Thoughts on "Sunday" now because I won't be online when it airs tonight
I'm not home tonight to watch "Sunday" (SGA), so I'm posting some stuff that I remember from watching it a month ago (while sick) in case anyone wants to read this after the episode airs later and drop a comment and we can "chat" in absentia. Will check out your posts, Nightdog and/or Dee, probably tomorrow.
When the episode began with Teyla gossiping with that woman I didn't remember having seen before, and then continued to focus on never- or rarely-before-seen characters such as the guy who wanted to date Elizabeth, I thought we were dealing with some twisty plotline where strangers had infiltrated Atlantis and made the characters think they'd been there the whole time, a la "Superstar" or the first few Dawn episodes of BtVS. ...But then it turned out they were just regular civilians on the expedition, so it was just weird.
What I liked best about the first half was that we got to see characters outside their normal routines and uniforms. I've discussed this before with some of you; there's a real thrill to that, to seeing the people you're used to in a certain outfit suddenly wearing something else, regardless of the objective attractiveness of the outfit itself. Like when Star Trek characters used to appear in shirt and pants instead of the Starfleet uniform, or when Wilson shows up in sweatshirt and jeans or even a suit jacket instead of his lab coat and shirtsleeves.
It was also nice that the writers experimented with an unusual format, albeit a sometimes repetitive and unnecessarily dramatic one. Again, even if it didn't always work, there was satisfaction in the difference.
Ronon & John are such a hoot together. Have been since the early days when John introduced him to silverware, and when John played the leather dom leaning on that mannequin while Ronon beat up John's men on the training mat. The scene in "Sunday" where they were hanging out in John's room eating chips had this great college dorm feel to it, which I think really suits them. I loved John trying to make small talk and gossip with him; asking whether Ronon was interested in any women... or guys (because he's okay with that, really). (Were the writers trying to imply some Ronon/John/Teyla love triangle all episode that was never resolved, or what?) Also was intrigued by the way John revealed that he'd been married: almost offhand, and with no further detail, and of course Ronon didn't press.
Rodney & Katie Brown are a hoot too. It's fun to watch Rodney flail through his lack of social skills with a woman who likes him anyway. What struck me most about their conversation in the greenhouse was when she said, "There's no subtext with you." I mean, yes, ha ha meta-joke; but also, it's true: Rodney is so open with everyone, both verbally and in his expressions, that they always know where they stand with him. Not everyone appreciates that about him, but I imagine it does make him easy to deal with in some ways. It certainly makes him fun to watch and to write as a character. There's no subterfuge there. No hiding of feelings or opinions. Other than the super-expressive face, he's nearly the anti-House in that sense.
Also, Zelenka! Sweeping up at chess! And Ronon's golf swing whack and that I'm-gonna-laugh-any-second smile as he derides John's favorite "sport." Hee.
OH MY GOD HOW RIDICULOUS IS DEATH BY EXPLODING TUMOR. Even this show is better than that. I still can't get over it. I'm so embarrassed for them. EXPLODING TUMOR. *facepalm*, *facepalm*, *facepalm*.
The ending was still rather affecting, I thought: everyone somber and neat, John in his Air Force uniform (not that I have a thing for military uniforms, really, but again, there's the joy of an unusual costume and of seeing a character clean up nicely), and Rodney, oh, Rodney, with that terrible combination of guilt and grief. The bagpipes and Elizabeth's speech were a little much, but the pallbearing worked well. Subtlety always wins. If only -- if ONLY -- they hadn't had Carson appear at the end. That was as bad as if they'd done a montage of all the times they were happy and sad together. It should've been Rodney out there talking to himself. Made the scene cheesy instead of fully moving. Nevertheless, it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear and see Rodney deliver that line about Carson being "the closest thing I've had to a best friend," and then to apologize in that broken voice... :(
The writers/directors seem to have been pushing McKay/Carson in a totally subtexty way for at least a couple of seasons. I don't think they did as good a job of showing that on-screen as they think they did (similar to David Shore's perception of House/Cameron), but knowing that that's what they thought, that the two had real on-screen chemistry and maybe something was going on behind the scenes and that the actors are good friends -- "maybe too good" friends -- in RL, I wasn't surprised by Rodney's confession about how close they were and how devastated he was at Carson's death. I wonder if it would have seemed startling otherwise, especially for someone so accustomed to looking at John/Rodney.
Note to self: sheafrotherdon January rxn
When the episode began with Teyla gossiping with that woman I didn't remember having seen before, and then continued to focus on never- or rarely-before-seen characters such as the guy who wanted to date Elizabeth, I thought we were dealing with some twisty plotline where strangers had infiltrated Atlantis and made the characters think they'd been there the whole time, a la "Superstar" or the first few Dawn episodes of BtVS. ...But then it turned out they were just regular civilians on the expedition, so it was just weird.
What I liked best about the first half was that we got to see characters outside their normal routines and uniforms. I've discussed this before with some of you; there's a real thrill to that, to seeing the people you're used to in a certain outfit suddenly wearing something else, regardless of the objective attractiveness of the outfit itself. Like when Star Trek characters used to appear in shirt and pants instead of the Starfleet uniform, or when Wilson shows up in sweatshirt and jeans or even a suit jacket instead of his lab coat and shirtsleeves.
It was also nice that the writers experimented with an unusual format, albeit a sometimes repetitive and unnecessarily dramatic one. Again, even if it didn't always work, there was satisfaction in the difference.
Ronon & John are such a hoot together. Have been since the early days when John introduced him to silverware, and when John played the leather dom leaning on that mannequin while Ronon beat up John's men on the training mat. The scene in "Sunday" where they were hanging out in John's room eating chips had this great college dorm feel to it, which I think really suits them. I loved John trying to make small talk and gossip with him; asking whether Ronon was interested in any women... or guys (because he's okay with that, really). (Were the writers trying to imply some Ronon/John/Teyla love triangle all episode that was never resolved, or what?) Also was intrigued by the way John revealed that he'd been married: almost offhand, and with no further detail, and of course Ronon didn't press.
Rodney & Katie Brown are a hoot too. It's fun to watch Rodney flail through his lack of social skills with a woman who likes him anyway. What struck me most about their conversation in the greenhouse was when she said, "There's no subtext with you." I mean, yes, ha ha meta-joke; but also, it's true: Rodney is so open with everyone, both verbally and in his expressions, that they always know where they stand with him. Not everyone appreciates that about him, but I imagine it does make him easy to deal with in some ways. It certainly makes him fun to watch and to write as a character. There's no subterfuge there. No hiding of feelings or opinions. Other than the super-expressive face, he's nearly the anti-House in that sense.
Also, Zelenka! Sweeping up at chess! And Ronon's golf swing whack and that I'm-gonna-laugh-any-second smile as he derides John's favorite "sport." Hee.
OH MY GOD HOW RIDICULOUS IS DEATH BY EXPLODING TUMOR. Even this show is better than that. I still can't get over it. I'm so embarrassed for them. EXPLODING TUMOR. *facepalm*, *facepalm*, *facepalm*.
The ending was still rather affecting, I thought: everyone somber and neat, John in his Air Force uniform (not that I have a thing for military uniforms, really, but again, there's the joy of an unusual costume and of seeing a character clean up nicely), and Rodney, oh, Rodney, with that terrible combination of guilt and grief. The bagpipes and Elizabeth's speech were a little much, but the pallbearing worked well. Subtlety always wins. If only -- if ONLY -- they hadn't had Carson appear at the end. That was as bad as if they'd done a montage of all the times they were happy and sad together. It should've been Rodney out there talking to himself. Made the scene cheesy instead of fully moving. Nevertheless, it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear and see Rodney deliver that line about Carson being "the closest thing I've had to a best friend," and then to apologize in that broken voice... :(
The writers/directors seem to have been pushing McKay/Carson in a totally subtexty way for at least a couple of seasons. I don't think they did as good a job of showing that on-screen as they think they did (similar to David Shore's perception of House/Cameron), but knowing that that's what they thought, that the two had real on-screen chemistry and maybe something was going on behind the scenes and that the actors are good friends -- "maybe too good" friends -- in RL, I wasn't surprised by Rodney's confession about how close they were and how devastated he was at Carson's death. I wonder if it would have seemed startling otherwise, especially for someone so accustomed to looking at John/Rodney.
Note to self: sheafrotherdon January rxn