Stargate SG-1 is revving up to finish its run, with the final episodes starting in April. It's ending with its 10th season, making it the longest running scifi series in history. Cool. Though fans are lamenting its cancellation, I can't say I think it's a bad thing. In fact, it could have ended after season 8 and that would have been all right with me. These last two seasons have been underwhelming, as Earth faced yet another uber-powerful foe [the Ori], and with the departure of Richard Dean Anderson. I like Ben Browder well enough, but his character, Cameron Mitchell, is neither necessary nor especially interesting. Why isn't Carter heading the team? That's just wrong. And though General Hammond was never one of my favourite characters, I was sorry to see him go. Even replacing him with Beau Bridges [one of my childhood crushes], didn't make me glad for his departure.
Over the course of its run, SG-1 developed what I like best about a show - an actual story. The first season was mostly made up of "monster of the week" episodes, one-offs that didn't really connect to each other or to anything outside of a single ep. As subsequent seasons progressed, stories were laid out and the characters were allowed to develop some depth and personality beyond the generic two-dimensional characters we met in season 1.
I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a great show. It has all the features of what I think of as truly cheesy scifi - mediocre writing, hammy acting, silly stories, questionable science, not-so-great CG. However, it entertained me, for which I must give it credit. It also had a romance that I was really rooting for, in part because it eschewed the tired old "boy meets girl, they find a reason to hate each other but are secetly in love" bs. No, this schtick was "boy meets girl, but they can't get involved because one is the other's superior officer." To the show's credit, they pretty much avoided irritating pining and skipped numerous opportunities for stupid flirting. Among my favourite eps are the ones in which Carter & O'Neill kiss, because that's just the kind of sucker I am.
One of the most appealing aspects of this show was the feature of gate travel. Their excursions to different worlds had a Myst feeling for me, where the team would explore strange places and discover interesting new toys. And conveniently, most everyone they met spoke English :)
So, the series is ending, but that doesn't mean this is The End. Two direct-to-DVD films have been approved by MGM and will begin production in March, with most of the stars of the current series. There are also rumours of another spinoff, aside from Stargate Atlantis [which has yet to impress me at all]. But, if no such spinoff materializes, that would be okay.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment