The Ark (316)

[Atlantean Engineer]

And can someone tell me what that white cord that seems to run from the groin to the mid-chest area on the space suits is supposed to be? (I know nothing about space suits, but it just looks a bit awkward).

It doesn't look like a cord to me. More like strap, it kinda hangs on a pulley near the chest area. It does look a little weird, but it's probably something to secure yourself when you're seated. The only other connections in the torso area of their suits are lower and look like hoses/pipes, probably for transferring fluids in and out.

[LoveConquers]

It doesn't look like a cord to me. More like strap, it kinda hangs on a pulley near the chest area. It does look a little weird, but it's probably something to secure yourself when you're seated. The only other connections in the torso area of their suits are lower and look like hoses/pipes, probably for transferring fluids in and out.

Strap, that's the word I was looking for, thank you! It seems to be attached to a wider black strap that comes from under the legs and goes up around the backside of the suit. Anyway, thanks for the possible explanations! Just a curious and random question.

[atlantis_babe34]

Overall i found the episode rather borning.. but thats just me.. oh and BTw nice Snickers wrapper by the crew!.. Top Job Guys!

[gatinha]

Yeah, I understand this, and as I said it was just a gripe I had with this episode. I know the reasons for her absence, just imagine having to put up with many *many* episodes without much Sheppard in a season (which is what you have to put up with if you're a fan of either Weir or Teyla) it gets tiring.

have you seen the rising with commentary by Martin Wood and Joe Flanigan? Maybe from there you'll get the idea that there's a reason why it has to be sheppard not the other characters....at first he was nobody to the stargate program...but he became somebody very important because actually he's the lead character (Martin Wood did say that too)....for me personally it would be very strange a show without the lead character in it....just imagine macgyver without macgyver in it...

[Linzi]

have you seen the rising with commentary by Martin Wood and Joe Flanigan? Maybe from there you'll get the idea that there's a reason why it has to be sheppard not the other characters....at first he was nobody to the stargate program...but he became somebody very important because actually he's the lead character (Martin Wood did say that too)....for me personally it would be very strange a show without the lead character in it....just imagine macgyver without macgyver in it...

Good point.
I do have sympathy though for any fan who's favourite character doesn't appear as much as they'd like. It's happened to me in ther shows, and it's disappointing. I'm glad that, for once, my favourite character is the lead!!!!

[lostinspace]

I just watched The Ark, and shared this reaction on LJ as well. First, this was classic SF and Stargate. The plot was somewhat predictable, the gravitas wasn't fully there, but the overall chemistry was great, with bonus scenes for Teyla and Lorne! Also, we now have many new allies whose sophistication and knowledge far exceeds any of the previous ones. So all in, not the best ep ever, but certainly not Irresponsible!

ken_is_here, thanks for taking the time to visit various threads (your eps and even the Shep Whump one, you brave man!). I particularly appreciate your explanations of the original script (which had more "realistic" whump and scenes), the shuttle design idea and Shep's reactions, which were completely in line with canon and his fascination with Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass. Nice hints about Submersion too - looking forward to it!

FYI - for folks who're late coming into the thread, you can view all of Ken's insights and spoilers here, with the major ones compiled below.

Spoiler:

Well, this last minute edit patch actually appeared in writing in the very first draft. I wanted to open the show with a little bit of Vertigo -- jump right into the action, then start to reveal the layers that led to that moment. If you felt it was cheap, that's cool...but it was scripted not patched in during editing.

The bottom line is that Weir is in charge of Atlantis. She has to maintain the day to day operations. She can't just go off on field missions because she has other responsibilities...much like General Landry on SG:1.

Having said that...Weir does indeed go on a rare field mission in Submersion - and quickly learns that perhaps it is better to stay in the warm cozy confines of Atlantis.

I wouldn't say he's uncomfortable with emotion, just that like a lot of guys, it is easier to brush things off with a joke, then to speak from the heart. What we feel and what we say are often two different things. Something to remember ladies. It's like we guys are from, say...mars...and women are from some completely different planet. For example: Venus. Hey, I should write a book.

Well I figure a large metal container would have a better chance at surviving a crash than a soft pink fleshy dude.

The only way to get free of the station (it was thought) was for Sheppard to release the shuttle from the mooring manually (from the cockpit) and hope that it "fell" threw the damaged outer doors rather than bouncing off the inner walls and shattering (there was no anti-grav at that point). This was a 100-1 shot. Sheppard was going for the long odds. And failed - because he couldn't release the shuttle as planned. Oops.

What he didn't plan on was the fact that once the moon hit the atmosphere, it burned up quickly, allowing the contents (the shuttle) to fly free of the wreckage. From there, all he had to do was try to keep the shuttle level upon landing to minimize the impact. Which he did.

Also...you are blond.

Keep in mind this was a shuttle, not a plane. A shuttle designed to slow down when it hits the atmosphere, and glide to Earth on air streams (as set up by Sheppards comment that it had a "lifting body" design similar to old Nasa shuttles.) This is what it was designed to do. It wouldn't be a very effective re-entry shuttle if it slammed to earth like a crashing plane.

Ken

The alternative would have been spending the rest of his life wondering if he could have saved Teyla had he tried. Sheppard never gives up on his team. period. Even if it kills him.

I'll address this one, since it makes a good point:

In my head (and, I feel, in my script as well) it was intended that this situation the team was in was an impossible one. With no fuel in the shuttle, it was absolutely impossible to save the civilization in the wraith device without, at the very least sacrificing the pilot of the shuttle -- and even then it was very unlikely the device would survive the impact. It was that simple. One member of this new race doomed the rest of his people, and we couldn't do a damn thing about it.

And then Teyla was forced into the device -- and Sheppard made a decision. He couldn't let Teyla die without at least trying to save her. But in making this decision, Sheppard assumed he would die in the attempt. It was a suicide mission from the start. He simply hoped that he would somehow be able to get the shuttle, (and the device) clear of the station before he died. The shuttle was designed for re-entry - it was a gliding shuttle so once in the atmosphere it would have a chance at surviving the crash landing -- IF Sheppard could somehow miracoulously get it free of the station.

Now here's maybe what wasn't perfectly clear in the aired version (although it was clear to me...because it was in my head all along) -- The fact that the bolts didn't blow, and the shuttle didn't come free from the mooring at first is what saved Sheppard's (and Teyla's) life. Sheppard's plan was to try release the shuttle from the mooring, and hope that gravity carried him free of the moon through the damaged airlock. More likely he would have bounced around inside until the shuttle disintegrated, and killed everyone. This is pretty much what Sheppard expected. (In my original script, I made a little more out of Sheppard saying his goodbyes to the rest of his team. He never expected to live) However...because the bolts didn't blow...Sheppard got lucky. The station hit the atmosphere, and the moon burned up, from the outside in. But the moon wasn't solid, and the hollow pocket inside acted as a buffer. So when the shuttle broke free of its mooring, without slamming into any solid walls of rock -- It simply emerged from the rubble to continue the descent it was designed for.

Yes, it was lucky...this is a situation where all the piloting skill in the world would have been useless. If we had Sheppard do the impossible, and skillfully bring the shuttle down, I would have felt that was a cheat. Too super-hero. Sheppard was human here, surviving only because of dumb luck. And all because he refused to let Teyla go without a fight.

Anayway, this is how I saw it...and tried to write it...

Ken C

Well the truth is I don't really go seeking out fan opinions...I just drop by websites I enjoy and poke around. If I see something that perftains to me or my work, I'll often respond...simply because I enjoy the interaction. (I was a fan long before I was a writer)

So...whether my episodes are percieved as successes or failures is really besides the point (hindsight is 20/20 - It's not like I can go back in time and do a better job) and not really in my hands.

I don't really need to "deal" with fandom at all. I pop by here because I enjoy the feedback -- both negative and positive. It's all good!

So this LiveJournal...a little like "Fight Club?"

[MasterVampire]

how good was it when Ronon dislocated his arm and Sheppard is there telling him that becket will be there soon to help him and he gets up and uses the door to pop it back in

the look of terror and shock in sheppards eyes lmao!

[Alipeeps]

I enjoyed the story and the character interactions, but I wish Rodney and John would do something besides bicker all the time. Didn't Rodney's near ascension soften them both a bit? It was great for the first 3/4 but then when John was going to go off and die, I wanted a bit more sincerity of friendship shown. Maybe it's a guy thing

Teyla got some nice time to shine and I loved Ronon's insight that the young guy was going to cause problems.

I thought the banter and Rodney's doom and gloom predictions etc were great in this ep - to me, it was just right. Sometimes McKay's snark etc can be a bit too much but it felt like the right level in this ep. He was his usual pessimistic self as to their chances of survival but, at the same time, never stopped working to save them and there was a real note of kinda sadness, almost verging on acceptance? in his voice as he told them how bad their situation was. He didn't seem as, I dunno, angry and stressed as he would normally be in that situation. I adored his mulish, verging on emotional, "No. We don't leave our people behind!" to Lorne when asked to go to the jumper. It was his Sheppard moment - it's a concept Sheppard lives by, to the extent of being willing to endanger his own life, and Sheppard had been repeatedly reminding McKay of that concept and then, when salvation arrives and offers to take over McKay's responsibility in rescueing his team, he refuses, wanting to stay right where he is, at the risk of his own life, because he will not leave them. Wonderful.

I also really enjoyed the scene where Sheppard was going to the shuttle. I thought it was very in character for both of them - it was a definite goodbye scene and I loved the almost hopeless tone in McKay's voice where he asked Sheppard not to do this, knowing full well that Sheppard was of course going to. And I love that Sheppard deflected the moment with a slightly snarky comment.. because that's what these guys do. They have a close friendship but they don't discuss emotions and icky stuff like that... It all goes unsaid and it's what they don't say that is wonderful....

Gotta agree I also loved ROnon's perceptiveness on the situation with Herick and Jamus. A lovely touch.

I wish the young guy who initially commited suicide could have been explored more maybe have him do the deed later so we could get to know him and his mindset better. I still don't get why he wanted to take everyone else with him when he could have just killed himself without much fuss.

I don't think he necessarily wanted to kill the team - he told Teyla to take her friends and leave. What he wanted to do was kill himself, definitely kill Jamus, whom he blamed for the loss of his family, and to destroy his life's work - a life's work he felt had been wasted because he had been betrayed and denied the one thing that had led him to devote his entire life to the project. The team just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Alfff]

anyone notice the snickers wrapper on the control panel?

[FallenAngelII]

Why is Rodney such a moron in this episode? Especially since it came after "Tao".

I'm really sick and tired of people whining about rehashes and whatnot. The only similarity between this and "Lifeboat" is that they both featured people in stasis.

Everything, everything else was different. More on my thoughts later when I've finished watching the episode.

[Linzi]

I thought the banter and Rodney's doom and gloom predictions etc were great in this ep - to me, it was just right. Sometimes McKay's snark etc can be a bit too much but it felt like the right level in this ep. He was his usual pessimistic self as to their chances of survival but, at the same time, never stopped working to save them and there was a real note of kinda sadness, almost verging on acceptance? in his voice as he told them how bad their situation was. He didn't seem as, I dunno, angry and stressed as he would normally be in that situation. I adored his mulish, verging on emotional, "No. We don't leave our people behind!" to Lorne when asked to go to the jumper. It was his Sheppard moment - it's a concept Sheppard lives by, to the extent of being willing to endanger his own life, and Sheppard had been repeatedly reminding McKay of that concept and then, when salvation arrives and offers to take over McKay's responsibility in rescueing his team, he refuses, wanting to stay right where he is, at the risk of his own life, because he will not leave them. Wonderful.

I also really enjoyed the scene where Sheppard was going to the shuttle. I thought it was very in character for both of them - it was a definite goodbye scene and I loved the almost hopeless tone in McKay's voice where he asked Sheppard not to do this, knowing full well that Sheppard was of course going to. And I love that Sheppard deflected the moment with a slightly snarky comment.. because that's what these guys do. They have a close friendship but they don't discuss emotions and icky stuff like that... It all goes unsaid and it's what they don't say that is wonderful....

Gotta agree I also loved ROnon's perceptiveness on the situation with Herick and Jamus. A lovely touch.



I don't think he necessarily wanted to kill the team - he told Teyla to take her friends and leave. What he wanted to do was kill himself, definitely kill Jamus, whom he blamed for the loss of his family, and to destroy his life's work - a life's work he felt had been wasted because he had been betrayed and denied the one thing that had led him to devote his entire life to the project. The team just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I agree here. It was wonderful to see Rodney be pessimistic and not whine too much. The balance of Sheppard and McKay's banter and ribbing was perfect here, for me. I also loved that McKay asked Sheppard not to go. Of course, he knew Sheppard would take no notice, but he had to try, and did. I thought that showed a lot of character growth for him, because his plea was so heartfelt, in my eyes. I also chuckled at the way Rodney asked how he could collect on the wager of a weeks pay if Sheppard died, and Sheppard's comment about how nice it was that Rodney cared was hysterical! Yep, I loved this episode!!!! Off to watch it again now...

[Linzi]

Why is Rodney such a moron in this episode? Especially since it came after "Tao".

I'm really sick and tired of people whining about rehashes and whatnot. The only similarity between this and "Lifeboat" is that they both featured people in stasis.

I didn't think Rodney was a moron. Why do you think that?

[FallenAngelII]

Cracking jokes and being sarcastic, overbearing and boasty when talking to a guy who just found out he's lost his family.

BTW, who would build a space shuttle whose windows break upon bumping into stuff?!

[caty]

Why is Rodney such a moron in this episode? Especially since it came after "Tao".

I'm really sick and tired of people whining about rehashes and whatnot. The only similarity between this and "Lifeboat" is that they both featured people in stasis.

Everything, everything else was different. More on my thoughts later when I've finished watching the episode.

OMG, you and me actually agree

BTW: I don't think Rodney was intentionally being a jackass.. He's just very much like an elephant in the China store when it comes to being sensitive.. He doesn't know what sensitivity is, never did. So his reactions didn't surprise me and weren't intentionally malicious..

[FallenAngelII]

OMG, you and me actually agree

BTW: I don't think Rodney was intentionally being a jackass.. He's just very much like an elephant in the China store when it comes to being sensitive.. He doesn't know what sensitivity is, never did. So his reactions didn't surprise me and weren't intentionally malicious..

No, he wasn't intentionally malicious. He was just being stupid. Which was weird considering he almost Ascended and should somehow have matured through that.

By the way, I find John's actions hypocritical as well. Fine, they don't leave their own behind, but, heck, entire civilization of a thousand people here about to get lost forever. What does John want to do to try and save them? Nothing. Because they'd have to risk maybe dying.

Then Teyla gets trapped. And then suddenly he's willing to risk his life on what amounts to a suicidal mission to save her. Some hero. One friend's life is obviously infinitely more important than those of 1000 innocent strangers.