Stargate SG-1
I was pleasantly surprised by Paradise Lost. I was dreading a really slow-paced ep (like, even more than usual) about two guys stuck on a planet. Instead, it had a good dose of tension (Maybourne is a despicable character but he brings good drama and snark to the show) and Jack acted smart, figuring out what had happened before and was happening again. As a Jack-centric episode, I liked it better than Abyss, which didn’t quite live up to the hype.
Between Metamorphosis and Paradise Lost, it’s fairly easy to consider Teal’c, the shipper extraordinaire, as canon. His concern for Sam’s mental well-being in Paradise Lost, starting well before the locker room scene, was quite touching. For a season rumoured to be ship-light, season 6 is proving itself positively, those two eps had some nice touches.
Jonas is okay, a bit too much on the genius side as he seems to be a mixture of Sam and Daniel, solving scientific and linguistic problems without so much as batting an eye. Nirrti herself acknowledges his ‘advanced’ status but then Nirrti freaks me out, she looks and sounds like some Brazilian transsexual: rather masculine built and Goa’uld male voice associated with S&M clothing and generous cleavage. Freaky, I tell you! * g *
Thinking back on the end of season 8 and the differing reactions to the writing of the ship there, I wondered about my own definitions of subtle and ambiguous.
Aside from the fact that both are meant to be light touches, I would say that subtle to me means that whatever interpretations one takes from a scene enrich each other whereas they would be mutually exclusive in an ambiguous scene. This is of course based on one person’s perceptions, otherwise the whole show could be considered ambiguous, were a slasher and a shipper to compare notes. :-)
As an example, the Sam/Jack hug in Heroes part 2 falls into my ‘subtle’ category. It’s about Janet, friendship, loss and love, either or all can do and they’re actually related, feed each other and of each other. There are no huge declarations between the characters, the words aren’t easy as always but they both know what’s being said for real and, more important, I do too.
On the other hand, the Sam/Jack lab scene in Affinity is totally cryptic and offers no clues. Sam’s question is kept vague enough that Jack’s reply brings no answer. What did she mean exactly? What did he mean? They don’t know and neither do I.
The fishing scene in Threads and then Moebius is also ambiguous. It’s meant as a ship resolution moment yet there is no inappropriate touching from Sam & Jack. They’ve sat closer together before in briefings, right before Hammond’s eyes. So, no touching and no lingering looks toward one another. The dialogue itself could be considered resolvey but the body language doesn’t back it enough.
That scene also purports to be a team moment. I will now contradict my comment in a previous post about it being perfect in tone (fandom is very bad for me, it only encourages my nitpicky side and makes the enjoyment of a show that much more difficult), because for a team scene, it separates the team in two instead of truly bringing it together (even though Daniel tries to wedge himself between Sam and Jack at the end. Back off, Daniel!! *g*). It would have felt more team-oriented if the four of them had been standing on the dock. As it is, it tries to be both ship and team and somehow ends up neither.
For instance, the fish moment in Moebius could have had Teal’c raise an eyebrow, Daniel remark on the ‘no fish in my pond’ comment on the tape and Jack whisper ‘close enough’ after the faintest nod of approval (or lingering gaze) from Sam. And then they’d have clinged their beer bottles together and celebrated.
Right, okay, no more musketeers’ stories for me... *g*
Between Metamorphosis and Paradise Lost, it’s fairly easy to consider Teal’c, the shipper extraordinaire, as canon. His concern for Sam’s mental well-being in Paradise Lost, starting well before the locker room scene, was quite touching. For a season rumoured to be ship-light, season 6 is proving itself positively, those two eps had some nice touches.
Jonas is okay, a bit too much on the genius side as he seems to be a mixture of Sam and Daniel, solving scientific and linguistic problems without so much as batting an eye. Nirrti herself acknowledges his ‘advanced’ status but then Nirrti freaks me out, she looks and sounds like some Brazilian transsexual: rather masculine built and Goa’uld male voice associated with S&M clothing and generous cleavage. Freaky, I tell you! * g *
Thinking back on the end of season 8 and the differing reactions to the writing of the ship there, I wondered about my own definitions of subtle and ambiguous.
Aside from the fact that both are meant to be light touches, I would say that subtle to me means that whatever interpretations one takes from a scene enrich each other whereas they would be mutually exclusive in an ambiguous scene. This is of course based on one person’s perceptions, otherwise the whole show could be considered ambiguous, were a slasher and a shipper to compare notes. :-)
As an example, the Sam/Jack hug in Heroes part 2 falls into my ‘subtle’ category. It’s about Janet, friendship, loss and love, either or all can do and they’re actually related, feed each other and of each other. There are no huge declarations between the characters, the words aren’t easy as always but they both know what’s being said for real and, more important, I do too.
On the other hand, the Sam/Jack lab scene in Affinity is totally cryptic and offers no clues. Sam’s question is kept vague enough that Jack’s reply brings no answer. What did she mean exactly? What did he mean? They don’t know and neither do I.
The fishing scene in Threads and then Moebius is also ambiguous. It’s meant as a ship resolution moment yet there is no inappropriate touching from Sam & Jack. They’ve sat closer together before in briefings, right before Hammond’s eyes. So, no touching and no lingering looks toward one another. The dialogue itself could be considered resolvey but the body language doesn’t back it enough.
That scene also purports to be a team moment. I will now contradict my comment in a previous post about it being perfect in tone (fandom is very bad for me, it only encourages my nitpicky side and makes the enjoyment of a show that much more difficult), because for a team scene, it separates the team in two instead of truly bringing it together (even though Daniel tries to wedge himself between Sam and Jack at the end. Back off, Daniel!! *g*). It would have felt more team-oriented if the four of them had been standing on the dock. As it is, it tries to be both ship and team and somehow ends up neither.
For instance, the fish moment in Moebius could have had Teal’c raise an eyebrow, Daniel remark on the ‘no fish in my pond’ comment on the tape and Jack whisper ‘close enough’ after the faintest nod of approval (or lingering gaze) from Sam. And then they’d have clinged their beer bottles together and celebrated.
Right, okay, no more musketeers’ stories for me... *g*