So what did you folks think of the season opener? I think it's great that they've found a way to bring back Ben Browder and Claudia Black of "Farscape!" He's still his same old self but somebody told her to vamp it up a bit. Maybe more than a bit. The season got off to a good start. Introducing the new characters, teasing us with the question of how much we're going to see of the old characters, adding a big touch of humor with Black's character, fading out with everybody in serious trouble. But now that the Goa'uld are vanquished and rare, they'll have to come up with some new galaxy-wide menace for SG-1 to deal with. Or else they'll have to fall back on their older kind of storyline, self-contained episodes a la early Star Trek.
I liked it. I must confess, I thought last season was getting a bit stale, too much time on the base. Jack didn't seem into it, too laid back. Where was the old shoot first ask questions later decisive take charge guy? I couldn't believe he allowed the pseudo-Carter access to the disrupter technology with barely a fuss. The finale was good. I liked the bit about there now being fish in Jack's pond and him saying, "Close enough". I hope Browder works out. So far, so good.
Browder was outstanding as Cameron Mitchell. He's basically John Critchon but in Stargate and you can never have too much Johnny C. The new threat, the Ori, will prove quite good. We've defeated the Goa'uld and now we have to take on the direct decendants of the ancients themselves. Nice. And yes, the humour is still on par with previous seasons. Always great to have a laugh.
I'm enjoying the new season. I hope Claudia Black becomes permanent rather than a "guest star" Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I agree that the Ori (or is it orai) will be a good adversary, probably tougher than the goa'uld (who go down as history's most pathetic bad guys). They're unique (which is important after that many seasons), but in keeping with the false (or not-so-false now) god theme. I'd thought nobody could replace O'neil, and that the series would jump the shark w/out him, but Vala filled that void nicely (shes not at all like RDA, but still adds a lot) so I think its great...certainly better than Atlantis is doing...stupid starship
Wasn't sure about the whole Merlin thang and the knight but other than that its been pretty cool so far.
I'm going to miss the Gou'ald. They could have been a formidable foe to us. I remember back in the pilot episode, Children of the Gods, when Apophis and his serpant guard stormed the gate room and kidnapped the female soldier. Bullets were bouncing off of them and they only suffered minor losses. I don't know who's idea it was within the ranks of the Gou'ald to issue paper as armour for the rest of the show but those Jaffa can't take more than one hit anymore. I would have liked to have seen the 'near impenetrable by conventional earth weapons' armour stay and have us develop a more power assault rifle/sub-machine gun issued to the SG teams. Something along the lines of a handheld .50cal would have been pretty damned good if a little farfetched. The System Lord I am going to miss the most is Baal. I actually liked the bugger. And the fact he reluctantly sought the help of us mere humans (and then later helped us defeat the replicators) was quite dandy. Plus his attitude towards Anubis behind his back added more to his character. The gap where O'Neill and Carter once stood is indeed noticable. Obviously Carter will be appearing later in the series (missed the first few episodes due to childbirth). Teal'c isn't as alien as he once was. He has become wiser to our ways and that likable trait has almost gone. Season 9 is trying to flog a dead cow but let's see what the writers pull out of their asses. Looks as if we're moving into European folklore from the dark ages now and away from the always interesting ancient cultures of Earth. In a way, it's a shame. But that's progress.
I have mixed feelings about this new season, really. The fact that Jack O'Neill is leaving sucks, but I like the concept of the Orai, even if religious zealots are partially overdone.
The show is definitely full of cliches, but I look forward to it every Friday all the same. The fact is that cliches BECOME cliches because people like them. True eventually they will get old and fall out of fashion, but I never really watched Stargate for its 'deep' storyline. For me, the story is engaging enough to keep me interested and it keeps me laughing a hell of a lot more than most shows. The actors have even said before that Stargate is a comedy masked as SciFi. The concept of the Ori is interesting to me too since they are fighting a battle that seems pointless. The Ori are, by all plausible definitions of the word, gods. They can control the Universe on a higher level and manipulate us like ants. I guess the question then becomes why? Why would they need us at all, why would they need the worship and to spread their religion? They're obviously hiding something, they aren't just like the Ancients. See, its those few questions and the humor of the show that keeps me coming back every week. -AntonK
Could be that the Orai are trying to prevent competition. The more people they convert to their side, the greater chance that believers will ascend and become more Orai rather than ascend and become something else. Anyway, that might be part of it... but it wouldn't be the whole thing.
That is what Daniel said he was most afraid of; Why? Why are they so eager to convert the galaxy to their belief? Surely it's not because of their undying faith. There must be a reason people have to believe in them otherwise they wouldn't go around killing everyone. Maybe it is because, as Clockwood said, they need more people to believe to get more acended beings on their side. Those who do not believe means that their power is not absolute which in turn will influence the others and the ori will slowly lose grip on their control. Those who don't believe are killed as an example to keep the faith in others. I believe Teal'c said it best, "What is right is not always determined by strength."
