SGA - Or Why You Should Stop Worrying and Love Shakespeare

[permetaform]

Spoilers below for SGA 2.13, The Tower

Granted, this was not the best episode ever, but OMG, I was SO AMUSED.


Preface: I love my show reason the nth; or why "cliche plots" don't neccessarily make a bad show

In other words, if you're a fan of plot this episode is not for you. Like really.

Because this? This is SGA by way of SHAKESPEARE. This is, like, the most cracktastic crossover ever of like...Hamlet or something. ::snerkle:: With a good dash of, "What dictatorship would you allow under supposed Wraith!threat" and "OMG Pretty PRETTY BLONDE PRINCESS!" (but no unicorn. ::woe::)

I love love love how John Sheppard has different levels of "fake". I don't care if it's his direction or his own acting or whatever, I get I'm being sorta Watsonian about this, except that it's *consistent* with the way that Sheppard has been throughout this entire series, ever since season 1, that he's been fake.

(btw, quickie litmus test:

Is John dorky? if no, then "fake". if yes, then likely real.
Is John smooth? if yes, then "fake". if no, then likely real.

crooked smile = usually partially-real, if nervous, see Duet, given to Rodney
balanced-even smile = shit-eating, see The Rising, given to Sumner)

I love, along those lines, how his interactions with the princess is so utterly *staged*, it's like a performance of masculinity the way that Audrey Hepburn or Marlene Dietrich performs femininity. I love how *he* was basically lead to a *harem* room and how *he* is set-up against the wall and bed and *she* is set-up against the doorway. Usually you'd have it be the female against the enclosed side and the male against the opening, but here she's being the aggressor which just ticked me PINK.

Well, *that* and,

"It seems that people around here have gotten the wrong idea about me."

What, John, that you're not Captain Kirk? ;D ::cough.orthatyou'renotstraight?cough::

A side note if you want to go that route: John didn't really respond to the kissing until she started *talking*. XD Take that as you will.

Also, I'm not sure what to make of his words to Elizabeth at the end of the show that he "could've got the girl, turned her down". The lovely thing about this is that it could be taken one of several ways, he could have gotten laid but didn't get to bring her to Atlantis, he could have lied about getting laid, it could have be an almost getting laid, he could have be referring to having Rodney...::COUGH:: ahem. XD but yeah, I *love* that the writers are leaving it open like that!

Dude. I was one of those that were raising my eyebrows at the insistence that John Sheppard was being coded as gay, 'cause I could see his actions as simply being coded as a sign of a distanced, masked personality; that he was simply secretive so to speak. But this episode?...DUDE.


AND OH! I WANT CAPS OF BORDELLO!JOHN. 'Cause that need CAPS, yo!


And was not everyone just HOT?


also? IMHOPTEP!!! WITH AWESOME LASHES!


And I like how Rodney's so desperately trying to keep himself collected and together in front of the villager and y'know, getting BAD ideas left and right. It's like Grace Under Pressure, only Rodney's keeping everything internal this time, 'cause he can't afford to let it out because there's a witness. And yeah RIGHT it's a good idea to blow a drone up, it's up there on the list of Bad Ideas with the puddlejumper's thruster thing he tried in Grace Under Pressure, what with the, y'know, EARTHQUAKE.

And I love that they *acknowledge* that it's a fucking stupid idea in the ep! I love that JOHN had to remind *Rodney* of the idea with the overloading the power thing that Rodney figured out two episodes before in Critical Mass. I love that Rodney was *that* frazzled and that his first question is whether John's all right and that John takes the time to answer and that Rodney like, pulls himself *together* as he talks more and more to John, even as John basically ordered him to cause basically another, y'know, EARTHQUAKE. And the two reactions Rodney has are markedly *different*, even though they had the same potential Very Bad Thing happening! (God bless Hewlett. =D)


And oh god, *Ronon*. We saw some of this Ronon in Trinity and he's stillll so PostTraumaticStressed and just...wah. dude. And how Teyla's all, "::BREATH:: okay, we'll HANDLE THIS, I'm going to dig your little ass out of your mess because you're my little bro but WE WILL HAVE *WORDS* LATER." In that brief little glance and in on exasperated turn of her head and oh god they're so like my cousins I could *die*.


Also, let me take a moment here to be really grateful for the t-shirts. 'Cause man, even Beckett is showing some *nice* arms there...and McKay...and Sheppard...and oh hey hi there Ronon glare some more, just like that...

::moment::

::GLEE::

::basks::

AND SQUEE! More drones and puddlejumpers! ::GLEE!!!:: This means more flying things and explosions!!!! ::VIDDER JOY::


In conclusion: I repeat, if you're a fan of plot, this episode is not for you. Like really really really. But I adore character arcs and I adore spoofs of cliches so this was a lovely solid ep for me, if not the best. ::bouces:: ahhh, SGA!


P.S. Dear TPTB. I want a City In The Sky next, and, if you can manage it a City In A Volcano.

I expect Salamanders, just so you know. =D

Comments

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

*whimpers* It sounds awesome -- but I'm cut off! Does anybody know of a reliable torrent site?

[permetaform]

there's one mentioned in stargate_eps I found this ep off an yousendit off of that community's friendslist

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

*mwah* THANK YOU!

[permetaform]

::highfives:: my pleasure! =D

[bathsweaver.livejournal.com]

I LOVE your posts. Haven't gotten to view the ep yet, but I love what you have to say about it, especially the analysis of how much at any given time John is acting the part everyone looks to him to fill. Which makes me wonder how John would behave had Sumner *not* died. If he was just the guy with the gene, not Darn, who will give me that fic?

I also loved this: John didn't really respond to the kissing until she started *talking*, which reminds me of my favorite, bar none, Xander scene (to completely hop fandoms). Can't remember the ep title or season--it's the one where Spike's called in all the assassins to kill Buffy and the second Slayer (the South African one) arrives. It basically the opposite of what you describe in this ep with Sheppard and the blonde. When Xander first sees the second Slayer he's gaga, tripping over his own feet following her around; but when he tries talking with her in the library she goes shy and stares at her feet, and--God, I love Xander for this--you can see the lovestruck expression slick off his face as he loses all interest in her. Because Xander's all about the witty repartee and someone who can go head-to-toe with him, so much so that not even the mad hottness of the second Slayer can engage him without it. And then he and Spike get down an' dirty and there's sexing all over the place ;p.

To reign this all back to you, I finally got to watch your Atlantis vid last night, and I loved it. So. Much. More than anything it struck me as a love letter. It gave me this incredible sense that Atlantis had been *waiting* for and *loving* the entire expedition before they even got there. Almost a "Welcome Back Home" rather than strictly "Welcome Home," if you know what I'm groping for. Thank you for sharing it with us!

{hugs}

[permetaform]

Which makes me wonder how John would behave had Sumner *not* died. If he was just the guy with the gene, not Darn, who will give me that fic?

oooo, that'll be an interesting AU!


And I can totally see where you're getting the Xander thing! I was getting that vibe too, ::highfives::, and also the vibe like from the wraith-worshipper in The Hive, but from John. The, "Oh hey, you're spilling state secrets!...tell me more." Because he TOTALLY broke off kissing once he'd registered all the implications, like he wasn't really kissing to kiss, y'know?


And yay! I'm glad you liked the vid! And yeah, it was kinda a love letter to SGA, to Atlantis the city, and...yeah, eternal welcome. =D Thank you for letting me know how you felt about it!

::hugs back::

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

you just articulated all my reaction! from gay!john to flustered!rodney to stressed!ronon to calm!teyla....i olved them all like crazy here!!!

who cares about philosophical debates or plot or whatever when you can have character development/consistency...and all four of them looking hothothot!!!

[permetaform]

::nodnodnod:: the lighting crew just LOVED them all in this episode or something and honestly I'm a bit bemused at people who cannot take their pleasures the way they come in an ep. Granted, I'm a "the glass has *water*!" type of girl which comes from a deeply engrained sense of pessimism loaded next to a deeply rooted sense of optimism, so it's rare that I would watch a show and not like it.

Or rather, if it's at the stage that I'm complaining about it that much I just won't watch the show. ::shrugs:: life more zen that way, and much more with the squee. =D

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, I did not stop laughing through this ep, it was just so -- so BAD, if you took it directly at face value, if you were looking at it strictly as a show, like you said, if you wanted plot. But in-between? When you go shallower? Teyla and Ronon's interactions were GOLD, and then omg aksgakaga;sh Ronon himself, when that soldier guy wanted the girl and Ronon just started walking towards him I *squealed*. YES YES YES. MORE, PLEASE. And oh, god, Rodney panicking and telling the kid to shut up all the time, and then John's "we'll just have to take that risk" -- KILL ME. KILL ME, I CANNOT HANDLE IT ANYMORE, I HAVE BEEN SLAYED AND IT IS BY A SHOW CALLED STARGATE AND I LIKE IT.

[permetaform]

I KNOW!!! It's SHAKESPEARE! But see, it's not Shakespeare, as high art, it's SHAKESPEARE AS GLORIFIED ELIZABETHAN VAUDEVILLE. It's TRAGIC, yo! It's DOOM!

AND! Poison! POISON! XD ::a hundred thousand Romeo+Juliet and Hamlet scenes scurry through the head:: I have obviously been traumatized by too much back-stage work at my HS.

And Teyla! She's just like, "OMG you CHILDREN." and Ronon with the stalking! Dude, does he not do it *so* well??

And just John! Talking Rodney down from panic! Even though he's basically suggesting something else that might 'cause a cave-in except there's no other option and the ass-pinching! XD

::highfives:: Isn't it just PRECIOUS?? Like, you can tell they just had so much FUN during this ep!

[spike21.livejournal.com]

Just stopping by to deliver a basket of WORD!!

It was a fun ep with some nice bitses and THEY ALL LOOKED SO LICKABLE I LICKED THE TV!!!!

Beckett: (on destabilizing yet another society with his medical mojo) I have to stop making house calls. BWAHHH!

The post-series movie will have to be Road To Atlantis tho, because they were completely Bing and Bob in this one.

[aurora]

This ep is like the best crack ever.

Haha, that scene with the dagger. My first reaction was OMGSOVVHAMLET!

The Rodney&Ronon hand holding scene is definitely one of my favourites in this ep. I was grinning like a loon.

I love how *he* was basically lead to a *harem* room and how *he* is set-up against the wall and bed and *she* is set-up against the doorway.
Word! He looked so weird in that pillow-y room. Just waiting to be ravaged. XD

And how Teyla's all, "::BREATH:: okay, we'll HANDLE THIS, I'm going to dig your little ass out of your mess because you're my little bro but WE WILL HAVE *WORDS* LATER."
I love that look on Teyla. *pets Ronon*

Oh, and re: dorky!John. I adored the scene where he and Carson are pushed into the holding 'cell' and Carson almost trips, while John's trying to be all cool with his little jog. I died.

[permetaform]

::highfives:: yes!

Beckett: (on destabilizing yet another society with his medical mojo) I have to stop making house calls. BWAHHH!

XD I know!!!

With SONG! (::is deperately waiting for SGA: The Musical::)

[permetaform]

Haha, that scene with the dagger. My first reaction was OMGSOVVHAMLET!

XD ::highfives!!::

The Rodney&Ronon hand holding scene is definitely one of my favourites in this ep. I was grinning like a loon.

::SNERKLE!:: it's was all "Cooties!"

Just waiting to be ravaged. XD

::nods:: him and his HAIR.

Oh, and re: dorky!John. I adored the scene where he and Carson are pushed into the holding 'cell' and Carson almost trips, while John's trying to be all cool with his little jog. I died.

::NODS: and dude, I expect screenshots from *that* too, 'cause those BDUs did John's ass a world of good...

[mcalex22.livejournal.com]

I haven't been reading many reviews of this episodes, mainly because I was trying to avoid stumbling into a rant about it. But the few reviews/comments that I have read have been positive!

I quite enjoyed this episode - ok so it wasn't plot based or filled with character development - but it was funny and quirky and cheesy. I like John with the blond princess and Rodney with Baldrick. I love the tees (yes the three boys in tight black tees - and yes they wear them in real life too - I have pic on my LJ to prove it!)...

But best of all, I thought it was just one of those episodes where you could sit back and laugh and have fun seeing them as a team. Some may call it silly but these are some of the elements of John Sheppard I like.

And Rodney, heck, I'll always love the guy - afraid, whiny, concern, panicky... Guh!

[permetaform]

mainly because I was trying to avoid stumbling into a rant about it.

oh god, I tread in fear of them. It's not like I don't understand the need for critical reviews, but I'm SOOOO Watsonian in SGA and very much all about the squee.

heh, actually, I should probably put that in my header the next time I post a review, 'cause I know *I* have difficulty finding people I can squee about the episode with. (instant messengers requires a stable connection and I have none ::woe::)


but it was funny and quirky and cheesy. I like John with the blond princess and Rodney with Baldrick.

::grins:: yeah! I love how John was all, "::flail::" and then he was into it until they wanted to give him more responsibilities...CUE BACKING AWAY LIEK WHOA.

ah John, ya dork. =D


And oh god the tees! ::adores:: just...they're really making them all work out aren't they? 'cause either the costumers were totally holding out on us or like, they're really really getting into the whole being in-character down to the details!


And yes, this episode was so much team!love, like I adore the little slices they show of the team interacting and Teyla's reaction to Rodney versus John's, and Ronon and Rodney all acting like little boys at the table and how they gave Rodney a minion and he hated it! =D ahhh Rodney! ::glee::