META - of Secondary Characters and Stargate
Bear with me here - been thinking. Yes, that’s what those strange noises were! Me considering stuff.
Stuff relating to Stargate: SG-1.
It has been on the bubble for a while - I just haven’t said anything and given the tidbit that Lexa Doig hasn’t been called in to reprise her role as Dr. Carolyn Lam this season so far; I felt that now is as good as time as any to voice my opinions.
And before someone reads me the riot act as to a reason why… YES! I KNOW ABOUT THE BAIRN!! I hope he’s inherited his (eventual) height from dad and his beauty from both of them.
*Ahem*
So why say something? - because I must be the only damn person who really liked Lam. Yes, it did come across as rehashing the Sam/Jacob interaction but she was a good doctor and she held her own against everyone else; no mean feat when you consider that many of Lexa's scenes were with Beau Bridges.
Not only that but it’s a trait I have. I always seem to like the doctors the most in any fandoms I fall into (make your own snarky comments about DW;)).Even from Original Series Star Trek, I was always a fan of Bones; because of his emotionalism and his distrust of technology and wanting to help people. Admittedly he’d grouch terribly about it but help he would.
I could write screeds of meta on this subject until the cats come home; but that’s not quite what I’m trying to get at.
What this meta is really about is the unsung heroes of genre TV. The Secondary Characters. You know the ones I mean, (please save the semantics quibbling ‘til the end, please?) ones like AD Skinner from ‘The X-Files’, Jacob Carter/Janet Fraiser from ‘Stargate: SG-1’, Pilot from ‘Farscape’, Marcus Cole from ‘Babylon 5’, Rommie/Andromeda Ascendant from ‘Andromeda’ Captain Jack Harkness from ‘Doctor Who’…
See any kind of pattern forming here? Anyone? Bueller?
They’re all characters that I love for reasons that my subconscious mind will not deign to share with me.
Theorised reasons include the ‘cookies’ factor (as in wouldn’t get kicked outta bed… you know the rest!). They’re badasses. They do something that makes my heart splinter (Pilot is a shoo-in for this catergory - ‘The Way We Weren’t’ is presented as Exhibit A) or they’re just frelling cool.
The thing is - even when the ‘main’ characters aren’t being written all that well, naming no names… *whistles innocently*, these are the characters that usually provide ‘something’ to make your viewing of that show to be worth your while (oops! Forgot Diefenbaker from ‘Due South’… hey! He counts!) Even if it is just to sit there and look completely adorable ;)
(I’ll make a point in a moment - bear with me!)
This leads me onto the main reason why I wanted to witter on about this specific subject; right now.
In most cases, the shows I love can carry on when these characters are removed for whatever reason. I will wish the actor who portrayed them, the very best and no doubt ‘mourn’ their character’s passing from the show/rant and rail against the show’s TPTB/practice DeNile when it comes to writing fanfic for that show.
Oh yes, I’ve done all three before for one show;)
Note, I also said ‘in most cases’. I think I’ve unfortunately come across an exception to this rule. I’m afraid to say that it’s ‘Stargate: SG-1’.
Obviously there are other factors at work here. While the introduction of new characters as played by the excellent Ben Browder, Beau Bridges and the aforementioned Ms Doig have given the show a boost… It’s just not the same.
There are those who will argue that it hasn’t been the same since series 3 but… *shrugs* I beg to differ.
Yes, I still love my team - both new and old and I always will but I just get the impression that it might be time for a parting of the ways. Or doing an SGA and waiting to watch it on DVD next year. (Author’s note - for ‘professional reasons’ T’Internet Truck does not stop at Chez Monster anymore… though this might be sorely tested when BSG restarts!;))
It hit home this week as I was watching the second disc of S9 (featuring the episodes from TPTB to Babylon) and it was just ‘meh’. A bit of a letdown as I really liked them on first watch. With that in mind, it could be me but then again….
It’s not just that. There are other issues too, such as the rumours swirling around about what is purported to be happening to a Major Character that I adore… to quote one of my all time favourite films ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this!’
After the whole Babylon 5 ‘Endgame’ debacle (cried? Felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest!) I get twitchy about such things. Last time I got twitchy like this was SG-1’s ‘Threads’. And we all know how that one ended… Don’t we?!
This is not me saying that I’m not going to watch SG-1 anymore - it’s me saying that I’m carefully reconsidering my need to sally forth and do battle with the rest of the Family Unit to watch it. BSG - absafrakkingloutely! Doctor Who - Sister Units #3 and #4 are fans too as is the Father Unit; which means that ‘Torchwood’ should be a doddle. When ‘Life on Mars’ returns, it too will be added to the list of Shows that Becky Watches.
It’s pros and cons - if it’s good tv, then I shall wrest the remote and ‘inflict’ it on the Family Unit. If not…. I can wait for DVD.
Of course - this is where being British is an advantage. I can gauge whether it’s worth my time from my fellow fen. I won’t embarrass folks by naming names but y’know who ya’ll are and you can ‘warn’ me in advance;)
So, perhaps losing yet another much regarded character from one of my favourite shows is the straw that will break the desert ship’s back. Even so, to woefully misquote another favourite film of mine “We’ll always have Seasons 1-9!”
As a cookie - which y'all need after reading that 'little' lot... I am hoping that I will be able to post new fic soon. It's been beta'ed - just awaiting the all clear:D Until then, it's back to the Sam Gen story I'm writing for a ficathon *flails*. It's like Nanny Ogg spelling 'banana'. It's started, but where it ends is another matter ENTIRELY!