Thursday, July 22, 2010

Classics: SG1 3:17 - A Hundred Days

Overall Rating: 6.2

One might assume that I'm giving this episode a bit of a mediocre score because it's a well-worn sci-fi trope (marooned with a lady...let's do it!), but that's not the reason. Actually, the execution of this trope is not bad at all...considerably better than average. No, the problem with this episode is that it does not have the script to match the idea for emotional potency.

Plot Synopsis:

A complete round up can be found here courtesy of the Stargate Wiki.

Writing: 4.0

This episode suffers from a wasting disease known as "infectious boredomitis." There's ntohing wrong with using a well-worn television trope. They're tropes because they work dramatically or comedically and we find stories that use them entertaining. And as "love the one you're with" stories go, this one is (a) psychologically believable (it takes Jack more than three months to give up on his life on Earth and travelling through the gate and in all that time, his companion supports him and gently encourages him to see the good aspects of life on Edora. As plot-forced romances go, this one isn't so bad.

But the script is painfully slow and lacks imagination. None of the scenes between Jack and Laira are remotely interesting enough to highlight here...that shouldn't happen. A story that is supposed to play with our emotions...in essence, a romance novel in TV form...only works if we find the character interactions fascinating and if we feel the chemistry. Neither occurs here...the Stargate team continues to prove that they have no idea how to write romance, which is a shame to a person like me who happens to really like romance.

Acting: 8.0

The failure with this show is not, however, related to the actors. Michelle Greene (Laira) does a reasonably credible job working with RDA, and I quite enjoy Amanda Tapping's scenes fretting over Jack's getting stranded. I think RDA might have been a little off his game...or I at least disagree with the direction or with his interpretation a bit. He played a very...very subdued Jack. It's not totally unbelievable, but I think it kills any emotional momentum the show might have gathered. It bordered on monotone from time to time.

Message: 6.5

It's not a deeply message-filled episode...but we do get a more realistic portrayal of romantic attraction than we typically would in a stand-alone 1-hour TV show. It's nice to see our hero resisting temptation given the tough circumstances he faces...and nicer to see him do this not just because he's not ready to give up on the Stargate but also because he doesn't want to hurt Laira. Of course, he winds up breaking her heart anyway...I'm not entirely sure why she didn't come with him through the gate...their hand-wave explanation doesn't feel satisfying....but whatever. I won't linger too much on the negatives.

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