Let's talk about spoilers for a bit...

[katikat]

Finally done for the day. Yay!

And now to the spoilers...

After reading the latest (I think) interview with Eric Kripke, I'm quite curious about what will happen next. Kripke keeps talking about a "radical shift in character" but that Dean won't be demonic, more like a POW coming home. So, are we basically talking about PTSD? Broken Dean? Though the mystery about how Dean got out of hell could turn out interesting - if done right, that is. I hope that the writers won't botch it like they did the whole Bela storyline (she might have been an interesting character but not the way she was presented). But I can already see fans yelling "oh no, not again" about the whole amnesia thing. I like it - again though, if done right! Because this sentence scares me: "The writers have never been this excited about a season." Didn't he say the same thing about S3? *cringes* Please, don't let S4 turn out to be the same roller-coaster mess like the S3 was - some excellent eps but a lot of lame ones. Ugh...

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I was pretty anxious when it was announced that a new female character will join SG:A, call me paranoid. Especially with the way she was described. And my worries aren't really elevated yet. So, she'll be a part of an all female team, that sounds quite intriguing, but I would have preferred if the recurring character have been the leader of said team - major Teldy, played by Christina Cox. But, as Joe Malozzi said: "No plans for any romantic relationship between Vega and Sheppard." Thank God for small favors, really.

But I will try to keep an open mind. So far, the SG:A writers really pissed me off only once - when they revealed that Sheppard was divorced. No, I'm not jealous or anything but that was a real lame duck! It was so O'Neill-ish that it wasn't even funny. I mean, there were already fans who accused the writers of making Sheppard basically an O'Neill clone. And now? Sheesh X( And now they want to bring the ex-wife back *sigh* I mean, couldn't there be just one military guy who was simply happily single?

But I loved Malozzi's answer to this question: "Who spends the most time in the infirmary so far in season 5, as a patient?" Answer: "So far it’s a three-way tie between Sheppard, Ronon, and McKay." Yes, the writers know that female fans love "their" men whumped properly XD

Comments

[jamesinboots.livejournal.com]

But I can already see fans yelling "oh no, not again" about the whole amnesia thing. I like it - again though, if done right!

Kripke specifically said Dean would remember over time, which is really more interesting to me. Convenient total amnesia would be kind of lame, but Dean remembering it slowly? I like that better, and it plays up the whole mystery angle. :D

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I think so too. This way, they won't have to reveal everything at once, without the necessity of Dean lying to Sam. And I'm quite curious about the whole mystery thing. I think that S4 already sounds better than S3. Before S3 began, all we had was that they needed to get Dean out of the deal and that there would be two new female characters... I think that S3 lacked the mystery of S1 (looking for their dad). I hope that S4 will get it back :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

My usual no spoiler rule really isn't working so far. *sigh*

The thing about being excited is mostly hype for the press, the kind of thing they have to say to sound good for the media. I'm sure they are excited, though - I know I am, at the same time as feeling cautious. It could be handled badly, but I'm choosing to feel highly optimistic.

When the first extracts of this interview came out, I saw a lot of people freaking out, but I felt really confident. And then the full interview was published and said pretty much exactly what I'd predicted. A few months on the outside, but for Dean in hell it'll probably feel like eternity - it stands to reason he'd be horrible disoriented after that experience and block out as much of it as possible in self-defence. I'm all kinds of happy about Sam remembering the promise he made not to explore his powers - it was the last and most important thing Dean ever asked of him. I'm very curious to see what role Ruby will play now that the 'I can save Dean' leverage she had is gone - I can think of several angles for her to work now. But what I'm most curious about is just how the Show will play things - when will they come back? Will they allow us to follow Sam's grieving through all stages from the very beginning and just cover a lot of time in that first episode, or will they jump forward in time and skip that process. I'd prefer the former, but then I also want there to be lots of time to explore everyone's reactions once Dean is back.

Mostly, I just can't believe we have to wait the entire summer to find out! My spoiler resistance has been so weak so far - but I'm determined to read interviews only. No casting sides or episode summaries.

[laylee.livejournal.com]

I'm trying not to speculate too closely about season 4. I did that for season 3 and while I wasn't bitterly disappointed, it did exactly live up to expectations either. I do hope we get more of the emotional resonance that we got in season 2. For all that they mostly dwelt on Dean's deal, I felt that this season didn't have the same intensity of the previous two.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I tried to stay spoiler-free for the remainder of S3 and it was so much fun. But I really needed to know what would happen next after the season finale! And I'm taking all those spoilers with a grain of salt, really.

But I do have to admit that before S3 happen, I took everything Kripke said at face value. During S3 though, I grew more wary. They had some great ideas but the season was so lacking (I was totally underwhelmed by the season premiere and it went downhill from there :/). Now, I'm saying that it sounds good but everything will depend on their ability to actually pull it off :(

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I had great expectations for S3 but all in all, I was rather underwhelmed. They had some great, amazing eps (Mystery Spot, Jus in Belo, No Rest for the Wicked), but some others left me totally cold, with no desire to re-watch them (The Magnificent Seven, Red Sky at Morning). It was one huge up-and-down mess. And the result is that I'm now not sure if Kripke can actually pull this off. What he says does sound great but so did his plans for S3 and in the end, I was less than content with that.

[laylee.livejournal.com]

Of course the writers strike didn't help, but yeah, Kripke really needs to pull is socks up next season.

Although I wonder how much of this seasons' failure was Kripke listening to other people about what they want to see at the expense of his own vision for the series. Put girls into the cast, someone says, so he does. The lighting is too dark, says another, so he turns the lights up. We need more comedy, we need more gore...

What he really needs to do is to tell everyone to shut the hell up so he can get on with doing what he really wants to do. I just hope he's in the position to do so.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I was almost completely spoiler-free for the end of S2 and throughout S3, and thoroughly recommend it. There's nothing like going into an episode a complete blank slate, knowing that anything could happen - such a thrill ride!

My rule for now is that interviews regarding the general direction of S4 are fine, but anything specific is forbidden. I'd rather not know. But getting a feel for the general direction of the season just gives the mind something to work with and speculate about.

I tend not to ever take interviews at face value, though - they are under too much pressure to generate media hype to ever give a truly clear picture, even if they didn't mind giving away too many details - what details are mentioned have to be exaggerated for dramatic effect, to lure new viewers in and encourage old ones to remain loyal.

I think they did a decent enough job with S3 given the outside complications the season was fraught with - from network pressure through reduced budget to the disruption caused by the strike. They took a while to find their feet after the season started, and then had too many interruptions to hang onto their flow once they've reached it. It is a shame, but all we can do is acknowledge those restraints and enjoy what we got - there is a lot of good stuff in there.

Mostly, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed for S4 because it has so much potential, if only those outside influences can be kept at bay and the writers can get back into their stride right from the start, rather than taking their time warming up.