Saturday, April 28, 2007

More Stargate SG-1 Wish List

At least one of my wishes has come true already, well, sort of.

4. The Stargate program is made public.

In last nights episode of Stargate SG-1, The Road Not Taken, Sam is accidentally taken to an alternate reality during an experiment. What she finds is an Earth that is foreign to what she knows. It looks the same, but is very different just under the surface. And the Stargate program was public knowledge. How about that!

Do you suppose this episode was a jab at our real world US Government? While our post 9/11 world is nowhere close to what they portrayed, if the John Ashcroft's of the world had their way, it might be similar. Granted, most Americans (and most people of the FREE world) would not and do not mind a small cut back in civil liberty to gain allot of security, However, we know there's a huge gap between providing for the security of a nation and ruling by oppression.

If the Earth was to find itself being attacked by an alien race, chances are we would find ourselves in the same situation as in The Road Not Taken. And to some degree you can't ignore the need suspend civil liberties and implement martial law. But, you can bet that things like the constitution would become null and void, and a whole new way of governing would rein supreme throughout the world.

I especially liked how they portrayed the sane characters, but in different roles. General Landry, for instance, being president. That strong leader we've grown to trust is now the "dictator". The officers you trust with your life are now in the Secret Service, and they are watching you, but not watching your back.

I would not have played the Sam & Rodney romance/marriage card. I just do not see them fitting together. Ironically, they didn't make a very good married couple, and had divorced. Where was Jack? Did I miss that detail when Sam going down the list, asking where everyone was now?

Anyhow, it was a good episode, and not much technbabble. Amanda Tapping ROCKS!!

Regards
John Crawford

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Stargate SG-1 Wish List

It's just like me to think of these things now that the last episodes of Stargate SG-1 have been shot. Nonetheless, I wanted to share them and see if you had some the same ideas. So, if you could recommend a storyline or idea to the show, what would it be? Here's some I came up with.

1. Kurt Russell and James Spader return to do cameos.
2. Kurt Russell and James Spader return and play their characters (from the movie), through an entire episode, as if it's been that way for all 10 seasons.
3. Richard Dean Anderson reprises his role as "McGyver", Jack's alter ego. (A side effect of gate travel).
4. The Stargate program is made public.
5. Sam and Jack finally get together.
6. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701E) makes a grand appearance to save Earth when the Ori finally attack (like in the movie Star Trek: First Contact).
7. The Battlestar Galactica finds Earth, and it's under attack by the Ori.
8. Cam and Vala are taken captive on an alien world where everyone speaks perfect English with an Australian accent.
9. Jeff Bridges makes a guest appearance
10. Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa are found on an alien planet, once taken as a slaves by the Goa'uld.
11. Harland Williams guest stars as a Prior.
12. The Ori and the Wraith find each other. The Ori demand obedience; the wraith see a them as lunch; the Borg find the Ori and the Wraith, and assimilate them.
13. The Replicators turn all their attention to the consuming the Ori and the Wraith.
14. Jack finds live fish in his pond.
15. SG-1 explores the mystery of Bermuda Triangle and discover it's technology left behind by the Goa'uld causing the strange phenomenon.
16. SG-1 discovers a world abandoned by the Ancients that has hundreds of ZPM's. Earth finally has an inexhaustible power supply and ends it's reliance on fossil fuels.
17. Because we saved their little gray butts so many times, the Asgard remove all terrorists from Earth. They take them to a small, inhospitable planet in a far away galaxy.
18. A 16 year old boy and his girlfriend hack into the computers at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and takes control of the Stargate. This sets off a count dount to war with the Goa'uld, who insist on playing Tic-Tac-Toe. After hours of stalemate, SG-1 convinces the Goa'uld to play a nice game of Chess.
19. Jack's duplicate, who was mistakenly created as a teenager by the Asgard, returns to Stargate Command for another jaunt through the old orifice.
20. On an alien planet, SG-1 finds an ancient library and a librarian named Mr. Atoz.

Regards
John Crawford

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Monday, April 23, 2007

Ending Of An Era

I developed the site The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews with the hope of writing alot of reviews. I eagerly took notes during my favorites sci-fi shows, then put together my reviews. "The 4400" and "Battlestar Galactica" I found fairly easy follow, at first. But at times the plot and the technobabble are just too much to decipher. Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis have eluded me, lacking the interest to write about them. Mind you, I watch all the new episodes, and reruns. The "Dead Zone" as well.

As Stargate SG-1 has only 8 more episodes till it's last curtain call, I'm sure going to miss it. There just seems to be something special about shows made in Vancouver. I've never been there, in fact, never been anywhere in the northwest US or any part of Canada. But I think it would be a hoot to retire to Vancouver and make a living as a TV and movie extra. For now however, I have to stick with my day job and maybe a few pennies from these blogs.

So what's new on the Sci-fi horizon? "Pain Killer Jane" doesn't look too bad. But, it's already too complicated. I think this is a fatal error that will be it's undoing. It's my unqualified opinion the reason why "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was able to sustain such good ratings and a devoted following is simple. They stuck to the basics. Despite all their technobabble, we knew the 7 main characters would survive by the end of the episode. They followed the simple thigs that Gene Roddenberry envisioned. In the 24th century we have evolved to where material things do not matter, and we work to better ourselves. We've grown in our awareness of the universe and have created a safe and peaceful area of the galaxy. And we've grown strong enough with the knowledge, and gathered technology that keeps our enemys at arms length. When the credits rolled at the end of "Star Trek: TNG" episodes, one could feel hope for the future, and the world was a better place than it was just an hour earlier.

However, all other Star Trek series after it lost site of that. Although "Star Trek: Deep Space 9" started out with simple plot lines and simple character building, they introduces enemies and wars that left us (the viewers) alwasy feeling negative and hopeless. "Voyager" would have been easy to review, it stuck to the vision, for the most part. And despite poor ratings, we knew it would run 7 seasons, and in the series finale they would make it home. Granted it sure seemed destitute at times.

As for "Enterprise", it had potential. I don't truely think UPN gave it the benefit of the doubt. But the introduction of the Xindi was the beginning of the end. They turned a weekly series into a soap opera. People who were long time Trek fans were used to seeing a different episode each week, and the plots were completely different, and there was minimal crossover. Somewhere in the cranial lobes of the writers and producers they developed this obsession with carrying forward the details of the previous episode(s). It was certainly their undoing.

So as an avid sci-fi fan, and a critic, I hold "Star Trek: TNG" as the gold standard for all sci-fi shows. Why do you think "Battlestar Galactica" has down so well? The Ronald D. Moore's of the entertainment world need only look at the Star Trek franchise for examples of what and what NOT to do to survive. Is BSG complicated? Yes. But they shake things up, and they always keep you guessing. And when Mr. Moore wants to operate 'outside the box', he knows he's leaving the safe zone. BSG, albeit, a group of ragtag survivors, cling to the will to live and to succeed. When the Cylons seem to have them cornered, out manned, out gunned, or out witted, the human spirit rises above it all.

"StarGate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" have adopted this growing need to 'paint themselves into a corner'. I do not understand why there has to always be some superior bad guy, and the outlook is hopeless. The Ori and the Wraith, I wish they would just disappear. Be nice if they could pit one against the other and they just go away. What ever happened to the journey? What ever happened to exploring? Are they afraid no one would watch?

"Eureka" looked interesting at first, but it's fallen into that complicated trap. Note to the writers and producers, ease up on the details, and concentrate on fun. As Scotty once said "the more complicated you make the plumbing, the easier it is to clog up."

A older series that's making the rounds is "Jake 2.0". Another vicitm of UPN's shortsightedness. Ok, it was a bit overboard with the spy agency references, and they did a not-so-good job of portraying them. So hire a consultant to advise them on what's real and what's not. I am a staunch believer that if you want a non-sci-fi fan to watch your larger-than-life sci-fi show, the line between science and science fiction has to be blurred. Blurred to the point the viewer believe it could be real. "Jake 2.0" definately got a "F" in that subject. But I would have liked for it to stay around for another season to see if they could iron out the bugs. They didn't even air the last 3 episodes. Those 3 episodes made their first run in the SCIFI Channel earlier this year, and the last 3 episodes were dramatically different than the first 12.


Regards
John Crawford

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Sunday, April 8, 2007

The Legacy Of StarGate SG-1: Is It More Than Meets The Eye?

A legendary science fiction series is ending. Star Gate SG-1 will begin the last season of its long run in April 2007 on the Sci-Fi Channel. This is very bad news for SG-1 Fans who have invested ten years and over 200 episodes in the long-running saga. But is there more here than meets the eye?

SG-1 has a loyal fan following. That is best explained by the fact that it blends old style science fiction with new. The scripts give you time to get to know the characters without...

John Crawford

AutismZone
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The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
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