Our rating system this season consists of a possible of 10 raters ! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode. Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was: 7.42
The first six raters are the ones that will appear on the site here. Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:
Vince Beckett
Good story. Humorous beginning.
RATING: 8.0
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Gooshie
This episode stared off well (poor Sam!), but it felt like half-way through the story stalled and really didn't go anywhere. The writing was well done but was also marred by numerous mistakes of punctuation and spelling.
RATING: 7.5
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Allie Cat
There was a lot that bothered me about this story. While seeing Sam in uncomfortable situations is often amusing, this story fell short in making the whole situation believable in that the author failed to remain true to the two most important characters: Sam and Al. In addition, there seemed to be extraneous characters that really didn't have much of a purpose other than to be there.
I found it extremely difficult to believe that Sam would, even for the sake of staying in the personna of Frankie, allow himself to be... tended to... by two women. It goes completely against what he believes. To him, the fact that these women wanted to share him would be degrading to both him and the women. He would have sent them away.
The author seemed to have completely forgotten the character of Al. While it is amusing to see Al ogling women, the Virtual Seasons has established that, with Al married to Beth, his only sexual interest is in his wife. Sure, Al can make comments about beautiful women but, in the end, he'd be more interested in Beth than in a blatant skin show. The story makes Al seem to be a chauvinist pig, which we all know he isn't. Plus, Beth doesn't seem to have any problem with his leching after other women. Which brings up the scene of Al sitting and watching the show with a beer in the Imaging Chamber. Has the author forgotten that Al doesn't drink unless it is a special occasion, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or his wedding anniversary? If the author wants to argue that Al drank in the first episode, I remind him that Al had been celebrating Sam's successful leap, something definitely worth celebrating. In addition, the VS has established that Al has found his faith. I can't see him now using the Lord's name as many times as he did in this story, especially since the situation did not warrant such language. And once again, Al's wardrobe looks more like that of a clown than of the high-styling Admiral we know from the original series.
As for the extraneous characters, Wellington stands out in my mind. Wellington does little but stand there and be very British. Not impressive for a character who is supposed to be portrayed by the late great Sir Alec Guiness.
By the way, what is the deep meaning of the title to this story? It really doesn't seem to match.
Although the story really needed some polishing, it wasn't a complete waste of time. It was an amusing read and it was entertaining.
RATING: 6.5
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Seeker
For me, Coffee, Tease Or Me was an amusing read. I did stumble over the dialogue (mostly the gangsters' dialogue) in more than one place. While each of the gangsters was distinctly unique, each one’s ‘voice’ and style suiting him, nonetheless there were moments that ‘felt’ and sounded a bit too exaggerated. Still, all in all, it was a good story.
RATING: 7.5
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Ziggy's Soul
I found this story amusing in many ways but often out of character. It rattled me a bit reading it and not because I find the concepts presented unacceptable. They just don't work well as written for Al and Sam specifically.
In Permanent Wave, Sam does use the idea of two beauty's to needle Al, but he goes no further then to kiss both of them and make inuendos. It's not that I couldn't see Sam magnafluxing a little bit with his host, but actually going through the whole "business" does not read as Sam.
As to Al...he may take the entire palette of color to choose from for his clothes, but he always has flair. The purplish color scheme was working until the orange tie was mentioned. Al would NEVER put an orange tie with that outfit! Since this is post MI, Al's toned down from what he was pre-leap or pre-MI in the area of women being a family man. The way he's dealing with the "subject matter" in this story he comes off not as just being hedonistic, but rather crass. Al is NEVER crass. I don't believe he has a problem with appreciating the female form in all it's magnificance but he is much more circumspect then the way this story is written...at least that's how it's always read to me post MI.
The gangsters sounded like the ones from either "Guys and Dolls" or "Kiss Me Kate" so I'm mostly okay with them. I liked the story of Boom-Boom. It was nice to "see" her in another story. Overall the story had a great idea and the author in general did a pretty good job in portraying his vision. It just didn't really fit the world that's been created in the series. It also didn't read as well to me as others I've seen from the writer.
Thus my rating of 7.0. I found the story was worth reading and I found thinking of it as an AU made it easier to take.
RATING: 7.0
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Sporty
No comment given.
RATING: 8.0
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The Virtual Seasons Team
