Why did Vala get so much attention?

[suse]

That's not necessarily true. There were plenty of options...

#1: Stay on SG-1, appear once or a few times on Atlantis. (what actually happened)

#2: Stay on SG-1 (the team), but as a special guest star. She appears in about ten episodes. Her absences are explained away as helping the Atlantis Expedition. On Atlantis, she is paired up with McKay in a recurring role as an SGC asset sent in for problems that the McKay-Zelenka duo cannot handle on their own. I'm not sure how this would work without making McKay look #2 to Carter or reducing Zelenka's role.

#3: Carter is given command of a ship, something that eventually happened. I suspect it would be the Odyssey. I wouldn't be surprised given it's large role in Season 10 and Mitch Pileggi's (Caldwell) reduced availability.

#4: Carter's no longer affiliated with SG-1 but rather the SGC. She's simply sent where needed. This could mean helping SG-1, helping Atlantis, commanding the Odyssey, coordinating from an off world base, and so on.

There are other options, but you get the idea. It's not fair to the producers and writers to say they didn't have a clue. The simple answer: they hadn't reached a decision.

Okay, so they *might* (maybe) have had an idea of what they wanted to do with Sam. How about they were trying to figure out how to reduce their SG-1 female lead to part time on 2 shows? Which would mean she would be a lead in neither? This is important in tv-land.

[majorsal]

Of course it is fair, they know the time frame they have to work with and they idiotically say "we don't know what to do" with one of the most versatile characters they have. Talk about lousy excuses.

it was insulting to amanda, in my opinion.

season 9 should have been the sam-daniel-teal'c show, co-starring anyone else.

[Snowman37]

Okay, so they *might* (maybe) have had an idea of what they wanted to do with Sam. How about they were trying to figure out how to reduce their SG-1 female lead to part time on 2 shows? Which would mean she would be a lead in neither? This is important in tv-land.

You're forgetting that the shows aired back-to-back on the same network and night. 20 episodes is 20 episodes, no?

season 9 should have been the sam-daniel-teal'c show, co-starring anyone else.

I liked Vala, but as for Mitchell... I'll agree. Let him lead the team until Carter returns, then have him surrender leadership to her. Why couldn't Amanda Tapping have gotten top billing with Carter as team leader? She can't star in SG-1, but she can star in Sanctuary? Both shows on the same network. Nonsense.

[Dave2]

Is it possible because both O'Neill and Mitchell were strictly military men who would lead a team, but Sam was a scientist and a soldier and couldn't operate simply as the guy who theoretically would only say, "OK, move out, that's an order!" One could argue that she and Daniel are portrayed as literally saving the galaxy on many occasions. It's more than simply being a military leader.
Her work in science was irreplaceable, and she probably couldn't have even become General of the SGC to sit behind a desk and simply answer, "It's a go!" or "Open the iris!"

You're forgetting that the shows aired back-to-back on the same network and night. 20 episodes is 20 episodes, no?


I liked Vala, but as for Mitchell... I'll agree. Let him lead the team until Carter returns, then have him surrender leadership to her. Why couldn't Amanda Tapping have gotten top billing with Carter as team leader? She can't star in SG-1, but she can star in Sanctuary? Both shows on the same network. Nonsense.

[fems]

Is it possible because both O'Neill and Mitchell were strictly military men who would lead a team, but Sam was a scientist and a soldier and couldn't operate simply as the guy who theoretically would only say, "OK, move out, that's an order!" One could argue that she and Daniel are portrayed as literally saving the galaxy on many occasions. It's more than simply being a military leader.
Her work in science was irreplaceable, and she probably couldn't have even become General of the SGC to sit behind a desk and simply answer, "It's a go!" or "Open the iris!"

That's ridiculous; why would she have gotten command of Atlantis, a joint command with hundreds of subordinates, civilians and aliens if she couldn't even lead a team with an archaeologist and a Jaffa under her command?

[Dave2]

I regret that I haven't watched SG Atlantis so I haven't seen her be a commander and taken away from her unique scientific work. But I guess that answers your question. Had SG1 continued, perhaps she would have become the General in charge of the SGC as long as she didn't have to have that slimy Woolsley looking over her shoulder.

[Snowman37]

Is it possible because both O'Neill and Mitchell were strictly military men who would lead a team, but Sam was a scientist and a soldier and couldn't operate simply as the guy who theoretically would only say, "OK, move out, that's an order!" One could argue that she and Daniel are portrayed as literally saving the galaxy on many occasions. It's more than simply being a military leader.

Who's to say that she could not both lead and be of scientific expertise? Are you forgetting her leadership in Season 8? She only shared leadership with Mitchell in Seasons 9&10, because the producers would rather give the starlight to Ben Browder than Amanda Tapping. Boneheads.

Her work in science was irreplaceable, and she probably couldn't have even become General of the SGC to sit behind a desk and simply answer, "It's a go!" or "Open the iris!"

Except that's exactly what eventually happens. Not at the SGC, but... wait... how far into SG are you?

[Dave2]

Basically episode 15 in Season 10......

Who's to say that she could not both lead and be of scientific expertise? Are you forgetting her leadership in Season 8? She only shared leadership with Mitchell in Seasons 9&10, because the producers would rather give the starlight to Ben Browder than Amanda Tapping. Boneheads.


Except that's exactly what eventually happens. Not at the SGC, but... wait... how far into SG are you?

[NumberSix]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like Vala. I don't feel so disloyal now. Nothing against Claudia Black, but I disliked Vala and the changes they made with the show so much that I barely watched those seasons and never bought the dvd's.

[Snowman37]

Basically episode 15 in Season 10......

Have you been watching Atlantis? The fourth season of that show answers the question of what would happen if Carter had been promoted out of SG-1.

[Skydiver]

I liked Vala, but as for Mitchell... I'll agree. Let him lead the team until Carter returns, then have him surrender leadership to her. Why couldn't Amanda Tapping have gotten top billing with Carter as team leader? She can't star in SG-1, but she can star in Sanctuary? Both shows on the same network. Nonsense.

This had more to do with the network's idea/ideal that a show like stargate needed a MALE lead. After all action adventure,gotta have a man in charge.

the whole 'co-leaders' mess was a result of this. Skiffy saying the show needed a male lead, tptb trying to make him youthful and 'fun', hten having to reconcile that, with Carter in the show, he can't be youthful and fun and still be the 'lead' because, to them/skiffy, being the lead meant being in charge but a 10 year veteran and lt colonel can't be commanded by a younger man since he'd also be lower ranked.

it was basically a mess.

Season 9 and 10 were very messy because they tried to make the show and its characters so much that happened to also be contradictory and just made the whole show a giant oxymoron mess.

Vala had promise. Coop came up with a good idea, but the execution was poor. And, unfortunately, it didn't matter if she got oodles and oodles of air time and lines, being 'good' isn't defined by how much air time you have but what you do with it.

[terminator]

I somewhat warmed up to the character just a bit through repeated viewings but ending SG-1's 10 year run should have seen a build-up toward the end, much like season 8 with Reckoning 1-2, Threads, then Mobeius 1-2. Unending was pretty good but that god-awful episode with Vala's dad running a bingo scam at the old-folks home as episode 18 or 19 out of 20 was not a proud stargate moment.

[Snowman37]

When the show was cancelled, it caught everyone completely off guard. Everyone thought the show was returning for an 11th season. That's why it seems to end so abruptly. Naturally, MGM made up for this with the two movies.

[gateraid]

That's not necessarily true. There were plenty of options...

#1: Stay on SG-1, appear once or a few times on Atlantis. (what actually happened)

#2: Stay on SG-1 (the team), but as a special guest star. She appears in about ten episodes. Her absences are explained away as helping the Atlantis Expedition. On Atlantis, she is paired up with McKay in a recurring role as an SGC asset sent in for problems that the McKay-Zelenka duo cannot handle on their own. I'm not sure how this would work without making McKay look #2 to Carter or reducing Zelenka's role.

#3: Carter is given command of a ship, something that eventually happened. I suspect it would be the Odyssey. I wouldn't be surprised given it's large role in Season 10 and Mitch Pileggi's (Caldwell) reduced availability.

#4: Carter's no longer affiliated with SG-1 but rather the SGC. She's simply sent where needed. This could mean helping SG-1, helping Atlantis, commanding the Odyssey, coordinating from an off world base, and so on.

There are other options, but you get the idea. It's not fair to the producers and writers to say they didn't have a clue. The simple answer: they hadn't reached a decision.

The first three I've heard before. The problem with #2 is what you've pointed out - it makes Rodney look dumber by comparison, which I assume is why they didn't go down that path. However, I thought her treatment of him in The Pegasus Project was more realistic of someone of her expertise, and rank especially - she 'managed' him a bit more than when she was on Atlantis. What you've suggested could have worked - the one time they had her do something vaguely scientific in Quarantine, she made Zelenka look like a bit of a fool, without (IMO) making her look arrogant.

#3 has been discussed in the past. I understand (from GW, not officially) there has pretty much been talk of moving Carter over every year. She was supposed to go on the original mission (I'm not sure how that would have worked - would she be the Sheppard character, Weir, or McKay??), again after s8 (presumably she would have been in command of the Deadalus) and the intended end of SG-1, then various options for s9/10 (including command of the Odyssey with her being the bridge between the series). IMO, the problem with this is that is weakens AT's "brand". If she's only being seen here and there then she becomes a little irrelevant, almost an add on.

#4 is an interesting idea. It's probably the most practical for story purposes, so long as they didn't come up with a convoluted excuse for her being there each time.

There's also:

#5 have her be General Landry's Chief of Staff, and help out on missions on an "as needed" basis. This would likely be fairly boring though

You're forgetting that the shows aired back-to-back on the same network and night. 20 episodes is 20 episodes, no?

Unless people only watch one show. And I would assume regular recurring, or special guest star, would likely result in less pay too.

I liked Vala, but as for Mitchell... I'll agree. Let him lead the team until Carter returns, then have him surrender leadership to her. Why couldn't Amanda Tapping have gotten top billing with Carter as team leader? She can't star in SG-1, but she can star in Sanctuary? Both shows on the same network. Nonsense.

As much as I love Carter, I think viewers would probably drop with her as the lead character. There are people who genuinely dislike her - mary sue, unbelievable, bland etc - and wouldn't be interested in watching a show revolving around her. Look at the way O'Neill needled Ba'al in s8 - Carter just shrugged and got on with her job. And even when she was in charge, she didn't go out of her way to showcase her leadership - the tag scene in Zero Hour made me cringe (this from a Carter fan)

Have you been watching Atlantis? The fourth season of that show answers the question of what would happen if Carter had been promoted out of SG-1.

....and out of a front line team into a mostly administrative position. They didn't know what to do with her there either, although I suspect they would have made a better fist of it in s5 had AT stayed on.

This had more to do with the network's idea/ideal that a show like stargate needed a MALE lead. After all action adventure,gotta have a man in charge.

the whole 'co-leaders' mess was a result of this. Skiffy saying the show needed a male lead, tptb trying to make him youthful and 'fun', hten having to reconcile that, with Carter in the show, he can't be youthful and fun and still be the 'lead' because, to them/skiffy, being the lead meant being in charge but a 10 year veteran and lt colonel can't be commanded by a younger man since he'd also be lower ranked.

The co-leaders thing wasn't helped by episodes like Stronghold, where it appeared as if she was in charge of the mission (wtf - wouldn't Cam be leading the mission, with her stepping up as leader of SG-1?). As much as I would have objected to it at the time (I probably would have stopped watching), removing Carter from SG-1 probably would have been better for her character.

it was basically a mess.

Season 9 and 10 were very messy because they tried to make the show and its characters so much that happened to also be contradictory and just made the whole show a giant oxymoron mess.

Vala had promise. Coop came up with a good idea, but the execution was poor. And, unfortunately, it didn't matter if she got oodles and oodles of air time and lines, being 'good' isn't defined by how much air time you have but what you do with it.

It didn't help - this is the problem with a 10 year old show - that some of her stories were just old Carter stories. It's interesting to look at the variation though - compare Jolinar's Memories to The Powers That Be. One is dark(ish), the other is dealt with as a comedy.

[LT. COL. John Sheppard]

does anyone care that she was Aussie???????