'The Greater Good' (207) General Discussion

[Mortock42]

Oh weird... Suze Orman is like...staring at me....and judging me while I write this post...

Anyway, now that the rest of the crew has access to the bridge, I foresee Eli (and maybe Brody) becoming a very strong, central character. His hands were tied before, but now that he he has access to Destiny's bridge, performing the occasional math problem and making kino-sodes will the the least that he will be capable of doing. Lets just hope this drama with Ginn won't provide too much of a distraction for him...

I want to know why the other LA didn't intervene with Simeon? I'm sure they could tell he disagreed with cooperating with earth, so why not "take care" of him to prevent the actions of one of their members from ruing all of their credibility with the crew? It will be interesting to see if Young allows any of the LA to help track Simeon next week...

[Misfits]

The episode wasn't quite as good as I was hoping for. I still like last week's better.

Loved:

- Rush/Young throwdown and most of the following conversation between them...even though I've never bought into Rush's thing about not being able to trust Young as his reason for not saying anything. Yeah that plays into it a little, but Rush just wanted the power of control for himself. You tell everyone else then you have to share that control...which is what he'll have to do now.

- Rush saving Young.

- Perry not stepping out of the way to let the boys drive the ship.

- The set up for next week's episode.

Meh:

- Stargate: SGU The Search for "god". Meh. I don't know. I had a feeling they were headed in this direction, but I guess I wanted something different. I mean the episode "Faith" last season was one of my favorites, but I treated it as a one-off ep and had no need for answers. Maybe this will grow on me depending on what the writers do with it and how it helps drive the story and characters for the rest of the season. I guess it doesn't much matter since I think it will take a miracle for the show to be renewed anyway. I just don't see this being such a big game changer as far as peoples' attitude about returning home.

Now the interesting thing for me is is Destiny now headed towards a point that is possibly towards what would be a hypothetical "center" of the universe or towards a hypothetical "edge"...a kind of beyond the rim journey? I always kind of assumed maybe it was hunting for the "edge" or seeking out the older parts of the Universe. I think where it's going may be more interesting than what they will find there.

For Destiny to travel to a hypothetical 'center' of the universe would be a possibility, however, to a hypothetical 'edge', that would be unimaginable.
We all take the expanding universe to be an accepted fact.
We don't know when the Ancients set Destiny on it's course. It could have been millions of years after the Big Bang, or billions of years, or trillions, or longer. Then on top of that, Ancients would have had to design Destiny to travel faster than the expansion, and it has to be faster in a degree commensurate to the age of the universe, and lastly, if the course of Destiny is toward the edge of Universe at all.
I would think that these factors would make an attempt to travel to the 'edge' of the universe to be a practical impossibility.

[jelgate]

I think he has. He tells Amanda that he has no choice but to trust Young. So he is likely going to be very honest with him now. Rush is not a bad guy, you saw his reaction when Riley was brought up. You know what, Young is not a bad guy either. It seems both of them have flaws and that is what makes the drama so great.

Hate to say it, because I know there are Chloe, Scott, Greer, and TJ lovers, but Young, Rush, and Eli are the stongest characters and help drive the show, the others are just supporters.

And next episode..

Spoiler:

We are going to see a really ruthless bad guy in action!

Its not in Rush's nature to tell everything. He'll hold back information about the bridge if he thought their was a benefit to him. Thats just Rush. He looks out for his own interests.

As for the Young, Rush and Eli more important then everyone else that just personal opinion (especially Eli). I think the others have their vital point as well

[Armagosa]

"Any technology is indistinguishable from magic" is an incorrect quotation. Carl Sagan said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Big difference.

[LoneStar1836]

For Destiny to travel to a hypothetical 'center' of the universe would be a possibility, however, to a hypothetical 'edge', that would be unimaginable.
We all take the expanding universe to be an accepted fact.
We don't know when the Ancients set Destiny on it's course. It could have been millions of years after the Big Bang, or billions of years, or trillions, or longer. Then on top of that, Ancients would have had to design Destiny to travel faster than the expansion, and it has to be faster in a degree commensurate to the age of the universe, and lastly, if the course of Destiny is toward the edge of Universe at all.
I would think that these factors would make an attempt to travel to the 'edge' of the universe to be a practical impossibility.

I agree that it would which is why I would find that fascinating if that was what they were attempting to do...travel to the oldest parts of the Universe. Though traveling to the youngest would be as equally interesting....

Maybe trying to determine what kind of universe this was. Is it a closed universe that will eventually contract upon itself or one of the two types of open universe where it expands forever?

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

I suspect that Rush didn't tell Young everything and is still withholding some information.

I can completely see Rush doing that, but I think the game was up and it's either spill some beans or get spaced.

*nodnod* That was one of my favourite parts too. Beat the crap out of each, calm down, talk. Bloody excellent!

As for the "search for god" stuff people are talking about, the structure could simply be some remnant of a pre-Big Bang universe in which there was intelligent life - maybe some super-duper-but-too-arrogant-for-their-own-good alien race that got wiped out when they booted up their Really Really REALLY Large Hadron Collider.

why oh why does 'god' even enter into it?
Maybe it's just me but when I heard what the mission was, my brain went to science, not godhood, but meh...

[Misfits]

I agree that it would which is why I would find that fascinating if that was what they were attempting to do...travel to the oldest parts of the Universe. Though traveling to the youngest would be as equally interesting....

Maybe trying to determine what kind of universe this was. Is it a closed universe that will eventually contract upon itself or one of the two types of open universe where it expands forever?

Is there any way for determining that at all?
Any way to prove any of this? In cosmic terms, we know so little.

[P-90_177]

I can completely see Rush doing that, but I think the game was up and it's either spill some beans or get spaced.

why oh why does 'god' even enter into it?
Maybe it's just me but when I heard what the mission was, my brain went to science, not godhood, but meh...

Same with me. Some sort of alien existance that was around before the big bang, no a god. Stargate has never done God. It's done False Gods and Ascended beings but never God........I doubt they'd start now.

[PG15]

I agree that it would which is why I would find that fascinating if that was what they were attempting to do...travel to the oldest parts of the Universe. Though traveling to the youngest would be as equally interesting....

Maybe trying to determine what kind of universe this was. Is it a closed universe that will eventually contract upon itself or one of the two types of open universe where it expands forever?

For now our measurements of distant supernovae tells us that the Universe is expanding at an ever accelerated rate (and will do this forever), and that overall space is fairly "flat".

Also, there are no "older" or "younger" parts of the Universe; every part is the same age. Of course, you can have older and younger stuff in it, but I don't think that's what you meant.

[Briangate78]

*nodnod* That was one of my favourite parts too. Beat the crap out of each, calm down, talk. Bloody excellent!

There is no secret, Rush and Young are my favorite characters, and scenes like that are the reason why. I really do hope they can work things out and really go onto this so called mission.

I also love how Young puts down his gun, then Rush goes into a defensive mode, and then they fight. This time it was different. Instead of a "We'll never be done" or "You're the wrong man for the job" it was "We need to work together", and "Step up and be a leader" kinda speech.

[Misfits]

I can completely see Rush doing that, but I think the game was up and it's either spill some beans or get spaced.

SOME being the key word.
Based on what we do know about Rush, and his previous behavior, I would theorize the following.
Rush KNEW Destiny's mission BEFORE he dialed the 9th chevron address from Icarus Base. Just remember Ginn's interview with Wray.

GINN: Ancient legend said the address led to great understanding. It could make you as powerful as the gods.
WRAY (smiling cynically): Which gods?
GINN: Don't ask me. I assume it meant god-like power, like the ascended Ancients. If you could control time and space ...

It would be safe to presume that Rush had knowledge of this legend.
Just as his 'Thinking Room' was not set up in 5 mins, his revelation of Destiny's mission sounds too convenient.

why oh why does 'god' even enter into it?
Maybe it's just me but when I heard what the mission was, my brain went to science, not godhood, but meh...

Well, not god as in GOD, but godlike powers, as Ginn said, the ability to control time and space.
Pretty much you have to go back and re-watch every episode with these new revelations in mind in order to comprehend Rush's motivation and actions.

[LoneStar1836]

For now our measurements of distant supernovae tells us that the Universe is expanding at an ever accelerated rate (and will do this forever), and that overall space is fairly "flat".

Also, there are no "older" or "younger" parts of the Universe; every part is the same age. Of course, you can have older and younger stuff in it, but I don't think that's what you meant.

Yeah your right that I shouldn't be using "younger" the way I am, but if there is a "center" that everything is expanding out from there...I was just labeling the area closer to the "center" younger even though I guess I shouldn't. I studied astronomy in college years ago, but obviously it's not my profession.


But as to the episode, I'm still not all that enthused that this is the big reveal they had been building too. You've already got the Ancients who eventually ascended themselves into god-like beings so now tptb have invented something even more powerful than the Ancients. (Assuming the Faith planet is connected to this intelligence) Everything has to be more powerful than the last thing....

[Misfits]

Yeah your right that I shouldn't be using "younger" the way I am, but if there is a "center" that everything is expanding out from there...I was just labeling the area closer to the "center" younger even though I guess I shouldn't. I studied astronomy in college years ago, but obviously it's not my profession.

If a professorial knowledge of astronomy, biology, or any other subject was required to understand this franchise, the viewing audience would number in hundreds, not in millions.
Just like the rest of us, non-experts, we'll get by with logic and common sense, and enjoy the show and ponder the possibilities

[LoneStar1836]

If a professorial knowledge of astronomy, biology, or any other subject was required to understand this franchise, the viewing audience would number in hundreds, not in millions.
Just like the rest of us, non-experts, we'll get by with logic and common sense, and enjoy the show and ponder the possibilities

Agreed. Though he was right about me labeling the Universe like that as it is the same age. It's the stuff within that is of different ages.

Is there any way for determining that at all?
Any way to prove any of this? In cosmic terms, we know so little.

Probably if enough time was spent observing it...as in millions and millions of years. In our singular position and limited time on Earth we can only study so much with our primitive technology and theorize on the rest. That's why I think the concept of SGU is really great...a ship millions of years old, out there, studying things we could only dream of ever seeing. I do wish the show would focus on that a bit more...the exploration.

[Misfits]

Agreed. Though he was right about me labeling the Universe like that as it is the same age. It's the stuff within that is of different ages.

Probably if enough time was spent observing it...as in millions and millions of years. In our singular position and limited time on Earth we can only study so much with our primitive technology and theorize on the rest. That's why I think the concept of SGU is really great...a ship millions of years old, out there, studying things we could only dream of ever seeing. I do wish the show would focus on that a bit more...the exploration.

Unfortunately, exploration is so bland. Just look at Star Trek. Whenever they talked about exploration for the sake of exploration, everyone, including the characters would yawn.
Cataloging a gaseous anomaly, make-up of a nebulae, etc... can only go so far.
Conflict, drama, perseverance of human spirit and ingenuity is how they keep the show on air.
And hopefully, we'll enjoy their adventures and maybe learn something about ourselves in the process.