1x13 Hot Zone

[schneefink]

I borrowed the SGA season 1 DVDs from a friend and am now going through all the episodes I haven't seen yet. (I try to tell myself it's fic research.) Fun!

It must have been fun to discuss the episodes when they aired. Watching "Hot Zone" some things jumped out so I thought I'd try to do an episode review of sorts. And by that I mean write down everything that comes to mind. That is how episode reviews are done, right?


First, yay science team! And science team with military escorts, because that's sensible. Poor Ford, though. Rodney complimenting his science team, awww.

Notice how Rodney is the first one to run to help Johnson and Wagner? I don't know where fanon cowardly!Rodney comes from, he's actually quite brave even in season 1. He's not even particularly hypochondric with Carson, later. And he obviously cares about his scientists. Most of whom do as he says, even the military escorts. Love the little exchange between Petersen and the soldiers.

Wow, John's in a bad mood. Sniping to Teyla, impatient, demanding... I wonder what happened.

They really don't know how to separate professional and private. Calling him "John" while trying to appear professional didn't help, would be my guess. That said, I mostly like Elizabeth here.

The hallucinations really are scary. Poor Petersen.

What the heck, John? And for that matter, what the heck, Teyla? Is she just standing there all the time, not saying anything? That doesn't seem like Teyla.
And Bates is just standing there to stare at Weir and then override her command. He never offers advice, she never asks for it. What a waste. Elizabeth should have known he had to obey Sheppard (though I do think his apology is mostly sincere), but she takes it personally and she's pissed. No love lost between those two.

She should have send someone to stop Petersen, but I think it's somewhat reasonable that she thought he could be stopped in other ways and there were still several hallways between. I was surprised Rodney admitted Petersen is almost as good as he is, and she probably was, too.

Sure, now Teyla tells him he shouldn't have done it. Too little, too late. I do get the feeling there's some tension between them, did they have a fight the day before or something? I think I'm starting to get where the John/Teyla shippers are coming from.

"I've been seeing things." Oh, well done.

Guns?! John, are you crazy? You had sticks, they would have been much better! Less threatening, less, y'know, lethal, and just as effective. Guns?! And not even closing the transporter door, did he suddenly become stupid? And Teyla just went along with it? Seriously bad mood and/or stupid pills. "I wish we would've thought of that", omg.

Petersen's dramatic stagger into the mess hall. Hee.

I'd forgotten how pretty the Ancient stained glass is.

Heee, Biro! I'm also beginning to understand why Rodney calls Carson a voodoo doctor if Carson didn't find the hallucinations unusual.

Hewlett really is a good actor. That almost dying scene was great. Suddenly he's talking about Jeannie, Ford's "don't talk like that", Zelenka's nod, and later, "Interesting." "Interesting?!!"

Okay, I bought the "sensors were damaged in that area", but the city recognizing hazmat suits is kind of ridiculous. Moving on. Oh, and Teyla is so empathic. Ugh. Didn't the people in the mess hall have their radios?

Elizabeth having no idea what nanotechnology is = another hint she's not as smart as the writers want her to appear. Otoh this was filmed several years ago, so maybe I just have skewed expectations.

How come even Biro has better characterization than Ford? He's so generic it's remarkable.

The "everyone gets crazy at the same time" thing is a bit ridiculous (and also not consistent). And why are they all doing strange things with their arms over their head? And now we're supposed to worry about Teyla. Oh, the drama. Isn't Ford almost dying dramatic enough? Maybe the writers realized that people cared less about Ford. To be honest, in this episode even Ford is more interesting than Teyla. This is not a good sign.

Heh, "good of the many vs. good of the few"? Another point for "Elizabeth is personally attached to John." Apparently John finally got over himself. And fast, because just a minute before he double-checked he wouldn't be harmed by the pulse. "Get as far away from the nuclear explosion as possible." The countdown was a bit tedious, but I liked how scared John looked. (Um. That sounds a bit strange.)

John, SHUT UP. He really doesn't respect her properly, does he? Because I think she asked the wrong question: he does trust her, he just doesn't respect her. Now where was that kinkmeme episode tag where Elizabeth fantasizes about spanking him in punishment?

Was it ever made clear who created the virus? I guess it could've been the Replicators. And the Ancients got a sample and studied it. But their containment protocols suck.

Overall, I felt like it was a very good Rodney & scientists episode. I didn't like the John & Teyla parts - I think it would've worked better if we'd gotten a more obvious clue why they're so tense, maybe? Admittedly it might have been difficult to do, but that's their job. The guns were just stupid, though.

Looking forward to the next episode! I'm not watching them in order; I'm thinking of watching "38 minutes" next, because it has scientists in it and less of them die, which is good. I don't think I'll do write-ups for every episode, but this was fun.

Comments

[cesare]

I enjoyed reading this!

I don't know where fanon cowardly!Rodney comes from

Well... even though they routinely have Rodney do brave things, the SGA writers seemed to want to portray him as having cowardly instincts, which he overcomes in order to do those brave things. When I rewatched Common Ground I noticed that in play, when Rodney goes out with a recon team looking for Sheppard (brave! he doesn't have to do that) and, alert for attackers in a dark warehouse, gets spooked and shoots a mouse. (Now there's a bit of fanon that makes no sense: the idea that Rodney can't shoot. He shot Ford very neatly in the thigh in "Runner," and here he hit a mouse in a dark warehouse!)

The thing is, surely anyone would be scared in the situations where Rodney shows fear/hesitation (dark warehouse potentially full of enemies; walking into an energy entity that already burned some dudes; stepping in front of a gun!) It's just that Rodney shows fear very openly while the more-traditionally-heroic characters like Ronon and Sheppard lock it down more.


Elizabeth having no idea what nanotechnology is = another hint she's not as smart as the writers want her to appear.

Elizabeth totally should have, and would have, known that. In SG-1, she was the head of the SGC briefly, and they fought Replicators, so she would have learned about nanotech. It's just one of many instances where the writers make a character unrealistically stupid so that someone else can explain things to them that the writers think the audience needs explained. And my sense was that they used Elizabeth in this capacity very often, because they didn't know what else to do with her. :-/


Was it ever made clear who created the virus? I guess it could've been the Replicators.

That's what Rodney theorizes later.

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It's easy to put all the blame on the stupid writers, mostly because so much makes no sense. Argh.

I think you're right about the "overcoming his instincts" thing. But it seems to me that it's more emphasized in later seasons, as in, Rodney actually gets more panicky as time progresses instead of the other way around. Dear writers, ever heard of positive character development?

They definitely didn't know what to do with Elizabeth. Such a shame. Just imagine how different the show would have been if the main conflict had been (mostly platonic) Elizabeth-John, with Rodney and Teyla having to pick sides, and if they were both presented as equally strong, capable, and likable. I think it could've been very interesting.

I'm glad you enjoyed my ramblings :)

[cesare]

But it seems to me that it's more emphasized in later seasons, as in, Rodney actually gets more panicky as time progresses instead of the other way around.

You know, I think you're right. I think in the first season, they made Rodney unexpectedly brave because they'd set up his character in SG-1 as obnoxious and antagonistic, so maybe they thought they had to show him step up to the plate in order to make him sympathetic on SGA. But then people responded to David Hewlett/McKay and his foibles with enthusiasm, so maybe the writers decided to make him more cowardly-lion.

I guess I can believe that as characterization: Rodney thinks at first that he has to prove himself, but as he gets more secure, he shows his fear more. If the writers had shown much skill in any other area, I might buy that they'd intended something like that, but I think the real explanation is probably more that they thought the audience would accept it and that it was funnier for Rodney to be more panicky so that's what they did.

I also have the impression, though I can't back this up with anything, that they backed way off Rodney's sexism/horndoggery in the first season, but brought it back more in subsequent seasons. And then by the time of his SGU appearance, he's regressed completely back to his first SG-1 iteration, openly ogling women's chests and so on. :(


Such a shame. Just imagine how different the show would have been if the main conflict had been (mostly platonic) Elizabeth-John, with Rodney and Teyla having to pick sides, and if they were both presented as equally strong, capable, and likable.

Yeah, that would have been something. What really would have rocked, and I doubt you would ever see this on a TV show, but: if John, established as a black sheep from the outset, was actually the one who pushed for peaceful resolutions and compromise in conflicts, while Elizabeth was more of a hardliner. This is something that we've seen irl sometimes with leaders like Margaret Thatcher: in order to rise in the ranks, sometimes women make efforts to prove they're as "tough" as men, so they end up being less willing to compromise than male leaders. Even though Elizabeth was a diplomat, I think that could have plausibly happened, especially with Atlantis cut off at first, and people like Kavanagh questioning her right to governship.

Of course with those writers, it was never going to go that way, and I'm sure they would have bungled it if it had. I remember at one point digging up the initial description of the series, from way back when Teyla was still named "Michaela," and it seemed really obvious to me that the writers thought they were going to do a big love triangle between Elizabeth, John and Teyla. But they're so bad at writing relationships that little of that came across, IMO, and what's there mostly comes from the actors, not the writing.

[schneefink]

I think in the first season, they made Rodney unexpectedly brave because they'd set up his character in SG-1 as obnoxious and antagonistic, so maybe they thought they had to show him step up to the plate in order to make him sympathetic on SGA. But then people responded to David Hewlett/McKay and his foibles with enthusiasm, so maybe the writers decided to make him more cowardly-lion.

That makes a lot of sense, same about the sexism.

I started watching SGA with mostly season 2/3 eps and Rodney was never my favorite. Now that I'm watching more season 1 I'm surprised how much I like him. Shame we didn't get season 1 Rodney at the same time as season 4/5 John. At least there's fanfic?

Heee, love triangle. (John and Teyla fight over Elizabeth! John and Elizabeth fight over Teyla!) I vaguely remember some scenes were Elizabeth actually seemed to be less open/diplomatic than John ("Suspicion", for example), but I think they concentrated on the "John as a black sheep" aspect without clearly defining their roles. Not that Elizabeth ever had a clear leadership style.

I have to stop thinking about the wasted potential now, it's maddening. I swear I saw an icon once, "This canon requires fanfic." So true.

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

I saw a producer claim about the virus once, probably that it was Replicator-made, but that was never actually established in canon. (I'm still a bit haunted by that one fic that had it created by psycho!future!Rodney. Heh.)

The message I got from the episode was that the showrunners wanted us to think John was impulsive to the point of stupidity (or so driven that he would sooner act stupidly than sit back and wait when there's nothing he can do), but that's a really strange message for them to have been pushing with their lead character.

And Rodney, yes. He praises Dumais, as well, and he really did try to take care of his people when they were in danger. I really like the way he's actually very committed in general to safety protocols and deviates from them only for specific reasons and purposes.

I have to say I loathe the series-wide treatment of dying wishes exemplified here, but I adore Rodney snapping at everyone to stop interrupting his last thoughts. You tell 'em, Rodney!

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

Psycho!future!Rodney? Where? xD

It's weird to switch between in-universe explanations for John's behavior (he was in a really bad mood because he had a fight with Teyla and/or really thought he was doing the right thing etc.) and blaming the writers. And it's sad that imo the latter is easier and more plausible.

"series-wide treatment of dying wishes" - you're right, there are a couple of those, actually. Huh, never thought about that before. I'll pay attention the next time.

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

Psycho!future!Rodney (http://community.livejournal.com/sga_flashfic/589390.html). Warning: Dark, character deaths.

If you're going to watch "Thirty-Eight Minutes", you'll see another egregious mistreatment of death rituals. (As far as I'm concerned, Elizabeth isn't nearly as insensitive as TEM makes her seem ....)

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

Wow! I knew that fic, but I hadn't connected it to the virus in "Hot Zone." (Obviously not, since I hadn't seen the episode yet when I first read it.) To be honest, every time I get close to spooked by that version of Rodney I start giggling at the "Cake or Death?" part. Mental self-defense, I guess.

Now I'm curious about 38 Minutes. Not incompetent!Elizabeth again *sigh*