Ten Things I Know...

Ten Important Things I Know About Stargate: SG-1
By: Tenaya

1) USE THE STARGATE. The show is called Stargate: SG-1. The audience is choosing to watch this show, the one that is clearly labeled as containing both a Stargate and SG-1, so I think we can take it as a given that both the writers and the viewers should be okay with the use of the Stargate. It's a doorway that can take the story and our team anywhere, so I have to ask: Why are there now so many Earth based stories? I actually had a strong pang of fond nostalgia when SG-13 was shown exiting the Stargate in Heroes Part 1, and I thought, "Ohhhh! I remember when SG-1 used to do that! That was so fun!"

2) THE SHOW DOESN'T WORK WITHOUT DANIEL JACKSON. Why do I bring this up now that he's back? Because, as a rule, Hollywood is contemptuous of their audience, feeling that they only deed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, the not-too-brights. There was a ground swell of support to bring back Daniel because this audience, the one that watches your show, knew Daniel was important.

Now, after Season Six has been seen, most folks agree that Daniel really does need to be on SG: SG-1 for it to work. And those that can't bring themselves to actually say that, will mutter something about, "The show seemed to be missing something." I bring all this up to prove the point that you should listen to what your viewers are saying...even if their opinions don't concur with your own.

3) VILLAINS NEED TO BE PERSONAL TO BE GOOD. Apophis worked as a villain because both Teal'c and Daniel had personal issues and a history with him. Kinsey is great because he is a very real threat to what the audience loves about your show (the Stargate and SG-1.) Other excellent villains were Hathor, Tanith and Ba'al. Currently, you have Anubis who is robed and faceless; you might as well just hang a sign on him that says, "Insert generic villain here." His dialogue is also generic and clichéd. I forget he's in the show until you have a character remind me. Your Super Soldiers are also generic and faceless. Remember, Bill Murray in Caddyshack? Was he fighting a gopher with a personality or a hill of ants? Conflict without characterizations is pretty bland and easily forgettable.

4) DR. JANET AND GENERAL HAMMOND. The Stargate storyline is delightful because it's epic and mythic, fitting with ease into the monomyth of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with the Thousand Faces. Janet and Hammond are archetypes of the Mother and Father. Janet protects and nurtures our heroes. Hammond is the most wonderful father figure one could have: brave, wise, protective, compassionate, hard when he needs to be, and shown to be loving of his "children." Between the two of them, they made the SGC a safe haven for both SG-1 and the viewers.

Apparently, Season 8 will be minus them. I have to ask, have the writers considered the vacuum these two will have left? And are they working to restore some balance to the equation now that two of their major supporting characters have been removed? And I'll add that as a viewer, I will very much miss both Janet and Hammond.

5) THE SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION OF THE SHOW'S MYTHOS. Every other show out there collects guest characters as time goes by. SF shows will also collect new worlds and civilizations. These things add richness and depth to the storylines and frankly, the viewers like the return of a good character. I have never seen a show so determined to destroy all the wealth of their background. Pretty near everyone SG-1 have ever met or worked with are dead or long forgotten. These were your riches, not loose ends to be tied up and killed off.

6) TEAL'C IS UNDERUSED. Teal'c is a wonderful character and Christopher Judge is an excellent actor. You would think the writers would love to explore the character of Teal'c and let Judge strut his stuff. It's a major crime that the only time this happens any more is when Judge gets to write the scripts himself. That is so sad and such a waste. Thankfully, Judge is getting to be quite an accomplished writer. The viewers got lucky there.

7) THE LACK OF JACK. It's noticeable and it affects the quality of the stories. I understand that this situation can't be helped and we'll all just have to deal with it as best we can. I will say that some episodes have managed to use his limited time much more effectively, so hopefully this unevenness was just a learning curve of a difficult situation and Season 8 with be smoother yet. Remember, Jack is most enjoyable when he shares his scenes with the other team members, not transient guest stars.

8) TALKING DIRECTLY TO YOUR AUDIENCE. This is intrusive and irritating. It does no good if you have to have multiple characters stating that Jonas is a good man and a part of the team, but you never show it. You keep telling us that Anubis is big and bad and scary, but you've never shown it. I don't mind when exposition is used to cover stuff that would be boring to film, but for the big stuff? Show, not tell.

9) SAM AND JACK. This has become the smelliest of albatrosses to have ever hung around someone's neck. The scenes lately have been painfully awkward to watch. There are so many reasons to not go there, but it's obvious that someone high up thinks it's just great, despite the monstrous inertia against it. Society has multiple laws against sexual relationships between a superior and subordinate for good reason. Jack would be no "officer and gentleman" if he engaged in a relationship with Carter and he'd be court-martialed. Sam would never again be taken seriously by the USAF and her career would be at an end. I was horrified to see in "Inauguration," that during an investigation of the SGC, the President and Vice President were discussing the Sam and Jack Relationship, because in Real Life, what would've followed, would've been highly unpleasant and destroyed them both.

10) SAM. I used to like Sam Carter. She was a bit over the top in the first few episodes, but then she settled down to be an interesting character. She was bright and an over-achiever, but Amanda Tapping played her in such a way that she was believable. She was a cool, dynamic female character that wasn't just on the show for her T&A. Season 4 hinted that she had a thing for her commanding officer, and that lessened her, pushing her towards the stereotype where the woman's main value comes from her being the leading man's girl. Sam deserved better than that. Season 5 and 6 made her expert at everything, exposition girl and 99% infallible. Again, she lost believability and Sam deserved better than that.

In the current season, she did some self-searching about her fixation on her boss and decided, in a whole episode dedicated to this epiphany, to move on. She got herself a handsome and fun boyfriend, Pete, who managed to bring back some vitality to her character. She actually looked ten years younger than she does when she is mooning after O'Neill. Strangely, in the episodes since Pete, she seems to still be hovering around O'Neill, and in the season ender, The Lost City, Part 2, she behaved in such a way that my Needs-a-Therapist-Badly meter just hit the peg.

I think Sam has serious control issues when it comes to intimate relationships. Think back to when Sam shows the most interest and emotion for her romantic interests. She's grief-stricken when Martouf dies in Divide and Conquer, Orlin dies in Ascension, and Narim is killed in Between Two Fires. When Daniel dies in Meridian, she sobs regretfully that she never told him how she really felt. And when does she really show her intense feelings for O'Neill? When he is presumed lost on both 100 Days and Paradise Lost. When he's shot and unconscious in Heroes Part 2. When he's dying of a fatal disease and being put in stasis in both Frozen and The Lost City Part 2. All of these moments have one thing in common: she's safe to emote because the object of her feelings is either dying or being put in a situation where she won't have to deal with the flesh and blood man anymore.

The Lost City was the final straw and made me immediately think of those women that like to marry men locked away in prison for life. Sam has a boyfriend, but seeing O'Neill being put away in stasis was like a heroin to a junky; she just couldn't resist. He's now the perfect man, completely safe to love as she will never have to deal with the strong, sometimes difficult, sarcastic Jack in real life, the fine officer that would never break regulations and destroy both of their careers. And apparently Pete is forgotten like he didn't exist, or discarded as a casual one-night stand.

In The First Commandment, it was hinted that Sam's ex-fiancé was abusive towards her; maybe she needs to find a good therapist to deal with some lingering issues. And maybe the writers need to rehab Sam back into the interesting character she was in the earlier seasons, instead of the sad, unsettling character she is now.

Posted by Dana Jeanne at April 22, 2004 03:30 AM