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Whew! I go away (mostly) for just over a week and find you've all been busy while I'm gone.
First of all, a belated happy birthday to![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
moonshayde, whose birthday was last week! Would you like a birthday ficlet, even at such a late date? Your tastes are so wonderfully diverse that you'll have to give me a prompt for what you'd like. :) Keep to classic SG-1, if you don't mind; I don't like seasons 9-10 enough to be able to give Vala or Mitchell a good voice.
In other news, I am utterly squeeful about mysd_ficathon assignment! About the whole ficathon, really. I had no time to sit down at the keyboard until today, but I finally got the first part written. I know they're going to face an ethical dilemma in the second half of the story, and I'm not sure which way to go. I think I'll just get there, and let Sam and Daniel decide for themselves. The characters usually know better than I do, anyway.
I've been thinking about my least favorite thread in SG-1 canon lately: the NID and its rampant abuse of power. While that's a subject worthy of an entire essay - and one that I really hope to write someday - I do find myself wondering why the SGC was so vulnerable, especially at budget-time. If they have naquadah reactors to spare any time a team 'Gates to a planet without a DHD - and already in S3, that was so routine that they actually suggested it as a reasonable option to going to a planet that they knew didn't have a DHD, in New Ground - then why don't they have the entire building hooked up to one or two naquadah reactors, to supply themselves with all power they need? And why isn't the technology they've brought back factored into the budget, giving them enough debit to keep going from one year to the next? I'm pretty sure there's a canon reference to it costing a million dollars just to turn the lights on, or something. If that's the case, why aren't they using the technology they have to offset the costs?
I know the real answer is, "Either the writers didn't think of it, or it was easier to write conspiracy storylines than utilize actual sense." But I would love to have an in-story explanation that would actually work.
First of all, a belated happy birthday to
moonshayde, whose birthday was last week! Would you like a birthday ficlet, even at such a late date? Your tastes are so wonderfully diverse that you'll have to give me a prompt for what you'd like. :) Keep to classic SG-1, if you don't mind; I don't like seasons 9-10 enough to be able to give Vala or Mitchell a good voice.In other news, I am utterly squeeful about my
sd_ficathon assignment! About the whole ficathon, really. I had no time to sit down at the keyboard until today, but I finally got the first part written. I know they're going to face an ethical dilemma in the second half of the story, and I'm not sure which way to go. I think I'll just get there, and let Sam and Daniel decide for themselves. The characters usually know better than I do, anyway.I've been thinking about my least favorite thread in SG-1 canon lately: the NID and its rampant abuse of power. While that's a subject worthy of an entire essay - and one that I really hope to write someday - I do find myself wondering why the SGC was so vulnerable, especially at budget-time. If they have naquadah reactors to spare any time a team 'Gates to a planet without a DHD - and already in S3, that was so routine that they actually suggested it as a reasonable option to going to a planet that they knew didn't have a DHD, in New Ground - then why don't they have the entire building hooked up to one or two naquadah reactors, to supply themselves with all power they need? And why isn't the technology they've brought back factored into the budget, giving them enough debit to keep going from one year to the next? I'm pretty sure there's a canon reference to it costing a million dollars just to turn the lights on, or something. If that's the case, why aren't they using the technology they have to offset the costs?
I know the real answer is, "Either the writers didn't think of it, or it was easier to write conspiracy storylines than utilize actual sense." But I would love to have an in-story explanation that would actually work.
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I cannot wait for May 15th and all the wonderful stories we're going to be inundated with.
About the NID - I think a lot of the bungling is more politically motivated - wanting to have more power/control over what's going on with the stargate, and the budget is the easiest way to wrestle control because the government is supposed to be responsible with how it uses the taxpayer's money. I remember a comment (may have been canon, may have been in a fic) about how naquadah reactors could change the world, if only they could get enough naquadah to make a difference. But that doesn't explain why they don't use them to power SGC.
Sadly, I think it is mostly just sloppy writing.
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I agree than the NID is all about power. And it's pathetic that TPTB gave us one NID man with ethics, out of the entire bunch. As I said, I will write that essay, and sometime soon, I hope!
Regarding naquadah-powered technology - practical use is apparently decades away, according to the argument between Daniel and Davis in 48 Hours. Which is it should be; one of the biggest charms of SG-1 is that it's present-day, with ordinary human beings (albeit of extraordinary character). Of course, TPTB threw that out, too, by giving us as many ships (not that kind!) as they did... Sigh.
As you say, it's probably just sloppy writing that they're not used to power the SGC. But wouldn't it be nice to come up with some practical, intelligent reason? Or at the very least, not make the budget such a huge issue when the partial answer is just sitting in a storeroom, gathering dust?
Cute icon! :)
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Yes! I remember an interview with David Hewlett where he points out that one Stargate's strengths is that it's people like us going out there, exploring, saving the universe - reacting like we would. And I agree - the ships work much better in SGA than they do in SG-1, but especially in SG-1 they give a very different, very future sci-fi feel the show doesn't otherwise have.
Maybe later on they are using Naquadah reactors...or...we're smarter than the show creators who never thought of it?
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As far as I can tell, Woolsey is the official face of bureaucracy - not likeable, but not eeeevil. Which is ever so much more interesting than the NID could ever have hoped to be.
I don't follow SGA, but I strongly dislike the proliferation of ships in SG-1. The scene in Lost City, when regular fighter planes go head-to-head with Goa'uld fighter ships? That was amazingly wonderful. Routine zipping from planet to planet INSTEAD OF USING THE THING IN THE TITLE and "beam me up Scotty"? Yawn. Not my show. And not what I want to watch.
Oh, fanfic writers are always smarter than the show writers. It's a general rule, or something. ;)
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Yep. "Lost City" was great but episodes like "Grace" just felt weird. I felt like I was watching Star Trek which...well, I love Star Trek, but this is a different show and one of the charms is the lack of ships. It stops making it feel modern day, like it could be me and it could be real. I think by the end of season 8 I started shouting at the screen "see that big giant metal ring in front of you? the one that spins and flushes sideways and you can go through to visit other planets? USE IT!"
I think the ships work better in SGA because it's more removed from Earth - being in another galaxy already gives it a stronger sci-fi feel and, even then, they don't have ships all that often.
We are definitely smarter than the show writers. Also, way more attentive to details. It's a little sad.
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Anyway, I think that as the power requirements went down at the SGC, the manpower requirements rose, pretty much cancelling out, if not grossly exceeding, the power requirements.
In addition to the (really quite small) number of SG-teams, they have the military support staff, the science and analytical staff, both for physical sciences and anthropological. They have military equipment, food, ammunition, UAVs- none of that is cheap.
They also have a *lot* of expensive specialty equipment - every piece of medical equipment known to humankind, a full DNA lab (they have to, to get the kind of test turnaround they do), an analytical chemistry lab (ditto testing). I know just enough about testing in the real world to recognize it as easily the most unrealistic part of the Stargate universe. Some of the stuff they do just isn't possible- a lot of the rest implies things (like scanning electrom microscopy) that involve *seriously* expensive equipment. And that's not just buying the equipment and the training to use it- it's ongoing costs to *keep* them at the state of the art, plus integrating offworld tech, plus keeping it all quiet. Needing a seven billion maintenance budget? I can see that easily. And that's without even considering the budget at Area 51.
I actually sat down and tried to work out an SGC staff level for my season 1 fic- when they were just getting started- and it was a lot higher than you'd think (have to see if I've still got that somewhere).
So the prevalence of NID storylines is IMO sloppy writing. The need for a serious budget- enough to be quite hard to conceal? That I can buy easily.
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"see that big giant metal ring in front of you? the one that spins and flushes sideways and you can go through to visit other planets? USE IT!"
Hee! S8 was really, really bad about that. Have you read
We are definitely smarter than the show writers. Also, way more attentive to details. It's a little sad.
To be fair
do we have to be?, we write out of love, not for a paycheck. And without any deadline except those of our making. And we don't have to worry about money for special effects, or guest stars, and so on.But still... Yes. Sad.
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I agree, absolutely, with everything you mention here: the manpower problem, supplies, and hoo boy yes the medical and scientific equipment. The reference to the naquadah reactors was only in regards to power. However, I still think that budget accounts would surely include a debit side: the technological improvements to science and the military, the medicinces they've brought back that Area 51 has learned how to synthesize, and so on.
I agree that a serious budget is strongly required, and yes, as you say, hard to conceal. But that the SGC should be so vulnerable, and such a favorite victim to any politician looking for a cheap victory? That I can't buy easily at all.
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It definitely changes. Since I watched SGA first - I fell in love with Sam through Rodney's adoration (and hallucination) of her before I met the SG-1 Sam...and got to know General Jack before Colonel Jack. And Landry before Hammond. And, as I've said, the 3 minutes of Daniel in SGA's pilot made me fall for him (seriously, when he was begging Jack to let him go I was begging Jack to agree because I wanted more of him - I don't know why it took me several more months to realize there was a way to get more).
I know! When they finally WENT OFFWORLD AS A TEAM in "It's Good To Be King" I was jumping up and down excited. No...I haven't seen these breadbox editions. I also, um, didn't notice the wormhole effect changed or, actually, that they're different on the two series. *is bad fan*
I would argue that if you write for a paycheck, it's even more important that you be internally consistent. SGA is worse than SG-1, but there's so many cases of sudden changes in how things work or character background or a hundred things that are just sloppy. With enough employees and continuity checkers or whatever, you'd think you could handle it. I mean, I get that fans are obsessive, but there is no excuse to suddenly change how your technology works to suit your plot.
Um. I love them anyway.
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It, um, isn't all that different from what's been done to the NASA budget over the last 30 years in the real world. NASA is a tiny fraction of the US budget (less than 1% if I remember right), adds more money to the US economy than it removes (mostly through technology spin-offs) and yet the budget has been consistently cut since President Nixon and people rant all the time about how much money NASA burns.
Um, not to say that it's under attack the way SGC is or necessarily protecting Earth the way SGC does...but, there are real life parallels. Cetainly Stargate politics is a bit extreme - but also, so much of it is about control.
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The wormhole effect changed in S9. And I miss the one we had, I do. Mind-bending instead of just tunneling.
check out the Breadbox Editions! I think you'll like the snark. :)
When I was working on a series of books - fifteen or so years ago, I think - the first thing I got was what they called a "bible." This girl has so many brothers, this girl has blue eyes, and so on. It's crucial to have internal consistency, and SG-1 doesn't... But, oh, who cares? We love 'em anyway, as you say!
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I actually asked to sometime rec "original characters" as an "other character" category - and had this fic on my list. See if it gets approved as a reccing category...
Oh! I get what you mean by the wormhole effect. I guess, since I got used to the SGA one first, and I'm pretty sure SG-1 has changed before (season one's effect is different, at least early on) I didn't even notice.
Yep. I'll bitch and moan about lack of internal consistency, especially since I'm so picky about making my fanfic consistent, but I'll love them anyway. (hell, I started out in M*A*S*H fandom, so I really can't complain about the lack of consistency in other shows)
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I know they wanted the controversy to be a plot line, but WHY NOT use the tech that they've brought back? It makes no sense. Maybe that'll pick up in the third series or something.
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not in the least bitsecret, so no one actually should know enough to grouse about it.I suppose you're right, though: it's all about control. And while extreme, it's not too out there. But wouldn't it be nice if the SGC could triumph? Just once?
::mutters yet again about that bit of meta waiting to be written::
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Still love 'em, though. :) Even if I do despise the NID plotline.
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Those were the days... ::happy sigh::
I'm pretty sure "original character" is actually included in the "character" genres. Take a look. But if I get gen next month, I'm reccing it FIRST!! :)
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You're right, they do have it! I looked for it under "character" heading and didn't see it - should have tried genre. Silly me.
So...we're going to be breathlessly waiting for midnight to see who gets to rec first, are we? Though...I think you get midnight before I do. *curses time zones*
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Let's be fair - it's perfectly all right to rec the same fic in two different categories. We're both being childish.
(still going first, though) ;)
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Um...hmm. Let me think about a prompt and get back to you. I have too many interests!
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Take your time - it would probably have to wait until after I finished the ficathon story, anyway.