Hey! Crichton's Back!

... and other TV tidbits.

I watched the season premieres of Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica over the weekend (still haven't gotten to Stargate: Atlantis, yet). The BSG premiere was fantastic, a great continuation of last season's cliffhangers. One quibble - they changed the opening credits, and I really liked the old ones.

SG-1, however, has left me waiting for more. First off, the character of O'Neill was gone. He was replaced my LTC Mitchell, played be Ben Browder. That's all well and good, but several times I unconsciously thought I was watching Farscape. The new character of Mitchell, at least at first blush, is very similar in mannerisms, speech patterns, and attitude to John Crichton. Too similar. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and chances are good that the character will grow into something more unique as episodes are filmed. I hope that this is the case, at least. This feeling of Farscape-without-the-muppets was exacerbated by the guest role of Claudia Black. Her character, introduced last season, annoys me at times, though she is funny in places. Actually, since we're talking SG-1/Farscape, Black's character is reminiscent of Chianna.

Overall I liked both premieres, though BSG's was much better on the writing and acting. I'm going to have to simply stand by and see what direction they take SG1 in. Hopefully it'll be the right one.