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jadelotusflower · 7 months

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Stargate rewatch: 1x09 Thor’s Hammer

"We don’t think the Goa’uld built the Stargate system” - episode 9 of season 1 and we’re already tapping into a huge part of the mythology - the show really hit the ground running with its lore.

But who is “we”? It’s never really established whether Daniel is in charge of his own team or runs his own department, but I think we can assume so? I like to think Barbara Shaw from the film is on the team at the very least.

However the “tyrant” gods being mostly from non-white cultures and the “culture-bearers” being mostly from white/western cultures is an ongoing yikes of the show.

I wouldn’t really characterise the Norse gods as particular friends to humans? I mean in the mythology they're not tyrants but they seem no less capricious than the Goa’uld-coded pantheons. Although I guess there is some interesting stuff around the Norse gods being more like higher beings as opposed to all powerful deities, which works in the show's presentation of the Asgard, but is hardly unique to Norse myth.

For example Odin (who I don't think we ever see on the show) being more of a hands off kind of god, who is not innately omniscient but himself pursues knowledge, hanging upside down from Yggdrasil and sacrificing an eye to obtain wisdom - and of course, the fate of the gods to die in Ragnarök, an acceptance of mortality that does fit the Asgard rather than the Goa'uld.

SGC Earth has a “Sagan Institute” - a nice tribute to Carl Sagan who died a year before the show was made. IRL The Carl Sagan Institute was established in 2014.

While the hammer is obviously meant to depict the death of a symbiote, it's also likely a reference to the Midgard/World Serpent. Although the Goa’uld are referred to as “Ettins” (Eoten/Jötunn) in this episode, Jörmungandr was the serpent who surrounded Midgard (Earth) eating its own tail, and was Thor’s enemy.

It’s Gairwyn! I love Gairwyn so much. Played by Tamsin Kelsey, who was also a big figure of my childhood as Evie O’Hanlon from the tv movie Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.

"You must be from Thrudvang, Thor's home in the stars." Þrúðvangr was the realm of Thor and the location of his great hall Bilskirnir, which in later episodes will be identified as Asgard Thor's flagship.

“You and I might even have some of the same ancestors” - Sam has Scandinavian heritage I suppose?

Hologram!Thor is Mark Gibbon, who will go on to play a recurring Jaffa role in later seasons.

Thor of course is the obvious choice for Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet - we get a quick mythology primer from Daniel at the top of the episode and it's funny to think that would probably be unnecessary now given the Marvelisation of pop culture. But if there was a Norse god who could be considered a "friend to humans" like Daniel claims, it would be Thor.

“The High Council of Asgard has designated Cimmeria a safe world for developing sentient species, by unanimous decree 40.73.29. The Goa’uld system lords were so informed.” So is Cimmeria part of the Protected Planets Treaty? I assume so, but that Thor doesn’t trust the Goa’uld and installed the Hammer just in case. His message is kind of sassy too, we get the impression later that Thor is perhaps more invested in humanity than the other Asgard, and would take action against the Goa’uld if he could. So it makes sense his pet planet would have extra protection.

Galyn Görg (RIP) is wonderful as Kendra, it’s a shame she doesn’t recur.

What a Look too, fantastic costuming this episode - Gairwyn's is great as well.

And two women in major supporting roles! Another Katharyn Powers episode, this is one I really love.

The first proper appearance of the healing device.

Also the helmets are still with us - just attached to their backpacks.

“[Thor’s] race may have considered projectile weapons too primitive to be concerned about.” Heh. I love that this comes back into play with the Asgard vs the Replicators later on.

I think this the World Serpent on the wall behind Jack as well, in a more expansive form than was on the Hammer.

There’s another layer to this in hindsight - when Jörmungandr releases its tail from its mouth, Ragnarök will begin, and he and Thor will kill each other. Ragnarök is Götterdämmerung - the twilight of the gods. By the end of the series the time of both the Goa’uld and the Asgard will have passed, although not due to direct conflict between these two races, but rather the ascendancy of Midgard/Earth.

Jack is pretty subdued when Teal'c points out the Hammer could be used to free Sha're and Skaara - I think he's already figured out that they'll probably have to destroy the Hammer to get Teal'c out so won’t allow himself to think about the what ifs.

James Earl Jones! Everything is better with James Earl Jones.

“Unas is believed to have been the first host, born of the same primordial waters as the Goa’uld.” Although Unas is later revealed to be a race rather than a single being, the continuity of this in season 4 is great.

Kendra doesn’t say the name of the Goa’uld who possessed her, but mentions Marduk as the one who abducted her, which may present a continuity problem later as Marduk is trapped in a sarcophagus and only freed in season 4. But I suppose it’s not clear how long exactly Kendra was a host.

“Well Sha’re wasn’t trained in a temple like you, but she had a spirit, she was a fighter.” As we saw in CotG. Daniel's unwavering faith in Sha're fighting against the possession says a lot about their relationship.

But one of the failings of the show is that it is supremely uninterested in the trauma of Goa'uld possession - we get a bit with Sam although that becomes more about Jolinar's memories and the blending of the symbiote and host, and kind of with Vala later but it’s really only treated as a shorthand for why she is the way she is.

With Kendra we at least see how her trauma manifests in her isolation, her talking to the wind, interpreting the thunder, and ultimately deciding to face her fear.

This is a nicely directed episode too, by Brad Turner, who will helm several future episodes. Some really nice shots of Kendra, Daniel, and Sam climbing over mountains and walking over aqueducts.

Sam the skeptic vs Daniel the optimist. She’s actually pretty hard on him here! I’m not sure what Sam thinks their other options are if they don’t follow Kendra.

If Daniel’s flaw is his hubris and tendency to fixate at the expense of all else, Sam’s is her judgemental streak and unwillingness to think outside the logic box.

“Haven’t you ever had a feeling that made absolutely no logical sense and it turned out to be right?” The answer for Sam is clearly no, but that will change as part of her character arc will be sometimes learning to trust things that can’t be quantified.

And its helmet time.

"I was with those who took the ones you love." A little bit of mitigating language on Teal'c part, but his willingness to remain trapped just on the chance that the wrong he was party to can be righted, we can see how much guilt he does feel. I still wish we'd actually gotten a scene before this between Daniel and Teal'c about Sha're.

Jack having Daniel be the one to destroy the hammer is harsh, but it has to be Daniel. Because he is the one most affected by the decision, he needs to be the one who makes it, not have it be made for him. Importantly, Jack doesn’t order him to do it, and isn’t completely sure he will, just hopes.

By being the one to fire the shot, Daniel takes ownership of it, and it avoids resentment on his part - Jack knows that it’s the way it has to be for Daniel personally, and the good of the team.

To his credit once handed the staff weapon Daniel doesn't hesitate - closing his eyes before firing is a nice touch though.

Kendra gives them the Ansuz rune, the equivalent to A in Elder Futhark, meaning god and is associated with Odin, knowledge and communication.

#stargate sg1 #stargate rewatch #1x09 thor’s hammer #jlf posts #norse mythology #meta #daniel jackson #sam carter #jack o'neill #teal'c #stargate sg-1

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deep-space-archaeology · 2 years

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~Jane Mead, World of Made and Unmade

I wasn’t going to post this one, but decided, why not? 😂 I felt like this quote fit Daniel, especially after Sha-re died. He finally found a home with her and the Abydonian’s, only to have it taken away in an instant. And then when she died, he had that hope taken away too. After so long not belonging anywhere, and then losing the place that he finally did feel like he belonged, I imagine he may have felt lost or adrift. Like he was disappearing.

#I know these aren’t very good but they’re very fun to make #I love that first shot of Daniel in front of the stargate #meta #kind of?#sg1 #Stargate SG-1 #Daniel Jackson #Jack O’Neill #Sha-re #edit #my stuff #queued

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lightthewaybackhome · 3 months

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Watching SG1 and SGA in chronological order, I reached S3:E5 Progeny last night. I'm not doing any long-winded meta at this point because I found that it was sucking the joy of the show right out of me. I couldn't watch the show to relax and it took me an hour to two hours to watch each episode. So if you found me and followed me for my SGA meta, sorry.

But, what I will say is that this episode hits so hard. It's the beginning of the end for Elizabeth. She doesn't know that. The team doesn't know that, but we do, and that tinges everything with the weight of sorrow. Watching this in chronological order also makes it hit harder because SG1 has only escaped fighting the Replicators. (Also, we are apparently unable to stop breaking their trust. We always promise to do one thing and then we do the total opposite. Sam Carter did this and now so did Elizabeth. I don't actually really disagree with the choices they made, but it is a cycle of trust-breaking.)

I love the fact that when we see Sheppard's mind invasion by the replicators, we see Ronon from his perspective thinking up a plan to help them escape. Sheppard trusts Ronon to act and have his back. But, what made me actually cry was that in Sheppard's fake scenario, Rodney is brave. Rodney protests Sheppard giving his life for everyone and Rodney offers to flip a coin. In Sheppard's mind, as frustrating as Rodney can be, he is ultimately courageous. Also, the "No, no, no, no," from Rodney when he realizes Sheppard is going to sacrifice himself broke my heart.

Last but not least, while we don't know what horrors the others were forced to endure, we do know that Sheppard would willingly give his life for all of them, which is exactly what he said he would do in Sateda. This man wasn't kidding. They're his family and he will protect them with his dying breath and no hesitation.

...and here I am doing exactly what I said I wasn't going to do.

#stargate atlantis #john sheppard #sga #rodney mckay #ronon dex #teyla emmagan #elizabeth weir #sg 1 #sga meta #Progeny #sga s3 e5

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kuwdora · 4 months

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January Posting Meme

January 2 - What was the first vid you made? What drew you to vid it, do you still follow the fandom, etc. -@colls

Happy birthday colls!

Vid nostalgia time, thank you for this prompt.

My very first vid - Ameno - 2007. Stargate Atlantis.

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I made my first vid in 2007 with iMovie. Stargate Atlantis, an ensemble vid about the Ancients. It’s titled “Ameno” by eRa and has chanty vocals that made me think of the Ancients/Lanteans in the Pegasus Galaxy. We were about… what 3 seasons into SGA at that time? Stargate SG-1 was my first internet fandom and SGA fandom in its heyday was certainly an Experience so I was in deep. I voraciously read all the fic back then, participated in the communities, wrote some crossover SGA/SG1 fic here and there. So once I started playing around with iMovie and got an external hard drive it seemed pretty natural for me to try and make a Stargate Atlantis vid.

Several years prior I remember my friend thelinz had sent me a bunch of SG-1 fanvids on CD-ROM that I became obsessed with. I knew I wanted to make Stargate vids. Of course I just had to go and use a song without discernible lyrics and try to tell a story about the Ancients/Lanteans. A people who were almost always featured subtextually and mostly as their tech being a macguffin of sorts for the protagonists to deal with. In my head a Narrative made a lot more sense while I was making it but I was still left rather unsatisfied by the end. But I am very proud of it—especially as a first vid. It’s very interesting to see how my eye for kinetic movement works with the musicality of the song as my first vid. And how I refined that over the years.

As for still following the fandom? It’s in my bones, it’s always there. So many of my fandom friends and I started there. Sometimes I go back and reread old SGA flashfic entries.

I do follow a few Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis tags on tumblr which has been an interesting time observing that. Mostly on account of folks remarking on Jack and Daniel’s ages (they are too Old). Or how some people have said that Rodney McKay would have Done Numbers on tumblr if the show was airing now and that people should really watch SGA for him. Which just is, you know. Makes me want to pull out that Aslan meme “I was there” old magics etc, since Rodney McKay Was Everywhere, fanon ran with wild abandon and then some while others did slow laps in their own slash and rare-pair niches. But this is part of growing older in fandom, you were there for that history (and all the various wank, which is what it was called and not Discourse).

Anyway. I was never quite satisfied with Ameno. But I went on to make dozen more vids after it with iMovie until I got a Final Cut Edit license. And I came across a song during a summer job and realized the vibe+lyrics…that song was the Ancient Vid I was trying to make the first time around but didn’t manage. And listening to the song I realized I didn’t have the vidding skills yet to pull it together. Very overwhelmed by the idea. I spent 5 years listening and mentally putting it together in my head while casually rewatching here and there. Which is how I managed to make High Voltage - one of the vids I’m most proud of for narrative, structural and thematic reasons.

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High Voltage which someone actually made a Fanlore entry about it!

High Voltage which was selected at Vividcon 2011 for In Depth Vid Review where people spent a good chunk of time discussing it in an in-person group setting. Folks who had never seen Stargate Atlantis or SG-1 or Stargate Universe even said they were very impressed and intrigued with the vid because it looked like nothing they’ve ever seen from Stargate vids before. And those who knew the shows inside and out, who knew the fic, who had meta discussions about it every week, everyone there when another surface-level, shoddily executed storyline rolled out. They saw my vid, too, they saw it and got it. It was really, really incredible experience to get that kind of feedback and realize that so many picked up what I was laying down.

Beatrice Otter wrote a lovely fancake rec for it in 2022 — 11 years after it premiered! A rec I have screencapped and saved in my happy folder to look at when I’m feeling down.

I elaborated a little more about my vidding process and reception of the vid on tumblr

So Ameno is my very first vid that I was VERY proud of but still wanted to go and “do over”/“do again” because it didn’t feel quite right. That foundation and growth lead to High Voltage. :)

I highly recommend anyone who wants to make a fix-it to an old fanwork of theirs to do go ahead and do it and see how it feels. You never know where it might lead.

January Posting Meme - claim a date! Send me any kind of prompt!

#january posting meme #january posting meme 2024 #vidding #fanvids #fan video #my vids #blogdora

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hydralisk98 · 1 year

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Writing my way up to H.G. Wells + J.R.R. Tolkien-tier and beyond

I mean, I would like to get a few short stories / poems / animation shorts / short films / "software toys" going and by far. So may as well pitch a few of my current narrative draft ideas for initial practice...

I guess I will make it clear that I feel a powerful need to write down immersive / cohesive yet oxymoron Axis victory set of stories. Most likely with some cultural & technological nuances (not about making Nazism, Fascism and others legitimate but definitely challenging some assumptions we societally made from the world wars) & conflicted characters as far as emulating dystopia-writing with a humane / relatable touch.

These are not the only narratives I would like to convey, far from it. I got a couple more related to historical "mysteries", my constructed world(s?) slice-of-life-s and overall making optimistic meta-narratives. Like some about my hometown, a couple around specific tools / challenges / design contraints, much about far far away alternate futures and a few drop-in "clef" replacements for some existing works with strong satirist-ic commentary & nuanced intrigue politics...

Here are a couple of such media I hope to express some opinions onto through these "clef" keys.

(Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Warriors, Chronicles of Narnia, A Song of Ice and Fire, Silmarillion, Bible, standalone X-Men movies, Naruto / Boruto, Tarzan, Conan The Barbarian, John Carter of Mars, Terminator, Predator, Alien, Degrassi, Star Wars, Star Trek, Half-Life, Stargate SG1, How To Train Your Dragon, Frozen, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matrix, Rio, Jurassic Park, James Bond, Homestuck, Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Helluva Boss / Hazbin Hotel, Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken, Shrek, Coco, The Book of Life, Ice Age, Mulan, Lord of the Rings, Megamind, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, Pokemon, Sonic The Hedgehog, Cyberpunk RED + 2077, Halo, Destiny, Pathfinder, Outlander, Genship Impact, Starcraft, Grand Theft Auto, Bioshock Infinite + Burial at Sea, Animal Crossing, Fable 2, Earthbound, Metroid, Splatoon, Bionicle, Chronotrigger, Dishonored, XCOM, Turning Red, Luca, 300, The Time Machine, Brontë, Ethan Frome, Death in Venice, The Hired Girl, Tintin, Watchmen, Jour J, Hellboy, V for Vendetta, Ghost Rider, Asterix, Lackadaisy, Zoophobia, Danny Phantom, Avatar The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, Code Lyoko, Kim Possible, Powerpuff Girls, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Animaniacs, Boondocks, Totally Spies, Futurama, 6teen, Stoked, Wakfu, Hot Wheels, Discworld, Forgotten Realms, Quake, Coran, Tanak, mythologies, historical fiction, ancestries, Hypnospace Outlaw / Sword Art Online, Zachtronics ('TIS-100' & 'Shenzhen I/O'), Ace Combat, Overlord, Bloody Good Time, Resistance Fall of Man, Perfect Dark, Zelda, God of War, Kaisha...)

Not exhaustive by any margin but yk, the first few up to Alien are definitely deserving some strong reworks...

But yeah, that's kinda my type of creative bar setting (I still am casual but yk I shall outshine Tolkien with all the tools available nowadays), aka making bronze age literature lineage-ing type of timeless works.

Don't mind me if I get started some onto the promised Jucika-derived comic strips and get the ball rolling on my open source workflow (first onto Kate + LibreOffice and eventually in the terminal with Tmux/Fish/Vim and all the other creative writing goodies...)

Be not afraid...

#maskoch #writing #creative commons #16^12 #red instead

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frostysfrenzy · 1 year

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No way sg1 had a meta ep I am losing my mind

#stargate sg1 #i needed this. was having a rough minute #sg1 #5x12

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sunnydaleherald · 2 years

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, August 2

RILEY: I was wrong about Oz. I *was* being a bigot. BUFFY: No you weren't. You were thrown. You found out that Willow was in... kind of an unconventional relationship, and it gave you a momentary wiggins. It happens. RILEY: Still... I was in a totally black and white space, people versus monsters, and it ain't like that... especially when it comes to love. BUFFY: I have to tell you some stuff... about my past. And it's not all stuff that you're gonna like. RILEY: You can tell me anything. BUFFY: I think so. (Smiles) I think I can.

~~Buffy Episode #75: "New Moon Rising"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Making An Entrance (Buffy, T, LotR xover) by jerseyfabulous

Can You Break… (Buffy, T, McGyver xover) by beri_fanfic

A Slayer, a Reaper and a Mad Scientist (Buffy, G, Dead like Me/Fringe xover) by RainbowMish

Mentor (Dawn, G, Star Trek TOS xover) by MarcusRowland

Peach (Buffy/Angel, E) by a2zmom

favourite enemy (Spike, E) by alloftheimagines

Redirected (Buffy, T, SG1 xover) by MirroredIllusions

[Chaptered Fiction]

Game Of Survival: Season One Ch. 2 (AtS Ensemble, M) by sonnywithachanceofrollins

Violet (AtS Ensemble, unrated) by sonnywithachanceofrollins

Willow the Watcher Ch. 2 (Willow/Faith, E) by MTL17

Eye of Eleos CH. 81 (Buffy/Spike, T) by pfeifferpack

Talkative Minds, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Jws1993

The Time We Had, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dusty

The Slayer and the Vampire, Chapter 43 (Buffy/Spike, T) by violettathepiratequeen

Daughter of Aurelius, Chapter 49 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Loup Noir

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:The Gentlemen () by K0nstantine1313

Artwork:Various BtVS fanart () by Brendan

Artwork:fight (Spike) by isevery0nehereverystoned

Artwork:Buffy () by milkduddles

Artwork:Buffy & SPike () by isevery0nehereverystoned

Artwork: Giles & Jenny () by flummoxedangel

[Reviews & Recaps]

Buffy Rewatch 2k22 3.7 Revelations by handsofabitterman

Chosen by samandcheesewinchesterr

Buffy Rewatch 2k22 3.6 Band Candy by handsofabitterman

I don’t love New Moon Rising. by three-blogs-in-a-trenchcoat

Xander was not raised in a religious household by annyankers, Anonymous

PODCAST: Episode 82: Superstar by Mythtaken

[Fandom Discussions]

in once more with feeling the ONLY reason spike turned up at the end by captain-peroxid3

I love Tara and willow more than anything, but willow and oz were so damn cute. by surrealsunday

Isn’t it crazy how Spike was licherally the only one that loved Buffy truly unconditionally. by malewifespike

rewatching buffy the vampire slayer for the first time by bongsmoke69

I like to think that at the end of The Killer in Me... by babygirlgiles

If you think Ms. Buffy Summers, whose type is by layer-of-slayers

the fact that it’s GILES who kills ben by mollyspeak

i've seen this idea a lot in fics and some meta that spike was always meant to be with buffy. by silvermars, messedupdoilies

if that vamp hadn’t shown up in the alley behind the Bronze by kyliafanfiction

What are your top 3 btvs quotations? by ofstormsandwolves

“The Longest Night”–being the first full-on “Angel the Series” book I’ve read by oveliagirlhaditright

Thoughts on Willow being bi vs lesbian? by buffysummers

Buffyverse Episodes Poll!? by Mr Trick

Do you feel critical of Angel for feeding off Buffy? Or of Buffy for risking her life? continued by multiple posters

bit of a weird question but does anyone have a link to a high quality photo of spike on the coffin? by tdodyeet

Backseat screenwriting: Casting choices and the big bad by The9thHuman

You’re forced to switch one main character from Buffy with one from Angel…. by MayorRichardWilkins3

Anyone else have BtVS themed dreams? by Holly_Laufeyson

Beer Bad good by eshopreviewer

angel doesn't get enough props for being such a badass character. by Current_Ad_9850

Riley & Spike played off each other quite well in this by TigerJean

Thoughts on Fool For Love? by Defvac2

Do the Scoobies ever find out Spike’s chip stopped working on Buffy? by CookieDough2887

If you could go back and change one storyline of AtS, which would you choose? by LarinaRichards

If you could go back and change one storyline of BtVS, which would you choose? by

I want to befriend this driver by HippieAccountant

Creative writing - what arc would you re-write? by Sir_Poofs_Alot

In the middle of my buffy rewatch when….. goddammit. by pleaseatme

Ok so in Consequences while Angel is trying to talk to Faith by 5bi5

Finally started watching Buffy and it’s fucking brilliant by worthyourweightinfanfiction

Buffy Summers for the ask meme! by julianazyalenskys

PUBLICATION: Her Name Alone Invokes Awe (An Analysis of 'Faith, Hope, and Trick') by Emily (Her Insect Reflection)

PUBLICATION: by

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#btvs #Buffy The Vampire Slayer #Angel the Series #fan fiction #fan art #meta

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eidetictelekinetic · 2 years

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WHAT is your favorite magicians episode?

Goodness, I don't know...

A lot of the more obvious ones sting more in hindsight, so I'm gonna go with a semi-meta answer and say Remedial Battle Magic, which is a delightful episode just in general but also Amanda Tapping directed it (and the vampire creep Kady and Julia meet was played by a recurring actor from Stargate SG1) which means that the woman who played one of my all-time favorite characters growing up directed the Marqueliot threesome, and that's just one of the most amusing bits of behind the scenes trivia I have ever picked up on in my life.

#no really i noticed it on a rewatch in the credits #how often do you notice the director name?#but i did! because it's a name i know well!#and i think i may have yelled aloud #lol

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starrybouquet · 3 years

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On Seasons 9 and 10 of Stargate SG1

A note: I wrote a series of essays several weeks ago, when I was feeling particularly crappy. I'm not particularly proud of them--they're pretty dramatic--but they do explain several of my more personal fandom feelings. I know I don't always tend to be the best at explaining things on the spot, so I'm posting these with the hope that I can refer people to them the next time that happens.

Um, I mentioned they're a little dramatic. I'm really, really sorry about that. But hey, if I can't be dramatic on Tumblr, in fandom, where else is that gonna go?

But still - if you're feeling a little sensitive today, maybe you wanna skip this. Or not. Just a light warning. :)

This piece is on seasons 9 and 10 of Stargate SG1, but they aren't all Stargate-related. I'll be posting them in the next few days, hopefully.

To those of you who like s9-10: I have nothing against you. Some of you I know better, some less well. In general, though, I like you, you seem like fine people. This is not about you, I hold nothing against you for liking those seasons. In fact, I envy you. This is more a personal post about why I'm an idiot. If you want, feel free to scroll down past this. I won't be offended. I'd put it under the cut but I'm on mobile.

Okay. Why, hello, those of you willing to read this rant...

No matter how much I denounce and ignore it, I cannot get past the pain of seasons 9 and 10 of Stargate SG-1. I've never watched them in full. Seen a few episodes here and there.

I cannot, repeat, CANNOT stand the thought today. It hurts.

It's an old pain, and it's not just SG1. SG1 is just one of the highlights in a long line of books and shows that have repeatedly broken my heart by being SO GOOD and then taking an, uh, precipitous right turn, shall we say. Because a hard right seems too kind, and a precipitous drop too harsh.

I love SG1. I love love love it. I like the plots and I love the science, but what I really fell in love with was the characters.

I loved all of them. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if Sam, Daniel, or Teal'c had been on any other show, I guarantee you they would have been my favorite by far. Jack is just so...Jack that he has to be my favorite. That's SG1 for you.

I've never had super close friends. I have good RL friends, don't get me wrong. They're nice people. But we don't have much in common.

That's okay. That's been my experience forever--really nice folks who maybe didn't always get me or have anything to say to me, but were good, decent people.

And this is good. Really, it is. It's just that SG-1, for me, has always represented the promise that there *are* people out there that are your true friends, and you will do brave and brilliant things with them. It will happen.

It's naive, I know. But I haven't been able to let it go. Maybe someday. But not right now.

Which brings me to s9-10 of SG1. It hurts.

It hurts that SG1 scattered to the wind.

It hurts that they sent Jack away from a place where he was happy, where he'd found friends and meaning in life again, away to fucking DC. To be...what? A politician? I could write a whole post just about this. Actually, I have. I could still write more posts about it!

It hurts that Sam went to Area 51, and nobody seemed to mind, the 'Gate didn't spontaneously combust as we were always led to believe it would.

It hurts that Daniel's personality supposedly changed that much, in the absence of his friends. Though some of his lines are funny, they aren't the earnest, idealistic, thoughtful Daniel I fell in love with. I get the idea that new-look Daniel would roll his eyes at s3-8 Daniel, and beat up floppy hair Daniel. And floppy hair Daniel is my baby and anyone who doesn't appreciate his brilliance can face my wrath. That includes you, buff s9-10 Daniel, and also whoever decided/approved that change in characterization.

Really, the only one who doesn't hurt is Teal'c. Because it feels like he's moving forward, toward happiness.

So...here we are. Season 9. Mitchell, Landry.

I often say I hate Mitchell. Do I resent him for replacing Jack? Yes. I do. We can talk about plot reasons and all that, but at the end of the day, I was going to hate anyone who tried to be Jack.

This is true in real life, too. You can't try to be anyone else. You've gotta walk your own path.

Now, people say that I didn't give Mitchell a chance. I say that the way he was portrayed, in the few episodes I've seen, tells me enough.

I can think of lots of ways Mitchell could have been interesting. How would Daniel and Teal'c react to an old, actually bad tempered (not Jack bad tempered, actually bad tempered) hardass after eight years of their best friends leading them? Or--start with his actual character. Mitchell, he hasn't been at the SGC. Wouldn't he get some flack from the longtime team leaders of SGs 2-5ish? They'd be insulted, right?

Or we could've gotten a nice Daniel Teal'c episode arc and then we could've had one Samantha Carter as team leader, though we won't get into that.

Bringing me to my next point. Co-leads?? Seriously?? You're trying too hard, folks. Telling me Sam used to know Mitchell does not actually make me like him.

Same thing with Landry. Unlike Mitchell, I guess I don't really have an opinion on Landry. He's just....there? No character development for this man.

Anyway, back to the team.

One of the things I love about SG1 is how the humor and friendship was so damn natural. Other than a few episodes (Urgo comes to mind), the plots weren't intentionally humorous. They were campy sci-fi plots sometimes, sure. They were funny because Jack was funny, yeah. They were lower budget than some other sci-fi. But they were as serious as sci-fi gets. It was how the characters reacted that made it funny.

Similarly, we were never told SG1 were found family. We just Knew. Because of the way they acted with each other. Because of the way Jack would "order" them to do things.

And hey, by the way, they weren't always family. Sam used to be less willing to ignore Jack. Daniel used to be less willing to trust Teal'c. Jack used to be a little more stern.

So...they meshed together. Like all found families do.

Every time I see a photo of new-look SG1 in seasons 9 and 10, I can't help but feel that they're trying too hard. I don't get the family feel because they aren't a family, damn it. It doesn't matter how many times you *tell* me they're super close. One of the reasons the original team got so close is because they all needed each other. Jack was depressed, Daniel was grieving, Sam was alone and had lost her mom and wasn't speaking with her dad and had never opened up to anyone in her life, Teal'c was an alien fighting for freedom after spending 100 years essentially as a slave.

And partly because of that, by season 9? Daniel and Teal'c (and Sam, when she comes back) don't need a family the way they used to. They have each other. They have Jack, or at least they *should*. *Glares in angry at Jack in DC vibes*

So...they simply don't have the relationship with Mitchell they do with each other.

It'd be different if Mitchell needed a family. It's not that SG1 hasn't added people before--I think Jonas is a perfect example of this. He wasn't Daniel, and that always hurt. But he was young, and naive, and innocent, and he needed SG1 because he'd left everything he'd ever known.

And that worked.

Without needing family, Mitchell is just a coworker. He can be a friendly coworker. A friend. But if he wanted to become better friends, family, he needed to show depth and vulnerability. He needed to need SG1.

And he never does, from what I've seen and heard about and read about. Or if he does need SG1, he doesn't need them badly enough to show more than an occasional bout of thoughtfulness before returning to his normal pale-Jack-imitation ways.

Now, I don't know why that is. I lean toward bad writing. I haven't watched Farscape (it's on my to watch list) but it seems like Ben Browder is a fine actor.

So, seasons 9 and 10 are probably fine TV. I'm never going to watch them through, so don't ask. I've tried and failed and every time it just tears my heart a little more and I'm won't be doing it again.

Those seasons...they just lost everything I watch SG-1 for, and so...yeah. I feel the hate strongly. Not because they're bad--I think they're different, not necessarily bad. My hate is only because in creating those seasons, they tore down the parts of SG1 that I loved most.

So s9-10 show me a few nice hugs and laughs? That's nice. I like comedies, I do. However...that's not my Stargate. Not the one I love. I liked the sarcastic one, the one full of wonder, the one where they had to scrape and claw their way through the galaxy with naivety and courage and brilliance. The one where they ate together, fought together, died together, were resurrected together.

It hurts, man. It hurts when the things I love turn into something that's lukewarm. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

That's why we have fanfic. And, with any luck, I'll actually start that AU I've been talking about.

It's fanfic, and so it'll be my Stargate. The ending I wanted--which really wasn't an ending at all, more of a closure of one chapter of the story.

Damn, did that turn dramatic. Um, sorry about that, and also sorry for spilling my feelings all over you guys. Thanks for reading, if you got to the end of this.

#sg1 #stargate sg1 #fandom #sg1 meta #overdramatic fandom essays #my blogstuffs

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