John has his moments for me. I find him really hard to understand--mostly, I think, because they write him as this really kind, gentle, good person...most of the time. And then he's a badass, cold son of a bitch for about 1% of the season.
Anyway, I REALLY liked this episode. Which...how did that happen? It's Atlantis!
John has his moments for me. I find him really hard to understand
Exactly! I think that's a big part of my interest in him. He's very hard to read. He's like a puzzle. Some of the stuff he does is like, "Oh, Holy Geez, that's freaking *dark*" and then not long later he seems to be fairly fine with it. I mean, we get tiny indications here and there that it haunts him (like killing Sumner), but... Yeah.
From what I've heard on the commentaries, about, oh, 90% of it is the way he's written and the other 10% is how the actor chooses to play it. But I think he's meant to be a bit of an enigmatic character.
And hey, I didn't mean to make it sound like I'm constantly going to defend Sheppard. I'm not. No worries.
And hey, I didn't mean to make it sound like I'm constantly going to defend Sheppard. I'm not. No worries.
I think it's cool when people defend unpoular positions, actually, especially when they give reasons for them. And liking the character is different than supporting all the decisions he's made. I mean, I like Ba'al, but I definitely don't think he's all sweetness and sunshine.
And liking the character is different than supporting all the decisions he's made.
Definitely. That's pretty much where I am with John. Once in a while I like him best when he's clearly wrong. But I was really on the fence regarding his dealings with Teyla's pregnancy. I mean, no, he wasn't right, but I *could* understand where he was coming from. On several different levels, even. So while I couldn't actually agree with him, I could sympathize with him.
And I now understand it a little better after listening to the commentaries. More and more, the people giving the DVD commentaries are addressing fan complaints and concerns. In this too, sometimes I don't agree with their rationalization, but it helps to understand where they're coming from.
I think sometimes we expect our characters to react exactly the way we think people ought to react. Especially if they are the protagonists of the show.
I really do like knowing why people made the decisions on the show that they did. It's very interesting!
I think sometimes we expect our characters to react exactly the way we think people ought to react.
I think that's a lot of it. We want characters to be as good or even better and more noble than we are ourselves. When they're not - when they fail to live up to that in one way or another, we're disappointed.
While John has his heroic moments, he's not consistently heroic. I tend to think that he doesn't *want* to be perceived as heroic. ultranos_fic below calls him an anti-hero and I think that fits him better
( ... )
It really does make for interesting TV. I don't mind shows that don't go there, as long as they ping me in other ways, but I LOVE shows that do. Like BSG. Or even Farscape. Both those shows had people making good/bad/everything in between choices, and it IS a little disappointing, but at the same time, it can create some great story-telling.
Do you know if there's any place that shows who does which commentary for SG-1/SGA?
Meh, I tried to find something on the internet, but TVonDVD.com appears to be offline. Since I have the Season 4 DVD set right here, I can hook you up :)
Disc 1
Adrift - Martin Gero & Martin Wood Lifeline - Martin Wod & Amanda Tapping Reunion - Joe Mallozzi & William Waring Doppelganger - Robert Cooper & Mark Savela (SFX supervisor)
Special Features A New Leader: Amanda Tapping joins Atlantis Doppleganger Featurette with Robert Cooper
Disc 2
Travelers - Paul Mullie & William Waring Tabula Rasa - Alan McCullough, Martin Wood, Amanda Tapping Missing - Carl Binder & Andy Mikita The Seer - Alan McCullough & Andy Mikita
Special Features Paul McGillion Featurette Stargate Bloopers.
Disc 3
Miller's Crossing - Martin Gero & Andy Mikita This Mortal Coil - Joe Mallozzi & William Waring Be All My Sins... - Martin Gero & Andy Mikita Spoils of War - Alan McCullough & William Waring
Special Features This Mortal Coil with Will Warning
Anyway, I REALLY liked this episode. Which...how did that happen? It's Atlantis!
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Exactly! I think that's a big part of my interest in him. He's very hard to read. He's like a puzzle. Some of the stuff he does is like, "Oh, Holy Geez, that's freaking *dark*" and then not long later he seems to be fairly fine with it. I mean, we get tiny indications here and there that it haunts him (like killing Sumner), but... Yeah.
From what I've heard on the commentaries, about, oh, 90% of it is the way he's written and the other 10% is how the actor chooses to play it. But I think he's meant to be a bit of an enigmatic character.
And hey, I didn't mean to make it sound like I'm constantly going to defend Sheppard. I'm not. No worries.
Reply
I think it's cool when people defend unpoular positions, actually, especially when they give reasons for them. And liking the character is different than supporting all the decisions he's made. I mean, I like Ba'al, but I definitely don't think he's all sweetness and sunshine.
*g*
Reply
Definitely. That's pretty much where I am with John. Once in a while I like him best when he's clearly wrong. But I was really on the fence regarding his dealings with Teyla's pregnancy. I mean, no, he wasn't right, but I *could* understand where he was coming from. On several different levels, even. So while I couldn't actually agree with him, I could sympathize with him.
And I now understand it a little better after listening to the commentaries. More and more, the people giving the DVD commentaries are addressing fan complaints and concerns. In this too, sometimes I don't agree with their rationalization, but it helps to understand where they're coming from.
Reply
I really do like knowing why people made the decisions on the show that they did. It's very interesting!
Reply
I think that's a lot of it. We want characters to be as good or even better and more noble than we are ourselves. When they're not - when they fail to live up to that in one way or another, we're disappointed.
While John has his heroic moments, he's not consistently heroic. I tend to think that he doesn't *want* to be perceived as heroic. ultranos_fic below calls him an anti-hero and I think that fits him better ( ... )
Reply
Do you know if there's any place that shows who does which commentary for SG-1/SGA?
Reply
Disc 1
Adrift - Martin Gero & Martin Wood
Lifeline - Martin Wod & Amanda Tapping
Reunion - Joe Mallozzi & William Waring
Doppelganger - Robert Cooper & Mark Savela (SFX supervisor)
Special Features
A New Leader: Amanda Tapping joins Atlantis
Doppleganger Featurette with Robert Cooper
Disc 2
Travelers - Paul Mullie & William Waring
Tabula Rasa - Alan McCullough, Martin Wood, Amanda Tapping
Missing - Carl Binder & Andy Mikita
The Seer - Alan McCullough & Andy Mikita
Special Features
Paul McGillion Featurette
Stargate Bloopers.
Disc 3
Miller's Crossing - Martin Gero & Andy Mikita
This Mortal Coil - Joe Mallozzi & William Waring
Be All My Sins... - Martin Gero & Andy Mikita
Spoils of War - Alan McCullough & William Waring
Special Features
This Mortal Coil with Will Warning
Disc 4Quarantine - Martin Wood & Amanda Tapping ( ... )
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