Babylon (908)

[Shep'sSocks]

I think I saw this episode already. It was filmed in New Zealand and had samurais and Tom Cruise.

[Frostfox]

Okay, my two'pen'eth, as if anyone is interested.

I enjoyed that.
I think that this is the watershed for Cameron, hardening him up, giving him a cause. BB was great to watch, lovely interaction with his teacher (who was terribly cute) and Tony Todd is, as always, outstanding. Even when quiet and speaking softly, he commands so much attention - loved the night scene on his balcony.

The Sodan village set is fabulous and it is very in keeping with what we saw on Kheb and the way the Ascended interact with people and the physical world. I want to see a lot more of them.

And all those fabulous shades of grey - just as you think you have the Sodan sussed, in comes the Cigarette Smoking Prior to muddy the waters. Nothing is as black and white as it originally seems, this is happening a lot this season and I, for one, am loving it.

esoap524, your comparison between Cameron and Daniel's approach to the Ori is facinating and fits with what we know of Daniel's character and what we are finding out about Cam.

FF (who, as with every other week this season, has managed to get a DS9 comparison in here - Tony Todd played the adult Jake Sisko in the fabulous episode The Visitor! He's such a splendid actor, he's a pleasure to watch.)

[jyh]

Re Dr Lam:

Forget military protocol--she's acting like a spoiled 10 year old. Hardly professional behavior, civilian or military.

Bingo!! I think this is the worst mistake TPTB have made this season: turning SG-1 into a doggone soap opera by injecting the "family conflict" thing. And doing it badly, at that. I don't care if Lam IS a civilian, and it doesn't matter that she IS Landry's daughter. She's supposed to be an intelligent, professional woman, and she should act like one. ESPECIALLY in front of other SGC personnel!!! When she and Landry are behind closed doors, she can act like a petulant, bratty daughter all she wants, but in front of any other member of the Stargate Command staff, officer or enlisted, military or civlian, she should be 100% professional, speaking respectfully and not betraying by a single twitch that she and Landry have a personal connection. Regardless of her military/non-military designation, or what her medical chain of command, he is still her 'boss' for all intents and purposes while she's at the SGC.

Any doctor who has reached her age and professional level should have learned long ago to put her emotions aside while at work. I know I wouldn't want her working on me if I were a wounded SGC member.....

[SG-25B11]

I have watched Stargate SG-1 from the start of the series. I like every single episode that I've seen thus far in the series. Although, there are still several episodes I have yet to see from Seasons 1 and 2. I have the dvd sets of Seasons Seven, Six, Four and Three so far. I plan on buying the other three Seasons and Season Eight when it is released.

I have been reading the posts on many thread that are in this forum for several months now. I respect and understand the views of other fans that have posted their comments on the show. Now I have decided to start writing my own comments on the show.

I look at Stargate SG-1 as one television show among many. I like the series, however with anything that I like, I don't put it at the top as being the best. It is just a t.v. show that I enjoy watching.

Concerning this weeks episode, Babylon, I think it was a good show. Yes, it was not completely original in its story and some of the events that happened were predictable to the viewer. However, in my opinion, this could be said about any movie or television show that has been made. There wasn't a lot of team interaction between SG-1, but there was a lot of character interaction between the regular characters and new characters in the episode. This allowed for good character development of the characters introduced in Babylon. I don't think the focus was just centered on Mitchell throughout the entire episode. In regards to the way Mitchell fired the P-90, Vala fired it the same way in The Powers That Be and I don't think a single negative comment was made about it then.

I think I've written enough for my first post on this forum. Bottom line, Babylon worked for me and I would watch it again. I look forward to the upcoming episodes of Stargate SG-1.

[AGateFan]

I have watched Stargate SG-1 from the start of the series. I like every single episode that I've seen thus far in the series. Although, there are still several episodes I have yet to see from Seasons 1 and 2. I have the dvd sets of Seasons Seven, Six, Four and Three so far. I plan on buying the other three Seasons and Season Eight when it is released.

I have been reading the posts on many thread that are in this forum for several months now. I respect and understand the views of other fans that have posted their comments on the show. Now I have decided to start writing my own comments on the show.

I look at Stargate SG-1 as one television show among many. I like the series, however with anything that I like, I don't put it at the top as being the best. It is just a t.v. show that I enjoy watching.

Concerning this weeks episode, Babylon, I think it was a good show. Yes, it was not completely original in its story and some of the events that happened were predictable to the viewer. However, in my opinion, this could be said about any movie or television show that has been made. There wasn't a lot of team interaction between SG-1, but there was a lot of character interaction between the regular characters and new characters in the episode. This allowed for good character development of the characters introduced in Babylon. I don't think the focus was just centered on Mitchell throughout the entire episode. In regards to the way Mitchell fired the P-90, Vala fired it the same way in The Powers That Be and I don't think a single negative comment was made about it then.

I think I've written enough for my first post on this forum. Bottom line, Babylon worked for me and I would watch it again. I look forward to the upcoming episodes of Stargate SG-1.

Hello and welcome to the forum. We may not all agree with what you say but you are free to have whatever opinions you like, dont let anyone tell you otherwise .

As regards to Vala and the P-90...Well you would sort of expect Vala not to know how to fire a P-90 she is not supposed to be a trained Military officer in charge of other trained military officers. My thing is SG-1 has always done "military" well and it is sad that they have not taken the time with the new "lead" to get him into the swing of things. BB is a great actor and I am sure if someone took a little time to show him the ropes he could seem just as professional military as Oneill and Carter.... heck even Daniel looks more skilled then him at this point.

[AGateFan]

BTW with the exception of my Lam issue and my CM is not looking military enough issues I liked this ep just fine. It was just as good as many of the other non-team oriented eps such as 100 days and was better then some others like ICON.

[SG-25B11]

Dr. Lam's comments to her father were not completely out of line. The operation she did to save the Jaffa's life lasted for nine straight hours. Her comments were against the immediate interigation of her patient. The personal conflict between them has been kept between them. It has not effected her duties as the Chief Medical Officer. She does not seem unfit to be in her current position at the SGC.

[alterran1]

dont kno if this has akready been bought up, havnt gotthe tiem to read the entire thread, but did anyone else notice the new camera angles?

also, i saw someon mention the last samurai.... i totally agree. one thing tho the jaffa are black, ye thte children are Chinese... also remeber the jaffa who provided a testimonia,l... omg he was so scrawny, don't the writers know that the jaffa are a raceof warrior people.. ergo not scrawny

[scifiannie]

Re: criticism of Lam. I've found her cold and off-putting from the start and wonder not so much about the character and the "soap-opera" family conflict stuff, which I personally like and think makes for a more interesting show, but about the actor's choices here. Lexa Doig needs to find the warmth beneath the coldness. Right now, no matter who she's interacting with--her Dad, Dr. Lee, etc.--she's just, well, a cold b***ch (are we allowed to use that word on the forum?). If you review her previous appearance in other eps, you'll see she's basically snarky to everyone.That's a performance choice. Perhaps a more skilled actor could find the layers underneath, make us sympathize with her character. Right now, she's going for one tone, and it's pretty unpleasant and unsympathetic, even with the hints at motivation they've given us.

As for Mitchell and his gun...well, I wouldn't have a clue about proper hold and all, but if he didn't do it right, it could be lack of training on the part of the production toward the actor, or it could be it's another character choice by the Browder to show Mitchell's "flyboy" swagger. (Or it could be the way they shoot pulse pistols in the Uncharted Territories...).Whatever it was, he did look, well, darn good shooting that thing.

[citro]

Has anyone noticed - in the end - if the captured Sodan, when he left SGC, had some kind of bag with him? I guess he still needs the tretonin to keep him on the safe side, but I can't check it out myself (I have to wait for a rerun)

[the fifth man]

He didn't have any bag that I noticed.

[entil2001]

Ever since Mitchell’s first appearance this season, I’ve been waiting for the writers to give us an episode devoted to the new commander of SG-1. A lot of the earlier episodes were devoted to Daniel and his motivations, with Mitchell being little more than the one applying pressure to get the team back together. His reactions have been muted during the rise of the Ori, giving Daniel room to maneuver. This time, though, it’s all about him.

I, for one, enjoyed it. I was getting worried that the writers were turning Mitchell into a John Crichton clone. This episode clarified the situation. While both characters use humor and pop-culture references to alleviate tension, Mitchell is a capable military officer. He’s not some fish out of water trying to survive, forced to lead despite himself. Mitchell is, at the core, the kind of man that O’Neill might have been before his life took that downward spiral after Charlie’s death.

Some elements of the story were a little predictable. Particularly, I was able to identify Jolan as Volnak’s brother (I think that was the name of the injured Warrior of Sodan) even before Jolan mentioned that the nearest relative would fight Mitchell to the death. Actually, I’m still not entirely clear on what the tradition was. OK, if a non-Warrior kills a Warrior, and the non-Warrior is captured, the non-Warrior is taught the ways of the Warriors so that he can die at the hands of a Warrior in a battle to the death…how does that make sense again?

That really doesn’t matter, though, since it’s all an excuse to have Mitchell there to deal with the invasion of a Prior among some of the most respected of legendary Jaffa. The situation is such that he’s the only one in the position to do something about it. For all their efforts with Volnak, the rest of the team makes very little progress. So it gives the writers a chance to show something of Mitchell’s character.

Mitchell recognizes that the Sodan leader, Haikon, has bought into the propaganda of the Prior. The Sodan tend to do whatever Haikon says they should do, and that means bowing down to “gods” that are just too hard to resist, especially when they are close enough to the Ancients that they already worship. Mitchell determines that the one way to get his message across to other Sodan is by gaining their respect. Thus, he trains harder than any non-Warrior ever has, hoping that it will be enough.

The resolution is stolen right out of the “Amok Time” handbook, and a possible revolution is sparked for good measure. I expect the Sodan to make another appearance relatively soon (and yes, I’m still avoiding spoilers, so I’m not going by that). The writers acknowledge it, at least!

One aspect I really liked were the hints about the politics of searching for Mitchell; apparently, the whole issue with the international committee is going to be an ongoing one. In past seasons, the political aspects of the show were sometimes less balanced, taking over too much or not enough of the story. This season, with the return to gate travel as the norm, the politics are still present but more integrated. Along with the positive focus on Mitchell as a distinct character and a vivid Sodan portrayal, that balance is what makes this episode work so well.

[the fifth man]

Very nice post. I couldn't agree with you more.

[scifiannie]

Can't remember if discussion of the title "Babylon" was here or in some other thread, but someone said the connection was the similarity between the code of the Babylonian King Hammurabi--such as "an eye for an eye"--and the Sodan code. Here's another take on the title: biblically, Babylon is the place of exile. It's where all the Israelites were forced to go after they were conquered by the Babylonians. The Sodan are in a place of exile, too, even though the exile is self-imposed. They are hidden from the rest of the Jaffa, separated from them by tradition and history. Fifty years after the Babylonian exile, the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland when the Persian, Cyrus, defeated the Babylonians. It will be interesting to see whether or not the Sodan's exile will also be ended--by choice, by internal rebellion, by defeat at the hands of a more powerful enemy, or by some other means. Whatever happens, it better involve our favorite team...

[the fifth man]

Yeah, I definitely want to see the Sodan again. I think a decent storyline can be developed involving them.