Over the course of the past three years I’ve been doing this blog, fans have sent me all sorts of goodies: cards, cookies, chocolate, chestnuts, pictures, lint rollers, shirts, videos, CD’s and the occasional highly recommended read. About a year ago, someone (Please, refresh my memory whoever you are) sent me a pack of books. Among the selection sat The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans, a title that has since sat on my ever-growing To Read pile.
Well, the other day I was looking for a suitable December book of the month club pick when my gaze fell on The Misenchanted Sword – something a little different from the usual straight SF and fantasy we‘ve been reading. While doing a little online research, I came across several rave reviews that described it as an underrated and underappreciated gem. And that was good enough for me.
So, who’s up for a little humor?
The Misenchanted Sword, by Lawrence Watt- Evans
From the publisher: “The old wizard wasn’t exactly happy with Valder, who’d led his enemy to his hut. Now hut and magical supplies were destroyed. But he’d promised the young scout a magic sword to get him safely back to his own lines — and a much enchanted sword Valder would get!
The resulting sword gave perfect protection — sometimes! It could kill any man — or even half demon. In fact, once drawn, it had to kill before it could be put down or sheathed.
Army wizards told Valder that the sword would keep him alive until he’d drawn it 100 times; then it would kill him! It wouldn’t prevent his being wounded, maimed or cut to pieces, but it wouldn’t let him die. If his new job as Chief Assassin for the army didn’t make him use up the spell, he’d be practically immortal.
Not bad, it seemed. There had to be a catch somewhere.
There was — and it was a lulu!”
Discussion begins the week of December 8th with author Lawrence Watt-Evans.
And a reminder that November’s book of the month club fast approaches. The week of November 9th, we’ll be discussing Emnissaries from the Dead and author Adam-Troy Castro will be dropping by to answer your questions. This one sounds VERY intriguing.
From the Publisher: “Two murders have occurred on One One One, an artificial ecosystem created by the universe’s dominant AIs to house several engineered species, including a violent, sentient race of sloth-like creatures. Under order from the Diplomatic Corps, Counselor Andrea Cort has come to this cylinder world where an indentured human community hangs suspended high above a poisoned, acid atmosphere. Her assignment is to choose a suitable homicide suspect from among those who have sold their futures to escape existences even worse than this one. And no matter where the trail leads her she must do nothing to implicate the hosts, who hold the power to obliterate humankind in an instant.
But Andrea Cort is not about to hold back in her hunt for a killer. For she has nothing to lose and harbors no love for her masters or fellow indentures. And she herself has felt the terrible exhilaration of taking life . . . . “
Ladies and gentlemen, start your reading engines!
Now, let’s play some catch-up with the mailbag:
Tawny writes: “Have you read any of Robin Hobbs’ books? If so, what did you think?”
Answer: Nope but I’ve been eyeing that copy of Assassin’s Apprentice sitting on my bookshelf. A potential Book of the Month Club selection?
Kuro-Syamito writes: “i heard that Atlantis movie will be canceled and instead a novel will be release. is it true?”
Answer: I haven’t heard anything about this.
Littleravenhawk writes: “Joe…I was wondering if you have ever read any young adult fantasy….not including Harry Potter?”
Answer: I’ve read the Series of Unfortunate Events books.
Deni writes: “Wait a minute, when did Chloe and Scott start having a “thing”?”
Answer: Das did a wonderful job of answering this question (check the October 23rd comments). In short, Chloe lost her father. Scott nearly lost his life. They bonded at the end of Air III. Facing seemingly imminent death in Darkness and Light, they chose to consummate their burgeoning relationship.
Gwen writes: “Chloe tries to sleep her way to a shuttle ride…”
Answer: And what sort of skewed logic is this based on? The fact that two people connect, are attracted to each other, and make love? You know, it does happen in the real world.
Gwen also writes: “Eli goes straight from “how could you do this” to “let’s cuddle”?”
Answer: Eli is disappointed because he has feelings for Chloe. Again, this is something that happens in the real world – one friend falling for another. Are you suggesting that Eli scuttle the friendship simply because Chloe doesn’t feel the same way about him? A little immature, no?
Gwen also writes: “And for a character who’s supposed to be devoutly religious, Scott doesn’t seem to have issues with committing to a monogamous relationship.”
Answer: Again, you’re applying some strident black and white notions to these characters. They’re flawed, like a lot of people out there. It may come as a shock to you but I know many individuals who have wrestled with their faith or found ways to compromise their belief system with their way of life.
Gwen also writes: “I’m really impressed with the speed of their shuttle though; it was able to make it to the far side of the star, hit the planet’s orbital path, turn around, be unable to intercept the ship on it’s own, but then by turning around again and killing all it’s momentum, perform a slingshot and be able to perform an intercept then.”
Answer: Yep. Physics is weird, no?
Thailog writes: “What is up with the Atlantis movie being nixed in favor of a novel? Momoa also said that the SG1 movie was probably going to be made eventually but the Atlantis movie is dead. No comment? Still?”
Answer: Still no official word. We’ve written the script (Stargate: Extinction) and I’ve maintained a positive outlook throughout. That being said, as time has worn on with no official word, I don’t blame people for being pessimistic.
StellaByStargate writes: “Considering the success of SGU, especially with those Bavarian kale farmers, is there likely to be any positive fallout with regard to getting the two pending movies in the queue? And I’m curious how long it would take to set up a shooting schedule once the go-ahead is given (see…I’m thinking positive!) ?”
Answer: I’m not in on the decision-making with regard to if and when the movies will be made. Still, it’s unlikely that SGU’s success will influence the movies. Establishing the shooting schedule would depend on many things (actor availability, time needed for set construction, prep, etc.) that I wouldn’t be able to ballpark at present.
Mary writes: “she’s a manipulative whore (not a word I use very often).”
Answer: Based on what? ALL the men she’s slept with? Let’s see, there’s Scott..and…Scott…and…oh, yeah! Scott!
Mary also writes: “To play with Eli’s emotions after having sex with Scott is just plain wrong.”
Answer: How is she playing with his emotions? Are you suggesting that they should no longer be friends because Eli has feelings for her?
T’loc writes: “It can do all that but it can not turn around to take the folks back to earth nor can it take them to stargates that could take them home, strange.”
Answer: The crew doesn’t have control of the ship. As Rush stated early on, they’re just along for the ride. IF they do manage to gain control of the ship, then they certainly could turn the ship around and head back to Earth. It should only take them several million years.
Shadow Step writes: “In the interest of spreading world peace, I feel compelled to point out that clearly “ignorant” wasn’t the word EFroh was striving for in his missive (hey, we can’t all be writers), perhaps you stopped after the first line, but the rest of the text suggested that “pampered” would be more along the lines of what he meant – perhaps his own mother had to pawn her lungs before she could get help.”
Answer: Really? Then by that logic his mother was positively coddled in comparison to people in third world countries who don’t even have the luxury of pawning their lungs in exchange for their lives. Yep, when you look at it that way, he and his mom should be thanking their lucky stars rather than complaining. Taking this a sidestep further, when you consider that many people in this world don’t even own a t.v., you should be grateful for the programming you’re fortunate enough to view instead of express any concerns you may feel about a particular show’s creative direction. Looking forward to receiving nothing but positive feedback from you in the near future.
Mary A. Milan writes: “Daughter Jennifer wants to know when you started writing fiction/scripts.”
Answer: I was writing short stories back in elementary school. Also, a terrible scifi novel.
Belouchi writes: “ 1.Will our SGU cast ever fix the broken shuttle in season 1?
2. Sorry for being repetitive: Is the Destiny as big as a Hive?
3. In the Milky Way and Pegasus, did the ancients terraform all the planets with stargates and those off the grid. I say this because we have yet to see similar planets in the galaxy the destiny is presently in?”
Answers: 1. Perhaps. 2. I don’t know. I’ve never considered the ship’s size relative to other franchise ships. 3. Not sure I understand the question.
Tammy Dixon writes: “My question for her is, why is she hooking up with Scott and then being very friendly with Eli?”
Answer: Why not? Are you saying a woman who is in a romantic relationship with a man can’t have male friends?
Thornyrose writes: “So, if you start spinning season two, when exactly does your share of the hiatus start? When would season two begin filming once the renewal is confirmed?”
Answer: The hiatus officially begins at the end of this week once we’ve finished shooting – but post-production work continues well into 2010 so we’ll be around watching cuts and mixes and, of course, spinning season 2. As for when we would start shooting the show’s second season (pending a pick-up): sometime after the winter Olympics.
Cherluvya writes: “When do you find out if the show is picked up for Season 2?”
Answer: Soon hopefully.
JYS writes: “it was cool seeing you two at Fuel today”
Answer: That pasta dish was truly awesome. I’ll be doing the full write-up in tomorrow’s post. BTW – Martin and I were looking to say goodbye on our way out but you had disappeared.
Crazymom1 writes: “Have I got this right: Spencer is the one who was stealing food earlier on, and now he’s taking medication TJ doesn’t know about?”
Answer: Yep.
my question is does Daniel Jackson have the ATA Gene? i mean since merlin returned him to normal can daniel finally use ancient technology like O’Neill and Sheppard.
I find it impressive that so many people immediately attack Chloe and call her a whore when it’s Scott that has slept with 2 women within, what, a week maybe? He seems to be the one with the major issues, but people hold women to much higher standards.
How long has it been between Eli arriving at Icarus Base and ‘Light’ anyways?
Hi Joe,
Just checking in real quick. How are Mama M. and Sis getting along? Has anyone gotten some relief for her? “Toasts my grits” that no one (medical) has answers. And I’m a yankee city girl, born in a Northern town.
Carl,
I mailed your photo today. In a few days you should have your very own picture of you and Jelly to treasure, adorn your desk, taunt Joe with, etc., etc.
I still hafta see Light again before I can properly form my opinions (watched it late at night on a crappy wifi connection). I seem to remember thinking that Chloe was indeed leading Eli on, but not intentionally. I think Eli was reading a little bit too much into Chloe’s need for comfort in what she thought were her last hours.
Physics IS weird. True story.
I made cookies today, and it made me think of the goop that they were eating on Destiny. The ship DOES have some sort of cooking/baking mechanism, right? So why hasn’t Becker found some way of making the goop a little more appetizing? (I loved Rush’s face when Young suggested extra rations as a “reward” for saving the day!)
Some may wonder why the Winter Olympics in Vancouver would impact a shooting schedule. My guesses:
A. It’s too darn cold for Vancouver location shoots in Jan. /Feb.;
B. Olympics will impact transportation and housing rentals.
@ Joe – I posted my comment to your 10/26 entry to yesterday’s entry. Would it be possible for you to move it here so that it makes sense? Thanks if you can, and even if you can’t. I do appreciate it that you are willing to hear dissenting voices.
Mary
noo!!!!! I was in the back, prepping. O well. Next Sunday’s my last week at Fuel, but maybe we’ll run into each other at the bar one day. Apparently a friend of Katherine is on SGU playing someone in the military…colonel rank is what I heard her say.
Can the SGU shuttle go through a Stargate?
I’m not really bothered one way or another, but if asked, I’d say I’m in the “it’s way too soon for Chloe and Scott to hook up” camp.
Hi Joe,
So the Kale Farmers of Bavaria aren’t enough to convince the decision-making PTB that there is no such thing as too much Stargate–in all its many and varied forms.
*sigh*
Maybe if we go after the Latvian Sheepherder demographic….
Regardless…thanks for answering.
*crosses fingers*
SBS
Wow. I don’t always get a chance to read all the comments, but in reading today’s mailbag, it amazes me how hung up folks are about Chloe/Scott/Eli. Perhaps one forgets what it is to be in your early twenties. That, taken with a stressful situation and likely death, can lead to emotional decisions. Give it a rest. Chloe sees Eli like a good buddy/brother and sees fireworks with Scott. It happens. I doubt she’s “using” Eli because it probably isn’t on her radar that he feels something more than she does (esp. since it’s only been a matter of days for her to be thrust in this situation and have her father die).
On another note, Joe, have you read any Naomi Novik? Bella, my 4-month-old shepherd really likes the novels (inside and out).
The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Oh, cool…fun book. Read it years ago, but it’s worth the reread.
In Air part 2, Rush said that they could barely power the main systems and that the ship lacked the capability to dial Earth. Does that mean that the ship can’t dial Earth or that it would require an incredible amount of power. If it is the later, could they dial Earth at a point that they are inside a Sun refueling? Of course, the show would end at that point, but I am just curious.
I’m pretty indifferent to the Scott/Chloe thing, it doesn’t affect me, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense to me. Nor does it rub off on me as good writing. I’m not saying it’s morally wrong. I don’t think Chloe’s a whore, or that she’s leading Eli on, or whatever a lot of people are thinking. I think that’s absurd. Chloe was in no way leading Eli on, and Eli needs to have (but obviously doesn’t) the maturity to realize that, just like anyone else. I just think that it’s far too sudden and a “WTF? Where did THAT come from?” moment.
“In short, Chloe lost her father. Scott nearly lost his life. They bonded at the end of Air III. Facing seemingly imminent death in Darkness and Light, they chose to consummate their burgeoning relationship.”
That’s honestly a terribly insufficient explanation. They’ve known each other… two, three days now? In those few days, Scott was off-world twelve hours and they were dealing with a life support and power crisis. Scott also spent a ton of time figuring out how to operate the shuttle. Chloe’s relationship with Eli was much more fleshed out and shown on-screen in Darkness, while Chloe and Scott had minimal interaction (if any?). Through the series so far, we have seen Scott ask Chloe about her father, and we have seen them share a moment at the end of Air III. That’s basically it.
Furthermore we are shown flashbacks of Scott’s past in which he had a major negative experience in a situation like that. Don’t you think that would weigh into his mind before sleeping with a girl he’s known all of three days?
As I said I think some people are taking this too far, but I think that the people stating that the whole thing was so sudden, unexpected and unnecessary have a very valid point. I’m not denying that perhaps the characters would feel inclined to express those feelings when faced with death, but I feel like it was very poorly written and had virtually nothing leading up to it. It left me surprised, and it left me feeling like it was unnecessary.
I liked the episode. I thought the Scott/Chloe stuff was questionable at best.
“Light” was definitely the first episode that I felt Wray actually had a part in, and Ming-Na did a very good job with it. I’m curious as to whether she auditioned with a scene from the pilot or one from a later episode, since she really didn’t have much to do in the pilot.
Also, I have to agree with a lot of the comments about Chloe. Her behavior around Eli seems to be much more than just friendly. That could just be the way Elyse Levesque is playing it, but it does make me think that she is interested in Eli as well as Scott, and that is not something that I think strengthens a female character.
As far as books are concerned, would you ever consider making “American Gods” or a Discworld book the book of the month?
Oh, and one more thing about “Light”- Eli’s response when asked whether his calculations were correct or not bothered me. It seemed like the sort of thing that McKay would say, not a young man who had never done anything like it before.
My 1st thought as to how the writers view Eli based on your response to both Tammy Dixon and Mary questions and also the Kino scene thats now on the MGM website is that Eli is a punk who should hold and bury his feelings for Chloe and accept Scott but still be her friend.
I don’t know any real young man or woman who would do that to themselves. That’s just poor writing and from 12 years of watching episodes for the previous two series and episodes in this series I can say that you guys can not write romance or intimate relationships.
So I hope whatever path you folks are going with the Eli-Scott-Chloe thing will not go further than at least the next two episode, if that far because for the first time in many years of watching stargate last friday was the 3rd episode that I stopped watching early and had to try to watch the show later and still hated it (the other episodes “the Tower” and “Brain Storm”).
I hope there is more to the Chloe character, for now Chloe is just a completely worthless character and Scott is the James Kirk of the show banging all of the female characters. Poor writing and adds no value to the show unless the writers for SGU are going for a soap opera in space in which case it does not matter because I would’nt be watching anymore anyway.
Another great mailbag — thanks for the pithy, therefore highly effective rebuttals of logically unsound as well as strongly biased comments.
December’s BOTM selection looks and sounds wonderful! I’m swamped at present, but shouldn’t have trouble making time for a fun (and I’m guessing relatively light) read, after the next few weeks. The humor will be much appreciated.
Like others, would also very much appreciate an update on your mom and sis, whatever you can share without violating anyone’s privacy.
Long day, going to turn in before getting splattered by the Zombie Zamboni.
*does nifty Prof. Severus Snape mind-control spell* (btw, Alan Rickman rocks)
Your 20-year-old hippy-dippy chartreuse VW van is actually a Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S.
Joe,
Ever thought of becomming a High School English Teacher??you seem to have all the tool’s…
I figure you’re not loooking to take on another show at the moment, but if you’ve never seen “Psych” before, I might reccomend it. I like self-referential quips, and the show is rather loaded with them. Plus, I never get tired of spotting all the talent in TV shows who have appeared on Stargate.
I know, most actors play more than one character during their career, but it’s still nice.
Ok, we get you don’t know anything about the status of the movies. He’s what we’d like you to do. Go and talk to someone who does. Find Brad, Rob, or that swanky exec from MGM who just happens to be visiting or on the phone and ask them. See what they say, maybe even prod them a little. Report back to us. Please. Right now you’re the only link we’ve got to anyone. And with all the Atlantis actors saying that that movie is dead, a lot of us fans are really holding out hope for the SG1 movie to get made still. Right now, it’s hard not to lose a lot of faith and respect in you guys, the franchise, whatever.
“IF they do manage to gain control of the ship, then they certainly could turn the ship around and head back to Earth. It should only take them several million years.”
How does Destiny get several million years worth of travel away from Earth, if it’s ‘the better part of a million’ years old?
Or are the characters simply wrong about the age of the ship? It has to be in the millions of years old if it’s older than Atlantis and if the Destiny Stargate is the oldest one.
On another topic, while the Chloe/Matt ‘hookup’ did seem sudden, I’m of the opinion that it was intended to seem sudden. Eli seems to think it was sudden. Was it intended for viewers to be somewhat shocked by the sudden closeness of these two characters? If so, it appears to have been successful.
@Mary:
Finally, yeah, I’m pretty long-winded. I’m an attorney. It comes with the territory.
In rebuttal, on behalf of the prosecution, I will state that my father — chief felony prosecutor for his large district — can win a case with fewer words than it takes for me to fully describe how my day went.
And when he goes home, he leaves the lawyer (mostly) behind, with the result that he communicates even more with even less.
Just sayin’.
Misenchanted Sword is an excellent read and a great selection. Looking foward to seeing others’ views on the book.
Just a quick comment tonight about Scott/Chloe. This was one of the things that I considered negative about the episode Light. I understand they are both young, facing what they are thinking is certain death, and have no reason to think there will be any fallout from their dalliance. But I feel both characters have been demeaned, and my respect for Scott’s character is now nil. Ignoring his religious issues, he has taken advantage of chloe’s emotional state after losing her father. He has failed as an officer to consider the ramifications of his involvment with a civilian, and one in such an ambiguous position. And he is beginning to look far too inclined to let the wrong head do all the thinking. Despite a few flashes of potential as a leader, I feel his liason with Chloe has seriously damaged if not destroyed his credibility as a leader.
Anyways, I’ll make a few more comments tomorrow on the episode, Thanks for the mailbag, and the reminder I need to haul butt and get the November BotM selection picked up asap.
Whoa. Who piddled on your Post Toasties, Joe? Or are ya just PMSing? 😉 Methinks you need some chocolate.
So, am I to understand that Chloe won’t be the conniving little bitch I was hoping she’d be? 🙁 What I’m trying to say is that I just don’t want to see her be this sweet goody-two-shoes that all the guys fawn over as if she’s some helpless little thing. Often it’s a male character who is portrayed as the back-stabber, the hot head, the instigator, the pot-stirrer. But it’s also often the case that behind every misguided man there’s a manipulative woman. I guess I was hoping for a little of that. (Though that was an element in BSG, so maybe it would seem like too much of a rip-off if Chloe went all Six on Scott, et al.)
I do understand some folks being confused by Scott and Chloe’s decision to jump into bed so easily. If I was in the same situation, I would find it hard to concentrate on sex. Yeah, I could do it, but I wouldn’t enjoy it because my brain would be thinking of my imminent death. It would be like trying to eat a fine meal right after learning you had terminal cancer – sure, you can chew and swallow the food, but it would be very hard to savor that meal with such a heavy mental burden weighing you down.
Still, I do get what happened (as I pointed out earlier). I also know that if two people can have sex an hour after meeting for the first time in some dingy bar, it’s not beyond belief that two people stranded together for a few days and experiencing life-and-death situations might easily be drawn to one another. I think you become drawn to one another out of an instinct to survive. Usually in such situations there are two opposite reactions – build alliances (safety in numbers), or shun everyone and go it alone. We are starting to see a bit of both – those who are drawing together (like Scott and Chloe, Chloe and Eli, maybe Young and Greer) and those who are trying to go it alone (the two lost through the gate in Air III, maybe Spencer ).
As far as the religious being morally upright… Ha! Some of the worst are the holiest, they just feel more guilt over it than everyone else. Mere belief has nothing to do with morality – it’s the exercising of that belief – putting it into practice – that keeps one’s willy in one’s own pants. 🙂
My only disappointment in Scott is that he didn’t learn his youthful lesson. But that’s a reflection of real life. I know a gal who has 6 kids, by three different fathers. She’s married now and settled down, but you would think after the first, maybe second, time she would have learned…but it took #3 before she got her act together. There are a lot of people out there like that, so it certainly doesn’t surprise me that Scott didn’t learn from his earlier mistake…it only disappoints me. He should know better than that…he should be more responsible knowing the possible outcomes of excessive promiscuity.
Heh. I sound like his mother. 😛
Personally, I’m just waiting for the catfight between his lovers…and I hope he’s right in the middle of it if and when it happens!
Not sure if I explained that right… I just woke up (cats were playing King of the Chair next to the bed 🙄 ) and got distracted by a rugby match, and reading tonight’s entry. Was a long day for me – first day of our vacation, and we spent it cleaning the garage. Garage still has too much crap in it, but at least it looks like semi-organized crap, instead of let’sjustthrowthisstuffinherebecausewedon’tknowwhatelsetodowithit… andwedon’twanttojustthrowitoutlikenormalpeopledo… becausesomedaywemightneedit… like,ifthere’sanuclearholocaustandwe – andourgarage – areallthatsurvive.
Worse part about the garage is that we keep the kitty litter pans down there, so everything gets really dusty unless it’s in a cabinet, or in drawers. So, to clean everything – i.e. to dust off the tools, paint cans, etc. – would be impossible, but at least I can get it looking a bit organized. A bit.
Word to the wise – if you’re a packrat, don’t marry another packrat! My Depression-era grandma instilled in me a fear of throwing anything away that might be useful someday, and my husband inherited a trash-picking gene from…his brother. Not sure how the boys both come by it since their parents aren’t that type, but hubby and his brother canNOT pass up anything that’s on the curb with a ‘free’ sign on it (or in the neighbor’s trash). To them, it’s like finding hidden treasure. On the bright side, however, hubby has brought home quite a few gems (chairs, real wood furniture, household items, etc), whereas his brother brings home stuff like backhoes, dump trucks and engine blocks. That means my house has this eclectic ‘shabby chic’ look, while the brother-in-law’s place looks like Sanford and Son.
God, I hope he never reads this…
I should go back to bed, ’cause now the cat is playing King of the Chair with me!
Joe – a quick question about Chloe and Scott – did they know (or know of) each other before getting stranded on Destiny??
Have a good day, sir! Hope Mamma Mallozzi is feeling bettah! And don’t forget to eat some chocolate. 😉
das
@Joe: Thanks for answering my questions to the …. best of your ability. 🙂
@Sarah Lee: No dear it cant…. in fact its like saying can a double decker bus go through an appartment door.
You say it takes several million years to get home with FTL technology if the Destiny does a U-turn. But what if somehow they retro-fitted a wormhole drive or hyperdrive?
Hey Joe!
New question for today: How did the Ancients go about making their ZPMs, and why hasn’t the Atlantis crew figured out how to replicate the process yet?
Hey Joe, don’t forget my Birthday is on Wednesday, October 28th!!!
No, sorry Joe, but I don’t buy it.
I’m not about to jump on the crazy “Chloe’s a whore!” bandwagon, but that jump from two people to bumping uglies just happened both too fast and from left field.
It felt forced and unnatural in every way, especially when she seems to have spent most of her time with Eli, rather than Scott.
Hey there,
Just a quick question from a long time SG fan (hell i watched the original movie in theaters with my brother and followed SG1 and SGA right from teh start:P)
Do you ever read SG Fanfiction? I’m 99.999% sure you’ve been asked this question before but i can’t find anything on it. If so, what’s your opinion on the “virtual series” or even “lost episodes” that have been written?
Admittely alot of them do shipping that i don’t think we would have ever seen on the show for one valid reason or another, but i’m curious as to your thoughts on teh “Gen” or non-relationship fanfics that strive to make stories as good as the ones we see on TV while remaining as true to the characters as possible?
On the matter of SGU, i’m still very undecided. On the one hand it’s great to see character development, but on the other, it’s like information overload. I was a big fan of the way SG1 stlowly unraveled teh characters (although yes, a little more would have been godly) but seeing all the characters’s flaws before we see their stengths in SGU is really putting me on the fence. (Admittedly i like TJ and Greer, but i think that’s more because i know so little about them that i’m intrigued)
And don’t get me wrong, i WANT to like SGU. I’m just a curious SG fan (and writer myself) 🙂
Have a great holiday season!
Aragon101
Do you play any (computer) games? If you do, what’s your favourite game/series?
Also, can you shed some light on this… thing, translated from Elis Ancient PSPs screen:
Pacemaker
Another AI seemingly compatible
A thousand cycled lost time tables
the vast digital binary bible
something about her uncalculated
she’s modified to assimilate
interface
Hope Mom’s doing well.
Cheerio, -madman
I like the doors and door controls aboard the Destiny. But I haven’t seen the door control change its color, y’know open/closed. Every time camera moves away from it or somebody steps in front of it. They do work, right? 😀
I’m being serious here!
Coucou Joseph! ça va bien?
Oui en effet ce livre à l’air bien! Vous avait du avoir beaucoup de cadeaux de fans. Moi aussi quand j’aurai finit mes études je vous ferez pleins de jolies cadeaux =)
Merci pour ce Q/A =P
Bonne journée!
Bisou!
Morning Joe, thanks for the reply – that one had been bugging me. I think I’ve been a bit distracted with Elway (it’s 5:15 a.m. and I’ve been up for an hour because he twitched) and the arrival and departure of my daughter and her hubby, but now the Chloe/Scott thing makes perfect sense. After reading your reply to my question, I kept reading the mailbag and was surprised that someone called Chloe a “manipulative whore”. Even at this stage of my life, I find it appalling how quick people are to judge others and engage in name-calling. I had very much the same situation when I was a young and was completely oblivious that my best friend had a thing for me while I was having a relationship with one of his friends. Nothing manipulative or whorish about it. Funny thing is, nearly 40 years later, we still talk twice a day and are as close as two people can be w/o ever having an intimate relationship. So yes, you’re right on all counts 😉 If I was 23 and in that situation, would I? Hell, yes, and I dare somebody to call me a manipulative whore.
Have a lovely day!
I like the characters on SGU ; They’re not perfect, not stereotypical of TV shows …
Tis a little darker than SGA and more…’adult’? for want of a better word.
Soo enjoying Rush, what a character.. is he a good guy or isn’t he???
Wondering where Eli’s going.. he’s just a kid in this new world with limited knowledge, innocence…yet huge enthusiasm.
Enjoying it thus far, thanks!
Hi Joe,
First off, I have to say I very much enjoyed “Light.” If I may, I have a few questions and comments.
(1) Personally, I can see how Chloe could get involved with Scott on such a (seemingly, to some) short notice. I’ve seen stranger things. However, my position would be that she doesn’t really share a friendship with Eli. She pretty much abuses the fact that Eli has feelings for her, and offers him little in return in form of friendship.
(2) Can you tell us if Rush has always been difficult to work with, or has something (recent?) event in his life made him so? If it was something recent, will we learn the details of it (apart from a photo and some tears)?
(3) If you could go back, what is one thing you wish was done differently about Atlantis? What about SGU?
Thanks!
I’m up early today and came to the blog.
@Joe – I appreciate your entries, and your willingness to answer some of the questions asked here. But, in response to an answer that you gave on your web log yesterday:
” … you should be grateful for the programming you’re fortunate enough to view instead of express any concerns you may feel about a particular show’s creative direction…”
I will only say that I think that gratitude should be a mutual thing. And, I am hoping that you feel the same way because I am not sure that I felt that from your response. And, this is coming from a positive and respectful place. I hope your mom is doing better, and I still think your dogs are cute.
@Gilder – Now I’m blushing:0)
Peace & Love,
j
Post Script: I really hope the Atlantis movie gets made. Teyla and John together (crossing fingers):)
Bailey – had they waited, they might have been in the “ooops – now it’s too late for us to hook up!” camp. Especially as they were separated by a lottery.
They’re both adults. They are allowed. And they did think at least one of them was about to die.
And how much more interesting will the consequences of that action be, now that they’ve survived.
I am presuming there will be consequences of one kind or another, Joe? I am enjoying the continuity of the story so far.
Sorry, but Scott is nothing but a man-whore who, in the first few episodes has banged 3 girls, got one pregnant, and prays for forgiveness (see how it looks to us?), and Chloe is nothing but the useless sexpot. Airlock them both.
I may have missed this somewhere along the line, but when the Destiny crew talks about the ship going in/out of FTL, what does FTL stand for?
” Are you saying a woman who is in a romantic relationship with a man can’t have male friends?”
According to my hubby, NO 😀 . He gets jealous because I relate to men more easily than women. I grew up with three brothers. I learned how to relate to men more, so when I go anywhere, the guys are easier for me to talk to.
In answer to your question: Yes, I think a woman can have male friends. BUT Eli has clearly shown his interest in this woman. He has peaked at her naked, and followed her around like a puppy. Maybe, Chloe is just inexperienced and doesn’t notice the signs.
Oh and Thank you for your answer.
I’ll definitely look that book up, so Thanks BIG TIME for the recommendation. I finished James Enge’s latest book and I’m ready for something else new.
Jay: I totally agree with ya. Scott is a slut! 😀
T
Hey Joe
Finally caught “Light” last night and I just have a few thoughts/questions…
Firstly let me say how much I love SG in all it forms and how cool parts of the new series are, I mean flying to a star is goddamn awesome. However the show is VERY slow and I’m finding it difficult to stay invested in the story because of the large sections of what feels like ‘filler’.
You said that “Darkness” and “Light” were originally on script “Fire”.
I realise of course that it’s your (as showmakers) baby, but I felt that there was only enough killer dialogue and events for one tight episode, and that as a two parter it was stretched too thin.
Secondly I was incredibly surprised that Chloe slept with Scott!
I didn’t see where the relationship was supposed to have built between them. They had one bonding session in “Air pt2” but are we to assume that they’ve been doing lots more socialising off-screen? Really not enjoying that thread right now.
Thirdly I love the scenes between Rush and Young. Robert Carlyle has been a favourite actor of mine of years and I think Louis Ferreira is fantastic.
Rush and Young are such deep characters and really stand out against the some of the unfortunately slightly more 2-dimensional characters on board.
Finally I really like people like James (Julia Benson), Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) and Riley (Haig Sutherland). I think they are much more interesting in many ways than some of the main characters. I hope we get to see more of them in the future 🙂
Thanks for listening to my rant and I hope I came across as respectful as I truly am to you and the show.
Thanks
AM
Hi Mr M!
First off, best to Marty G. Saw it via his twitter feed. Nasty cut.
Second: You guys all looked spiffing at the Wrap Bash..Was there a Suit’n’Tie vibe or what? Great snaps! Thank you!
And finally, I notice you say that you are starting spinnning for Season 2!! That’s terrific…has the pick-up been announced or is are you guys just getting ready? (And remember that dentist in Ireland that just happens to have the ancient communication stone in his surgery?..work him in to season 2!!!!)
I think it’s pretty clear that this show is going to be a MONSTER hit…(I predicted great numbers to Mr B via twitter some time back).
Great work and thank you to all
S’n’T
“Light” airs here tonight so I am avoiding the previous entry’s mailbag/comments section to avoid spoilers.
Hey Joe,
Speaking of the Olympics, I never asked you how you felt about them. I saw a segment on Global News about them going $250 million over budget and that was all on the taxpayers. It also reported that they hadn’t finished the athlete housing.
In regard to the movie(s), it’s a bit hard to believe everything is as independent of each other as you make it sound. I would think strong SGU ratings and/or Atlantis DVD sales would have some higher ups thinking people are still interested in seeing more of the Stargate franchise.
I don’t know where all these new book rumors are coming from. I googled some terms and all I found were mentions of Momoa being cast as Khal Drogo in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Have you read the Song of Ice and Fire series? Sounds interesting.
Cheers,
-J
Thx for choosing Book 1 of The Legends of Ethshar, Lawrence Watt-Evans has been one of my fave authors for many years. I really like his fantasy flavor, The Lords of Dus books were the first I read by him (same time I discovered Piers Anthony). I’ll be happy to pull this book out as I still have my original copy, and hopefully will have some Qs for him.
Disappointed (so far) with SGU. You’re still getting my DVR rating.
Hewlett sounds like he’s ready to go for Extinction.
DD
As a disclaimer, I don’t read the comments section. Based on the mailbag, however, there seems to be a lot of hate for Chloe. Why? Because she slept with Scott once? Scott had sex with Lt. James, her and someone else he talked about in Air. Based on that, he seems to be far more promiscuous than Chloe. The comments directed towards Chloe seem unfair. Yes, Chloe hasn’t contributed much. But isn’t that the point? I’m sure if we were stuck in a situation like that, more than one of us (myself included) wouldn’t be able to contribute much to our survival, much like Chloe.
Someone said, “Chloe tries to sleep her way to a shuttle ride…” I do believe she told Scott that she had no chance of being one of the two chosen… They thought they’d never see each other again or that they’d die. It’s not something I would necessarily do, but I understand their actions. AND it takes two; she didn’t force Scott to do anything.
Oh, and for the record (RE: yesterday’s comments), in my world, Wraith translates as ‘Hawt!’.
But everyone already knew that. 😛
das
Where do we post questions to be answerd in the mailbag stuff?
Thanks
Aaaand – Mornin’, Joe!
I’m still in my jammies…I LOVE vacations! 😀
das
AIR part 3 final numbers impoved:
SYFY’s STARGATE UNIVERSE REACHES NEW SERIES HIGH WITH LIVE +7 DATA
Episode Two Audience Grows To Three Million Total Viewers and Continues as Most Watched Stargate In More Than Four Years
New York, NY – October 26, 2009 – The second episode of Syfy’s Stargate Universe on Friday, October 9, reflecting full Live +7 DVR data, became the most watched Stargate since March 2005 when its reached three million total viewers (2.99 million), along with a 2.1 HH Rating, 1.7 million Adults 18-49 and 1.85 million Adults 25-54.
Among Adults 25-54, it is the best performance for the franchise since July 2005 and is the best performance for a Stargate telecast in Adults 18-49 since July 2004. The episode also drew the most total viewers for any Stargate since March 2005.
While I enjoy reading the blog and comments and I loved the past Stargate show and hoping for the best with the current show, I am sadden to see that you don’t show all comments that may be critical of a portion of your product. Again to restate my view I hope that within the next few episodes the Eli-Chloe-Scott fiasco will be put to bed and we will be able to move on to more action on the show.
forget the last portion of my comment did not see my earlier one before writing the last part.
@ GateShip1 – Just post ’em here!
@ t’loc – Quick little story. When I was 19 (and very inexperienced), I had a 31-year-old jazz guitarist fall for me. We hung out together all summer – and though our relationship never went beyond the kissing stage (my religious/moral choice), we did have deep feelings for one another. His 28-year old brother was the drummer (my girlfriend hooked up with him), and there were two other guys. I hung with the band, went out to breakfast with them at 4 am when their gig was done, and we often ended up on the beach, sleeping all day, just waiting for the next night of fun. It was a great summer, but what I didn’t know was that the entire time, the guy who REALLY liked me was my guy’s brother – the drummer. He waited until the end of summer to tell me…and, wow…I was totally blown away. Yes, he had buried his feelings, he had pretended to be interested in someone else, just so he could be my ‘friend’. However, I didn’t have the same feelings for him, which made me feel bad, and so I just walked away from both of them. I knew I wasn’t ready (and didn’t want to) sleep with the elder brother, and I couldn’t pretend and hurt the younger brother.
Funny thing is, the one I think about the most now is the younger brother…I often regret being unkind to his heart.
So, yeah…people do hide their feelings just so they can be near someone they love. Lots of people do it, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Eli would torture himself as he does.
das
Hey Joe,
Will you guys consider bringing back RDA for some guest spots next season if he’s willing to do so? Granted his screen time this season isnt much, but its awesome to see a familiar face and popular character.
Thanks!
Mr. M, I hope your mom is well on her way to recovery. I’ve met people with diverticulitis and I believe they said it comes and goes?
Deni: How is Elway doing? Do they have a diagnosis for him yet?
Good luck on Season 2!
T
Let’s see, imminent death… hot young guy I had a connection with, however slim … yeah, if I were Chloe I’d do him. Why not spend my last hours pleasurably? As for Eli, Chloe may just be completely clueless. Been there, done that.
@das … LOL, my hubby has a pac-rat tattoo! Also his handle on the CB. best dumpster scores were in California, a Navy sword, a leather chair and cast iron pans. As a trucker he brings home all sorts of interesting things, and tons of stuff from other drivers walking off the job. Like a Tom-tom GPS! He also scrounges firewood. The man swings a mean ax, and we’ll be warm all winter. Sadly, his mom has hoarding disorder, so we try to keep a leash on how much he’s allowed to bring home. And then there’s me, with the collecting gene. You should see my swords, and dolls, and depression glass, and vaseline glass, and lucky cats, and teapots, and and and ….
Thank you for taking time to respond to fans (even those who are…. not quite as polite). I’m sorry to see you’ve gotten so much flak over portraying characters as people. People aren’t neat and clean and pretty, they form friendships and attachments and sometimes just want to get sexed. 🙂 They have traditional values they cling to and human connections they crave.
I’m especially liking the interactions we’ve seen with some of the characters and I’m anxiously awaiting the next episode.
Crossing my fingers for a season 2.
@das – Good post.
I have to say you had me laughing today. I have a few packrats in my family as well. Also, I *may* have inherited a bit of the gene myself….Yeah….That’s my story….I’m stickin’ to it!
Peace and Love,
j
hey
Ive been reasing your blog for a while now. its great to have someone directly talking to fans like this answering questions taking on board whats said etc.
I got my gf (never watched/doesnt like SF much) to watch the first 2 episodes and she actually got into it which i suppose is due to the style of stroy telling.
There is lots to love about this as a show especially if we seperate it from what we know as stargate. My brother (a big sg/o neill fan) see’s this show as more of a real science fiction show as opposed to the original sg stuff which never really took itself too seriously (and all the better for it).
(1)So first up. What do you think of Sky one’s cutting of Scott vanessa(?) sex scene in air 1?
given this scene by the end of airIII i was expecting the love triangle scott-cloe-vanessa(?). It seemed to have been forgotton in darkness with cloe+Eli ‘frienship’ developing and then start of light we see cloe and scott being intimate and emotional and cligny and a lil corny/mushy. Had this been a little later it might have worked but it seems sudden. More than just sudden (my trust is that like someone above tells me that this mightve been on purpose).
We know scott has his problems. There is a stark contrast between the sex in closet scene and the soft romantic intimate sunset scene.
(2)Was this on purpose?
For me i dont understand how scott could go from troubled and having sex with someone in the closet type to softie gentle and ‘loving’ cloe type.
I have a lot of trust that you guys know what your doing and youve hinted that the vanessa plot will come up soon too so ye.
Cloe + Eli… well to me holding his hand etc was a bit more than close friend etc even if she doesnt know his feelings for her. The thing is SGU is very slow moving nothing seems to be happening or it takes longer for something to happen and yet we can have this sudden seemingly change in character for scott….?
(3) So basically are we looking at 2 love triangles or a love square, or we just gona forget about the first one?
ps i am looking forward to those space battles and fighting and dying etc etc
one other observation. Alot of people were complaing that it [heading to sun for power] was too predictable. We as fans are shouting at the tvs “its ok you guys wont die the ship knows what its doing”, lol it seemed to me like Rush mirrored this with youngs insinuation at the end. Rush clearly believed based on the evidence he had that there was no chance but he probably had some sort of trust/belief in the ship given what he already knows.
(4) Did you see Angela’s Ashes?
I only realised yesterday that Robert Carlyle was the drunken abusive father….so he has experience playing erm troubled characters….
Also would like to add weight to the supposed religious part of Scott.
As a traditional Catholic what some people have been saying is so silly. We’re all sinners, thats what christians believe. Catholics in particular have a sacrament of confession to ask for God’s forgiveness.
So the religoius side of scott has been portrayed well enough, we all have our problems religsious or not (scotts priest=drunk, not all priests are perfect not all priests are drunks)….And i love the way this is being brought out. The Our Father in Light was great.
Love the music. Love Eli. Love Greer (more please?).
more action (greer?). more humour (is Eli the only funny guy…where’s earthquake girl?).
ill finish up with….
Season 2??
Movies?? lol 😉
@ maggiemayday – Hubby has come home with some good finds – no swords, but a nice chest of drawers, and an office chair in excellent condition that I had for about 7 years. I just got rid of it to make room for an old solid oak chair we bought at a yard sale for $10, exactly like this one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/dasNdanger/oakchair.jpg
So, if we don’t get it for free, at least we get it for cheap! He’s brought home other things, too…but we often sell them at yard sales, just so we don’t get too cluttered up.
AND I’m a collector, too, though when I get tired of stuff I do sell it or give it away. But I collect cat-related things, pottery, boxes, pewter, fossils, and a few other things. My box fetish is the worst because I cannot pass one up, which means I have a LOT of boxes, all shapes and sizes. Not just boxes, per se – but small containers of any kind. This summer I nabbed these:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/dasNdanger/CIMG0453.jpg
In the cabinet with Wolvie and Nuada is a camel bone box, a metal and bone box, and one tiny metal box with polished stones. That’s the stuff I like – have a lot of bone boxes and boxes from other countries. I like rustic/primative/tribal over fancy.
I have a house full of little trinkets like that, but I do weed things out when it gets too cluttered. I have a lot of stuff, but I keep it tidy…I can’t function in disorder. I could never be a hoarder because I must have order…everything must be part of the decor, and not random. I can’t stand to see a piece of mail on the table, or a newspaper on a chair. Most people like me keep things very minimal, but with my ADD I need to be able to look at stuff, or I go batty. It’s just that the stuff better be orderly, because if it’s a mess I go even battier!
ANNND…I’m totally rambling about nothing. Sorry. 😛
das
Lint roller? Only my mom sends me those!
Regardez Joseph j’ai déguiser mon chien^^!
http://twitpic.com/photos/atlantisfannew1
Trop adorable, mon préféré est celui avec la costume sga^^….oui je sais, il est beau mon chien^^!
Huh? People aren’t allowed to enter the military if they have heat problems. How did Spencer get it?
I am Brazilian and my English is bad, so I apologize for writing. I have a question: If the Destyni walking speed of light inside the time should pass more slowly. In sga when they find the ancians walked a ship at the speed of light time was different.
Sou brasileiro e meu ingles é ruim, por isso peço desculpas pela escrita. Tenho uma pergunta: Se a Destyni anda da velocidade da luz o tempo dentro dela deveria passar mais devagar. Em sga quando encontram os antigos q andavam numa nave na velocidade da luz o tempo era diferente
A couple of things, just to clarify:
(1)My regrettable use of the phrase “manipulative whore” in reference to Chloe – as I said in my message to Joe last night, I shouldn’t have used the word “whore,” although I didn’t mean it so much in terms of her sleeping with a lot of guys so far. I meant it in terms of using her body in exchange for Scott helping her get a place on that shuttle (and if she did it once, I see her doing it again; I think she’s very likely to manipulate Eli, for example). I still see her actions that way in regards to Scott – to me, a bargained for exchange does have a connotation that is less than savory, but the word “whore” was too strong and kind of offensive. I should not have used it.
I realize that she had dialogue that indicated otherwise, but that was after the sex, and I didn’t buy it. To me, it was a false statement to make herself look noble, or on the order of “she doth protest too much.”
(2) Scott being religious – I don’t have a problem with Scott having sex with women. I’m not bound to marriage on that score, either. My problem is that Scott is supposedly religious (or did I imagine his prayer via kino?), and he had a real crisis when he was 16 and got that girl pregnant. Supposedly that incident had a fundamental, profound effect on him. If it didn’t, why would we have gone through the long, desert induced fantasy about it? What would have been the point?
What I mean is that ok, this guy is religious, what happened (16 year old girl pregnant, with abortion) had an effect on him, but he is bed-hopping now? Yes, that kind of thing happens, but given the profound effect that incident had on him, I think it would be more likely that he’d actually learn from it and try to avoid it again. I don’t think he’d be bed-hopping or engaging in recreational sex in a closet. I think yes, he’d go to bed with Chloe, but I would think there would be a little more space and time between James and Chloe, and I think he’d actually develop a relationship with her. I don’t see a relationship, not yet. There hasn’t been enough time or interaction between them to justify it to me.
Mary
Mary
Mr M
On the stalled SG1 and SGA movies. There isn’t much time left to green lited them left. Actor availability is getting to be insurmountable as the previous casts gets roles in other shows.
I think the TPTB is going in the right direction with SGU, if only the pacing is a little quicker and the storyline is less predictable.
Most of the comments that don’t like the inter-relationships with the stranded on the Destiny appears to emanated from the older female fanbase. If the audience share and ratings improves with the forthcoming episodes than SGU might be attracting new viewers that is younger than the SG1/SGA fanbase. Maybe someone on the blog have some figures for the demographic breakdowns between SGU and the previous shows. We might be getting more younger male viewers.
One of the problem with SGA and to a lesser degree SG1 is that it got labeled as an older chick show by the younger crowd. Check out the attendees age & gender ratios at the various ‘gate conventions. Figure that’s why Jewel Staite (Dr Keller) got cast to remedied this perception. Maybe a little late.
[Ok, I am skulking off to the safety of my cave]
@Mary above and in regards to Scott. I can see that there are people like this in real life, jumping from sexual encounter to sexual encounter without learning anything, but it doesn’t make me like them. I do not respect them in any way nor do I feel sorry for them because their lives have informed their messed up ideas of relationships. So the portrayal of Scott as a horn-dog has made me dislike him intensely, rather than have me root for him as a character. Despite how realistic his character might be.
And I too, think Chloe used her body in an attempt to get what she wants. Not unrealistic either, but not very attractive in a person.
Is the SG-1 movie done being written? and if so, do we have a title for it yet?
@Tammy Dixon: Thanks for asking 🙂 Elway’s doing well right now, seems to have settled down quite a bit with the change in drug dosages. We’ll see what the next time brings, but hopefully we’ll be back to 2 or 3 seizures every 8 to 10 weeks (or none at all would be great). He was actually diagnosed with epilepsy about 4 years ago, then that diagnosis was confirmed last year by the same neuro that saw him this time. Now there seems to be some question as to whether or not this is a brain tumor, but we’re waiting and seeing for now, rather than putting him through a general anesthesia for an MRI. We’re all thinking that if he had a brain tumor, it would have to be extremely slow-growing, so still hoping for the best!
Our county library is so small. I couldn’t find a copy of The Misenchanted Sword, so I ordered it from Amazon. It doesn’t have the cool artwork on the cover but oh well.
Thanks again for the recommendation!
T
Just saw Light tonight on Sky1 and I loved it – the scene with Everett in his quarters was just beautiful. However, the sex scene with Scott and Chloe did seem to come out of nowhere. I don’t have any problem with it, per se, I just thought that it was missing something *before* it indicating their reasons because it wasn’t frantic, we’re-about-to-die sex, but rather very intimate and meaningful to them.
I’m glad someone mentioned that Sky1 cut a previous sex scene with Scott and someone else because I had no idea what people were talking about. Now though, I’m wondering how I’m supposed to catch up on that storyline without resorting to downloading the uncut episode from teh internets. (I don’t even know WHICH episode, for that matter!) I bloody HATE it when tv stations broadcast shows at inappropriate times and then cut them to ribbons. Channel 4, I’m thinking of Angel season 1 and looking at you…
On a completely separate note; please, any opportunity you get, light a fire under whoever makes the decisions about the movies, especially Extinction. Us McKay junkies are in severe withdrawal. Right now, fans still care, but I’m sure I’m only pointing out the obvious when I state that the longer this drags on, the fewer people will be interested. It’s not, as they say, rocket science 😉
Question: In their mad rush to leave Icarus base, did anyone remember to pack condoms for the Ship of Sluts? 🙂
Whew. If I started to tell you all of what I did in my teens and 20’s, you would think Scott and Chloe were saints. I’ve been married 17 years and I have male friends with whom I go out. My husband has female friends and co-workers with whom he goes out. It’s never been an issue for us.
We didn’t necessarily see all of what Scott & Chloe talked about; obviously Eli didn’t either which is why that moment shocked him. They have hours and hours to kill; I imagine they started talking about deep and personal things and when you do that, yes, intimate bonds are formed. Perhaps if there wasn’t an imminent life/death situation in front of them, they would have waited longer, but my husband and I often talk about this that if Houston was ground-zero from some type of attack and I knew fall-out was imminent where neither of us could outrun it, I would choose to die in his arms. I would not want to be by myself somewhere alone.
I agree with Bilo&Bella that I think Chloe thinks of Eli in a brotherly way.
I do not agree at all with the comments that Chloe was trying to “manipulate” a spot into the shuttle. She knew exactly what her chances were. I think it was Scott who was deluding himself that she was the other of the “2” because he wanted desperately to wish it were so, but he knew the truth deep down and eventually said it out loud, that yes, her chances were like 1 in 6. I have confidence that Chloe will have a shining moment where she is able to contribute.
John Shepard’s character on SGA was quite the womanizer. I don’t recall hearing any complaints about that. You didn’t see a lot of it on-screen, but it certainly was implied.
My question is who else on Destiny hooked up? Not everyone was either playing cards or praying.
“Light” was my favorite episode thus far. People said that they knew the Destiny would fly into the sun. Well I didn’t. That was one possibility. Another possibility is that Destiny would have made a course change at the last possible minute. Yes, I knew the people in the shuttle would make it back to the ship, but what I didn’t know is would there be any injuries or deaths while trying to attempt that maneuver? Love the added touch of the seat belts. My husband wondered, however, how the docking seal wasn’t damaged after the shuttle violently backed up into it because it certainly looked like the whole thing moved. How did they possibly get a hard seal?
Yep, I cried this episode.
I love seeing Camille being relieved that she was picked to go, and feeling guilty that she got to go. Nice added touch that she was the only one who knew it was Riley’s birthday. Loved that she told Eli that her age was none of his business.
Now we know why Greer was in the brig on Icarus. Such a nice moment between Greer and Col Young. Loved Greer’s kino scene, loved him stripping down naked (and not because he has a fine body either), but it was very symbolic of leaving this world as he came into this world — naked.
The single teardrop coming from Col Young’s eyes. He’s doing a brilliant job.
Now as far as Rush. I don’t think he knew. I think he might have hoped. I think his surprise was genuine. However, he realized that in accepting the “hero” title that would force him to have to bond with people. I think whatever happened to his wife, the grief is just so great, that he is afraid if he opens up to just one human being, he is going to so overwhelmed with grief he will not be able to function. That pain would be even greater than the pain he has now. Someone said that the cringe when he was touched was possibly because of “abuse?” I don’t think so. I think the last time there was a lot of “touching” going on was at his wife’s funeral and someone touching him brings him back to that moment again.
Loved the moments where Volker says all the fun people are already there to Spencer. I’m curious why Spencer is taking medication. I’d like to know why this character is so angry (besides being put on a ship he doesn’t want to be on). Loved the shot of James’ face when her name was called out. She looked shocked.
I liked, after hearing the news about the lottery, people broke off into their little circle of friends, and Eli, the fish out of water, looked for his other fish out of water, Chloe. My heart ached for Eli a lot this episode between seeing Chloe with Scott to the dream flashback of letting his mother down.
The visual effects team each week just keep outdoing the week before and I just don’t know how that is possible.
Is this the first episode that Peter DeLuise directed that he wasn’t in even in the background. Looked very closely at that group shot, but I just didn’t see him.
My husband was late to work this morning. He apparently picked up my Stargate magazine and was reading it and enjoying it immensely. When he looked at the clock it was 7:28 (he needed to be to work by 7:30). I laughed at him. Apparently he is quickly becoming addicted as well.
I cant remember reading this anywhere, but does anyone know when the midseason break is? I’m guessing it’ll be about 2-3 months long, yes?
If the Destyni (travels at) speed of light, inside (the ship), the time should pass more slowly. In sga when they find the ancians, (traveled in) a ship at the speed of light, time was different.
Joe, I think JB is asking whether time is passing more slowly inside Destiny than it is on Earth, ie 1 day on Destiny = 1 week on Earth.
Hmmm Mary, I read your post and thought back on the episode.
I think your life experience has led you to react to the scenes in such a manner, for I didn’t see what you got from it at all.
What I saw was Chloe ‘getting a bit’ and perhaps some comfort. I know if my life was in danger, I’d make sure to get a bit of physical action before I carked it (Sorry Joe, tmi).
Hey Joe
(every time I write that I see Jimi Hendrix)
Do you get a commission every time you put an exclamation mark in your blog titles?
hehehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@JacksonBrazilero
Disculpe mi participación, por favor. Su inglés es bastante bien, pero siendo hispanohablante, ví clarficaciónes possibles.
Please forgive my participation. Your English is good enough, but I am a Spanish speaker and saw possible clarifications.
@Maj. DD
Who says Spencer has heart /heat problems? And if he has such issues, they might have arisen after enlistment.
Patience, Grasshopper.
Update on the LHC(Large Hadron Collider)
http://dvice.com/archives/2009/10/large-hadron-co-6.php
Could Flying into a Star be the SciFi version of Jumping the Shark? I hope it’s not… can’t wait to get Stargate Universe ramp up a bit more!
“A little immature, no?”
No. Seems sensible to get out of harms way.
Of course he could always get Greer to shoot her 😉
“… third world countries who don’t even have the luxury of pawning their lungs in exchange for their lives. … ”
True, they don’t pawn them they sell their body parts. Now in fourth world countries perhaps…
“… Taking this a sidestep further, …”
So what are really saying is people should be allowed to complain – doesn’t that apply to what’s his name also? 🙂
“Looking forward to receiving nothing but positive feedback from you in the near future.”
Positive feedback is available for a fee, snarkyness is free – however I do love the curtains you’ve picked for Destiny, they really bring out Young’s eyes *g*
Also surely renewal is a shoo-in at this point.
Whether or not the show gets a real intro for the DVD Box set is still up in the air I bet *g*
Joe,
I’m watchin the weirdest thing on NatGeo Channel. Severed right feet found in British Colombia, Canada. WTF? but I gotta watch. Do you remember seeing this in the News up there?
Just some questions this time Joe:
1) Have you reached the Vimes/Nightwatch series of the Terry Pratchett series of books? I have read them all but these are my favourites. 🙂
2) Dose Daniel have any character development in any future episodes of SGU? I have been wondering what he has been up to in the intervening years since Unending other than the training videos (which were awesome btw 🙂 )
Cheers!
@Jay – re Chloe
Its not so much I hold her to a higher standard, but that I like Eli and not captain whathisface 🙂
@Bilo&Bella
“Give it a rest. ”
I’m sure we will if they do 😉
@Sandra “Eli’s response … bothered me.”
Not me, seemed right on – he knows what he is excellent at.
@t’loc
What is it Eli has done on the website?
@Edith “They’re both adults. They are allowed.”
And we’re allowed not to like it 😉 Instead of that we could have had a scene of someone coming up asking for a gun to off themselves, because they couldn’t stand the thought of burning up (perhaps someone could even have shot themselves, now what a turn that would have been)
@Teri
Faster Than Light.
@dasNdanger
“…people do hide their feelings … shouldn’t come as a surprise that Eli would torture himself …”
Though strictly speaking he just met her, so it can’t really be love – the little trollop just excites his amorous propensities 😉
@PBMom
“People said that they knew the Destiny would fly into the sun. Well I didn’t. ”
Well strictly speaking we didn’t know, we assumed – now if they start cheating our assumptions – then we are rocking 🙂
“but it was very symbolic of leaving this world as he came into this world — naked. ”
I thought he was about to comit seppuku *g*
@Audrey
“does anyone know when the midseason break is?”
I’m guessing 4th of December.
Eli sure put it into perspective when he said – why am I watching this on TV.
@Annie from Fremantle, you said, “I think your life experience has led you to react to the scenes in such a manner, for I didn’t see what you got from it at all.”
No, you’re not correct about that. My personal life has never involved anyone like either Chloe or Scott. In my entire life, I’ve only known one woman who was promiscuous (in college, and even she couldn’t have told you how many people she slept with). Truth is, she only slept around because her boyfriend did, and I thought their relationship was, well, unhealthy. I have never known anyone personally who has used sex to get what they want from another person, at least, that I knew of. I’ve never known anyone that, to my knowledge, had sex in a closet with someone one day and a few days later had sex with someone they barely knew. I have known a few obnoxious, catty women and stupid men, however. I’m sure we all have.
I’ve never either had or been hurt by experiences such as Chloe and Scott are involved in. I am Catholic and sort of practicing, but again, that doesn’t have anything to do with it. The only thing that might at least remotely have any effect is my attitude about abortion (“safe, legal and rare”), and that *only* because I think that someone should take something like that very seriously and learn from the experience. That’s only intellectual, however, no personal experience there, either.
In fact, for a liberal democrat, I’ve actually led a pretty quiet and conservative life, and so have most of the people I know. Even so, I’m very liberal in a live-and-let-live kind of way for people and the sexual behaviors unless those behaviors hurt other people or themselves.
Therefore, I would ask, please, that you refrain from making judgments about my personal life or experience unless I tell you (or the whole gang) about them. When I say something about my conclusions on something, take me seriously about them and don’t pretend to psychoanalyze me. It’s unfair to dismiss a person’s opinion that disagrees with yours by saying, “hey, you only feel that way because of what happened to you.” So please don’t do it.
Do you think that the many other people who also saw the same problems I have with Scott and Chloe have life experiences that led them to react to those scenes in such a manner?
You also said, “What I saw was Chloe ‘getting a bit’ and perhaps some comfort. I know if my life was in danger, I’d make sure to get a bit of physical action before I carked it (Sorry Joe, tmi).”
Fine, that’s not entirely unheard of. Who knows? I might do the same, but I don’t think I’d do it with someone I’d known only a couple of days.
I didn’t buy it with these two, although I understand that is at least part of what the writers were trying to show. I said that, btw. I also explained why I didn’t buy it. Others have too. You see it differently. There doesn’t have to be “life experiences that led” someone to those conclusions. People can differ in their reactions to what is depicted on the screen. This should be obvious here.
Mary
Hello,
I wonder, why isn’t Lt. James part of Col. Young’s inner circle along with TJ, Scott and Greere? She is one of the few officers on board the ship so you would think the Col. would want her close.
It is wonderful to read some mailbags here. I am loving SGU (after watching all episodes of SGA and SG1)!
On one hand, I want to know more about Destiny. I love the ship. Hope to know more about her in future episodes.