'Common Descent' (217) General Discussion

[Shylodog]

I saw a guy who looked like a tall version of Rush.

I saw him too... lol.

Just as Wray and Co. were entering the camp, he was about midway on the screen on the left.

[Shylodog]

oh please, this isn't me being critical or insensitive. you can't say anything these days without people demanding political correctness or skewing someones words for their own benefit or interpretation.

This absolutely was you being critical. You said you saw a mentally retarded person behind Wray. And you KNEW your post wouldn't be received well, because you started it with, "I don't mean for this to sound offensive...".

Get over yourself.

i observed something and i'm asking if others observed it as well. if not, fine. i didn't pass judgment on the person. you all obviously missed my point and it sounds like you're going out of your way to criticise me for something i never implied. YOU are the one passing judgment here. i had a legitimate observation and a legitimate point and i wasn't trying to make a statement, unlike yourself.

I'm not going out of my way. I'm calling you on the somewhat offensive way you presented your observation. You saw someone who looked different than what you would consider "normal" and called him mentally retarded. I kind of took offense, but was trying to be less critical than you. But since you KNEW you were trying to ruffle feathers, now you're getting defensive. It's all good.

[Airlock]

I saw him too... lol.

Just as Wray and Co. were entering the camp, he was about midway on the screen on the left.

When the episode comes out on hulu i'll post the exact time the person appears. I watched it on On Demand several times, but I can't get a time read-out. Needless to say, I watched that scene many times and I'm convinced there is a guy with a mental disorder -- or at least looks like he has a mental disorder. It could be real or it could just be acting, but it's not normal. I wouldn't highlight this as anything significant if it were under different circumstances. Genetics was a theme in this episode so if indeed that person had genetic abnormalities or some brand of retardation I find that interesting that briefly through a background 'extra' is how the director/producers chose to communicate the genetic imperfection aspect of seeding a civilization.

[Shylodog]

We were talking about the Rush look-alike there.

[Airlock]

This absolutely was you being critical. You said you saw a mentally retarded person behind Wray. And you KNEW your post wouldn't be received well, because you started it with, "I don't mean for this to sound offensive...".

Get over yourself.


I'm not going out of my way. I'm calling you on the somewhat offensive way you presented your observation. You saw someone who looked different than what you would consider "normal" and called him mentally retarded. I kind of took offense, but was trying to be less critical than you. But since you KNEW you were trying to ruffle feathers, now you're getting defensive. It's all good.

The point wasn't that they looked different than me. I didn't point it out simply because "oh that person looks retarded, hahaha, let me point that on the forum." My point was that if that person had a mental disorder (in actuality or if it was just acted), it was an unusual way for the director/producers to communicate the genetic imperfection aspect of breeding a new population -- through the subtle use of a background extra. The person really did appear mentally retarded to me. Watching it again, I'm still convinced he is. It's not a judgment. It's an observation. I'm not making any commentary on the person that appears to have a disorder. I'm making a comment about the directors and producers that may have used him for subtle storytelling purposes. I'm not trying to be funny. I'm not responsible for you getting offended. You are misinterpreting my entire point. If you don't like the use of the words "mentally retarded" than substitute it with the phrase of your choice. It won't change my overall point.

[Shylodog]

Ok, NOW I see who you are talking about. At 14:40, it's a younger male. He does look slack-jawed, but not mentally disabled to me. And that would be because I had a step-brother who looked exactly like that.

AND, I'm man enough to admit I was overbearing in my response to you. I was looking at a completely different guy the first couple of run throughs. But please, in the future, you may want to use "mentally disabled" or just "disabled" instead of retarded. You'd get a lot less knee-jerk replies in the future, I'd bet.

[Airlock]

buying common descent on itunes right now. i will give you the exact time the background extra in question appears.

[Airlock]

Ok, NOW I see who you are talking about. At 14:40, it's a younger male. He does look slack-jawed, but not mentally disabled to me. And that would be because I had a step-brother who looked exactly like that.

AND, I'm man enough to admit I was overbearing in my response to you. I was looking at a completely different guy the first couple of run throughs. But please, in the future, you may want to use "mentally disabled" or just "disabled" instead of retarded. You'd get a lot less knee-jerk replies in the future, I'd bet.

it's right as Wray says "thank you" as Yazu is leading everyone into his tent.

but do you see my point? that's how it came off to me (a little more than just slack jawed) and if this episode's storyline didn't have anything to do with genetics and population foundation then it wouldn't be significant. but in this case it may have been directly tied to the main story -- just in the background.

i will use safer terminology next time.

[garhkal]

okay, I don't mean this to be offensive in any way, but I noticed this during the live airing and during a few subsequent viewings: when the Destiny crew is first led into the village to meet the Descendants and Yazu invites Wray and company into his tent, just as Wray says "thank you" you can see what appears to be a mentally retarded person behind her.
Did anyone else notice that?

Nope.. Will have to rewatch it a few times to pick up on it.

[Airlock]

Nope.. Will have to rewatch it a few times to pick up on it.

by ignoring the rest of my initial post and taking my question at the end and inserting it at the end of my first paragraph you are quoting me terribly out of context.

i've already unintentionally offended a couple people and the way you quoted me will just inflame the situation further.

i don't want that to happen.

it occurs at 14:40 through 14:42 of the episode behind Wray. The ONLY reason why i bring this up is because it may be a small tid bit of information fed to us by the director and producers via a background extra. The significance would be that perhaps there were some genetic imperfections that the director wanted to show on screen to subtly communicate that the foundation of their population was difficult or that it isn't without it's fair share of genetic mutations and still maybe not quite there.

[Shylodog]

by ignoring the rest of my initial post and taking my question at the end and inserting it at the end of my first paragraph you are quoting me terribly out of context.

i've already unintentionally offended a couple people and the way you quoted me will just inflame the situation further.

i don't want that to happen.

Just to be clear, I wasn't offended as I didn't take it personally, I just thought it was offensive given the guy I thought you were talking about and I just couldn't connect the dots. Though overall I felt you could have worded it better as well, but I'm nobody's grammar police.

At this point, I think we all understand what you were saying and the misunderstanding was completely on my part. No worries here.

[Pharaoh Atem]

3 - I repeat, THREE - episodes to go.

nooooo

[Airlock]

does anyone have any theories as to what Chloe and Wray were giggling over in the beginning regarding the purple fruit? I know I've got some not so PG-13 ideas...

clearly came off as an exclusively feminine sensation.

[Shylodog]

does anyone have any theories as to what Chloe and Wray were giggling over in the beginning regarding the purple fruit? I know I've got some not so PG-13 ideas...

clearly came off as an exclusively feminine sensation.

Exactly what I took away from it. Especially when Eli kept pressing for an explanation, and Chloe looked like a deer in the headlights when she realized she may actually have to explain it to him.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Wow. What a fantastic episode. This is a story I feel only SGU could have pulled off in the Stargate franchise. And obviously we're now stuck with these guys for, at least, the next episode. Very classic Stargate but at the same time, something about only SGUs-style shone through.

Was quite a sight, the city at the end, so advanced and big yet empty. Absolutely loved it. Makes me even sadder about the cancellation.