Family Ties - Review
23/10/2008 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500Family Ties is the 18th episode in Season Ten of Stargate SG1.
Review
Review
An opportunity missed is the best way to describe the rather disappointing and lacklustre Family Ties. The main story flounders with the main theme of father and daughter relationships undone by a lack of charm, depth and history. It falls flat as a comedy and doesn’t have enough substance to stand up as a drama. It is only the one hilarious end scene with Teal’c and the rather more successful execution of the subtext of Vala’s acceptance into the team which saves the episode from complete ignominy.
Family Ties showcases how Vala has been accepted into the team very effectively. There is a nice running theme of various team-mates offering support to Vala over the situation with Jasek; Daniel and Cam’s visit to Jasek and brief discussion with Vala afterwards, Teal’c’s intimidation of Jasek and his great line of ‘be less annoying’, Sam calling Jasek a jerk simply for his treatment of Vala, Daniel going with Vala to see Jasek. This entire subtext is the best example of Family Ties on show within the story. This is punctuated with the admittedly charming girly scenes of Sam and Vala at the beginning and the end which helps embed the idea that Vala is truly part of the SG1 family.
Those scenes also highlight another subtle subtext within the episode, that of ‘girl power’ which is topped off with the reference to The Vagina Monologues at the end. The strength of the Stargate women is highlighted whether through Carolyn Lam telling her father what not to wear or the depiction of her mother as a classy, elegant woman, or Sam and Vala in knock-out, tasteful, civilian outfits with the combined female power having Siler turning tail, or Vala’s redemption.
There are some good scenes which spotlight Vala’s shift from a thief to heroine: between Daniel and Vala as they discuss her decision to stop running and her difficulty in leaving her old life behind, Vala’s tirade that she will not allow Jasek to endanger what she has built on Earth, and her complete loyalty to the team in allowing them to scam her father. In the last scene, the echo of the original outfit Vala wore when first arriving at the SGC in S9 serves to remind the audience of old Vala and how far the character has come since then. As a redemption piece, the story works quite well especially as this contrast of old and new Vala also plays out in the contrast between father and daughter. However, it is in this main story of Vala’s relationship with her father, and the sub-plot of Landry’s relationship with his daughter that the episode comes wildly unstuck.
The theme of fathers and daughters is not new in Stargate; Sam’s relationship with her father, Jacob, was a much-loved component of SG1 and Family Ties might have worked as a sentimental revisit to the theme had the episode ever recognised SG1’s past focus on it. It was a HUGE disappointment that there was no reference to Sam’s relationship with Jacob in the episode when a mention of it in one of the Sam and Vala support scenes would have been completely natural especially given the friendship between the two women on show, and Tapping’s brilliant acting of sisterly empathy for Vala. The lack of acknowledgement is frustrating and annoying, especially coming after Talion which did a superb job honouring SG1’s rich history. The urge to send the entire production team to detention with the task of writing one hundred times each, ‘I must remember to honour and respect Stargate canon’ is overwhelming such is the depth of my disappointment.
Lam and Landry’s subplot does at least have some history which gives it some foundation but their relationship has never been explored in depth since first mentioned in S9 so the sub-plot has a ‘so what?’ feel about it. Landry is at least portrayed in a positive light to Jasek as he keeps his promise and makes an effort to change past behaviour. As such the sub-plot is more successful than the main story which is drawn in the broadest of strokes; Vala’s father is a crook unwilling to change, trying to run a scam on Earth but she loves him anyway. What little attempt there is within the dialogue and plot to show any depth to the relationship, such as Vala’s discussion with Landry where Claudia Black acts her heart out, is wiped out by the continual attempt to play the father/daughter relationship as comedic.
Unfortunately, the humour falls flat primarily because there is no chemistry between Fred Willard and Black, and Jasek’s character is neither charming nor funny enough for it to work. Jasek seems to be a Milky Way version of Lucius Lavin; a ‘loveable’ rogue interested only in making a quick buck and conning people. However, there are no redeeming features with his attempts to reconcile with Vala being only a means to further his scam. As a result the character comes across as being very cold and the jerk Sam calls him. My vote goes with Teal’c; Jasek needed to be less annoying. The only real funny moment comes right at the end with Teal’c and The Vagina Monologues. The male fish out of water moment had me laughing out loud and Chris Judge plays it perfectly.
Despite the best efforts of the cast, the musical underscore (which at one point almost drowns out the dialogue) and the direction, Family Ties just doesn’t evoke any empathy. There is not enough depth and history to either Vala’s relationship with her father, or Landry’s with his daughter to evoke any. The subtext of Vala’s redemption and acceptance into SG1 saves the episode but the writers need to stop relying on team interaction to make up for wafer thin plotlines. In the end, despite some enjoyable moments, Family Ties is a below average outing and the verdict is must do better.
Family Ties showcases how Vala has been accepted into the team very effectively. There is a nice running theme of various team-mates offering support to Vala over the situation with Jasek; Daniel and Cam’s visit to Jasek and brief discussion with Vala afterwards, Teal’c’s intimidation of Jasek and his great line of ‘be less annoying’, Sam calling Jasek a jerk simply for his treatment of Vala, Daniel going with Vala to see Jasek. This entire subtext is the best example of Family Ties on show within the story. This is punctuated with the admittedly charming girly scenes of Sam and Vala at the beginning and the end which helps embed the idea that Vala is truly part of the SG1 family.
Those scenes also highlight another subtle subtext within the episode, that of ‘girl power’ which is topped off with the reference to The Vagina Monologues at the end. The strength of the Stargate women is highlighted whether through Carolyn Lam telling her father what not to wear or the depiction of her mother as a classy, elegant woman, or Sam and Vala in knock-out, tasteful, civilian outfits with the combined female power having Siler turning tail, or Vala’s redemption.
There are some good scenes which spotlight Vala’s shift from a thief to heroine: between Daniel and Vala as they discuss her decision to stop running and her difficulty in leaving her old life behind, Vala’s tirade that she will not allow Jasek to endanger what she has built on Earth, and her complete loyalty to the team in allowing them to scam her father. In the last scene, the echo of the original outfit Vala wore when first arriving at the SGC in S9 serves to remind the audience of old Vala and how far the character has come since then. As a redemption piece, the story works quite well especially as this contrast of old and new Vala also plays out in the contrast between father and daughter. However, it is in this main story of Vala’s relationship with her father, and the sub-plot of Landry’s relationship with his daughter that the episode comes wildly unstuck.
The theme of fathers and daughters is not new in Stargate; Sam’s relationship with her father, Jacob, was a much-loved component of SG1 and Family Ties might have worked as a sentimental revisit to the theme had the episode ever recognised SG1’s past focus on it. It was a HUGE disappointment that there was no reference to Sam’s relationship with Jacob in the episode when a mention of it in one of the Sam and Vala support scenes would have been completely natural especially given the friendship between the two women on show, and Tapping’s brilliant acting of sisterly empathy for Vala. The lack of acknowledgement is frustrating and annoying, especially coming after Talion which did a superb job honouring SG1’s rich history. The urge to send the entire production team to detention with the task of writing one hundred times each, ‘I must remember to honour and respect Stargate canon’ is overwhelming such is the depth of my disappointment.
Lam and Landry’s subplot does at least have some history which gives it some foundation but their relationship has never been explored in depth since first mentioned in S9 so the sub-plot has a ‘so what?’ feel about it. Landry is at least portrayed in a positive light to Jasek as he keeps his promise and makes an effort to change past behaviour. As such the sub-plot is more successful than the main story which is drawn in the broadest of strokes; Vala’s father is a crook unwilling to change, trying to run a scam on Earth but she loves him anyway. What little attempt there is within the dialogue and plot to show any depth to the relationship, such as Vala’s discussion with Landry where Claudia Black acts her heart out, is wiped out by the continual attempt to play the father/daughter relationship as comedic.
Unfortunately, the humour falls flat primarily because there is no chemistry between Fred Willard and Black, and Jasek’s character is neither charming nor funny enough for it to work. Jasek seems to be a Milky Way version of Lucius Lavin; a ‘loveable’ rogue interested only in making a quick buck and conning people. However, there are no redeeming features with his attempts to reconcile with Vala being only a means to further his scam. As a result the character comes across as being very cold and the jerk Sam calls him. My vote goes with Teal’c; Jasek needed to be less annoying. The only real funny moment comes right at the end with Teal’c and The Vagina Monologues. The male fish out of water moment had me laughing out loud and Chris Judge plays it perfectly.
Despite the best efforts of the cast, the musical underscore (which at one point almost drowns out the dialogue) and the direction, Family Ties just doesn’t evoke any empathy. There is not enough depth and history to either Vala’s relationship with her father, or Landry’s with his daughter to evoke any. The subtext of Vala’s redemption and acceptance into SG1 saves the episode but the writers need to stop relying on team interaction to make up for wafer thin plotlines. In the end, despite some enjoyable moments, Family Ties is a below average outing and the verdict is must do better.
