SG1 and the shark
Jul. 25th, 2006 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ivyficSG1 has jumped the shark. I think it's safe to say that. I'm always hesitant to pick a moment when a show jumps the shark because to me that usually means that after episode X, there is nothing worth watching. With Stargate, even long after I'd say it jumped the shark, there continue to be episodes definitely worth repeat viewing. But when the show started there was some essential spark that was lost a long time ago -- I'd posit as early as season 3.
When the show started, what was most appealing to me was the notion of a cast of characters in our contemporary world dealing with a galaxy that they can't begin to comprehend. They haven't a freaking clue what they're doing, they have no frame of reference, they're just throwing themselves out there.
After nine seasons, that's clearly no longer the case. Not only do they know glaactic politics, they are one of the most powerful forces in the galaxy. They've overthrown the Goa'uld, helped found a Jaffa nation, eradicated the Replicators, saved the Asgard, (accidentally)wiped out the Tollans and the Tok'ra, blown up a sun or two... Just by nature of having to tell nine seasons worth of stories, that vast unknowable galaxy has been completely learned. Hello, shark.
Another part of the early spark that they've lost is the innocence of the characters. In season 1, each of the characters has an arc. (Well, except for Sam. I personally think Sam is a badly-written exposition dummy, but that's a whole different rant.) Jack is dealing with the death of his son and loss of his wife (though this is tossed aside pretty early), and is having some problems reintegrating with the military. Teal'c is not only going through culture shock but has to accept his role as a traitor and what that means to the family he left behind (an arc acted almost entirely through statue-like glares). Daniel is dealing with the loss of his wife but is also the focal point for the debate about the goals of the Stargate program: cultural and historical research vs. military goals. He argues strongly for being ambassadors to the new worlds and helping them improve their condition through knowledge at the same time that he is perhaps most invested in finding the quickest way possible to defeat the Goa'uld.
This leads to fumbling. In early episodes, Daniel lets his emotions cloud his judgment repeatedly (shooting the Goa'uld larvae, though they are defenseless; putting all his faith in Kendra in Thor's Hammer because he wants to see his wife in her). Teal'c has a hard time fitting into the team: in The Broca Divide, he lets Daniel get captured because he's not used to dealing with someone with that little military training. He then fails at negotiating with the locals and resorts to brute force.
In season 1, even an episode with a piece of crap plot like Broca Divide has other things going for it. Is this a cheap rip-off of Star Trek's The Naked Time? Yes. Is there a touching heart-to-heart talk featuring Richard Dean Anderson in prosthetics acting like a monkey? Unfortunately, yes. But there's also debate about the role of the Stargate, serious screw-ups on almost everybody's part, banter, learning... Whereas when you get an episode in season 10 with a piece of crap plot (like, say, Morpheus) there is nothing else there to be interested by.
SG1 had lost most of this novelty by the end of season 3. The team functions as a unit, they know about their galaxy and the challenges they face. It's easiest to see the change through the seasons by looking at Daniel. While he was incredibly emotionally fragile in early seasons, by the time he's lost his wife, found and lost his wife's son, died, ascended and come back from the dead (again), he is a completely competent, stable, sage-like figure. There used to be a bit of worry every time Daniel went off on his own -- he could, and often did, get himself in serious trouble. Now you'd trust this guy with infiltrating a meeting of all the powerful Goa'ulds with no back-up without a second thought. Is he a guy I'd want watching my back? Yes. Is he a guy I want to watch? Not so much anymore. All he's got going for him is the pretty.
SG1's like a pair of really old shorts -- the elastic has been completely shot and it's looking a little threadbare. I don't think there's anything to be done about this. The show's just lasted far longer than its premise could support. But as I said above, even after it lost that spark I first loved, it has continued to deliver enjoyable episodes, so I'm happy to see it keep going. Thank goodness there's Atlantis to remind me what it's like to be surprised by what happens in a Stargate episode.
When the show started, what was most appealing to me was the notion of a cast of characters in our contemporary world dealing with a galaxy that they can't begin to comprehend. They haven't a freaking clue what they're doing, they have no frame of reference, they're just throwing themselves out there.
After nine seasons, that's clearly no longer the case. Not only do they know glaactic politics, they are one of the most powerful forces in the galaxy. They've overthrown the Goa'uld, helped found a Jaffa nation, eradicated the Replicators, saved the Asgard, (accidentally)wiped out the Tollans and the Tok'ra, blown up a sun or two... Just by nature of having to tell nine seasons worth of stories, that vast unknowable galaxy has been completely learned. Hello, shark.
Another part of the early spark that they've lost is the innocence of the characters. In season 1, each of the characters has an arc. (Well, except for Sam. I personally think Sam is a badly-written exposition dummy, but that's a whole different rant.) Jack is dealing with the death of his son and loss of his wife (though this is tossed aside pretty early), and is having some problems reintegrating with the military. Teal'c is not only going through culture shock but has to accept his role as a traitor and what that means to the family he left behind (an arc acted almost entirely through statue-like glares). Daniel is dealing with the loss of his wife but is also the focal point for the debate about the goals of the Stargate program: cultural and historical research vs. military goals. He argues strongly for being ambassadors to the new worlds and helping them improve their condition through knowledge at the same time that he is perhaps most invested in finding the quickest way possible to defeat the Goa'uld.
This leads to fumbling. In early episodes, Daniel lets his emotions cloud his judgment repeatedly (shooting the Goa'uld larvae, though they are defenseless; putting all his faith in Kendra in Thor's Hammer because he wants to see his wife in her). Teal'c has a hard time fitting into the team: in The Broca Divide, he lets Daniel get captured because he's not used to dealing with someone with that little military training. He then fails at negotiating with the locals and resorts to brute force.
In season 1, even an episode with a piece of crap plot like Broca Divide has other things going for it. Is this a cheap rip-off of Star Trek's The Naked Time? Yes. Is there a touching heart-to-heart talk featuring Richard Dean Anderson in prosthetics acting like a monkey? Unfortunately, yes. But there's also debate about the role of the Stargate, serious screw-ups on almost everybody's part, banter, learning... Whereas when you get an episode in season 10 with a piece of crap plot (like, say, Morpheus) there is nothing else there to be interested by.
SG1 had lost most of this novelty by the end of season 3. The team functions as a unit, they know about their galaxy and the challenges they face. It's easiest to see the change through the seasons by looking at Daniel. While he was incredibly emotionally fragile in early seasons, by the time he's lost his wife, found and lost his wife's son, died, ascended and come back from the dead (again), he is a completely competent, stable, sage-like figure. There used to be a bit of worry every time Daniel went off on his own -- he could, and often did, get himself in serious trouble. Now you'd trust this guy with infiltrating a meeting of all the powerful Goa'ulds with no back-up without a second thought. Is he a guy I'd want watching my back? Yes. Is he a guy I want to watch? Not so much anymore. All he's got going for him is the pretty.
SG1's like a pair of really old shorts -- the elastic has been completely shot and it's looking a little threadbare. I don't think there's anything to be done about this. The show's just lasted far longer than its premise could support. But as I said above, even after it lost that spark I first loved, it has continued to deliver enjoyable episodes, so I'm happy to see it keep going. Thank goodness there's Atlantis to remind me what it's like to be surprised by what happens in a Stargate episode.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-26 04:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-26 05:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-26 05:58 pm (UTC)It would've been a great tool to have Daniel have to go back and reevaluate the whole universe after seeing it through Cam's eyes. To realize how much he himself had changed in 10 years...
But sigh, they won't let me write for the show so I'm forced to just watch it die...