I'm on a roll . . .

[aelfgyfu_mead]

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?

Comments

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

the recent SG:U episode is the only one I haven't seen (that and most of Atlantis' final season); it is entirely possible that, when I do see it, I will be as angry as you are. until then, however, I can only make statements based on what I know and what I remember.

>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.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

Well, It doesn't matter what kind of person scott is, that's how it works. But, boy, have they ever gotten me to care less that he can't keep his pants zipped. That's nothing when compared to the others and initially I was disgusted by his unprofessional behavior. Man, the Air Force must be thrilled with this show. Bet they won't be borrowing any submarines or aircraft in the future.

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!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I pretty much agree with everything you said, except that I have a somewhat higher opinion of SGA than you.

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.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

Heh, I opinion of SGA seems much better now that I see what it could have been, although I was very tired of the Wraith and ready for that plotline to wrap up by year three. Didn't care much for the Teyla and Ronan characters, either, while I did like Ford. I kept hoping for exploration that never happened, only to be disappointed. Ah, well.... ;)

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.