Save Vala Mal Doran in the SG-1 Movies! We've heard the news, and to say that we don't like it would be an understatement. Follow the link to the thread
milena_d has started at GateWorld for a positive campaign to save one of our favorite characters.
Word. I mean...that's it EXACTLY.
It was stupid, though, because with the Goa'uld, we didn't have the gloom-and-doom 'omg, we're going to diiieeee' thing every frelling episode. We had nice stand-alone eps with team bonding and new aliens and adventures. I hated that the Ori thing was so...is serialized the word? They dominated pretty much every ep, it just got really old.
The only good thing about season 10 was Vala. I mean, my favorites were Bad Guys and Memento Mori, but even the crappy eps were made slightly better by her presence because she is fantastic. And now they want to ditch her. *headdesks*
Though at this point, I'm not sure if maybe they'd be doing her a favor. I mean, TATB's grasp of characterization is getting worse and worse. I don't think they're even TRYING anymore, they're just being lazy and resorting to cliches of characters rather than writing them from the heart. You watch some shows where everyone is so invested in being true to the characters and really love and care about them...and then there's Stargate.
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THANK YOU. It's not as if they hadn't told us just how bad the Ori were, and just how screwed they were if nothing changed. It just felt so very clunky and annoying, I miss the eps where they'd visit other planets just for the exploration and adventures. And I never quite saw the connection to all the Arthurian mythology.
You watch some shows where everyone is so invested in being true to the characters and really love and care about them...and then there's Stargate.
By "some shows", you wouldn't happen to be referring to CM would you?
But the Vala characterization in the SG-1 movies has been kinda sketchy, so maybe it's better that they aren't. Idk. *stabs writers*
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I think they were trying for the BSG edginess and 'real life grittiness' in having huge plot arcs about their screwedness and minimizing fun little stand-alones, but hello, people watch BSG for angst, SG for teh happy, so... *shrugs*
The Arthurian thing...well, I applaud them for trying something different. But the execution, not so good.
By "some shows", you wouldn't happen to be referring to CM would you?
LOL, that should've been my first thought, but actually, I was thinking of The Lost World, an old cheesy but god-so-fun sci-fi/fantasy show. With the BEST SHIP EVER, ZOMG. :D
the Vala characterization in the SG-1 movies has been kinda sketchy
I heard she actually wasn't going to be a major role in the last movie, then someone brainwaved the whole Q'etesh thing with Ba'al, so that solved it all. But the main dude writing the movies just thinks it's too hard to include her, like omgwtf. But the thing is, if they can't even keep the characters they adore- like O'Neill and Carter- in character [thinking back to their respective SGA appearances], then Vala...well...had no chance.
*joins in torturing writers*
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BSG makes edgy/angsty work, SG-1 does not.
The Arthurian thing was something where I never quite got the connection that they were trying to make between Merlin and evil glowy dudes, but... *shrug*
XD
Ohhh... you said ship. Now I have to ask who and what and details please.
But the thing is, if they can't even keep the characters they adore- like O'Neill and Carter- in character [thinking back to their respective SGA appearances], then Vala...well...had no chance.
True. The characterizations on everybody got kinda lame towards the end. It made things kind of weird, to say the least, and if that's how this movie is gonna be, I'd almost rather they didn't make any more.
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Heh. >:D I feel almost guilty, but...not quite. TLW came along when I was at a low point. SGA was breaking my heart with its suckiness, BSG was breaking my heart with its angstiness, I had nothing to watch or squee over. I saw a link on sapphs journal to a page sketching out the relationship between the characters, and before I knew it, I was buying the series without having seen an ep. I WAS THAT DESPERATE.
The thing you need to come to terms with if you're thinking of watching it is...it's seriously cheesy, seriously corny, and because it was filmed in the 90's, the special effects are not so special. I cannot warn you about it enough. BUT it's very funny and warmhearted and the relationships are very interesting.
Did you take a look at my icon? That's Marguerite and Roxton, who are the main ship in the show [and at #3 and #6 respectively on my top 10 hottest fictional characters meme], although there is a secondary ship between Ned and Veronica.
The plot is that a group of explorers set off to find THE LOST WORLD somewhere in the Amazon. Through some miraculous feat of geographic improbability, they find their way onto the Plateau, a place where anything and everything can happen. Every myth and legend you ever heard off crops up here. There are dinosauries, pirates, Amazons, vampires, fairies, druids, and a heck of a lot more. Even Jack the Ripper makes an appearance, lol. The Plateau just draws all the crazies, it's like a vortex of insanity.
Marguerite is the financier of the expedition, and she's the darkest most mysterious character of the bunch. I've compared her to Vala in the sense that they're both rather deceitful and morally ambiguous and share less than saintly pasts. Roxton, the hunter, is rather like Daniel [in later seasons anyway, when he got handy with a gun, lol], the nobler of the two, always trying to do the right thing, stand up for the innocents in need and all that heroic kinda stuff. He tries to convince her that she can be better than she is, and they have some pretty damn awesome exchanges. It's semi love/hate, and they're so fun to watch. ♥
Ned is the reporter, rather innocent and naive, very green. Veronica is the jungle girl they encounter on the Plateau, who takes them in and lets them live with her. What I like about the show is it doesn't do the whole BSG thing where they're starving and running out of weapons and ammo and that kind of thing. [I actually bounced back and forth between these two shows- from deprivation and despair to abundance and fluffiness, heh.] They live in a spacious treehouse with elictricity and hot water, music and lab equipment and all the things a group of 20th century explorers could want [bar a tv].
Other than the couples, we have two older dudes, Professors Challenger and Summerlee. The former is the visionary, the McGuyver, who can create any invention in the middle of a jungle. Summerlee's a botanist, comes up with cures for illnesses from random plants and stuff. They bicker like anything, rather like McKay and Zelenka, lol.
I think sapphshas uploaded the eps somewhere if you have time to waste and you're thinking of d/l them. ;) If you have more specific questions, please, ask. I'm more than happy to oblige. :D
PS. The opening ep is rather harsh on the characters, like, at times, I was all, 'OMG, am I supposed to hate them?' But they grow and their relationships develop and change and it's what real characterization and development is all about, damn it, Stargate PTB!
Btw, I have to get off the computer now, lol. Just want to say it's been totally awesome chatting with you all day! ♥ *huggles*
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Corniness doesn't bother me so much though, I mean this is me. I watched a few episodes of Twin Peaks at my friend's urging.
Ahh, I finally get where the links were going in the Vala entry. Sweet. And it sounds promising just on the basis of the love/hate thing alone, because when I think of all my favorite ships, that's totally there, at least in the beginning and oftentimes with elements of it weaved in throughout the run.
The Plateau sounds kinda awesome though, and just like my kind of place. Insane is a lot of fun.
And holding my giggles on the fact that a jungle girl would be named Veronica, I love the idea of a bunch of people just living in a treehouse. It's random, crazy, and fun sounding.
The fact that the opening ep is harsh on the characters sounds like a reason to watch, if anything. Watching characters get to grow and evolve is one of the best things about good television. Real people are never in stasis, we're always changing, and I really like it when tv reflects that.
Side note, I don't think I know sapphs other than seeing her around LJ, but I'll go check :D
Just want to say it's been totally awesome chatting with you all day! ♥ *huggles*
Same here, I had waayyyy too much fun yesterday *g*
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Ahh, I finally get where the links were going in the Vala entry.
Seriously? Excellent! Because I just reread my Vala thing and I don't think it was so good with the comparison since it was rather scattered and incoherent but hopefully you get the gist of it.
Btw, I was brooding at home yesterday when I realized I forgot to make a most important distinction between them- Vala is more charming and lovable in general, whereas Marguerite only turns on the charm when she wants something, lol. So Vala's kinda bouncy and light and sunshine 24/7, but Marguerite does NOT get on too well with her fellow explorers. Heh. I'd love a crossover with them, though, the two witty scheming manipulative hussies. ♥
Corniness doesn't bother me so much though
Coolness. *g* When you get around to watching the show, let me know whether that still holds true. :D Not that I doubt you but it took me a while to get into it and I would endure much for a ship.
And it sounds promising just on the basis of the love/hate thing alone, because when I think of all my favorite ships, that's totally there
No, seriously, it's in ALL OF MY SHIPS. It weirded me out when I first saw the connection. I think A/R is the most blatant and legendary exploration of that theme.
The Plateau sounds kinda awesome though, and just like my kind of place. Insane is a lot of fun.
Heh. I'd make a crack at your expense but then it'd be at my own, too, so...yay for insanity! \o/
I'd want to live on the Plateau but I'm afraid the lack of internet/tv would just KILL ME after a while.
And holding my giggles on the fact that a jungle girl would be named Veronica
Oh, whoops, there's where I slip up. Even when I try to be thorough, I always assume the audience has intrinsic knowledge of something when there's no way they could. Veronica's parents were part of an earlier expedition that got trapped on the Plateau, so her name isn't as random as it sounds, lol, she was from civilization originally, but grew up on the Plateau and learnt all sorts of survival and fighting skills. I think of her as the original Teyla, actually. Except less wallpaper/token female and more of a developed and active participant in the show.
Side note, I don't think I know [info]sapphs other than seeing her around LJ, but I'll go check :D
'k. Good luck! If you strike out, get back to me. I have a spare copy of season 1.
I'm the kind of person that'll end up with multiple copies of stuff and be like, 'ohh, you're so pretty, even if I never watch you again, you can sit here as part of my collection and it will be worth it.' *headdesks* Idek.
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it was rather scattered and incoherent but hopefully you get the gist of it.
Need I remind you that I am by nature often scattered and incoherent? :D
Sounds like a fun crossover though. Speaking of which, if you ever saw the episode of Firefly, "Our Mrs. Reynolds", there is a crossover with Saffron and Vala that is way awesome. Vala calls her out on being scheming and manipulative and the way it worked out was pretty darn cool.
No, seriously, it's in ALL OF MY SHIPS. It weirded me out when I first saw the connection. I think A/R is the most blatant and legendary exploration of that theme.
Right now I'm trying to think if there are any where it's not that way, and I'm coming up blank. I'm sure there has to be one somewhere.. *ponders*
Yeah, A/R's pretty much the gold standard of love/hate turning into OTP.
Heh. I'd make a crack at your expense but then it'd be at my own, too, so...yay for insanity! \o/
Good answer. Because, seriously.
You make an interesting point. It's quite possible I would go nutso without tv or internet. *nodnod*
The Veronica thing makes a lot of sense. I was always kind of grumpy at the SGA writers for what they did to Teyla. She could've been really great, and there were some places where the characterization was nice, and others where I didn't know what they were trying to do with her.
XD
Will do. I normally watch stuff online and/or download, but now and then I do buy stuff *g*
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