The Omnipresent GDO

[webmouse]

So no matter how captured SG1 gets, no matter how many of their weapons and other gizmos get taken, somehow when it comes time to dial home and send that seret code, they've always got the GDO.

What self-respecting, despicable Goa'uld bad guy wouldn't take the key pads, knowing that no matter what, it leaves the team stranded wherever they are?

The writers have been a bit blithe on this point I think.

 

[PTeppic]

I would have to go through the episodes one by one, but, one of the following applies:
a) they aren't all captured, so the "loose" team member still has theirs
b) they are helped by a friendly (e.g. Bra'tac) who can get access to the confiscated technologies
c) there is an SGC rescue party who have their own GDO
d) the hostile peoples are persuaded to be friendly, including the return of all technologies, including GDO

 

[webmouse]

And finally, perhaps the scene is shot in such a way that we just never focus on who has the GDO and when said person enters the code. Come to think of it there are a lot of scenes where we are to assume that someone has dialed home on the DHD having never actually seen it happen ("The Other Guys" comes to mind on this)

 

[PTeppic]

I'm guessing that must very late S5 or S6 - since I am only half way through S5... :blush:

As you say, in most episodes after perhaps S3 we take it as read that ONE of them is typing in the code to the GDO as (usually) Daniel is dialling up the gate. We know they are still using the GDOs since the codes are being received when we see incoming messages ("Serpent's Venom" was on terrestrial TV yesterday in UK for example).

 

[webmouse]

My personal feeling is that the writers had a great idea with the installation of the iris and therefore the necessary GDO to signal when to open the iris.

However, in actual scripting the details may have become impractical and so your statement "taken as read" is correct. We are to assume that somehow someone has the GDO, that someone has dialed home on the DHD, that the signals have been received correctly and in time by SGC, and they all live happily ever after.

Some details are just meant to be skipped over in the interest of keeping the plot moving, but I do note it interesting that the potential complication exists even if it never happens. Sort of like why their computers never crash except on cue.

 

[PTeppic]

Originally posted by webmouse
We are to assume that somehow someone has the GDO, that someone has dialed home on the DHD, that the signals have been received correctly and in time by SGC, and they all live happily ever after.

I think they all have a GDO, but only one of them needs to type in their code so it transmits each time they want to come home.

Some details are just meant to be skipped over in the interest of keeping the plot moving, but I do note it interesting that the potential complication exists even if it never happens. Sort of like why their computers never crash except on cue.

And:
+ why almost nothing seems to happen to other SG teams
+ why incoming messages of interest happen when SG-1 are on-shift
+ why Hammond NEVER seems to be off duty
+ why the Russians nor NID got into any of the problems that SG-1 did
+ why the Goa'uld didn't attack the Russian or NID gate
+ why the Goa'uld haven't used a memory device to get the GDO codes before sending a nuke home

 

[webmouse]

Yep -- that about sums up the craft of episodic script writing

 

[PTeppic]

Its funny - I was just talking to a colleague at lunchtime about the nature of sci-fi serials. And the absence of an alien predominant series. It would seem that for either costs, practicality or relatability, the majority of lead characters, locations and plot-lines are human.

The specific example he gave me was: why didn't the SG serial concentrate on the Abydonians. Perhaps with Daniel, but basically just concentrating on the, excuse the antithical language, humanity of scenario.

My basic answer: it would be boring.

 

[webmouse]

Well, for costs human actors are infinitely cheaper than human actors in tons of latex and those are cheaper than aliens created from CGI. Nice that SG1 created the perfect mythology to allow people from other worlds to look just like us.

And there is the relatability factor. A mostly human cast with at least one member (Spock, Data, Odo, T'ealc, etc.) as the "outsider" who comments on how we humans appear to others.

Of course, DJ could now show up on Abydos and make some real changes -- only to kicked out of the Collective

 

[System Lord Gypsy]

Not posted on this forum for a while and now I'm back and catching up I'm seeing some interesting issues being brought up.

Got some answers for some on this thread though. I mention some episodes and things that happen in them so don't read if you've missed a lot becuase one of those episodes may be mentioned.

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{Still getting the hang of the quote thing here so I copied and pasted <g>}"And:
+ why almost nothing seems to happen to other SG teams
+ why incoming messages of interest happen when SG-1 are on-shift
+ why Hammond NEVER seems to be off duty
+ why the Russians nor NID got into any of the problems that SG-1 did
+ why the Goa'uld didn't attack the Russian or NID gate
+ why the Goa'uld haven't used a memory device to get the GDO codes before sending a nuke home"

1} Things do happen to other SG teams. SG-11 died on the planet that the Goa'uld were using to train kids {See rules of engagement}. SG-11 were captured by the guardians of the Salish when mining trinium on their world {forget the epsiode name}. SG-10 died due to a black hole {A matter of time} to name but 3 things. There are many episodes where we see other SG teams involved either with SG-1 or on their own.

2} The show is Stargate SG-1. IF they made episodes where for example, SG-2 get a transmission from the Tok'ra and have to go offworld and follow that mission then it would defeat the purpose of the show. In a command like the SGC we can take it as read that other teams do get events like that as well when SG-1 are unnavailiable.

3} I would imagine that Hammond spends a lot of time sleeping on the base or lives convieniently close to the base so that when emergencies come up he can be there quickly and as the show is about SG-1 who seem to be on the same shift as Hammond then he would logically be around when they are.

4} We know the russians got into trouble. THey only went to 7 worlds but on the 7th we know they had trouble with a life form that they thought was water which is why the emergency protocol came into play in the russian SGC. IF you think how many SG teams there are and how many off world missions they do if they all got into trouble every time they went off world the stargate project wouldn't be worth continuing and would just be better used as a line of defence. We hear a lot about a team completeing a successfull mission and SG-1 doing a follow up. hard to work out percentages but I'd say that if the russians and NID had done as many missions as the SGC then they'd have run into trouble as often.

5} As far as the Goa'uld know only 1 gate is in use on earth and that gate is the one that incoming wormholes come into most often because of how the russians set up their gate. If it was possible for the russian gate to be attacked then we would be finding SG teams ending up coming home through the russian gate all the time.

6} The Goa'uld have tried using a memory device to get the GDO code. In "The Devil You Know" Apophis used one on Sam to try and find out SG-1s code. She wouldn't talk.

Sorry Pteppic, Not gone into as much depth as I could but I didn't want my novel to be too long and boring.