the importance of general hammond's character

[KimCheeWarrior]

apologies ahead of time for being a stargate noob here but im watching the entire series for the first time and am now at the first episode of season 8. since somebody spoiled it for me, i already know that general hammond will no longer head for the sgc for the remainder of the series. although ive always admired his character, i didnt realize just how important his character was to the whole sg-1 series formula. although he didnt nearly get as much screen time as the main cast, just the fact that we knew that he was back at sgc to command it gave a certain likeable structure to the show that i wasnt aware of until he was gone as a regular character. plus i know we all loved it when bra'tac would refer to him as "hammond of texas", that always put a smile on my face. i found myself missing his character more than i originally thought i would.

someone told me that the reason don davis left the show as a regular character was because he was having health problems and that he had to cutback on his workload. you have to wonder if richard dean anderson wouldve stayed on after season 8 if don davis hadnt left. the show already feels a lot more hollow without hammond commanding sgc.

i really wanted to give torri higginson a chance but i kept finding myself cringing during her scenes. it seems like michael shanks was covering her tracks, making up for her deficiencies in many of the scenes in that episode. from what ive seen so far, she just doesnt seem to play an authoritative figure very well (especially compared to don davis). i personally felt that jessica steen was a much better choice as dr weir but thats just me. from what i understand, torri higginson is a regular character on atlantis and hope and pray she does a better job on that show than what ive seen of her on sg-1 so far.

in summary, all i can say is that general george hammond's character on sg-1 was a huge building block in the show's success and that i am already feeling that huge gap in the show's formula with him gone. for me, in a way, the show has already kind of ended but i will give the show the benefit of the doubt and keep watching until the end. im not looking forward to rda leaving at the end of this season, but ill get to that when i reach that point. ill probably post another thread regarding his departure when i start watching the next season.

[hedwig]

Richard Dean Anderson would not have stayed with the show had Don S. Davis stayed. Don left due to health problems, so he couldn't stay. And RDA wanted to spend a lot more time with his young daughter (more than just weekends would allow), and so he quit at the end of Season 8.

It was always nice to see Don S. Davis again the few times he appeared on SG1 after he left the show.

[maneth]

Yeah, and ditto for RDA. But certainly Hammond was a key character.

Don't worry, Weir won't be in charge of the SGC for very long. I liked General Landry too. Certainly he was no Hammond, but then there's only one Hammond.

Weir grew on me in SGA. I think the problem was they tried to foist a civilian leader on a military organization and it didn't really work in the SGC. The fit was much better on Atlantis.

[hedwig]

I did like Torri Higginson as the leader on Atlantis, but was disappointed that Jessica Steen didn't continue the role after her appearance in "Lost City". I've been a fan of JS for a long time, and would like to have seen how she handled the role on a continuing basis.

[maneth]

Me too, particularly since I never was very fond of Higginson I'm sorry to say. Luckily that didn't detract from my enjoyment of SGA.

[magictrick]

Don as Hammond was irreplaceable. Landry was alright but didn't come close at all to filling that void. It is too bad that we didn't get to see all 10 seasons with Hammond but sometimes other aspects of life take priority.

As for Weir, as far as I'm concerned Tori is Weir through and through. I am glad they brought her on full time for SGA after her stint on SG-1.

[KimCheeWarrior]

when i started this thread i honestly didnt think id get so many replies about this. maybe one or two but not this many. i didnt realize so many people felt the same way about hammond.

[blueray]

i was really sad when hammond left, and of course the reason why, rip Don .

i liked lardry (sp), but he wasn't as good as hammond, and never would/did get the same relationship with sg-1.

[Snowman37]

apologies ahead of time for being a stargate noob here but im watching the entire series for the first time and am now at the first episode of season 8. since somebody spoiled it for me, i already know that general hammond will no longer head for the sgc for the remainder of the series. although ive always admired his character, i didnt realize just how important his character was to the whole sg-1 series formula. although he didnt nearly get as much screen time as the main cast, just the fact that we knew that he was back at sgc to command it gave a certain likeable structure to the show that i wasnt aware of until he was gone as a regular character. plus i know we all loved it when bra'tac would refer to him as "hammond of texas", that always put a smile on my face. i found myself missing his character more than i originally thought i would.

I agree with you. For me, "Lost City" (Season 7 finale) marked the end of classic SG-1. The eighth season played out as a climactic resolution to everything. After that, from the ninth season premiere onward, SG-1 was launched in a whole new direction. Though Hammond is missed, he continued to have a recurring role each season.

someone told me that the reason don davis left the show as a regular character was because he was having health problems and that he had to cutback on his workload. you have to wonder if richard dean anderson wouldve stayed on after season 8 if don davis hadnt left. the show already feels a lot more hollow without hammond commanding sgc.

Davis left for health reasons, but he also left so RDA's character could be promoted to base commander. This would give RDA more off time to spend with his daughter. RDA's departure from the show was a temporary retirement from acting so he could spend time with his daughter.

i really wanted to give torri higginson a chance but i kept finding myself cringing during her scenes. it seems like michael shanks was covering her tracks, making up for her deficiencies in many of the scenes in that episode. from what ive seen so far, she just doesnt seem to play an authoritative figure very well (especially compared to don davis). i personally felt that jessica steen was a much better choice as dr weir but thats just me. from what i understand, torri higginson is a regular character on atlantis and hope and pray she does a better job on that show than what ive seen of her on sg-1 so far.

Elizabeth Weir was created for Atlantis, but the writers decided to introduce her on SG-1 first as a temporary SGC leader. Jessica Steen gave a great performance in "Lost City," but I much prefer Torri Higginson. Remember, Weir had no knowledge of the stargate program prior to "Lost City." That's why she didn't come off as an effective leader. When Atlantis began, she'd been running the SGC for three or so months (according to SG-1 "New Order, Part 1") and was transferred to the Antarctic research base once O'Neill was promoted to General and given command of the SGC. By the time she moves to Atlantis, she's got several months of experience under her belt.

in summary, all i can say is that general george hammond's character on sg-1 was a huge building block in the show's success and that i am already feeling that huge gap in the show's formula with him gone. for me, in a way, the show has already kind of ended but i will give the show the benefit of the doubt and keep watching until the end. im not looking forward to rda leaving at the end of this season, but ill get to that when i reach that point. ill probably post another thread regarding his departure when i start watching the next season.

In the eighth season, it does feel like he's missing. We've SG-1 without Hammond, only Jack got promoted. In the ninth season, a new General is assigned to the SGC to replace O'Neill. Beau Bridges plays General Landry, and to be honest, I thought he was every bit as good as Hammond. It's hard for me to look at O'Neill (in Season 8) as I do Hammond and Landry, largely because I'd already seen him lead the team for seven years. He had a personal relationship to the team where as Hammond and Landry were always solely base commanders. Weir doesn't compare, because she was only in charge for three episodes.

If you want to see the good General Hammond, be on the look out for him in the following episodes...

Season 8: "Prometheus Unbound" / "Moebius, Parts 1&2"
Season 9: "The Fourth Horseman, Parts 1&2"
Season 10: "200" / "The Road Not Taken"

[garhkal]

So even though he was gone, he was still around.

[KayLyne]

If you want to see the good General Hammond, be on the look out for him in the following episodes...

Season 8: "Prometheus Unbound" / "Moebius, Parts 1&2"
Season 9: "The Fourth Horseman, Parts 1&2"
Season 10: "200" / "The Road Not Taken"

he also has a nice (but small) appearance in the "Stargate: Continuum" movie.

I loved Hammond. Landry was good, but still didn't compare to good old George.

What I loved best about Hammond is that the writers brought him from the strict (and a bit cranky) ready-to-retire General at the beginning of the series, to a compassionate, heartfelt General who took care of those under his command and treated them as family. They also were able to soften him by giving him a past friendship with Jacob Carter.

I believe the biggest underlying factor for Hammond's loyalty to those at the SGC came back in 1969. From the time he first met Jack until SG1 went on that mission, I think he felt it his job to be their caretaker and do everything he possibly could to ensure their success and survival. Just think of the burden he carried for 30 years, living with the knowledge that he controlled the destiny of four other people. And I'm sure he probably had thoughts that those four people might not be who or what they said they were and that he may have been duped.