Ancients smart or inconpetent race??

[nerus]

In the early series's of Stargate SG-1 the ancients were considered the most greatest race to inhabit the stars. But at the series continued and with Atlantis the ancients seem to be portrayed as inconpetent at anything, for instance they were defeated by the Ori, they were nearly wiped out by the plague, they were defeated by the wraith, their technology didn't work a.k.a the ascension device, the asurans etc. So why have the writers changed their minds?

[Prior_of_the_Ori]

I partly agree and disagree. Mostly, I think the reason they have made the Ancients 'incompetant' is for plot reasons really since they are in the city of the Ancients and thus must have a plot revolve around it in some shape or form.

[Psi]

I don’t think they are incompetent at all, they had been around a VERY long time so they would have made a lot of mistakes in their time, some small, some big like the wraith, asurans etc

They did however (as a whole); get very arrogant as they evolved.

So arrogant definitely, incompetent, no i dont think so at all.

[Hyperwarp]

Overconfident!

[Lord_Sebek]

the greeks have a term for it. Hubrius - excessive pride. The lantians believed that their technology could resolve any issue they ran into. It just happened that at one point all their potentional problem hit within a short span, 1000 or so years and it destoried their culture.

[wise one]

the greeks have a term for it. Hubrius - excessive pride. The lantians believed that their technology could resolve any issue they ran into. It just happened that at one point all their potentional problem hit within a short span, 1000 or so years and it destoried their culture.

it seems nearly every advanced race think there technology can help them in every shape and form and just not thinking about there enemys

e.g.

the asgard were confident in there tech to defeat the replicators, but then had to use a primitive mind of sam carter

the tollans aswell thought there tech was obsoleate(speeling)compared to the gouals anubis, but they died

the ancients thought they could win the war from the wraith bacuse there tech was better(even though it is) they retreated

the only smart advanced race might be the Nox since they all alive and well

[Betelgeuze]

The Ancients were very intelligent. It wasn't lack of intelligence that proved there downfall but, as mentioned before it was overconfidence. That and they problably hadn't fought a war in millions of years. So overconfidence and lack of experience proved to be their downfall.

[Unamed]

on the note of the wraith war i believe the ancients lost because(1) they were to arroagant and overconfident they believed anything thrown at them they could resist or defeat and (2) they werent aggressive enough they waited for the fight to come to them they never went out in ships seeking the wraith instead the waited for them to come, they were too defensive and not offensive enough.

[nerus]

why do the producers never show the ancients doing something good and helpful? Even the small things they find a problem with

[ShadowMaat]

The problem with the Ancients- for me, anyway- is that the producers too this great, mysterious race who'd accomplished so much and created so many amazing things... and they turned them into a bunch of petty, arrogant, bureaucratic humans.

[fallenexile452]

The problem with the Ancients- for me, anyway- is that the producers too this great, mysterious race who'd accomplished so much and created so many amazing things... and they turned them into a bunch of petty, arrogant, bureaucratic humans.

I agree they should have kept them as mysterious beings, but with a whole show based around Atlantis it was inevitable that this sort of thing was going to happen. Also i think of late they have been used way too much and far too much revealed too quickly, being drip fed on things like this is far better i think than having their complete history given to us all in one go.

[Blitz]

I've said it in a previous thread, and ill say it again

Think of the people of Pegasus as us TV viewers when we started watching Stargate

We were shown this AMAZING race that created a lot of things, but we never saw their mistakes. NOW, 10years down the line we are seeing their mistakes.

The Pegasus people all believe the Ancients to be AMAZING - but think how they'd feel if they knew the Anceints created the Wraith and Asurans and other enemies.



WE as an audience CHOSE to put the Ancients on a pedestal...no one else. We got showed some pretty toys and we started thinking of them as amazing, just like if you showed a roman a TV theyd think it was magic....thats all...they were neither smart or incompetent...they were humans, basic mistake making people.

[jenks]

They are indeed arrogant, they act like us humans in every other respect too it seems. I find it funny that no one seems to realise...

[Ravroz]

I agree with what has been said that we haven't seen any of the Ancients mistakes. I guess that there simply isn't enough left in the MW after several millions of years to see much of their mistakes. In Pegasus the newest stuff is only ten thousand years old so there is more there. Plus, with seeing more Ancient stuff in Atlantis we have much more chance of seeing how they screw up.

[Avenger]

We can look at any great civilization here on Earth and only look at their really great accomplishments and they look like stars in our eyes. Take the Roman Empire, for example. They did some really amazing things, but if you look deeper into the history, they aren't perfect.