Elizabeth Weir/John Sheppard Appreciation/Ship/Discussion Thread

[Anuna]

I am lol-ing at the UnHappy Meal.

Re ships. I think you can go two ways if you want to write a ship between two people who meet in the show's canon - they either fall for each other instantly and sparks that fly after they first set eyes on each other should make you hear the mental violins. If not that, you do Castle and Beckett and send them on a path of gradually getting to know, respect, trust and love each other; watch them tackle issues and hurdles that separate them, to finally see them getting together. In modern shows, which don't hide behind the outdated Moonlighting Curse nonsense, the two can become a couple without becoming boring (I ahve learned to reference Chuck here. I must watch it.)

I think the PTW wanted to do Sheyla via option one. The tea scene and the cave scene should have convinced us that John had found someone special, who won't judge him like people from Earth do; while Teyla found someone who would be a strong, reliable partner, in both love and fight. But for some reason the instant attraction storyline didn't work out and was dropped somewhere between The Storm/The Eye and Siege. At the same time an unplanned ship between Sheppard and Weir was begining to develop, via Castle and Beckett forumla. Ironically, it wasn't what PTW intended, because they didn't plan the chemistry between their show leads, and now when they had it they didn't have the guts to properly use it.

LE SIGH.

[ShipperWriter]

So both my laptop and my netbook are actings strange: whenever I get on the forum and Multi-Quote, neither of them will post the quotes. And my movie maker software isn't working.

I think the answer is, I downloaded a video player so I could watch "Sherlock" and I've been having problems since. Crap. *goes and uninstalls software* We'll see if that makes it any better.

And on to replies:

Thanks to everybody for the nice comments about the sigs. And gateraid, I think both are equally sad.

I *headdesk*'d as well when Elizabeth talked about negotiating with the Wraith, but that was only because I'd already seen most of theseries before I even saw "Rising". And it wasn't OOC for her because that was her mad skillz. Granted, if she had already seen what they could do, like John did, then she may have reconsidered. But that line: "I see your point. Now see mine", is probably one of my favorite quotes from SG. Sometimes, it works really well in RL too.

gateraid, I almost spilled my breakfast when I read the caption for the necklace. And yeah, even a monkey could see that a John/Teyla ship was what they wanted to happen in the premiere. And it didn't scream "SPARKY!" at the end, but more of mutual respect and the beginnings of a good working relationship. They made it clear where they stood.

And an unsaid:
: "I have a feeling we're going to be good friends, John."
: "So do I, ma'am. And good friends let good friends sit on her desk."

Anyhow, I've got some studying to do, probably should get off for a while. When I'm back later, I'll see if my movie maker has started working again or not.

Adios!

[ShipperWriter]

I am lol-ing at the UnHappy Meal.

Re ships. I think you can go two ways if you want to write a ship between two people who meet in the show's canon - they either fall for each other instantly and sparks that fly after they first set eyes on each other should make you hear the mental violins. If not that, you do Castle and Beckett and send them on a path of gradually getting to know, respect, trust and love each other; watch them tackle issues and hurdles that separate them, to finally see them getting together. In modern shows, which don't hide behind the outdated Moonlighting Curse nonsense, the two can become a couple without becoming boring (I ahve learned to reference Chuck here. I must watch it.)

I think the PTW wanted to do Sheyla via option one. The tea scene and the cave scene should have convinced us that John had found someone special, who won't judge him like people from Earth do; while Teyla found someone who would be a strong, reliable partner, in both love and fight. But for some reason the instant attraction storyline didn't work out and was dropped somewhere between The Storm/The Eye and Siege. At the same time an unplanned ship between Sheppard and Weir was begining to develop, via Castle and Beckett forumla. Ironically, it wasn't what PTW intended, because they didn't plan the chemistry between their show leads, and now when they had it they didn't have the guts to properly use it.

LE SIGH.

I completely agree. And you worded it much better than I could've.

And my deduction was right! I knew watching "Sherlock" was good for something ... ... I uninstalled the video player I had just downloaded and now I can quote and work on movie maker again!

As a present, I may have something for everyone later.

[Southern Red]

I am lol-ing at the UnHappy Meal.

Re ships. I think you can go two ways if you want to write a ship between two people who meet in the show's canon - they either fall for each other instantly and sparks that fly after they first set eyes on each other should make you hear the mental violins. If not that, you do Castle and Beckett and send them on a path of gradually getting to know, respect, trust and love each other; watch them tackle issues and hurdles that separate them, to finally see them getting together. In modern shows, which don't hide behind the outdated Moonlighting Curse nonsense, the two can become a couple without becoming boring (I ahve learned to reference Chuck here. I must watch it.)

I think the PTW wanted to do Sheyla via option one. The tea scene and the cave scene should have convinced us that John had found someone special, who won't judge him like people from Earth do; while Teyla found someone who would be a strong, reliable partner, in both love and fight. But for some reason the instant attraction storyline didn't work out and was dropped somewhere between The Storm/The Eye and Siege. At the same time an unplanned ship between Sheppard and Weir was begining to develop, via Castle and Beckett forumla. Ironically, it wasn't what PTW intended, because they didn't plan the chemistry between their show leads, and now when they had it they didn't have the guts to properly use it.

LE SIGH.

Hear hear! Perfectly said, and that part in bold will forever remain a mystery. Plus, when it was pointed out to them by multiple fans, they still didn't accept it. Shoot yourself in the foot often?

[Anuna]

Hear hear! Perfectly said, and that part in bold will forever remain a mystery. Plus, when it was pointed out to them by multiple fans, they still didn't accept it. Shoot yourself in the foot often?

I never understood their "relationship" with the fans. It's like they hated us, or at least most of us. I remember the days of S4 when Mallozzi was doing his infamous "you shouldn't like Elizabeth because she's unimportant, so suck it up" routine. As a result, he alienated a whole bunch of loyal viewers. Why?? I mean, don't you want people to like your product? You don't get them to like it by actively antagonizing them.

[Southern Red]

I never understood their "relationship" with the fans. It's like they hated us, or at least most of us. I remember the days of S4 when Mallozzi was doing his infamous "you shouldn't like Elizabeth because she's unimportant, so suck it up" routine. As a result, he alienated a whole bunch of loyal viewers. Why?? I mean, don't you want people to like your product? You don't get them to like it by actively antagonizing them.

I never got that either. It was "we're doing it the way we want and it doesn't matter what you think" all the way with them. So, therefore, a bunch of people stopped watching. They seemed to take delight in our anger and disappointment. Yet, they can see by the overwhelming response to SparkyCon and the fact that this thread is still going so strong that this ship would have made that show so much better. *shrugs*

I just realized I blew right past 10,000 posts and didn't even notice. Too busy having fun with Sparky.

[Anuna]

I never got that either. It was "we're doing it the way we want and it doesn't matter what you think" all the way with them. So, therefore, a bunch of people stopped watching. They seemed to take delight in our anger and disappointment. Yet, they can see by the overwhelming response to SparkyCon and the fact that this thread is still going so strong that this ship would have made that show so much better. *shrugs*

I just realized I blew right past 10,000 posts and didn't even notice. Too busy having fun with Sparky.

OMG yes you did - and you're well above the ten K number.

I really don't get it - they seemed to enjoy when we got angry at them - like they were proving we were stupid, wrong, whatever.... and at the end it's them who lost. Well, us too, but they could still have been in the business had they been smarter.

OT, or rather on topic, that sig of yours is breaking my heart. Also, I need a sig myself.

[poundpuppy29]

[Scary Kitty]

ZOMG! Congratulations on hitting 10,000 posts, Southern Red!

I am lol-ing at the UnHappy Meal.

Hey, don't look at me, gateraid started it.

Re ships. I think you can go two ways if you want to write a ship between two people who meet in the show's canon - they either fall for each other instantly and sparks that fly after they first set eyes on each other should make you hear the mental violins. If not that, you do Castle and Beckett and send them on a path of gradually getting to know, respect, trust and love each other; watch them tackle issues and hurdles that separate them, to finally see them getting together. In modern shows, which don't hide behind the outdated Moonlighting Curse nonsense, the two can become a couple without becoming boring (I ahve learned to reference Chuck here. I must watch it.)

I think the PTW wanted to do Sheyla via option one. The tea scene and the cave scene should have convinced us that John had found someone special, who won't judge him like people from Earth do; while Teyla found someone who would be a strong, reliable partner, in both love and fight. But for some reason the instant attraction storyline didn't work out and was dropped somewhere between The Storm/The Eye and Siege. At the same time an unplanned ship between Sheppard and Weir was begining to develop, via Castle and Beckett forumla. Ironically, it wasn't what PTW intended, because they didn't plan the chemistry between their show leads, and now when they had it they didn't have the guts to properly use it.

LE SIGH.

AMEN, SISTAH! What on Earth they were smoking, I have no idea. Nor do I want any part of it.

I never understood their "relationship" with the fans. It's like they hated us, or at least most of us. I remember the days of S4 when Mallozzi was doing his infamous "you shouldn't like Elizabeth because she's unimportant, so suck it up" routine. As a result, he alienated a whole bunch of loyal viewers. Why?? I mean, don't you want people to like your product? You don't get them to like it by actively antagonizing them.

Word. Rule #1 of running a successful business (and let's face it, TV is a business): Never piss off your loyal customers. If you do, they'll stop being loyal.

I never got that either. It was "we're doing it the way we want and it doesn't matter what you think" all the way with them. So, therefore, a bunch of people stopped watching. They seemed to take delight in our anger and disappointment. Yet, they can see by the overwhelming response to SparkyCon and the fact that this thread is still going so strong that this ship would have made that show so much better. *shrugs*

I just realized I blew right past 10,000 posts and didn't even notice. Too busy having fun with Sparky.

Indeed. Sparky could've been the next coming of Han and Leia, for pity's sake! It could have been a classic! But oh nooooo, can't have that, now can we? *headdesk*

Oh well, Sparky's in better hands with us, anyway. *cough*Atlantis Rising*cough*

And deliberately reposting because it's Sparky and they're so hot even when they're clones (at least, Elizabeth was a clone in that shot)...

Gah! How can they be so hot? It's a miracle that forest behind them didn't just spontaneously burst into flames from the uber Sparky hotness!

[Erin87]

Hey everybody!

Dropping by a new Elizabeth wallpaper that I made.

Spoiler:

oops. GW is apparently cutting off the edge on the right. link to see the whole thing: http://s677.photobucket.com/albums/v...=lizwallie.jpg

Hope everyone's doing well.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

very nice wallpaper Erin. sorry that i havent been around lately folks real life kinda is overtaking my free time to come on here. i hope you guys are doing well.

[ShipperWriter]

I never understood their "relationship" with the fans. It's like they hated us, or at least most of us. I remember the days of S4 when Mallozzi was doing his infamous "you shouldn't like Elizabeth because she's unimportant, so suck it up" routine. As a result, he alienated a whole bunch of loyal viewers. Why?? I mean, don't you want people to like your product? You don't get them to like it by actively antagonizing them.

Wasn't Mallozzi the one who spearheaded the McKeller ship? Granted, at the time, I was a big McKeller fan, but that's mainly because I'll ship anything. If I watched a TV show about a forest, I'd probably ship a pine tree and a rock. I'm just that desperate.

I never got that either. It was "we're doing it the way we want and it doesn't matter what you think" all the way with them. So, therefore, a bunch of people stopped watching. They seemed to take delight in our anger and disappointment. Yet, they can see by the overwhelming response to SparkyCon and the fact that this thread is still going so strong that this ship would have made that show so much better. *shrugs*

I just realized I blew right past 10,000 posts and didn't even notice. Too busy having fun with Sparky.

YAY!!! Congrats!

Deliberate repost on following pic:

: "Elizabeth, before that Replicator ship kills us, I need to ask you something."
: "Okay?"
: "Are you wearing anything under that jacket? It's been zipped up since we met."
: "Nope. Apparently the Replicators built me with knowledge about our tendancy for frequenting supply closets."
: "Damn Replicators."

Word. Rule #1 of running a successful business (and let's face it, TV is a business): Never piss off your loyal customers. If you do, they'll stop being loyal.

They killed Elizabeth. They pissed us off. End of.

Indeed. Sparky could've been the next coming of Han and Leia, for pity's sake! It could have been a classic! But oh nooooo, can't have that, now can we? *headdesk*

*starts imagining all the Han/Leia scenes replaced with John/Elizabeth*

So who would've been Luke??? Hmm?

Oh well, Sparky's in better hands with us, anyway. *cough*Atlantis Rising*cough*

True dat.

Hey everybody!

Dropping by a new Elizabeth wallpaper that I made.

Spoiler:

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/v.../lizwallie.jpg

oops. GW is apparently cutting off the edge on the right. link to see the whole thing: http://s677.photobucket.com/albums/v...=lizwallie.jpg

Hope everyone's doing well.

(((Erin))) -- nice to see you!!!

very nice wallpaper Erin. sorry that i havent been around lately folks real life kinda is overtaking my free time to come on here. i hope you guys are doing well.

No worries, mon. We understand!

BTW, I like the fic idea you had over on the J/S thread! Bounty hunters -- that'd be epic!

[gateraid]

I thought the same thing at first, but later went back and took a closer look and changed my mind. The connection between them is established too well not to be foreshadowing a closer relationship later.

Looking at it now makes me scratch my head. At the time, before any notion of ship entered my head, I thought they shared a look because they were the two leads. I can look at it now and see ship, and rationalise it, but I think it's one of the few times they weren't teasing us. From what I understand it was a shared script (BW & RCC) so I don't think they would have intentionally written it that way. There's a remark in the Misbegotten commentary where they frame a shot of her with the gate in the background (IIRC it's something like "in her place") which irritates the hell out of me, so they could just as easily had her look back at the open wormhole.

And again, I thought exactly this until Conversion. Not only was he hitting on her, but she was responding. So, the future canon couple was established and we were expecting it. What happened? Why was that cave scene the last romantic moment between them? What would have been the logical progression of that ship? More eye gazing, more little touches like when he put the necklace on her, more moments alone when he spoke to her in a soft voice and she got all dewy-eyed? What changed? As far as I saw, that was completely dropped and aside from a few awkward attempts to try to convince us there might or might not at some future date to still be determined be another moment between them, they never went there again. I mention Conversion because, and I said it at the time, his attack on her and her shock because of it made any future ship between them unlikely. Just the way I see it, of course. No problem if others see it different.

I could rationalise the Conversion 'kiss' if her response during the tag scene was a little different. By that I mean that it appeared as if she was being attacked earlier, and she responded as such, but given both of their reactions when he apologised it seemed as if it was a random male/female thing rather than a John/Teyla thing. That whole thing blew up a bit in MG's face (again, according to my interpretation of the commentary) because he wanted to make the attack seem like it was based on some desires, but the takes that they'd shot didn't allow him to edit it that way. Had it been done a little differently, well yes, maybe we could have looked at that as a leap forwards for them. As it turned out, they didn't do anything ship-wise with all three of them (was Sanctuary before or after that? I forget ) until Sunday.

There certainly were more (overt) hints of Sheyla than Sparky in s1, but the one that seemed to me to be their First Strike equivalent was Letters From Pegasus. Teyla is making an emotional plea to him but he flat out refuses to do anything, yet when it turns out they're trapped there it's "oh well, guess we can load up the jumper since we've got some time to kill". One could argue that she's disappointed in the entire team/expedition, but it's more personal than that.

No surprise there. After all, he is a Marine. Hoo Rah!

At least they got that bit of characterisation right

FH has laryngitis. LOL

Well, the Wraith did get more than just a name:



So in addition to the name, they knew it "wasn't among their stars" (meaning, it wasn't in the Pegasus Galaxy), and they knew it had LOTS of tasty UnHappy Meals.

It's not really a map though, and if they'd bothered to think about it, it wouldn't have been a surprise either. Didn't they wonder where the Ancients went? Or where they came from? Surely they could have sent some hives on scouting missions over the last 10,000yrs (with some refreshments in storage)? Space is omni-directional, after all. Continuity fail.

On the other hand, there's still the Wraith worshippers, though we didn't find out about them until Season 2. In retrospect, their existence does lend credence to her line of thinking.

Even forgetting them for a second, someone who didn't want to die could have 'volunteered' the information, ala Outsiders.

And it's worth noting that she still appears to be rather traumatized (for lack of a better word) by that incident to be having nightmares about it two years later in Doppelganger.

Yes, YES!!! I do not understand that dream.

It's set with the Athosians, not Atlantis (I assume that's because that's where her greatest ties are). Ronon is the first person she sees, who then proceeds to tease her about Shep with a phrase that I've not heard anyone on the show use, let alone two aliens. Is he saying this (in her mind) as a way of explaining why he didn't put the moves on her, or just that he really did think she'd end up with Shep? Then she sees the man of her dreams. Whoa - it's either a flashback to when he attacked her, a mental interpretation of her blaming him for waking the wraith and causing untold chaos in Pegasus, a reminder of how people in her life have ended up, some sort of underlying fear of the wraith side of her DNA, or an indication of her desires for him. I shouldn't be able to come up with that many other ideas for it other than what should have been ship-only.

I am lol-ing at the UnHappy Meal.

There's always PFC (Pegasus Fried Colonel).

Re ships. <snip> But for some reason the instant attraction storyline didn't work out and was dropped somewhere between The Storm/The Eye and Siege. At the same time an unplanned ship between Sheppard and Weir was begining to develop, via Castle and Beckett forumla. Ironically, it wasn't what PTW intended, because they didn't plan the chemistry between their show leads, and now when they had it they didn't have the guts to properly use it.

LE SIGH.

It had never occured to me, but if they'd been thinking about ship at all in that ep, then Teyla would never have left the city. At no time after the realisation that there was a storm did their storylines converge, other than in passing

Thanks to everybody for the nice comments about the sigs. And gateraid, I think both are equally sad.

I respect Katy Perry, even if I don't like all of her music. At least she's stayed true to what she is - a pop singer - and not pretended to be something else. Her music is what pop is meant to be like. It helps she can actually sing. She doesn't look half bad either

I *headdesk*'d as well when Elizabeth talked about negotiating with the Wraith, but that was only because I'd already seen most of theseries before I even saw "Rising". And it wasn't OOC for her because that was her mad skillz. Granted, if she had already seen what they could do, like John did, then she may have reconsidered. But that line: "I see your point. Now see mine", is probably one of my favorite quotes from SG. Sometimes, it works really well in RL too.

It fully needed to be said, but I can see why people have jumped on it *shrugs* That whole scene is win - even when he calls her on having the arguement outside.

gateraid, I almost spilled my breakfast when I read the caption for the necklace. And yeah, even a monkey could see that a John/Teyla ship was what they wanted to happen in the premiere. And it didn't scream "SPARKY!" at the end, but more of mutual respect and the beginnings of a good working relationship. They made it clear where they stood.[/qoute]

I'm surprised that's still there

[quote\
And an unsaid:
: "I have a feeling we're going to be good friends, John."
: "So do I, ma'am. And good friends let good friends sit on her desk."

I never got that either. It was "we're doing it the way we want and it doesn't matter what you think" all the way with them. So, therefore, a bunch of people stopped watching. They seemed to take delight in our anger and disappointment. Yet, they can see by the overwhelming response to SparkyCon and the fact that this thread is still going so strong that this ship would have made that show so much better. *shrugs*

I understand the ethos of not giving fans everything they want, but these guys took it to the extreme. Back when I used to watch ST, one of the clever things (I thought) they did with Crusher & Picard was have them get married in the finale. By doing this they pleased the shippers, but they also pleased the non-shippers when it didn't work out. Genius.

My impression of TPTW is that they probably thought that no matter what they did, people would still watch (what's the expression - if the fans hate it they'll only watch five times, not fifteen?), so they wrote what they wanted to happen and assumed people would tune it. To a point, it worked. I continued to watch as the quality declined. There is no scale for enjoyment in ratings, so as long as people still tune in and advertisers still purchase ad time, then there's no issue.

I just realized I blew right past 10,000 posts and didn't even notice. Too busy having fun with Sparky.

ZOMG! Congratulations on hitting 10,000 posts, Southern Red!

Congratulations And ^ what she said

Word. Rule #1 of running a successful business (and let's face it, TV is a business): Never piss off your loyal customers. If you do, they'll stop being loyal.

TPTW: Let them eat cake

Fans: Get bent

Indeed. Sparky could've been the next coming of Han and Leia, for pity's sake! It could have been a classic! But oh nooooo, can't have that, now can we? *headdesk*

Excellent comparison. Wasn't the plan to go with Luke and Leia originally, but he turned out to be a complete weenie, and Han & Leia actually had some chemistry so they did the ship swaparoo? Or is that an urban myth?

Hey everybody!

Dropping by a new Elizabeth wallpaper that I made.

Spoiler:

oops. GW is apparently cutting off the edge on the right. link to see the whole thing: http://s677.photobucket.com/albums/v...=lizwallie.jpg

Hope everyone's doing well.

Wow. Torri/Elizabeth looks positively angelic in that shot

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

No worries, mon. We understand!

BTW, I like the fic idea you had over on the J/S thread! Bounty hunters -- that'd be epic!

thanks. it will be my first actual stargate fic that i would right. i also got a couple of J/E stories as well. one of them actually takes place during the six weeks that the atlantis expedition is on earth during "The Return."

[ShipperWriter]

I could rationalise the Conversion 'kiss' if her response during the tag scene was a little different. By that I mean that it appeared as if she was being attacked earlier, and she responded as such, but given both of their reactions when he apologised it seemed as if it was a random male/female thing rather than a John/Teyla thing. That whole thing blew up a bit in MG's face (again, according to my interpretation of the commentary) because he wanted to make the attack seem like it was based on some desires, but the takes that they'd shot didn't allow him to edit it that way. Had it been done a little differently, well yes, maybe we could have looked at that as a leap forwards for them. As it turned out, they didn't do anything ship-wise with all three of them (was Sanctuary before or after that? I forget ) until Sunday.

There certainly were more (overt) hints of Sheyla than Sparky in s1, but the one that seemed to me to be their First Strike equivalent was Letters From Pegasus. Teyla is making an emotional plea to him but he flat out refuses to do anything, yet when it turns out they're trapped there it's "oh well, guess we can load up the jumper since we've got some time to kill". One could argue that she's disappointed in the entire team/expedition, but it's more personal than that.

True. When I watch it, it feels more like a "I'm-transforming-into-something-weird-and-I'm-fighting-a-female-with-whom-I-have-a-certain-amount-of-tension-so-I'm-gonna-kiss-her-because-she's-available". Then again, they could've used that logic when Elizabeth is talking to John in his quarters and he pins her to the wall by the neck. That would've been enjoyable. *smirk* Again, another fail by TPTW.

It's set with the Athosians, not Atlantis (I assume that's because that's where her greatest ties are). Ronon is the first person she sees, who then proceeds to tease her about Shep with a phrase that I've not heard anyone on the show use, let alone two aliens. Is he saying this (in her mind) as a way of explaining why he didn't put the moves on her, or just that he really did think she'd end up with Shep? Then she sees the man of her dreams. Whoa - it's either a flashback to when he attacked her, a mental interpretation of her blaming him for waking the wraith and causing untold chaos in Pegasus, a reminder of how people in her life have ended up, some sort of underlying fear of the wraith side of her DNA, or an indication of her desires for him. I shouldn't be able to come up with that many other ideas for it other than what should have been ship-only.

I had to go back and reread the transcript for "Doppelganger" because I don't have the eppy to watch. There are a lot of writing SNAFUs in that. Rodney's afraid of whales, Ronan and Teyla use the phrase "hook up", Carter refers to Jack as "Colonel O'Neill", John and Teyla simultaneously decide they need to see each other, Kate dies in a dream ... I know FH has deleted that episode in her personal canon, and I'm about to as well. Yikes, it's giving me a headache.

There's always PFC (Pegasus Fried Colonel).

I respect Katy Perry, even if I don't like all of her music. At least she's stayed true to what she is - a pop singer - and not pretended to be something else. Her music is what pop is meant to be like. It helps she can actually sing. She doesn't look half bad either

It fully needed to be said, but I can see why people have jumped on it *shrugs* That whole scene is win - even when he calls her on having the arguement outside.

Yes. They can call each other's BS while only having known each other for, what, less than a week, possibly? Mm-hmm. Kindred spirits. I will green whoever is first to catch the reference

I understand the ethos of not giving fans everything they want, but these guys took it to the extreme. Back when I used to watch ST, one of the clever things (I thought) they did with Crusher & Picard was have them get married in the finale. By doing this they pleased the shippers, but they also pleased the non-shippers when it didn't work out. Genius.

My impression of TPTW is that they probably thought that no matter what they did, people would still watch (what's the expression - if the fans hate it they'll only watch five times, not fifteen?), so they wrote what they wanted to happen and assumed people would tune it. To a point, it worked. I continued to watch as the quality declined. There is no scale for enjoyment in ratings, so as long as people still tune in and advertisers still purchase ad time, then there's no issue.

Yep. No matter what they wrote, there would always be a fan base out there that would enjoy it. So the ratings might vary, but there would still be fans. And granted, people will watch it anyway the first time because it's a new episode, and maybe they don't watch the reruns, but which ratings count? The first time.

Wow. Torri/Elizabeth looks positively angelic in that shot

She does. The angel of Atlantis.