Having read all the posts, now, a few thoughts on other's thoughts:
The sacrifices: I don't think the sacrifices were required by the Ancients, per se, just by the ancestors of this particular planetary society.
That being said, I think that the fact that the Ancients both seeded this galaxy and dabbled in ascension makes the Pegasus humans see death from a different perspective than your run-of-the-mill MW galaxy human.
Just as these humans know about the Ancients and what they had done for them, so, too, they may not fear death; who's to say that the Ancients don't allow these humans to ascend? Or, at least, these humans may believe that ascension awaits them at death, because of the fact that the Ancients ascended.
If I understand correctly, our Milky Way galaxy was not seeded by the Ancients, but rather, humans evolved here. We are, as Daniel(I think) said, the second evolution of the human form. Ascension may not be automatic for "us" as we are not the direct descendants of the Ancients, but it may well be automatic for the Pegasus "children" of the Ancients.
If ascension was part of the Pegasus galaxy experience it would go far in explaining the Athosian death rituals, too.
Ford: Yeah, he had the best lines after MacKay.
Sheppard: How like Jack's his explanation of the Stargate - it's a big... round... thing..."
The zpm-powered device reminded me of the shield devices in SG-1 season one's First Commandment, the device that made the sky orange and also allowed limited space for growth. The only real difference was that the cap was larger. An SG team should go back and have a look at what powers that thing(now that zpms are turning up all over the MW galaxy
).
Zed/Zee: I am Canadian, but depending on who I'm with, I'll use different pronunciations. I'll exchange zee for zed, or miles/pounds for the more civilized kliks/kilos, etc. And I find myself adopting other's accents, though my husband is much better at that (or, worse, actually - it's embarrassing!
).
I didn't think Ares was so bad(no shocker, there, eh? ). He was probably
1)overreacting at his responsibility of having to "persuade" a reluctant "elder" to "do the right thing," and/or,
2) next in line to be the boss.
No, seriously, I'd imagine that if I had to make sure that a person does something so unnatural as to take one's own life before witnesses, I'd start acting a little OTT as the event drew near, especially if a dangerous distraction suddenly walked into town; and the SGA-ers were dangerous in 2 ways:
1) They were old, and therefore (in the eyes of the kids) a magnet for the Wraith, and
2) Sheppard and co were telling them that their centuries-old death ritual was wrong, which, as all the kids "knew" was just crazy talk.
CGI treehouse was beautiful
, but I, too, knew it had to be CGI; there's no way they would have been allowed to build safe structures in those trees. First thing I thought of was the Treetop communities in the Dinotopia books. 
As for the Wraith probe, I liked its look and insectlike speed and agility, but it looked too clean and crisp against the sky, and I think that's what gives it a "fake" feel - well, for me, anyway.
The sacrifices: I don't think the sacrifices were required by the Ancients, per se, just by the ancestors of this particular planetary society.
That being said, I think that the fact that the Ancients both seeded this galaxy and dabbled in ascension makes the Pegasus humans see death from a different perspective than your run-of-the-mill MW galaxy human.
Just as these humans know about the Ancients and what they had done for them, so, too, they may not fear death; who's to say that the Ancients don't allow these humans to ascend? Or, at least, these humans may believe that ascension awaits them at death, because of the fact that the Ancients ascended.
If I understand correctly, our Milky Way galaxy was not seeded by the Ancients, but rather, humans evolved here. We are, as Daniel(I think) said, the second evolution of the human form. Ascension may not be automatic for "us" as we are not the direct descendants of the Ancients, but it may well be automatic for the Pegasus "children" of the Ancients.
If ascension was part of the Pegasus galaxy experience it would go far in explaining the Athosian death rituals, too.
Ford: Yeah, he had the best lines after MacKay.
Sheppard: How like Jack's his explanation of the Stargate - it's a big... round... thing..."
The zpm-powered device reminded me of the shield devices in SG-1 season one's First Commandment, the device that made the sky orange and also allowed limited space for growth. The only real difference was that the cap was larger. An SG team should go back and have a look at what powers that thing(now that zpms are turning up all over the MW galaxy
).Zed/Zee: I am Canadian, but depending on who I'm with, I'll use different pronunciations. I'll exchange zee for zed, or miles/pounds for the more civilized kliks/kilos, etc. And I find myself adopting other's accents, though my husband is much better at that (or, worse, actually - it's embarrassing!
).I didn't think Ares was so bad(no shocker, there, eh?
). He was probably1)overreacting at his responsibility of having to "persuade" a reluctant "elder" to "do the right thing," and/or,
2) next in line to be the boss.
No, seriously, I'd imagine that if I had to make sure that a person does something so unnatural as to take one's own life before witnesses, I'd start acting a little OTT as the event drew near, especially if a dangerous distraction suddenly walked into town; and the SGA-ers were dangerous in 2 ways:
1) They were old, and therefore (in the eyes of the kids) a magnet for the Wraith, and
2) Sheppard and co were telling them that their centuries-old death ritual was wrong, which, as all the kids "knew" was just crazy talk.
CGI treehouse was beautiful
, but I, too, knew it had to be CGI; there's no way they would have been allowed to build safe structures in those trees. First thing I thought of was the Treetop communities in the Dinotopia books. As for the Wraith probe, I liked its look and insectlike speed and agility, but it looked too clean and crisp against the sky, and I think that's what gives it a "fake" feel - well, for me, anyway.
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