sholio | 3x16: The Ark

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episode reactions:sga

3x16: The Ark

Did this one make anyone else think of NotTasha's fic Among the Stars? Team trapped on a space station that's venting atmosphere, separated by bulkheads and able to communicate only with their radios! HEE. Of course the actual plot was quite different, just the basic premise was similar, but it made me grin.

In a lot of ways this felt like a throwback to the action/suspense episodes of the first season. I remember thinking, when we started watching the show, that their action episodes were the most successful ones, with the plots falling down just a trifle when they'd do the more story-driven episodes. Over time, I think I've come to enjoy the "slow" ones more; I don't know if that's because they're doing them better now, or because we tend to get more "character moments" in the slower episodes, or what. However, it's really nice to see that they can still do tense, fast-paced, "OMG we're all gonna die" action well. I was just talking on Derry's LJ about the need for balance on the show, and this episode was perfect to balance out the more humorous and "talky" episodes that we've had lately. In fact I'd love it if the show kept up a mix like this -- a couple funny or character-focused episodes, offset with a couple of fast-paced ones.

I really liked the episode; unlike the last couple, it didn't really have any huge "squee and rewatch a dozen times" moments, but there were lots of fun parts and a few sweet ones. Loved Rodney's "We don't leave people behind!" to Lorne, and Rodney and Sheppard trying to say goodbye in that emotionally-stunted-yet-touching way that only they can do so well. (There was a certain lack of concern for Teyla on Rodney's part in that scene, IMHO, but on the other hand she's out of sight and mind at the moment, while a certain Colonel is going all kamikaze AGAIN.) All the banter was too much fun, including Teyla and Ronon's long-suffering reaction to the usual bickering in the beginning -- and I just loved how they dial up poor Weir, only an hour late for their check-in, with this massive, abbreviated tale of woe; good thing she's such a diplomatic person, because you can just imagine her thinking, "Everything was FINE the last time I talked to them! How did they screw up THIS badly THIS fast?!"

One of the things I've always loved about the Stargate shows is how they find new ways to use old technology, and when they find a new thing to do with it, they remember. This episode's case in point -- turning the cloak into a shield and extending it to the space station. And I liked that they didn't waste a lot of time explaining it to the viewer ("Hey, just like we did when we rescued old so&so!") -- it's just very matter-of-fact. I also liked the way they had the LSDs strapped to their arms, freeing up their hands for other stuff. Clever!

Another way that this episode provided nice balance is that all of the team got to do something -- emphasis on Sheppard and McKay, of course, but the four-way interplay was neat. (Oh, and if I may be shallow? Sheppard in the welding goggles -- ROWR! *grin*)

Oh, and it's been nice to see Lorne so much lately! I'm not a huge Lorne fan the way some people are -- not that I don't like him, just that I don't really feel like I've seen enough of him to have that much love for him -- but because of his history with the team and his friendly-affectionate way of relating to them, it's a lot of fun when he's the one who gets to come and rescue them. I'm always happy to see his name in the credits.

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Ditto to everything you said here! Once again you were thoughtful while I was babbling excitedly. :O)

(There was a certain lack of concern for Teyla on Rodney's part in that scene, IMHO, but on the other hand she's out of sight and mind at the moment, while a certain Colonel is going all kamikaze AGAIN.)

Yeah I noticed that too BUT like you said, for him Teyla was out of site while John is about to risk his life doing something Rodney thinks is impossible. He's being very techical about it while Sheppard is just thinking about saving Teyla no matter what the cost. It's not that he doesn't care about Teyla but he can't see a way of saving her in the time they have and he's afraid that John's only going to get himself killed.

Did you notice the bit where John has his foot up on the thing where all the people were stored and when the two guys are talking about it he drops his foot down when he realizes what he has his foot on? - okay that's as clear as mud right? *SIGH* sorry I can't remember what they called the machine..

No, actually I know exactly the scene you're talking about because I noticed it too! Well, I saw him put his foot on it, but I didn't notice him take it off -- I was too distracted by the "OMG Joe Flanigan is so sexy"-ness of that pose. ;) What? Me? Shallow? I don't know why, but I was really grooving on the sexiness of Sheppard in this episode ... I mean, even more so than usual.^^

*chuckle* well I had a fussy download so I noticed him droping his foot down more than him. :O)

I saw it!

And concerning Teyla - I forgot she was there too.

Or could it be that I'm just SO John fixated....

Hmm that sounds about right! John, John, John, John, John, John!

:O)

I was just talking on Derry's LJ about the need for balance on the show

I think I said something along those lines too - about how I marginly prefered 'Echoes' to 'Tao...' because it had talky/friendship bits AND some action.

It wasn't so much Sheppard in the welding goggles, as Sheppard with the blow torch and being very good with it that I found attractive. (Boy doesn't that last sentence sound suggestive? I didn't mean it to come out so sleazy!)

Actually I can imagine Weir thinking 'They're in trouble again. Well, at least I now know what THIS week's crisis is! Major Lorne, you have a 'go' (again!)'

Talking of Lorne - I have soft spot for him - but then I saw Kavan in a film (also starring Michael Shanks) before he turned up in SG-1. So I was delighted to see him in SG-1, and even more delighted to see him in SGA, with that dry sense of humour. That makes me think of some meta I'd like to discuss sometime soon...

Still don't have a Lorne or Radek icon.... Maybe I should get a Lorne AND Radek icon!

Wier really can't win can she? Sending them out on missions always results in them getting to trouble, but she can't keep them on Atlantis for their own good because they are obviously just as capeable of finding trouble on Atlantis. :O)

*points to icon*

Even if she sent them back to Earth, they'd just come back again (as they demonstrated with their usual lunacy not so long ago!).

Maybe they're not like kids, in so much as they're like PUPPIES!

Earth command is probably just darned happy that they're safely in another galaxy, where at least they can't blow up the homeworld or anything ...

*snort* I just realized that that Rodney actually came damn close to blowing up the Earth when his magnetic-pulse plan failed in Redemption! Hmm, so far, the major things we've seen them do on Earth are:

- Rodney almost killed Teal'c (48 Hours) and then almost got Earth destroyed (Redemption)
- Carson almost killed O'Neill (Rising)
- and then they all stole a spaceship and fled to the Pegasus Galaxy in Return.

Yeah, I bet no one's real eager to get them home again...

you forgot what they put Jack through during their rescue ... sure it's not on Earth but no wonder Jack said they could stay on Atlantis. :O)

I can imagine the letter General Landry would send them...

"Dear John and Rodney,
I am writing to you both in one letter, because where one is the other usually is too.

We are sending you back to Atlantis, because we don't have the nice Pegasus brand of kibble that you like. Also we're fed up of you using Earth as a throw toy, and could you please desist chewing on Alaska? It's making the inhabitants cranky!

You may keep the blankets we gave you, but please go!"

(I think I ate a bowl of weird!)

ROFLOL!

And I love your icon!!!

Oh there's more!

Rodney got Carter electrocuted in 'Redemption' WHILST cutting in half the amount of time they had to save the world from Anubis. (with an EMP - Rodney loves his EMPS)

He also suggested O'Neill put his X303 into a suicidal nose dive into the ocean.

Not really the kind of thing that does down well in the old SGC.

Oops you mentioned it. Skipped that line!

Ah well, it deserves mentioning again. In detail!

And yes, Atlantis_fan's points about 'The Return'.

But then again, it's not like SG-1 aren't trouble magnets too! In fact they started the ball rolling in the first place.

*snort* Point well taken about SG-1. In a way, it's like Jack is finally getting a taste of what Hammond had to put up with for so many years ...

PRE-CISE-LY.

If SG-1 hadn't messed up, John and Rodney would never have got their opportunities to mess up as well.

If they hadn't pissed off Apophis, it's likely the Stargate would have been buried again.

AHAHAHA! This means the only member of SG-1 that Rodney hasn't almost killed is Daniel, and possibly only because Daniel was already dead at the time! You know, even the Pegasus Galaxy might not be far enough away ... if there's ever an expedition to somewhere farther yet, guess who's getting "volunteered". :D

Well, my love for Tao pretty much overwhelmed all else. *grin* But I know what you mean, and I really do love how the show doesn't give us just one kind of episode all the time. Even if I don't enjoy all the episodes equally, or even certain *kinds* of episodes as much as certain other kinds, I'm still glad it has that variety. I like the fact that sometimes there are episodes with nothing to be fought or killed, just as much as I like that there are episodes where the whole thing is one long "OMG we're gonna diieeee!"

Mmm, yeah, Sheppard with blow torch .... and you know what I mean dammit! :D

Actually another great example of balance would be this episode's return of hyper-competent leader Sheppard. In Tao we had Sheppard the concerned friend, in Game was Sheppard the loveable dorkboy -- but it's been awhile since we've seen Sheppard the leader, the guy who is willing and able to take charge (even giving direct orders to Rodney -- which he almost *never* does!) and willing to risk it all to bring his people home safely.

Hmmm the many faces of John Sheppard.

Funnily enough, the reviews on Gateworld are very negative. I enjoyed the episode very much, and I agree that it's a return to the types of action episodes we had in first season. Lots of fun, and I thought the plot twists were well done. Teyla chewed her scenes up, and I think I like competent!leader John the best of all his faces.

Oy. Now back to ancient history...

They didn't like it? Well I'm not going anywhere near there then. I loved it!

Ooh, what Ancient History?

Well, reading through it's about 1/3 hated, not quite 2/3s liked. The writer is there, though, and fielding questions, so that's kind of cool.

Uhm, this quarter I'm studying European Prehistory and Ancient Greece. Fun stuff, (*whining*) but they expect me not to just read the material, but study and write about it! ;-)

Cool icon. Is it from Lascaux, or Altamira? Or neither....?

That kind of History is a bit TOO old for me. I was/am a Medievalist, though I went as early as c300AD. No modern, however. Nothing beyond 1648, adn the only time I stepped out of Europe was when studying the Crusades.

It's Lascaux. Funnily enough, I think history pretty well ends about 1064. My favorite is ancient Britain specifically, Bronze/Iron Age Northern Europe in general, up to early Medieval. And ancient textiles in any place. Ancient Greece has never really interested me, but it's the elephant that almost everyone has to have a passing knowledge of, so I'm stuck studying at least some of it.

I take it your degree is in Medieval history?

Oh yes! Technically, it's Medieval and Modern, but I didn't do any Modern. Well we can both make fun of the Modernists. I like to tease them adn tell them that they're studying Politics!

But then Archaeologists think we're soft, and Geologists make fun of all of us!

1064 - because of the soon following Norman Conquest? And that's what? Pre-'The Peace of God' movement in Europe? Most of my knowledge starts c1100.

PS(I've been to Lascaux. Well Lascaux II, not the original!)

Bed time.

OOoh, let's play Mock the Modernists! I'm down with that. Almost as much fun as mocking the pre-Law majors!

And yeah, I was thinking about a minor in Archaeology, but the department chair is basically of hte opnion historians are wannabe wusses so I'm not even going to try to deal with him. He's a great teacher in his field, but otherwise? Meh.

Did I say 1064? Silly me. I meant 1066. Yup, the Norman invasion of England is when history ends. Period. ;-) I don't know enough European history in the Middle AGes to know what was going on there.

And I am JEALOUS if you've been to either Lascaux! Only reason I could come up with to actually visit France willingly. ;-) But I've been to Calanais, and Dun Carloway (see icon).

I'm so bad. I start with 'that's politics' and work up to 'that's current affairs'. If your source originated on the Internet, how is that History?!

Must be 12-14 years since I went to Lascaux. When I was little, we went to France once (and sometimes) twice a year. I've not been back for a very long time. My choice!

I went to Scotland for the first time last year. It's gorgeous. I stayed mostly in Edinburgh (the castle is amazing) though I had a few days at Loch Lomond.

Oh, Edinburgh Castle is amazing--as is the rock it sits upon! The only description that worked for me was that if the Tao was a rock, it would be that one. Last fall I went to Scotland; it's my one and only "foreign" trip. We spent a week in Edinburgh, took the train out the to the coast, and then went to the Hebrides, mostly Lewis. I can't wait to go back. Who needs the rest of Europe? ;-)

And LOL! My oldest son loves sociology, we throw barbs back and forth at each other. "that's ancient history, Mom. What use is it?" "That's just current events. It's not history yet, and it's not even interesting as current events!"

Who needs the rest of Europe? ;-)

Well as fun as it might be to try and squeeze the rest of the population of Europe into Scotland, I don't think we'd fit.

Population of Scotland = circa 5 million
Population of LONDON = circa 8 million

It would be cozy if we tried!

Ooh, eee! I *love* ancient history! For me it's always been more of a hobbyist sort of thing, not something I've ever studied formally. And my particular area of interest is more geared towards the Arctic (due to where I live). But I'm thoroughly fascinated by ancient daily life in general, no matter where -- how people lived, what they made, how they supported themselves, what it must have been like to have BEEN them.

I have this Christmas Amazon.com gift certificate burning a hole in my inbox and I really need to pick your brains on some books to buy. I have tons of books on prehistoric Alaska and a smattering of others that have caught my eye over the years, but I'm starting to have a craving for more. And ancient textiles are something I actually know very little about ... hm!

I'd recommend "Women's Work, the first 10,000 years" before the Prehistoric Textiles book. It was a fascinating look at the textile industry over the years, and far less technical. PT's first few chapters are all about the evolution of sheep and how z-twist vs. s-twist spinning came about with the various kinds of drop spindles used. Unless you're familiar with the technical details she's discussing, I'm not sure how interesting it would be. I'll let you know how the book goes as I get further into it.

If you want Ancient, Ancient, I can only recommend the book I had to buy for class, "The Oxford History of Prehistoric Europe" edited by Barry Cunliffe. Great book!

The first textile book does sound more interesting to me than the second (although that sort of technical detail can come in handy if I have to draw someone spinning). I think I'll go look it up on Amazon now! Thank you! :)

Keep me posted on what you think!

Pah. They don't like ANYTHING on Gateworld, it sometimes seems to me. Depressing thing is that TPTB always seem to hear from the *negative* fans all the time.

I'll be over in the corner with my barrel of happy squee, thanks.

Sometimes they do, but yeah, it generally gets pretty ugly pretty quickly. I got started over there towards the end of the quarter because it was a quick study break to pop in, and because I didn't have that many SGA fans on my f'list here. But no one wants to really *talk* over there, they just want to chat. I tried to get some serious conversations going, and no one would bite. Ah, well. The one cool thing is that the writers and PTB show up occasionally and post.

Hey, thanks for the callout. Yeah, I thought about about my fic, "Among the Stars" as I watched this. I kept hoping for pirates! But I found a lot of Tipper's "Sheppard Moon" in this one too! Hollowed out Moon... exploding! Hee hee. It was a lot of fun to watch. Lots of great moments. I don't know why the folks at Gateworld have to spread so much hate.

Oh, I hadn't thought of Sheppard Moon, but you're right! :D

It *was* a fun episode, and about the Gateworld stuff ... you know, that's why I don't even go over there. The thing about it that really makes my blood pressure rise is that these people have to go bitching about the episode in a forum that is read by people who work on the show, and that's just ... aaargh. But I *don't* go there, and I don't know what they're saying, and I think I'm happier that way. I liked the episode and there was lots in it to make me happy, so that's all I really care about.

Yeah, it's better to just stay away from places like that. I used to check out that site from time to time, but the general unhappiness has kept me from going back.

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3x16: The Ark

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Fun Episode

Re: Fun Episode

Re: Fun Episode