watervole | It's Good to be King

Hurrah! A Stargate SG-1 episode that actually feels like Stargate.

Remember those good old days when they actually visited alien planets and there was danger from the Goa'uld on those planets and there were people to be saved, and all the team were there?

And just to add the icing to the cake -

My beloved Harry was in fine form: lying and devious as usual, but with some depth to him as well. I particularly liked the fact that they did a couple of things with him that I'd done in a similar way in my novels.

He introduces apropriate technology to the planet he's living on. I went for positional arithmetic and printing wheras they went for water power and some medical advances, but the principle is the same. He knows how to put technology to use.

I also liked the fact (which I've also done in fiction) that he's far more keyed into Teal'c than he used to be. He hits Teal'c's attacker over the head, but when the fight is a fair one, he stands back and lets Teal'c kill the Jaffa he has sworn to kill, rather than interfere.

(He's an absolute bastard to Teal'c in the early seasons, nearly has him killed in the name of 'research', and I've often felt that his respect for Teal'c has increased over time as he's come to recognise Teal'c's humanity and loyalty.)

And the end of the episode was an absolute delight! Harry the sex god. Yeah!

(And Carter referes to candle-lit dinners )

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Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, because I was really disappointed. My heart always sinks when I see the standard mediaeval village so beloved of American genre TV, but I was prepared to give it a chance as I realised this was the promised Maybourne episode. In fact, as events unfolded, I felt it was hardly him at all. The Maybourne I loved was the cunning and ambiguous ally on the run, who could appear out of nowhere, rustle up some vital info, and then vanish into nowhere again. He was an equal to O'Neill. But, despite the banter about making general or king, this seemed a much smaller figure. Jack tells him to tell the people he's a fraud, and he dutifully tells them he's a fraud. And as frauds go, it was a pretty harmless one - he was using special skills to decipher the prophecies, and then using them on the people's behalf. (And that did seem a very handy plot device; I'd have preferred it if he'd just brought order to a struggling society using his NID experience and administrative skills.) In fact, he really does seem to be a benevolent ruler. He cheerfully tells the SG team everything they ask and never even seems to consider playing them and the Jaffa off against each other for his own advantage. Who is this cheery old buffer, and where's my manipulative bastard gone? The only thing I could think was that the Tok'ra had given him a symbiont after all. An exceptionally good-natured one.

I thought it was a bit of comic relief, and not that funny. Harry has turned from a manipulative bastard into a joke figure. At least we have Stargate Atlantis this season, which is a miles better show. I've been disappointed with Stargate SG1 for a couple of seasons now, and this episode did nothing to change that opinion.

And what happened to the ancient ship with time drive at the end? Did they leave it there - if so why?

Yay! Another Harry fan! 8-))) And you write Harry fics. too? Where? Intereted parties wish to know.

I enjoyed IGTBK too. Plot and script not as good as fan fic - which, sadly, is par for the course these days, especially as they get paid.

I guess having all the team together, using the Big Round Thing to go off-world gives it more depth and interest and makes it stand out from dross like 'Gemini'. {rolls eyes}

Best wishes,
Alph - who roll-plays Harry against Eos's Jack. We kick ass! {VBG}
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It's Good to be King

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