SGA: Vegas and a rant
Jan. 4th, 2009 02:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tenayaIf only someone other than Cooper was in charge of this. :(
First off, Cooper fancies himself a great artiste and he isn't. It's amazing how much crap he shoots, how much money he wastes and because he's one of the bosses, he gets away with it. So, because he wrote and directed this episode, for the first time in either SG1 or SGA, the show shoots out of the B.C. And he secured the rights to two songs and that had to cost a bunch--I guess because he got complimented on using CCR on Unending, he'd use two songs here.
His directing style reminds me of a newbie vidder that gets a new program. The CSI homages of the establishing shots of Vegas and the odd edits should have been used sparingly instead of continuously; they got boring fast. As did the extensive exposition. And if I hadn't heard about the Sopranos, I'd have never figured out why the action stopped so we could listen to lame conversation between two gamblers.
The writing was at its most painful when McKay had a long list of why Sheppard is a loser; we didn't need all those details for the audience to get that. Plus, it didn't make sense that they would have profiled Sheppard that thoroughly. They know his fav gum? Seriously? He was just the detective on the case, not the perp.
What I liked was how Sheppard looked, that he had the Johnny Cash poster still. I actually giggled at Picardo's delivery of that line about the Trek Experience closing.
Parts that pissed me off was anytime Cooper used the medium to take his potshots. Sheppard disses Science Fiction? Really? I saw that as your typical Hollywood type that disdains the very thing that earns him his money because he's too cool to like the crap he dishes out to the suckers that watch his show. It's a contemptible attitude but it's something they just have to do if they get the chance to show their peers that they really do have better taste than to like their own product. Cooper killing Sheppard--he has quite the petty little habit of killing actors who thwart him in real life; how many times did he kill off Daniel again? Just get a damn voodoo doll and pins and lock yourself in the bathroom, for crying out loud.
And of course, I hated Keller. Staite needs to write herself a post-it note to NEVER EVER accept a role of a doctor EVER AGAIN! I just want to ask her to please stop that, don't do that, you're only embarrassing yourself.
As for the crossover idea (and how fannish is that?) it was okay. If it hadn't been a self-indulgent fest, it could have been kinda neat. It's not anything I'll watch again.
And because this is a SGA post, I'll just add that I read Wright's Q&A on Mallozzi's blog. Nothing is ever their fault, is it? His contempt permeated his answers; hello, it IS possible to answer a question politely or if you don't want to give away that info, simply say that. I swear The Spin is something these people live and breathe until they couldn't give an honest answer if their life depended upon it.
I think the most tragic part of all this is that the concept of a Stargate is appealing no matter who is turning out the product. They had the luck to cast some good actors who really added to what was written and made us like and care for the characters. And then the lazy, egotistical writers don't put any real effort into the shows to fulfill their potential. They aren't telling stories they need to tell, but writing whatever they can think of at the last minute to fill in the time between commercial breaks. How on earth do they think this technique will produce a more mainstream show in SG:U? Something tells me they will aim for the more basic common denominator--maybe they will have a brainstorm and finally put in a few fart jokes cause we know how their target audience of young men feel about those.
First off, Cooper fancies himself a great artiste and he isn't. It's amazing how much crap he shoots, how much money he wastes and because he's one of the bosses, he gets away with it. So, because he wrote and directed this episode, for the first time in either SG1 or SGA, the show shoots out of the B.C. And he secured the rights to two songs and that had to cost a bunch--I guess because he got complimented on using CCR on Unending, he'd use two songs here.
His directing style reminds me of a newbie vidder that gets a new program. The CSI homages of the establishing shots of Vegas and the odd edits should have been used sparingly instead of continuously; they got boring fast. As did the extensive exposition. And if I hadn't heard about the Sopranos, I'd have never figured out why the action stopped so we could listen to lame conversation between two gamblers.
The writing was at its most painful when McKay had a long list of why Sheppard is a loser; we didn't need all those details for the audience to get that. Plus, it didn't make sense that they would have profiled Sheppard that thoroughly. They know his fav gum? Seriously? He was just the detective on the case, not the perp.
What I liked was how Sheppard looked, that he had the Johnny Cash poster still. I actually giggled at Picardo's delivery of that line about the Trek Experience closing.
Parts that pissed me off was anytime Cooper used the medium to take his potshots. Sheppard disses Science Fiction? Really? I saw that as your typical Hollywood type that disdains the very thing that earns him his money because he's too cool to like the crap he dishes out to the suckers that watch his show. It's a contemptible attitude but it's something they just have to do if they get the chance to show their peers that they really do have better taste than to like their own product. Cooper killing Sheppard--he has quite the petty little habit of killing actors who thwart him in real life; how many times did he kill off Daniel again? Just get a damn voodoo doll and pins and lock yourself in the bathroom, for crying out loud.
And of course, I hated Keller. Staite needs to write herself a post-it note to NEVER EVER accept a role of a doctor EVER AGAIN! I just want to ask her to please stop that, don't do that, you're only embarrassing yourself.
As for the crossover idea (and how fannish is that?) it was okay. If it hadn't been a self-indulgent fest, it could have been kinda neat. It's not anything I'll watch again.
And because this is a SGA post, I'll just add that I read Wright's Q&A on Mallozzi's blog. Nothing is ever their fault, is it? His contempt permeated his answers; hello, it IS possible to answer a question politely or if you don't want to give away that info, simply say that. I swear The Spin is something these people live and breathe until they couldn't give an honest answer if their life depended upon it.
I think the most tragic part of all this is that the concept of a Stargate is appealing no matter who is turning out the product. They had the luck to cast some good actors who really added to what was written and made us like and care for the characters. And then the lazy, egotistical writers don't put any real effort into the shows to fulfill their potential. They aren't telling stories they need to tell, but writing whatever they can think of at the last minute to fill in the time between commercial breaks. How on earth do they think this technique will produce a more mainstream show in SG:U? Something tells me they will aim for the more basic common denominator--maybe they will have a brainstorm and finally put in a few fart jokes cause we know how their target audience of young men feel about those.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-04 05:53 pm (UTC)I find RCC is very much stuck on being a newbie director and too enamored of his cool camera angles. He doesn't do it enough to settle down. (Although, I thought "Doppleganger" turned out okay.)
I loved those CSI establishing shots because it was several seconds of air time I didn't have to transcribe any dialogue or action in doing the wiki's ep transcript. But...that's a personal perk. LOL
Actually, I liked Vegas (despite lack of Ronon and Teyla and the bizarro doggie/finger story). I thought it was a clever story and a different twist and tone. Of course, SGA has never captured my heart like SG-1, so I don't have high expectations for it. But I notice there doesn't seem to be a middle ground for this episode. People either love it, or hate it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-04 10:10 pm (UTC)So, you probably know more better than the rest of us how many of those establishing shots of Vegas they were (and enjoying every one of them.) *g*