Atlantis evacuation logic problem

[PG15]

No, the problem is that it's a complete piece of fanwank technology, invented at the last second and never mentioned before as a means to solve the plot hole of "how does Atlantis get from New Lantea to Earth in time to save the day?" Also, apparently the Ancients couldn't figure out the right calculations to make it work in millions of years... but Radek can in what, five minutes?

Yeah, okaaaaaaaaaay...

How do we know it didn't work? All we know is that they abandoned it because it was too dangerous.

[Mitchell82]

No, the problem is that it's a complete piece of fanwank technology, invented at the last second and never mentioned before as a means to solve the plot hole of "how does Atlantis get from New Lantea to Earth in time to save the day?" Also, apparently the Ancients couldn't figure out the right calculations to make it work in millions of years... but Radek can in what, five minutes?

Yeah, okaaaaaaaaaay...

I disagree. We don't know that it didn't work only that the Ancients never had the time to test it.

[GoSpikey]

I'll admit it was a plot device but it made sense that it was something they would be working on but never put into service.

Like that fat species addition to the Atlantis database that Weir/FRAN did in GitM...

If you do not plan on having people look at it in the next few episodes, then DON'T write it down in the script...

[Mitchell82]

Like that fat species addition to the Atlantis database that Weir/FRAN did in GitM...

If you do not plan on having people look at it in the next few episodes, then DON'T write it down in the script...

Huh? Just because we didn't see it activate makes it a bad plot device? I'll agree that we should have seen it activate but the battle made up for that.

[ijffdrie]

maybe atlantis couldnt get through witout flying through wraith and they had the same logic problem with that as the asgard would?

[Infinite-Possibilities]

I figure they suspected they probably wouldn't have survived the assault from the Wraith fleet in orbit if they tried to escape through the fly the City of Atlantis through space route. Presumably they'd achieved total air supremacy.

[s09119]

I disagree. We don't know that it didn't work only that the Ancients never had the time to test it.

So in the decade that their city just sat under Wraith siege, they never had time to test it...? A test that would have taken 5 seconds? Okay, sure. Let's go with that.

[SavetheGate]

My thoughts are that the Ancients were out of ZPMs due to the war and had stashed their last few on other worlds in case of their return after the war.

With only 3 ZPMs it would not of been possible to tax the ZPMs by using both the stardrive and the shield, particularly when the shield was under fire from the massive hive fleet in orbit.

Look at Enemy at the Gate, Atlantis ran out of power quickly in that battle after only a lift off, hyperspace travel to Earth and taxing of the power supplies by repeated hits on the shield. Yes I know the hive in Enemy at the Gate was super powered but still, there were many hives in orbit over Lantea and I believe the effects would of been comparable.

ZPMs were the Lanteans one major advantage, a large power supply but the war would have drained these supplies and I doubt the Ancients wanted to risk loosing the shield in space and the city for that matter.

But remember, to the Lanteans, ZPM's were like batterries are to us, they could make them easily.

[PG15]

So in the decade that their city just sat under Wraith siege, they never had time to test it...? A test that would have taken 5 seconds? Okay, sure. Let's go with that.

Perhaps they thought testing an extremely dangerous piece of technology while underwater and being pelted by Wraith weapons fire was not a good idea?

It's irrelevant anyway. They don't need to test it to know it's dangerous (they can do simulations); too dangerous to pursue, perhaps.

But us humans don't care about that, so there.