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I've been meaning to post about a few tv shows for ages. I have fifteen minutes until dinner. This is an excellent time to make a post that is not so long that people won't read it! Spoilers may lurk behind any and all cuts. So may complaints.
Eastwick
I haven't seen this most recent episode yet. I am still furious that the writers apparently thought it was funny for Joanna to spell a guy into having sex with her. It's even funnier that he's gay, right? And funnier still that he's married? The only thing that could possibly make it funnier is if his husband finds out about the sex, right?
Here's the short note I didn't take the time to write to the writers of Eastwick because they would probably never read it (being already out of work by that time):
Dear Writers:
Joanna forcing a man to have sex with her via magic is exactly as funny as a man drugging Joanna and forcing her to have sex with him. That is to say, not at all.
Did you think that the fact that it was a gay man made it funnier (ha! He isn't even attracted to women!) or okay ("I wasn't really cheating, honest; you know in my right mind I'd never have done it, so she must have done something to me . . .")? You were completely mistaken.
I'd stop watching your show, but the network has ensured that I can't do it for much longer anyway. Maybe I'll see if you can redeem yourself at all.
(Okay, so it would have been far longer and less flippant, which is why I didn't write it.)
I still want the Roxie and Daryl Show, but I think at this point I'd rather not see these writers do it.
SPOILER SPACE
MORE SPOILER SPACE
Oh, crud—fifteen minutes already? One more:
Stargate:Universe
So now Young is a premeditated killer? He left a man to die on the planet. Rush was bad, but Young is a
murderer. What's next? Do we find out that when he showed up in someone's body to punch out Telford, he actually killed him?
Young didn't trust any kind of justice on ship, apparently. Yet he trusts Eli to keep the secret of what he knew—which is also the secret of why Young might have been motivated not to bring Rush back alive. He made Eli complicit.
Oh, and Rush is even scummier than I thought. I don't really think he'll die. I suppose he might, though: he surely has the highest salary of anyone, so that would free up the budget. After all, they killed SGA because they couldn't afford it, right?
Is there any reason why I should continue to watch this show? Aside from Eli?
Eastwick
I haven't seen this most recent episode yet. I am still furious that the writers apparently thought it was funny for Joanna to spell a guy into having sex with her. It's even funnier that he's gay, right? And funnier still that he's married? The only thing that could possibly make it funnier is if his husband finds out about the sex, right?
Here's the short note I didn't take the time to write to the writers of Eastwick because they would probably never read it (being already out of work by that time):
Dear Writers:
Joanna forcing a man to have sex with her via magic is exactly as funny as a man drugging Joanna and forcing her to have sex with him. That is to say, not at all.
Did you think that the fact that it was a gay man made it funnier (ha! He isn't even attracted to women!) or okay ("I wasn't really cheating, honest; you know in my right mind I'd never have done it, so she must have done something to me . . .")? You were completely mistaken.
I'd stop watching your show, but the network has ensured that I can't do it for much longer anyway. Maybe I'll see if you can redeem yourself at all.
(Okay, so it would have been far longer and less flippant, which is why I didn't write it.)
I still want the Roxie and Daryl Show, but I think at this point I'd rather not see these writers do it.
SPOILER SPACE
MORE SPOILER SPACE
Oh, crud—fifteen minutes already? One more:
Stargate:Universe
So now Young is a premeditated killer? He left a man to die on the planet. Rush was bad, but Young is a
murderer. What's next? Do we find out that when he showed up in someone's body to punch out Telford, he actually killed him?
Young didn't trust any kind of justice on ship, apparently. Yet he trusts Eli to keep the secret of what he knew—which is also the secret of why Young might have been motivated not to bring Rush back alive. He made Eli complicit.
Oh, and Rush is even scummier than I thought. I don't really think he'll die. I suppose he might, though: he surely has the highest salary of anyone, so that would free up the budget. After all, they killed SGA because they couldn't afford it, right?
Is there any reason why I should continue to watch this show? Aside from Eli?
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apologies: I'm not good at being silly or being sarcastic.
my point was that, almost any time a non-SG1 team showed up, it was to
a) get rescued by SG1
b) make a mess that SG1 cleans up ('Spirits' among such eps)
c) get killed off while helping SG1 (in Atlantis, 'Whispers' sorta did this)
besides, the whole point of SG:Universe is that none of those people were supposed to be on that ship - Young says so repeatedly. so blaming the show for having idiots out there, kinda either misses the point, or something, I'm not sure what.
sorry.
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My point was that not only shouldn't those people be out there, not only shouldn't they be in the SGC, they shouldn't be peeling potatoes at Fort Dix.
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and we only see the parts of the Destiny where there is a problem, where emotions are high and tempers likewise - as you say, it would be less than idea (and not all that interesting) to see life on Destiny when nothing's happening and everyone's getting along.
>My point was that not only shouldn't those people be out there, not only shouldn't they be in the SGC, they shouldn't be peeling potatoes at Fort Dix.
that's par for the course when it comes to the SG universe - when the main characters do something that would get RL people sent to Fort Dix (at best), nothing happens to them.
heck, at the very least, Sam would've been vetted to within an inch of her life after the Jolinar incident.
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We also see the commanding officer attempting to murder the lead scientist--the only person besides Eli that has any idea what's going on. Of course that scientist is as unscrupulous and immoral that the other two 'leaders' and think framing the commander of the ship for murder is a dandy idea.
This isn't recognisable as being part of the larger stargate 'universe.' It has more in common with Lord of the Flies. These aren't just flawed people. They're something much worse.
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well, if they follow the protocol set by SG1, there can't be any trial or punishment, because, Daniel said that, as a civilian, he can't be punished by Hammond - and Hammond didn't argue the point.
> A 'guilty until proven innocent' trial by a member of the IOA stretches credibility to the breaking point
*any* trial by a member of the IOA stretches credibility to the breaking point - the IOA has authority over the stargate program and member nations, who in turn have authority over their armed forces and civilians.
Wray technically has *no* authority over any military or civilian personnel on Destiny.
>They can communicate.
oh yes, and that's worked so well previously. {gah, channeling Rush, it seems}
previous communications have not gone well - between Telford nearly destroying the ship, and Young's awaytime interupted at the halfway mark.
> The military would have reported what was going on
to...? (O'Neill's part of the IOA now, now that he's head of Homeworld Security; Telford can't be counted on for impartiality; etc)
>This isn't recognisable as being part of the larger stargate 'universe.
sure it does.
I admit, when Jack was unable to get back to the SGC, he didn't go crazy or evil....but then again, he had something to occupy him.
on the other hand, take Daniel away from the SGC, and he goes nuts. (remember 'Need'?); or how Sheppard tells SG1 members to put a lemon near Rodney who could die or almost die from allergic reactions.
so SGU is keeping with the darker parts of the SG universe that we've already seen pieces of.
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O'Neill isn't part of the IOA, he's part of the Pentagon, the SGC, and the Air Force. American military. The IOA are part of Homeworld Security, not in charge of it.
Those aren't appropriate comparisons. Sheppard was obviously joking and Daniel was addicted to the sarcophagus. He was going through withdrawl, not a sociopath with nothing to blame it on. And they've only been gone a matter of weeks! You can't blame this on the situation. This is who these people are.
SGA delved into immorality, especially after the second season, one of the reasons I didn't like it as much, but they were still trying to do the right thing. These folks aren't.
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>They should have communicated with the SGC and received orders
who had the CommStones? usually Rush or Young have them in their quarters.
>In a situation where Young couldn't command it would go to the next ranking officer.
so...Scott? ah yes, the paragon of morality. (kidding)
>The IOA are part of Homeworld Security, not in charge of it.
then who is in charge of it?
>Sheppard was obviously joking
he handed Mitchell a lemon. considering what citrus does to McKay, that's far more than a mere joke.
> and Daniel was addicted to the sarcophagus. He was going through withdrawl
I wasn't refering to all his nasty remarks during withdrawl - I meant when he was on that planet.
>And they've only been gone a matter of weeks!
so?
>This is who these people are.
and yet they seem to have something about them that brought them to where they are today. otherwise none of the military officers would've graduated from Basic Training.
i must sleep now. you be well, friend.
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As I say, I don't think much of SGA really. The humor was less subtle than SG-1 and it was all space battle all the time. The writers certainly intended that to be a joke, although it may come off as more serious to people with allegies. We never really know if McKay is actually allergic, though. I always assumed he wasn't. Still, big difference between risky--even stupid--humor, and leaving someone on a planet to die.
Daniel was addicted on the planet, too. They've listed the effects of sarcophagus use, and Daniel had all of them in a big way. Shyla was making sure to put him in there way more often than she used it herself. She wanted him good and addicted. That and the genetic memory is what makes the Goa'uld so evil. Even so, he managed to keep trying to get them home. It was in a convoluted, addicted way, but he was using Shyla even more than she was trying to use him--that demonstrated that he wasn't himself more than anything, actually--and yet he held onto that core drive to save the team.
"And they've only been gone a matter of weeks!"
so?
So it's not stress. They got there with all the sociopathic behaviorm they didn't acquire it.
"This is who these people are."
and yet they seem to have something about them that brought them to where they are today. otherwise none of the military officers would've graduated from Basic Training.
You make my argument for me. That's exactly what I said. These people would never have gotten posted offworld in the first place. They demonstrate nothing of what it take to be in the regular army, let alone the SGC. It's not credible.
I must sleep too. Night!
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Daniel was deliberately hooked on the sarcophagus while he had to make nice to get the rest of SG-1 freed. I think the only thing for which one can blame him is trying to stop a suicide—and Jack certainly does blame him for that. It wasn't military, but neither is Daniel, especially this early in the show.
And yes: I can't understand how this group of misfits and sociopaths ever achieved officer rank (excepting Greer, who isn't an officer), let alone how they would be given offworld posts. Rush is not military but also has serious psychological problems that screening should have caught.
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I wonder how many of us could just watch someone commit suicide without intervening? I know I couldn't. Of course I can't see anything bad happening without intervening. ;)
Yeah, we're used to suspending disbelief. After all, we accept travel through a wormhole and the need to save the galaxy from over-the-top snakes and mechanical spiders, but when you purposely make a show more 'realistic', you're going to be held to a different standard, outside the question of whether this meshes with previous stargates, or undermines them. I don't find this level of incompetence and bad behavior realistic at all.
As we see from the real military, while there are bad apples, the rank and file are strong people devoted to their duty and country, and heroes can, and will, emerge when the situation demands it.
Oh, I forgot to answer Rodlox's question about Homeworld Security:
"The IOA are part of Homeworld Security, not in charge of it."
then who is in charge of it?
Ultimately, the President of the United States. Homeworld Security is basicly Homeland security, only it's a a division of government/military who's mandate is to protect the planet (and therefore, America) from offworld threats. Jack would answer to the President and have input from the Department of Defense.
I misspoke when I said the IOA was part of Homeworld Security. They aren't. They're a world body of private interests that occasionally funds American (SGC) projects. They don't control Homeworld security any more than they control the American government. The IOA would be in the same position here as they were with Atlantis, one of funding the research, which gives them a measure of influence. They probably provided most, if not all, the cash for Rush's operation, which is how they come to be involved.
Edit: still seeing things I should have mentioned last night, but didn't becaus it was three in the morning. ;) We've dealt with the issues from 'Need' and how that had nothing to do with being away from the SGC, but it should also be noted that Daniel has often been stranded in pretty bad situations and held up admirably. (This is one of the reasons that woobie!Daniel fanfic makes me so crazy. Daniel is extremely resilient and strong-minded) He was trapped in an alternate reality, imprisoned under the ocean, captured by an Unas, captured by replicators, trapped in the Ori galaxy, and imprisoned by Adria. Each time, he came through with flying colors.
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