The Ark (316)

[bluealien]

This ep was fantastic - I loved every minute of it. I was actually sitting on the edge of my seat. Sheppard flying the shuttle at the end was amazing. Everyone got something to do and Teyla was wonderful. So nice to see her getting a decent role in this ep. Probably my favourite ep of the season.

10/10

[Linzi]

By the way, I forgot to add, I think the cleverest bit of the episode was the twist that the civilization had in fact killed themselves via nuclear fallout. I also liked the idea that the guy sucked Teyla into the machine to test the team's motivations but sadly it showed up our team as not motivated enough which I already said I found a big problem.

I loved that twist too. That was unexpected and quite shocking. Desperate times, call for desperate measures, I suppose. Still, it was quite chilling to hear that.

[Teddybear]

I loved this episode , it's exactly how I see SGA , adventure, suspense and interesting interactions between characters . This time , unlike in the Game, I liked the banter between Sheppard and Mc Kay .
The beginning was nice , I thought , wouah Sheppard is in danger and I like when we see him using his talent as a pilot .
I agree with most of the people here in the thread who found a lack of motivation from the team to save the other people , but I realised that I was myself, as a spectator , not really motivated in the salvation of these people, I didn't really care for them , maybe because we didn't know enough about them and their past to be really moved by their future.
Nevermind, I liked the SFX and even if I think that it's a miracle that Sheppard didn't get even a scratch in the landing ( I noticed he never get injured ) it was pleasant to see. I liked the end at the infirmary , the nice moment of privacy between Sheppard and Teyla .
I found the Sheppard I like in this episode, and same remark for the other characters.

[Linzi]

This ep was fantastic - I loved every minute of it. Everyone got something to do - I was actually sitting on the edge of my seat. Sheppard flying the shuttle at the end was amazing. Everyone got somethingn to do and Teyla was wonderful. So nice to see her getting a decent role in this ep. Proabably my favourite ep of the season.

10/10

Yes. That's what I was trying to explain earlier. In some scenes I WAS sitting on the edge of my seat. That's what I've missed in the last 5 or so episodes, and that suspense and excitement was much needed, IMO.

[caty]

I also loved the beginning, especially the camera angle... That was very dramatic and had me on the edge of my seat with excitement about what's going to get him into this mess...

[Franklyn Blaze]

The crash scene, horrible. You have a shuttle falling out of the sky like a stone, at or near terminal velocity. There was no evidence Sheppard had any control of the craft, beeping alarms, no pulling up, nothing.

The ground doesn't break your fall, it beaks you. All the force exerted on the ground rebounds into the shuttle when you smash into the ground. There is no skidding! They should have smashed into a million pieces.

Shepard should have smashed into the windshield on impact. I did not see any safety harness at all. (unless the shuttle designers had a fondness of the color orange) All I saw was an unrestrained pilot.

Ugh!

[caty]

The crash scene, horrible. You have a shuttle falling out of the sky like a stone, at or near terminal velocity. There was no evidence Sheppard had any control of the craft, beeping alarms, no pulling up, nothing.

The ground doesn't break your fall, it beaks you. All the force exerted on the ground rebounds into the shuttle when you smash into the ground. There is no skidding! They should have smashed into a million pieces.

Shepard should have smashed into the windshield on impact. I did not see any safety harness at all. (unless the shuttle designers had a fondness of the color orange) All I saw was an unrestrained pilot.

Ugh!

As ken has stated, Sheppard didn't have any control and wasn't supposed to have any control over it..
I also got the impression that the shuttle was built for crashing into the ground...

I agree that Shep should have been more injured

[Arctic Penguin]

I also loved the beginning, especially the camera angle... That was very dramatic and had me on the edge of my seat with excitement about what's going to get him into this mess...

I agree the scene at the beginning set the tension throughout the ep. I really liked Teyla trying to talk down jameus i felt it was a great piece of acting from RL.

[Franklyn Blaze]

As ken has stated, Sheppard didn't have any control and wasn't supposed to have any control over it..
I also got the impression that the shuttle was built for crashing into the ground...

I agree that Shep should have been more injured

Ya but crashing a at speed faster than a flying 747...no. And still having power systems intact to bring back 1000 people. Sorry can't sell me on that.

[watcher652]

OK, I wrote down my thoughts before I read Ken's post, or anyone else's so let me just put it out here and I'll address Ken's point after.

Well, it wasn't a bad episode. Not a great one either, just kinda, eh. It felt sluggish. Nothing offensive or objectionable like some others we've seen this season. Nice set.

If you read the GateWorld episode summary, that's pretty much what happened. Only two guest stars, but it was pretty much just one guest star interacting with Teyla most of the episode.

I think the problem with this show was that the team was separated for a lot of the episode. While they were talking to each other, they really didn't physically interact for much of the show. Now written right, that might have been good, but we didn't learn anything new about the characters except at one point Ronon confesses (well, growls) that he doesn't like small places. There's something else Ronon has in common with Rodney besides an appreciation for eating.

Sheppard and Ronon were trapped together and we did get some exchanges between them. Teyla got more than her usually meager 3 lines, so that was good. Rodney showed some concern for someone other than himself, but he still had his sharp tongue most of the time. Beckett, Lorne and Weir all got some screen time, and we even saw Chuck. No Radek, though.

Sheppard shows us that, yes, he can pretty much fly anything. No big revelation there. I didn't like that it was just luck that Sheppard didn't fry going through the atmosphere or knock his head off when he crash landed. Not that I wanted him to. It's just that there was no effort made to save him. Maybe the point was that it was just luck. Oh look, he should be dead but isn't. Somehow I feel cheated. And, Sheppard won't risk the team to save a thousand strangers but he will risk death trying to save Teyla? Well, yeah, that's pure Sheppard. We did get a bit of an emotional statement from Sheppard there at the end, so even he's loosening up finally.

Ronon does the big macho fix-it-myself of his dislocated shoulder. Teyla plays diplomat. Rodney causes the problem by being his normal curious self and then solves the technical problems that might not have happened if he didn't power up the station in the first place. We learn that sometime during his life, Rodney must have encountered a pinata.

I felt sorry for David Hewlett because he had to wear an orange spacesuit the whole episode. Most of the time with the helmet on. And he had to do a lot of closing of hatch doors. Pretty static from an action viewpoint.

The best part was the very last lines in the infirmary.

This episode did make me wonder about something. What is Sheppard's weekly salary as compared to McKay's? I'm thinking it's gotta be a lot less than what McKay could be earning. Does Sheppard get extra hazard pay working in another galaxy? What kind of salary would McKay be making? Is he considered a private contractor? What about if he worked for a university? Or in the private sector?

Now to what Ken says

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

Ok, now I get it. And I kind of assumed that after I was watched it and was trying to justify it in my brain. But the problem is that I had to read the statement above to get it. And that's not right. The scenes just didn't work. I think if Lorne, a pilot himself, had some flyboy techie talk to explain what Sheppard was doing, it would have made sense. And then McKay and Lorne talking it out as Sheppard falls thru the atmosphere. Hey, McKay and Lorne actually talking to each other, that would have been cool.

Somehow, I think I should have learned more about Sheppard from this episode, and I didn't. But, Teyla did get more lines than usual, so yay for that.

[Luz]

Yes. That's what I was trying to explain earlier. In some scenes I WAS sitting on the edge of my seat. That's what I've missed in the last 5 or so episodes, and that suspense and excitement was much needed, IMO.

I didn't get this feeling, it was a good, passable episode, but didn't feel any suspense, Sheppard looked really hot, and it didn't reach the level of suckitude that Irresponsible did, so it wasn't bad, but also not like a top five episode either.

[anaM]

I really loved this episode. It was good classic science fiction to me, space, danger, suspence . And I loved it as an SGA episode, it was different and strong with wonderful character moments . Teyla was very good in the scenes with Jamus, I felt the desperation of both. Sheppard and Ronon fit very well together, loved Ronon's smile when Shep promised fighting to death.
IMO it's one of the top of S3 so far.

[SGAFan]

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

Hmm... well, I kind of got the feeling that Shep thought he wouldn't survive but would be damned if he'd just lay down and give up a member of his team without trying anything. That is so Sheppard!

I love the fact that he survived out of blind luck. LOL

Btw: I really liked how you brought in the "we dont leave people behind" aspect to the ep.. and even to Rodney. Nice touch!

I really liked this ep actually. Better than the last one IMHO. I thought it was a great "Team" Ep/stand alone/action episode.

I also liked how the "humor" was mixed into the drama. ROdney's snarking for example. LOL Much like Tao, I think the humor aspect of Stargate works so much better when its woven into the story, and not forced like Irresistible was. (Just IMHO)

I really enjoyed it. Thanks Ken!

[Sheppard's Delight]

Hi Ken! Nice to see you here again.
Thanks for the explanation, it's great to hear about the episode from your perspective. I have to say, everything you say here is what I had gathered from the episode, so it all made sense to me. My only slight complaint, is that Sheppard should have been in the infirmary bed, and not Teyla.

This ep was fantastic - I loved every minute of it. Everyone got something to do - I was actually sitting on the edge of my seat. Sheppard flying the shuttle at the end was amazing. Everyone got somethingn to do and Teyla was wonderful. So nice to see her getting a decent role in this ep. Proabably my favourite ep of the season.

10/10

What they said!!! Although not my fave ep of the season that is of course Common Ground - I dont think anything could knock that off the top for me!

[Franklyn Blaze]

...

Ok, now I get it. And I kind of assumed that after I was watched it and was trying to justify it in my brain. But the problem is that I had to read the statement above to get it. And that's not right. The scenes just didn't work. I think if Lorne, a pilot himself, had some flyboy techie talk to explain what Sheppard was doing, it would have made sense. And then McKay and Lorne talking it out as Sheppard falls thru the atmosphere. Hey, McKay and Lorne actually talking to each other, that would have been cool.

Somehow, I think I should have learned more about Sheppard from this episode, and I didn't. But, Teyla did get more lines than usual, so yay for that.

No offence to Ken C. or anyone else.
If an episode requires a rather lengthy addendum from a writer to explain the writing, isn't the episode then lacking in some area? As said above it's just not right.