Okey-dokey, Stargate season 2.

I was looking back through the season 2 recap discussions on redial_the_gate recently, and it reminded me why this is one of my favourite seasons. They got more into the rhythm of the characters (Teal'c isn't so damn stoic all the time) and some of the longer-term ideas – there are fewer "three shots disintegrate!" moments. SG-1 are still young and innocent in the ways of the galaxy, and the Goa'uld are still ZOMG DANGEROUS!!! The number of people who know about the programme is still relatively sane (although getting worse). Battlestar Galactica hadn't yet come along to convince sci-fi programme makers that they had to be all gloom and angst in order to be taken seriously.

And, there are some awesomely crazy costumes.

Plus they still had some doozies to tick off on their Big List Of Genre Tropes (and you know how much I love those).

I get a definite sense, when watching early Stargate, that the creative team had a few meetings that began with the words, "You know what we've not done yet...?" Being in the past a Trek fan, a Doctor Who fan, a Blake's 7 fan, an X-Files fan, etc etc, I have a great and abiding (albeit sometimes mocking) fondness for many of these classic storylines. There's the one where it's all an artificial reality, the one with the addiction that causes one of them to be an asshole, the one with the bugs, the one with the Native American fetish, the one where they all swap bodies, the time travel one... And, to do it justice, Stargate throws itself wholeheartedly into them.

That's really a major joy of the show, for me: they aren't (or weren't) ashamed to go for the obvious. I'm a big fan of the obvious: it tends to be a great basis for fanfic. *g*

Also, Show and Tell is one of my favourite episodes, and not just because of Jack and the kid, but... Okay, yes, mainly because of Jack and the kid. I swear to god, it's like every hormone sits up and starts yelling, "WOOHOO, LOOK AT THE GENETIC MATERIAL ON THAT. AND HE WOULD BE A GOOD PROTECTOR OF THE OFFSPRING. YES!"

Ahem.

Leaving my problems aside (and how confusing it must be for those stupid human instincts when a huge proportion of the people they 'encounter' are on a TV screen), there are some major character moments in this season. Jack gets some closure on a major source of past angst, in A Matter Of Time. Teal'c settles more into making a new life for himself – he finds a more permanent home for his ex-wife and son, and he gets to explore the, uh, attics and deserted warehouses of delightful downtown Springs – and makes a non-SGC friend, of course. I wonder if they kept in touch? Her mother would probably find it a little strange, but he has got official Air Force backing. (And Teal'c deals much better than I would about the whole 'alien bugs are eating me from the inside out overwriting my DNA' situation. I would be freaking. the fuck. out. Seriously.)

Daniel, poor Daniel, becomes a sarcophagus addict, finds and loses Sha're again, and helps her to give birth to Apophis's child – and then he and Teal'c both get to stand and watch as Apophis dies. It's a wonder they're both still (relatively) sane.

Sam acquires and loses a symbiote, nearly loses her father, nearly gets into NASA, helps her father acquire a symbiote... Really, it's quite a busy year for her. She also has her first command, which goes well, although it's very brief and she spends most of it imitating Jack. I bet she reflected on it afterwards, though – Jack's style is not her style, although she does seem to have picked up some tips from him on 'being a smartass in the face of the enemy'.

I also think Sam, the most of them, would truly understand the impact of the close encounter with a black hole, and then the whole time travel thing. She's still so (adorably) uncynical about the wonders of the universe - she and Daniel must just have some geekflail moments about it all.

So, yeah. Season two: a joyful experience.