Stargate @ MindSay

"Unfaithful" is a song written by Ne-Yo, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen for Rihanna's second album A Girl like Me (2006). It was produced by Stargate and released as the album's second single in mid-2006. "Unfaithful" reached number one in many countries and charted strongly across the world.

The song is about taking on a woman who is in a relationship with a man but is having an affair. The woman begins to realize that her partner is well aware that she is having an affair and it is hurting him badly, so she begins to regret her affair.

I've been contemplating a new theme for a while. What do you think of this?

I'm a die hard SG1 fan. Long live SG1 and watch for the upcoming movies.

For some reason, I never watched Stargate SG-1.  Crazy, I know, it's like 10 seasons now, and I really enjoyed the spinoff, Atlantis.  My brother-in-law is a huge fan, who lent me season 1, which promply sat on a shelf for months.

So finally I'm watching it, from the beginning, and I'm getting into it!  Why?  Because it's Star Trek, and I mean that in a good way.

Star Trek was a specific formula, dictated by the structure of TV in the 60s.  Two sets; on the ship and on the planet.  Many planets, but just one planet set, so the set crew had to hustle and completely change the planet set every week.  For ST: Next Generation, they called it "Planet Hell".  There was constant tension between the producer (wanting to explore strange new worlds) and the studio (who wanted everybody to stay aboard ship, 'cause it was cheaper to use just the one set).

Star Trek was also about the crew, so every episode had two plots, about members of the cast.  Each plot was taken from a simple palette (person in peril, person falls in love, person gains wisdom, etc).  Somewhere there's a list of the 13 different Star Trek plots, which are recycled continuously.

This stuff just sounds cheap, so why am I saying that it's a good thing, that SG-1 follows this formula?  Well, partly because this kind of storytelling is comfortable like an old sock (to me, anyway).  Plus, the writing on SG-1 is very comfortable within this structure, without being confined by it.  I see the tradional structures, but SG-1 is modern enough and good enough that it's a fun homage, not a tired retread.

I've only seen the first season, though.  I expect things to change, and I can only hope it doesn't change for the worse.

I have to visit Hawaii!

So, quick bit of TV-ing here as I've been watching some new stuff...

Smallville: After a BAD BAD BAD first episode it really picks up, Lex Luthor is brilliant and needs more screentime....Lana slightly less unless she's naked.

Stargate SG-1: Hoorah, less Ori in season 10, and episode 200 is just an AMAZING collage of stuff, Star Trek, Thunderbirds, Wizard of Oz, Farscape....pure awesome.  Now the rest of the season needs to Keep on the Ba'al as it were.

Stargate Atlantis: Replicators....I love them....they're back.  Screw the Wraith....I want more Genai and replicators.

Las Vegas:  I know, I know, cheap populist TV.  It thrives on glamorous girls, witty scripts, and some decent action sequences, I KNOW I should hate it, I really do...but it's entertaining.  I'm having really fun with this big budget wonder (James Caan starring alongside the breasts of Nikki Cox....HOW can you improve?) even though I know it's all noise and lights.

The 4400: Season 3 is excellent so far after a weak first episode, it seems to be common now for a show to need to get back into its stride.  What they've done with the plot vis-a-vis the time jumping is somewhat crazy but I can see the logic behind it...and it has moved the show from goodness to bona-fide sci fi.  Scratch that, the time jump got cancelled....MAKE UP YOUR MINDS YOU GODDAM WRITERS!

And now... for every success....a failure

Surface:  The ratings were good, the show was good, and the conclusion was absent.  NBC have now decided that there will be no Season 2...dammit all to hell, NBC, WHY?  The show was good, what was the problem with not renewing it, are you CRAZY?

Threshold: Died before its time, campy and sometimes offbeat it remained entertaining for its 13 episode run...whose idea was it to not renew this one?  True, the cast were a touch expensive....but come on....I needs my conclusion.

Invasion: HO HO HO, TV related badness in a can, slow pace, poor plot....all in one show....and just when it looked like it was getting another season....POW ABC have canned it.  Not unpredictable really, it began with 17m viewers and ended with less than 9m.

Upcoming shows...

BSG: The cliffhanger is killing me, I WANT TO KNOW THE GODDAM ENDING ALREADY.

House: Commence prayers for a season 3

Lost:  Mr Abrams...do you REALLY have 5 years of plot worked out?  I mean, do you?  Right now I see big heaps of Spaghetti plot crushing everything in its wake...I'm not sure how long they've been on the island...but you'd think someone would have built a house by now, maybe got some crops going, maybe even looked for mineral deposits in the hope of creating a forge or something....stupid factor ENGAGE.