Hello

I've read the recent Richard Dean Anderson interview in which he stated 
the type of reaction the fans could expect from Colonel Jack O'Neill to
the death of his 'comrade in arms', Daniel Jackson.  In which he told us
Jack's reaction to the loss of Daniel, which could in no way be compared
to the loss of his son would be of a 'pragmatic' nature.  Basically Jack
would shake off the loss of someone he's served with, fought, bled and
died with for the past five years like none of it ever happened and
carry on as if he had never existed.  Life goes on.

Indeed.

A number of us read this article and discussed the effect these
statements had on us.  To say we were shocked and dismayed and extremely
disappointed in Mr Anderson would not be overstating the point.  To give
him the benefit of the doubt, we are aware as one of 'the powers that
be' responsible for producing the show he is somewhat constrained in
voicing his personal opinions by needing to do 'damage control' and
obligated to hold to the official party line, but a great many fans have
been hurt and dismayed by these comments, and I happen to be one of
them.

During the discussions surrounding these comments it was also noted the
deplorable track record the show in general seems to have for allowing
the characters to react in a realistic, emotional fashion to traumatic
occurrences to the various members of the team.  It was speculated the
reason for this might have been the Air Force advisors telling them the
'pragmatic' reaction to the loss/threats to members of their team is the
way the members of SG-1 should play it.

If so, I have to wonder why.  Why they would 'advise' them members of an
elite, highly bonded, tight knit, frequently under fire and constantly
facing unknown dangers front line team would customarily react
'pragmatically' and stoically to harm coming to one of their own.  When
reality is anything BUT that.

I was never in combat - or even close to it, but I was a member of the
Canadian military for eight years.  Eight years during which I
experienced a sense of 'community' and 'oneness' - a connection to the
rest of my military 'family' and the people I served with I have NEVER
experienced in any aspect of my life since. Esprit de corps isn't just a
phrase, it's a way of life.  It's driven into you, from practically the
moment you walk through the gates of boot camp, the absolute necessity
for you to stop thinking of yourself as simply YOU - not only must you
learn the discipline of obeying the orders you are given you must
understand you are now a part of something much bigger than you - your
actions can now affect the lives of everyone you serve with.

Shared hardship, stress, having to rely on others to overcome obstacles
in extremely 'hostile' and unfamiliar conditions builds intense bonds.
Very quickly.  Almost overnight complete strangers pull together, as a
team, to get each other through and get the job done.  Anyone who CAN'T
make this leap, work with the others, get with the program, does not
make it through.

It's going on thirty years since I walked out the other side of boot
camp not only a part of the military but a member of a very 'elite' band
of survivors I'd just been through hell with for 11 weeks.  A hundred
and twenty five of us started out, only twenty five of us graduated.
That was something to be proud of, and I was, and still am.  Almost
thirty years later, and yet I still have very vivid and fond
memories of the women who were with me through that experience. Remember
all of their names, think of them often, wonder what happened
to them. They're special to me, and always will be.  And that's just
boot camp!

What of those who have served in actual combat conditions?  I have no
experience of this personally, but I have recently been
following, quite avidly, a series about the Vietnam War called 'Tour of
Duty' and let me tell you, the reaction of those men to the loss of
their teammates and friends in the line of duty is ANYTHING but
pragmatic.  Or stoic.  I've seen scenes of big, macho men gathering the
dead bodies of their friends into their arms and sobbing like babies,
not caring who saw them. These men cared intensely about each other in
ways we can't even begin to grasp.  Even though they are told 'shake it
off, its the only way to get through it'.  That kind of 'pragmatism',
although defensive, simply is not always possible.  Sooner or later they
encounter that one loss they simply cannot bear and some of the scenes
of resulting grief are so raw, real and terrible it's very difficult to
watch.

So anyway, for me, there have definitely been times in  the series when
I found the team's 'pragmatic' reaction to the loss of one of their own
(Daniel's 'death' in Serpent's Lair was one in particular that really
bothered me - the remaining members of SG-1  patting themselves on the
back for saving the earth 'not such a bad day at all' while as far as
they know Daniel is dead and not one of them seems to remember this or
be at all distressed by it - very disturbing) to be one of the most
consistently unrealistic aspects of the series.  They just won't be that
blasé!  Fic writers are at times cricitised for being over the top at
having the team angsting like crazy when a member of SG-1 is severely
wounded or MIA, but that is the way they would genuinely react.  They
just - would. They certainly wouldn't just shrug it off and go 'oh,
damn, lost another one, shame about that, he was just starting to learn
the ropes, oh well, plenty more where he came from'.  Which is
unfortunately the way they've been playing it through most of the
series.  Extremely unrealistically.

It's not the way they would really react.  They'd go nuts. And they
SHOULD be similarly deeply distressed by the death of Daniel. Every
single one of them.  Including Colonel Jack O'Neill.

How could they NOT be? They've spent the last five years in each other's
pockets, been to hell and back together, literally, defended each other,
saved each other's lives, defied orders, risked everything - whatever
happened to 'no one gets left behind'?  I guess death doesn't count as
an occasion for them to get all worked up about.  They'll move heaven
and earth to save one of their team mates but if he dies, oh, so what?
If Mr Anderson can tell us Jack will be unaffected by Daniel's death I
have to wonder which show he has been working on for the past five
years.  Certainly not the one I have been watching.

I find it impossible to believe the characters I have come to know and
love would be able to react 'pragmatically' to Daniel's death. It simply
would not happen. As a matter of fact, I find it extremely difficult to
believe they would be able to function as a team if Daniel is torn from
their midst.  The loss would be insupportable, they would be - SHOULD be
too devastated to function.

And they would be, if they were allowed to BE the characters as we have
grown to know and understand them.

However, as we have been led to believe by the contents of this
interview, if the members of SG-1 react 'pragmatically' to Daniel's
final exit, then as far as I'm concerned not only will they be doing the
character - and their own characters an intense disservice, but to my
mind 'pragmatism' is a euphemism for 'move on, nothing to see here,
forget all about it, roll out the new guy, no big deal, business as
usual, the show must go on'.  Stargate will no longer be about the
characters of SG-1 as we've learned to know and love them, it will be
about getting them to behave in a way which serves the furtherance of a
'product' and nothing more.  For if after all this time any of us
believe any member of the team could actually dust Daniel's departure
off and 'carry on' like he was never there....  even though they'll be
made to 'act' that way, it won't be real, it wouldn't be them, and it
certainly isn't what would actually happen if they are indeed the people
we have come to know and love for the last five years.

Pragmatism be damned.

Perhaps Mr Anderson needs to review a tape of the episode 'Fire and
Water' to be reminded just how 'pragmatically' Jack and the rest of the
team reacted to Daniel's loss in the past.  I'd be more than happy to
send him a copy. I'm sure there would be plenty others who'd be
delighted to do the same.

Phoenix Emrys

(c) 2001 PhoenixE.  All rights recognised.  No copyright infringement intended.