Stargate: Your Favorite Memories

[Themightytom]

I never got the hype about the Goa'uld. Apophis was a douche, Anubis was a cliche and Ba'al was.. Ba'al didn't even take HISMELF seriously frankly. I wouldn't even give the other system lords an honorable mention. Stargate didn't measure itself by it's memorable villians, like say Star Wars obviously does, but rather just how it's heros go to work every day.

The best "Villains" I'd cite are Todd, and Rush actually, with possible mentions for Michael. They were complex enough that you couldn't really tell what the hell they were after half the time. Now if you're going to go full villian, I'd say EvilCarter, if she hadn't been a goofy clone, or Oberon, because he.. he just comes off as sociopathic.

[Ahriman238]

Darth Hoth wrote:

Am I subhuman if I actually liked some bits of the Ori arc?

Not in the least. I think it could have really worked if they'd had half the time to devote to it that they did the Goa'uld. The Arthurian Mythos added just the right touch of the epic.

I remember when the whole thing began an interview with, I think, Joe Mallowzie,(sp?) where they laid out where they where going. It was a cool concept. For most of a decade we'd had the Goa'uld who appeared god-like to primitive men, but it was always clear to Sg-1, and us, that they were using various devices rather than magic to achieve 'magical' effects. So, they wanted to upgrade to villains whose technology would look like magic even to 21st century man, who is usually a pretty jaded and cynical creature.

Sadly, the whole 'life-force vampires' revelation instantly torpedoed its potential and my interest.

That annoyed me a bit, but I was largely appeased when, in the same conversation, Orlin admits that 'the Ori suck life-force from their worshipers' is an oversimplification, but it's an oversimplification they can understand and really, how the Ori get extra power from being worshipped isn't nearly as important as the simple fact that they do.

[JME2]

Yeah, I know it was an oversimplification; it doesn't annoy me as much as it did 5 years ago.

The Ori arc also gave me another of my favorite scenes: The Last Debate, when the Alterans are ready to leave their galaxy.

Now I hate the concept of the Ark of Truth, but I like this scene because this is perhaps the most pivotal moment of the entire canon.

If the Alterans had chosen to stay, fight, and use the Ark, then they would not have left for the MWG. They would not have built the Stargate Network or Atlantis or Destiny.

I love the grand backstory that all 3 shows built up and this moment is just so important as the catalyst for it all.

[Ahriman238]

The animal helmets the elite Jaffa wore. In the movie as well as the show, probably even more so in the movie.
Impractical? Hell yes. Awesome? Hell yes!

[Ahriman238]

"And you know what? Screw the Last Starfighter, because all those hours of playing Halo DID NOT prepare me for this!"

"Or... we'll beam you up into our spaceship."
Eli closes the door.
:Transporter effect:

Jack constantly getting beamed up in the middle of a speech or conversation.

[JME2]

Jack constantly getting beamed up in the middle of a speech or conversation.

I loved when it happened in "The Shroud".

(Woolsey gets beamed down to the SGC)

O'Neill: I thought we fixed this thing so that wouldn't happen anymore.

(O'Neill gets beamed away)

[DrMckay]

O'Neill: As you know, I am a man of few words--

(Gets beamed away)

I miss when the villains actually had a sense of humor. And don't anybody tell me that the Ori weren't crappy Goa'uld rip-offs right down to their version of staff weapons, just made bigger and badder.

[JME2]

I miss when the villains actually had a sense of humor. And don't anybody tell me that the Ori weren't crappy Goa'uld rip-offs right down to their version of staff weapons, just made bigger and badder.

IIRC, the first draft of "Counterstrike" had Adria stating that the Goa'uld's staff weapons were based off of Ancient weaponry.

I liked the concept of the Ori for the reasons Ahriman238 listed earlier. However, the execution was lacking.

[Ahriman238]

IIRC, the first draft of "Counterstrike" had Adria stating that the Goa'uld's staff weapons were based off of Ancient weaponry.

I liked the concept of the Ori for the reasons Ahriman238 listed earlier. However, the execution was lacking.

I still say it could have worked, even with the sillier bits if they had more than two seasons to run with it. A fine start would be giving the Ori a motive for their actions, rather than assuming they just like power welched off of wretched physical beings. Or perhaps instead of Priors starting plagues and earthquakes to smite the non-beilevers have this strange cult from a distant galaxy come and convert large numbers without using force. The Tau'ri could be seen running arounf trying to convine people the Ori are bad news, maybe trying to figure out what they want? Or the Ori could actually be, you know, not evil and be massively confused when cultural differences crop up and the new converts start prosteylizing with sword in hand.

Just off the top of my head. Out of curiosity, JME and othersm how would you have handled it?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Just off the top of my head. Out of curiosity, JME and othersm how would you have handled it?

Not directly related to the Ori themselves, but one thing I would have done was handle the team dynamic differently.

Instead of trying to bring in a new male lead to straight up replace Anderson/O'Neill, I would have gotten a new scientist for the team, perhaps one we already know. Tapping was on maternity leave for much of Season 9, so initially it would be Teal'c and Daniel handling the new scientist (and all the wacky hijinks involved), probably under temporary command of, say, Colonel Pierce (a la that episode where SG-1 is commanded by Colonel Makepeace). Then when Tapping returns and our new scientist is all "one of the team," Carter comes in as the official commander of SG-1. That role of Carter's was given very little attention in Season 8 due to still being overshadowed by O'Neill (despite his Anderson's alleged "reduced role"), and then forgotten entirely with Mitchell in the mix. Shifting Carter's science role to a different character and giving her a full-time command position would have been much better character development for all involved and served as an excellent transition to Atlantis.

[JME2]

IIRC, the first draft of "Counterstrike" had Adria stating that the Goa'uld's staff weapons were based off of Ancient weaponry.

I liked the concept of the Ori for the reasons Ahriman238 listed earlier. However, the execution was lacking.

I still say it could have worked, even with the sillier bits if they had more than two seasons to run with it. A fine start would be giving the Ori a motive for their actions, rather than assuming they just like power welched off of wretched physical beings. Or perhaps instead of Priors starting plagues and earthquakes to smite the non-beilevers have this strange cult from a distant galaxy come and convert large numbers without using force. The Tau'ri could be seen running arounf trying to convine people the Ori are bad news, maybe trying to figure out what they want? Or the Ori could actually be, you know, not evil and be massively confused when cultural differences crop up and the new converts start prosteylizing with sword in hand.

Honestly, I wouldn't have created the Ori.

The post-Goa'uld Milky Way presented great narrative potential -- something which the writers, to their credit, tackled: the growing pains of the Jaffa Nation the rise of the Lucian Alliance, Ba'al's outlaw status, and the IOA politics.

The problem was this could have easily sustained Season 9. There was too much going on on top of the necessary establishment of the Ori, the Priors, the Doci, etc.

Anyway, it would have been interesting if the Ori genuinely thought their way was the right way and the Ancients were lax and dangerous.

[FaxModem1]

I actually really liked season 9. The Ori were a force that seemed to have more motivation than CONQUER THE UNIVERSE. They really did seem like they thought they knew they were doing the right thing.

Vala Mal Doran: "You're still not getting it. Their side good. Our side bad." (Vala's explaining of the Ori's beliefs in Crusade)

Speaking of which, I really liked the character of Vala. I thought she was the most interesting character of the final two seasons.

[JME2]

Speaking of which, I really liked the character of Vala. I thought she was the most interesting character of the final two seasons.

And they handled the addition of a second 'alien'/outsider into the team better than SGA did.

Vala definitely emerged as one of my favorite characters in those last 2 years.

[Ahriman238]

Honestly, I wouldn't have created the Ori.

The post-Goa'uld Milky Way presented great narrative potential -- something which the writers, to their credit, tackled: the growing pains of the Jaffa Nation the rise of the Lucian Alliance, Ba'al's outlaw status, and the IOA politics.

The problem was this could have easily sustained Season 9. There was too much going on on top of the necessary establishment of the Ori, the Priors, the Doci, etc.

See, that would feel too open-ended to me. Season eight felt really slow and listless to me. They beat Anubis, and pretty much guarenteed Earth's immediate security, and after the Big A, the rest of the System Lords just didn't feel like much of a threat, even Baal.

I agree that all the things like the post-Goa'uld galaxy and it's balkanization would be important to show. I'm just not sure the show would do that well without a powerful enemy to drive the plot along. SGU pulled that off, but SGU was a very different show, more focused on the characters and their survival in a vast impersonal universe than "we have to save this village from slavery and death!"

[JME2]

Fair enough.

I just wish the Ori arc had had more time for development.

[darth_timon]

I think, from SG1, it has to be Jack's poignant conversation with the Tollan guy in Window of Opportunity, as well as Reckoning/Threads (fat guy is Anubis???), and the moment the Ori ships first appeared and kicked the crap out of the allied fleet.

From Atlantis, pretty much the whole of Season One.

Universe- too soon for me to decide.

[Skgoa]

This thread has led to me rewatching the whole series. I hadn't realized before that so many great episode were in the first two seasons.