Thoughts on Stargate SG-1 Series 3 Part 2 Big Finish Audio Books
I know I should wait until more people have listened to them, but I just want to get my feelings out there. And if there's anyone on my friend-list who sees this and wants to chat, feel free! :D
(Behind an LJ cut for length and spoilers. Yes, I said spoilers. You've been warned.)
So like many of you, I've been waiting for this since June when they said it would be out in July, then out in August, then out in November. When they said out in December, I kinda doubted it. You know, like the boy who cried wolf, but I finally gave in and pre-ordered. Maybe I was the one they were waiting for ;) because finally the audios available! Yay! Yippee skippee!
Truth be told, I was looking forward to the audios, but I was incredibly worried that we wouldn't get much shippiness. Maybe subtle stuff, but nothing like the heavenly lines from Series 3.1 "Half-Life." I was shocked and amazed, I tell you, when I finally listened to them over the weekend (and relistened to them Sunday and Monday night ;) ). We got loads of shippy gems in this trilogy! Subtle and overt. Cute little "Vala, be careful"s and wonderful "He is the most important thing in my life." Trust me when I say, I had no idea they would be this good. Merry Christmas, D/V shippers, indeed!!
The trilogy itself is a little confusing at times. My first impression in "Excision" (the first segment) was that it felt and sounded a little Farscape-y. If you know anything about that show, you may understand. It just felt...wild kind of, and crazy, and...ok, rethinking, it's really just the Asagir (sp?) that are Farscape-y. With the actress's high-pitched voice for Skaadi (sp?), I can imagine a Farscape-type, animatronic puppet of sorts. Which I suppose is what the Asgard are, but I think because the Asagir are villains, they give off that really evil Farscape-villain vibe. I dunno, maybe I'm just imagining it.
Also, the trilogy has a lot of...depth to it. Maybe depth isn't the right word...maybe weight or angst. The first trilogy seemed like it all occurred in the span of a week or so. You got that ticking clock feeling from the very beginning -- needing to find and rescue the real Daniel, needing to figure out what Ba'al was up to, needing to prevent an assassination and destroy Ba'al's cloning facility. No time to catch your breath so to speak. Not in this one so much. Weeks and/or months pass between each segment of this trilogy. The tension comes from how scary and evil these Asagir are, and the havoc they wreak on the galaxy/universe. There's a lot of technobabble too that I can't quite wrap my head around (and honestly, with all the shippy goodness, I don't care all that much ;) ) but at some point I may want to transcribe this trilogy to try to get a handle on everything.
And of course, I wish I could cleanly place them in Season 10. They're obviously after the first trilogy that I sort of figured go between "Memento Mori" and "Company of Thieves." This trilogy seems to pick up a couple weeks to maybe a month afterwards. So it could possibly still fit before "Company of Thieves." But I kinda sorta like my tag fic to the first trilogy and how it feeds into CoT, so I think I'd like to start this trilogy at least after CoT. Daniel and Vala are certainly snarkily bantering at the beginning of "Excision" so it could fit after the snarktastic CoT. But I get the impression (haven't watched it in a while) that Daniel was still very snarky and snotty toward Vala in "The Quest 1" and they really aren't like that at the end of "Excision." A little maybe, but mostly they're just relieved to be alive after their frightful ordeal. Who knows. Maybe something else caused Daniel to be so snotty in "The Quest 1."
Or, maybe "Duplicity" also comes before "The Quest." There are at least two clues that put "Duplicity" between CoT and "Bounty." They specifically mention Emmerson's death from CoT and they specifically mention Netan, the leader of the Lucian Alliance, as still being alive. I always had the impression that he was killed at the end of "Bounty" by that bounty hunter (probably need to rewatch it). And obviously since Daniel's in this segment, it can't be between "The Quest" and "The Shroud," so therefore "Duplicty" goes between CoT and TQ or between "The Shroud" and "Bounty." I'm on the fence about this one. I definitely could go either way, but part of me thinks that Daniel would be anxious to get back to figuring out the clues to the sangraal. So after MM, the first trilogy, CoT, and "Excision," maybe it's time to get back to an Ori story, hence "The Quest" next, and "Duplicity" after "The Shroud."
Finally, there are a couple of timeline clues in "Time's Wheel" that might point to its placement. Vala says at some point (can't remember the track number right now) that they had dealt with Skaadi weeks ago. Trouble is, Daniel says at some point (can't remember the track number either) that the Yggdrasil event was months ago. So which was it? :( I suppose it could have been two months to warrant Daniel's use of the plural, because if it was any more than that Vala would have said months as well. Maybe some people think in weeks and some people think in months, no big deal. So, if I want to put "Duplicity" before "Bounty," two months later might be after "Bad Guys," or possibly "Talion." I kind of like it going this late in Season 10 because an important D/V line is said at the end of "Time's Wheel": Life's too short. I really feel that that is a crucial bit of the final episode "Unending" when we get a D/V resolution (sort of *sigh*). I like the idea that this phrase has somehow been in the back of Daniel's mind from the end of "Time's Wheel" to "Unending," and how maybe it symbolizes his growing readiness to say something to Vala about his feelings, maybe, possibly... I dunno. I just like that phrase for them. Also, during the rant scene of "Unending," I kinda always felt like the talk of losing his wife came outta left field. It's been 10 years since he lost her (6 or 7 years since he really lost her), I had the impression that he was sort of over it by now. From a tv show standpoint, I realize it was in there to remind viewers that he was married at the beginning and his drive way back then was to find her, but from a character standpoint, I didn't quite get it. Then again, I've never lost a spouse, so maybe I don't know that kind of pain. Anyway, I like the idea of "Time's Wheel" bringing Sha're back even for a little while, so that pain becomes fresh somehow and his rant isn't quite so much out of the blue.
All in all, I adore this trilogy. It is absolutely MADE of angst, and real emotion and drama, with some confusing sci-fi, Stargate-y stuff mixed in. I am so incredibly thankful and grateful that both Claudia Black and Michael Shanks lent their voices to this production. I enjoyed the Fandemonium book Roswell, and I bet I'll enjoy the new one coming out called Moebius Squared, but having Claudia's and Michael's contribution is so wonderful. For better or worse, they bring life to these characters, and I'm glad they do it so well and with such passion and professionalism. A thousand, million thank yous to them and the wonderful people at Big Finish Audios for bringing us these stories. :D :D :D :D :D :D
(Behind an LJ cut for length and spoilers. Yes, I said spoilers. You've been warned.)
So like many of you, I've been waiting for this since June when they said it would be out in July, then out in August, then out in November. When they said out in December, I kinda doubted it. You know, like the boy who cried wolf, but I finally gave in and pre-ordered. Maybe I was the one they were waiting for ;) because finally the audios available! Yay! Yippee skippee!
Truth be told, I was looking forward to the audios, but I was incredibly worried that we wouldn't get much shippiness. Maybe subtle stuff, but nothing like the heavenly lines from Series 3.1 "Half-Life." I was shocked and amazed, I tell you, when I finally listened to them over the weekend (and relistened to them Sunday and Monday night ;) ). We got loads of shippy gems in this trilogy! Subtle and overt. Cute little "Vala, be careful"s and wonderful "He is the most important thing in my life." Trust me when I say, I had no idea they would be this good. Merry Christmas, D/V shippers, indeed!!
The trilogy itself is a little confusing at times. My first impression in "Excision" (the first segment) was that it felt and sounded a little Farscape-y. If you know anything about that show, you may understand. It just felt...wild kind of, and crazy, and...ok, rethinking, it's really just the Asagir (sp?) that are Farscape-y. With the actress's high-pitched voice for Skaadi (sp?), I can imagine a Farscape-type, animatronic puppet of sorts. Which I suppose is what the Asgard are, but I think because the Asagir are villains, they give off that really evil Farscape-villain vibe. I dunno, maybe I'm just imagining it.
Also, the trilogy has a lot of...depth to it. Maybe depth isn't the right word...maybe weight or angst. The first trilogy seemed like it all occurred in the span of a week or so. You got that ticking clock feeling from the very beginning -- needing to find and rescue the real Daniel, needing to figure out what Ba'al was up to, needing to prevent an assassination and destroy Ba'al's cloning facility. No time to catch your breath so to speak. Not in this one so much. Weeks and/or months pass between each segment of this trilogy. The tension comes from how scary and evil these Asagir are, and the havoc they wreak on the galaxy/universe. There's a lot of technobabble too that I can't quite wrap my head around (and honestly, with all the shippy goodness, I don't care all that much ;) ) but at some point I may want to transcribe this trilogy to try to get a handle on everything.
And of course, I wish I could cleanly place them in Season 10. They're obviously after the first trilogy that I sort of figured go between "Memento Mori" and "Company of Thieves." This trilogy seems to pick up a couple weeks to maybe a month afterwards. So it could possibly still fit before "Company of Thieves." But I kinda sorta like my tag fic to the first trilogy and how it feeds into CoT, so I think I'd like to start this trilogy at least after CoT. Daniel and Vala are certainly snarkily bantering at the beginning of "Excision" so it could fit after the snarktastic CoT. But I get the impression (haven't watched it in a while) that Daniel was still very snarky and snotty toward Vala in "The Quest 1" and they really aren't like that at the end of "Excision." A little maybe, but mostly they're just relieved to be alive after their frightful ordeal. Who knows. Maybe something else caused Daniel to be so snotty in "The Quest 1."
Or, maybe "Duplicity" also comes before "The Quest." There are at least two clues that put "Duplicity" between CoT and "Bounty." They specifically mention Emmerson's death from CoT and they specifically mention Netan, the leader of the Lucian Alliance, as still being alive. I always had the impression that he was killed at the end of "Bounty" by that bounty hunter (probably need to rewatch it). And obviously since Daniel's in this segment, it can't be between "The Quest" and "The Shroud," so therefore "Duplicty" goes between CoT and TQ or between "The Shroud" and "Bounty." I'm on the fence about this one. I definitely could go either way, but part of me thinks that Daniel would be anxious to get back to figuring out the clues to the sangraal. So after MM, the first trilogy, CoT, and "Excision," maybe it's time to get back to an Ori story, hence "The Quest" next, and "Duplicity" after "The Shroud."
Finally, there are a couple of timeline clues in "Time's Wheel" that might point to its placement. Vala says at some point (can't remember the track number right now) that they had dealt with Skaadi weeks ago. Trouble is, Daniel says at some point (can't remember the track number either) that the Yggdrasil event was months ago. So which was it? :( I suppose it could have been two months to warrant Daniel's use of the plural, because if it was any more than that Vala would have said months as well. Maybe some people think in weeks and some people think in months, no big deal. So, if I want to put "Duplicity" before "Bounty," two months later might be after "Bad Guys," or possibly "Talion." I kind of like it going this late in Season 10 because an important D/V line is said at the end of "Time's Wheel": Life's too short. I really feel that that is a crucial bit of the final episode "Unending" when we get a D/V resolution (sort of *sigh*). I like the idea that this phrase has somehow been in the back of Daniel's mind from the end of "Time's Wheel" to "Unending," and how maybe it symbolizes his growing readiness to say something to Vala about his feelings, maybe, possibly... I dunno. I just like that phrase for them. Also, during the rant scene of "Unending," I kinda always felt like the talk of losing his wife came outta left field. It's been 10 years since he lost her (6 or 7 years since he really lost her), I had the impression that he was sort of over it by now. From a tv show standpoint, I realize it was in there to remind viewers that he was married at the beginning and his drive way back then was to find her, but from a character standpoint, I didn't quite get it. Then again, I've never lost a spouse, so maybe I don't know that kind of pain. Anyway, I like the idea of "Time's Wheel" bringing Sha're back even for a little while, so that pain becomes fresh somehow and his rant isn't quite so much out of the blue.
All in all, I adore this trilogy. It is absolutely MADE of angst, and real emotion and drama, with some confusing sci-fi, Stargate-y stuff mixed in. I am so incredibly thankful and grateful that both Claudia Black and Michael Shanks lent their voices to this production. I enjoyed the Fandemonium book Roswell, and I bet I'll enjoy the new one coming out called Moebius Squared, but having Claudia's and Michael's contribution is so wonderful. For better or worse, they bring life to these characters, and I'm glad they do it so well and with such passion and professionalism. A thousand, million thank yous to them and the wonderful people at Big Finish Audios for bringing us these stories. :D :D :D :D :D :D