Reflections on SG1

[TheSubCommander]

SG1 is one of my all time favorite series, not just sci fi. The thing I liked about it the best was the fact that they had great story arcs and kept the mythology pretty damned consistent, often recalling earlier episodes, while still remaining episodic. The cast had a chemistry that rivals even the TOS and TNG cast, and arguably they even mesh better and seem more natural when interacting with one another. Even when Browder and Claudia Black joined the cast. In fact I didn't see Farscape until after SG1, so that was actually my first exposure to those actors. Probably the only real complaints I have is I personally liked Jonas Quinn, and wished we had more of him appearing in the series as a recurring character after season 6. Also, I thought killing off Dr Frasier (that one really upset me).

SGA went through some drastic cast changes. I liked it when Ronon joined the team, and seasons 1-3 were the best seasons, IMHO. It really hurt the show, when they replaced DR Weir with Sam Carter, and killed Dr Beckett. I don't know what to believe: if Higginson left because of that, or if Amanda Tapping was merely brought in to fill the void left by Higginson (I have heard both stories). I love Sam Carter as a character, but she seemed shoe horned in a bit in some episodes, but I could have lived with it all if they had brought Weir back.

As for Beckett, I was glad they brought him back, albeit in clone form (almost doing what should have been done with Tom Riker), but I didn't like the fact he was then relegated to just a recurring role. At least they had him in the series finale.

Finally, regarding SGU, I never caught it in first run. At the time it seemed a BSG knock off, but when I did get around to binge watching it a while back, I actually enjoyed it. Maybe not as well as the other two shows, but I'd been on board for a few more seasons. Certainly at least to resolve the season 2 cliff hanger, anyway.

 

[Tim Walker]

I didn't particularly like Universe, but I will concede that they did some interesting science fiction stuff. Such as aerobraking in the atmosphere of a gas giant, and skimming over the surface of a red dwarf. Or depicting a herd of alien animals.

 

[MacLeod]

SG1 is one of my all time favorite series, not just sci fi. The thing I liked about it the best was the fact that they had great story arcs and kept the mythology pretty damned consistent, often recalling earlier episodes, while still remaining episodic. The cast had a chemistry that rivals even the TOS and TNG cast, and arguably they even mesh better and seem more natural when interacting with one another. Even when Browder and Claudia Black joined the cast. In fact I didn't see Farscape until after SG1, so that was actually my first exposure to those actors. Probably the only real complaints I have is I personally liked Jonas Quinn, and wished we had more of him appearing in the series as a recurring character after season 6. Also, I thought killing off Dr Frasier (that one really upset me).

SGA went through some drastic cast changes. I liked it when Ronon joined the team, and seasons 1-3 were the best seasons, IMHO. It really hurt the show, when they replaced DR Weir with Sam Carter, and killed Dr Beckett. I don't know what to believe: if Higginson left because of that, or if Amanda Tapping was merely brought in to fill the void left by Higginson (I have heard both stories). I love Sam Carter as a character, but she seemed shoe horned in a bit in some episodes, but I could have lived with it all if they had brought Weir back.

As for Beckett, I was glad they brought him back, albeit in clone form (almost doing what should have been done with Tom Riker), but I didn't like the fact he was then relegated to just a recurring role. At least they had him in the series finale.

Finally, regarding SGU, I never caught it in first run. At the time it seemed a BSG knock off, but when I did get around to binge watching it a while back, I actually enjoyed it. Maybe not as well as the other two shows, but I'd been on board for a few more seasons. Certainly at least to resolve the season 2 cliff hanger, anyway.

SG-1 didn't do a bad job at being arc based whilst episodic at the same time. Sure it ehlped if you had seen the earlier episodes but the recap at the start of the episodes had all the key info you needed.

As for SG:A I don't think when they decided to kill of Beckett they realised how much of a negative fan reaction that would have.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

I remember when they killed Beckett. It was so...unexpected. I liked Atlantis, but I wasn't a rabid fan or really attached to certain characters. Even so, when that bomb exploded, I raised my eyebrows and went "No...they..."

And then I missed him. Of course Jewel Staite, being the ubercutie that she is, was a good replacement but that was a gutsy thing to do. I knew they'd bring him back at some point, as this was Stargate after all, but it did make me wonder if there was something going on with the production with the cast changes that came later on.

I also remember loathing the fact that they brought in Robert Picardo to replace Amanda Tapping (nothing against him, I just didn't like his character)...and then I started to like him! And I was like "Oh that's a brilliant move...he's as good as Weir." And then the show just kinda...ended. I wish we had gotten more of it.

 

[The Wormhole]

and the "invisible aliens took my baby" plotline was fairly horrible.

Well, that did turn out to be computer implanted memories to ease the pain of the baby's death.

 

[ATimson]

I also remember loathing the fact that they brought in Robert Picardo to replace Amanda Tapping (nothing against him, I just didn't like his character)...and then I started to like him! And I was like "Oh that's a brilliant move...he's as good as Weir." And then the show just kinda...ended. I wish we had gotten more of it.

You're not the only one.

They're obviously not canon, but there's a series of novels set after the Atlantis finale (called Legacy). I'd say they got the characters right and the Wraith culture wrong; but I can understand why they thought the changes were needed to make it work on the page. Either way, I still enjoyed them.

 

[Skywalker]

I actually really liked SGU. I agree that in the first half or so of season one it was trying way too hard to be more like BSG and less like Stargate, but in the latter half of the first season and especially in the second season the show dialed it back a little bit and finally found its own identity. It was going into some pretty interesting places and I'm still disappointing about its cancellation.

 

[ATimson]

I actually really liked SGU. I agree that in the first half or so of season one it was trying way too hard to be more like BSG and less like Stargate, but in the latter half of the first season and especially in the second season the show dialed it back a little bit and finally found its own identity.

Well, by that point I had already quit. And since S2 never came out on Blu-ray I couldn't give it another try if I wanted to.

 

[kirk55555]

I remember hating the pilot, so I basically ignored SGU. Then, I saw a random episode airing on SyFy, so I stayed on the channel and watched a bit. The military was basically in open conflict with the civilians. The military was obviously supposed to be the "bad guys" in the story, but I was cheering for them and basically hating the civilians. At that point, I knew I definitely didn't regret skipping the show.

 

[The Wormhole]

The military was obviously supposed to be the "bad guys" in the story, but I was cheering for them and basically hating the civilians.

It was in fact the civilians who were meant to be the antagonists of that episode, since the ringleader of the revolt against the military was Dr. Rush, who was at that time meant to be the shady bastard always up to no good. Admittedly, this was a reaction to Rush being exiled on another planet by Colonel Young, a move that made the other civilians somewhat uncomfortable about military leadership, but the storyline really needed to iron out the conflict a lot better than they did. One civilian character's arguments against the military being in charge is that in the US the military answers to a civilian government. All well and good, but it ignores the fact that civilians working for the military sign a contract stating they voluntarily accept the authority of their military CO. Which in this case would be Colonel Young. Even if you are stranded on the ass end of the universe, you're still under contract.

 

[ATimson]

One civilian character's arguments against the military being in charge is that in the US the military answers to a civilian government. All well and good, but it ignores the fact that civilians working for the military sign a contract stating they voluntarily accept the authority of their military CO. Which in this case would be Colonel Young. Even if you are stranded on the ass end of the universe, you're still under contract.

But were all the civilians on Icarus Base really under contract to the military? Or were they working for the IOA, a civilian organization, like all the civilians on Atlantis?

 

[kirk55555]

The military was obviously supposed to be the "bad guys" in the story, but I was cheering for them and basically hating the civilians.

It was in fact the civilians who were meant to be the antagonists of that episode, since the ringleader of the revolt against the military was Dr. Rush, who was at that time meant to be the shady bastard always up to no good. Admittedly, this was a reaction to Rush being exiled on another planet by Colonel Young, a move that made the other civilians somewhat uncomfortable about military leadership, but the storyline really needed to iron out the conflict a lot better than they did. One civilian character's arguments against the military being in charge is that in the US the military answers to a civilian government. All well and good, but it ignores the fact that civilians working for the military sign a contract stating they voluntarily accept the authority of their military CO. Which in this case would be Colonel Young. Even if you are stranded on the ass end of the universe, you're still under contract.

Well, that's interesting. It really did feel to me like the episode was trying to paint the civilians as the good guys,m but its nice to know they weren't. It still doesn't change my opinion on the show, but its definitely an interesting bit of information.

 

[Mr Light]

SG1 is in my top ten shows ever list, but I never cared for Atlantis. The Wraith were just horrible villains and everything was just a pale shadow of SG1. I think I watched the pilot of SG:U and never bothered past that.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

You're not the only one.

They're obviously not canon, but there's a series of novels set after the Atlantis finale (called Legacy). I'd say they got the characters right and the Wraith culture wrong; but I can understand why they thought the changes were needed to make it work on the page. Either way, I still enjoyed them.

Thanks. It's been a long time since I've read tie-in fiction, but I got the first book and I'm going to give it a shot. Not being canon doesn't bother me, since the property is all but dead. So if this is all we're going to get, at least I'll get to spend some more time with the characters.

 

[The Wormhole]

One civilian character's arguments against the military being in charge is that in the US the military answers to a civilian government. All well and good, but it ignores the fact that civilians working for the military sign a contract stating they voluntarily accept the authority of their military CO. Which in this case would be Colonel Young. Even if you are stranded on the ass end of the universe, you're still under contract.

But were all the civilians on Icarus Base really under contract to the military? Or were they working for the IOA, a civilian organization, like all the civilians on Atlantis?

Since Icarus was a US military base in which the civilians were working and living, it stands to reason they were contracted to the military. Remember, Atlantis was itself a civilian operation with a military presence to provide security. With Icarus being run by the US military, all the civilians there are typical civilian contractors, with the exception of Camille Wray, since she represents the IOA.

Regardless, none of the civilians seemed to mind the military being in charge on Icarus. Just because Icarus is destroyed and everyone is transported to a ship on the ass-end of the universe doesn't change circumstances that much. If the military was in charge on Icarus, they're still in charge on Destiny.

 

[MacLeod]

One civilian character's arguments against the military being in charge is that in the US the military answers to a civilian government. All well and good, but it ignores the fact that civilians working for the military sign a contract stating they voluntarily accept the authority of their military CO. Which in this case would be Colonel Young. Even if you are stranded on the ass end of the universe, you're still under contract.

But were all the civilians on Icarus Base really under contract to the military? Or were they working for the IOA, a civilian organization, like all the civilians on Atlantis?

Well the IOA is in charge of the entire stargate program,

Atlantis had a two civillians in charge (though it did for a while have military command)

For a time SGC had a civillian in charge

Now Icarus might have a military commander, but would the IOA allow Destiny to be under military command?

 

[The Wormhole]

One civilian character's arguments against the military being in charge is that in the US the military answers to a civilian government. All well and good, but it ignores the fact that civilians working for the military sign a contract stating they voluntarily accept the authority of their military CO. Which in this case would be Colonel Young. Even if you are stranded on the ass end of the universe, you're still under contract.

But were all the civilians on Icarus Base really under contract to the military? Or were they working for the IOA, a civilian organization, like all the civilians on Atlantis?

Well the IOA is in charge of the entire stargate program,

Atlantis had a two civillians in charge (though it did for a while have military command)

For a time SGC had a civillian in charge

Now Icarus might have a military commander, but would the IOA allow Destiny to be under military command?

They don't really have much of a choice in the matter, do they? Even if they did order Colonel Young to stand down, he could ignore them and there's no way they could enforce it.

 

[AntonyF]

^ I would have to disagree. I loved SG1, kinda liked Atlantis, but found SG:U to generally be trying far too hard to be "dark;" I recall people derisively calling it "Stargate: Galactica," and I felt that was rather accurate.

Agreed. As someone who enjoyed and watched all of SG1 and BSG, and enjoyed Atlantis albiet season threeish was dire... SG:U I lasted four episodes I think. It was so tryhard... but tryhard for shows that had been done a few years back.

And I want to die from sex with Brian J. Smith - but still... nope, gave in.

It really hurt the show, when they replaced DR Weir with Sam Carter, and killed Dr Beckett. I don't know what to believe: if Higginson left because of that, or if Amanda Tapping was merely brought in to fill the void left by Higginson (I have heard both stories). I love Sam Carter as a character, but she seemed shoe horned in a bit in some episodes, but I could have lived with it all if they had brought Weir back.

Higginson was definitely ousted, let there be no mistake about that. They just couldn't work out what to do with her character, then started tinkering with other leaders. I recall that I found Sam shoehorned,b but Walsey (spl) actually worked better and felt more normal even if I did miss Weir.

I feel she fell for mundane reasons... she's smart, she's clever... but she's not big-titted, not carrying guns, not sarcastic... what is she? They don't know how to deal with just clever women.

And Sam they did well with... but let's face it she still had got to go offsite and shoot people up, then fawn over Jack... she wasn't allowed to be purely diplomatic/intelligent.

I remember when they killed Beckett. It was so...unexpected.

Stargate does so many reset buttons that was lost on me. I yawned and waited... and like the boy who cried wolf it was just lost on me.

I also remember loathing the fact that they brought in Robert Picardo to replace Amanda Tapping (nothing against him, I just didn't like his character)...and then I started to like him! And I was like "Oh that's a brilliant move...he's as good as Weir." And then the show just kinda...ended. I wish we had gotten more of it.

Hee. I just wrote my above statement before reading this, but yeah as mentioned I agree. He felt like he worked.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Last time I watched through SG1, I flew through seasons 1-7 then after Avatar kinda stopped. The storylines weren't very original but the chemistry of the original cast was amazing and they were able to take entertaining spins on common tropes.

Seasons 2-3 is where it really picked up (Or specifically, end of season 1 with the There But For The Grace Of God - Serpent's Lair arc) and then it just kinda slowly got weaker and weaker. I found the Ori seasons nearly unwatchable. Season 7 ended on a perfect finale, then season 8 ended on three decent finales back to back. My SG1 watchthroughs terminate at Moebius.

My problem with the show as it went on is that they kept having to top themselves. At the beginning the enemies were comparable enough in strength to us for them to escape through intense ground battles and clever surgical attacks. As the show went on it relied more and more on "We must find the next ancient artifact!" because the main baddie was too powerful to fight with more interesting tactics. It was bad with Anubis and the Ori made it worse.

 

[JD]

I loved Atlantis, it was able to keep the feel of SG-1, but put it into an interesting ne location, with a great group of characters. I thought they Wraith were cool villains, and I will always be thankful to the show for introducing me to Christopher Heyerdahl, who was good on Sanctuary and is awesome on Hell on Wheels.
The switching up of leaders at the end of the show was annoying, but I was pretty happy with all of the people who took over in the end.
I honestly don't remember what I thought of Universe. I stopped watching part way through Season 1, but I can't remember if I just fell behind and was never able to catch up or if I actually didn't like it.