SciFi Friday!
Mar. 26th, 2005 04:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
corilannamAs soon as I finished (re)watching all the big episodes last night, my internet disappeared for, like, 15 hours. I'm pleased to report that I am almost recovered from the trauma. And fortunately, for once I actually took notes about what I meant to say about these episodes.
I have such incredibly mixed feelings about this episode. When I watch it just on a surface level (with determined handwaving), it was a lot of fun. When I try to look any deeper, I end up confused and kind of depressed. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm definitely viewing this as a series finale, not a season finale. So all of my reactions are on two levels: the Fan Reaction and the Fangirl Reaction.
I will demonstrate --
SG-1 in Ancient Egypt
Fan Reaction: Wow. You know, I'm not usually one to complain about the changes in Daniel's character over the course of the series, since I kind of like that he's almost as much warrior as scholar now. But still, I can't help but miss the old Daniel who would have been *freaking out* over actually *being* in ancient Egypt. He's way too calm here, although I enjoyed how he had his video camera out immediately.
Fangirl Reaction: GUH, they look tasty in the pseudo-ancient Egyptian robes. Every single one of them. Way hot. Oh yeah.
Alterna-Daniel and Sam
Fan Reaction: Wait, and what exactly did they change in the past that made Sam and Daniel turn out this way? Now, I can see Daniel ending up in this kind of professional situation if the gate had never been found, but Sam? Sam was already a military officer when the project started. Not finding the gate shouldn't have had any effect on the course of her life up to that point. If anything, I could see her as an embittered instructor at the Air Force Academy or something, but not like this. There's no reason for it.
Fangirl Reaction: The Wonder Dork Twins! OMG, so adorable. Instant kindred spirits in any universe. And is it awful to admit that although I find her unrealistic, I actually like Alterna-Sam way better than the current original version? Could we maybe keep her? Please?
Alterna-Jack
Fan Reaction: I make it a policy not to complain about whatever Jack screentime we can get these days, but I have to admit, if there had been no alterna-Jack, I would have been okay with that. He didn't serve much purpose other than to fly the jumper, and I think I might have liked it if it had turned out that alterna-Jack was dead. All that stored up RDA time could have been used elsewhere to greater effect. Or else it could have been Jack left alone in ancient Egypt while his team was killed. Ooh. I could have gone with that angst, no problem.
Fangirl Reaction: Jack! I love Jack, and alterna-Jack putting on his baseball cap next to everyone else in their helmets gave me a good moment of squee. And his reaction to Daniel's involuntary groping was priceless, as was his immediate need to reassert his heteronormativity with Sam afterwards.
Alterna-Hammond
Fan Reaction: Hammond! I adore you in any universe. "Under no circumstances is it to be used to travel through time." Hee. Infinitely flexible in his worldview, that's our general.
Fangirl Reaction: see above. There is no ambiguity in my love for Hammond.
Children of the Gods
Fan Reaction: While I really liked the feeling of coming full circle in the series (especially when viewing this as a series ending), if this is my last episode with SG-1, I wanted more time with the SG-1 who have been through eight years of hell together, who love and trust each other on a level that few other people on the planet can understand. Here we're back to a group of four strangers, thrown together in an unlikely but cool alliance to defeat evil. Excellent, but... I miss them.
Fangirl Reaction: Dude, way cool with all the COTG and movie call outs. I especially liked the music, which did the most to instantly sweep me back to the beginning, when everything was epic and orchestral.
Alterna-Apophis
Fan Reaction: Was it just me, or was it kind of...odd to see alterna-Daniel with alterna-Apophis? I mean, every time they ever saw each other in the series, there was that amazing tension built from their deep hatred and peculiar romantic rivalry. Here I found myself automatically reaching for that tension and coming up completely empty, because there's nothing there. No history, no knowledge, nothing much interesting at all.
Fangirl Reaction: Apophis is a damn sexy bastard in any universe. Liking the facial hair a lot. And great amusement at poor Daniel getting the hand device treatment *again*. He just can't catch a break in a bucket.
Teal'c killing Daniel
Fan Reaction: Hey, is this the first time Daniel has ever been Goa'ulded? I could have sworn that he was the only one of SG-1 to never have a symbiote inside him for any reason. I would have liked to see that track record broken in a more meaningful way, but oh well.
Fangirl Reaction: Really love that that instinctive, fundamental trust between Jack and Teal'c is still there, even if a little slower off the mark this time. Also, hee! Daniel died again! That never gets old.
Sort of alterna-team in Ancient Egypt
Fan Reaction: Oh my God, this is so depressing. Our Daniel watched the rest of his team be executed, and now he's been living alone amongst the Egyptians for five years when suddenly these people who are but aren't his friends show up. No wonder he seems so emotionally closed down. I just want to cry. If we'd actually gotten to see SG-1 die, I don't doubt I'd still be crying now. I dearly wish they'd shown us more of the original team in Egypt and exactly what they did to change things. In fact, I really wish they'd just made all of part 1 about that, and confined the alterna-stuff to part 2.
Fangirl Reaction: Poor, angsty Daniel. I want fanfic about him (and SG-1 in Egypt generally) so badly it hurts. Even though this Teal'c has no history with Daniel, I got shivers when he said "Trust me." Boy, they managed to make that resonate. And how much did I squee when Sam said she had a thing for Daniel? A lot, that's how much. Of course, then they ruined it, but I prefer to believe she wasn't really lying. She just decided that she wanted to get laid before she died, and Jack was her last, best chance. And really, not a bad deal, either. While normally I ick out at all things Sam/Jack, the sparkage was incredibly funny. As, of course, was Jack thinking Daniel was gay. Since the alterna-team is stuck there for the rest of their lives, that must have made a fun little triangle. At some point, origi-Daniel and alterna-Jack have a conversation about the origi-J/D relationship, and man, I want to read that.
So overall, I am both gleeful and wholly unsatisfied with these episodes. I should probably get medication for that, but instead I'm just going to go look for the Moebius-based fanfic which must surely be out there already, right? And at the very least, just the fact that the Ancients had time travel technology and the hijinks they got up to with it makes me feel much better about the wackiness level of my own time travel WIP.
As for the new SG that's coming -- the promo wasn't quite enough to get me squeeing just yet, but it did whet my appetite. At the very least, Ben Browder in uniform. Can you really go wrong with that?
Just a few thoughts here --
*To my Atlantis-obsessed friends, upon viewing the ending: I am so sorry. I feel your pain. I hope July comes quickly.
*Okay, I give up. I see the Sheppard/McKay. It's right there. Dammit. I must still be feverish.
*Did they seriously kill the cute British guy? He never had enough lines in the first place!
*Nothing better happen to my boy Ford. Grrr.
I am so very glad that this episode finally aired here, because it is my very favorite episode of the entire season (other than the last 15 minutes of next week).
Everyone's been commenting on the teaser, so I don't have much new to say about it. But I will say that that teaser perfectly embodies absolutely everything I love about this series. The quiet solemnity, the lyricism, the relationships, the visual flow and beauty, the use of color and camera and music. It's a gorgeous show, and it's all right there in those five minutes. I long ago lost count of how many times I've watched just that part.
At least we still have next week, and then it'll be a long hiatus until July. Sigh.
I have such incredibly mixed feelings about this episode. When I watch it just on a surface level (with determined handwaving), it was a lot of fun. When I try to look any deeper, I end up confused and kind of depressed. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm definitely viewing this as a series finale, not a season finale. So all of my reactions are on two levels: the Fan Reaction and the Fangirl Reaction.
I will demonstrate --
SG-1 in Ancient Egypt
Fan Reaction: Wow. You know, I'm not usually one to complain about the changes in Daniel's character over the course of the series, since I kind of like that he's almost as much warrior as scholar now. But still, I can't help but miss the old Daniel who would have been *freaking out* over actually *being* in ancient Egypt. He's way too calm here, although I enjoyed how he had his video camera out immediately.
Fangirl Reaction: GUH, they look tasty in the pseudo-ancient Egyptian robes. Every single one of them. Way hot. Oh yeah.
Alterna-Daniel and Sam
Fan Reaction: Wait, and what exactly did they change in the past that made Sam and Daniel turn out this way? Now, I can see Daniel ending up in this kind of professional situation if the gate had never been found, but Sam? Sam was already a military officer when the project started. Not finding the gate shouldn't have had any effect on the course of her life up to that point. If anything, I could see her as an embittered instructor at the Air Force Academy or something, but not like this. There's no reason for it.
Fangirl Reaction: The Wonder Dork Twins! OMG, so adorable. Instant kindred spirits in any universe. And is it awful to admit that although I find her unrealistic, I actually like Alterna-Sam way better than the current original version? Could we maybe keep her? Please?
Alterna-Jack
Fan Reaction: I make it a policy not to complain about whatever Jack screentime we can get these days, but I have to admit, if there had been no alterna-Jack, I would have been okay with that. He didn't serve much purpose other than to fly the jumper, and I think I might have liked it if it had turned out that alterna-Jack was dead. All that stored up RDA time could have been used elsewhere to greater effect. Or else it could have been Jack left alone in ancient Egypt while his team was killed. Ooh. I could have gone with that angst, no problem.
Fangirl Reaction: Jack! I love Jack, and alterna-Jack putting on his baseball cap next to everyone else in their helmets gave me a good moment of squee. And his reaction to Daniel's involuntary groping was priceless, as was his immediate need to reassert his heteronormativity with Sam afterwards.
Alterna-Hammond
Fan Reaction: Hammond! I adore you in any universe. "Under no circumstances is it to be used to travel through time." Hee. Infinitely flexible in his worldview, that's our general.
Fangirl Reaction: see above. There is no ambiguity in my love for Hammond.
Children of the Gods
Fan Reaction: While I really liked the feeling of coming full circle in the series (especially when viewing this as a series ending), if this is my last episode with SG-1, I wanted more time with the SG-1 who have been through eight years of hell together, who love and trust each other on a level that few other people on the planet can understand. Here we're back to a group of four strangers, thrown together in an unlikely but cool alliance to defeat evil. Excellent, but... I miss them.
Fangirl Reaction: Dude, way cool with all the COTG and movie call outs. I especially liked the music, which did the most to instantly sweep me back to the beginning, when everything was epic and orchestral.
Alterna-Apophis
Fan Reaction: Was it just me, or was it kind of...odd to see alterna-Daniel with alterna-Apophis? I mean, every time they ever saw each other in the series, there was that amazing tension built from their deep hatred and peculiar romantic rivalry. Here I found myself automatically reaching for that tension and coming up completely empty, because there's nothing there. No history, no knowledge, nothing much interesting at all.
Fangirl Reaction: Apophis is a damn sexy bastard in any universe. Liking the facial hair a lot. And great amusement at poor Daniel getting the hand device treatment *again*. He just can't catch a break in a bucket.
Teal'c killing Daniel
Fan Reaction: Hey, is this the first time Daniel has ever been Goa'ulded? I could have sworn that he was the only one of SG-1 to never have a symbiote inside him for any reason. I would have liked to see that track record broken in a more meaningful way, but oh well.
Fangirl Reaction: Really love that that instinctive, fundamental trust between Jack and Teal'c is still there, even if a little slower off the mark this time. Also, hee! Daniel died again! That never gets old.
Sort of alterna-team in Ancient Egypt
Fan Reaction: Oh my God, this is so depressing. Our Daniel watched the rest of his team be executed, and now he's been living alone amongst the Egyptians for five years when suddenly these people who are but aren't his friends show up. No wonder he seems so emotionally closed down. I just want to cry. If we'd actually gotten to see SG-1 die, I don't doubt I'd still be crying now. I dearly wish they'd shown us more of the original team in Egypt and exactly what they did to change things. In fact, I really wish they'd just made all of part 1 about that, and confined the alterna-stuff to part 2.
Fangirl Reaction: Poor, angsty Daniel. I want fanfic about him (and SG-1 in Egypt generally) so badly it hurts. Even though this Teal'c has no history with Daniel, I got shivers when he said "Trust me." Boy, they managed to make that resonate. And how much did I squee when Sam said she had a thing for Daniel? A lot, that's how much. Of course, then they ruined it, but I prefer to believe she wasn't really lying. She just decided that she wanted to get laid before she died, and Jack was her last, best chance. And really, not a bad deal, either. While normally I ick out at all things Sam/Jack, the sparkage was incredibly funny. As, of course, was Jack thinking Daniel was gay. Since the alterna-team is stuck there for the rest of their lives, that must have made a fun little triangle. At some point, origi-Daniel and alterna-Jack have a conversation about the origi-J/D relationship, and man, I want to read that.
So overall, I am both gleeful and wholly unsatisfied with these episodes. I should probably get medication for that, but instead I'm just going to go look for the Moebius-based fanfic which must surely be out there already, right? And at the very least, just the fact that the Ancients had time travel technology and the hijinks they got up to with it makes me feel much better about the wackiness level of my own time travel WIP.
As for the new SG that's coming -- the promo wasn't quite enough to get me squeeing just yet, but it did whet my appetite. At the very least, Ben Browder in uniform. Can you really go wrong with that?
Just a few thoughts here --
*To my Atlantis-obsessed friends, upon viewing the ending: I am so sorry. I feel your pain. I hope July comes quickly.
*Okay, I give up. I see the Sheppard/McKay. It's right there. Dammit. I must still be feverish.
*Did they seriously kill the cute British guy? He never had enough lines in the first place!
*Nothing better happen to my boy Ford. Grrr.
I am so very glad that this episode finally aired here, because it is my very favorite episode of the entire season (other than the last 15 minutes of next week).
Everyone's been commenting on the teaser, so I don't have much new to say about it. But I will say that that teaser perfectly embodies absolutely everything I love about this series. The quiet solemnity, the lyricism, the relationships, the visual flow and beauty, the use of color and camera and music. It's a gorgeous show, and it's all right there in those five minutes. I long ago lost count of how many times I've watched just that part.
At least we still have next week, and then it'll be a long hiatus until July. Sigh.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-03-26 09:46 pm (UTC)It is!
I have much the same mixed feelings as you (most reactions I've seen seem to follow this pattern), and the timeline discussions are brain-bendy.
*Okay, I give up. I see the Sheppard/McKay. It's right there. Dammit. I must still be feverish.
You must be. It's so not there ;P *clings to Beckett/McKay, which was there*
no subject
Date: 2005-03-26 09:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 02:46 am (UTC)And the Beckett/McKay was so obviously there! The chair scene was utterly delightful.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 12:02 am (UTC)Thank God!! I was beginning to think that your slash goggles were permanently on the fritz or something. *g*
Do you need some fic recs, little girl? I will also bring my hard drive full of McShep music vids with me next week.
*eg*
no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 12:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 01:17 am (UTC)i'm of the same opinon. she's a bit OTT, but so much less annoying (IMO) than original sam has become. and *please* can we keep her? am willing to beg here. *bg*
The Wonder Dork Twins! OMG, so adorable.
i LOVE the science twins. this alone made the alternate parts SO much more worth it. *g* oh how i've missed the science twins in the seasons since they've gone away.
Poor, angsty Daniel. I want fanfic about him (and SG-1 in Egypt generally) so badly it hurts.
tell me about it! *sniffle* of course, it bugged me to the point i actually wrote one about it. *g* YOU could go that route, too.... *innocent grin*
*off to read the other moebius recs in the comments...*
no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-27 03:38 am (UTC)