Sunday (317)

[Ella]

There are at least German soldiers there.

[Haliyah]

There are at least German soldiers there.

South African, too.

[Ace]

It was very distracting to see Sheppard in full dress blues... just points out how much he is not an Air Force officer. He doesn't act like one, look like one...

Maybe it's the length of his hair that really bugs me and makes him look unprofessional? I don't know... I just can't take him seriously in the dress blues.

I don't know what it is whether its the writing or the costume department but there is just a huge noticeable difference between SG-1 and Atlantis. The military officers in SG-1 look and act very professional and I am able to take them seriously. I can honestly say "Yeah... they look, talk and act like the Lt. Cols I have known in the Air Force".

Just can't say the same for Atlantis... and that is very disappointing. Especially when the military accuracy and representation is what drew me to Stargate in the first place.

Ace

[caty]

Absolutely great ep. Loved to see normal life too in Atlantis.

Spoiler:

Beckett is a great loss for series, but at least his dead was very emotional. Sh*t happens I say, but yeah, its scifi! He'll be back someday.

Also loved that Ronon and Shep conversation, when they talked about Teyla, Joe absolutely may have some interest on her.

One of the best eps of this season, if we dont count that sad thing :<

Huh? Joe is interested in Teyla?? He is married and has kids!!

[Chailyn]

South African, too.

I know I've also seen Russian. I think there's been French, Spanish, and Czech soldiers too? There might have also been British troops, but I'm not positive.

[Anise76]

Writers writing characters out of a show is not new. You're acting as though he was 'hard done by' and that this sort of thing has never happened before.

I don't believe she stated it WAS the first time it's happened. She was referring to the manner in which it was done, which many of us, myself included, feel was out of order and unnecessary to carry the plot of the episode.

In the words of another missing character:

And? So? But? Therefore?

He was written out. This has happend 100 times on 100 shows before, and will continue to happen for the rest of time. Get over it and just watch the damned show.

BYE

Okay, so, say for example, TPTB arbitrarily offed YOUR favourite character - the one you would be royally pissed off if they removed them from the show. Just because Carson isn't YOUR favourite character doesn't mean that he can't mean a lot to others.

Do you have a problem with people getting passionate about a show they love? And having misgivings about MAJOR cast changes which appear to have been made with NO good reason behind them, and TPTB refusing to comment, unlike they did with Weir's... "demotion"? I, for one, am NOT one of those who is prepared to stand by unquestioningly when things like this come out of the blue. I PAY to watch this show, and, as such, feel as though some answers, at the very least, ought to be forthcoming.

[ShadowMaat]

I've seen a lot of people say that Carson's death was "pointless." Is there ANY way he could have died that would be considered pointed? In what possible manner could his death ever be accepted by those who don't want him to go?

Pointless would be him getting atomized by an incoming wormhole.
Pointless would be him falling off the railing into the water. Or tripping down the stairs. Or slipping in the shower.
Pointless would be him choking to death on a carrot.
Pointless would be him falling victim to a transporter malfunction.

Carson died doing his job. He died trying to save the life of another; someone that everyone else had already given up as dead. He died trying to do the right thing. How many of us will be as lucky?

[Atlanis]

Sorry, but I can't help giggling at the notion of such a poorly-spelt post telling the writers that they need further education....

Hey I am dislecsic I can't help it

[LoveConquers]

I think everyone has missed the most important question of all:

Who will get custody of the wee baby turtles?!

LOL! They actually got forgotten and left behind on earth. Hence Carson's dismay when he remembered them. Hopefully whoever is caring for his apartment is also caring for the turtles and then got willed to his family. I like to think they lived on.

[Hypochondriac]

When was this episode first shown? The last few episodes I saw carson was still alive and nothing was mentioned about him dieing. (The last episode I was was the game and the asteroid/moon one where the people were stored)

[Atlanis]

I thought John was just devorced but even that I think he was saying it cause of bravado

[Vixen]

An emotional episode. I liked the interaction between the characters. It was lovely to see Elizabeth in a different, more softer light. Katie and Rodney are very sweet together.

I didn't like seeing Carson die. I loved his character and always enjoyed the scenes of him and Rodney together. Both had great chemistry and a wonderful friendship. Carson really gave more heart to the show. SGA will feel a little emptier and colder without him now. I wish he stayed on.

[Ace]

I've seen a lot of people say that Carson's death was "pointless." Is there ANY way he could have died that would be considered pointed? In what possible manner could his death ever be accepted by those who don't want him to go?

Pointless would be him getting atomized by an incoming wormhole.
Pointless would be him falling off the railing into the water. Or tripping down the stairs. Or slipping in the shower.
Pointless would be him choking to death on a carrot.
Pointless would be him falling victim to a transporter malfunction.

Carson died doing his job. He died trying to save the life of another; someone that everyone else had already given up as dead. He died trying to do the right thing. How many of us will be as lucky?

I agree 100%... if any character is going to die then it should be just like how Carson died. Every week the characters get into trouble... eventually one of those times is going to catch up with them and they will be killed.

That's how they should always die... because that's not pointless. It's doing their jobs like they do everyweek. Pointless deaths would be just like ShadowMaat mentioned above

Ace

[watcher652]

But that's even worse! They booted up the gate, sent bodies through, shut it down, booted it up again and repeated the process. One can only imagine how much ZPM power one needs to do that!

A ZPM can last thousands of years and you're fixated on how many times they're using it for bring back bodies? A ZPM can hold back a barrage from Wraith hive ships and you're worried about the dialing the gate multiple times if everyone had a separate ceremony? I don't think that's what the scene was about. There's only so much you can show. Sometimes you just have to make stuff up yourself and fill in the blanks.

How about this: We see Carson taken thru the Gate. The scene fades. While you weren't watching, other pallbearers follow the first group bearing the others who died.

Again, while it's tragic that the people we only met for this episode were killed and some people that we didn't even see were killed, the thing the rest of us are upset about is the fact that Carson died.

As for John being the person Teyla was talking about: Teyla can't have an open relationship with John for several resons; for one, they're on the same team. So unless you want them to have a covert relationship or for either to step down and leave the team, her telling someone else about it (and them urging her to tell him) would be a very bad idea and against all kinds of regulations.

As others have already said, Teyla is not US military. The military from other countries have apparently agreed to follow the American lead, although, for all we know, there are teams with a foreign military lead that we never see. The lead Gate technician is a sergeant in some branch of the Canadian military.

In fact, the way Sheppard's team is right now, all his team members follow his lead because they want to, not because they have to. Neither Rodney, Ronon nor Teyla are under any obligation to follow Sheppard or to be on Sheppard's team. They are all volunteers.

And, wow, I can't believe how many people still are fixated on Sheppard's hair. Rant follows.

Spoiler:

If that takes you out of the show because Sheppard doesn't exactly look what you think the Air Force haircut should be, then the show isn't impacting you the way it should be.

How about we pretend that Sheppard is in this alternate universe where people can use wormholes to travel to another galaxy and have to fight life sucking aliens and that while his hair is the subject of jokes even by aliens, he hasn't been busted down to private for it and probably won't in the near future since he's been saving lives pretty constantly for the past 3 years.

I know some things are supposed to reflect the way things are right now in real life, but Sheppard's non-military hair isn't one of them. The show is not showing any disrespect to the dead, nor to the US military with Sheppard's hair.

Thanks, I needed to get that out.

Anyway, I think I neglected in all my posting to say what a remarkable job all the actors did for this episode. While we are all upset and sad that one of our favorite characters was written out through no fault of his own (no pregnancy (hee, that would be funny for Paul!), no rehab, etc, etc), the actors must have been even more upset that someone they worked with regularly is no longer going to be with them doing the show. I know they know what kind of life is the actor's life, but it still hurts. And I'm always amazed at an actor's ability to be able to say lines and be on the verge of tears and to show such emotion and to let it all be caught on film. Good work, everyone.

[prion]

Teyla isn't tied to any rules, but Sheppard, as an Air Force officer IS. Here is a site for AIR FORCE INSTRUCTION - PROFESSIONAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfi...afi36-2909.pdf

Teyla would be considered "civilian". As you can read, there can be no hanky-panky between Shep/Teyla without ramifications. Specifically note: "Relationships with Civilians" and "Dating and Close Friendships", along with "Responses to Cases Involving Dating and Sexual Relationships".

If TPTB move along with any Shep/Teyla "ship", they are making a mockery of US military Standards of Conduct.

And to be fair and not play favorites with "ships", here is the military "Civilian Conduct and Responsibilities" as well.

http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfi.../afi36-703.pdf

Looks like there shouldn't be any Weir/Shep either.

Hopefully that will put all the "ship" stuff to rest, and we can have a fun and interesting show.

Er, if Sheppard isn't supposed to date within the ranks, and he can't date a civilian, what's left? Trees? Squirrels?