Research: I DO EET
Aug. 31st, 2011 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stringertheoryThere's a quote about writing that I love which compares the writing process to an iceberg: for whatever shows above the surface (for whatever actually makes it into the final draft), ten times as much is below the waterline (went into the final product). Most of the time, the reader never learns about any of the behind the scenes process.
Today, dear readers, I want to share it with you.
As part of the background for my story In the Shadow of Giants, I researched all the SG teams and their named members as they appeared in each season. ALL OF THEM. Because I needed to know - I HAD TO KNOW - who showed up where, what they were doing, what kind of a team each was, who died and when, and so on. I had to get everyone and all the timelines straight in my head, first because I planned to use actual situations from the show - passing mentions of situations that I could expand upon - and later so I wouldn't overlap with established incidents or use names already claimed.
I compiled this information into a nifty little list that was both revelatory and sobering. Come, let me show you.
By season, all named characters within each team. This, of course, does not include all the other little notes I made concerning any information regarding the typical tasks of the teams (recon, security, search and rescue, so on), when the number of teams expanded (and first mentions of certain team numbers as the expansion continued), and personal notes about the deaths and their context in the seasons/series/arcs.
SEASON ONE
SG-2: Major Ferretti, Sgt. Warren, Casey
SG-3: Col. Makepeace, Lt. Johnson, Major Castleman
SG-7: All die on Hanka ["Singularity" (1.15)]
SG-9: Cpt. Hanson [Dies "The First Commandment" (1.6)], Lt. Baker [Dies same], Frakes [Dies same], Lt. Connor
SEASON TWO
SG-2: Major Coburn
SG-3: Major Warren
SG-9: Major Kovacek
SG-10: Major Boyd, unknown captain, unknown male, unknown female [All die "A Matter of Time" (2.15)]
SG-11: Cpt. Connor
SEASON THREE
SG-2: Major Coburn
SG-3: Col. Makepeace
SG-11: All die [Between start of the season and "Rules of Engagement" (3.9)]
SEASON FOUR
SG-2: Major Coburn [until "Beneath the Surface" (4.10)], Major Pierce, Cpt./Major Griff
SG-3: Major Waite [Dies "Chain Reaction" (4.15)], Lt. Morrison [Dies same]
SG-5: Lt. Barber [Dies "The Light" (4.18)]
SG-11: Major Hawkins [Dies "The First Ones" (4.8)], Dr. Rothman [Dies same], Loeder [Dies same], Sanchez [Dies same]
SG-14: Major Graham [Dies "Divide and Conquer" (4.5)], Lt. Astor [Dies same], Cpt. Blasdale [Dies same], Sgt. Louis [Possibly dead same]
SG-15: All likely die "Divide and Conquer" (4.5) (joint mission with SG-14 leading to events of the episode)
SEASON FIVE
SG-3: Major Lawrence [possibly meant to be Major Warren]
SG-9: Major Benton [Dies "The Sentinel" (5.20)], Tarkman [Dies same], Winters [Dies same], Lt. Grogan
SG-15: Major Pierce
SG-16: Col. Reynolds, unknown male, unknown female
SG-17: Major Mansfield [Dies "Last Stand" (5.16)], Lt. Elliot [Dies same], two unknown team members [Die same]
SEASON SIX
SG-4: Lt. Col. Evanov [Dies "Metamorphosis" (6.16)]
SG-12: All die "Allegiance" (6.9)
SEASON SEVEN
SG-2: Penhall
SG-3: Col. Reynolds, Lt. Hanson, Lt. Penhall
SG-5: Major Harper
SG-11: Col. Edwards, Major Lorne, Lt. Menard, Lt. Ritter [Dies "Enemy Mine" (7.7)]
SG-13: Col. Dixon, Dr. Balinsky, Sr. Airman Bosworth, Sr. Airman Wells
SG-17: Lt. Woeste
SG-21: [only mention is 7.16]
SEASON EIGHT
SG-3: Sr. Airman Bosworth
SG-22: Balinsky
SEASON NINE
SG-3: Lt. Mooney
SG-5: Major Altman
SG-6: Col. Barnes, Lt. Fisher, Airman Ryan [All likely die from Ori plague "The Fourth Horsemen" (9.10-9.11)]
SG-9: Major Hadden, Lt. McKenzie, Conway, Stevens [Dies "Arthur's Mantle" (9.18)]
SG-22: Col. Raimi
SEASON TEN
SG-3: Baker
SG-12: Major Escher
SG-15: All die "Momento Mori" (10.8)
SG-25: [only mention is 10.5]
Not a lot of love for the higher number teams, though they sneak in every once in a while. And with many of the "canon fodder" deaths given only a passing mention, it's easy to pass over how many characters die each season. SG-9 is wiped out (save one) on two different occasions, SG-11 is completely wiped out twice, and it's highly likely that SG-15 snuffed it twice, too. Seasons four and five were tough times at the SGC; the loss of five complete teams with something around 22 deaths. And that's just what fatalities we are told about.
There is so much going on in the Stargate universe - and, as a result, so much that we miss - and it's easy to allow yourself to brush over some of the details. Even more, the A plot (following Our Heroes) almost always obscures any B-side, unnamed, secondary/tertiary/third-MP-on-the-right stories that could be told or happen to be mentioned.
On the one hand, this is fantastic as it provides so much room for fanfic writers to play in and so many avenues for them to explore. On the other hand, it's disappointing (though expected) that we can't get that kind of depth on the show. Alas, no budget or running time in the world would allow for such depth as could be created from the Stargate verse.
Not that the fanfic writers are complaining. :)
Today, dear readers, I want to share it with you.
As part of the background for my story In the Shadow of Giants, I researched all the SG teams and their named members as they appeared in each season. ALL OF THEM. Because I needed to know - I HAD TO KNOW - who showed up where, what they were doing, what kind of a team each was, who died and when, and so on. I had to get everyone and all the timelines straight in my head, first because I planned to use actual situations from the show - passing mentions of situations that I could expand upon - and later so I wouldn't overlap with established incidents or use names already claimed.
I compiled this information into a nifty little list that was both revelatory and sobering. Come, let me show you.
By season, all named characters within each team. This, of course, does not include all the other little notes I made concerning any information regarding the typical tasks of the teams (recon, security, search and rescue, so on), when the number of teams expanded (and first mentions of certain team numbers as the expansion continued), and personal notes about the deaths and their context in the seasons/series/arcs.
SEASON ONE
SG-2: Major Ferretti, Sgt. Warren, Casey
SG-3: Col. Makepeace, Lt. Johnson, Major Castleman
SG-7: All die on Hanka ["Singularity" (1.15)]
SG-9: Cpt. Hanson [Dies "The First Commandment" (1.6)], Lt. Baker [Dies same], Frakes [Dies same], Lt. Connor
SEASON TWO
SG-2: Major Coburn
SG-3: Major Warren
SG-9: Major Kovacek
SG-10: Major Boyd, unknown captain, unknown male, unknown female [All die "A Matter of Time" (2.15)]
SG-11: Cpt. Connor
SEASON THREE
SG-2: Major Coburn
SG-3: Col. Makepeace
SG-11: All die [Between start of the season and "Rules of Engagement" (3.9)]
SEASON FOUR
SG-2: Major Coburn [until "Beneath the Surface" (4.10)], Major Pierce, Cpt./Major Griff
SG-3: Major Waite [Dies "Chain Reaction" (4.15)], Lt. Morrison [Dies same]
SG-5: Lt. Barber [Dies "The Light" (4.18)]
SG-11: Major Hawkins [Dies "The First Ones" (4.8)], Dr. Rothman [Dies same], Loeder [Dies same], Sanchez [Dies same]
SG-14: Major Graham [Dies "Divide and Conquer" (4.5)], Lt. Astor [Dies same], Cpt. Blasdale [Dies same], Sgt. Louis [Possibly dead same]
SG-15: All likely die "Divide and Conquer" (4.5) (joint mission with SG-14 leading to events of the episode)
SEASON FIVE
SG-3: Major Lawrence [possibly meant to be Major Warren]
SG-9: Major Benton [Dies "The Sentinel" (5.20)], Tarkman [Dies same], Winters [Dies same], Lt. Grogan
SG-15: Major Pierce
SG-16: Col. Reynolds, unknown male, unknown female
SG-17: Major Mansfield [Dies "Last Stand" (5.16)], Lt. Elliot [Dies same], two unknown team members [Die same]
SEASON SIX
SG-4: Lt. Col. Evanov [Dies "Metamorphosis" (6.16)]
SG-12: All die "Allegiance" (6.9)
SEASON SEVEN
SG-2: Penhall
SG-3: Col. Reynolds, Lt. Hanson, Lt. Penhall
SG-5: Major Harper
SG-11: Col. Edwards, Major Lorne, Lt. Menard, Lt. Ritter [Dies "Enemy Mine" (7.7)]
SG-13: Col. Dixon, Dr. Balinsky, Sr. Airman Bosworth, Sr. Airman Wells
SG-17: Lt. Woeste
SG-21: [only mention is 7.16]
SEASON EIGHT
SG-3: Sr. Airman Bosworth
SG-22: Balinsky
SEASON NINE
SG-3: Lt. Mooney
SG-5: Major Altman
SG-6: Col. Barnes, Lt. Fisher, Airman Ryan [All likely die from Ori plague "The Fourth Horsemen" (9.10-9.11)]
SG-9: Major Hadden, Lt. McKenzie, Conway, Stevens [Dies "Arthur's Mantle" (9.18)]
SG-22: Col. Raimi
SEASON TEN
SG-3: Baker
SG-12: Major Escher
SG-15: All die "Momento Mori" (10.8)
SG-25: [only mention is 10.5]
Not a lot of love for the higher number teams, though they sneak in every once in a while. And with many of the "canon fodder" deaths given only a passing mention, it's easy to pass over how many characters die each season. SG-9 is wiped out (save one) on two different occasions, SG-11 is completely wiped out twice, and it's highly likely that SG-15 snuffed it twice, too. Seasons four and five were tough times at the SGC; the loss of five complete teams with something around 22 deaths. And that's just what fatalities we are told about.
There is so much going on in the Stargate universe - and, as a result, so much that we miss - and it's easy to allow yourself to brush over some of the details. Even more, the A plot (following Our Heroes) almost always obscures any B-side, unnamed, secondary/tertiary/third-MP-on-the-right stories that could be told or happen to be mentioned.
On the one hand, this is fantastic as it provides so much room for fanfic writers to play in and so many avenues for them to explore. On the other hand, it's disappointing (though expected) that we can't get that kind of depth on the show. Alas, no budget or running time in the world would allow for such depth as could be created from the Stargate verse.
Not that the fanfic writers are complaining. :)