tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4512901970142754617.post4662154232783762350..comments2023-10-28T07:08:29.965-07:00Comments on Right Fans: Sci Fi from the Other Side: Classics: SG1 1:16 – EnigmaSABR Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00879056167130238382noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4512901970142754617.post-28931250768586681032009-10-15T02:58:59.697-07:002009-10-15T02:58:59.697-07:00You know...I think the thing that really annoyed m...You know...I think the thing that really annoyed me most about this episode was not the academically imprecise assertion that the medieval period was without scholarly works or progress (while my sister is correct that the Catholic Church inspired many of the first scientists to appear in Christendom, it is also true that humanity did indeed take a giant step backwards in knowledge and civilization after the fall of Rome and it did indeed take 800+ years to get back to where we were), or the appearance of the NID (as discussed above, I feel they are a straw man, not a real jumping off point for lively discussion of the finer points of ethics...the IOA, while annoying, was far better when it comes to ethical dilemmas)...<br /><br />It was the stench of supreme arrogance. We have Narim (a protagonist figure in this episode...we're supposed to like him) saying "in the age before reason, we had these silly ideas about God...", we had the Nox arriving to blather "your species has learned nothing." You gave us all of three weeks, you arrogant twit! We had the aforementioned straw man used to bludgeon us with the "fact" that non-interference is morally superior...the show was 45 minutes of sneering at anyone who disagreed with the writer.<br /><br />All of which is why I found it so delicious when the Tollan got annihilated four seasons later by Annubis. :DSABR Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00879056167130238382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4512901970142754617.post-63233551834193142122009-10-14T00:12:54.397-07:002009-10-14T00:12:54.397-07:00The NID always managed to piss me off. Every appe...The NID always managed to piss me off. Every appearance of the NID and eventually the rogue NID / "The Trust" operatives there ever was in the entire history of the gate franchise has made me uncomfortable in the extreme. And not the good kind of uncomfortable where I am legitimately questioning some aspect of human nature...the dissonant kind of uncomfortable where I feel like the bounds of credible villainy are being stretched too far in order to make a heavy handed point. The Gate writers have an obsessive need to constantly re-emphasize the fact that being nakedly acquisitive (doing what needs to be done to acquire resources) is always always ALWAYS!!...bad. While diplomacy is always good - resulting in friends and faster gains. So they set up this chunk of our own government who are unquestioningly evil and uncomplicated so we can all properly hate them and their damned capitalist natures...they even go so far as to always set up the NID to look really REALLY stupid.<br /><br />Second key safety tip...if you want to make a point with me, please do not do it with insultingly one-dimensional straw-men to beat to a bloody pulp with your superiority. Try a little complication in your bad guys.<br /><br />All of which is why I like the later development of Colonel Mayborne's character.SABR Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00879056167130238382noreply@blogger.com