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Stargate Stuff
Mar. 18th, 2006 12:26 amThanks to the delicate family dance that I do, I've been recording Stargate SG-1 and catching up whenever I can. Over the past ten days, I finally got through the last five episodes of the season and just completed the season finale. It's only a week late.
While I can't say this season has been an unadulterated joy, there have been many surprisingly good episodes.
Three things have stood out for me this season. The first is, they've let Daniel go back to being a genius.
Sam never got her genius card taken away, at least partially, I think, because her talent is for science. Everybody knows science is hard; it's what real geniuses do. Daniel, on the other hand, is a pattern reader who applies his talent to languages (we finally found out this season that one of his Ph.D.s is in Philology). He can, and in the past has, used his iNtuitive side to find solutions that might have eluded the team, but he has just as often in the more recent seasons been just another soldier. Mind you, he doesn't have to salute anybody, but making things go boom is the definition of a soldier (making the right things go boom at the right time is the definition of a good soldier).
The producers who took over the show in season 4 (and who still run it) made it clear that they didn't much care for the geek. Much of the appeal of Stargate SG-1 was the idea that ethics, intuition, and intelligence could make a difference in the field. Somehow, this crowd didn't see that.
Things are beginning to intrigue me now, though. While I recognize that Battlestar Galactica is a better written and more internally consistent show (and in the interest of honesty, I still need to finish its season), I've been finding myself thinking more of the moments and themes of this season's Stargate than anything from Galactica.
There've been an awful lot of Renn Faire towns in Stargate SG-1 -- it's never going to win a costume Emmy. But the theme of faith versus free will has been played in many different ways. Virtually every episode has demanded that someone make the choice between faith in a devastatingly powerful force who want to cleanse the entire galaxy of sin or free will.
I like the fact that the free will being presented allows faith, in humanity, in God or Goddess, in science, or in intellect. Faith isn't being treated like it's a disease, which I'm finding to be a new theme in much Liberal discourse these days. It may come from a feeling on the part of the Left that the religious will automatically assume governmental authority is acceptable, but I think it's hurting any chance of true discussion. I'm stepping off the soapbox now.
The point is not one character on Stargate SG-1 has come forward and said they are atheist. Many fans, myself included, assume that most of the characters are probably agnostic or atheist, but Colonel Mitchell often quotes his bible-thumping grandmother. General Landry flat out stated that he believed in God in one of the early episodes of the season. But somehow, with the current U.S. zeitgeist, it feels daring that no one is waving the banner of either Fundamentalism or Atheism.
Faith (yes, I'm including Atheism) can and should inform an individual's morality and politics. However, the idea that these things are personal isn't a position I'm used to seeing much of on television.
The other thing I'm really liking this season is the way the Arthurian legend (hence, the Renn Faire town in the season finale) is being woven into the mythos.
They are, in subtle ways, getting the legend right. The Grail was holy long before Christianity turned it into Jesus' cup. Merlin's arcane knowledge, with the Stargate SG-1 'verse, comes from a higher technology level and a sense of showmanship. The Arthurian legend is dynamic; it keeps getting retold in new ways with pop culture references from each age woven into the tapestry. I like what Stargate SG-1 is doing much better than I liked Indiana Jones take on the legend.
While I can't say this season has been an unadulterated joy, there have been many surprisingly good episodes.
Three things have stood out for me this season. The first is, they've let Daniel go back to being a genius.
Sam never got her genius card taken away, at least partially, I think, because her talent is for science. Everybody knows science is hard; it's what real geniuses do. Daniel, on the other hand, is a pattern reader who applies his talent to languages (we finally found out this season that one of his Ph.D.s is in Philology). He can, and in the past has, used his iNtuitive side to find solutions that might have eluded the team, but he has just as often in the more recent seasons been just another soldier. Mind you, he doesn't have to salute anybody, but making things go boom is the definition of a soldier (making the right things go boom at the right time is the definition of a good soldier).
The producers who took over the show in season 4 (and who still run it) made it clear that they didn't much care for the geek. Much of the appeal of Stargate SG-1 was the idea that ethics, intuition, and intelligence could make a difference in the field. Somehow, this crowd didn't see that.
Things are beginning to intrigue me now, though. While I recognize that Battlestar Galactica is a better written and more internally consistent show (and in the interest of honesty, I still need to finish its season), I've been finding myself thinking more of the moments and themes of this season's Stargate than anything from Galactica.
There've been an awful lot of Renn Faire towns in Stargate SG-1 -- it's never going to win a costume Emmy. But the theme of faith versus free will has been played in many different ways. Virtually every episode has demanded that someone make the choice between faith in a devastatingly powerful force who want to cleanse the entire galaxy of sin or free will.
I like the fact that the free will being presented allows faith, in humanity, in God or Goddess, in science, or in intellect. Faith isn't being treated like it's a disease, which I'm finding to be a new theme in much Liberal discourse these days. It may come from a feeling on the part of the Left that the religious will automatically assume governmental authority is acceptable, but I think it's hurting any chance of true discussion. I'm stepping off the soapbox now.
The point is not one character on Stargate SG-1 has come forward and said they are atheist. Many fans, myself included, assume that most of the characters are probably agnostic or atheist, but Colonel Mitchell often quotes his bible-thumping grandmother. General Landry flat out stated that he believed in God in one of the early episodes of the season. But somehow, with the current U.S. zeitgeist, it feels daring that no one is waving the banner of either Fundamentalism or Atheism.
Faith (yes, I'm including Atheism) can and should inform an individual's morality and politics. However, the idea that these things are personal isn't a position I'm used to seeing much of on television.
The other thing I'm really liking this season is the way the Arthurian legend (hence, the Renn Faire town in the season finale) is being woven into the mythos.
They are, in subtle ways, getting the legend right. The Grail was holy long before Christianity turned it into Jesus' cup. Merlin's arcane knowledge, with the Stargate SG-1 'verse, comes from a higher technology level and a sense of showmanship. The Arthurian legend is dynamic; it keeps getting retold in new ways with pop culture references from each age woven into the tapestry. I like what Stargate SG-1 is doing much better than I liked Indiana Jones take on the legend.
