Canon vs. Fanon, part 20: Infirmary fanon, part 2
Ten months since the last one, you say? Really?
Welcome to the latest edition of Canon vs. Fanon! Pull up a chair, poke around, and jump into the discussion. If you're new to the series, you can read older entries via the tags or the LJ Index.
Briefly, the purpose of these essays is to explore canon issues, contrast them with common fanon usage, and determine how far fanon strays from canon. Canon is defined as anything directly shown during Stargate: The Movie, episodes of the show, and the SG-1 movies, with show superseding the original movie when there's a contradiction. (O'Neill with two Ls, for example, or Cheyenne vs. Creek Mountain.) Fanon is defined as widely-accepted concepts that appear in fanfic, but do not have any real basis in canon.
There are varying degrees of fanon, and these essays have touched on all types. Some fanon is completely unsupported by canon; some is actually contradicted by canon; and some is only a question of emphasis or degree. The point is not to condemn authors who use fanon, or even to suggest that there is something wrong with extrapolation of common plotlines. The purpose is simply to reach an understanding of what is and isn't canon. Once the facts and conclusions are presented, you are welcome to argue them, agree them, or ignore them completely - the choice is entirely up to you. :)
This time, we are going to explore a few more common fanon tropes associated with the infirmary. We've covered many of these in the past, including the first infirmary post and Daniel's fangirl nurses. Now we'll take a look at the team's attitude towards various medications and the presumption that they like to check themselves out of the infirmary without approval.
Daniel suffers adverse reactions to many medications, and SGC doctors ignore or dismiss his suffering.
Interestingly enough, this particular bit of fanon is more closely associated with Janet than with Daniel. I see the premise most often in post-Heroes fic - sometimes with Brightman, sometimes with Lam, occasionally with Warner or Mackenzie (who everyone knows secretly hates Daniel, sigh). A team member (usually Jack) angrily confronts the presiding doctor for administering a medication to which Daniel is allergic or reacts badly. Sometimes it's not an actually allergic reaction, but a more minor effect, like extra nausea or dopiness. But in any case, the implication is that Janet would have known better - or at least closely read Daniel's file to discover the documented warnings against using such medication on our woobie long-suffering Saint Daniel.
How unsubstantiated is this fanon? Let us count the ways...
I adore the Little Doc beyond reason and hate her senseless death in Heroes, but I cannot abide the suggestion that aside from our favorites, the SGC is staffed with incompetents. Fanfic writers who ascribe to this fanon might not realize that they are essentially suggesting that Janet is the only decent staff member on the medical team, but that is precisely what they are doing. Stepping away from the SGC for a moment, does anyone out there really think that a person with a medical degree would administer medication without first checking the patient's file for allergies or adverse reactions?
Yes, it is Janet who knows that Graham Simmons is allergic to tetracycline in Message in a Bottle. That does not mean she is the only person on the medical staff who would take the trouble to read a file!
There is also the minor detail that there is no canon proof whatsoever to suggest that Daniel is allergic to any medication at all. This was covered rather extensively in a previous post about Daniel's allergies; for our purposes here, it's enough to remember that Daniel takes antihistamines for sneezing, and that his allergies are triggered by travel and/or pollen - not medications.
So, how often do allergies play a role in SG-1, aside from Daniel's sneezing and the plot point in Broca Divide?
Graham Simmons. McKay's allergy to citrus. Vala's "inheritance" from her father of "minor food allergies," as cited in Family Ties. Oh, and Kera heals a woman suffering from an allergic reaction to something she's eaten in Past and Present. Sorry, fanon fans, but that's it!
Conclusion: It is completely fanon that Daniel is allergic to specific drugs. It is also an insult to SGC personnel in particular, and the medical profession in general, to suggest that anyone would fail to consult a medical file before administering medication.
Sam and/or Daniel hate and/or refuse painkillers that affect their thinking processes.
This is the kind of fanon that most amuses me. It doesn't contradict canon in the slightest, but there's no basis for it, either.
The trope is most often found in the middle of a dramatic story in which Sam or Daniel have been injured, but need to get back on their feet as soon as possible to find a solution/translate the artifact/fix the dialing computer/rescue the rest of the team. Invariably, despite agonizing pain, they bravely refuse morphine or other painkillers - because it muddles their thinking, and they need a clear head.
Lovely pathos and drama. Too bad it never happened on the show!
Now, there are two canon incidents in which Daniel and Sam, respectively, refused (or tried to refuse) drugs that were disturbing their reasoning processes. In these cases, however, the medications were actually unnecessary, not just unwanted:
Legacy. Mackenzie brings Daniel's latest dosage after the Goa'uld killer has already gone into Teal'c. Daniel tries to evade the needle, protesting, "I don't need any more drugs. What I need is the ones you got in my system, out of my system."
Divide and Conquer. Janet is in the process of sedating Sam in the mistaken belief that she is a za'tarc. She struggles to stay awake, remembering the incident that happened during Upgrades. She realizes that Anise's za'tarc machine had picked up on emotional confusion rather than implanted memories and begs Janet to stop things before it's too late.
In both of these cases, Sam and Daniel are protesting drugs that will not allow them to think clearly. But this is not some ridiculously stoic refusal to be relieved of pain; it is a recognition that the medication is being administered without cause, because the doctor in question is not in possession of all the facts. This is a far cry from the common fanon, which suggests that Sam or Daniel prefer writhing in agony to a few hours of pain-free sleep.
Edit: petite_stars helpfully points out a canon incident in S10 where Sam actually does refuse morphine so that she can think properly. In Line in the Sand, Sam and Mitchell are out of phase while a Prior and Ori soldiers plan to destroy a village. Sam is suffering badly and Mitchell has been giving her regular injections of morphine. But when they need to try and expand the phase bubble to include the village, Sam gasps, "Wait. I need to think clearly. There might still be a way."
I don't think this serves as any kind of defense for this particular fanon trope, though. For one thing, many of the fics with this fanon were written long before S10 aired. :) For another, this is a single incident, in the field under extreme duress, whereas the fanon always puts Sam or Daniel in the infirmary, in a safe location. I have often expressed skepticism about late-season canon proofs that defend fanon, because at that point, the writers were often absorbing fanon from the fans; but in this case, I simply don't feel that it supports the fanon, because the difference in circumstances is too pronounced.
Conclusion: There is no canon basis for the fanon assertion that Sam and Daniel dislike sedatives or painkillers which muddle their thinking processes.
Daniel is afraid of needles and avoids IVs.
I don't see this particular bit of fanon very often, but that's not because it doesn't exist; it's because it's most often part of stories where Saint Daniel is timid and needs his hand held on a regular basis, and I avoid those kinds of stories like the plague. Daniel is depicted in these as childish and stubborn, ducking out of infirmary visits - often because of some horrible childhood trauma (for which there is no canon basis, naturally).
Do I really have to state that there is not a single canon incident that even comes close to supporting this? Not to mention that Janet has never threatened Daniel - or anyone else - with big needles?
Didn't think so. :)
Conclusion: There is no canon basis for the fanon assertion that Daniel is afraid of IVs, needles, or any other medical procedure.
Jack dislikes/refuses morphine because he was addicted in Iraq.
The refusal of morphine is actually less common than the idea that Jack has suffered a morphine addiction in the past. I've seen two version of that addiction: one, that he accidentally became addicted when he was rescued and the team that pulled him out had to ply him continually with morphine until they could get him to proper treatment; two, that the morphine addiction was deliberately introduced by his captors, in order to subsequently force him to talk for the sake of his next fix.
This fanon deserves careful exploration. Essentially, it's extrapolated from various canon facts, and there's nothing that actually contradicts it. Still, authors should be aware that there's no actual canonical proof before they choose to use it in their stories.
Let's take a look at what we know regarding Jack's Iraq experiences:
Solitudes. Jack had a "little parachuting mishap over the borders of Iran and Iraq" in 1980. His chute opened late and he suffered a skull fracture. Since the mission wasn't officially sanctioned, there was no rescue. It took him nine days to make it out on his own. There does not seem to be any connection between this and his subsequent imprisonment.
Prisoners. Jack and Daniel are arguing over Linnea:
Jack: I'm just going to assume you've never been in prison before.
Daniel: Oh, and you have?
Jack, after a beat: Oh, yeah.
This is interesting, because it suggests that Jack has never spoken to Daniel about his imprisonment in Iraq, despite the other secrets they share. We'll get back to Need, the very next episode, a bit later.
A Matter of Time. Here is where we learn more details about Jack's time in prison. No specified year, but Jack and Cromwell were part of a mission in Iraq. Jack got hit and went down; Cromwell thought he was dead and "made a judgment call to save the rest of the team." Jack says, "I saw you take off. And then I saw four months of my life disappear in some stinking Iraqi prison." He has never forgiven Cromwell for that and what he perceives as a violation of "No one gets left behind." By the end of the ep, however, it's Cromwell who gets left behind.
Please note that there is no specific confirmation that Jack was actually tortured while in prison, although our knowledge of Saddam Hussein's treatment of his own people certainly suggests that the circumstances of Jack's imprisonment weren't approved by the Geneva Conventions.
Fragile Balance. Jack knew a Lieutenant Harley Beck who participated in Operation Proven Force out of Incirlik and "flew an AC-130 gunship over Baghdad." It is strongly implied that Jack was on the mission with him. We don't know if this was the same mission as the one with Cromwell.
Evolution, part 2. Included for the sake of completion. Jack and Burke were together on a mission. Burke killed Woods in a "friendly fire" incident and resented Jack's testimony afterward. During the course of the episode, we learn that Woods was selling out the team and planned to set himself up as a mercenary for "that warlord." There is no way of knowing where the mission took place, and no specific suggestion that it happened in the Gulf, but the tone of the conversation does suggest otherwise.
That's all we know about Jack's Iraq experiences. So where does the morphine come in?
Need. Daniel, desperate to get back to the sarcophagus, breaks his restraints, throws Janet across the room, beats a guard into unconsciousness, and flees the infirmary. Jack corners him in a supply room, they fight, and then comes that frozen moment where Daniel is aiming a gun at Jack.
Jack almost whispers, "Look at you! I know what this is. I know what it's like. You can get through it."
Daniel lowers the gun and breaks down, and we get the ultimate hurt/comfort hug of the series. :)
Jack's statement that he "knows what it's like" is certainly open to the interpretation that Jack himself has suffered an addiction some time in the past. Of course, it is equally possible that he "knows what it's like" because he has seen another friend suffer through addiction and withdrawal. We have no way of knowing which premise is correct. And certainly, there is nothing wrong with taking the statement that Jack is familiar with withdrawal and his imprisonment in Iraq and combining the two to suggest that Jack himself suffered withdrawal in connection with his imprisonment. But there is no canonical proof of this - it's only inference based on canon that could easily be understood otherwise.
In terms of actual canon, the word "morphine" never comes up in connection with Iraq or with Jack's statement in Need, and we never see Jack refusing a specific drug throughout the series. So while it's a fascinating premise for building Jack's backstory, the idea that Jack was once addicted to morphine is nothing but an idea, with no real basis in canon.
ETA: sg_wonderland points out that in Divide and Conquer, when Jack volunteers to undergo the de-za'tarcing, he says to Daniel, "Hey, I've done the drugged-out, strapped-to-the-bed thing." This could lend credence to the Jack-was-once-addicted theory. However, Jack might very easily be referring to his imprisonment by Hathor in Out of Mind, his questioning by Nem in Fire and Water, or even his experience as one of the Touched. There's also Harlan imprisoning the team in Tin Man to make copies of them, although it's unclear if they were drugged or just gagged. We can even add Gamekeeper and Foothold to the list. There are enough canon incidents when Jack was "drugged-out" and "strapped-to-the-bed" that it's difficult to say that Jack was thinking of something that happened pre-series.
Edit in May '12: seaboe wanders by and points out another canon data point in The Devil You Know. After being drugged by the Blood of Sokar, Jack tells Daniel, "They gave me something that reminded me of the '70s." That's clearly a reference to drug use, although whether it's a generalized cultural reference or a specific personal one (and whether that personal usage might have been marijuana, LSD, morphine, or some other drug entirely) is impossible to tell. It confirms Jack's familiarity to drug reactions, but doesn't help us reach a conclusion regarding his own experiences.
Conclusion: There is no canonical proof that Jack was once addicted to morphine, whether or not it was connected with Iraq, and there is no canon incident in which Jack refuses drug treatment.
Various team members will lie to the doctor about injuries or duck out of the infirmary before they are officially released.
I have seen all three human members of the team guilty of both these tropes in fic: when questioned about their health, they will lie or evade the truth in order to avoid being confined to the infirmary. And if they are restricted to bedrest, they duck out as soon as the nurses' backs are turned. The reason for the escape varies; it can be sheer boredom, desperation to help a fellow teammate, or simply a desire for some peace and quiet.
Before getting into the canon aspects of this, may I just point out that Sam, Jack, and Daniel aren't exactly stupid? All three of them are aware of the dangers involved with off-world travel. None of them would be so foolhardy as to lie about their wellbeing before a mission - not only would this put their own lives at risk, but they'd be endangering their teammates as well. And again, none of them are so stupid as to ignore any injuries incurred off-world. They've had too much experience with contagion and other complications to risk the planet, much less themselves.
That said, there are a grand total of two incidents in which a member of SG-1 lied about his health, both taking place in Season Three:
Legacy. Daniel, knowing that he is experiencing hallucinations, lies to Jack about the symbiote he sees climbing Jack's arm... until he sees Jack's eyes flash, and flings himself at his friend in an effort to get the Goa'uld out. He was, quite literally, not exactly rational at the time.
Crystal Skull. Jack is Not Happy to be confined to the infirmary when a team member has gone missing. He whines at Janet (including the famous nickname of "Napoleonic Powermonger"), who tells him firmly, "You can protest all you want, Colonel, but it will be a while till you get your strength back. So relax. Doctor's orders."
Then comes one of the most hilarious scenes in the episode, if not the series, somehow made even more funny by taking place, more or less, in the background:
Jack listens to Teal'c report on his return to the pyramid and the retrieval of the crystal skull. Daniel, out of phase, is in the room but paying them little attention.
Jack says, "Look, I'm sick of laying around. Help me up."
"Doctor Frasier believes you are not strong enough to undertake such a mission," Teal'c answers calmly.
Jack tries to stand up and lands on the floor in a graceless heap.
Teal'c observes, in an utterly deadpan tone, "Doctor Fraiser is usually correct in such matters." Then he picks Jack up by the scruff of his neck and dumps him, face-down, back on the bed.
"Thank you," Jack says, his voice muffled.
"You are welcome, O'Neill."
And Daniel misses nearly all of it. Hee hee hee.
The Legacy incident fits the first bit of this fanon trope, in that Daniel is trying to avoid being confined; the Crystal Skull scene fits the second, as Jack wants to help figure out what happened to Daniel. But a single canon incident of both scenarios hardly justifies the fanon presumption that SG-1 does this kind of thing on a regular basis - and, it should be noted, neither Daniel nor Jack manage to get away with it, either!
Conclusion: There is almost no canon basis for the fanon suggestion that team members will lie about their health or try to escape the infirmary prematurely, and no canon incident whatsoever in which it actually happened.
Here's my personal fanon opinion, which is always open to contradiction!
The suggestions that Daniel gets incompetent treatment or is himself afraid of treatment falls into the fanon category that I most dislike: not only does it have no basis in canon, but it is contradicted by canon characterization. We never see Daniel react adversely to drugs, and we never see incompetence by the medical staff. (Let's leave Legacy out of that for the moment, shall we? I can point you to some tongue-in-cheek meta if you'd like!) And the Daniel who stares down Goa'uld and deliberately sets himself up to be knocked down by Jaffa is not going to cringe at the sight of an IV needle!
As for Sam and Daniel refusing painkillers - well, it's pure fanon. That doesn't mean it automatically has to be dismissed, although authors should be aware that it's a fanon trope before they decide whether or not to use it. The real question should be: is it in character? It's true that both of them have had control wrested from them in the past - in particular, Sam was forcibly taken as a host by Jolinar. So it's hardly a stretch to suppose that they'd want to have as much control over their bodies and minds as they can. On the other hand, they're both intelligent enough to know that sometimes, painkillers are actually necessary. Speaking from personal experience, it can be very hard to think clearly when you're in considerable pain, and both Sam and Daniel would understand that. So while I might accept that either one of them would ask for painkillers to be kept at a minimal dosage, I can't buy the fanon trope that they hate sedatives and prefer pain to pain relief.
Then there's various team members ducking out of the infirmary, either by lying about their health or taking the liberty of releasing themselves without authority. To me, the first one is ridiculous, because it's based on the supposition that these people are sullen teenagers, not responsible adults. The second premise is much the same, with the caveat that at least SG-1 does often have urgent reasons to get back to work. And certainly no one likes to be in a hospital situation, and most of us will gladly leave the moment it's permitted.
But Sam and Jack are part of a military organization, and the idea of chain-of-command can't be dismissed so lightly. In medical terms, Janet outranks everybody. It's hard to accept either one of them ignoring this. Daniel has his civilian status, but he usually defers to military rank within the SGC organization. There's also the minor detail that we always see airmen on guard at the infirmary entrance; authors who write blithely of patients sneaking out the door seem to ignore that completely.
Canon only offers a single incident to fit this trope, and it should be noted that Jack doesn't get very far at all. So no, I can't buy this fanon - it ignores too many aspects of canon to work for me.
I'll note here that Teal'c sometimes refuses medical assistance by claiming that Junior can heal him quite nicely, thank you. He occasionally gets away with it, too - in Crystal Skull, Hammond specifically says that Janet doesn't think he's fully healed from the radiation, and Teal'c more or less ignores it. But even Teal'c defers to Janet on most occasions, and no one else has a symbiote as an excuse.
Finally, there's the premise about Jack and morphine. I'll dismiss the "Jack refuses morphine because of his addiction" aspect, since there's no canon basis for it at all, and focus on the idea of the addiction. It's not supported by canon, but it can be extrapolated from canon, and doesn't contradict anything we know. So do I accept it? Well... no. Not really. But that's only a matter of personal taste, and I love the fandom aspect of it that has caused authors to concentrate on those little bits and pieces to create a credible backstory for Jack. It doesn't bother me to see it used in fic, either... although I do hope the author recognizes it as fanon, not canon, before choosing to use it!
"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"
Welcome to the latest edition of Canon vs. Fanon! Pull up a chair, poke around, and jump into the discussion. If you're new to the series, you can read older entries via the tags or the LJ Index.
Briefly, the purpose of these essays is to explore canon issues, contrast them with common fanon usage, and determine how far fanon strays from canon. Canon is defined as anything directly shown during Stargate: The Movie, episodes of the show, and the SG-1 movies, with show superseding the original movie when there's a contradiction. (O'Neill with two Ls, for example, or Cheyenne vs. Creek Mountain.) Fanon is defined as widely-accepted concepts that appear in fanfic, but do not have any real basis in canon.
There are varying degrees of fanon, and these essays have touched on all types. Some fanon is completely unsupported by canon; some is actually contradicted by canon; and some is only a question of emphasis or degree. The point is not to condemn authors who use fanon, or even to suggest that there is something wrong with extrapolation of common plotlines. The purpose is simply to reach an understanding of what is and isn't canon. Once the facts and conclusions are presented, you are welcome to argue them, agree them, or ignore them completely - the choice is entirely up to you. :)
This time, we are going to explore a few more common fanon tropes associated with the infirmary. We've covered many of these in the past, including the first infirmary post and Daniel's fangirl nurses. Now we'll take a look at the team's attitude towards various medications and the presumption that they like to check themselves out of the infirmary without approval.
Daniel suffers adverse reactions to many medications, and SGC doctors ignore or dismiss his suffering.
Interestingly enough, this particular bit of fanon is more closely associated with Janet than with Daniel. I see the premise most often in post-Heroes fic - sometimes with Brightman, sometimes with Lam, occasionally with Warner or Mackenzie (who everyone knows secretly hates Daniel, sigh). A team member (usually Jack) angrily confronts the presiding doctor for administering a medication to which Daniel is allergic or reacts badly. Sometimes it's not an actually allergic reaction, but a more minor effect, like extra nausea or dopiness. But in any case, the implication is that Janet would have known better - or at least closely read Daniel's file to discover the documented warnings against using such medication on our woobie long-suffering Saint Daniel.
How unsubstantiated is this fanon? Let us count the ways...
I adore the Little Doc beyond reason and hate her senseless death in Heroes, but I cannot abide the suggestion that aside from our favorites, the SGC is staffed with incompetents. Fanfic writers who ascribe to this fanon might not realize that they are essentially suggesting that Janet is the only decent staff member on the medical team, but that is precisely what they are doing. Stepping away from the SGC for a moment, does anyone out there really think that a person with a medical degree would administer medication without first checking the patient's file for allergies or adverse reactions?
Yes, it is Janet who knows that Graham Simmons is allergic to tetracycline in Message in a Bottle. That does not mean she is the only person on the medical staff who would take the trouble to read a file!
There is also the minor detail that there is no canon proof whatsoever to suggest that Daniel is allergic to any medication at all. This was covered rather extensively in a previous post about Daniel's allergies; for our purposes here, it's enough to remember that Daniel takes antihistamines for sneezing, and that his allergies are triggered by travel and/or pollen - not medications.
So, how often do allergies play a role in SG-1, aside from Daniel's sneezing and the plot point in Broca Divide?
Graham Simmons. McKay's allergy to citrus. Vala's "inheritance" from her father of "minor food allergies," as cited in Family Ties. Oh, and Kera heals a woman suffering from an allergic reaction to something she's eaten in Past and Present. Sorry, fanon fans, but that's it!
Conclusion: It is completely fanon that Daniel is allergic to specific drugs. It is also an insult to SGC personnel in particular, and the medical profession in general, to suggest that anyone would fail to consult a medical file before administering medication.
Sam and/or Daniel hate and/or refuse painkillers that affect their thinking processes.
This is the kind of fanon that most amuses me. It doesn't contradict canon in the slightest, but there's no basis for it, either.
The trope is most often found in the middle of a dramatic story in which Sam or Daniel have been injured, but need to get back on their feet as soon as possible to find a solution/translate the artifact/fix the dialing computer/rescue the rest of the team. Invariably, despite agonizing pain, they bravely refuse morphine or other painkillers - because it muddles their thinking, and they need a clear head.
Lovely pathos and drama. Too bad it never happened on the show!
Now, there are two canon incidents in which Daniel and Sam, respectively, refused (or tried to refuse) drugs that were disturbing their reasoning processes. In these cases, however, the medications were actually unnecessary, not just unwanted:
Legacy. Mackenzie brings Daniel's latest dosage after the Goa'uld killer has already gone into Teal'c. Daniel tries to evade the needle, protesting, "I don't need any more drugs. What I need is the ones you got in my system, out of my system."
Divide and Conquer. Janet is in the process of sedating Sam in the mistaken belief that she is a za'tarc. She struggles to stay awake, remembering the incident that happened during Upgrades. She realizes that Anise's za'tarc machine had picked up on emotional confusion rather than implanted memories and begs Janet to stop things before it's too late.
In both of these cases, Sam and Daniel are protesting drugs that will not allow them to think clearly. But this is not some ridiculously stoic refusal to be relieved of pain; it is a recognition that the medication is being administered without cause, because the doctor in question is not in possession of all the facts. This is a far cry from the common fanon, which suggests that Sam or Daniel prefer writhing in agony to a few hours of pain-free sleep.
Edit: petite_stars helpfully points out a canon incident in S10 where Sam actually does refuse morphine so that she can think properly. In Line in the Sand, Sam and Mitchell are out of phase while a Prior and Ori soldiers plan to destroy a village. Sam is suffering badly and Mitchell has been giving her regular injections of morphine. But when they need to try and expand the phase bubble to include the village, Sam gasps, "Wait. I need to think clearly. There might still be a way."
I don't think this serves as any kind of defense for this particular fanon trope, though. For one thing, many of the fics with this fanon were written long before S10 aired. :) For another, this is a single incident, in the field under extreme duress, whereas the fanon always puts Sam or Daniel in the infirmary, in a safe location. I have often expressed skepticism about late-season canon proofs that defend fanon, because at that point, the writers were often absorbing fanon from the fans; but in this case, I simply don't feel that it supports the fanon, because the difference in circumstances is too pronounced.
Conclusion: There is no canon basis for the fanon assertion that Sam and Daniel dislike sedatives or painkillers which muddle their thinking processes.
Daniel is afraid of needles and avoids IVs.
I don't see this particular bit of fanon very often, but that's not because it doesn't exist; it's because it's most often part of stories where Saint Daniel is timid and needs his hand held on a regular basis, and I avoid those kinds of stories like the plague. Daniel is depicted in these as childish and stubborn, ducking out of infirmary visits - often because of some horrible childhood trauma (for which there is no canon basis, naturally).
Do I really have to state that there is not a single canon incident that even comes close to supporting this? Not to mention that Janet has never threatened Daniel - or anyone else - with big needles?
Didn't think so. :)
Conclusion: There is no canon basis for the fanon assertion that Daniel is afraid of IVs, needles, or any other medical procedure.
Jack dislikes/refuses morphine because he was addicted in Iraq.
The refusal of morphine is actually less common than the idea that Jack has suffered a morphine addiction in the past. I've seen two version of that addiction: one, that he accidentally became addicted when he was rescued and the team that pulled him out had to ply him continually with morphine until they could get him to proper treatment; two, that the morphine addiction was deliberately introduced by his captors, in order to subsequently force him to talk for the sake of his next fix.
This fanon deserves careful exploration. Essentially, it's extrapolated from various canon facts, and there's nothing that actually contradicts it. Still, authors should be aware that there's no actual canonical proof before they choose to use it in their stories.
Let's take a look at what we know regarding Jack's Iraq experiences:
Solitudes. Jack had a "little parachuting mishap over the borders of Iran and Iraq" in 1980. His chute opened late and he suffered a skull fracture. Since the mission wasn't officially sanctioned, there was no rescue. It took him nine days to make it out on his own. There does not seem to be any connection between this and his subsequent imprisonment.
Prisoners. Jack and Daniel are arguing over Linnea:
Jack: I'm just going to assume you've never been in prison before.
Daniel: Oh, and you have?
Jack, after a beat: Oh, yeah.
This is interesting, because it suggests that Jack has never spoken to Daniel about his imprisonment in Iraq, despite the other secrets they share. We'll get back to Need, the very next episode, a bit later.
A Matter of Time. Here is where we learn more details about Jack's time in prison. No specified year, but Jack and Cromwell were part of a mission in Iraq. Jack got hit and went down; Cromwell thought he was dead and "made a judgment call to save the rest of the team." Jack says, "I saw you take off. And then I saw four months of my life disappear in some stinking Iraqi prison." He has never forgiven Cromwell for that and what he perceives as a violation of "No one gets left behind." By the end of the ep, however, it's Cromwell who gets left behind.
Please note that there is no specific confirmation that Jack was actually tortured while in prison, although our knowledge of Saddam Hussein's treatment of his own people certainly suggests that the circumstances of Jack's imprisonment weren't approved by the Geneva Conventions.
Fragile Balance. Jack knew a Lieutenant Harley Beck who participated in Operation Proven Force out of Incirlik and "flew an AC-130 gunship over Baghdad." It is strongly implied that Jack was on the mission with him. We don't know if this was the same mission as the one with Cromwell.
Evolution, part 2. Included for the sake of completion. Jack and Burke were together on a mission. Burke killed Woods in a "friendly fire" incident and resented Jack's testimony afterward. During the course of the episode, we learn that Woods was selling out the team and planned to set himself up as a mercenary for "that warlord." There is no way of knowing where the mission took place, and no specific suggestion that it happened in the Gulf, but the tone of the conversation does suggest otherwise.
That's all we know about Jack's Iraq experiences. So where does the morphine come in?
Need. Daniel, desperate to get back to the sarcophagus, breaks his restraints, throws Janet across the room, beats a guard into unconsciousness, and flees the infirmary. Jack corners him in a supply room, they fight, and then comes that frozen moment where Daniel is aiming a gun at Jack.
Jack almost whispers, "Look at you! I know what this is. I know what it's like. You can get through it."
Daniel lowers the gun and breaks down, and we get the ultimate hurt/comfort hug of the series. :)
Jack's statement that he "knows what it's like" is certainly open to the interpretation that Jack himself has suffered an addiction some time in the past. Of course, it is equally possible that he "knows what it's like" because he has seen another friend suffer through addiction and withdrawal. We have no way of knowing which premise is correct. And certainly, there is nothing wrong with taking the statement that Jack is familiar with withdrawal and his imprisonment in Iraq and combining the two to suggest that Jack himself suffered withdrawal in connection with his imprisonment. But there is no canonical proof of this - it's only inference based on canon that could easily be understood otherwise.
In terms of actual canon, the word "morphine" never comes up in connection with Iraq or with Jack's statement in Need, and we never see Jack refusing a specific drug throughout the series. So while it's a fascinating premise for building Jack's backstory, the idea that Jack was once addicted to morphine is nothing but an idea, with no real basis in canon.
ETA: sg_wonderland points out that in Divide and Conquer, when Jack volunteers to undergo the de-za'tarcing, he says to Daniel, "Hey, I've done the drugged-out, strapped-to-the-bed thing." This could lend credence to the Jack-was-once-addicted theory. However, Jack might very easily be referring to his imprisonment by Hathor in Out of Mind, his questioning by Nem in Fire and Water, or even his experience as one of the Touched. There's also Harlan imprisoning the team in Tin Man to make copies of them, although it's unclear if they were drugged or just gagged. We can even add Gamekeeper and Foothold to the list. There are enough canon incidents when Jack was "drugged-out" and "strapped-to-the-bed" that it's difficult to say that Jack was thinking of something that happened pre-series.
Edit in May '12: seaboe wanders by and points out another canon data point in The Devil You Know. After being drugged by the Blood of Sokar, Jack tells Daniel, "They gave me something that reminded me of the '70s." That's clearly a reference to drug use, although whether it's a generalized cultural reference or a specific personal one (and whether that personal usage might have been marijuana, LSD, morphine, or some other drug entirely) is impossible to tell. It confirms Jack's familiarity to drug reactions, but doesn't help us reach a conclusion regarding his own experiences.
Conclusion: There is no canonical proof that Jack was once addicted to morphine, whether or not it was connected with Iraq, and there is no canon incident in which Jack refuses drug treatment.
Various team members will lie to the doctor about injuries or duck out of the infirmary before they are officially released.
I have seen all three human members of the team guilty of both these tropes in fic: when questioned about their health, they will lie or evade the truth in order to avoid being confined to the infirmary. And if they are restricted to bedrest, they duck out as soon as the nurses' backs are turned. The reason for the escape varies; it can be sheer boredom, desperation to help a fellow teammate, or simply a desire for some peace and quiet.
Before getting into the canon aspects of this, may I just point out that Sam, Jack, and Daniel aren't exactly stupid? All three of them are aware of the dangers involved with off-world travel. None of them would be so foolhardy as to lie about their wellbeing before a mission - not only would this put their own lives at risk, but they'd be endangering their teammates as well. And again, none of them are so stupid as to ignore any injuries incurred off-world. They've had too much experience with contagion and other complications to risk the planet, much less themselves.
That said, there are a grand total of two incidents in which a member of SG-1 lied about his health, both taking place in Season Three:
Legacy. Daniel, knowing that he is experiencing hallucinations, lies to Jack about the symbiote he sees climbing Jack's arm... until he sees Jack's eyes flash, and flings himself at his friend in an effort to get the Goa'uld out. He was, quite literally, not exactly rational at the time.
Crystal Skull. Jack is Not Happy to be confined to the infirmary when a team member has gone missing. He whines at Janet (including the famous nickname of "Napoleonic Powermonger"), who tells him firmly, "You can protest all you want, Colonel, but it will be a while till you get your strength back. So relax. Doctor's orders."
Then comes one of the most hilarious scenes in the episode, if not the series, somehow made even more funny by taking place, more or less, in the background:
Jack listens to Teal'c report on his return to the pyramid and the retrieval of the crystal skull. Daniel, out of phase, is in the room but paying them little attention.
Jack says, "Look, I'm sick of laying around. Help me up."
"Doctor Frasier believes you are not strong enough to undertake such a mission," Teal'c answers calmly.
Jack tries to stand up and lands on the floor in a graceless heap.
Teal'c observes, in an utterly deadpan tone, "Doctor Fraiser is usually correct in such matters." Then he picks Jack up by the scruff of his neck and dumps him, face-down, back on the bed.
"Thank you," Jack says, his voice muffled.
"You are welcome, O'Neill."
And Daniel misses nearly all of it. Hee hee hee.
The Legacy incident fits the first bit of this fanon trope, in that Daniel is trying to avoid being confined; the Crystal Skull scene fits the second, as Jack wants to help figure out what happened to Daniel. But a single canon incident of both scenarios hardly justifies the fanon presumption that SG-1 does this kind of thing on a regular basis - and, it should be noted, neither Daniel nor Jack manage to get away with it, either!
Conclusion: There is almost no canon basis for the fanon suggestion that team members will lie about their health or try to escape the infirmary prematurely, and no canon incident whatsoever in which it actually happened.
Here's my personal fanon opinion, which is always open to contradiction!
The suggestions that Daniel gets incompetent treatment or is himself afraid of treatment falls into the fanon category that I most dislike: not only does it have no basis in canon, but it is contradicted by canon characterization. We never see Daniel react adversely to drugs, and we never see incompetence by the medical staff. (Let's leave Legacy out of that for the moment, shall we? I can point you to some tongue-in-cheek meta if you'd like!) And the Daniel who stares down Goa'uld and deliberately sets himself up to be knocked down by Jaffa is not going to cringe at the sight of an IV needle!
As for Sam and Daniel refusing painkillers - well, it's pure fanon. That doesn't mean it automatically has to be dismissed, although authors should be aware that it's a fanon trope before they decide whether or not to use it. The real question should be: is it in character? It's true that both of them have had control wrested from them in the past - in particular, Sam was forcibly taken as a host by Jolinar. So it's hardly a stretch to suppose that they'd want to have as much control over their bodies and minds as they can. On the other hand, they're both intelligent enough to know that sometimes, painkillers are actually necessary. Speaking from personal experience, it can be very hard to think clearly when you're in considerable pain, and both Sam and Daniel would understand that. So while I might accept that either one of them would ask for painkillers to be kept at a minimal dosage, I can't buy the fanon trope that they hate sedatives and prefer pain to pain relief.
Then there's various team members ducking out of the infirmary, either by lying about their health or taking the liberty of releasing themselves without authority. To me, the first one is ridiculous, because it's based on the supposition that these people are sullen teenagers, not responsible adults. The second premise is much the same, with the caveat that at least SG-1 does often have urgent reasons to get back to work. And certainly no one likes to be in a hospital situation, and most of us will gladly leave the moment it's permitted.
But Sam and Jack are part of a military organization, and the idea of chain-of-command can't be dismissed so lightly. In medical terms, Janet outranks everybody. It's hard to accept either one of them ignoring this. Daniel has his civilian status, but he usually defers to military rank within the SGC organization. There's also the minor detail that we always see airmen on guard at the infirmary entrance; authors who write blithely of patients sneaking out the door seem to ignore that completely.
Canon only offers a single incident to fit this trope, and it should be noted that Jack doesn't get very far at all. So no, I can't buy this fanon - it ignores too many aspects of canon to work for me.
I'll note here that Teal'c sometimes refuses medical assistance by claiming that Junior can heal him quite nicely, thank you. He occasionally gets away with it, too - in Crystal Skull, Hammond specifically says that Janet doesn't think he's fully healed from the radiation, and Teal'c more or less ignores it. But even Teal'c defers to Janet on most occasions, and no one else has a symbiote as an excuse.
Finally, there's the premise about Jack and morphine. I'll dismiss the "Jack refuses morphine because of his addiction" aspect, since there's no canon basis for it at all, and focus on the idea of the addiction. It's not supported by canon, but it can be extrapolated from canon, and doesn't contradict anything we know. So do I accept it? Well... no. Not really. But that's only a matter of personal taste, and I love the fandom aspect of it that has caused authors to concentrate on those little bits and pieces to create a credible backstory for Jack. It doesn't bother me to see it used in fic, either... although I do hope the author recognizes it as fanon, not canon, before choosing to use it!
"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"