marguerite_krux (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marguerite_krux) wrote2008-02-07 12:37 am
marguerite_krux) wrote2008-02-07 12:37 am
Entry tags:
How TPTB destroyed my favorite show
I find the season 5 casting announcements to be...rather funny, really. I half thought it was an April Fool's Day joke and then I realized it was the wrong month. [I'm on holiday, I forget what day of week it is all the time] Which wouldn't stop JM and co, who seem to live in an alternate universe than the rest of us most of the time, but seriously, if I couldn't make fun of them right now, I'd be crying.
It got so bad that when the check-out chick at KFC asked me if my day had been good so far, I was tempted to answer, 'Well, it was going well until I discovered that my dreams of Weir, my favorite character in the history of tv, returning to lead Atlantis were trashed by sexist, egotistical male writers who are intimidated by a quietly gorgeous woman with maturity and wisdom and a three-dimensional personality rather than operating on default 1: bimbo, brainless and sex-mad. Sure, she's supposed to return for an 'arc' but considering how Teyla, their former favorite female, has been treated this season- barely a word in all her eps combined...interesting, it was after her pregnancy too, more proof that the male writers only care about their weird stereotype of sexy women- it's unlikely they'd pay any attention to her now. And it's such a useless waste of Weir's departure because she was booted out to make way for Carter, this blond military scientist who saved the world on numerous occasions, yet was strangely absent for many of the critical decision-making scenes in season 4, when Weir used to be an integral part of the briefing in her seasons. And to end up with some short, balding, old guy who will probably get a radical character overhaul to justify him being appointed the leader of Atlantis. They just want to stick in someone that no one will notice so that they can be lazy and hardly give him any scenes and ignore him without fans calling for character depth and group interaction'.
Of course, I refrained from venting at the poor girl and merely made a general comment on the weather. Rainy. Uncomfortable. Hmm.
So, my ideas on who should've been leader, and why the one chosen is rubbish.
It got so bad that when the check-out chick at KFC asked me if my day had been good so far, I was tempted to answer, 'Well, it was going well until I discovered that my dreams of Weir, my favorite character in the history of tv, returning to lead Atlantis were trashed by sexist, egotistical male writers who are intimidated by a quietly gorgeous woman with maturity and wisdom and a three-dimensional personality rather than operating on default 1: bimbo, brainless and sex-mad. Sure, she's supposed to return for an 'arc' but considering how Teyla, their former favorite female, has been treated this season- barely a word in all her eps combined...interesting, it was after her pregnancy too, more proof that the male writers only care about their weird stereotype of sexy women- it's unlikely they'd pay any attention to her now. And it's such a useless waste of Weir's departure because she was booted out to make way for Carter, this blond military scientist who saved the world on numerous occasions, yet was strangely absent for many of the critical decision-making scenes in season 4, when Weir used to be an integral part of the briefing in her seasons. And to end up with some short, balding, old guy who will probably get a radical character overhaul to justify him being appointed the leader of Atlantis. They just want to stick in someone that no one will notice so that they can be lazy and hardly give him any scenes and ignore him without fans calling for character depth and group interaction'.
Of course, I refrained from venting at the poor girl and merely made a general comment on the weather. Rainy. Uncomfortable. Hmm.
So, my ideas on who should've been leader, and why the one chosen is rubbish.
Disclaimer: Parts lifted from my GW post. Because I'm emotionally tired and hurting and I need a crutch.
[Note: I have no idea why the text is larger when I copy and paste from word, but ah, heck, does it really matter? My world is crashing around my ears.]
You know, the one decision I would've respected [I mean, obviously, I wanted Weir back but realistically, given what happened in s4, short of making that season the product of an AU, there was never a chance it would happen] would've been Daniel as leader.
It would've been popular with the Stargate folks. Some are desperate to see more of their favorite characters and what better way than for them to live on in the spin-off?
May have soothed the anti-Carters. They were just rabidly hoping for Carter to leave, and a familiar, appealing replacement could've been balm for the soul.
Might've wooed some new fans. Attractive male leader of Atlantis, brain candy, in charge of pretty pplz who go on dangerous missions to save the galaxy...nice pitch, no? Focus on his thoughtful, earnest expression with his eyebrows wrinkled so cutely behind his glasses...the new guilty pleasure...Okay, I'm pulling this out randomly, but I can tell you I'm 100% positive he would've been a better drawcard than WOOLSEY. [Sorry, I have this need to caps lock his name like I'm shouting in disbelief each time I type his name]
Would've actually MADE SENSE by the show's logic as he was up for consideration before and actually intended to go to Pegasus until O'Neill kept him back...omg, continuity!
He has linguistic and negotiating abilities. Although Weir's talents in these areas were never developed. It's kind of odd that a character specifically appointed as leader due to her experience in negotiation [and he actually referenced her work drafting a treaty in a previous SG-1 ep!] rarely had opportunities to negotiate, and only when she could fail miserably. In SG-1, all the characters were perfect, they could be lazy and use cultural slang and earth customs and be crazy stupid but their first contact would work out. Weir, with all her expertise, is constantly made a fool of- some people don't get the concept of character/writer dissonance, but my basic explanation is this occurs when a character is actually better than the writer makes them out to be. This is when the character is so well-developed that the fans believe they are being restricted and prevented from reaching their full potential by the writers. It's when the writers purposefully sabotage them because they mistakenly believe it's drama.
Weir is damn good at her job. Her entire career is based on being a diplomat and making people come to terms with each other. She had glowing recommendations and a spotless record. Yet on the show, she's written as a failure, a joke, no one takes her seriously, whereas Daniel, with no qualifications whatsover, effortlessly makes treaties with new alien races. Don't even get me started on how Daniel spent half of many eps trying to decipher alien writing, and this was often the main focus of the ep, and he could save the day with his knowledge, yet WEIR with her talent for languages, was never afforded the same courtesy. I guess because he's a guy, he got whole episodes focused on those areas, but TPTB just can't give a female the same respect.
He used to be an Ancient. This paid off in the SG-1/SGA crossover when he discovered useful information that Weir and co failed to discover after three years onboard. Sure, Morgan was yanked away to parts unknown, but he'd be handy to have around the city...say, if he didn't have the Ancient gene, but ascended and descended, would he be able to use Ancient tech? Just wondering.
And lastly...well, I think he's the next most popular character after O'Neill, or at least, on level with Carter [before she came to SGA, at any rate].
But Woolsey? He's like the Bill of Atlantis. Bumbling, fumbling, nerve-wracked, out of his depth...not to mention most of the characters dislike him for when he was there earlier, trying to get Weir removed.
Shep definitely had a problem with him. How do you work for a guy you wanted to punch without any provocation?
Ronon would laugh at him. Maybe they can bond over sparring sessions- remember Ronon teaching McKay how to stick fight? For no reason? Despite Torri and Rachel asking numerous times for their characters to hang out after hours and Torri specifically mentioned that she thought Weir would've taken fighting lessons, and Teyla would be the most likely candidate as a female and friend? MORE EVIDENCE AT MALE BIAS. Like we really needed more.
McKay wouldn't care. It's not like he really acknowledges anyone that walks through the revolving door of leadership in the vacuum since Elizabeth left. Sure, there was supposed to be this whole thing with him and Carter but I didn't notice. At all. Maybe because Amanda had a kid? Suddenly they can't waste a main character's interest in her?
Keller would be thrilled at having someone to take the brunt of the anti's wrath while she pursues her love affair with Ronon. I still can't believe I'm actually acknowledging their ship- and only because the show is forcing it.
And...oh, Teyla! Poor Teyla, no cares what she thinks.
Objectively, I have a hard time seeing Woolsey's qualifications for this position. He was a bureaucrat. A paper-pusher. He could never make a decision in difficult circumstances. O'Neill could barely contain his contempt for Woolsey's panicky attitude in The Return. Sure, people say that civilians are expected to be lame and whiny and fall apart, but I've never seen Weir act half as self-involved as either Woolsey or Keller, and she's a civilian, with no military training, who by TPTB's logic should've flailed excessively in BIS, whinged about having no friends to party with for the next 10,000 years, tried to criticize the Ancients' plans and basically, been a pain in the ass.
I laugh at all the people that paid out Weir for being 'indecisive' in eps like Common Ground and Progeny because Woolsey literally could never make a real decision, he and the rest of the IOA in No Man's Land/Misbegotten were content to sit back, let her make a decision and then criticize her for it. Heck, his entire job is to criticize the decisions people make, his job is to delay decision-making til someone else is forced to put their butt on the line to do what the IOA lack the guts to do, he is not the type of character to be in a position where he is relied up to decide the fate of a galaxy! And now we're supposed to take him SERIOUSLY as a leader of this city?
I see it this way- if they couldn't even write Carter into many of the decision making scenes, actually contributing to plans that affected the safety of Atlantis and potentially affecting the residents of the galaxy [TMC, BAMSR, anyone?], how are we going to actually put our faith and belief in this 'disagreeable little man' to be a strong, decisive leader of integrity and honor? Anything too risky- which is practically Shep's MO- he'll veto, anything for the sake of their allies, he'd deem unnecessary and reject, regardless of whether it's the Athosians or Satedans or whoever, anything remotely scary and he'd run away in terror, gibbering and incoherent all the while.
This is a nightmare.
I want Elizabeth back. I miss the days that this show was fun to watch.
[Note: I have no idea why the text is larger when I copy and paste from word, but ah, heck, does it really matter? My world is crashing around my ears.]
You know, the one decision I would've respected [I mean, obviously, I wanted Weir back but realistically, given what happened in s4, short of making that season the product of an AU, there was never a chance it would happen] would've been Daniel as leader.
It would've been popular with the Stargate folks. Some are desperate to see more of their favorite characters and what better way than for them to live on in the spin-off?
May have soothed the anti-Carters. They were just rabidly hoping for Carter to leave, and a familiar, appealing replacement could've been balm for the soul.
Might've wooed some new fans. Attractive male leader of Atlantis, brain candy, in charge of pretty pplz who go on dangerous missions to save the galaxy...nice pitch, no? Focus on his thoughtful, earnest expression with his eyebrows wrinkled so cutely behind his glasses...the new guilty pleasure...Okay, I'm pulling this out randomly, but I can tell you I'm 100% positive he would've been a better drawcard than WOOLSEY. [Sorry, I have this need to caps lock his name like I'm shouting in disbelief each time I type his name]
Would've actually MADE SENSE by the show's logic as he was up for consideration before and actually intended to go to Pegasus until O'Neill kept him back...omg, continuity!
He has linguistic and negotiating abilities. Although Weir's talents in these areas were never developed. It's kind of odd that a character specifically appointed as leader due to her experience in negotiation [and he actually referenced her work drafting a treaty in a previous SG-1 ep!] rarely had opportunities to negotiate, and only when she could fail miserably. In SG-1, all the characters were perfect, they could be lazy and use cultural slang and earth customs and be crazy stupid but their first contact would work out. Weir, with all her expertise, is constantly made a fool of- some people don't get the concept of character/writer dissonance, but my basic explanation is this occurs when a character is actually better than the writer makes them out to be. This is when the character is so well-developed that the fans believe they are being restricted and prevented from reaching their full potential by the writers. It's when the writers purposefully sabotage them because they mistakenly believe it's drama.
Weir is damn good at her job. Her entire career is based on being a diplomat and making people come to terms with each other. She had glowing recommendations and a spotless record. Yet on the show, she's written as a failure, a joke, no one takes her seriously, whereas Daniel, with no qualifications whatsover, effortlessly makes treaties with new alien races. Don't even get me started on how Daniel spent half of many eps trying to decipher alien writing, and this was often the main focus of the ep, and he could save the day with his knowledge, yet WEIR with her talent for languages, was never afforded the same courtesy. I guess because he's a guy, he got whole episodes focused on those areas, but TPTB just can't give a female the same respect.
He used to be an Ancient. This paid off in the SG-1/SGA crossover when he discovered useful information that Weir and co failed to discover after three years onboard. Sure, Morgan was yanked away to parts unknown, but he'd be handy to have around the city...say, if he didn't have the Ancient gene, but ascended and descended, would he be able to use Ancient tech? Just wondering.
And lastly...well, I think he's the next most popular character after O'Neill, or at least, on level with Carter [before she came to SGA, at any rate].
But Woolsey? He's like the Bill of Atlantis. Bumbling, fumbling, nerve-wracked, out of his depth...not to mention most of the characters dislike him for when he was there earlier, trying to get Weir removed.
Shep definitely had a problem with him. How do you work for a guy you wanted to punch without any provocation?
Ronon would laugh at him. Maybe they can bond over sparring sessions- remember Ronon teaching McKay how to stick fight? For no reason? Despite Torri and Rachel asking numerous times for their characters to hang out after hours and Torri specifically mentioned that she thought Weir would've taken fighting lessons, and Teyla would be the most likely candidate as a female and friend? MORE EVIDENCE AT MALE BIAS. Like we really needed more.
McKay wouldn't care. It's not like he really acknowledges anyone that walks through the revolving door of leadership in the vacuum since Elizabeth left. Sure, there was supposed to be this whole thing with him and Carter but I didn't notice. At all. Maybe because Amanda had a kid? Suddenly they can't waste a main character's interest in her?
Keller would be thrilled at having someone to take the brunt of the anti's wrath while she pursues her love affair with Ronon. I still can't believe I'm actually acknowledging their ship- and only because the show is forcing it.
And...oh, Teyla! Poor Teyla, no cares what she thinks.
Objectively, I have a hard time seeing Woolsey's qualifications for this position. He was a bureaucrat. A paper-pusher. He could never make a decision in difficult circumstances. O'Neill could barely contain his contempt for Woolsey's panicky attitude in The Return. Sure, people say that civilians are expected to be lame and whiny and fall apart, but I've never seen Weir act half as self-involved as either Woolsey or Keller, and she's a civilian, with no military training, who by TPTB's logic should've flailed excessively in BIS, whinged about having no friends to party with for the next 10,000 years, tried to criticize the Ancients' plans and basically, been a pain in the ass.
I laugh at all the people that paid out Weir for being 'indecisive' in eps like Common Ground and Progeny because Woolsey literally could never make a real decision, he and the rest of the IOA in No Man's Land/Misbegotten were content to sit back, let her make a decision and then criticize her for it. Heck, his entire job is to criticize the decisions people make, his job is to delay decision-making til someone else is forced to put their butt on the line to do what the IOA lack the guts to do, he is not the type of character to be in a position where he is relied up to decide the fate of a galaxy! And now we're supposed to take him SERIOUSLY as a leader of this city?
I see it this way- if they couldn't even write Carter into many of the decision making scenes, actually contributing to plans that affected the safety of Atlantis and potentially affecting the residents of the galaxy [TMC, BAMSR, anyone?], how are we going to actually put our faith and belief in this 'disagreeable little man' to be a strong, decisive leader of integrity and honor? Anything too risky- which is practically Shep's MO- he'll veto, anything for the sake of their allies, he'd deem unnecessary and reject, regardless of whether it's the Athosians or Satedans or whoever, anything remotely scary and he'd run away in terror, gibbering and incoherent all the while.
This is a nightmare.
I want Elizabeth back. I miss the days that this show was fun to watch.
no subject
You know, you're right. Daniel would have been waaaay better. Damnit!!! Now that I think about it, I'd love to have Daniel as leader (if we can't have Elizabeth, then he's like the second-best choice). That would rock. But no. They put WOOLSEY!!!
*screams* *tears out hair*
I am THIS CLOSE to quitting canon and sticking to the fanon. THIS. CLOSE. Sure I've been watching S5, but it doesn't give me nearly as much joy as the other seasons did.
Actually, you know what the leadership role of SGA is reminding me of? The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position in Hogwarts. They had a new teacher each year, right? So Elizabeth would be Lupin... Carter would be Dolores... and Woolsey, ha, Woolsey would be Quirrel! Oh, god. XD
no subject
Heh, sorry for making the situation worse for you by pointing out who COULD have been leader. I feel especially bad for your hair- is there any left to tear out at the next stupid decision TPTB make? ;)
I wonder if Michael Shanks was offered the role? Because he seems really at home with Stargate, so...*shrugs* If he's guesting this season, who knows, maybe he'll take over the next, the position is such a revolving door!
You can't quit season 5! I need to rely on you for reviews so I can snark at it without having to actually watch it!
Actually, you know what the leadership role of SGA is reminding me of? The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position in Hogwarts.
And omg, you're so right, it is totally like Harry Potter in that sense! The position is cursed! I love that you had Elizabeth=Lupin, because he was the most popular and best-loved teacher, and obviously she has a huge fan following.
Carter as Dolores? *snickers* So mean! But a good correlation- Dolores never really taught them anything useful, much in the way Carter never really contributed much and her presence was largely irrelevant.
Hey, wouldn't Woolsey be Gilderoy Lockhart? I googled this topic [wow, another possible essay topic, if we only studied this!] and the article says, 'Lockhart was regarded by the students and teachers largely as a joke and the majority of the school was elated to see him go.' Woolsey=joke, no?
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Defence_Against_the_Dark_Arts
It will be so interesting to see who takes over in season 6 [if they manage it, which damn their luck, they probably will] and whether they match up with another Dark Arts teacher!
no subject
Thanks! It took aaaages to make. And it made me want to cry with Shep, too. Or hug him. Or both. XD
As for my hair... *checks hair* There's some left, but if TPTB keep pulling idiot stunts like this one, I might start wearing a wig...
Hey, you're right. Woolsey = joke. Except, not really, because jokes are supposed to be funny. And I'm not laughing. o_O (HERE THAT, TPTB? YOUR PUNCHLINE FAILS!!!)