Originally posted by skydiver
quite frankly, the JCS never woudl have allowed SG-1 to exist at all. Colonels don't normally run field units, women and civilians sure as heck ain't on the front lines and Teal'c??? he'd have been quiestioned for intel, then locked up where he was nice and safe.
If you follow military norms, sg-1 would consist of 4 men, with the leader likely being a major, his second a capt or lieutenant and the other two non-coms.
Quite. Which is why JQ is one giant step too far.
The best Sci-Fi is usually that which keeps the need for suspension of disbelief to a minimum.
Explaining a little further, the greatest pressure on the suspension of disbelief usually occurs with the opening premisses - in this case, the Stargate and wormhole technology, together with the setting up of the S.G.C. and S.G.-1 archetypes. Once those hurdles have been successfully cleared then it's incumbent upon the writers to show respect for their audience by not exploiting its goodwill through putting further unnecessary strains on their willingness to suspend their disbelief.
Otherwise, we're talking Fantasy, not Sci-Fi. Series 6 seems to have been neither the one thing nor the other.
The whole show IS based on fantasy. It's premise is aliens, intergalactic portals, and space travel.
Well, not really fantasy as such, I think. The fantasy genre is usually more associated with elves, dwarves, wizards and suchlike as are found in LotR, the Discworld novels, or 'Alice in Wonderland', having little or no scientific basis.
Aliens, intergalactic portals, and space travel have always belonged to the S.F. literary genre where speculative extrapolation of current scientific knowledge is used as the principal basis for imaginative fiction - although you could make a case for the present boundaries of sub-atomic physics bordering on fantasy, as with M-theory for instance. <g>
we'll see if they can pull it off. For me, the whole 'planet of the week' is what turns me off classic trek.
With me, it was Kirk smooching with 'floosie of the week'
Slowed down the pace of the plot something rotten!
I like plots and continuity that run from week to week. I like being able to sink my teeth into a show.
Like BtVS?
If too many episodes in a season are isolated plot wise (in other words, if you miss them, you miss nothing of the story arc...like deadman's switch. Sure it was fun at the time, but we've never seen any ramifications from it. ) then where's the incentive to keep watching? Where's the reward for knowing what's going on?
I think you're being a little too hard there, Sky, in comparing 'Gate with 'Trek. I agree absolutely that the concept of Star Trek is very limiting in that there is little possibility of revisiting any previously encountered worlds/people, although the tribbles reappeared to cause more havoc. <G>
To me, the great strength of Stargate is that it's far less formulaic. Worlds such as Chulak or Abydos
can be revisited at will, or their denizens can contact the S.G.C. for assistance such as Gairwyn in 'Thor's Chariot' or Thor in 'Nemesis', not to mention Hathor... eek!
I agree that one-off episodes on a different world each week would begin to pall after a while, and I have nothing against Earth-based plots in principle - 'Double Trouble?' is mostly Earth-based (gratuitous plug! <g>) - and I'm a firm Harry Maybourne fan. I'd love to see Aris Boch again, too. Maybe in series 7? The writers
can go back there if they are so minded. And we do get some story arcs - TbftGoG/Pol/WtSG/TSL is a brilliant example - but a serial form in which, if you miss an episode or two, you've completely lost track of the story, is not such a good idea, as 'Farscape' has sadly found to its cost.
Generally speaking, I think Stargate's got it about right - except... <g>
Best wishes,
Hatshepsut :wave:
