Poll: to wait, or not to wait?

[eregyrn]

So of course, the SciFi channel in the U.S. will be waiting six months, until March 2007, to broadcast the second halves of the SG-1 and SGA seasons. Comma, the bastards.

I've never downloaded SG eps before, because normally, the UK/etc. tended to get only a few weeks ahead of us, and I could usually hold out that long. But knowing that the *entire* rest of the season is going to be broadcast elsewhere before we get *any* of it... is at least making me think about going over the edge.

In some previous comment threads, I've gotten a sense that others may be thinking along the same lines. So I was curious to see what the numbers are like.

[Poll #829258]

Comments

[lerefuge.livejournal.com]

I live in Canada and don't get SciFi nor Space so, I don't have a choice to download episodes. To download them after they ahve aired in USA or elsewhere makes no difference ;)

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Ah, another choice I should have put up there!

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

If they want to give it to other countries months before we get them, I say screw them.

I could change my mind. It depends on how many people I know are watching. I won't be a happy camper if the net is aglow with news and I get spoiled because someone is careless. Also, I would want to participate.

[celestialseason.livejournal.com]

Last season, after downloading the cliff hanger resolution eps I swore I would wait - and for SG-1 I did wait, but every time someone posted a review of SGA I would end up reading it then wanting to see the ep and so ended up downloading the majority of those. I know for me it's going to be very hard to wait for March.

[altorogue.livejournal.com]

Here by way of friendsfriends. Hi!

I'll still watch the eps on scifi when they actually do air . . . I'm sensitive enough to know that these shows need good ratings, and I wouldn't want to deprive them of that.

But good lord, no way in hell am I waiting if I don't have to. Those eps are going to be everywhere, and it would drive me insane.

I figure, I'll watch them from the UK or whatever, and then I'll still have a bit of time before they air on Scifi. It will be nice to watch them again by then.

[cofax7]

You watching or not watching won't matter if you're not a Nielsen viewer; they don't count Tivo data for the advertising rates (yet). Just so you know.

[cofax7]

6 months is crazy, and given that it's the end of SG-1 and there's a cliffhanger involving Jack on SGA, I'll probably DL all of SG-1 and at least the first ep of SGA. After that it may depend on how cranky SGA makes me. *g*

[http://users.livejournal.com/oceana_/]

I have to download them anyway, since I live in a country where they will maybe air in a year, and then it will be in german. I don't know if I'd be strong enough to wait if I lived in the US.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

ah, the poll. ;)

i'm sticking with: rely on the kindness of friends. because waiting six months will drive me over the edge. *bg*

[altorogue.livejournal.com]

I don't have a Tivo, I'd be watching them live. But thanks for the heads-up if I do ever get one.

[drlense.livejournal.com]

Absolutely downloading- I can't wait until MARCH!!! I'm from the US- I demand instant gratification always!

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is why I wanted to put up the survey -- I sort of wanted to get the sense which way the wind was blowing on my flist. Because that's who I participate with the most. If most of my SG-related flist, the ones I interact with the most, are going to be downloading (including a number of people who never have before), then that means to me that it will behoove me to download in order to keep with the zeitgeist.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

I'm not all that spoilerphobic, so my usual m.o. was to read others' posted reviews and stuff, but not bother going to the trouble of figuring out how to download and all, because I could wait the short time to get to see the eps. But an extra 3 months is just too long.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, as Cofax says -- all the info we've gotten in the past month or so since the cancellation seems to point to the idea that there is nothing us regular viewers can do about the ratings. If we aren't a Nielsen family, we just don't count.

I'm also sort of guessing that most of the people who are Nielsen families aren't the sort who would be downloading... but really I have no idea who these shadowy people are. I don't know what if anything I could do to affect their decisions, either.

I've always really disliked the concept of the Nielsen ratings, because of that. Although I have heard from time to time that sometimes Nielsen families *do* include genre fans -- I've heard of some folks on my flist in fact who served as a Nielsen family for a time. So I just don't know. But I don't like it. It feels deeply inaccurate to me.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm leaning in this direction myself. Definitely the cliffhangers, and a good bit of SG-1. Maybe not very much of SGA.

For me, a big factor is that my viewing-buddies probably won't be interested in watching downloaded eps with me. Which may be okay, but it means that when SciFi finally airs them, we will likely be watching them on tv at that time so the guys can see them.

And the plain fact is... most SGA eps are not ones that I feel the need to watch a 2nd time. So for most of SGA (except of course for The Return 2) I can probably be content reading spoiler-reviews, and then finally seeing the eps later. Unlike with SG-1.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I should have put in a ticky-box for "I always have to download anyway, I can't see them otherwise".

Here's a question, unrelated to this -- did you originally get hooked on SG-1 in German translation, and then later watch the eps in English? Or what?

I've always kind of wondered how the show comes across in other language dubs, and how much that might affect one's reception of it, or one's bonding with it. Because of course, no matter how good the VAs are, they can't necessarily replicate the vocal performances of the regular cast, even if they can mostly replicate (in translation, anyway) the lines. But I've wondered how much the VAs for a show like SG try to replicate those vocal performances, intonation and so on.

I wonder, in other words, what Jack sounds like in German. And whether that affects one's view of him.

Because -- hey, look, I know I'm pretty far gone. But I love Jack's voice. I also really like Daniel's voice, and I could listen to Teal'c all day, just reading the phonebook. MS's Daniel has a distinctive delivery, and CJ's Teal'c is like warm audio honey, and I'm fangirl enough to love hearing Jack's accent, of all things.

I just find it impossible to separate my audio impression of all the cast (what would Hammond be like without his accent and delivery???) from my overall impression of them, I guess. So I wonder how it works.

(The only comparable examples I can think of from my end of things is that if you give me the choice between a live-action foreign movie with subtitles, and a dub version, I will always choose the subbed version. I'm a big fan of Ken Watanabe, and I love his voice, even if I have to be listening to him speak Japanese where I can only catch, like, one word in 100.)

[starglyph.livejournal.com]

I plan on waiting. If this is the last I ever get of SG-1, I want to make it last as long as possible.

I don't mind spoilers and will read the LJ's. I may have to download anything with Jack.

Just going to hurry up and wait...

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

I bet we'll be able to find somebody to help you out. ;-)

(That's why I said "or otherwise obtain" -- I think it's going to be easier for folks this time around, because I don't think everyone will have to download. I think some people will download and then others will use various file-sending services to get copies to people.)

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Well, that's the thing -- I'm usually Instant Gratification Girl. Yet, I could wait until mid-January. That's annoying, but that is what I have been trained to regard as "normal". And for 4 years I have been able to rein in my Instant Gratification impulses that far -- I never DLed eps when the UK was 3 weeks or so ahead of us.

I'm mostly just irked about how the 6-months wait is really too long (in terms of storytelling), and there's no *reason* for it, it's just SciFi being asshats.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

It's haaaaaard! ;-)

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

hee! that's a good thing. ;)

the people at scifi who figured out this schedule should have their heads examined. ack.

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

The Nielsens are utterly ridiculous, especially given the technological changes that have happened just in the past 10 years. And they were outdated before that.

I could rant further but I have a feeling I'd be preaching to the choir. :)

I'll be downloading. I really don't think SciFi is helping their own cause with the split season thing, either with ratings or with content.

[ryanlion.livejournal.com]

I'll probably end up sucking it up and waiting, trying to avoid spoilers, which is mostly easy because aside from you, Raqs, my husband and one other person on flist, most people I know socially are not at all interested in either series.

It's not like I don't have the ability to go out and download the eps, but laziness and other things get in the way. Plus a six month hiatus gives me a chance to catch up on other tv series that I enjoy.

I do think it's annoying to break it up like that if they've already filmed the eps though.

[paian]

I will download, no compunction whatsoever. I think I may actually worry more about the risk of spoiling the people who don't do that, and how it will cramp and confuse and decentralize the discussion ... but I'm totally dl'ing and watching.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and that's the problem -- they clearly don't care how detrimental it might be to SG-1, which makes sense because of the cancellation; but it's damned annoying that they so transparently don't care about SGA either.

You know, I don't wish it ill, because it is a very *good* show -- but I would feel a certain sense of schadenfreude towards SciFi if BSG's ratings are harmed by the long hiatus/move to Oct./uncoupling from SciFi Friday. We'll see. (But I don't feel that way towards the show itself, and I'd feel bad for it, and of course for the people who are deeply invested in it in ways that I'm not.)

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's no production reason for the delay. It's SciFi screwing around with its audience, again. Like usual. :P

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

*nods* I don't really feel a moral compunction about downloading. And the reason I never DLed before was more laziness than anything else, plus social considerations.

But now the social wind is blowing in the other direction, really. The responses to this poll are fairly clearly indicating to me that *my* flist, at least, kind of sounds like it is overwhelmingly going to DL and watch, rather than wait.

That makes it sound to me like in fact that will be where the main focal point of the discussion is -- not on SciFi's schedule, as in years past, but on the UK or whatever schedule. And that's what I'm thinking about following. It's basically sounding to me that if I waited, I would miss getting to have the discussion with the majority of everyone else when *they* are having it.

[paian]

It does sound that way. I'm so glad you did this poll! The results are helpful to me too. Thanks for asking the questions. :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/oceana_/]

did you originally get hooked on SG-1 in German translation, and then later watch the eps in English?
No, I watched them in english right from the beginning. I got hooked on Stargate because of the slash that I wanted to read, and then bought DVDs. I gave the german tv episodes a try once, when season 6 was airing over here, which I hadn't watched yet.

I have several problems with watching TV shows in german:
The voices are different, and for me, the voice is as much part of the characters as the face. I noticed that when I first watched X-Files in english, which I had been watching in german for years: Mulder sounds much more grown-up in german.

The translations: in Germany, we get everything dubbed, The big movies tend to have good dubbing and translations, but tv shows? Not so much. I noticed that in one of the few SG eps I watched in german. Thor is talking about chemical elements, and the person who speaks Thor in german either had a bad translation of couldn't read. He mispronounced some of the words spectacularly and one was completely made up, but definitely not the sulfuric acid it was in the english original.

Third and last for this purpose: the personal implications. German, like french, makes a difference between the polite "Sie" that you use with strangers and the familiar "Du" that one uses with friends. In english, both are simply "You".

So, if Sam calls Jack "Du", whereas Daniel calls Jack "Sie", this obviously influences the way the viewer sees their relationships. He will think that Sam and Jack are a lot closer than Jack and Daniel. This annoys me more than anything else, and I swore never to watch a TV show made in the US or Uk in german again.

Though, it can sometimes lead to interestin results too: in the XF, Mulder and Scully always call each other "Sie" /well, in the first seven seasons anyway). I always found this artificial distance adds to their relationship, the way they try to pretend that they do not want each other like crazy.

here's a little clip of Jack speaking german, btw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUk4R9j7b88

[thevetia.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to download, despite the failure of hell to freeze over this year. Partly because we've really been enjoying S10 and can't wait to find out how it turns out; partly as a 'screw you' to SciFi for their all-around stupidity; and partly because I actually can get a better picture from the bittorrent (thank you whoever does the uploading!) than SciFi and DirecTV send me.

But I understand the desire to wait and stretch out the inevitable end. It's only that I've been steeling myself for the end for 5 years now and I'm tired and beginning to move on. I don't think I can torture myself any more.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

The voices are different, and for me, the voice is as much part of the characters as the face.

Basically, yeah. Me too. No matter the language. (As I was saying -- even if I can't understand the actor's native language, I would rather listen to the actor's real voice and read subtitles, than see an actor dubbed.)

Mulder sounds much more grown-up in german.

BWAH-HAH! I hadn't even thought of that aspect, but of course that would be true.

Thor is talking about chemical elements, and the person who speaks Thor in german either had a bad translation of couldn't read. He mispronounced some of the words spectacularly and one was completely made up, but definitely not the sulfuric acid it was in the english original.

*snort* That's another problem I hadn't quite thought about, and probably should have, because I know that this is a debate that often rages in regards to Japanese anime, whether something is subbed or dubbed: the quality of the translation. In my limited experience, the subbing translations often tend to be a little better, and that's another reason I prefer to watch movies subbed rather than dubbed.

So, if Sam calls Jack "Du", whereas Daniel calls Jack "Sie", this obviously influences the way the viewer sees their relationships. He will think that Sam and Jack are a lot closer than Jack and Daniel. This annoys me more than anything else, and I swore never to watch a TV show made in the US or Uk in german again.

Oh, WOW! Of course, I never thought of this aspect! Obviously, because it's just not hardwired into me, linguistically, and I haven't had to think about formal/familiar pronouns for... many years. But as soon as you started talking about sie/du I knew *exactly* what you meant! And you're RIGHT! I mean, my god, what a difference that would make!

Now, here's a follow-up question, that I just don't know the answer to -- culturally speaking, is it customary for even good male friends to address each other by "sie" more than "du"? Whereas, is it more of a cultural tradition for women to address men as "du", or vice versa? I am thinking there of just, ingrained cultural conventions that may be lingering. I mean, it used to be in British culture, up until relatively recently, that even good male friends would address each other by their surnames. And I could make guesses about male-female interactions being couched in terms of "du" for... paternalistic reasons, if you see what I mean.

But of course, if you had just asked me to guess what pronouns SG-1 used amongst themselves, I would have guessed totally differently! I would have thought the military relationship would absolutely have *required* Sam and Jack to use "sie" to each other, but esp. from Sam *to* her superior officer, Jack, and Hammond. (Do you know what it's like in the German military?) Of course I would expect Daniel to use "du" to everybody. I'd expect Jack to use "du" to Daniel, "sie" to Sam, and probably "sie" to Teal'c, though I could go either way on that. I'd expect Sam to "sie" everyone except Janet. I'd expect Teal'c to "sie" everyone as a matter of characterization.

Hmm! What interesting food for thought! But you're right... that would totally make me not want to watch the shows in any language that has formal/familiar pronouns like that.

Mulder and Scully always call each other "Sie" /well, in the first seven seasons anyway). I always found this artificial distance adds to their relationship, the way they try to pretend that they do not want each other like crazy.

Right. And I would think that German slashers could do the same thing with, say, Jack and Daniel -- say that their mode of address is a strategy to keep the true intimacy of their relationship secret, for example. ;-)

here's a little clip of Jack speaking german, btw:

COOL! Thank you for that! And again... *wow*. Um, yeah. Yuck. I thought the VA was trying at some points to do Jack's inflections, but, er... his vocal-tone being lighter than RDA's makes a surprisingly big difference.

Thanks for going into all of this! It's really fascinating!