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Last fall, I posted a series of wish lists of what I would like to see on each of my shows in the upcoming season. Since SGA's season is now over, I thought I'd go back and see how my list fared.
1. A continuation of the Sheppard/McKay banter from season 3 (they were like 2 little kids at summer camp all season--I loved it)
Hmm. The jury's still out on this one. I didn't feel the 'two little kids at summer camp' vibe that I felt so strongly last season, but there were some great McShep friendship moments over the course of the season, including Rodney finally calling Sheppard 'John.'
2. Sheppard's leather jacket (the one he was wearing in "Common Ground"--there was not enough of that jacket last season)
This was a definite no. I think we saw Rodney's a time or two, but I don't remember seeing Sheppard's at all. What a waste of a perfectly good leather jacket. On the other hand, I liked Sheppard's new uniform a lot, and I especially liked the fact that Sheppard laced up his boots this season. The unlaced boots last season just looked sloppy.
3. Sam Carter being written as the administrator she'll be on Atlantis, not as the Mary Sue she was being written as in later seasons of SG-1 (Atlantis already has soldiers and scientists)
I think I can call this one a win. Except for "Trio," Carter didn't really go off-world or completely take over any of the stories. She certainly wasn't pegging out my Mary Sue meter like she was on SG-1. In fact, this season of SGA was the first time in many, many years that I actually liked Carter.
4. Action scenes involving Sheppard and Ronon running and shooting (not every episode, but they do work well together in emergencies)
I definitely call this one a win. These scenes didn't occur in every episode (nor should they), but they occurred enough to make me happy. I never get tired of watching those two in a firefight together.
5. Sheppard using his math skills that we haven't seen much of since season 1
Nope, no Mathy!Sheppard. He did get to use his smarty brains in other ways, which I definitely liked, but I really wanted to see some math.
6. Sheppard's ATA gene playing a crucial role in something, somehow (him having the strongest ATA gene was how he got on the mission in the first place, but he rarely uses it for anything that any gene carrier can't do)
Another one the jury's still out on. At the end of "Harmony," Sheppard was able to use his gene to activate the mini-drones to defeat the Genii, but I don't know if Rodney or any other gene carrier couldn't have done the same thing.
7. Backstory about Sheppard's family (preferably not played for laughs)
I totally can't believe I got this one after years of promises from TPTB that didn't pan out. "Outcast" barely scratched the surface of Sheppard's family issues, but we found out more about his background in fifteen minutes of this ep than in the rest of the four seasons combined.
8. Some mention of where Teyla stands with her people (can she really be the leader of the Athosians if she doesn't even live on the same planet they do anymore and rarely sees them?)
I also wasn't expecting to get this one, what with the way the writers occasionally manage to overlook important plot points, but I think this issue was covered quite well over the course of the season.
9. Rodney's sister, Jeannie
Another win. She got another major episode with "Miller's Crossing."
10. More exploration of the city (it's supposed to be the size of Manhattan, and there are supposed to be teams exploring it, but we never see them or the other parts of the city anymore--when was the last time we had an 'exploring the city' ep?)
Still no city exploration. You'd think exploring the city would be a good way to do a bottle show when they need to save money on an episode, but here we are heading into season 5 and we've still only seen a tiny little fraction of the city. There's got to be some trouble Sheppard's team can get into (or get Lorne's team out of) somewhere.
ETA: Do not visit the links in comment 1b. The original image site I was linking to is gone, and my antivirus program lit up like Christmas the last time I tried to go there.
1. A continuation of the Sheppard/McKay banter from season 3 (they were like 2 little kids at summer camp all season--I loved it)
Hmm. The jury's still out on this one. I didn't feel the 'two little kids at summer camp' vibe that I felt so strongly last season, but there were some great McShep friendship moments over the course of the season, including Rodney finally calling Sheppard 'John.'
2. Sheppard's leather jacket (the one he was wearing in "Common Ground"--there was not enough of that jacket last season)
This was a definite no. I think we saw Rodney's a time or two, but I don't remember seeing Sheppard's at all. What a waste of a perfectly good leather jacket. On the other hand, I liked Sheppard's new uniform a lot, and I especially liked the fact that Sheppard laced up his boots this season. The unlaced boots last season just looked sloppy.
3. Sam Carter being written as the administrator she'll be on Atlantis, not as the Mary Sue she was being written as in later seasons of SG-1 (Atlantis already has soldiers and scientists)
I think I can call this one a win. Except for "Trio," Carter didn't really go off-world or completely take over any of the stories. She certainly wasn't pegging out my Mary Sue meter like she was on SG-1. In fact, this season of SGA was the first time in many, many years that I actually liked Carter.
4. Action scenes involving Sheppard and Ronon running and shooting (not every episode, but they do work well together in emergencies)
I definitely call this one a win. These scenes didn't occur in every episode (nor should they), but they occurred enough to make me happy. I never get tired of watching those two in a firefight together.
5. Sheppard using his math skills that we haven't seen much of since season 1
Nope, no Mathy!Sheppard. He did get to use his smarty brains in other ways, which I definitely liked, but I really wanted to see some math.
6. Sheppard's ATA gene playing a crucial role in something, somehow (him having the strongest ATA gene was how he got on the mission in the first place, but he rarely uses it for anything that any gene carrier can't do)
Another one the jury's still out on. At the end of "Harmony," Sheppard was able to use his gene to activate the mini-drones to defeat the Genii, but I don't know if Rodney or any other gene carrier couldn't have done the same thing.
7. Backstory about Sheppard's family (preferably not played for laughs)
I totally can't believe I got this one after years of promises from TPTB that didn't pan out. "Outcast" barely scratched the surface of Sheppard's family issues, but we found out more about his background in fifteen minutes of this ep than in the rest of the four seasons combined.
8. Some mention of where Teyla stands with her people (can she really be the leader of the Athosians if she doesn't even live on the same planet they do anymore and rarely sees them?)
I also wasn't expecting to get this one, what with the way the writers occasionally manage to overlook important plot points, but I think this issue was covered quite well over the course of the season.
9. Rodney's sister, Jeannie
Another win. She got another major episode with "Miller's Crossing."
10. More exploration of the city (it's supposed to be the size of Manhattan, and there are supposed to be teams exploring it, but we never see them or the other parts of the city anymore--when was the last time we had an 'exploring the city' ep?)
Still no city exploration. You'd think exploring the city would be a good way to do a bottle show when they need to save money on an episode, but here we are heading into season 5 and we've still only seen a tiny little fraction of the city. There's got to be some trouble Sheppard's team can get into (or get Lorne's team out of) somewhere.
ETA: Do not visit the links in comment 1b. The original image site I was linking to is gone, and my antivirus program lit up like Christmas the last time I tried to go there.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 06:47 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 04:35 pm (UTC)From:Sheppard's uniform in seasons 1 & 2 was a black T-shirt, grey pants, a grey jacket with black panels, and what looked like mid-rise hiking boots.
His uniform in season 3 swapped out the grey jacket for a black leather one, the hiking boots for (sloppily unlaced) combat boots, and (I think) the grey pants for different grey pants.
This season, he was wearing (laced up) combat boots, black pants, and a black shirt/jacket thing that I don't know the name of (the one with the 3/4 length sleeves--maybe it was just a BDU shirt with the sleeves rolled up?).
I liked the new uniform, but I also miss the grey jacket with black panels, and I can't imagine why wardrobe spent all that money on the leather jacket when John only wore it a handful of times, some of which were photo shoots.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 05:22 pm (UTC)From:As a costumer for mostly theatrical stuff, I would say that it might end up being personal preference. Maybe Joe gets too hot in the jacket. The only time I really, really remember him wearing it was in "Common Ground," where he had to lay about on something that looked an awful lot like concrete in a dark room all day. ::shrugs:; who knows. Joe seems to like his clothes kind of loose, unless he's wearing a suit coat. (Thank goodness.) At least we got the suit coat.
I totally think the jeans/boots/suit coat was his own clothing. He wears a black jacket a lot out and about and a pair of brown, extremely scuffed-toe boots.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-16 09:09 pm (UTC)From:I agree. From what I've seen of Joe out in public, he and John dress exactly alike.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 05:21 pm (UTC)From:Season 1 (http://jumper-one.110mb.com/galleries/sgaes1/sgae111/images/SGA-111-007.jpg) -- You can't see the panels on the jacket under his tac vest, but you can see the rest of the uniform.
Season 2 (http://jumper-one.110mb.com/galleries/sgaes2/sgae202/images/SGA-202-007.jpg)
Season 3 (http://jumper-one.110mb.com/galleries/sgaes3/sgae304/images/SGA-304-014.jpg) -- He actually wore the grey uniform from the first two seasons more than I thought, but he also wore this one. For some reason, this image keeps coming up with a 403 error when I test it, even though I coded it the same as all the others and it's from the same site. If you right click, copy the URL, and paste it into a new window, it should work.
Season 4 (http://jumper-one.110mb.com/galleries/sgaes4/sgae420/images/SGA-420-002.jpg)
Darn you for making me look at lots and lots of pictures of Joe Flanigan. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 05:24 pm (UTC)From:I do remember him being in the grey outfit when Rodney was already wearing black BDUs (which is a glorious, glorious thing, especially when he's all geared up soldier-like.)
no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 05:39 pm (UTC)From:Well, shoot. They were really good pictures.
Nope, they're there
Date: 2008-03-16 08:10 pm (UTC)From:And, yes, I know we need to get me some images. :)
Re: Nope, they're there
Date: 2008-03-16 09:17 pm (UTC)From:And, yes, I know we need to get me some images.
I don't know how you've made it this long without them. Icons are half the fun of LJ. I have more on my hard drive than LJ will ever allow me storage space for. I also need a Eureka icon before I start reviewing it this summer.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-15 09:05 pm (UTC)From:For some reason I can access them from my mail program. Go figure.