SG-1 "Morpheus"

[lyore]

Once again, I liked this episode. To start at the begining - I guess it's a measure of how defensive I am when the fact that everyone apart from Daniel was in the opening scene, I started worrying. Said worry disappeared when Daniel ran up - I loved that scene, and the following briefing, it was old-school Daniel in full-on research mode. I also liked Sam's aside to Mitchell - it was a bit snarky, but at least it showed the team developing some sort of camaraderie. Mitchell gets points for the Monty Python reference.

I liked the fact that Landry was not going to let Vala on off-world missions, but I have mixed feelings about Daniel going in to bat for her. It was a very Daniel-esque thing to do, and it's nice to see Daniel arguing for things he believes in again, but I'm not sure I really want to see Daniel as her advocate every time something comes up.

As far as Vala herself goes - she's definitely growing on me. She's gone more for the sister-vibe than the aggressive sexual vibe she had last season, but I think that could be a deliberate ploy to try and keep Daniel, and hence the other members of the SGC, on-side. The scenes with the psychiatrist were good, especially the lie detector. I picked Woolsey as part of the test from the beginning - it would have been a lot more convincing to the audience to use one of the international members of the IOC, since they are the ones with the continual complaint about excluded from important information. I didn't really like the end of the episode - she was acting very much like a child, threatening to leave. OTOH, that's not particularly OOC for her - she's never really struck me as someone who would prefer to work on an unsatisfactory situation and try to improve it when she had the option of walking away. The 'sexual advances', however, was very in-character, as was the responses from the other character's.

Since I've already jumped to the end of the episode, I think the interaction Vala and Mitchell will be interesting to watch, now she is the 'new guy' on the team (something I would have preferred not to happen, but I'm not surprised). I wonder how much of his warning to Vala was effected by his own awareness of what it means to be the new guy on the team. I think one of the reason's I'm not reacting as badly to Vala being on the team as I thought I would is that the new SG-1 still hasn't really gelled for me. If they tried to insert her into a pre-season 9 team, I would have hated it, but I think I'll be OK with her in this new version. I guess I just haven't had so much time to get protective off it yet.

A general note on the introductions of Vala and Mitchell - I think whenever the writers bring in a new character, they tend to overcompensate for their lack of development, focus on them too much, and try to emphasise their 'special skill' too early and too often. I felt they did that with Mitchell in Season 9 (OK, not so much over-focused, but his characterisation jumped all over the shop), Jonas way back in season 6, and I think they may do it again here. I just hope we don't have any Vala-centric episodes for a while.

Speaking of Mitchell, while he seems to have a good rapport with Sam and Teal'c, he still seems to be a bit more ... conciliatory to Daniel? Like he wants to impress him/get on his good side. OTOH, I can't really think of a good reason (or rather, a non-biased reason) for this to be so, so perhaps I am just reading to much into it. I liked the Mitchell/Teal'c interaction, right up until the point where Teal'c left him. Um, no. Sorry, but no. I did like the Sam and Daniel interaction - about time we got to see them together!

I'm also surprised how well the Arthurian mythology is working for me at the moment. It was one of things I was dubious about, after they introduced it in Season 9 and then ignored it for most of the season, but so far, so good. Or maybe I'm just happy that there have been no Jaffa-centric episodes so far :)



Still on a Stargate note, what do people think about the possible continuation of the movie-verse? It would be interesting to see where they went with it, especially as Devlin has said he didn't want to invalidate any of the SG-1 storylines.

Comments

[psuedoskribe.livejournal.com]

Will read ep discussion once I've seen the episode. :]

If continuing movie-verse simply means a movie length episode of SG-1, carrying on with the current characters, actors and story as it currently is, I wouldn't be very interested. Now, if they could bring back General Jack (I'm still used to Colonel) -- I wouldn't mind who they picked between Kurt Russel and Richard Anderson -- and get the old (i.e. good) writers in, I'd like to see what they came up with.

I feel movie-verse is very separate from the execution and atmosphere of SG-1 and Atlantis (and I am loyal to the former). It's a shame Ra had a nuclear weapon go up in his face.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

No, it means continuing on from the original movie, as if the series had never happened. So, actor-wise they are looking at Kurt Russell for Jack O'Neil (1 l), and James Spader for Daniel.

The current idea is for it to be set 12 years after the first movie, but to fit in before the start of the series. Which does present some problems, not the least of which is the age of the characters, but also they presumably have to duplicate the set-up at the end of the first movie at the end of the third (yeah, they are looking at doing two more).

[psuedoskribe.livejournal.com]

I'm excited at the concept, but it sounds like it could be very sloppy. The time gap is a problem and they're going to do two more? If you have an article for this could you please plug me so I can see what they're conspiring (thanks :])?

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I don't have the link handy at the mo, but if you go to www.gateworld.net, they mentioned it. And I think scifiwire did as well...

If you can't find them (there seem to be two separate articles), let me know and I'll go hunting.

[psuedoskribe.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'll take a look and will poke you if I have no luck.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

To start at the begining - I guess it's a measure of how defensive I am when the fact that everyone apart from Daniel was in the opening scene, I started worrying. Said worry disappeared when Daniel ran up - I loved that scene,

Me too and me too. *g* I think it's so funny, but after the last episode, I started to wonder if MS had done something bad to be written out of half of every episode or something. *g*

The 'sexual advances', however, was very in-character, as was the responses from the other character's.

I agree. I loved that part because it was so Vala and gave me hope that perhaps she wasn't going to be treated like a child and acting like a complete child for every episode this season. While I didn't find Flesh & Blood all that compelling, at least Vala was acting like a grownup and showing her innate intelligence and her ability to think quickly and figure things out (like how she was able to follow Daniel's thoughts/reasoning in Avalon/Origin). Not many others can keep up with him and this is one of the few things I think could make me believe that Daniel would want to have her around.

he still seems to be a bit more ... conciliatory to Daniel? Like he wants to impress him/get on his good side. OTOH, I can't really think of a good reason (or rather, a non-biased reason) for this to be so, so perhaps I am just reading to much into it.

No, I get that, too. I've often said that from Daniel & Mitchell, in season 9, when I saw them together, I saw them as just two guys, but with a very different vibe. They're more equal in a lot of ways (or at least at first they were) and if they'd been a bit younger, I could see them being the kind of friends who'd be all, "Let's go build a fort!" *g* And Mitchell would procure the supplies and Daniel would research plans... *g* I don't know. I liked that sort of thing between them, because we've never really seen Daniel in this type of relationship before.

With Jack everything was emotionally charged and I think they both had a sort of a bond that was both emotional and also a sort of warrior bond (they'd been through so much, seen each other at their worst, etc.). With Teal'c, I always felt a deep respect and a sort of mentoring--on both of their parts. I think that Teal'c probably helped Daniel learn about Goa'uld culture and that sort of thing (this is somewhat canon, as Teal'c helped Daniel with translations and also gave info when appropriate to the story), and I've always imagined Daniel as the one who helped Teal'c acclimate to Earth culture (primarily based on the fact that Daniel was the one with Teal'c in Bane at the end *g*). Sam is the closest to a "buddy" we've ever seen for Daniel, but she's not a guy. *g*

Anyway, at least at the beginning of season 9, I saw Mitchell's flaw as wanting too much to be liked by everyone. I think he saw Daniel as the main person he had to win over, and I think that maybe he still feels this way. I don't know... *g* I wish we'd see more of this. I don't want Mitchell to be a replacement for Jack, but nobody could be, IMHO. I don't see Mitchell as a threat to that at all. Vala, OTOH... *g* No, I really don't see her as a threat to the Jack and Daniel thing either. She's also a completely different type of character from Jack, and I don't think they could ever develop the same type of relationship as Daniel had with Jack.

About the new movie idea: I have mixed feelings. I'd always hoped for the long-promised SG-1 movie. I liked the original movie okay, but my main fondness for it is because it was a precursor to the TV show. OTOH, I have become quite fond of the movie and especially of James Spader. I've been a fan of Kurt Russell since the 60s70s, so I'd be happy to see the two of them in a movie together again. Still, I didn't like the book sequels to the movie by Bill McKay. They focused too much on other characters who weren't even in the original movie and the focus was just too much on the type of thing that I wouldn't really be interested in, I think.

I'd go see it anyway, as long as James Spader was in it anyway.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

her innate intelligence and her ability to think quickly and figure things out

I will not be happy if they dumb her down - she wouldn't have survived as long as she did if she was stupid - but I'm willing to cut her (and the writers) some slack during the 'adjustment period'.

And I completely agree with your take on Daniel and his relationship with the other members of SG-1, past and present.

With regards to the movie - I just wonder how much of an audience they will get that is willing to set aside the idea of SG-1 to give the new movie a fair go. After all, with 10 years of (often contradictory) characterisation to call on, its a pretty fair bet that a lot of the (fan) audience will be crying foul on that alone. But then again, for Spader and Russell I may be willing to ignore a lot.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

but I'm willing to cut her (and the writers) some slack during the 'adjustment period'.

You're so much kinder than I am. :-) You're right, though. She could be a bit all over the place for a while. Just because she's this way in this one episode (and everyone is acting that way with her) doesn't mean this is the way it will be for all the episodes. *g*

But then again, for Spader and Russell I may be willing to ignore a lot.

Me too. :-) I just feel a little bad about it, because maybe it means there won't be any SG-1 movie. (They never said that, though. That's just me and my Chicken Little impersonation again. *g*)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

As far as an SG-1 movie goes, I suspect we won't see one of those until the end of the series. Whenever that is. Oh, look, over there on the ground, is that a piece of sky?

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Oh, look, over there on the ground, is that a piece of sky?

:::giggle::: I think it is. *g*

[(Anonymous)]

ICON! *dies laughing*

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Err, that was me, not logged on.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

hehe That icon is by selluinlaer. It's one of my favorites. I always want to sing when I see it, though I'm sure everyone around me is glad if I don't.

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

I was unimpressed by they way they handled Mitchell in Morpheus. This is the guy who came back from an injury that should have crippled him for life? Just lying down and saying to T, go on without me? I think that sold him short- I wanted to see more struggle. And *no way* do I see Teal'c leaving him behind.

I was quite dissatisfied at the way that plot resolved. Too much time with the icky bug when they needed one more scene- a lab scene at the SGC- to sell the rescue.

Totally agree that Mitchell is conciliatory toward Daniel- but I think it works. I see Mitchell as feeling that Daniel and Jack are the heart of the old SG-1, and having a serious case of hero-worship. Jack's not around anymore, but Mitchell is supposed to be in charge of Daniel? Also, he's not military, so Mitchell lacks the formally defined means of relating to him that he has with Jack (and Carter). I think Daniel actually intimidates him a bit- not intentionally, but Mitchell really feels that he needs Daniel's approval. With Teal'c, I think Mitchell learned more about how to relate to him since his experience with the Sodan.

I totally agree that the writers are all over the map when introducing new characters. They really need *one* person who looks at each script and tweaks them for ongoing character development. I feel like they had that early in the series, but lost it somewhere along the way.

Whenever I see the commercials for the contest to visit the SG-1 set, I say. 'Huh, that would be interesting...but what I'd really like is the chance to sit in on a story development session or two and make suggestions!'. If I lived in Vancouver, I would *so* seriously be trying to write for the show!

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Totally agree that Mitchell is conciliatory toward Daniel- but I think it works. I see Mitchell as feeling that Daniel and Jack are the heart of the old SG-1, and having a serious case of hero-worship. Jack's not around anymore, but Mitchell is supposed to be in charge of Daniel? Also, he's not military, so Mitchell lacks the formally defined means of relating to him that he has with Jack (and Carter). I think Daniel actually intimidates him a bit- not intentionally, but Mitchell really feels that he needs Daniel's approval. With Teal'c, I think Mitchell learned more about how to relate to him since his experience with the Sodan.

I like this.

I'd like to see more of this, without the sort of thing we saw towards the end of season 9: Daniel being either affectionately amused/condescending towards Mitchell or alternately irritated with him. I don't mind them having some conflict, but not the way it played out in season 9 with Mitchell as the puppy dog. *g* I like it more subtle the way it was in the first half of season 9 and also in Morpheus.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

But you have to admit, Puppy!Mitchell is kinda cute. Just not really the sort of person you want leading your flagship team across the galaxy.

Daniel being either affectionately amused/condescending towards Mitchell or alternately irritated with him

This didn't bother me too much - given his relationship with the military, and his experiences with SG-1, I can see why the enthusiastic new guy may rub him the wrong way. But I like to see at least part of it as resentment on Sam's behalf.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I was unimpressed by they way they handled Mitchell in Morpheus.

I dunno, I kinda liked it. Perhaps because I am just a bit over the ultra-machoness that showed up a few times last season. OK, he's tough, but so are Carter and Daniel and Teal'c, and I liked they way they all went down at about the same time. But I agree that Teal'c would not have left him - or at least not without more of a fight.

I feel like they had that early in the series, but lost it somewhere along the way.

Jonathon Glassner! OK, I'm just biased because he was involved in The Invisible Man :)

If I lived in Vancouver, I would *so* seriously be trying to write for the show!

If I lived in Vancouver, I'd probably ... lurking around the set stalking the stars? Perhaps not. But seriously, I suspect I'd prefer to see your episodes than most of the ones they've come up with. Any chance of you moving to Vancouver?

[psuedoskribe.livejournal.com]

I can fully support Teal'c decision to leave Mitchell behind!

"I would cross lava fields for this team and my captain... any other day (so fuggin' tired!)"

[lol] I mean, the simple effort of lifting Mitchell would have sent them both to the land of Nod. Teal'c had noble intentions, but the greater good need first be served (lose the battle, win the war!).

After all the joint disappointment of recent Atlantis and SG-1, I really enjoyed this episode. My expectations have really plunged, but with "Morpheus" I was always waiting to see what happened. It's the closest to old school SG-1 they've tread in a long time, the plot was less exorbitant than usual (less exasperating), although I am looking forward to seeing creepy-eyed Inara.

During her research, Vala's response to the Blade Runner question left me in stitches. She has her moments.

When Mitchell addressed Vala directly in the last sequence it felt strange, like things were... improving? Not just her affairs, but the general state of the season. Still, I won't get my hopes up.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I don't know - this is Teal'c. He's pretty big on the winning the battle and the war. The whole Jaffa thing, you know?

Vala-comedy worked for me in this episode. Much more than the overloaded sexual innuendo of early season 9.

Yes, it's starting to get the same feel as old-school SG-1, but different. You know. In a way :) I'm hopeful, but I know they are just lulling me into a false sense of security.

[psuedoskribe.livejournal.com]

That is very true to his character, but winning both at the same time wasn't a possibility in that instant. He promised to return for Mitchell, I believe that was his compromise.

I heartily agree. They're actually starting to round her character a bit.

That's true... we'll see what they pull out of their asses next week.