Customer Reviews

Stargate SG-1: Shell Game

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vala finds herself in prison (yes, again) on an alien planet with Daniel acting as her lawyer. Daniel wants to know the truth about what happened on the planet so he can talk the natives into freeing her. Vala would rather an old fashioned prison break, but she tells him the story anyway.

What follows is a fun tale of Vala's escapades during her pre-SG1 days. There's some nice character moments along the way. Claudia Black and Michael Shanks are, of course, amazing and prove that their chemistry is palpable even when they aren't actually visable. It makes for a great CD to keep in your car for those days when you're stuck in traffic and can't stand another minute of the radio.

Claudia Black performed excellently in the CD. The writing is well done, and the author obviously knew a great deal about who he was writing for.
From the dialogue between characters, to the monologues done be Claudia, alone, the writing matches the character point for point. I especially liked how the story showed several ascpects of Vala Mal Doran, from scheming, to covering for herself, to going out of her wya to protect those she cares about. I highly recommend this if you are a stargate fan, or even just a fan of Claudia Black.

I really enjoyed the love-hate relationship between Vala and Daniel on Stargate SG-1, so I had high expectations for this audio CD. However, I found myself oddly disappointed. Sure, there was the occasional good line, but the story was unnecessarily repetitive (such as when Daniel asks Vala to tell her story again, and she repeats it from the beginning) and Michael Shanks has a surprisingly small (if sometimes quite funny) role here, since Claudia speaks some of Daniel's lines. In addition, the delivery sometimes felt just a bit off, perhaps because Michael Shanks and Claudia Black recorded their tracks separately, rather than with the normal give and take of being together.

On the plus side, I liked the inclusion of an interview with Claudia Black at the end. It was interesting hearing her take on the scene in "Unending," when Daniel is harsh with Vala. I'd heard on the DVD commentary track that Michael and Claudia had actually re-written that scene, and the director felt that Daniel's meanness was partly because Vala had tormented the poor guy for two years. But that just didn't quite jive. Claudia explains here that breaking Vala was the only way that Daniel could get past her defenses to the real her. So, it wasn't so much cruel as necessary for anything genuine to develop between them. For that tidbit alone, I felt the CD had been worthwhile.

I applaud the publishers for their work creating new Stargate SG-1 stories and involving the original cast. Claudia Black fans will undoubtedly find it worthwhile. My own feeling is more on the fence. I would have to say that I liked "Gift from the Gods" a lot better, both in its story and performance. So, three stars from me.

I have to agree with E.D. The chemistry between Michael Shanks and Claudia Black are just so captivating..believable.. you feel like you are there. YOu can really picture the prison and the reaction on Daniel's face.

Yes Vala in prison and Daniel trying to help. I have listened to this 2x and still laugh at times when I hear them bicker.

For any one who is a stargate fan like myself. This is a very well played out Audio CD. I only hope they keep making more.

Claudia Black as a voice made for voice over and audio work. She puyts eery bt of the personality of Vala into every entonaton. And both the character and her chemistry with Michael Shanks vicing Daniel Jackson realy shie through in this. Listen after the story too, there's a terrific interview between Cluadia Black and the author.