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SG-1 Continuum
Finally saw it, and ... I had a problem.
Was I the only one who was left feeling very, well, let down at the end of the movie?
I really enjoyed it while it was going on -- actually, there was some awesome stuff while it was going on. But then it got to the end, and everything was put back the way it was (as far as we know) and no one remembered anything or had been affected by any of the events in the movie, and it left me just feeling emotionally flat.
I'm totally on board with AU/change-the-timeline stories as long as they have some impact on the people we know -- as long as someone remembers to be affected by it. "Unending" had Teal'c, "Last Man" had John, "Road Not Taken" had Sam. I think "Moebius" worked for me where it otherwise wouldn't have because it was just so goofy and fun. But "Continuum" ... it had a lot of great scenes and then at the end, they all add up to -- nothing, really. If it's going to be about the AU team, then the lasting impact of the episode needs to be on the AU team (which was kind of how I felt about both "Moebius" and "Road Not Taken") but in this case, everyone *died* and Cam apparently lived out his life in the past without touching any other lives, and the canon team is back to normal with no clue that anything happened, and ... I just don't really know how to feel about it.
(Plus, I know nothing good ever comes of trying to figure out the science in Stargate, but I really had trouble understanding why Teal'c, Vala and the Tok'ra vanished -- or reverted to their AU selves, or something -- when the timeline changed, while the other four SG-1 members stayed the same with their memories of the original timeline intact. Hubby and I speculated at first that it had something to do with Teal'c and Vala's opposite numbers being alive where the others' were dead, but then we realized that Daniel and Jack's AU selves were still alive. So we didn't get to see "our" Teal'c and Vala react to the alternate timeline like everybody else, and that bothered me.)
Was I the only one who was left feeling very, well, let down at the end of the movie?
I really enjoyed it while it was going on -- actually, there was some awesome stuff while it was going on. But then it got to the end, and everything was put back the way it was (as far as we know) and no one remembered anything or had been affected by any of the events in the movie, and it left me just feeling emotionally flat.
I'm totally on board with AU/change-the-timeline stories as long as they have some impact on the people we know -- as long as someone remembers to be affected by it. "Unending" had Teal'c, "Last Man" had John, "Road Not Taken" had Sam. I think "Moebius" worked for me where it otherwise wouldn't have because it was just so goofy and fun. But "Continuum" ... it had a lot of great scenes and then at the end, they all add up to -- nothing, really. If it's going to be about the AU team, then the lasting impact of the episode needs to be on the AU team (which was kind of how I felt about both "Moebius" and "Road Not Taken") but in this case, everyone *died* and Cam apparently lived out his life in the past without touching any other lives, and the canon team is back to normal with no clue that anything happened, and ... I just don't really know how to feel about it.
(Plus, I know nothing good ever comes of trying to figure out the science in Stargate, but I really had trouble understanding why Teal'c, Vala and the Tok'ra vanished -- or reverted to their AU selves, or something -- when the timeline changed, while the other four SG-1 members stayed the same with their memories of the original timeline intact. Hubby and I speculated at first that it had something to do with Teal'c and Vala's opposite numbers being alive where the others' were dead, but then we realized that Daniel and Jack's AU selves were still alive. So we didn't get to see "our" Teal'c and Vala react to the alternate timeline like everybody else, and that bothered me.)
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It was an awesome movie, and we had team, and Russian linguistics, and Ba'al(!), and a lot of people we hadn't seen for years, and some really cool action! But the end, I felt a little let-down too. I mean, we have Mitchell 1.0 who apparently became best buddies with his grandpappy, but that's about it... maybe the ending was a little too light-hearted after seeing our team die? It wasn't exactly anti-climactic, but I kind of left with the same feeling.
And yes, trying to figure out the science in Stargate can really break your brain. The closest I can even begin to get to an explanation for why Teal'c and Vala disappeared first is that Ba'al's meddling directly interfered with their lives first (and I guess the Tok'ra ) but if I think for that too long, I really can't wrap my head around it, and the "we were travelling via wormhole theory" doesn't really cut it for me.
(Snipped spoiler in case we're going spoiler free in the comments.)
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I think the reason changes sort of happened 1,2,3 was supposed to be because that was the order in which Ba'al actually made the changes. Again though - huge logic holes (because if SG-1 didn't have Teal'c they most likely would never have been in that ceremony room to begin with)
If you don't dwell on the time travel inconsistences, I liked the flow of the movie and the idea that it was episody in that it was a nice neat "save the universe" plot. I loved the sharp edged Daniel snark, it was priceless. And Mitchell was great (stuff like this makes me wish he had had a better storyline than the Ori for his seasons on SG-1). And BA'AL - lol so scrumptious.
I was really let down by Sam's reaction to Jack's death, and the fact that they just left him there. It just didn't sit right with me.
And speaking of Jack - what was THAT? That really wasn't a special appearance, it was more of a cameo. And um, he was Colonel ten+ years ago when we first met him, why do I doubt that he wouldn't have advanced futher than that?
And not for nothing, Landry is THE most annoying person in the entire SG franchise. I really despise the character.
All and all I enjoyed Continuum. I think the trick is just taking it at face value and not dissecting it too much.
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I'm totally on board with AU/change-the-timeline stories as long as they have some impact on the people we know -- as long as someone remembers to be affected by it.
The series is over, they don't need to do a Canon Reset To Normal. They can change things now, so why wouldn't they?
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Spoilers in the comments are fine as far as I'm concerned -- I presume that no one would be reading the thread if they hadn't seen the movie or at least don't mind spoilers -- and yes, I was right with you on that one. *g* I went around the whole movie halfway wondering what the alt-SGA bunch were up to in this 'verse, and hoping that we might get a McKay cameo (no such luck, oh well). Perhaps I have a one-track mind!
You might be right about the light-heartedness being part of what felt off at the end. It just felt like we didn't get *closure*. Mitchell 1.0 just vanished after seeing his entire team die, lived ten years in the past (without changing anything?), resurfaced on the ship and then vanished again. (I joked to the hubby that maybe they put him off the ship onto a life raft and he spent the rest of his life on a desert island -- but, seriously, what did he DO with himself? He couldn't contact his family, couldn't get married and have kids without causing major timeline changes ... wow.)
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It's kind of what I've come to expect from SG time travel, though? And I'm happy enough making up stories about how the rest of the team do find out about it, and Cam's life did matter, and all that. Because it was just that good a movie (I think), that it was enjoyable for what it was and then I was happy that they weren't all horribly dead! Not horribly dead is a good ending!
Mmmm. They need to meet the aliens who can hook them up with an AU-oscope, so that they can see this particular timeline unfolding, in great detail. Maybe even download the memories of their AU selves. Yep. (Meanwhile, I want to know what John and Rodney were doing as the world was ending!)
The one thing I kind of missed about the movie, despite being a huge fan of AUs, was the team. I mean, okay, yes. There were a lot of nice moments between the three who did go back to Earth together, but - Teal'c! Vala! First Prime Teal'c and Quetesh (err, dunno how her name is spelled) just aren't the same! And Jack walking out on them was sad.
I did mention I'm buzzed, though? Wheee, dogfights! I have a huge weakness for aerial combat on screen. It always looks so cool. And I did love (in a weird, twisted way, I guess) Earth being back to a we're so screwed level of technology. And ice! Lots of ice! Actual Arctic ice! And a submarine! Eeee~! \o/ (Wow. I'm so easy. But it's been over a week since I had any new Stargate of any kind... what do you expect?)
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I haven't actually written up my reaction but overall...I loved the movie (not trying to think hard about the parts that makes sense because Stargate has no clue how to do AU's or time travel) but the ending...
It felt like "build, build, build, build, OMG HOLY CRAP END NOW" - like the climax came much too fast and too easily after the build-up and then, yeah, it had this ultimate feeling of "so what?"
At least with Moebius they had the video recording so they *knew* something had happened, even if they didn't remember.
Didn't make me not love it, just felt like they were getting so good and then the writers got lazy at the end.
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They need to meet the aliens who can hook them up with an AU-oscope, so that they can see this particular timeline unfolding, in great detail. Maybe even download the memories of their AU selves. Yep. (Meanwhile, I want to know what John and Rodney were doing as the world was ending!)
AU-oscope! Hee! Yes, you're not the only one who wondered about John and Rodney, too. *g* I was actually hoping for a Hewlett cameo -- as usual, I didn't peek at the guest stars, so I had no idea if he would be in there or not -- but, in the absence of information, it's fun to speculate on where they might have been through it all.
The Arctic scenes were filmed on the actual Arctic ocean. I'd been eager to see the movie just for that; it was in the papers here when they flew up to film north of Barrow.
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You know, that's an excellent point, and I hadn't even thought about it! Even while the series was running, they weren't afraid to change it up from time to time, sometimes in major ways -- killing Daniel, taking off Jack.
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It really did feel like we were cranking along and then the ending was hastily slapped on.
I'm trying really hard not to think about the time travel; the more I think about it, the more I realize that they've not only contradicted themselves within this movie, but I think they've contradicted other episodes as well. WILL NOT THINK ABOUT IT. I'll concentrate on the squee! bits instead.
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Hee :) The back of the DVD promises a special feature telling how to tell a time travel story and I LAUGHED and LAUGHED and LAUGHED because Stargate has proven over and over and over again that they are terrible at getting that even remotely right.
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The Arctic scenes were AWESOME. Worth the price of admission! It's so rare to see scenes like that that aren't filmed in giant studios, with white puffs for breaths added as CGI...
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