Was Greer a Marine?
- Thread starter USS Kongo
- Start date
Did you watch SGU all the way through?
You are definitely correct about his character early on, I wanted to see him killed off real bad for the first season (maybe even first season and a half) but, he changed alot over the course of the 2 Seasons, and I actually liked him by the time it ended.
Nope. I watched the initial 10 episodes as they aired. When they did the mid-season cliffhanger with the Trainspotting guy left behind on the planet, I gave up on it.
When I was out for a few months on medical leave, I watched the second half of the first season via Netflix streaming. It never did get any better.
I know, people have said "but it needs a few seasons to get really good" ... but the production team already had fifteen seasons behind them. I gave it a fair chance, that was more than sufficient.
I will say this ... Brian J Smith is a hottie. His shirtless scenes were the one saving grace of the first season.
Yea, I wasn't really interested in at all for the whole of the first season, only had it on for background noise, didn't expect anything out of it. The last 10 episodes, though, they did finally find their footing, and they were actually almost all pretty good. It's a shame those 10 episodes weren't the second half of S1, if they were, the show may have gone on to be great, but, sadly, taking 1 1/2 seasons to become entertaining is just too long.
Season 1 had a few great moments...but it was very hit-and-miss. The last few episodes of Season 2, though, ranked right up there with the best episodes in SG-1 and SGA. Personally, I think it was because they found their sense of humor again.
It was often mentioned. Like when Wray took over and assigned Airmen instead of "his Marines" to a gate mission. Also except when the Lieutenant was being snarky he was never addressed as Master Sergeant as a Marine NCO would be. I have speculated that because of the actor's young age the character may have started out as an USAF Master Sergeant before they made him an USMC Master Sergeant
Yeah, that kind of annoyed me, too. If Greer was around the same age as his actor (27 at the time), he probably should have only been, at most, a Staff Sergeant. It takes most Marines about a decade just to get that far, and that's still two ranks below Master Sergeant.
But that's not the first time I've seen a TV show give a military character an unrealistic rank. So I've gotten used to it over the years.
Master Sergeant has become the go to rank after the long abuse of "gunny". I guess it helps that it is an Army, Air Force and Marine rank. There was recently a baby Army First/Master Sergeant on In Plain Sight. And then the JAG Colonel had the gall to call him Sergeant and not First Sergeant or "top"
Actually, they did start to refer to Greer as "Master Sergeant" somewhat frequently in season 2. I know in the episode where the Lucian Alliance attack Homeworld Command, both Telford and Wray address him as such.
The Air Force officers calling him Sergeant I can let slide due to Air Force officers not being used to Marine Corps customs. Greer letting them do it is what's out of place. Any self respecting devil dog NCO will respectfully correct someone of a higher rank and dress down anyone below them for the mistake.
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It's possible the writers themselves simply weren't all that familiar with the Marine Corps. Though there have been Marine characters on SG-1 and Atlantis, the Air Force was always the primary military presence in the Stargate franchise, and thus the one the writers were most familiar with. Hell, they even had an Air Force consultant back on SG-1.
Of course, even back when they did have Marine characters on the other shows, tey weren't always consistent about it. Back in the early days, SG-3 was supposed to be a Marine unit, but by season 8 became Air Force. Most glaring was Sgt. Bates on Atlantis, who was clearly a Marine since his uniform said "USMC." But when they brought him back in season 4 he talks about being discharged from the Air Force.
Of course, even back when they did have Marine characters on the other shows, tey weren't always consistent about it. Back in the early days, SG-3 was supposed to be a Marine unit, but by season 8 became Air Force. Most glaring was Sgt. Bates on Atlantis, who was clearly a Marine since his uniform said "USMC." But when they brought him back in season 4 he talks about being discharged from the Air Force.
Most likely true. However looking at Stargate as a military, as oppose to US Air Force franchise we ask how could they miss, JAG/NCIS didn't mess up nor The Unit. It is not like In Plain Sight where a soldier turns up once in four years so when they miss things like how we talk and wear the uniform, it is not as glaring or nit picked.
Wasn't the entire first season all ready shot and edited by the time the howls went up about the disrespect of Master Sergeant Greer shown by Air Force and Marine characters?
Blegh, don't remind me. I come from an Air Force family (my father and both of my grandfathers served), but even I found the Air Force-centric nature of SG-1/SGA to be ridiculous. In a more realistic setting, the SGC would more likely have been a multi-service operation with much larger presences from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Of course, the real-life explanation for it is because the Air Force consulted on the shows. But still, it just irks me.
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