Stargate Science
Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are two of my favorite shows. The characters are diverse and likeable, the episodes are well-written, and they have heart. However, as has been the case ever since the original Star Trek series, scientific accuracy has sort of been ignored in favor of character-based stories. This doesn't bother me all that much: I would definitely prefer to have a show with fun characters in tense situations than a science lecture, but every now and then I notice something that they're doing wrong.
I don't pretend to know anything about wormhole theory or anything more advanced that high school general physics (which I passed with a D), but I have studied astronomy, both in high school and in college and I feel that, since I'm usually a pretty good sport about mistakes, I deserve this one chance to nitpick. As for the way gate travel works: it seems to me that all DHDs have the same symbols except for the point of origin, and that each planet has a definite address that can be typed in the same from any planet. This flaw seems to obvious to me that I wonder why anybody who writes for the show didn't catch it, but maybe it's just the astronomer in me. The gate addresses are based on constellations. On a different planet, one sees the stars from a different angle, and so constellations are different. I'm not even sure how well that system of selecting a designation would work in a three-dimensional space anyway, since constellations don't necessary have all their stars the same distance from earth, but that was pre-show. The second major astronomy flaw that is obvious to me is the fact that they use the two Earth gates - Egypt and Antarctica - interchangeably. The northern and southern skies have different constellations, almost like being on another planet. Unless the two gates both have an identical assortment of constellations from both hemispheres, it shouldn't be possible for them to be switched. As an aside to that, a base operating in only the northern hemisphere would only be able to visit planets with addresses made entirely from northern constellations. Assuming there are planets with stargates in the other direction (and there probably were if there was a stargate in Antarctica), those planets are never visited.
Also little things that bug me sometimes are slight but definite alterations from the movie - not things like why the characters look different and the fact that Jack's not the same and that his name is spelled different, because I've gotten past all that. I mean things like Abydos suddenly being in the same galaxy as Earth. Didn't it used to be on "the other side of the known universe"? And as for the other planets not working because they're too far away - yeah, the universe is probably expanding, and I may be wrong about this, but I don't think ten thousand years is enough to make that much of a difference. The constellations have stayed the same, after all. In the eye of time since the universe began, ten thousand years is a blink. I also very much miss the language barrier that the movie had. It gave a sense of realism to the whole thing. It may just be because I'm a language enthusiast, but I wouldn't mind sitting through subtitles every exploratory episode (which I wish they'd still do!). If Jackson can speak 23 languages, let him! Or, if the aliens must speak English, I wish they would do it naturally. Most of them sound like robots or Vulcans, and not even very good ones.
While I still love SG-1, I hope they get back to exploring other planets sometime soon. Over the last season or so it seems like half the stuff that's happened has been on Earth, and in the other half they used spaceships. Whatever happened to exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations? I thought that was the whole point of the show!
Well, now that I've ranted about the things that bother me I have to mention things I do like. Teal'c's hair. Colonel Mitchell. The fact that Michael Shanks looks better than last season (woohoo!). General Landry. The new doc (not as cool as Frasier, but beats the hell out of Brightman - not to mention who she's married to!). Multi-baal. Wait, that one's just creepy. I take it back. People etc. I'd like to see again: Nem, Jonas Quinn (PLEASE!!), those guys from One False Step, and Paul Davis when he's not wearing a moustache.
I don't pretend to know anything about wormhole theory or anything more advanced that high school general physics (which I passed with a D), but I have studied astronomy, both in high school and in college and I feel that, since I'm usually a pretty good sport about mistakes, I deserve this one chance to nitpick. As for the way gate travel works: it seems to me that all DHDs have the same symbols except for the point of origin, and that each planet has a definite address that can be typed in the same from any planet. This flaw seems to obvious to me that I wonder why anybody who writes for the show didn't catch it, but maybe it's just the astronomer in me. The gate addresses are based on constellations. On a different planet, one sees the stars from a different angle, and so constellations are different. I'm not even sure how well that system of selecting a designation would work in a three-dimensional space anyway, since constellations don't necessary have all their stars the same distance from earth, but that was pre-show. The second major astronomy flaw that is obvious to me is the fact that they use the two Earth gates - Egypt and Antarctica - interchangeably. The northern and southern skies have different constellations, almost like being on another planet. Unless the two gates both have an identical assortment of constellations from both hemispheres, it shouldn't be possible for them to be switched. As an aside to that, a base operating in only the northern hemisphere would only be able to visit planets with addresses made entirely from northern constellations. Assuming there are planets with stargates in the other direction (and there probably were if there was a stargate in Antarctica), those planets are never visited.
Also little things that bug me sometimes are slight but definite alterations from the movie - not things like why the characters look different and the fact that Jack's not the same and that his name is spelled different, because I've gotten past all that. I mean things like Abydos suddenly being in the same galaxy as Earth. Didn't it used to be on "the other side of the known universe"? And as for the other planets not working because they're too far away - yeah, the universe is probably expanding, and I may be wrong about this, but I don't think ten thousand years is enough to make that much of a difference. The constellations have stayed the same, after all. In the eye of time since the universe began, ten thousand years is a blink. I also very much miss the language barrier that the movie had. It gave a sense of realism to the whole thing. It may just be because I'm a language enthusiast, but I wouldn't mind sitting through subtitles every exploratory episode (which I wish they'd still do!). If Jackson can speak 23 languages, let him! Or, if the aliens must speak English, I wish they would do it naturally. Most of them sound like robots or Vulcans, and not even very good ones.
While I still love SG-1, I hope they get back to exploring other planets sometime soon. Over the last season or so it seems like half the stuff that's happened has been on Earth, and in the other half they used spaceships. Whatever happened to exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations? I thought that was the whole point of the show!
Well, now that I've ranted about the things that bother me I have to mention things I do like. Teal'c's hair. Colonel Mitchell. The fact that Michael Shanks looks better than last season (woohoo!). General Landry. The new doc (not as cool as Frasier, but beats the hell out of Brightman - not to mention who she's married to!). Multi-baal. Wait, that one's just creepy. I take it back. People etc. I'd like to see again: Nem, Jonas Quinn (PLEASE!!), those guys from One False Step, and Paul Davis when he's not wearing a moustache.
posted by Dannyvangeline at 9:17 PM
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