09.25.06
Posted in Reviews at 11:51 pm by Administrator
Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Directed by Andy Mikita
So, here we are, the mid-season break, and it’s time to sit back and take a look at how “SG-1” is holding up under the strain. All in all, this season started off strong, but there have been some stumbles along the way. Generally, anything that has involved Ba’al or the Lucian Alliance has been less than inspiring. Considering that this particular episode featured Ba’al (or one of them, anyway), it had a lot going against it from the beginning.
I fully acknowledge that the decision to incorporate Arthurian elements into the show included certain storytelling conventions. They play up the whole “quest” idea on a regular basis, so it’s not a huge surprise. However, while they’ve flirted with conventional fantasy elements, I don’t remember them stepping so far over that line as they have in this particular case. I suppose the title fits the bill perfectly.
This felt like “SG-1 Does D&D”, which I suppose will appeal to a number of fans. Truth be told, I don’t have a problem with the conventions, so long as they are used in a consistent and entertaining manner. This must have looked great on the page during the breakdown sessions, because it had all the clichéd bits: the enemies forced into working together, the “clever” challenges, each team member bringing something vital to the table, etc. And Adria’s wonderful outfit pretty much sealed the deal (Morena wears corset so well!).
The problem with using such a familiar standard is that the audience doesn’t really have to pay attention to the plot. The story will progress in the expected fashion and there will be few surprises. As such, it’s a lot easier to see where the writers fumbled. Who didn’t think that tossing the ubiquitous sand around in the little “time distortion maze” would have been smarter than tossing one rock at a time? Sand would have meant “instant walls”.
Such a solution might have also covered up the other problem with several sequences: poor pacing. The “time maze” took an enormous amount of time, and it looked fairly ridiculous. There’s a certain amount of self-awareness involved, and everything is asking us to laugh along, but there’s a big difference between inspired self-parody and spotty production.
I wish I had more to say about this episode, but it didn’t inspire much thought or consideration. At least with the Ori-heavy episodes, I can latch on to the philosophical concepts at play. There was precious little of that in this episode, and so I didn’t find it particularly memorable or thrilling (Morena notwithstanding). As I measure it, Season 10 is averaging about 6.9, which translates to an average show: solid enough, but nothing distinctive. Considering how well the season started out, that’s not what I had been expecting. Hopefully the final 10 episodes will be less uneven.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Recent episodes cover the “Stargate SG-1”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 1/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 7/10
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09.19.06
Posted in Reviews at 1:10 am by Administrator
Written by Alan McCullough
Directed by William Waring
Enjoyment of this episode will depend greatly upon one’s opinion of the Lucien Alliance. Conceived as a wild card in galactic politics in the wake of the defeat of the System Lords, the Lucien Alliance is essentially the Space Mafia. They have the means, motive, and opportunity to make a nuisance of themselves, and they dislike anyone getting in their way. Yet they have enough resources to be a serious threat.
All things being equal, they should be interesting. The galaxy is a dangerous place at this point. The Ori are running rampant (though in the background at the moment), the Jaffa Nation is in disarray and playing “bad ally”, the Tok’ra and Asgard are nowhere to be seen of late, and the Lucien Alliance is taking advantage on all sides. They should be imposing. Instead, they come across as goofy and generic.
Avateo, one of the prominent members of the Alliance, is played by Rudolf Martin. Previously, Martin was best known for two roles: Dracula on “Buffy” (a semi-effective guest role) and Ari on “NCIS”. As Ari, Martin played one of the more disturbing recurring characters; he was quite good at being terrifying in his competence and control. This is a very similar character, but the performance is not even close to the same level of quality. Frankly, Avateo is incredibly annoying, and the line delivery is about as bad as it gets.
Even when recurring characters are being killed off (a sure sign of a story reaching for impact, when nothing else in the story works), there’s a sloppiness to the entire production. The guest cast is terrible and the apparent threat of the Lucien Alliance is tempered by the inability to take these events seriously. For me, some of the scenes meant to be funny came across as desperate, and to a certain extent, disrespectful.
I’ve often said that the writing staff sometimes takes the audience for granted, though I’ve said it a lot more for “SGA” than “SG-1”, especially in recent seasons. I wouldn’t go so far as to accuse them of coasting in this episode, because the plot points were communicated. Earth is at war with the Lucien Alliance, so one more possible ally against the Ori is out of the question. That makes the search for the Sangraal even more important, which is logically the point of the exercise.
My issue is with the execution. The writing wasn’t particularly sharp, and some of the lines that were supposed to be imposing or humorous fell flat. The acting, especially from the guest cast, was far below the usual modest standard. The direction also didn’t help, because there was a casual nature to scenes that should have been more animated. It was just an episode with a lack of cohesiveness, and given that it featured adversaries that have been hard to take seriously, this amounts to another misfire.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Recent episodes cover the “Stargate SG-1”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 1/2
Direction: 1/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 4/10
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09.12.06
Posted in Reviews at 1:16 am by Administrator
Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Directed by Peter DeLuise
Generally speaking, I’m the type that will embrace a new character, especially when the older cast members show definite signs of waning interest. It’s largely the reason why I found myself looking forward to Robert Patrick joining “X-Files” in the wake of Duchovny’s exit, and why Ben Browder’s arrival on “SG-1” was something I enjoyed. While it’s not always the case, the arrival of a new character can sometimes jump-start a writing staff, especially if they have fallen into patterns with existing characters with established plot connections.
So when Vala was introduced and then brought back as a semi-regular, I was somewhat pleased, though concerned by the inevitable backlash. After all, Claudia Black was the second ex-“Farscape” cast member to join the series, and that led to a number of comments that the show was changing irreparably. That wasn’t the case, from my point of view, but I was a little worried over the character’s liability. She was great as a guest star, but would she work as a regular?
For me, it was akin to the addition of Annabeth Gish to “X-Files”. Patrick brought a vitality and intensity to his role, but it was almost as if the writers used up all their creative energy on the character of Doggett. There were few episodes focusing on Gish’s character Monica Reyes, and in the end, her character never had the same presence.
I mention this analogy because the writers have been working (some would say inconsistently) to make Mitchell a strong member of the team, while Vala has been featured in some big moments without outgrowing her origins as a fairly one-note guest star. This episode is all about giving Vala an episode of her own, to show what kind of person Vala is at the core, but the story is fairly mundane and ultimately feels forced.
So we find out that Vala is the kind of person who would rather run away from her problems than face them directly, but we knew that already. And despite all of that, we learn that Vala is fundamentally a good person, but the writers have already reinforced that notion as well. So what did we really learn about Vala in this episode? The slight advancement of the possible Daniel/Vala relationship was nothing new, either.
Contrast this with the “SGA” episode “The Real World”, which thrust the character of Weir into an unusual psychological space, thus revealing much about her and how she deals with adversity. This episode was trying to do something similar with Vala, but in the end, it didn’t have the same level of impact. Granted, Weir is a lead character on “SGA” and so the audience is more familiar with her, but the principles are the same.
One other problem with this episode was the stunt coordination. I noticed a similar problem on a recent episode of “SGA”. I know that there are issues with the fight choreography all the time, but it was a lot more noticeable in this episode. There were people with semi-automatic machine guns shooting at people a few feet away, missing entirely, while the “good guys” ducked the bullets!
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Recent episodes cover the “Stargate SG-1”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 1/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 5/10
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