Redial the Gate: TBFTGOG

[fignewton]

My love for this episode is largely incoherent, but can probably be summed up as follows:

Oh, Daniel.

I came across a discussion in another LJ not too long ago - it might have been merryish - in which she marveled at how panicky and disbelieving and incredulous Daniel et al were about the idea of alternate dimensions. By the time we hit S3, it's par for the course; by S9, alternate realties are met with a shrug and a yawn.

But Daniel in this episode doesn't stop flailing, and it's so much fun to watch. I think he used more gestures in this one episode than he did in the rest of S1 together, particularly in that first scene with Catherine, which is one of my favorite bits. My absolute favorite scene, of course, is when Daniel talks General!Jack into going to Teal'c, appealing through that connection that apparently is cross-dimensional. The friendship between Jack and Daniel was one of the first real draws to SG-1 for me, and I doubt that will ever change.

This episode leads into the four-part arc that takes us into S2, and it's all so good. I really love this ep to pieces.

I adore the way I can watch for the umpteenth time and discover new little bits and pieces. In this case, I noticed two things:

When Catherine and Daniel are first discussing the idea that the odd device he picked up might control the mirror, she asks him, "You got everything from the lab on P3R-233?" Daniel answers, "Yes - well, except the gun and the grenade." And later, when Sam goes to pick up the controller and gets ambushed by the Jaffa - there she is, with a grenade. Heh. That's where she got it from.

When they try to dial the first time, before Sam sets up the accelerated dialling program, "Chevron Two, encoded" is actually the point of origin. Oops.

And a few things I've always wondered:

"Oh, I really hate it when this happens." Huh? What? Are we supposed to believe that SG-1 makes a habit of walking through the Stargate without Daniel? Or is Daniel actually saying, "Oh, I really hate it when something screwy happens"?

How in the world are we supposed to explain the reversal between Jack's rank and Hammond's?

Why couldn't Daniel flee to the Beta Site with the other refugees and make his way to P3R-233 from there? In the end, it was a moot point, but why was it necessary to ask the SGA to make the sacrifice?

My default icon is from this ep. Oh, Daniel, we really do love you. :)

Comments

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

except Daniel getting left behind, which I took as a general comment on his whole life, as well as his habit of wandering off

Interesting - Random thought the same thing. :) And yes, I like that: a wry observation on his part. "Oh, great. Story of my life."

Katherine and Sam were just fantastic, weren't they? And my gen glasses read the same as yours. :) The thought never occurred to them until then, but once the idea was planted in their head, it became a niggling feeling that never quite went away.

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

The thought never occurred to them until then

*sooooooooooo wants to mention Broca Divide*

*is in danger of forfeiting Multishipper Pass*

;)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I admit this seriously astonishes me. Sam/Jack shippers really look at Broca Divide as the start of ship? Really?

Huh. I used that very example in canon vs fanon to point out that behavior under the influence can't define normal characterization, because "no one would suggest that Sam and Jack were acting like themselves." That may not be a direct quote, but I can look up what I wrote if you're really interested.

(No one suggests that Daniel secretly liked Melosha and raw meat, do they?)

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

No, they weren't acting like themselves. I don't exactly mean that I see Sam throwing herself at Jack as something she would even think of doing when she was in her right mind. Jack's moment of semi-lucid jealousy of Daniel, though... well, it's hard to say, exactly. He was still speaking in proper words, at that point, but he was also being nuts. How much of that was the 'real' Jack is kind of open to personal interpretation (naturally, I tend to interpret it as suppressed real feelings *g*).

What I meant was, that after that, they'd be more aware of one another in a kind of potential-something-or-other way. They can't have a relationship, they know they were under alien influence, they have no idea of each other's opinion of the whole thing (unless they discussed it afterwards - which I highly doubt) - but if anything's going to put the idea of a relationship into their heads, surely the whole kissing / jealousy bit would do it?

My personal canon is that this puts the idea into their heads, but they both thoroughly dismiss it. Solitudes helps to strengthen their friendship. TBFTGOG makes the idea seem like... I don't know, like a more feasible possibility? If they weren't both so committed to their jobs, and Jack wasn't still rebounding from Sara.

ETA (have I mentioned today how much I love this editing comments thing?): What I mean is, it would be pretty difficult not to be aware of someone as a sexual human being if you've recently flung yourself at them and effectively offered to have their babies. Or beaten up your best friend for showing an interest in them. Unless of course they genuinely couldn't remember the whole thing (but I think Jack makes it clear he's lying about that).

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Yes, the editing thing is fun, isn't it? Of course, I get both versions in my in-box... :)

I can understand what you're saying, especially with the ETA, but I don't see it personally at all. Jack and Sam were perfectly aware of themselves as a man and woman from the beginning, with her little speech and the dress in Emancipation and so on. I laughed out loud at Jack's carefully wandering eye in Out of Mind - you don't have to be a shipper to accept that Jack is a guy who will cheerfully take advantage of the opportunity to look at his very attractive 2IC. It's the same thing with the shower scene in 200; that wasn't shippy, that was Jack being a GUY. :)

Solitudes helps to strengthen their friendship.

Yes, and I like that ever so much more than the ship aspect (YMMV and all that.) And friendship emphasis is miserably rare for Sam and Jack. Do you know how many Sam and Jack friendship recs are in the memories in Stargateficrec? Five. And they were listed already when I first started reccing in April 2006 - there hasn't been a single rec in that category since then. In contrast, Sam and Daniel friendship have 33. (Admittedly, a lot of them are from me, heh.) Still hoping Sam and Daniel get their own category, like Team eventually did, instead of being lumped with Friendship Other.

Maybe someone could rec some Sam and Jack friendship next month! I'd hate to see the category get retired to Other.

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

I don't think many people write Sam and Jack friendship fic, sadly. Or, if they do, it's interpreted as pre-ship by the readers, or has a deliberate hint of pre-ship by the author. It's kind of hard to define, when shippers are willing to interpret the slightest thing as ship. *is totally guilty* :) (I'll keep an eye out, though...)

And yes, I do think Sam and Jack are aware of one another as, you know, fellow single healthy adults from the first. They're not blind. I just think they'd have a heightened awareness, following Broca. Like kissing someone when drunk at the office party. *g*

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

I think we should have a Sam & Jack friendship ficathon. Yeah. That would be good. :-)

Okay, I just want more Sam and Jack friendship generally.

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes, I'd sign up for... No! NO! I swore off ficathons! *flails at you*

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm kinda hoping we can arrange a friendship ficathon in the next month or so. Not just Sam and Jack - prompts for any two friendships.

::wheedles::

It sounds good, yesssssss? :)

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

*FLAILS*

[caladria.livejournal.com]

with her little speech and the dress in Emancipation and so on

Really? I never can think of that as anything other than Jack very cheerfully poking the Angry!Feminist until she stops taking herself too seriously (in very much the same way that he pointed her at Daniel when he oh-so-casually happened to mention that Sha're was a gift). Or, I guess if you want to believe he's got good intentions in Emancipation, he was "making a joke so she wouldn't feel so awkward". I don't.

Or Broca even - I think there's the knowledge that the other is an attractive human being with the right bits to be interesting, but I don't think there's even a "what if different-time-different-place-maybe?" until post TBFTGOG and even then I think its dismissed by both of them with a "...nah". Sam was too eager to prove herself and didn't think of Jack as anything but her CO and her mentor (although I'd point out Solitudes as the turning point for that - she saw that he was human, she saw that he bled and most importantly she saw that he needed someone. It... knocks him off the slight pedastal and makes him more real and human instead of this guy who just seems to know what to do all the time with no apparent effort and many terrible jokes. And then I start to build my ship, very slowly and very subconsciously). And Jack was too torn up over SaraCharlie to want to get close to anyone, season 1.

oh, I love edit. I was going to point out the very hazy line between preship and friendship - and in a lot of ways there's a hazy line between some established relationship and friendship - yes, they happen to be... whatever-the-author's-specified/hinted at but its not actually about the type of bond but the strength of it - and to my eyes at least, the Team one beats anything. So a lot of your could-have-been-a-friendship-fic is possibly down the established road.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

No, I'm seeing things just as you are - that Jack is keeping the formality of CO and 2IC, and that both he and Sam are being wholly professional.

At the same time, though, I think Jack is very much aware that Sam is a woman, and quite an attractive one. And Sam admires Jack for his leadership and courage - and yes, notices that he's quite an attractive guy. That has nothing whatsoever to do with their professionalism, though.

I don't think there's even a "what if different-time-different-place-maybe?" until post TBFTGOG and even then I think its dismissed by both of them with a "...nah".

Oh, absolutely. More joy to the Jack/Sam shippers and all that, but by looking at their behavior in these first seasons through shippy lens rather than respect/friendshipe ones, I think a person is missing a LOT.

Interesting take on the pre-ship/friendship debate. I know I'm probably missing out on some nice Sam and Jack friendship fics, because it's labeled as pre-ship. And that's too bad, and comes back to the need for more recs. :)

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

I'll rec some Sam/Jack friendship fic for you this month. (I'm reccing them again at ficrecs.)

The problem is that they're nearly all written by shippers, and so they're tucked away in those shippy areas where non-shippers fear to tread. ;)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Woot! Excellent!

And yes, that's exactly the problem: not only are they usually written by shippers, but they're usually labeled as ship or even pre-ship, which has me backing away with a ten-foot pole. So I'm glad you're going to point out the good stuff.

[caladria.livejournal.com]

...I'm having trouble with the words "Jack" "formality" and "professional" in the same sentence, but yeah. I think they notice, the first season or so, I just don't think that the relevence of the attractiveness of the other hits until later. Because, well, it's American television and practically everyone's pretty.

More joy to the Jack/Sam shippers

Oh, I'll take all I can get, thanks! *g*

But you've got yourself a Catch-22. Anyone who's going to think of the fics as friedship isn't going to read them in the first place, and anyone who does is automatically looking for ship. maybe the answer is to read out of your comfort zone?

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I'm having trouble with the words "Jack" "formality" and "professional" in the same sentence, but yeah.

Heh. I most emphatically don't, actually. For all of Jack's surreal sense of humor, and even his mouthing off to those that are technically his superiors, he has always been absolutely professional about the Air Force and his place in it.

maybe the answer is to read out of your comfort zone?

No, I think the answer is to have someone make some good recs for me. :)

[caladria.livejournal.com]

About his place in it, yes - professional (although, not quite, because "professional" indicates work and it seems less that for him than a calling. His absolute place in life is to protect others, and the Air Force is just a way for him to do that in a way in which he believes is right). About the people he works with? It always seems less professional and more "screw it, it works", and the fact that it falls into professionally acceptable is just serendipity - there's a huge difference in the way he treats the people he personally respects and those he just happens to be under the command of (Hammond and Bauer, for example).

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I don't think I agree with this. You do describe his attitude during his SG-1 years, but I don't believe it was par for the course for him in his pre-SG-1 years at all. The Stargate changes everything - he's suddenly much more in the know than the people giving him orders, which must make it a lot harder to accept commands that he knows won't work, or attitudes that clearly show an ignorance for the dangers out there.

Of course Jack is more respectful to those that have earned his respect - but then, aren't we all like that?