Sanctuary (114)

[Thek]

This episode was serously...wrong. The entire time I was waiting for either Sheppard to finally smack McKay back to earth....eeer...Atlantis, anyway, or McKay to have his "I told you so" moment when Chaya ended up being evil or something.

Or both.

The characters were totally not themselves and it blew the episode.

It was painful.

[SmartFox]

I think Mckay was a big jerk but what bothered me is he was only one thinking security wise. If there is anything i've learned from Stargate is that you never let a strange alien back to home base.

[GatetheWay]

This episode was serously...wrong. The entire time I was waiting for either Sheppard to finally smack McKay back to earth....eeer...Atlantis, anyway, or McKay to have his "I told you so" moment when Chaya ended up being evil or something.

Or both.

The characters were totally not themselves and it blew the episode.

It was painful.

I think the episode would of been more interesting if Chaya had turned out to be evil. Then they could of had an evil-Ancient story arc to work with in the future. But I don't see that happening.

The McKay in 'Sanctuary' was not the the same McKay that has been in the rest of Atlantis (this goes for Sheppard as well) so I think I will just ignore this ep.

[Angelique]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: whoever wrote this ep has absolutely NO CONCEPT of what the characters are really like. McKay was wildly out of character, basically a parody of himself, and Shep was almost as bad.

And screaming "Trek" every five minutes doesn't change the fact that this ep was a very poor (VERY poor) knock-off of classic Trek plotlines.

There was some interesting stuff in this ep, but it was buried under smarm, cheesiness and melodrama to the point where it's barely worth the trouble to try and find the "good bits". IMO, this was one of the worst eps of the season and I hope they don't let this writer out of the closet very often. He does awful things to the characters.

I couldn't agree more! This has probably been said before, but if Chya can destroy a Wraith fleet with her mind why was it so hard for the ancients to wipe out the wraith?!? Now the whole "The wraith where impassable to defeat" plot doesn't make sense.

[Jolinarsam]

The McKay in 'Sanctuary' was not the the same McKay that has been in the rest of Atlantis (this goes for Sheppard as well) so I think I will just ignore this ep.

It seemed like he was reverting back to the way he was on 'SG-1'. Which is why I hated him then. Hopefully he will go back to his more likable self again soon.

[kashi]

I watched this episode a couple of months ago thanks to the wonders of the internet, and I have to say that it is one of my favourites in season 1. I would like to see more of humans interracting with ancients.

[chanvw]

I couldn't agree more! This has probably been said before, but if Chya can destroy a Wraith fleet with her mind why was it so hard for the ancients to wipe out the wraith?!? Now the whole "The wraith where impassable to defeat" plot doesn't make sense.

I think the only reason Chaya could destroy the Wraith ships with her mind is because she has ascended. The Ancients who were being attacked by the Wraith didn't have that advantage.

On a side note however - did anybody see

Spoiler:

in Threads on Daniel's first newspaper the Ascended's article on how the Wraith are coming?

I thought it tied in the shows quite nicely.

[SciFiGeek]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: whoever wrote this ep has absolutely NO CONCEPT of what the characters are really like. McKay was wildly out of character, basically a parody of himself, and Shep was almost as bad.

Thank you ShadowMaat. You've put your finger on exactly why I was so disappointed with this episode, which I had a hard time determining after my first viewing. I only watched it a second time because my sister hadn't seen it yet and she's a big Sheppard fan so she liked it a bit better than I did.

Unfortunately, I hated it even more on the second viewing then the first. I mean, ignoring all the cheesy, cliche romance scenes between Sheppard and Chaya (during which I pretty much zoned out), I was literally cringing during some of the Sheppard-McKay stuff on the planet. And I practically shrank down into my seat during the confrontation between them in the hall when McKay kept accusing him of being Kirk. The whole situation was so ridiculous, topped by the fact that the two of the were acting so out of character.

Number one thing: McKay annoyed me. And I hate having McKay annoy me because he's my favorite character. He's the reason I started watching the show and the primary reason I keep watching. And while I laughed at some of his lines, and felt the episode's only near saving grace was the fact that McKay was calling Sheppard on his Kirk-like attitude, his overall attitude was just too much. I mean, his behavior is normally of that which is sometimes hard to watch just because he starts rambling and doesn't know when to stop talking, but that's part of why I love the character. In this episode he was just...pretty annoying.

And Sheppard...who I do like and really want to like; I hate how easily he falls for the beautiful alien, giving up all semblance of logic, and becoming so moony-eyed over her in scenes that, IMO, weren't all that intriguing. Like McKay, it wasn't even really character development; at this point, I don't know what it was. The confrontation in the hall so annoyed me because, as idiotic McKay kinda was in this episode, he was right, and Sheppard was only defending her on the basis of the fact that he thought she was beautiful and had managed to fall completely in love with her over the course of a day.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. I'll be doing my best to suppress this episode down to the darkest depths of my mind. Maybe rewatching The Defiant One and Hot Zone will help...

[kris]

Maybe rewatching The Defiant One and Hot Zone will help...

oooh, excellent idea. I'll add Hide and Seek to the mix for a wonderful trilogy.

[Angelique]

I think the only reason Chaya could destroy the Wraith ships with her mind is because she has ascended. The Ancients who were being attacked by the Wraith didn't have that advantage.

On a side note however - did anybody see

Spoiler:

in Threads on Daniel's first newspaper the Ascended's article on how the Wraith are coming?

I thought it tied in the shows quite nicely.

Well after they ascended they could have wiped them out and saved the pegusus galaxy, but that would have been braking the rules...never mind.

Spoiler:

here's the link to what the paper said:
The Ascended Times

[SciFiGeek]

oooh, excellent idea. I'll add Hide and Seek to the mix for a wonderful trilogy.

Even better.

[Mil]

I think flirting/romance as a "tool" is appallingly stupid and if it happens much more often on Atlantis, I'll stop watching. Sex may sell to other people, but it does not work for me and I don't want to see it.

As far as I'm concerned, Shep and the others should learn to keep it in their pants.

Why is it appallingly stupid? Historicly flirting/romance has worked very well sometimes in diplomacy and negotations. (this question is curiosity not a critical one)

In my observation flirting/romance is a tactic with both pros and cons as is almost any negotiating tactic is when dealing with an unfamilar culture. In example even if you tell your side to avoid flirting/romance what should they do if the other side initiates it when there is a possibility that refusal could cause a negative reaction?

I was primarily referring to flirting/romance not moving on to sex. Is the objection to romance or sex outside of marriage?

I posted a way more in depth post here on this subject and would love comments and disagreement.


Captain Kirk Diplomacy

[Bobthespirit]

I don't get people's comments about McKay being a jerk.

He was being practical. One thing that Stargate has always had that Star Trek does not is a dialogue between idealism and pragmatism. In SG1 it was just about every Daniel/Jack argument. McKay in this episode simply said 'This is the empirical truth, this is what we need to do.' They're on the verge of being wiped out. Making your case to take what you need to take to protect yourself isn't the same as an ethical compromise. And prudent suspicion of a stranger with strange unexplained abilities isn't the same as being a jerk.

You know what I'd call this episode if all the characters were perfectly respectful of the people's wishes not to allow people on their planets? Boring. "Okay...we won't trespass or bother you any more. We'll just go home and die." That I would call 'stupidity'. I, unlike a few of the other posts I've read, appreciate that the characters were not completely stupid.

As for McKay disrespecting their religion. Well, if somebody told me "We're going to send you off to die when you could effortlessly protect you because our god says not to," I'd be ticked, especially if it appeared as if they were making decisions for themselves and blaming it on their god.

[Bobthespirit]

Yeah, I'm also having a harder and harder time believing that the wraithe beat the ancients. Especially since a single jumper seems to trump three or four wraithe ships.

[slipstream]

I don't get people's comments about McKay being a jerk.

He was being practical. One thing that Stargate has always had that Star Trek does not is a dialogue between idealism and pragmatism. In SG1 it was just about every Daniel/Jack argument. McKay in this episode simply said 'This is the empirical truth, this is what we need to do.' They're on the verge of being wiped out. Making your case to take what you need to take to protect yourself isn't the same as an ethical compromise. And prudent suspicion of a stranger with strange unexplained abilities isn't the same as being a jerk.

You know what I'd call this episode if all the characters were perfectly respectful of the people's wishes not to allow people on their planets? Boring. "Okay...we won't trespass or bother you any more. We'll just go home and die." That I would call 'stupidity'. I, unlike a few of the other posts I've read, appreciate that the characters were not completely stupid.

As for McKay disrespecting their religion. Well, if somebody told me "We're going to send you off to die when you could effortlessly protect you because our god says not to," I'd be ticked, especially if it appeared as if they were making decisions for themselves and blaming it on their god.

Hear, Hear! I agree entirely. I think that the ill will stems from catty envy of the leading guest character and Sheppard's admiration and desire for her. With both mckay and sheppard absorbed by the exotic beauty the female fans invested in teyla and weir felt vicariously jilted.