jedi_of_urth (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jedi_of_urth) wrote2013-05-01 08:20 pm
jedi_of_urth) wrote2013-05-01 08:20 pm
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100 Reviews: 59
So, I’ve been feeling the need for some Stargate of late, and I might as well review some of it as I go.
Stargate (the movie), SG1: ...Children of the Gods
(I have no idea how to number CotG, my DVD labels it as the pilot with The Enemy Within as episode 1. IMDB had CotG as episode 1, and logically it should be 1x01/1x02 as far as syndication is concerned. So for tonight I’ll leave it unnumbered and see what I feel looks good next time.)
I’m not sure I’ve ever watched the movie as a lead in to watching the series. I don’t think I watched the movie until I was at least a couple seasons into the show, then the couple other times I’ve watched it it’s mainly been as a stand alone thing. And watching them back to back...it kind of works. You kind of have to quickly forget a lot of the details of the movie, but you’re going to have to do that anyway since so much changes. But in spirit I think they work together pretty well, even if CotG is still kind of a mid-point between the movie and how the majority of the series will treat a lot of things.
The movie and the pilot also had different needs to service. The movie was concerned with telling its own story, while CotG had to worry about following the movie and setting up for the series. It doesn’t set up everything just yet, but it needed to cover a lot of ground even for a two hour pilot. And as many things as the pilot contradicted about the movie, later episodes will make some stuff here kind of off-feeling (Kowalski and Jack have known each other how long according to later canon and Kowalski never knew Jack had a kid?). Again, it keeps the spirit of the story consistent through different phases, but the details get kind of screwy.
(As a side note, I probably should watch the Buffy movie one day so I can compare how that verse and this one handled picking up an existing universe from movie to TV.)
I do like how separate the movie and pilot feel even though they’re connected. Yet I like that they don’t just restart with the activation of the Stargate either (a reboot in essence), and if it were done today I figure that’s how it would happen, yet another perk of 90s sci-fi, they didn’t have to reboot everything in order to start fresh stories. The movie backstory is a little heavy in CotG, but it never feels too much like it’s dragging it down; and because the characters know things we don’t have to spend at least equal time getting them up to speed on their own world.
But, as much as I can respect the movie’s place in all this, starting the show is where I come home. Daniel and Jack look like Daniel and Jack now rather than needing a mental adjustment to see them that way, my team is together and ready to go face the universe, the sets are what I expect, other planets looks like Canada again. You definitely don’t need to see the movie to get the show even if it helps, and the show is where it’s at.
(I have watched the commentary on the movie at one point, and the movie guys are kind of assholes about the show. But since I’m pretty sure the movie has gotten way more attention from the show than it ever got on its own I can’t decide if they’re willfully ignorant of that or just bitter about that fact.)
Like I said before, CotG is definitely a mid-point between movie and series. It doesn’t quite get around to setting up how the show is going to operate week to week as the action of this episode is all pretty much reactionary to events that are in some ways fallout from the movie (and TEW continues that before we get to the planet of the week stuff). Although there is some clumsy exposition that they’ll have one or two new gate addresses each month that makes me laugh.
There are some things about the movie and CotG that are particularly funny after Mobius and 200 revisit the beginnings of the story. But that’s not particularly here or there.
Whether because they’re essentially the leads or because they already had some character work established, Jack and Daniel are definitely the more developed characters in CotG. Sam and Teal’c are set up (kind of awkwardly in some cases), but they didn’t really hit the ground as finished characters. And whether because of this or intentional choice, most of the emotional weight of CotG is also on Jack and Daniel; particularly Daniel (outside of the scene at Jack’s house, Jack’s Charlie grief is much more natural than his Skaa’ra issues even if they are connected) as he is given the most reason to angst and by virtue of his character the most capable of expressing said angst (is it any wonder he’s my favorite?).
As a last note, if this episode weren’t so clearly Daniel/Sha’re, Daniel/Sam would probably have been my first choice for ship. She’s so handsy with him early on, and kinda seems to have a bit of a crush; but he’s married and as long as the writers remember that, not terribly interested in other women (the show tends to forget that sometimes).
Next time:
We’ll see if this SG1 revisit continues/continues to inspire reviews, if not who knows
I still take suggestions though
Stargate (the movie), SG1: ...Children of the Gods
(I have no idea how to number CotG, my DVD labels it as the pilot with The Enemy Within as episode 1. IMDB had CotG as episode 1, and logically it should be 1x01/1x02 as far as syndication is concerned. So for tonight I’ll leave it unnumbered and see what I feel looks good next time.)
I’m not sure I’ve ever watched the movie as a lead in to watching the series. I don’t think I watched the movie until I was at least a couple seasons into the show, then the couple other times I’ve watched it it’s mainly been as a stand alone thing. And watching them back to back...it kind of works. You kind of have to quickly forget a lot of the details of the movie, but you’re going to have to do that anyway since so much changes. But in spirit I think they work together pretty well, even if CotG is still kind of a mid-point between the movie and how the majority of the series will treat a lot of things.
The movie and the pilot also had different needs to service. The movie was concerned with telling its own story, while CotG had to worry about following the movie and setting up for the series. It doesn’t set up everything just yet, but it needed to cover a lot of ground even for a two hour pilot. And as many things as the pilot contradicted about the movie, later episodes will make some stuff here kind of off-feeling (Kowalski and Jack have known each other how long according to later canon and Kowalski never knew Jack had a kid?). Again, it keeps the spirit of the story consistent through different phases, but the details get kind of screwy.
(As a side note, I probably should watch the Buffy movie one day so I can compare how that verse and this one handled picking up an existing universe from movie to TV.)
I do like how separate the movie and pilot feel even though they’re connected. Yet I like that they don’t just restart with the activation of the Stargate either (a reboot in essence), and if it were done today I figure that’s how it would happen, yet another perk of 90s sci-fi, they didn’t have to reboot everything in order to start fresh stories. The movie backstory is a little heavy in CotG, but it never feels too much like it’s dragging it down; and because the characters know things we don’t have to spend at least equal time getting them up to speed on their own world.
But, as much as I can respect the movie’s place in all this, starting the show is where I come home. Daniel and Jack look like Daniel and Jack now rather than needing a mental adjustment to see them that way, my team is together and ready to go face the universe, the sets are what I expect, other planets looks like Canada again. You definitely don’t need to see the movie to get the show even if it helps, and the show is where it’s at.
(I have watched the commentary on the movie at one point, and the movie guys are kind of assholes about the show. But since I’m pretty sure the movie has gotten way more attention from the show than it ever got on its own I can’t decide if they’re willfully ignorant of that or just bitter about that fact.)
Like I said before, CotG is definitely a mid-point between movie and series. It doesn’t quite get around to setting up how the show is going to operate week to week as the action of this episode is all pretty much reactionary to events that are in some ways fallout from the movie (and TEW continues that before we get to the planet of the week stuff). Although there is some clumsy exposition that they’ll have one or two new gate addresses each month that makes me laugh.
There are some things about the movie and CotG that are particularly funny after Mobius and 200 revisit the beginnings of the story. But that’s not particularly here or there.
Whether because they’re essentially the leads or because they already had some character work established, Jack and Daniel are definitely the more developed characters in CotG. Sam and Teal’c are set up (kind of awkwardly in some cases), but they didn’t really hit the ground as finished characters. And whether because of this or intentional choice, most of the emotional weight of CotG is also on Jack and Daniel; particularly Daniel (outside of the scene at Jack’s house, Jack’s Charlie grief is much more natural than his Skaa’ra issues even if they are connected) as he is given the most reason to angst and by virtue of his character the most capable of expressing said angst (is it any wonder he’s my favorite?).
As a last note, if this episode weren’t so clearly Daniel/Sha’re, Daniel/Sam would probably have been my first choice for ship. She’s so handsy with him early on, and kinda seems to have a bit of a crush; but he’s married and as long as the writers remember that, not terribly interested in other women (the show tends to forget that sometimes).
Next time:
We’ll see if this SG1 revisit continues/continues to inspire reviews, if not who knows
I still take suggestions though