The 'Gates
Following are my thoughts about tonight's Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis eps. Don't click on the cut if you don't want to be spoiled. This includes you, surrealphantast!
My feelings towards "Talion" are sort of generic and yet filled with love for Chris Judge. Methinks the man seriously underestimates his own acting abilities. Granted, Teal'c isn't the most emotive character on SG-1, but when we get a Teal'c-centric ep, I almost *always* figure I won't be as engaged as I am in other eps and yet I'm almost always sucked in.
CJ is truly a very good actor. Granted, he rarely has many lines, which makes his job all the harder. He needs to convey his emotions without words - something he's become extremely good at. As well as delivering some really fucking *cold* words, virtually emotionallessly. If that's even a word.
Also, this ep, while nominally a Teal'c-centric ep, still engages all the other members of SG-1. As a S/D shipper, I squeed over the physical proximity of Sam and Daniel during one of those scenes.
And... while I've had *grave* reservations about the whole Daniel/Vala dynamic, I rey enjoyed it here. It's not romantic, but... something else. Which I enjoyed. A lot. Daniel and Vala have a really interesting dynamic that's somewhat sexual, but yet more than that. I like that, and I don't find that it excludes or overshadows any other 'ships.
Like I've always said, yes, I enjoy the various pairings, but I'm not 'married' to any of them. Well, except Sam/Daniel, but... I'm not totally parochial about it. I can see them being a sort of on-off thing over the years. Your Mileage May Vary. I feel the need to spell that out, here.
'Sunday' - SGA
Okay, I'd been spoiled for the loss of Carson Beckett for some time, so that wasn't a complete suprise. And... considering some of the things they'd done with his character, (freakin' Baby Turtles??? Yes, an amusing aside in the face of what they were all facing, but still. Relegating a character like Carson to comic relief bothers me), I wasn't heartbroken to see him go. And what a sendoff he got! Carson got to be brave and noble and all those other things I adore.
From a writer's standpoint, though I don't write screenplays, I pretty much 'get it'. If you're going to make mortal peril *real*, then beloved characters need to die periodically. Sad, but true. Sure, we can kill of 'redshirts' on a regular basis, but we're not very invested in them. Killing off a beloved character is guaranteed to garner a response. As it should. I did truly enjoy Dr. Beckitt's character, right up until they made him a twit. In my mind, Carson is NOT a twit, but what can I do if TPTB decide that Beckitt is comedy relief. C'est la vie.
Then again, in sci-fi, no one is ever truly dead. Still, the ending scene in SGA really got to me. Partially because we had a piper at my mother's funeral. The wind was blowig and it kept blowing the pipe drones closed until another friend stepped up to hold the drones open. For me, the only saving grace was that they didn't send Carson off with 'Amazing Grace', a classic pipe tune. I adored the expressions on everyone's faces.
'Sunday' was a really great ep. I'm not a huge Rodney fan, but Hewlett really was great.
Okay, more or less done here. I have a lot of other thoughts, especially about SG-1, but I'm too intoxicated to be sensible.
Evil gin.
My feelings towards "Talion" are sort of generic and yet filled with love for Chris Judge. Methinks the man seriously underestimates his own acting abilities. Granted, Teal'c isn't the most emotive character on SG-1, but when we get a Teal'c-centric ep, I almost *always* figure I won't be as engaged as I am in other eps and yet I'm almost always sucked in.
CJ is truly a very good actor. Granted, he rarely has many lines, which makes his job all the harder. He needs to convey his emotions without words - something he's become extremely good at. As well as delivering some really fucking *cold* words, virtually emotionallessly. If that's even a word.
Also, this ep, while nominally a Teal'c-centric ep, still engages all the other members of SG-1. As a S/D shipper, I squeed over the physical proximity of Sam and Daniel during one of those scenes.
And... while I've had *grave* reservations about the whole Daniel/Vala dynamic, I rey enjoyed it here. It's not romantic, but... something else. Which I enjoyed. A lot. Daniel and Vala have a really interesting dynamic that's somewhat sexual, but yet more than that. I like that, and I don't find that it excludes or overshadows any other 'ships.
Like I've always said, yes, I enjoy the various pairings, but I'm not 'married' to any of them. Well, except Sam/Daniel, but... I'm not totally parochial about it. I can see them being a sort of on-off thing over the years. Your Mileage May Vary. I feel the need to spell that out, here.
'Sunday' - SGA
Okay, I'd been spoiled for the loss of Carson Beckett for some time, so that wasn't a complete suprise. And... considering some of the things they'd done with his character, (freakin' Baby Turtles??? Yes, an amusing aside in the face of what they were all facing, but still. Relegating a character like Carson to comic relief bothers me), I wasn't heartbroken to see him go. And what a sendoff he got! Carson got to be brave and noble and all those other things I adore.
From a writer's standpoint, though I don't write screenplays, I pretty much 'get it'. If you're going to make mortal peril *real*, then beloved characters need to die periodically. Sad, but true. Sure, we can kill of 'redshirts' on a regular basis, but we're not very invested in them. Killing off a beloved character is guaranteed to garner a response. As it should. I did truly enjoy Dr. Beckitt's character, right up until they made him a twit. In my mind, Carson is NOT a twit, but what can I do if TPTB decide that Beckitt is comedy relief. C'est la vie.
Then again, in sci-fi, no one is ever truly dead. Still, the ending scene in SGA really got to me. Partially because we had a piper at my mother's funeral. The wind was blowig and it kept blowing the pipe drones closed until another friend stepped up to hold the drones open. For me, the only saving grace was that they didn't send Carson off with 'Amazing Grace', a classic pipe tune. I adored the expressions on everyone's faces.
'Sunday' was a really great ep. I'm not a huge Rodney fan, but Hewlett really was great.
Okay, more or less done here. I have a lot of other thoughts, especially about SG-1, but I'm too intoxicated to be sensible.
Evil gin.