit at the moment. She's working with Cam, who's a member of SG-1, and Daniel and Teal'c, both of whom are now free agents only loosely associated with the SGC (as evidenced by Daniel's SGC patch rather than his normal SG-1 patch).

4. Daniel lives in a house, right? Why did he offer Cameron the keys to his apartment? Unless it was for his quarters on the base.

There was another thread about this (http://forum.gateworld.net/showthread.php?t=14241) and Dana_Jeanne confirmed that, according to MS, Daniel moved out after "Chimera" (http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost.php?p=4368688&postcount=11).

[Liebestraume]

I've been meaning to chime in the ep discussion per usual, just haven't felt motivated enough till now. Because this "new" SG-1 thus far has left me very unimpressed.

On the plus side, I liked Vala. Which was somewhat unexpected, since I really hadn't enjoyed her brief appearance last season. No, I had no problem with her overt sexuality; I just usually prefer my wit dry and subtle, neither of which quality she possessed. Guess this character must have aged like a good wine ...

... or she only looked favorable by comparison. I was quite disappointed by the introduction of Mitchell. TPTB seemed way too eager to make him appear sympathetic -- their effort so obvious that it backfired. With me, at least. I think it would have worked better if TPTB were to show Mitchell's heroics over several episodes, to have the audience learn to like the guy, because -- as this has been said over and over -- "show me, don't tell me."

Instead, I had a genuine LOL moment when TPTB had another character literally calling Mitchell "perfect" only a few minutes anto the new season. What's worse was that practically all of Mitchell's past glories were done in first person flashbacks, making him seem more than a little egotistical (which I am sure he isn't). And, to top it all, Daniel and Teal'c had to give him the cold shoulder -- which was decidedly out of character -- so as to elicit sympathy for Mitchell.

Quite a pity. Because, though I've never seen the actor before, everything I've heard of BB indicates he is more than competent in his craft. I am sure given time he could earn all that from his audience.

[SciFiGeek]

I'm coming late to the party and haven't had the chance yet to read over other people's responses yet--but I freely admit that, so far, I will have to eat my own words in complaint about 9th season. (So far.)

I mostly only watched the episode because it was on between the SciFi Channel special and the Atlantis premiere, but also because I decided I might as well give it a shot--and I am more than pleased that I did. I had a lot of fun watching this episode--and watching a good new episode like this always puts me in such a good mood.

I liked how BB acknowledged that RDA and Jack are irreplaceable, and it's difficult to determine long-term--but I think I could learn to be okay with Mitchell. Granted, it's only been one episode--plus my sister (who watched Farscape) told me he was playing pretty much the same character. Which seems to work quite well, as far as I'm concerned. (I know MS is probably annoyed about people constantly telling him how alike they look, but I think it's a fact that's kind of hard to ignore; thank goodness they just had Daniel grow a beard, however, instead of bringing back the mop he had in the first two seasons.)

And while I found Prometheus Unbound to be painfully unnerving, I actually got quite a kick out of Vala--everything from her different exotic outfits, to mostly especially the way she torments Daniel. I didn't feel it in PU, but I thought they definitely had chemistry and could buy that her and MS were having a blast making this. At this point, I could almost wish that she were sticking around longer to annoy Daniel further (and Daniel's my favorite SG1 character!)

I could've done with maybe fewer Mitchell flashbacks and more of the core characters (namely Daniel and Teal'c) but I understood their need for the establishing of the character; I'll give him this, I do think that he's a character I would want to like.

Anyway, here's to hoping that the high note the season started on can continue--I was more than impressed and am hoping that I'm not let down; because, as good as I found Avalon to be, there's still 19 more episodes of the season to go.

[wolverine_nl]

I liked it...it's a bit strange because of the new cast, but after 30 minutes they grew on me Vala is a bit strange though, a bit out of place, can't pinnpoint it

cheers!!

[Erik Pasternak]

And, to top it all, Daniel and Teal'c had to give him the cold shoulder -- which was decidedly out of character -- so as to elicit sympathy for Mitchell.

I disagree, I don't think it was out of character at all.

Daniel has been begging Jack to go to Atlantis since "Rising," when he was denied. He then again got the chance to go in "Prometheus Unbound," but the chance was snatched away from him, thanks to Vala (which, ironically, was the same reason Daniel couldn't go to Atlantis this time). Daniel's been wanting to go to Atlantis all along, and now, well, he was gonna. Period.

Teal'c joined up with us for one reason--to rid his people of Goa'uld oppression. He succeeded, and thus, it makes sense that he would go back to his people, and try to help rebuild. Furthermore, he was also probably thinking about Rya'c's future. Like any father, I would think that Teal'c wants the best for his son. At first, it was to help free the Jaffa, as I said earlier. Now, it is to ensure a stable nation of Free Jaffa for his son. Again, perfectly in character.

Carter's reasoning was the only one I really had trouble with, you see. R&D, come on. And well, her reasons for not coming back later were non-existant. I fully understand why obviously, due to AT's pregancy, but I think this is where TPTB might have gone out of character a bit, not with Daniel or Teal'c.

[TheCorpulent1]

Of course, Sam did say she had her reasons for wanting the R&D job rather cryptically, so who knows? We may get more on it down the line. This is still only the first of a 3-part season premiere.

Edit: Also, on a totally unrelated note, I really loved the music as Mitchell walks up to the gate in the opening shot. I've been humming it occasionally without even realizing it for the past two days.

[Bastet11191967]

Vala is more obnoxious-acting than in PU, which has to make the binding bracelet thing extremely unnerving for Daniel. Granted, her behavior was so juvenile that I felt the urge to b****-slap her if I could reach inside the tv and do it myself (hehehehe). No, Daniel will have himself quite some trials with this person. I wonder if Vala would tone it down if Sam was around.

I felt sorry for Mitchell. Who has not dreamt of reaching that one thing, and finding it totally altered from what one had expected? And those people he interviewed? Oh, dear God. I'm sure they had the qualifications, but the personalities were something else.

[ChillinTheMost]

Definite:
1. winking at Mitchell about not knowing who the father of the baby is (in Farscape, there was a plotpoint of not knowing if it was Crichton's baby) (this was most likely in the script by the writers, since the camera angle has to switch to make the line-wink-reaction work.
2. "play hard to get!" "thats funny coming from you..." (approx, and probably an ad lib by the actors as they walked off screen, not written by the writers... was the most obvious of the night, because Cameron's "thats funny coming from you" line doesnt really make sense in any other context but a joke. He doesn't know Vala well-enough to know if she ever plays hard to get... and besides, I don't think she does play hard to get, unless beating the hell out of you = "hard to get")

Possible:
1. "I've never seen you before . . . I would have remembered" (approx)
2. "Nice outfit"... a line from an ep, but is also enough of a generic line that might not be a reference.

NOT Farscape, but some think they are:
1. "Whoa! Bullets bounce!" We can expect Mitchell to freak out quite a bit as he begins his intergalactic travels... and every time he does it he is going to sound a little like John Crichton freaking out... in the same way that O'Neill being sarcastic sounded a little like MacGyver being sarcastic. Doesn't make it a Farscape reference.
2. "Limited genepool" line: this was a joke bc of the apparent likeness of Michael and Ben, not a Farscape joke. It has been brought up in interviews with both cast members, as well as writers and producers, and talked about fans everywhere. Like the many, many jokes in "Citizen Joe" meant to be a shout-out to the fan community, the "limited genepool" was a shoutout to us aknowledging that we have been talking about how the two guys look alike for months.


And that's my analysis.

I agree except for #2 in your "Definite" category. I think it makes total sense in context of the Stargate episode and has only a tenuous link to FarScape. I was actually surprised to find that some people found it a FarScape reference. Mitchell's response of "That's funny coming from you," is because since she got there, Vala has been throwing herself [albeit awkwardly] at Daniel. Mitchell is telling her to play it cool, too.

Other than that, I agree with what you said, especially that the limited gene pool comment is a shoutout to the internet and fan conference communities.

So, other than our one discrepancy, I think you have a good judgment on what is a shoutout and what is just something likely for different characters to say in different shows and what is likely a similar delivery given by the same actor in different roles. [in my opinion]

[Kalliope]

Well... as of "Definite". The ONE and ONLY "Definite" Farscape reference is the one after Vala meets Mitchell and Landry, Vala's "Haven't we ever met? That I'm sure I would remember" to Mitchell. I agree with Piratejenna's view on this matter, read her review: http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....&postcount=254

[ChillinTheMost]

I've been meaning to chime in the ep discussion per usual, just haven't felt motivated enough till now. Because this "new" SG-1 thus far has left me very unimpressed.

On the plus side, I liked Vala. Which was somewhat unexpected, since I really hadn't enjoyed her brief appearance last season. No, I had no problem with her overt sexuality; I just usually prefer my wit dry and subtle, neither of which quality she possessed. Guess this character must have aged like a good wine ...

... or she only looked favorable by comparison. I was quite disappointed by the introduction of Mitchell. TPTB seemed way too eager to make him appear sympathetic -- their effort so obvious that it backfired. With me, at least. I think it would have worked better if TPTB were to show Mitchell's heroics over several episodes, to have the audience learn to like the guy, because -- as this has been said over and over -- "show me, don't tell me."

Instead, I had a genuine LOL moment when TPTB had another character literally calling Mitchell "perfect" only a few minutes anto the new season. What's worse was that practically all of Mitchell's past glories were done in first person flashbacks, making him seem more than a little egotistical (which I am sure he isn't). And, to top it all, Daniel and Teal'c had to give him the cold shoulder -- which was decidedly out of character -- so as to elicit sympathy for Mitchell.

Quite a pity. Because, though I've never seen the actor before, everything I've heard of BB indicates he is more than competent in his craft. I am sure given time he could earn all that from his audience.

You sound like you're keeping an open mind, so I hope you can soon embrace the changes in the show and enjoy it more.

A few comments about what you said about Mitchell: I do think you're right that they went a bit overboard to make the fans like Mitchell. Not as much as you think they did, but, yeah, a bit.

By the "perfect" reference you made, I think you're talking about Landry? That didn't bother me, but the part that did, was the very beginning when the two guys were whispering reverently about him and saying, "That's Him"? It just sounded too reverent to me and I thought it would quickly cause the fans that were opposed to him to move instantly to "hate". That seemed over the top to me.

I think the flashbacks would have to be first person, for the most part, and it worked for me, because he could be thinking of the events. I doubt that Daniel would be reflecting that detailed about what happened. Also, I think it would only be egotistical if he was relating these events to others, which could be construed as bragging, but just thinking of his past and how it got him to where he is doesn't seem egotistical to me.

Also, I didn't think Daniel or Teal'c gave him the cold shoulder, I just thought they had their minds on other things. I do like how Teal'c is being reserved in his judgment of teaming up with Mitchell now. It's real and it's interesting.

Anyway, these are just the way I read the scenes that bothered you. I doubt that it helps, but I do hope that Mitchell wins you over and you can enjoy the show more fully.

[the fifth man]

I'm very hopeful for the future of sg-1. While some of his backstory was a little overdone, I like where they could be taking the character of cameron mitchell. Enthusiastic and funny. Landry wasn't a disappointment to me, but still miss Hammond. Vala was funny, her interactions with daniel this season should be hilarious. Can't wait to see Carter back too. Overall, I can't wait to see where tptb take us this season, and am just glad there is only one day left to a new episode.

[x_sid]

I've been wondering around the boards since Sunday, and I want to say that I like the changes. Not that I didn't like the way it was, but going in a new direction I think will be exciting. If nothing else we've added a new big threat, that can take the place of the Go'uld gods, but we'll still have the Go'uld around, and even without Jaffa they will still be a big problem. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

P.S.

Loved Vala. Not only was she hot, she was pretty funny.