Re-Watch: Season 9 - Stargate Command aka “Getting the Band Back Together”

[BkWurm1]

With so many changes to the show, it’s no wonder it was almost renamed Stargate Command. 

Jack is no longer a regular, so the genial, but sharp General Hank Landry takes command of Cheyanne Mountain.  Cameron Mitchel gets his dream assignment with SG-1 only to find out there is no SG-1 anymore.  Carter is off in Area 51 (aka Amanda Tapping on maternity leave for five episodes), Teal’c is busy trying to build a new free Jaffa nation (politics suck everywhere) and Dr. Daniel Jackson thinks he’s finally going to get to go to Atlantis only to be thwarted by his own curiosity and a certain raven haired beauty menace. 

Oops, maybe the Ancient’s should have mentioned this galaxy’s “don’t tell the Ori we exist” rule.    

Edited February 13, 2017 by BkWurm1

[BigBeagle]

I loved Browder and Black in "Farscape," and I enjoyed it when they joined SG-1 full time. But the introduction of the B'Ori was a sin I could never forgive, which made Season 9 something of a wash for me.

[BkWurm1]

I think they oversold the parallels between the evil Ori and the christian religion right off and instantly turned off a lot of viewers.  And then on top of that, yep, the Ori were boring, which only made their reception worse.  It was just sooo heavy handed and sloppy and also the Ori were just too big and all powerful since they were a race of ascended beings.  I think when they brought the fight down to earth so to speak with Adria acting as the personification of the big bad, that the Ori worked much better as an enemy.  I do wish though that Adria going bad had not been such a fast and clear cut move.

Season 9 probably would have been better if the Ori stayed in the background longer, like a potential but not immediate threat and more time was spent on the Lucian Alliance.  They were a much more accessible villain.  Space Corn!

[DittyDotDot]

I'm getting a little worried there's something wrong with me, When Hammond told them goodbye and "to take care of each other," in The Fourth Horseman this weird liquid started to pool in my eyes. And then when Frasier showed up in Ripple Effect, it happened again! What's up with that? ;)

Anyhow, S9 is kinda hit and miss for me so far. I'm enjoying both Mitchell and Vala, but find the Ori pretty meh overall. I'll do my usual rundown:

• Avalon: Nice introduction for Mitchell, but it kinda dragged at times, IMO. I did get the biggest kick out of Mitchell's "Bullets bounce!!!" and Teal'c smirking.
• Origin: Eh, I agree with @BkWurm1, I think they oversold the religion parallels. It doesn't offend me, it's just that they spent the last eight years fighting a race of beings who took advantage of the galaxy by posing as gods only to replace them with another alien race of beings who were taking advantage of the universe by posing as gods. Seems a tad repetitive.
• The Ties That Bind: I enjoy a good scavenger hunt! I also find Vala rather amusing too. So, I called this one a win.
• The Powers That Be: How very 1998 of them; It totally had me in mind of that episode where Teal'c got put on trial back in S1. ;)
• Beachhead: Carter is back, baby!! Love that. Not only is she back, but gets to help destroy another planet...not that she meant to this time though. ;)
• Ex Deus Machina: I don't think I've seen this one before, now the Ba'al clones stuff to come should make more sense.
• Babylon: How many times is Mitchell going to not-die this season? He's on a roll to give Daniel a run for his money. ;)
• Prototype: I know I've never seen this one before. I'd forgotten what an ass Woolsey was at first. Pretty complex episode, in the end, though.
• The Fourth Horseman: The Cigarette Smoking Man is in league with the Ori? Now it all makes sense! ;)
• Collateral Damage: A rather brutal episode for Mitchell, but really well done, IMO. 
• Ripple Effect: Another I don't recall seeing previously. I don't know, there might've been one too many duplicates here. Other than Frasier unexpectedly arriving, it didn't really do much for me.

And that's where I stopped. Looking forward to seeing if the Merlin stuff coming up holds up over time.

On 2/14/2017 at 2:54 AM, BkWurm1 said:

I'll save most of my comments about "the Vala show" for when the rewatch reaches season nine, except to say that I think actually it wasn't the "Vala Show" but the "Daniel Show" and she just happened to be his co star. I ADORED the Daniel Show.  ;)

I agree it wasn't really the Vala show. I actually felt like it was the Cameron Mitchell show more than the Vala show. However, I think the "show" was pretty evenly distributed to all the key players--except maybe Carter. But, since Amanda Tapping was off having babies, I guess there's nothing that could've been done about that. 

[BkWurm1]

I never disliked Ben Browder or his character in this season, but it took until the 14th episode Stronghold for his character to fully click with me.  (The one where his friend was dying) Before that he was fine but a little too much sometimes.  I did like how right from the start his intro was incorporated with the show's history.  And I liked that he was chasing SG-1 because of how much he appreciated them.  It was a much better contrast to Daniel's replacement in season six where suddenly it seemed like Daniel was totally replaceable knowledge wise.  

It helped that it didn't feel like Browder was actually replacing anyone since most of season 8 didn't have Jack on the team.  So by season nine, he was less a replacement, then someone filling in a slot that needed filling.  I also liked the balance they struck with him being the team leader but basically totally not really in charge.  He was in charge because they let him be "in charge".  

I too teared up a little with Hammond in his episode but at the same time, I took to Landry immediately and liked him actually better than I ever did Hammond.  Hammond was good in his role, but there was always cool distance whereas I liked getting a broader understanding of who Landry was as a man, not just a general.  

Prototype was an interesting episode because it really showcased how much Daniel had changed, but at the same time, the changes felt justified.  

Edited February 20, 2017 by BkWurm1

[DittyDotDot]

6 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

I never disliked Ben Browder or his character in this season, but it took until the 14th episode Stronghold for his character to fully click with me.  (The one where his friend was dying) Before that he was fine but a little too much sometimes.

I know what you mean. I kinda felt like he came on a bit too strong at first. Although it makes a certain amount of sense too. Mitchell is this guy almost trying too hard at first to compensate for his own doubts. It would've been easy for them to try and duplicate O'Neill, but I think Browder did a good job of making Mitchell his own character.

6 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

I too teared up a little with Hammond in his episode but at the same time, I took to Landry immediately and liked him actually better than I ever did Hammond.  Hammond was good in his role, but there was always cool distance whereas I liked getting a broader understanding of who Landry was as a man, not just a general.  

I enjoy Landry quite a bit too. I can't say I like one better than the other, but there's a strong history with Hammond that gets me all nostalgic when he comes around.

6 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Prototype was an interesting episode because it really showcased how much Daniel had changed, but at the same time, the changes felt justified.

The whole episode felt very justified, to me. It's a complex issue and I think they put forth the discussion rather well. Woolsey wasn't all that much different than Daniel or Carter a few years ago. And, he's not entirely wrong, just naive in comparison to the experience everyone else has. 

[Guest]

18 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

I never disliked Ben Browder or his character in this season, but it took until the 14th episode Stronghold for his character to fully click with me.  (The one where his friend was dying) Before that he was fine but a little too much sometimes.  I did like how right from the start his intro was incorporated with the show's history.  And I liked that he was chasing SG-1 because of how much he appreciated them.  It was a much better contrast to Daniel's replacement in season six where suddenly it seemed like Daniel was totally replaceable knowledge wise.  

 

11 hours ago, DittyDotDot said:

I know what you mean. I kinda felt like he came on a bit too strong at first. Although it makes a certain amount of sense too. Mitchell is this guy almost trying too hard at first to compensate for his own doubts. It would've been easy for them to try and duplicate O'Neill, but I think Browder did a good job of making Mitchell his own character.

I think it took so long for Browder to settle in because they were working so hard to demonstrate that Mitchell wasn't another Jonas situation that they overcompensated in the other direction.

Its was like they were working a checklist.

Got Daniel killed.  Saved the team.

Can acquire all of Daniel's skills by osmosis. Works hard to reassemble Tealc, Sam and Daniel because there is no SG-1 without them.

etc.

[DittyDotDot]

So, I've finished my tour of S9 and my overall assessment: The inmates are definitely running the asylum! ;)

I mean, look at Ethon, some guy pops in and asks for help on an internal planetary issue and the team just decides it's their place to go interfere. And, I guess they don't need permission to go blow up a ship anymore...those things probably grow on trees anyway. ;)

Anyhoo, I had totally forgotten the special Ori baby was Vala's. 

Otherwise, I enjoyed most of S9. They did shake up the show a bit, but still kept it true to itself. The Camelot stuff didn't make a lot of sense like I remembered it did, but maybe it makes more sense after S10? We'll see.

[Idiotboy]

No, don't wait for the Camelot mythos to make sense. It never does, even though Mitchell and Carter would make a edit Lancelot-and-Guinevere pairing.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Idiotboy