The Writers of SGA

[xparrot]

I've been thinking of writing this up for a while; right now, I'm avoiding cleaning and packing naye mentioned wanting to see it, so I thought it was a good time! Just for her of course <3

In the last year gnine and I have gotten into watching for and discussing the writers of various shows. SGA's are especially fun to observe because there's a pretty small stable, and they're all very distinctive in their characterizations and quirks, strengths and weaknesses, as much as any fanfic authors. (I haven't really looked at this enough to know if it's true of most shows, though SG-1 is the first place I started to notice the writers - it had strikingly different characterizations from ep to ep; "screenwriter schizophrenia," when characters change personality between episodes. I did notice certain writers in SPN and SV, not closely enough to pick up on all their styles, but enough that I can usually call a Kripke SPN ep by the clunkiness of the dialogue, and Caroline Dries on Smallville is almost singlehandedly responsible for the Lex-nalysis.)

But with SGA we've been paying attention. I get a kick out of analyzing styles with gnine, and I can to an extent predict how I'm going to enjoy an ep based on the writer. So here's our observations on the main screenwriter stable - who's responsible for what eps, and what I see as their strengths and weaknesses. (Writers from Wikipedia and double-checked on IMDB, so if you notice an error let me know; I especially might've missed some of the co-writing credits (the scary part is? I could do most of them from memory, only was mistaken about half a dozen eps). Everything else is subjective opinion, so feel free to disagree. I love SGA even as I acknowledge it's not the greatest thing on TV; I find it terrific fun for all its flaws, and tend to be more complimentary than not. I especially love eps with a team focus and a McShep focus; also, Rodney McKay is one of my favorite chars of all time, so I am liable to be tuning in for Stargate: McKay & Friends more often than not.)

Spoilers up through 5x04; however, there are no spoilers for any unaired eps (and I'd prefer my comments to remain spoiler-free; don't even mention upcoming episode titles without spoiler tags, please.)



Robert C. Cooper
One of the show's creators, though not a current show-runner; he's a major writer from SG-1 (one of my very favorites), and the creator of the character of Rodney McKay, having penned SG-1's "48 Minutes," as well as the creator of Ronon in SGA's 2nd season.

SGA episodes
Season 1: Rising, Hide and Seek, The Gift (story with Martin Gero)
Season 2: Runner, Conversion (story, with Gero; teleplay by Gero)
Season 3: Irresistible (story with Wright, teleplay by Binder), Sateda
Season 4: Doppelganger

Cooper doesn't write much SGA, which is tragic because he likes friendship and hurt/comfort and angst and all that good stuff. As Ronon's creator, he's developed Ronon's backstory beyond the rough warrior appearance. His characterizations are slightly off-kilter - his McKay especially tends to be a bit closer to his original SG-1 incarnation, to my mind. This impression might be partly because Cooper, after writing TV for so long, has gotten bored with regular stories - he directed both "Sateda" and "Doppelganger" as well as writing them, and gave both episodes a surreal quality accentuated by and appropriate to the flashbacks and dreams of the respective plots.



Brad Wright
The other creator, as well as the co-creator of SG-1, Wright (according to Gero's DVD commentaries) floats around the writers' offices, tossing out random ideas and giving the other writers great lines for their scripts.

SGA episodes
Season 1: Thirty-Eight Minutes
Season 2: Aurora (story; teleplay by Binder), Epiphany (story supposedly by Joe Flanigan, though he denounces it as having anything to do with his original idea), Critical Mass (with Binder)
Season 3: Irresistible (story with Cooper, teleplay by Binder)
Season 4: This Mortal Coil (story with Mallozzi, teleplay by Mallozzi)

With so few eps it's hard to analyze his writing, but Wright loves physical h/c (the c as much as h) and friendship/smarm/homg is he really a slasher in disguise? (in SG-1 he wrote "Fire & Water," "Serpent's Lair," and "Abyss," among others.) I have high hopes for his season 5 ep. ...Actually high might be understating the matter. I want his ep. Badly.



Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
Joined SG-1 as co-producers in season 4, and were producers on SGA from the beginning; they're now the show-runners.
Mallozzi & Mullie pose a difficulty - they are always co-credited (thanks to screenwriter guild rules, I imagine) but no longer co-write and haven't since before SGA began, though they still work together closely. As such, I don't know who actually wrote what episodes of seasons 1-3. For seasons 4-5, Mallozzi has made it clear on his blog who's responsible for what - does anyone know about the previous seasons?

SGA episodes
Season 1: Suspicion, Home, The Siege 2
Season 2: The Intruder, The Tower (by Mullie, thanks, tringasolitaria!)
Season 3: Misbegotten, Irresponsible (by Mallozzi, I believe, from mentions he's made on his blog?)
Season 4: Mallozzi: Reunion, This Mortal Coil, The Kindred pt. 1; Mullie: Travelers, The Last Man
Season 5: Mullie: The Seed; Mallozzi: Broken Ties

Ironically, since they're show-runners, Mallozzi and Mullie are my least favorite of the main writers, and the least favorites of many fans.

Mallozzi's heart seems in the right place (judging by what I've read of his blog, while he can be something of a jerk, he's very fond of the show and chars) but he doesn't have much skill as a writer. He's terrible at exposition, writing some of the clunkiest and most boring on the show (see This Mortal Coil) and he doesn't seem that gifted at handling plot pacing; and his characterizations often come across as shallow if not downright unlikable. Oddly enough, Mallozzi's poor characterizations might be suffering more from his pacing problems than anything else, because he's actually quite capable of small but lovely character moments (see Rodney & Zelenka at the end of This Mortal Coil). And the deleted scenes on the s4 DVDs have several scenes from Reunion that give more depth to Ronon's character (and also made John less of an asshole, if made Rodney more of an idiot, in regards to Sam.) Mallozzi likes writing Ronon; he also likes writing the team together, both working and more casual byplay. But sometimes he seems to let the plot take precedence over those moments, cutting the down in favor of (boring) exposition. In "Broken Ties" he focused more on character, and the result was a wonderfully fun episode (one of my favorites, really, and that's all the more significant given that Rodney's not a major character) - I'm hoping he'll keep that up.

Mullie is an odd case. His episodes are best described as frustrating - he's got a decent mind for scifi concepts (see the Travellers, or the Wraith ship creation in The Seed) and moreover he comes up with scenarios that should be interesting to see the characters deal with. But he's weirdly emotionally tone-deaf - he presents the situations, but there's no actual emotional follow-through, save what's brought to it by the actors and directors. In Travelers, Sheppard's mysteriously abducted, but while the rest of the team professes to be worried about him you don't really feel it and their actions don't reflect it. Mullie also tends to write Sheppard as the hero saving the day at the expense of everyone else (in Travelers he rescues himself; in The Seed he saves Keller) which leaves me cold. At least when it comes to The Seed, I liked it okay upon original watching, but elements of it annoyed me more the more I considered it. (I did love The Last Man, but I believe it was playing to Mullie's strengths - cool scifi concepts; and the strange emotional distance of the characters made perfect sense given the situation, with the acting it coming across as emotional damage rather than a problem with the writing.) Mullie also seems to like romance, which is not something I care to see in SGA in nearly any form, so I'm biased against him.

I kind of wonder if it's a mistake that they stopped writing together, since their weaknesses balance out - Mullie might be able to stabilize Mallozzi's flailing to establish the plot, while Mallozzi could inject some genuine feeling into Mullie's frozen scenarios. And I do worry that they're running the show now (especially since they're both 'shippers'.) But I loved a lot of season 4, and so far season 5 has been fantastic, so I've got my fingers crossed.



Martin Gero
Wrote a couple SG-1 eps ("Powers That Be" and the hysterically silly "Bad Guys") in the last two seasons and served as a "story consultant"; on SGA he started out as a story editor, now is executive producer, and one of the major influences on the show.

SGA episodes
Season 1: Childhood's End, The Storm (story with Jill Blotevogel), The Eye, Hot Zone, The Brotherhood, The Siege 1
Season 2: The Siege 3, Duet, Conversion (story with Cooper), The Lost Boys, Grace Under Pressure, Coup d'Etat, Allies
Season 3: No Man's Land, McKay and Mrs. Miller, The Return 1 & 2, Sunday, First Strike
Season 4: Adrift, Miller's Crossing, Be All My Sins Remember'd, Harmony, Trio
Season 5: Search and Rescue

In a lot of ways, Gero is one of my favorite writers. Rodney McKay is clearly his favorite character (Gero's also good friends with David Hewlett and likes writing for him) and he's responsible for a lot of the Rodney-focused episodes, as well as inventing Jeannie. Gero's more interested in character than plot, both in comedy and drama, and often tries for smaller, character-driven episodes, more about people than explosions. Oddly, he also handles a lot of the finale/premieres and mid-season two-parters, with varying success - sometimes his character moments can outweigh the epic impact of an episode (such as in "The Return" - which I love, but they're bizarre episodes from the universe's standpoint; the return of living Ancients to Atlantis should be a tremendous event, but we only really see it insofar as it affects the personal lives of our heroes.) I'm divided as to whether I consider this a weakness in his writing, however, as I watch SGA nearly entirely for the characters; the storyline comes in a very distant second. So Gero's biases mesh nicely with my own.

Gero likes montages and Die Hard (referenced outright in "Bad Guys" and obviously homaged/ripped off in "The Storm/The Eye".) He also likes quirky character traits - "Mensa Sheppard" is entirely a Gero creation, started in "The Brotherhood" and referenced again in M&MM. At thirty-one Gero's the youngest of the major writing staff, and has something of a, hmm, fanboy attitude. I get the feeling he enjoys watching as well as making the show; he's likely to mention elements from previous episodes (not just his own, such as the callback to "Trinity" in BAMSR) and in commentaries he's given to character analysis - he likes to analyze their motivations and psychology (it shows in McKay; he's responsible for the most insecure Rodney, but also pushes him the furthest when it comes to development.) He's also aware of McShep (he's explaining it to director William Waring at the end of the "Harmony" commentary) and possibly makes an occasional wink to it (that's pure supposition on my part, but in the commentary for "The Lost Boys" he does admit to really liking the Sheppard-McKay friendship dynamic.)

Gero's biggest weakness is the other half of the cast. He seems to be one of those writers who finds it difficult to get outside of his own headspace; he does a good job with Rodney and Sheppard because they're North American white fanboy types like himself. But I've got issues with some of his portrayals of female characters (Duet especially) and he has difficulty writing Ronon, and Teyla especially; they usually are reduced to supporting chars in his episodes, and he has a few eps in which they don't appear at all (GuP, Harmony). Gero also seems to be the founder of the Rodney/Keller pairing (Mallozzi's implied as much on his blog), which irks me personally; on the other hand his Keller is the most appealing by far (he writes her as uncertain in some areas, but as more socially adjusted than most of the rest of Atlantis in "Trio", and very competently medically in "Adrift"; and she's also funny when he's writing her lines.)

Despite my reservations, Gero has penned some of my favorite episodes, and some of my favorite scenes; that he's the writer of "Miller's Crossing" alone is enough to skew my opinion of him wildly toward the positive, as the last 8 minutes of that are probably the scenes of the show I've rewatched the most, and that he created Jeannie seals the deal for me.



Carl Binder
Started out on SG-1 as a "creative consultant" in season 9-10, but only wrote one ep (the forgettable season 3 "Demons" much prior); he wrote a couple eps of season 1 SGA, and by now is another executive producer.

SGA episodes
Season 1: Before I Sleep, Letters from Pegasus
Season 2: Condemned (teleplay; story by Sean Carley), Aurora (teleplay; story by Brad Wright), The Hive, Critical Mass (story with Wright), Michael, Inferno
Season 3: Irresistible (teleplay; story by Cooper & Wright), Progeny, The Real World, Phantoms, Echoes (story with Wright), The Game (teleplay; story by Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead), Vengeance
Season 4: Lifeline, Missing, Quarantine, Midway

Binder's got some duds, but a lot of his eps are sleeper hits for me - shows I mildly enjoyed on first watching without loving, but that I find myself coming back to and rewatching more than many others. He's one of the better-balanced writers: he tends to give the whole team something to do, not forgetting that Teyla and Ronon exist, and he writes interactions between all the characters in different combinations.

Binder tends to write cute, sweet character and team moments - "Echoes" perhaps showcases this the best, with John & Rodney running around with the whales, while Teyla & Ronon show a strong bond of friendship and teasing. He also isn't as shy about writing the female chars as some other writers seem to be; he wrote a fair bit of Elizabeth-focused episodes as well as Teyla-focused episodes, and put a lot of time into Keller as well (though I don't always care for his characterization of Keller; she comes across as so young and unsure of herself that she's unconvincing as head of medicine on Atlantis.) He doesn't explore the characters in that much depth, but he writes them as engaging, likable people.

Binder also seems to like the emotion of putting characters in jeopardy, focusing not only on the jeopardy but on the rest of the team worrying about them (this is an element in almost all his eps, from Rodney worried about John in Aurora and worried about the rest of the team in Inferno, to everyone trying to save Elizabeth in The Real World, to Teyla dealing with John and everyone else in Phantoms, to the boys out to rescue Teyla in Missing, to Rodney & John going after Ronon in Midway and then Rodney thinking he's killed John, to absolutely everyone worrying about everyone else in The Hive...) Such jeopardy scenarios are a huge, huge button for me (this sort of emotional caring is the reason I am so into h/c) so I am very biased toward Binder's eps.

Binder's biggest weakness is in plot, to whit, he doesn't seem to be able to really come up with them. Half his episodes, he did the teleplay from a story idea by someone else (often a third party, I'm not quite sure how the screenwriting works, that they buy ideas off people?) A lot of his eps have less a cohesive storyline and more a conflux of interesting events - his basic "plot" is "Stuff Happens, Chars Struggle to Survive It" without many twists or startling revelations. But since as mentioned I'm not watching SGA for plot, plus I've got a kink for disaster stories, I rarely mind. (Also Binder really likes the Sheppard-McKay byplay, and has written a lot of their sweetest casual friendship moments, e.g. Echoes, The Game, Missing - of all the writers he maybe writes them the most plainly as best friends who like to hang out together, all the way back to their ongoing banter in Before I Sleep.)

I look forward to Binder's episodes, because I'm almost guaranteed to get at least a couple scenes I really like, even if the entire ep is only so-so.



Alan McCullough
Story editor and writer for the last two seasons of SG-1, when that ended he moved to SGA as writer and producer (after hanging around as "creative consultant" since season 2.)

SGA episodes
Season 4: Tabula Rasa, The Seer, Spoils of War, Outcast (story with Joe Flanigan - the Replicator-on-Earth storyline, I believe?), The Kindred 2
Season 5: The Daedalus Variations

The newest writer, McCullough so far has proven himself to be one of the strongest, adept at both plot and character. He handles scifi concepts well, and has delved into the characters quite a bit. His favorite character might be Teyla; at any rate he writes her better than anyone else, not only giving her stuff to do but making her a crucial member of the team, and he's expanded on her apparent technological knowledge (Binder wrote a tech-aware Teyla in Aurora and Phantoms) to make her a capable assistant to Rodney in Tabula Rasa and The Daedalus Variations. McCullough seems most in line with Binder in all his characterizations, distributing storylines and character interactions throughout the team. (Daedalus Variations had every possible combination of the team paired off at one point or another!) He writes a brilliant, sarcastic Rodney and an intelligent, insightful Ronon...and a sometimes dorky (and on occasion totally stoned, see Tabula Rasa) John who I'm quite partial to. And he writes John & Rodney as having a close and supportive, if not especially demonstrative, friendship.

McCullough doesn't have any major weaknesses, though he's yet to write an episode I call a favorite - I enjoy his eps, but don't find them as rewatchable as some. That might just be a matter of time, however, as he's definitely capable of the really nice, cute character moments that I tend to latch onto - I wonder how he'd do with a lighter episode, as all of his so far have been more dramatic/action-oriented.



Those are the major writers - there's also some honorable mentions from seasons past, no longer writing for the show:


Damian Kindler
Kindler's an old SG-1 writer who dropped in on occasion to pen four SGA eps over seasons 1-3: "Poisoning the Well", "Trinity", "The Long Goodbye", and "Tao of Rodney".

If you think Gero is the McKay fanboy, you haven't been paying attention to the credits - as the writer behind Trinity and Tao, Kindler's Rodney fanboy title is all but undisputed. And he wrote "Tao of Rodney," which is hands-down my favorite episode of the entire show (though I have hopes it will be displaced by a certain upcoming ep...) I'd love for him to come back in any capacity. Please?



Ken Cuperus
Cuperus was a story editor briefly promoted to full writer for three season 3 eps: "Common Ground", "The Ark", and "Submersion"; he's no longer with the show.

He apparently didn't work out, which is a shame because he seemed to like the team running around doing stuff, and I'm all about that. But McCullough does about the same and better, so I guess they made the right call. If nothing else, Cuperus did write Todd's first appearance (probably creating his char, since I don't think they originally intended to bring Sheppard's Wraith buddy back? But so glad they did!)



Peter DeLuise
Another old SG-1 hand, he only wrote two eps of SGA, season 1's "Underground" and "The Defiant One," though he directed several more eps before leaving at the end of season 2.

In addition to the directing (and some of the funniest episode commentaries on DVD - Duet's commentary is quite a bit more entertaining than the ep itself - and there's also the set tour special he and Martin Wood did on the season 1 DVD set which is...special...is the only word for it) DeLuise also needs to be noted as the writer of some of the original McShep banter. I miss his presence on the show.



The handful of other eps were written by one-shot writers who never returned to the show (considering they were responsible for the likes of "Sanctuary" and "Instinct," no one is missing them much.)

Obviously there's far more to a show than the writers - acting, directing, editing and more all play a crucial role in making or breaking an episode. And to list the stories separately like this is somewhat misleading, because the writers do work in conjunction more often than not - while teleplay and story credits at times get divided, from what I know the original plots tend to be hashed out by everyone, and everyone contributes to every script to some extent (especially the finales). But there are definite trends particular to individual writers, and it's fascinating to observe them - it also gives me a different angle on reviewing episodes, because I'll have certain expectations (or won't have certain expectations) depending on the writer. (It's also worth noting the commonalities between all the writers - such as that save for a couple of the one-shot writers, SGA's writing staff is entirely white North American men, and their privilege shows...)

As well, I find that looking at the different writers gives me a perspective on fanfic - for all I care about canon, there's a flexibility among the writers of the show, and the characterizations in some fic that seem OOC to me might instead be drawing on the characterization of a screenwriter I personally prefer less. Much of TV-fanning is picking and choosing what you like from what appeals less; writer preference is an aspect of that. And finally, it's to give credit where it's due - the actors are the ones we see, the faces and voices of the chars we love; but the writers are their minds, for good or for ill.

Comments

[naye]

*flail*

Neechan, you are MADE OF AWESOME.

This post makes me squee in geeky joy! It's all there, it's all - yeah. You're good. I NEEDED this analysis and write-up of the writers! I never knew I did, but I did! Especially since I'm totally on board with all of your observations! I have nothing to add right now - I'm too busy nodding and grinning and stumbling across things like considering they were responsible for the likes of "Sanctuary" and "Instinct," no one is missing them much and laughing.

This needs to go on the noticeboard! And the newsletter! And - places! Because I've never seen anything like this around, and it's brilliant and useful! Especially the meta take on it, with observations on how your own view of the characters can be so different depending on which writers' versions of them you're attached to.

I'll read through this again, and see if there's anything I can add... I don't think there is, but you never know.

(Oh. Yes. Brad Wright's upcoming episode... *whimpers with want*)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heeee glad it works for you! What you wanted, then? <3 I'm planning on posting it to the noticeboard at least - I figure even if people disagree, the list of episodes-by-writer provides interesting fodder for thought.

Just realized that I do have to add a bit to Gero's section concerning his characterization of female chars, because I do have issues there, want to mention that.

And eeeee want Wright's ep SO BADLY. Less than 3 weeks! ahhh!

[tringasolitaria.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about the others, but I do know that Mallozzi has said that Mullie is the one who wrote The Tower.

This is interesting, because it's something I've wanted to sit down and do - just hadn't done it yet. :) I hope you don't mind me adding some thoughts.

Mallozzi - I've probably disliked more of his episodes (w/ Mullie) on both SG-1 and SGA than any of the others, but he can also write some good character moments, as Broken Ties demonstrated. I hope that keeps up. One thing I have noticed about JM is that his Rodney characterization is sometimes a little strange. Just in little things here and there. Broken Ties didn't have anything I noticed though, so maybe he's getting better there.

Mullie - I think you hit the nail on the head with the "emotionally tone-deaf" thing. The Seed is a good example - not a bad episode - it just felt flat, somehow. Like a first draft of a story almost. As far as the romance goes, Mullie has been pushing Rodney/Keller, but he also from what I hear put the brakes on the John/Teyla shipping, for which I thank him. Apparently there was a comment on the S4 commentaries that the writers were considering making John the father of Teyla's baby, but Mullie vetoed it - he doesn't approve of ship within the team from I heard. He is apparently not at all opposed to ship outside the team, however, since he did Travelers with John/Larrin and TLM and The Seed with Rodney/Keller.

Gero - He writes some of the best episodes, but I've had a few issues with him here and there. He seems to be the main one pushing the John/Teyla ship (Conversion, Sunday, and S&R were all his), and yeah, I think Rodney/Keller was created by him too-he's often commented on how much he enjoys writing for the two of them. And it's interesting that he was the one who set up Sheppard as Mensa, because he said in the commentary to the S4 deleted scenes that "no one realistically believes that John Sheppard was ever in Mensa" and that they'd "set Sheppard up as kind of this Mensa candidate, but have pretty much abandoned that." It was referring to a scene cut from Miller's Crossing where Sheppard makes a comment about "I coulda been Mensa" and Rodney snaps back "And so you keep telling us." He also, oddly enough, believes that none of the characters on the show like Zelenka (discussing why that particular scene in Trio).

Binder - I used to enjoy just about all of Binder's episodes. But two of my least favorite episodes in S4 were Binder episodes - Quarantine and Missing. I don't like what Binder does with Keller - the other writers seem to have a better handle on her. Which is strange, because I always thought he did a good job with Elizabeth and Teyla. And I didn't like what he did with Rodney in Quarantine. I know they wanted to get rid of that ship, but I still found that rather unbelievable considering what we know of Rodney.

McCullough - He's actually surprised me. I thought some of his SG-1 episodes were pretty bad, Insiders and Company of Thieves being at the top of the list. But I think he's getting a lot better. Spoils of War and Outcast were good episodes, and so was Daedalus Variations.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Ah-hah, Mullie did write The Tower! I suspected as much (it's got a lot of qualities in common with Travelers) but wasn't sure. Thanks!

And thank you, too, for all the added thoughts - I don't mind at all, that's why I posted this, to encourage such discussion!

Mallozzi - I totally agree with you that his Rodney can be off. As a writer, he sometimes doesn't have...respect for Rodney, as a character? Tends to make him/his ego the butt of jokes and things (e.g. his baby gift to Teyla in Kindred 1) Though I liked his Rodney in Broken Ties, so that's encouraging.

Mullie - I don't like ships period, so I am very glad he veto'ed John/Teyla. The other ships...John/Larrin goes against my personal take on Sheppard, and I'm not a big fan of Larrin (the char's okay but the actress grates on me) but I don't really mind it as it's not likely to become anything important. Rodney/Keller is...not gonna think about that.

Gero - yeeeah, Gero's on-again/off-again shippiness makes me twitchy. Though he writes it more subtly than some, so I can ignore its existence at times (like, Sunday didn't play as John/Teyla to me at all, though I can see how it could. I like John-Teyla friendship and happily interpret their relationship thusly if I can...) And yes, I saw him commenting about Mensa!Sheppard in the deleted scenes (though that's bullshit, because some of the other writers haven't gotten the memo - Binder writes a Sheppard who can reprogram computers (in Lifeline) and memorized Rodney's 14-digit password!)

Binder - I agree that I don't like what he does with Keller (Gero's Keller is the only one I actually like), but I liked his Teyla in Missing (and the brief scenes with the rest of the team are some of my favorite moments), and I actually liked Quarantine, in part because it illustrated how Rodney needs his team (Binder tends to write a Rodney who saves the day completely - such as in Inferno or Progeny - so having him need his team to keep him on even keel is rather sweet. I also have the private theory that Rodney was suffering hypoglycemic reaction in Quarantine, but...) And I loved Midway lots, so...have hopes for Binder this year! (also, if they've got to ship Keller, I much prefer Keller/Ronon, so...)

McCullough - I don't remember his SG-1 eps well (I've watched s9-10, but all at once such that I have trouble recalling most of them) but I like his work in SGA - actually Tabula Rasa might be my favorite of his eps thus far, hardly a surprise, considering its Rodney-focus!

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I don't really care who writes what - only on Supernatural I dread eps by Sera Gamble *shudders* - but I have to say that I don't miss Peter DeLuise on the show. I'm just the opposite, I found his audio commentaries awful and after the first two, I stopped listening to them. Usually, he invited Gary Jones and they babbled about SG-1 and stuff that had nothing to with SGA. Like when Torri and Rachel did that one commentary together - I really didn't need to know about how much they like chai.

Ken Cuperus wrote some of my favorite eps. I'm quite unsure about Mullie. Good ideas, but really disjointed. But he fanboys Shep which is always a plus for me :)

I love audio commentaries by Martin Gero, Martin Wood and Andy Mikita best. Joe Mallozzi has the tendency to critize everything Joe Flanigan does, which gets kind of annoying after a while since it doesn't really feel like friendly banter.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hah, I haven't been watching SPN's writing credits much - Sera & Raelle were some of my favorites in s1, but s3 in general was just way downhill.

I haven't watched all the commentaries, but the Duet one cracked me up...I tend to get bored when the commentaries get too technical, so that's part of it. But aside from the commentaries, Peter DeLuise was a decent director and a fun writer, and I do wish he'd written more John & Rodney banter!

[mz-bstone.livejournal.com]

I often find things like this ... not the most enjoyable to read, but this was. You really set this up well, and made me think!

B

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Eee, great! I love thinking about this stuff, so I'm happy to know I got others thinking, too. And that it was a fun read is very nice to hear, thank you ^^

[bbluejenn117.livejournal.com]

Jumped over here from noticeboard. This must have taken a long time to type out, sure most of us "devoted" (because I refuse to use the word obessessed) fans have had these sorts of conversations but to actually type it in such an intelligent and well worded essay (I'm sure there's a better word but I can't think of it) is just awesome, so I thank you.

That being said, I would agree with you on almost everything. I have a love/hate thing with Martin Gero, because like you said he is a McKay fanboy (Rodney is easily my favorite character) but he also writes episodes that kinda irritate me: 'Trio' because it clearly shows, in my mind, that they need a female writer on board, Keller and Carter just seem "catty" to me, and also I *heart* Radek, so dissing on him is not cool with me. Sunday: It is a lovely character episode, and I would love it (well except the Katie Brown stuff) except well they kill of Carson, who was such a wonderful foil for Rodney and a great character in general. I know they did eventually bring him back, but it's just not the same and it doesn't look like he's going to be in many episodes of season 5 either.

Back to my earlier comment about not being able to write female characters, with a few exceptions, all of the female characters at some point or another seem to fill a stereotypical female role, the one exception I thought was Weir. As much as I loved to hate her in season 1, she grew on me in seasons 2 and 3, but then of course they had to go and basically write her off of the show. Keller, to me, is a poor replacement for Beckett, and maybe my opinion will change once I see all of season 4, but it appears to me (and with the episodes we've seen of season 5) that they have turned her into her character from 'Firefly', in which the writer takes a woman that has potential as a non stereotypical woman, and turn her into a stereotypical one when she has a crush/is in love with a male character.

This is what really worries me about the apparent in inevitable ronon/keller/rodney triangle, it will most certainly turn her into a puppy dog eyed, no backbone character. (This is why I think shows like 'Torchwood' and 'Doctor Who' have a wider fan base, because they have at least one female writer on board, and so therefore the female characters on the show behave in ways that women actually do, not how men think they do)

This triangle,and correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't this JM's idea, also worries me because I fear it will cause breakage in the team, and above any "McShepping" I may or may not see, the team relationship is the most important thing for me

I have so much more to say, but I won't bore you any longer :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee - I like talking this stuff out, and typing it out as well - I find essays very satisfying to write, somehow (I think I'm missing college after all these years ^^;)

A lot of eps show their need for some women writers (not that female writers make everything better - Supernatural and Smallville are points against that), but Gero's especially, yes - I could write an essay all on its own examining Gero's problems writing female characters, and romantic relationships.

I have issues with Keller's characterization that go beyond the pairing problems, but that they seem to be at loss for what to do with her other than hooking her up - yeah, that doesn't help.

Doctor Who/Torchwood, yes, the women writers (and producers, etc) help - it also helps, I think, that several of the male show makers are gay; RTD doesn't see women as existing solely for romance and sex appeal, because they're not - that's what men are for, as far as he's concerned! (It's not just the fan-base in terms of fangirls, either - we scifi show fangirls are used to putting up with poorly written female chars, but I have female friends who don't like scifi especially, and the shows they watch, like Gilmore Girls, are more written/produced by women. I suspect if scifi TV had more women writers, their female demographics would go up, beyond the limited numbers of we obsessed fen. In Japan most of the female-aimed entertainment is written by women - and includes a fair bit of scifi and fantasy and such.)

[astrumporta.livejournal.com]

Wow, excellent analysis! I can't disagree with any of it.

Having watched since the start of SG1, I think Mullie is Mr. Logic Man, and apparently is the guy in the room who points out the logic holes. In his own eps, he's so worried about plot holes, he writes the characters explaining everything away. It's very easy to ID his eps IMO.

I agree with you about Joe M, although I think he is getting better, perhaps from all the sci fi reading he's been doing? He's customer-focused, and he knows we like the character moments. So he's been focused on them lately IMO. He struggles with doing complex, unpredictable plots, which are Wright's strength. I think he underestimates what the audience can handle, and what we can guess. Still, he's a good judge of others' work, so I think that's why he's a good show-runner. He knows good work when he sees it, even if he can't always create it. :)

Anyway, as much as this writing is collaborative on the show, it's very interesting the patterns you've detected! If only we could combine the best aspects of each writer into our own Frankenstein's monster, perfect at plotting, character, and h/c and hating all ship with a passion. Heh.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

It's strange, I've heard Mullie called the logic guy before, but there are sometimes massive plotholes in his episodes (e.g. how did Sheppard get past the vines in The Seed?) Maybe he panics too much when actually writing? Or maybe it's just because if he's the logic checker, he can't check himself...

That's a good point about Joe M, that he can recognize good eps even if he can't write them. (I almost wonder if that's the problem he has with his own eps - that he can't recognize the better parts of what he does himself.) And I really did enjoy Broken Ties, so...yup, crossing fingers!

If only we could combine the best aspects of each writer into our own Frankenstein's monster, perfect at plotting, character, and h/c and hating all ship with a passion. Heh.

XDDDD You're a genius! a mad genius! XDDD

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. This was interesting and singular. I haven't seen anyone else analyze the writers of the show. That now seems odd given how we analyze fanfic writers all the time, but it's easy to think of SGA as a massive multi-headed beast, not reliant on the talents of anyone but the actors and directors.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I actually mispoke myself somewhat when I said I was new to this - totally forgetting hat, as rhymer23 pointed out in another post, that in X-files fandom back in the day (over 10 years ago) we all used to identify the writers. And someone else commented below that Buffy was the same way. A quality of older fandoms, perhaps? At any rate, yes, it's interesting stuff!

[live-brave.livejournal.com]

Thank you for compiling this! It was very interesting and you are so on the button about a lot of the writers.

I totally agree with you about Martin Gero (his weakness being the rest of the cast). I love his DVD commentaries and his eps are generally pretty good (although he has that pesky habit of killing off characters) but his bias for Rodney can get a little much. I love Rodney but Gero's episodes can sometimes verge on the "Sheppard and McKay Variety Hour". :D

Binder and McCullough seem to be the most promising as far as true team episodes go, so they tend to be my favorites, although almost all of the writers have turned out episodes that I continually go back to.

Anyway, terrific analysis! Thank you so much for sharing this and spending the time to type it up! :D

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing it out, and having even more reading the comments - fun to get thinky like this with other fans!

'Angel of Death' Gero, yes...that's a bit nerve-wracking if nothing else. I admit that personally I don't mind the Sheppard & McKay Variety Hour, even as I understand why it would annoy others, but I do wish Gero would write more with Ronon & Teyla...heck, he can still stick to his tastes, I'd love to see Ronon & Teyla with Rodney!

But yeah, Binder might actually be my dark-horse favorite. Well, or Cooper & Wright; they've both done a lot I enjoy.

[mirabile-dictu.livejournal.com]

Normally I run away from anything labeled "meta," but I decided to take a chance and click on this, and I'm glad I did. I also pay attention to the writers -- mostly because if I see M&M's names, I can pretty be much count on loathing the episode. In fact, there are several episodes I've never seen and have no intention to, and they're theirs. (I am seriously impressed that you were able to tease out who wrote which, btw.)

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this up. *bookmarks*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heee - you're not the only one who cringes when M&M's names pop up, though I have to admit I enjoyed Broken Ties more than anything either of them did before (and I like The Last Man for all its flaws, but I do believe that was a special case.) I still would like to know who wrote what between them, but yes, most of their eps are near the bottom of my list...

[nakedwesley.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this! I always pay attention to who writes what ep. and pretty much agree with all your assessments.

Cooper - I was disappointed with Doppelganger, after all the hype. I thought it could have been creepier. Also, I think he failed to draw a good performance out of JFlan - although I hear JF has trouble getting back into the swing of things at the start of filming every year, and this one was first.

Mallozzi - What you said. Broken Ties is definitely the best of his bunch. I think he enjoys writing Ronon best (and have heard rumors he's a secret Ronon/Sheppard shipper)

Mullie - Having once been an avid follower of Mallozzi's blog, I get the feeling Mullie's strength lies in fleshing out other peoples' scripts and offering quirky scene inserts. Wish I could think of a specific example, but I remember thinking if there's a nice character moment in an otherwise blah script, it was probably Paul's idea. I agree - it might be interesting to see what he and JM could do on an ep they wrote together.

Gero - I'm almost surprised at how many of his eps are favorites, since he can be sooo annoying sometimes. *g* My leaning is more towards Sheppard than McKay (sorry), but you can't deny his McKay episodes are terrific. And then there's Jeannie, for the win!

I think Keller is his new favorite and I've seen him get angry at fans for not agreeing with his vision of her. Not looking forward to any potential McKay/Keller, although he'd be the best one to write it.

Binder/McCullough - My favorites, hands down. Binder writes good Sheppard. I was heartbroken when the Strike kept him out for the first half of S5. Look forward to his offerings down the line. McCullough writes the characters as realistic, intelligent human beings. He does well balancing the action and character moments, and doesn't ignore anyone.

Yes, I miss Peter DeLuise and Ken Cuperus. 'The Defiant One' will probably always be my favorite go to episode ever.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee - always great to get more meta back! And especially from a different perspective, good to know I'm not totally biased. I should be the one apologizing for my own McKay-fangirl stance, it does warp my POV! But I do love Sheppard, too - though I've found for me that's more writer-dependent. I get cranky when Sheppard saves the day and gets all the whump and leaves his team out, so Mullie's Sheppard disappoints me, but I love Binder's and McCullough's Sheppard, who is so good at relying on the strengths of his team. And Gero's Sheppard more often than not is there mostly to support Rodney, so I love him, too, but yes, biased...! ^^ (I also wonder if Doppelganger might be a favorite-char thing, as most of the Shep-fans I know were so-so about it, while as a Rodney fan it's one of my absolute favorite episodes. And I love the Sheppard in it, too - that's actually the ep that got me appreciating JFlan's strengths as an actor - so...hmmm!)

The Rodney/Keller makes me cringe for a variety of reasons, and I might end up more bitter with Gero by this season's end, but...we'll see.

Oh, and good news, Binder did write for s5 after all (the strike ended in time) - he's got 2 episodes in the first half of the season! Very mildly spoilery: The upcoming "Ghost in the Machine" is Binder's ep, as is "Tracker".

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

I very much agree with your rundown here. Joe's favorite writer is Binder, David's favorite is Gero, and I can see strengths in both of them because they do tend to play up each of their characters in wonderful ways.

They remain my favorite writers as well, but Alan McCullough came from no SGA to consistent strong eps since last season. I am very much looking forward to his follow-up eps.

I'm also greatly looking forward to Brad Wright's upcoming episode (as, I think, we all are) because it's got such amazing potential and the actors themselves have all listed it as a favorite.

Cooper is a good writer, but I always tend to think of him more as a director than a writer. He's got good scripts and I like the ones he's done.

Mallozzi and Mullie, I can SO do without them. Actually, I might actually like Mullie's writing a bit more than Mallozzi's. And Mallozzi is capable of short character bursts (like the McKay/Zelenka lab scene...which he wrote as filler AFTER because they were running short on time). It's like...I know the guys care for the show, but they're not really good at showing it through scripts.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Eee, I'm getting such cool comments on this post! It's a good point about Binder writing for Sheppard - I'd totally realized that I loved Gero's McKay, but I actually quite love Binder and McCullough's Sheppard, and the way he relies on his team, as opposed to Mullie's Sheppard who tends to run off and do everything by himself.

Cooper tends to put h/c into his scripts, so that instantly biases me in his favor. I am really, really easy that way (whump doesn't do it for me, I need the c as badly as the h. But give me a good bit of comfort, concern, and caring and I will love the ep. See Broken Ties, for which I am willing to forgive Mallozzi all manner of things ^^)

It's like...I know the guys care for the show, but they're not really good at showing it through scripts.

Yes, exactly! Though it's funny, while most of Gero's deleted scenes (except the beginning of M's C) I was 'whatever' about, most of Mallozi's deleted scenes in s4 I would've liked to have seen in the show, and enjoyed more than the actual eps. Maybe he just needs to stop taking out his cute character moments!

And oh man. I cannot explain in words how much I want Wright's episode. I've been waiting months!! (even if it stands to Joss a long fic I've been working on since before it was ever announced...)

[clockstopper.livejournal.com]

I think I love you for this. I'm always talking about the writers and Martin Gero is my favorite. Always has been for some insane sort of reason.

I was told by Gero that Mullie didn't write Travelers. That that's a primarily Joe M episode. He did write The Last Man though. This was during the set tour at the last Vancouver convention when I asked him why Paul M and Joe M always seem to have writing credit together. He told me that they just work so closely together that it's easier to put them both on rather than distinguish which ideas were from who. But he said that that the writers usually know who wrote what. That's when he told me about the Travelers= Joe M/The Last Man= Paul M. I don't know if he got it wrong, but I'm inclined to believe him.

Admittedly I asked this question because I hate Joe M and I wanted to have more of a reason to hate the man and judge him by his episodes. And of course the fact that he wrote Travelers didn't disappoint. I'm not a huge fan of his writing and I'm not a huge fan of him personally. I'm completely biased because of the Carson thing and the way he public handled it, but he just always sounds so arrogant. even in his blog where he doesn't do any verbal talking.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Gero's doing some things now that make me unhappy, but he's got more eps on my favorite ep list than any other writer...am hoping he'll continue that this season, even if he gets me riled up about other things.

I was told by Gero that Mullie didn't write Travelers. That that's a primarily Joe M episode.

Huh...do you have any written quotes or whatnot to support this? I'm not doubting you or Gero, but on Mallozzi's blog he said that Mullie was the one to write Travelers, and since I know Mallozzi wrote 2 other eps for the first half of s4 (Reunion and This Mortal Coil) I was inclined to believe Travelers was Mullie's. Especially because Mullie seems to fanboy Sheppard more than the other writers (like in The Seed.) But I'll correct that if it's wrong!

I can understand having a grudge against Mallozzi! I don't really read his blog (I get filtered quotes from it from gnine) but he can be something of a jerk, it sounds like, especially when fans disagree with their (often arbitrary and odd) decisions...

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

What a fascinating in-depth look behind the scenes -- I don't tend to look at the writers' side because some of them make my blood pressure rise so unhealthily, but this was well worth reading.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heh - for all my writer-analysis, sometimes an ep is just an ep, and I try to enjoy them all for themselves without stressing over who wrote it! Though it's helpful to have warning for a Mallozzi & Mullie ep, so I can keep my expectations appropriately lowered ^^

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

Yay!!! I wish, wish, wish I had time to read this right now! But sadly, I don't. :( However! I have bookmarked it (in a fit of paranoia, because how hard should it be to find again?) and will look forward to reading it when I've got the time. :D

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee, when I write an essay longer than some of my fanfics I don't expect everyone to read it instantly! XD Whenever you've got time I'd absolutely love to hear your thoughts, as we've talked about some of this before ^___^

[stultiloquentia.livejournal.com]

Oh, what an awesome post! You're making me all nostalgic for Buffy. That's the only other fandom I've been in where people kept eagle eyes on who wrote what and were violently opinionated about everybody in the stable, to the point of following them around after Buffy ended -- tuning into BSG, for instance, because Jane Espenson signed on. To this day...heh...watch what happens if you wade deep into Buffy territory and yell, "I love Marti Noxon!"

I hadn't paid much attention to SGA's writers heretofore (except for Mallozzi, whom I'd noticed is kind of cement-shod), so this was a really nifty intro.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

That's cool about Buffy! Maybe it's an older fandom thing - in another post, rhymer23 reminded me that back in X-files fandom we also used to writer-watch. (John Shiban! Nooooo~! Gave me a start the first time I saw him in SPN's credits!) I'd totally forgotten about that, but it's probably where this analysis comes from. Wonder why the fanning style changed?

At any rate, yeah, it's fun to writer-watch, though I try not to let it spoil my fun with enjoying the show itself!

[raiining.livejournal.com]

Wow - very interesting analysis! I've never caught onto who wrote what, though I've picked up a little from conversation. This is a nicely layed out intro for the uninitiated. Awesome :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you - glad to know it makes sense! ^^

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Wow! I really wish I could add some sort of coherent thought and insightful discussion to such an awesome detailed post, but alas, I cannot. I love the breakdown though, and man, I think it explains a lot about why I like certain episodes more than others. It really is fascinating to see who wrote what, and I don't know if I actually noticed the trends, but when you bring them up -- I can totally see them!

I'll be with you on crossing my fingers against on-screen ship. It's taken me about five showings, but I think I've finally been able to come up with a viewing of that first minute of "Search & Rescue" as completely platonic.

I also miss the DeLuise written episodes--although (and this is just me) maybe not his commentaries so much. I absolutely loved "Defiant One" to pieces, and was a little disappointed that it turned into a stunt/SG-1 discussion in the commentary.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm rather into noticing writing trends and traits (I tend to do the same with fanfic writers, I've found with anonymous ficathons I'm not bad at guessing, if I know the authors...) And SGA's writers, once I started picking up on some trends, more and more kept showing up.

It's taken me about five showings, but I think I've finally been able to come up with a viewing of that first minute of "Search & Rescue" as completely platonic.

Hah! Gnine & I spent about fifteen minutes discussing that out to "un-ship" it. We both are immensely frustrated about the possibility of canon romance, but...what are you gonna do (except rail against and blame the writers!)

And hee - no one else likes the DeLuise commentaries, apparently! For me it's mostly the Duet one cracked me up...I have a limited taste for commentaries, they interest me in theory but I often get bored watching them. So I'd rather they be stupidly funny if nothing else XD

[bruinsfan.livejournal.com]

Very astute analysis of the writers' strengths and weaknesses. It seems that we enjoy very different things about the show, but I'm in nearly complete agreement with your take on the writing staff (excepting only that you have a higher opinion of Kindler's skills than I).

I really think Mullie's talents would be better used as a logistics/continuity overseer for all the scripts (is that what the Story Editor job entails?), rather than writing his own stories individually. From his commentaries I think he and I see things from almost exactly the same perspective, and I think that viewpoint would be effective in testing plots for logical inconsistencies and making sure things make sense in the context of the larger Stargate universe. But the character moments and emotional beats should probably be left to more creative types who can get viewers to invest more strongly in the story.

I am willing to lose what Peter DeLuise brings to the series if it also means that he never brings Gary Jones back to the commentaries again.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm just glad my wild biases didn't spoil the whole analysis (and I admit to zero objectivity when it comes to Kindler - as a crazy Rodney fangirl, Tao of Rodney is one of my favorite episodes of any show ever, so I'm more than a bit slanted in his favor...)

It does sound like Mullie makes sound calls behind the scene, so yes...he can stick around, if only they wouldn't let him write anymore!

I am willing to lose what Peter DeLuise brings to the series if it also means that he never brings Gary Jones back to the commentaries again.

XD You're the third person to comment along those lines - I just loved his Duet commentary with Hewlett, don't really remember any he did with Gary Jones...I might not have watched them, actually!

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this! I never really paid attention to the writers before, I hate to admit, but I'm definitely going to now! It seems you and I have a lot in common when it comes to this show--McKay is also my favorite character hands-down, shipping makes me wince (especially John/Teyla, though I have to admit John/Anyone not Rodney makes kittens cry), and my favorite episodes tend to be ones with lots of obvious warmth and affection between the characters.

That said, Binder has written the most episodes that blew me away ("Letters from Pegasus" floored me, I loved "Before I Sleep", and "Phantoms" was fantastically creepy, suspenseful and sad).

Your list of Gero eps really interested me, because he's penned some of the ones I never really cared for ("Childhood's End", "Siege III"--what a letdown after the first two!, "Search and Rescue") and at least two I outright loathed ("Harmony", "Trio"). Funnily enough, the reasons I dislike these eps is mostly because Rodney doesn't do all that great, IM(very)HO. Gero seems to enjoy writing Rodney as mostly incompetent with the occasional moment of brilliance, prescience or just dumb luck, and seems to go out of his way to have Rodney belittled by the other, 'cooler' characters (like John in "Miller's Crossing" and Sam in "Trio"), and I really, really hated the backstory we found out for him in both "McKay and Ms. Miller" and "Miller's Crossing". As someone with siblings, the fact that Jeannie was so cruel to her own brother, and seemed to delight in humiliating him to his friends really bothered me. I also hated her, 'you're no John Sheppard' admonishment in "Miller's Crossing", not to mention that she blamed him for stuff that wasn't his fault. She volunteered to get those e-mails; it wasn't Rodney's fault that other people read them! When Rodney does something cool in a Gero ep, to me it always seems like something not even the McKay fans should have expected, like McKay being the hero is a near-impossibility every single time. And that was even with the episodes I really enjoyed.

Funnily enough though, I seem to be one of the very few who have no problem with Keller/McKay. This might seem odd given that I'm basically a McShep OTP-er, but in my mind, if they're going to start ramming ship of any kind down our throats, then it's great that Rodney wouldn't be ignored! And Keller is way, way better than Katie Brown.

Anyway, thank you again for this, and I hope you don't mind my rambling. :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I don't mind your rambling at all, that's what this post is here for, really enjoyed hearing your thoughts!

A lot of fans don't writer-watch - I think I might because (I'd forgotten this until reminded on another post) back in the day I was an X-phile, and we used to analyze the TXF writers back then, having favorite writers and ones we dreaded. It's an interesting way to look at the show, though, as long as it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of the eps!

It's odd, because it took me a while to identify Binder as one of my favorites - unlike you, none of his eps "blew me away" on first viewing, but I love nearly all of them the second or third time (Echoes is one of my very favorites, for the sweet warmth and caring between everyone, and I actually love Inferno, since it's one long team-running-about-being-cool-and-worried-about-each-other (and has one of the most brilliant Rodneys ever, which never hurts!))

Gero's take on Rodney, yes...as a Rodney fan, I love how much depth he can give McKay, but I agree that he will belittle him sometimes, too. Binder and McCullough's Rodney is more consistently brilliant (though Gero's has his moments - love Rodney struggling to save himself in GuP, or coming up with the plans in The Return 2.)

That being said, the Jeannie situation I think might be a personal thing depending on one's own relationship styles. I am incredibly close to my own two siblings (gnine, who I reference in nearly all my posts, is my little sister) and we love the Jeannie-Rodney relationship; to us it rings very true and familiar. My sibs & I bicker and insult each other almost constantly, it's how we show our affection. My close friends do the same. But if you're not used to that sort of socializing (it's at least partly a regional thing: most of my friends from West Coast America, for instance, don't get it at all, while many Australians tease to degrees that I find cruel & unusual) it can come across as very mean-spirited.

I also admit that McKay/Keller makes me cringe for a variety of reasons (not all of them McShep-related, though that doesn't help...!) But it is nice to see Rodney getting lovings!

[ariadne83]

Thank you so much!!! Now I don't have to do this myself oh god I'm such a dork

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

XDDD I see your dorkitude and raise you a geek! (I have an unholy love of lists and stats and trend-analysis and such. It's a good thing I don't have endless time on my hands, because then I'd probably be doing things like statistical analyses of sex acts in slash...like, who's on top more, John or Rodney? It's not even that I care, so much as such details fascinate me way too much...!)

[deaka.livejournal.com]

This is a great read (and resource)! SGA is the first show where I've really started to pay attention and notice who writes what episode, so it's great to have something that looks at the characteristics of the different writers. They do each seem introduce subtly different takes on the characters and the feel of the show in their writing.

It's funny, looking at the lack of diversity in the writing team - reminds me of an SG1 interview way back where Amanda Tapping implied it was a bit of a boys club, the writing/directing area. Doesn't really seem to have changed that much, which is a shame, because I don't think fresh perspectives would hurt the show at all.

Potential shipping scares me a little - I kind of like the show dynamics as they are now, and there's too much risk that an overt ship (or even too strong an implied one, a la certain Sam/Jack-toned episodes in SG1) could mess things up.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's definitely a boys' club, more than many other shows...I don't think it's exactly deliberate on their part, but they haven't made an effort to bring in different perspectives, either, and sometimes it shows. It's such a fanboy show! Which is part of its charm, in a way, but...would be nice to have a bit of variety. Especially, if the female actors are feeling it...

And the shipping...yeeeeeeeah. I don't really care for shipping period, but if it was there, yeah, whatever. But bringing it in when the show was functioning perfectly well without it...yergh. For me, one of the draws of both SG was that romance played such a small part, that the char relationships were based on other bonds, so I'm disappointed to see that change. Mostly my wacky personal taste, though!

[ceares.livejournal.com]

Very nice post. I pretty much never pay attention to the writers on shows, but I love analysis of writing and this was very interesting.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thanks, glad you found it interesting!

[aworldinside.livejournal.com]

This is incredibly awesome and a very useful resource.

I've become fascinated by the writing side of SGA more than in any other fandom I've been involved in, which I think in part is due to JM's blog which I have bit of a love/hate relationship with.

Overall, I think I have to say Gero is my favourite, due mostly to 'Miller's Crossing' and 'McKay and Mrs Miller' but I also really like episodes like 'First Strike,' 'Adrift' and 'Search and Rescue.' This is also despite the fact that when all is said and done, I am more of a Sheppard girl, and 'Sunday' which I have issues with. (Not so much that he killed Carson, but they way it was done).

I would also like to join the long, long queue that is insanely looking forward to Brad Wright's ep. Seriously. It can't come soon enough.

*wanders away to think about this all some more*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee - very glad to have created a resource! I was hoping it might be a good reference for people, so that's very nice to hear.

Gero is most popular for his McKay, but I think he does justice to Sheppard, too (what with Mensa!Sheppard and such). I love both the boys and I do love Gero's Sheppard (mmmm, Miller's Crossing Sheppard!!) And Sunday...heh, yeah (I didn't have so much problems with that ep itself - okay, so it was a bit WTF plotwise, but ehh! My problem was more with the following eps, that there was zero aftermath to losing Carson; if John or Rodney ever died *makes signs warding against evil* I'd hope chars would notice they're missing in subsequent eps...!)

Ahhhh I need it to be 3 weeks from now right now! I need Wright's ep like burning!

[spike21.livejournal.com]

eeeenteresting...

Also, this will be a handy reference for me, since, when I guess who wrote an episode, I'm invariably wrong. *g*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee, very glad to have provided a reference - putting all my anal list-making to good purpose!

[crysothemis.livejournal.com]

I've had bits and pieces of this conversation with various people, but I really like how you've laid it out and I find your analyses fascinating.

I've been a Binder and McCullough fan for awhile, and I'm of the opinion that Mallozzi and Mullie are better showrunners than writers. At least, so far . . .

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yup, gnine and I talk about this stuff all the time - was good to lay it out for our own reference, glad it's fun for others as well!

I've been a fan of Binder since I realized Echoes was one of my favorite episodes - I like McCullough, am hoping he'll give me a favorite! And you've got a good point that M&M might be better at the running than the writing (even if their 'season of romance' makes me personally cringe...)