Fannish fives: top General Hammond moments

[fignewton]

sallymn asked for my five top General Hammond moments, which is totally unfair. How am I supposed to keep them down to five?! Instead of picking my five favorites, I've instead chosen five different types of awesomeness, to highlight why George Hammond was the best general to ever command the SGC.

1. The man who knew how to work within the rules. One of my favorite examples of this is in Enigma, when Maybourne tried to take the Tollan and Hammond stonewalled him by claiming that they needed to be kept in quarantine for 24 hours to avoid spreading any non-Terran diseases. Another marvelous example is 48 Hours, when they were given orders to dial up the Gate, even if it would mean killing Teal'c. When Sam begged him to stop it, Hammond told her that even if he resigned, it would only given them another hour until another commander would be put into place... and then offered to do just that, if the extra time would save Teal'c.

Jack O'Neill understood how to take insubordination to the line, and sometimes beyond. But George Hammond knew how to walk the line, follow the rules, and still get things accomplished. Which one do you think is harder to do?

2. The man who did everything for his people. Whether it's taking that first trip through the Stargate to plead for SG-1 with the Taldor in Prisoners or actually debasing himself in front of Kinsey to plead for the project in Within the Serpent's Grasp or risking the alliance with the Tok'ra to shut down the experiment in Upgrades or personally making the deadly trip to retrieve the necessary crystals in Prometheus Unbound, Hammond never hesitated to put himself on the line for the people under his command. And considering his remark to Daniel in Nemesis about the difficulty of staying behind, it just goes to show that his ability to do both is truly fantastic.

3. The man who is both commanding officer and doting grandfather. Is there anything more charming than discovering in Unnatural Selection that Tessa and Kayla are number one on Hammond's speed dial, and the PotUS is only second? And yet the same man whose granddaughter thinks it's perfectly natural to call him up to tell him about her missing tooth will also explain, with regret, that he has to find a "missing friend." It's clear that the scene in Crystal Skull was designed to serve as a contrast between Hammond and Nick, but it also shines a spotlight on the man who balances his duties as a grandfather with those as a CO.

4. The man who led by inspiration. Over and over, we see that Hammond doesn't just command his people - he leads them. When Paul Davis questions the manpower efforts to get SG-1 back in Into the Fire by saying, "They're just one team," Hammond tells him, "Major, you've got a lot to learn about how we do things round here." Davis learns in a hurry, doesn't he? We see, over and over again, how Hammond personifies the values he demands from those under him - his determination to stay behind in The Serpent's Lair and Failsafe instead of evacuating through the Stargate, his command of the Prometheus in Lost City. Contrast this with Bauer, who hurried to retreat to safety after he'd ignored Sam and Daniel's warning and set off that deadly chain reaction. Hammond trusted his people to do their utmost, because he knew that he gave it to them in return.

5. The man who broke the rules when he had to. One of my favorite moments in Into the Fire - even more than the "Yee-HAW!" moment - is when Hammond lowers his hood on Chulak and reveals that when he couldn't get more help for SG-1, he went through the Stargate on his own to do what he could. This is the man who slipped a piece of paper to a captain to allow history to lead the way to the future and who swallowed his anger at the retired colonel to consider 5,000 innocent lives on Abydos. George Hammond couldn't be more awesome if he tried, really.

And in a shameless bit of self-promotion: I wrote the Hammond of #1 in You Know Me, Sir and the Hammond of #4 in With All Due Respect and G is for Gamekeeper. What can I say? I adore George Hammond, and I'm glad the SGC was privileged to be commanded by him for seven wonderful years.

My other fannish fives are here. One more to go! hooloovoo_42, I hope to get to yours on Sunday. :)

Comments

[cesy]

1 - yeah, he's smart.

3 - awwww. Also, awwwww.

[fignewton]

George Hammond - best CO ever. :)