The Ties That Bind (904)

[eirenne]

I really enjoyed last night's episode. The leather pants on Mitchell and Jackson rocked, (have to be honest, Browder is hot in whatever he is wearing!). There was lots of humor thrown in and did not feel the episode dragged at all. Claudia Black's character Vala has really spiced up things, I really enjoy her character. I am looking forward to seeing Mitchell be more of a force and agree with others that they are slowly introducing him.

[MediaSavant]

Okay...before I read anyone else's opinions...

This episode was fun and engaging. My attention didn't wander the way it did during "Origin". I like it when they use a faster pace. Claudia Black was really allowed to run with Vala. I love the way she flusters the men. There were some really funny lines. Shanks played off her very well.

[SophieTucker]

Agree that
-good not great
-Vala's wearing thin
-Western Wear

Noticed

-For some reason I actually thought Vala was going to say something useful when she addressed Senator (Fischer?) rather than a babble of meaningless, overused cliche. That would have been the ideal moment to give Vala some redeeming character trait. Unfortunately, it slid on by.

-I love the little looksTeal'c gives Vala - like he's not quite sure what she is. Judge can do more with a "look" than some actors can with two pages of dialogue.

-Have they ever actually said onscreen that Lam is Landry's daugther?

-While it was definitely an action adventure - there was a little drama set up with the potential loss in funding. I almost found myself asking if it was realistic to think our government would do that? What was I thinking.

[AGateFan]

-While it was definitely an action adventure - there was a little drama set up with the potential loss in funding. I almost found myself asking if it was realistic to think our government would do that? What was I thinking.

The good thing about this is when I heard they were cutting the SGC funding I figured it was just going to be another Kinsey wanting to cut it for no apparent reason kind of thing. I liked how they indicated they were cutting it so they could spend MORE on Atlantis and on building ships.

This actually rings true to me and makes me a bit sympathetic to that opinion. So now instead of me sitting around saying "cheap govt bstrds" now I have to think, maybe they have a point, we do need to explore Atlantis now and get a lot more ships built so the SGC does seem to be a place they can trim a bit for the budget.

That being said it is very short sighted to assume we know everything about the Galaxy... I mean it’s a GALAXY people don’t seem to have a sense of how truly, immensely huge the galaxy is and how much there is left to explore.

[MediaSavant]

What was up with Cam buttoning his shirt getting off the elevator with the doc? The look Landry gave the two of them was interesting also. Were they trying to imply something there? Hmmm.

Ahhhhhh, I was wondering if anyone else noticed that. I think they are leading into something between Cam and Lam (like the sound of that) in a very subtle way.

[MediaSavant]

Tonight i think we finally confirmed that Daniel Jackson is indeed a homosexual.

Not that there is any thing wrong with that.

But seriously, Vala is a very sexy, aleuring, attractive woman. Now any man who reads this should reply to this question. What would you do if you found Vala, laying in lengerie in your bed, and being sugestive. I know exactly what i would do.

LOL.

Maybe Mitchell will show up in his bed next week and we'll know for sure.

(Why do I imagine the slash writers already working on this scenario as I speak)

[George Costanza]

Okay, this was horrible. Horrible, horrible. I hated it. I don't mind comedic episodes, but this just wasn't funny. At all. Joe Mallozzi calls this "a more comedic episode" and it is, but the Avalons and Origin weren't that serious either. Where did my favorite tv show go? Look at previous season premieres... look at previous comedic episodes like Window of Opportunity. I was watching Meridian, Abyss and Memento the other day, THAT is the Stargate I love. This is not. Please, producers, stop trying to be too funny.

* Vala is horrible. I thought I was growing to like her, but I hate her. I won't argue that her outfits were damn sexy though.
* Daniel. What the ***** happened to Daniel? Where is the intelligent, well spoken, ex-ascended Dr. Jackson we know and love?
* Why does it seem like Teal'c's role has been reduced?
* When is Mitchell going to be the true new hero of SG-1?

I liked the Avalons and Origin, but it's just not on par with previous season openings. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea behind the new direction and the Ori as villains (they seem awesome to me, just don't let them speak like the Queen of England all the time), but I just don't like the way those ideas are turned into actual shows. Here's hoping that future episodes are more serious ("we're gonna take the show seriously again", yeah right Joe) and more like old times, just with the new Ori / Mitchell flavor. And dump Vala. Forever. Because...

I want my favorite show back.

[QuiGonJohn]

Vala was back to PU Vala and I didn't really care for that. I was hoping that she would get more depth as the series wore on but there was certainly no character development in this episode.

Well this is discouraging. I too thought with everything they've just been through Vala would have grown beyond concern for her own individual petty needs. Of course, I haven't watched this one yet, (only taped it). So maybe this is premature.

As to Daniel not going for Vala, well as others had said, there is bad history between them that I think Daniel can't just forget.

[jyh]

Re Vala at the Senate committee meeting..... While I realize the reason she had to go to Washington (the "ties that bind"), there's nothing that says she has to be in the SAME ROOM with Daniel at all times. She could have sat (under guard) out in the hallway, or they could have locked her in a storage room in the senate building, or even left her at the hotel for up to an hour. Yes, I realize it's dangerous to leave her even with a guard (witness the fact that she was in Daniel's room), but I can't believe Landry would have actually allowed her in the same room with the senators. That's bush league.

Oh, and by the way, at first I thought Lam was in only ONE scene, but she's actually in two. She has a total of I think seven sentences of dialog, even though a few of them are only a word or two. I hope she's paid by the word.

[jckfan55]

Aargh! Where do I begin?
I can forgive the unoriginal premise--many shows have had their own version of the multiple trades to get something back--DS9 & Mash come to mind. Fine.

But where was the main cast? Is this the "Vala and her hangers on" show? Daniel did his long suffering bit well. But Teal'c and Mitchell might as well have not been there for all they got to do. TPTB said Mitchell would be so great, but they haven't given him much to do so far. I *want* him to be good, but haven't seen much of him so far.

This Vala the amoral trader who makes some sexual crack every 2 minutes has really gotten old. A little goes a long way. The writers lost a great opportunity, IMHO, to give her *some* substance. In a one shot or 2 shot deal, you don't need much development. But come on, we've got her for 6 episodes! Give us something. And what a waste of CB.

The writers must be so in love with the idea of Vala and *fun* episodes that they can't see what a hash they're making. It's like they're under some spell and no one is there to question it.

I've been hanging on for Sam to come back, but the way the SGC is these days, in terms of the character, she'd be crazy to come back. My hope is that once they get off this Vala kick things will improve.

[Sue_Jackson]

BOTH BEN AND MICHAEL IN LEATHER PANTS!!! YUM!!!

I was just loving this episode last night! I so busy drooling over these two hunks that I didn't care the episode was a goofy one. In fact, I absolutely loved this ep! It was fun, frivolous, and funny! I couldn't stop laughing!


I love Vala! I want to be Vala! Her and Daniel are just so perfect for each other! I think Daniel likes her, and wants her. He's putting up a wall around himself 'cause he's afraid to admit his own feelings for her. Okay, it's speculation, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[keshou]

So kind of a homage to Farscape with a little Princess Bride thrown in for good measure.

The good...

*The boys in leather. Really, I think Joe lurks on those "thunk" threads more than he's letting on. Vala in leather and pigtails was fun as well.

*The sets. I'm enjoying seeing some different backgrounds in the show. So often they've just been hiking thru the grass but I like the trading bazaar scenes and the place where they met Arlos. It's nice to see a lot of background characters again.

*Wallace Shawn as Arlos. Okay kind of weird - he had a love affair with Vala - but still loved seeing him

*Daniel/Vala. So sue me - I'm enjoying them a lot. I love the way Vala exasperates Daniel and yet he's really not falling for her antics. As long as Vala keeps the OTT sex stuff (and her fire extinguisher) on the back burner I've become a fan. Claudia's playing the heck out of the character.

*Teal'c/Mitchell. Didn't see much of them but I still like their dynamic. Teal'c's line to Mitchell "as you wish" . Nice nod to Princess Bride (I think).

*Mitchell. Not much to work with but I did like him quite a bit in this episode. His enthusiasm continues to be a high point and I like that he's not giving up on getting Teal'c back on the team. Some funny lines. "Cam Mitchell - bounty hunter". "So you look like a Raiders fan". "Good Morning Sunshine" to Daniel. LOL.

The mediocre....
* Kind of slow in places. The intergalactic scavenger hunt kind of plodded along at times. Of course SG-1 has always plodded along quite a bit. Even in the "good old days". They've just always had great character interaction while they plodded along. But if you don't like Mitchell, Daniel and Vala together you probably didn't like this one much.

*Lam. I still haven't warmed up to her. She just didn't look much like a professional doctor to me last night - hair kind of stringy, cleavage. There was also that awkward moment when Cam and Lam got off the elevator - what's with all the looks? Looked to me like Landry thought they were playing around in the elevator or something. That was kind of weird - and I hope they don't go there.

*Vala's development. I like Vala. I like the energy she brings to the show. But she still needs some depth. Maybe next week.

*Mitchell's development. He needs more.

The bad.....
*The testimony before Senator whosits. You know - Vala was funny. The line was kind of funny. But it was just "off". If Landry really had to take Vala (since she was linked to Daniel) he would have kept her in the back of the auditorium with tape over her mouth- not put her at the front table. So as comedy it was fine. But kind of fell flat because it was so contrived.


So overall I thought it was fun but not as good as Atlantis' "Duet" which followed. I do think Vala's probably best used as a recurring character. 5-6 episodes in a row is a lot. As much as I loved Maybourne I wouldn't have wanted 5 episodes in a row with him. And Vala is kind of Daniel's Maybourne.

I think fans are probably getting a little restless to see the new team put in place. I think RCC did the right thing to not reform the team right away but I'm nevertheless anxious to see what they're going to be like. I'm very curious to see how they're going to bring Sam back and fit her into this dynamic -- hoping it will be really good for her character since i didn't like a lot of the "development" they gave her in S8.

[Erin]

AH! that makes me mad. The power in our house went out just as the show was about to start. It knocked out the cable and everything!!!!!!!! This is the first time I haven't seen a Stargate episode and didn't have anyone tape it. It was too late. I couldn't get to anyone to ask them to tape the show!!!!!!! I'm going through withdrawal, trying to stay away from all the posts you people have made on the episode!

I need to see this episode!!!!

Has anyone else had a horrific experience like this? haha

[rnwhocares]

Wow. I have to go back and watch it again. Great episode, just the right mix of funny and serious.

PLEASE can't we keep VALA????? I love this team, Daniel, Teal'c, Mitchell and Vala.

Dana Jeanne

I totally agree with you. I personally am not missing Carter at all!! It would have been nice to see Daniel at least kiss Vala once to prove he isn't all dead in that department!!

[TheCorpulent1]

I liked the episode overall. I tend to be a big fan of the humorous episodes, considering one of my favorite episodes is "Window of Opportunity." While this one wasn't anywhere near as good as that classic, it was decent. MS gives a great comedic performance as the poor, put-upon Daniel Jackson who has to deal with Vala's constant aggravations. The story was cliché but still kind of fun. I liked the smuggler-turned-undercover-priest. I also liked the return of those two pathetically inept aliens from "Prometheus Unbound." The space battle was fun, although I would've guessed if those types of highly effective weapons could be rigged into a mere cargo ship, we probably would've seen more of them before. The Lucian Alliance seems interesting and a logical follow-up to the Goa'uld's demise as rulers of the galaxy. Lots of good story potential there for expanding the picture of galactic politics. Finally, I really liked the anti-climax of the episode. I'm not sure why, but I guess it might just be an extension of how funny Daniel's constant string of hopes followed by disappointments has been this season. The fact that the episode ended with Daniel and Vala no better off than when they started was like a blown-up version of that.

On the other side of the coin, Vala did get on my nerves a bit again. I was hoping that TPTB would actually develop her character after "Avalon II" but it seems that was the exception rather than the rule. I so wanted to like Vala at the hearing, especially when she snickered rudely at the idea of Earth's being protected from all threats. It would've been a great means of exploring some of the crap she's been through, but instead of dissecting the government guy's naive arrogance with some of her experiences about the big, bad galaxy, she just has to go and spout yet another tired sexual cliché. Waste of a scene. Mitchell just seems to be tagging along with Daniel and Vala in this episode, and Teal'c might as well not have been there at all. He had exactly one semi-important thing to do, and that was to establish that Mitchell still kind of annoys him and that he doesn't intend to come back to SG-1.

The little mention of Jack: Ok, so they've established that Jack is somehow Landry's superior and that he's still working behind the scenes... somewhere. I don't know what the point of stringing out the explanation of Jack's absence is, but it's really unnecessary and aggravating, in my opinion. Just let us know where he is and what he's doing and maybe a lot of us older fans would gladly let him go and focus on the newbies more.

Now, here are a couple of things that puzzled me. 1) Landry's conversation with Lam and Mitchell: What the hell was going on there? I think it was meant to establish that Landry likes Mitchell as a match for his daughter and was just kind of spacing out, taking them in as they stood there together and basically nodding in approval with his cryptic responses. I'm guessing whatever few Lam/Mitchell shippers might be around will be pleased with this season. 2) Why the hell do Daniel and Mitchell ALWAYS have to wear opposite colors? Daniel always has blue on when Mitchell's in green or vice-versa. Is it meant as a visual reinforcement of the fact that they're not on a team together? Or is it an in-joke about Jonas' question of knowing which color to wear way back in S6, so that the new "new guy" (Mitchell) is constantly in a different color from the established characters? I don't know, but it's kind of weird.

So, anyway, in future episodes I'm looking forward to better utilization of BB and CJ, less utilization of Vala's annoying character, more development of Vala's presumably complex character (given all that she's been through), the return of Carter, the whole picture of what Jack's up to now, and more exploration of the Ori.

P.S.: Since all the ladies around here are going wild over BB and MS in those leather get-ups (but strangely not over CJ), I'll just add the male perspective to it: Good LORD, Vala looked hot in that bedroom scene!