Expedition Leaders...

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

Who was the best?  Who was your favorite?

What storyline do you think we would have seen if Torri Higginson had been willing to come back (not that I blame her--heard a very interesting interview with her over that)?  Was killing Elizabeth so soon after killing Carson a mistake for the show?  What storyline, if any, would you have liked to have seen for Elizabeth in general?

Was Sam Carter the logical choice for expedition leader?  Did they utilize her character properly?  Do you think Sam as expedition leader bore any resemblance to Sam as we knew her in SG-1?  Was it possible to introduce a character such as her, that essentially could overrule and upstage both John and Rodney, and still use her well?  What storyline would you have liked to have seen focus on Sam?

Was Woolsey a logical choice to replace Sam?  Was he a good choice?  Do you think John and Rodney and the rest of the expedition would have 'corrupted' him in the end?  Do you think he would go back with Atlantis to Pegasus?  What if Atlantis was 'stolen' by the expedition and returned to Pegasus.  Would he go then?

Who do you think would have made the best expedition leader?  Who would you like to see as the next expedition leader?

Comments

[oran.livejournal.com]

Interesting series of questions.

On a straightforward scale I didn't actually like any of them. For me, Elizabeth should have been a recurring role in the mould of Gen. Hammond. Personally I found her too school ma'am-ish and thus hard to take seriously. I would have preferred it if they had openly explored her conflict with John over a period of time and actually shown us Elizabeth in action, not just 'told' us and kept on telling us how much the expedition loved her. I wanted to see Elizabeth go off world more and to see her exploring the city more. I would also have liked to have seen more of her past, maybe a bit of political murk surfacing, a brush with the Trust or some such. However, they had already killed off Carson, imho killing off Elizabeth was stupid, especially for the the reasons they did it. But for me, from the demise of SG1 onwards Atlantis was always gonna be doomed.

Carter was... well Carter. I disliked the character on SG1 and I disliked her in Atlantis. Tabula Rasa was the only episode where I felt Tapping actually brought anything to the show. Trio was a piece of writers/producers self indulgence that I prefer not to dwell on. Did they use her position well? Not for me. Would I have liked to have seen conflict with Rodney and John? Yes but not the way those writers would have written it because Carter would have ground them both into the dirt and they'd have thanked her for it in the end because she's just so 'nice' about it. Not sure how we avoided that really, but glad we did. Even her defence of Rodney to Colonel A-hole was weak. I would have liked to have seen the professionalism of all three characters focused on. I'd have liked to have seen Sam's personal reasons for taking the post. A series of professional situations where sometimes she was right and sometimes she was wrong and how that was handled so that when John says she's the best commanding officer etc etc etc we understand why. Not just becuase she's Sam Carter and the world adores her.

Wolsey was okay for the commedic value I guess. From a political standpoint I can see why he was a good choice to replace Carter but that whole aspect was hardly/badly explored. I think Picardo is a great actor and I think he did more with crap material than either of the other two so...

I would have loved to have seen a S6 where he truly changed sides and almost reluctantly/accidentally ended up being part of a team that stole Atlantis and returned to Pegasus, where he used his not inconsiderable political and legal skills to negotiate a secession. There would have been plenty of material there to make a season's worth of episodes in my view.

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

It's interesting to me that you dislike Carter as a character. I'd have to say that Sam and Daniel are the two characters I like the most from SG-1. Carter in many ways is a unique role model for women in sci-fi because she so often was 'one of the boys'. I mean that in the best way possible--that she was simply accepted as being a part of the team, that her gender didn't enter into it most of the time (the reason why I feel the franchise treated her better than most of their women character depictions). By the time we were shown more of Carter's personal life, it was kind of like, "wow, she can be really smart and tough *and* sexy when the occasion calls for it!"

because Carter would have ground them both into the dirt and they'd have thanked her for it in the end because she's just so 'nice' about it. Not sure how we avoided that really, but glad we did

I suspect by not using her at all :-(

A series of professional situations where sometimes she was right and sometimes she was wrong and how that was handled so that when John says she's the best commanding officer etc etc etc we understand why. Yes. But as someone said above, there was a lot of telling with Elizabeth as opposed to showing as well.

I would have loved to have seen a S6 where he truly changed sides and almost reluctantly/accidentally ended up being part of a team that stole Atlantis and returned to Pegasus, where he used his not inconsiderable political and legal skills to negotiate a secession. There would have been plenty of material there to make a season's worth of episodes in my view.

That's an interesting take on Woolsey! Now I am torn between which version I see taking place in my head!

[oran.livejournal.com]

You see this, your first paragraph, is why I love fandom and comms like this one soooooo much. You see exactly the opposite to what I see and that is just so interesting. For me the Carter of SG1 was so perfect, so smart, tough and sexy, so one of the boys, she was unreal. But... I tended to view the characters in SG1 as archetypes, which is why I preferred SGA because the characters seemed more real, more human somehow; even the one's I disliked.

I have to admit that given the choice between 'perfect golden girl Carter' making the regular cast look stupid and under used Carter I'll take the latter. Probably why I think that entire role should have been recurring not regular and used sparingly when needed. Similarly with the role of the doctor. Neither Paul nor Jewel should ever have been made regulars imo. That way the 'Doctor McCoy on the bridge' syndrome that they fell into so often could have easily been avoided.

I can't help feeling that the show as a whole had a lot of telling and not enough showing which is probably truly indicative of poor writing. I'm a plot girl through and through but you don't bend your characters out of shape or introduce sudden traits never even hinted at before just for the sake of an, all too often, weak plot point.

*giggles* I think Woolsey is a character so many fan writers can have so much fun with.

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

I can't help feeling that the show as a whole had a lot of telling and not enough showing which is probably truly indicative of poor writing. I'm a plot girl through and through but you don't bend your characters out of shape or introduce sudden traits never even hinted at before just for the sake of an, all too often, weak plot point.

Lordy, I agree with you here 100%. I would routinely get pissed with the show for forcing the characters to make stupid decisions in order to make a weak plot work!