Regarding Sci-Fi Villains and Stargate SG-1: Season 9, Episodes 1-8 (So Far)

My goal is to (eventually) watch all of Stargate SG-1 and all of X-Files. With SG-1, I have two more seasons to go (why give up now?!). With X-Files, I have three more to go.

Here's the truth about fantasy & sci-fi, and

clothes: the older they look, the cooler they are.

I finally began Season 9 of Stargate SG-1.

Initial notes:

So far I've been (mostly) disappointed. Not by the introduction of Ben Browder, whom I quite like as Richard Dean Anderson's replacement (although, of course, I would prefer to have Richard Dean Anderson!) but by the new enemy.

How would I describe the Ori . . . ?

Boring.

Regarding Sci-Fi Villains:

Goa'uld: Fun! (Great dressers. See above.)
Wraith: Fun! (Even better dressers.)
Replicators (when machines): Boring
Replicators (when human): Slightly more interesting
Borg: Fun!
Khan: Great fun!
Cylons: Kind of fun (I only watched 1 season.)
Cylon Two (played by Callum Keith Rennie): Amazing fun!
Cigarette Smoking Man: Even more amazing fun! 
Ori: Yawnsville

I realized, after scanning my list, that I like to watch bad guys that I can care about. I don't mean "care about" as in "sympathize with"--I don't actually want to applaud amoral evildoing. But I do want to care when and if the bad guys show up on the screen.

I care when Ba'al shows up and sarcasms his way around the set (what!? it should be a verb!!). I care when the Borg Queen makes an appearance. I care about Steve (Wraith from Stargate: Atlantis). I care about what Cylon Two has to say.  

I don't care about the Ori even a little tiny bit (not even when Julian Sands talks in that plushy voice of his).

It isn't that the Ori-as-enemies don't raise interesting ideas. I have to give Stargate SG-1 credit where credit is due: the writers tackle their semi-omnipotent/omniscient bad guys with more panache and insight than most shows. Not only is the problem of free-will raised (naturally) but also the rather more insightful question, "Is power by itself a good enough reason to bestow one's allegiance?" The writers also intelligently tackle the comprehensible motives people might have to bestow that allegiance (anyway).

It's the Ori themselves that don't raise a flicker of interest. They don't make me chuckle or sit-up-and-take-notice or wonder what they will do next. They don't even engender particularly interesting responses from the SG-1 team except from Daniel who gets to give a lot of well-written speeches.

Granted, the SG-1 writers have captured the humorless inflexibility of passionate fanaticism (whether it be found in religion or, say, environmentalism). But why would I want to watch a whole season of that?

Okay, so, William B. Davis shows up. Eh, I'm not sure Davis by himself is enough to salvage the concept, but then I only just finished episode 8.

Reviews of Episodes 1-8 can be found in the post below.