Stargate Revisited, or rather Fargate . . .

[chelseagirl]

Got home from a visit to my parents to find M in the midst of a loooooong Stargate marathon on El Rey.

Watched a few; this morning was in the other room when I realized the 200th episode was airing, which I remember being delightful. Came in and found myself hooked, because today it's been all "Fargate" episodes, with Ben Browder and Claudia Black. Apparently I hadn't seen many of these; as a big fan of both Ben and Claudia in Farscape, I'm enjoying them.

One thing that strikes me is that Cameron Mitchell is not that different from John Crichton. He's less crazy, of course, and less brilliant (Crichton was a scientist as well as a test pilot, as far as I can remember), but he's kinda really the same guy. Vala Maldoran, on the other hand, is nothing at all like Aeryn Sun -- in fact, she's often the diametrical opposite.

I think from this that my conclusion is that Claudia Black may have more range as an actor than Ben Browder does. But I adore them both and although I think that Stargate was past its best by the time they joined the cast, watching them in something I haven't watched over and over again is a real treat.

Comments

[the_rck]

One thing that I remember from watching that season was getting the general impression that the folks writing the show were working really hard not to have Vala and Mitchell go anywhere near situations that might lead to them getting paired with each other. It always felt a little weird-- not the part with the characters not romantically paired but rather the part where the show seemed to be actively working at keeping it from happening.

I didn't want to notice the effort, if that makes sense.

[chelseagirl]

They have such amazing chemistry; I think that Stargate really wanted to make sure that it didn't just become a replay of Farscape, which would also separate the new characters off from the old. But Vala/Daniel felt forced to me.

[gothypants]

Is it weird that I've never seen that show, yet I've read a ton of fan fiction? Haha. Should get around to actually watching it at some point.

[chelseagirl]

Stargate or Farscape? Honestly, I can take or leave Stargate, and never really watched it 'til M moved in. Farscape, though, is strange and wonderful.

[gothypants]

Stargate! It's just got so much slashy potential, haha. I haven't watched Farscape yet, but I've always heard good things about it.

[chelseagirl]

I think you'd really like it. Much darker. Pretty people in lots of black leather. You have to get past the muppets, but they're actually exceptionally well done.

I am apparently slash-blind. People will all be talking about the chemistry between characters and I'll be all "huh?" It's not that I don't mean to see it, I just don't. Although I do write femslash (as well as gen and het) for exchanges; not sure why that's easier for me to detect? When I actually do see the male slash potential, as in the current Exorcist series, I get all excited that I might actually be on the same page with people . . .

[lunabee34]

I completely agree with you re: the actors. Mitchell is very similar to Crichton in many ways; Aeryn is almost nothing like Vala.

I adored those last seasons; most of those episodes were just so much fun to me. I know a lot of hardcore fans who were watching the show as it aired from the beginning gave up when Jack left, but I continued to enjoy it.

[chelseagirl]

It's just like a treasure to see Claudia and Ben in something I haven't watched over and over. And since I'm not super-engaged with Stargate, I'm not super-concerned about its jumping the shark anyway . . .

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

There's only one end seasons episode I really dislike and that's the one where they all gang up on Vala to tell her that she's being a bitch for not wanting to hang out with her abusive dad. That episode pisses me off. The rest I pretty much love.

[chelseagirl]

I don't think I've seen that one. Maybe best that way.

[malinaldarose]

I wasn't crazy about the last few seasons mostly because they went to all that effort to defeat the Goa'uld (more or less) and instead of getting a new villain, they got the Ori: sort of like Borg-Goa'uld. Same thing, only different.

That said, I did notice the effort to keep it from becoming the Cam-and-Vala show. I mean, when they're barely onscreen together for two entire seasons, it gets noticeable.

And that said, I loved the 200th episode.

[chelseagirl]

The Ori thing seemed pointless. But since I'm much more of a Farscape fan, I'll take Ben and Claudia however I can get them. They really do have such intense chemistry in Farscape I can see how that might easily have taken over this show if they hadn't tamped it down constantly . . . but again, Vala is so not-Aeryn that makes it easier.