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Stargate Information Archive _ Atlantis Season 1 _ 106 - Childhood's End

Posted by: Arcady Aug 13th 2004, 9:16 PM

Episode 6 - Childhood's End
Air Date: (US) August 13, 2004

Sheppard and his team end up on a planet protected by a strong EM field, and also encounter a population where no one lives past 25.

http://www.sg1archive.com/atlantis/s1.shtml#106 | http://www.sg1archive.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7888 | http://www.sg1archive.com/teasers/a106.html

(This topic is for people who have seen the episode to discuss it. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this topic.)

Posted by: StillLoveJeffWebber Aug 13th 2004, 9:27 PM

What was with the BIG OBVIOUS white plastic 5 gallon bucket!!!!!

Silly - who left that there?!?!?

Posted by: Aquila Aug 13th 2004, 10:10 PM

QUOTE (StillLoveJeffWebber @ Aug 13 2004, 07:27 PM)

What was with the BIG OBVIOUS white plastic 5 gallon bucket!!!!!

Silly - who left that there?!?!?

What!? I saw no such thing...where was it in the episode?

As for the episode itself, I thought it was fantastic, it may not have exceeded anyones expectations for the digital graphic arena, but the plot was superb. The acting was great as well.

Lol! Its good to see Lt. Eliot again! What's with him being killed every time...or in this instance almost killed?

I just thought the Treehouses were very reminiscent of the Ewok village...except not as drastic or high...the architecture of the houses resembled that of anchient Scandinavian Halls...or houses of a richer man or Lord by the design of the roof top especially.

Those kids were great as well, of course they were getting chocolate all the time so...haha. The ending was quite nice...at least things didn't turn drastic. *phew*

I can't wait for the next one, the previews were very intrigueing!

Posted by: Bowley Aug 13th 2004, 10:16 PM

Wow, suspensful! I was on the edge for a while there...
Were the Wraith going to storm the planet or not...
Whew

This episode satisfied my craving for, technology, suspense, a decent story, humor, and team dynamic, and good music composition. As they say, music can't make a bad story good, but it can make a good story better...

Heh, Mckay...my favorite team member, obviously...still as funny as ever, but not without humility. The man really can't handle kids...but he did start to warm up. And he also was open minded when Weir thought of the idea of the sacrifices also playing a part somehow. (as opposed to being some barbaric ritual).

Keyla still feels like a useless member, Ford also has to establish himself...I like the actor and the character but he doesn't have any presence.

and again...looks like no end in site to seing re-used actors and actresses in Atlantis...and even SG-1. It's not totally a bad thing... The Lt. Elliot actor was not bad at all this ep.

That's it for now.

Posted by: Bowley Aug 13th 2004, 10:18 PM

QUOTE (Aquila @ Aug 13 2004, 10:10 PM)

I just thought the Treehouses were very reminiscent of the Ewok village...

LOL, I forgot to add that in my post, As soon as I saw the tree top villages, I instantly thought... "We are the E-E-E-E-EEEEWOKS, and we're living on the forest moon" LOL...
Thanks for reminding me.

Posted by: Aquila Aug 13th 2004, 11:13 PM

QUOTE (Bowley @ Aug 13 2004, 08:18 PM)

LOL, I forgot to add that in my post, As soon as I saw the tree top villages, I instantly thought... "We are the E-E-E-E-EEEEWOKS, and we're living on the forest moon" LOL...
Thanks for reminding me.

Lol! No problem, now we know how the furry little guys developed, the kids kept killing themselves til' they got smaller and smaller, and their hygene went as well, thus they became the fur balls that they are later on...but still with the same appetite!!!

Yes, I think "Eliot" did a terrific job of acting the part!

Posted by: Natoma Aug 13th 2004, 11:40 PM

I too liked this episode. But it took a LOT of my suspension of disbelief to get past the fact that I wasn't watching Lieutenant Elliot, but instead an entirely new character. It's really hard, but he did a great job.

On second viewing however, now that I know what was coming, I was able to lose myself in the episode much more easily.

And McKay. Man I love this guy.

Atlantis is a really great spinoff. Definitely growing into the Stargate mantle that it's inherited. Kudos so far. And is it just me, or does anyone else still get chills watching the opening sequence? Wow....

Posted by: xayeidemon Aug 14th 2004, 12:08 AM

It was HILARIOUS how McKay made those kids cry. I love that man.

This ep was like Stargate: Lord of the Flies. And what was that kid's name? Ares? Aries? If it was either the god of war or the obstinate ram, that was some major foreshadowing. Too much, if you ask me. But you probaby didn't.

Posted by: RJLCyberPunk Aug 14th 2004, 12:28 AM

It was a damn good episode in my opinion.
Mckay has to be funniest jerk in the universe. I doubt that they are any other contenders that could even get close...

Posted by: SlavsyaRossiya Aug 14th 2004, 1:12 AM

Last week Atlantis lost by quite a bit in ATLANTIS vs. SG1....This week, Atlantis triumphed. SG1 lost by a mile I have to say, and Atlantis is REALLY looking like its going to shape up to be a solid series.

The first episode where they went offword, and they did a great job. I loved the acting (especially McKay, who was GREAT. I loved the scene with the children ) and the plot was good as well. I also like that guy who played Eliot, I think he's a great actor too.

I was really beginning to sit on the edge, especially when I saw that Wraith thing turn on....I was wanting to scream "turn it back on! Turn it on!!!" so that those people didnt die, as annoying as they were....

But I was really impressed with the acting. I was also happy that Weir wasn't on for long

9/10, Atlantis seems to be improving with each episode.

Posted by: Raz Aug 14th 2004, 4:29 AM

This was one of those AVERAGE episodes..not too good but not too bad. I have to say SG-1 was the winer this week because Avatar was immense. This one was just a 'usual' episode which gets a 5/10 for me because it wasn't that impressive...

Posted by: dr_n_tesla Aug 14th 2004, 10:13 AM

It reminded me more of Peter Pan and Never Land, you're always a kid there cos you're not allowed to grow up hehehe.

It was a great ep, lots of suspense indeed.

Love the Wraith Probe!! I think they should take it back to Atlantis and check the Data Base for info on it. But obviouly encase it in a lead box hehehe. If they find out that it's useless to them, they should disable it and use it at a baseball hehehe.

Do you know how unbelievably screwed up those kids should be? A child will not understand why their parents have to kill themselves simply because their brains have not developed enough psychologically.

Well at least they thought about the effects of incest by sending the children to other villages to try and maximise the gene pool rather than breeding with blood relatives *eewww*

Posted by: Jackal Guards Rule Aug 14th 2004, 10:15 AM

Did anyone notice that guy that came back from the EM thing yelling it works? I swear I've seen him in something (maybe stargate I'm not sure) so can any of you help me out.

Overall an excellent episode and those kids were so annoying I almost feel bad for Mckay (or wait no I don't)

Posted by: Cackles Aug 14th 2004, 10:37 AM

QUOTE (dr_n_tesla @ Aug 14 2004, 10:13 AM)

Well at least they thought about the effects of incest by sending the children to other villages to try and maximise the gene pool rather than breeding with blood relatives *eewww*

I didnt think of it like that, I thought it was to stop emotional attatchment ...

was better than I expected and enjoyable enough. Would have been cool to see the puddlejumper open up its drive pods and nail the wraith scanner on its own when it was being scanned. Liked the Ewokesqe village.

Meant to say also liked the windows plug & play reference

Posted by: xayeidemon Aug 14th 2004, 10:50 AM

QUOTE (Jackal Guards Rule @ Aug 14 2004, 11:15 AM)

Did anyone notice that guy that came back from the EM thing yelling it works? I swear I've seen him in something (maybe stargate I'm not sure) so can any of you help me out

He was in SG-1's 100 Days. He was that no-good-floozy's son. He was also on MacGyver. He played Mac as a kid.

Posted by: ted_simple Aug 14th 2004, 3:44 PM

An Atlantis episode that wasn't boring! Carry on.

Posted by: Starfire086 Aug 14th 2004, 3:45 PM

I didn't even realize that Caris or whatever the village "elder's" name was was played by the same guy as Lt. Elliot until I read the posts here! lol. Anyways, all in all this was a pretty good episode.

McKay - hilarious as usual, loved that he was out of breath when he ran and that he sat down in the treehouse like an old man. The scene with the kids was terrific, it reminded me of myself! Little kids freak me out.

I wish they would give Ford more of a defined personality though. He still seems a little bland. I mean, Shepperd is the military leader, McKay's the scientist, and Teyla is a guide to the Pegasus galaxy, but Ford? What's his purpose?

Plus, practically no Weir! I love it!

Posted by: chelstia Aug 14th 2004, 5:15 PM

This was one of my favorite Atlantis eps so far, maybe that's cause they were actually on another planet. I loved seeing Keras, especially his hair, he was great, I was like Lt Elliot lives!
I never liked McKay on SG-1 but he is most definitely my favorite Atlantis charactor. At the beginning when he mentioned Carter's name and lost his train of thought was hilarious. When he made those kids cry I was like you jerk but it was good that he warmed up to them at the end. When Sheppard gave Keras chocolate McKay was like get him kids.
And at the end when they mentioned the shield should last until he's a grandfather I started to think that now they're going to have to revisit Keras's planet later (hopefully!).

Posted by: Cerridwen Aug 14th 2004, 5:20 PM

I actually really liked Ford in this episode. He was great with both McKay and the kids. "You're great, do you do kids parties?" He's funny, and he seems like he'd be a great older brother or even dad in a few years. Very sweet.
McKay continues to rock, and I liked Sheppard even more in this episode. While I enjoyed Teyla in all the previous episodes (except Hide and Seek), she seemed kind of dry in this episode. It's like she said all of her lines monotone or something. I don't know.
Noticable lack of Beckett, but it looks like next weeks episode will make up for that, so I can wait. Also, and I know I'm in the minority, but I like Weir, so I missed her too. The scene she was in was done nicely though. I like seeing her going up against McKay. She actually listens to him, and he seems to have enough respect for her to know when to can the sarcasm and get to the point. Good guy.
Overall, a better episode than I thought it was going to be. Nice to see them off-world, and nice to see Eliot again. At least he lived this time. I hope the team comes back and we're able to see how all the kids are doing . . . Clea and Casta (I think those were the names) were so sweet. "I'm not a quiet person." Hee.

Posted by: Jack_O'Neill Aug 14th 2004, 6:33 PM

I thought this episode was well made, i loved the whole attitude of McKay, because i also hate kids

One thing struck me as odd though, that Keres person wasn't very good at grammar...

"The full-growns have agreed to leave... and never come back. I will take them to the well myself, all of this will be over soon and we can get all on with the ceremony"

but shouldn't he have said "and we can all get on with the ceremony"

Oh well, apart from that i liked the device thing, but i think it's weird that it needed a combination to make it start again, i thought it would be plug and play (windows reference was great, not windows, that sucks ), i mean why do you need a combination for something that can be figured out in a while and that only does one thing?

Weird...

Great episode, but not better than SG1 this week.

Posted by: Aquila Aug 14th 2004, 7:00 PM

QUOTE (Natoma @ Aug 13 2004, 09:40 PM)

And is it just me, or does anyone else still get chills watching the opening sequence? Wow....

Aha! So there is someone else out there that is getting shivers up their spine as well at the opening theme. I stated this in the Atlantis Theme thread in the General Discussion Forum previously.

Cool...I mean...wow.

Posted by: drew00149 Aug 14th 2004, 9:41 PM

He said "and we can get on with the ceremony".

Also, possibly there was more to do than just plug it in because the device needed to be instructed how far to extend the shield; after all, he said he boosted the coverage.

Posted by: linda_lol Aug 14th 2004, 9:57 PM

Is it me, or was the guy that was gonna get executed look like Elliot to you? (In season 5) Maybe hes a look-a-like.

Anyways, I love McKay and those lil kids. Its obvious hes not around kids that much and the way Ford gave em chocolate really made me smile! I loved this episode, suspenseful and funny!

Posted by: aliaras Aug 14th 2004, 10:07 PM

OMG how badly I want to be one of those kids! I get to hold a bow, I get to wear cool costumes, I get to be on one of my favorite shows, I get to get my face painted...shall I continue?

I loved the kids, always asking "Why?". I know a kid like that...he's cute but once he starts on the "why"s you can't get him to shut up. I do like wier, but I didn't find her absence to be a problem. I loved the jokes and the team dynamic...reminds me of sg1 days gone by.

OT: I'm addicted to the atlantis theme song...the only thing that gets it out of my head is the Olympic song...

Posted by: MYOB Aug 14th 2004, 10:35 PM

1. Boring

2. They extended the shield 50% and yet the PJ was able to take off and fly when it was practically at the shield's center.

3. I've already seen Lord of the Flies. I thought it was boring too.

4. Obviously a budget episode. They must be in cost savings mode.

5. Why is Teyla on this team again? I don't ever recall seeing in the premier a given reason why she was made a member of this SG-1 clone team.

6. Boring

7. Why aren't they spending more time exploring the city? I assume they are, but why couldn't we have some more time seeing that in an episode?

8. I can't imagine the puddle jumpers being the full extent of what ships they have available around that city? The damned things look like cut bamboo shutes.

9. Boring

10. The core characters are lame. Sheppard is as lame as they come. Not enough acting skill on his part to keep it interesting. McKay is also a bit of a stretch. Using him for comedy relief is not going to work out. Teyla is just a Teal'C light version, and I didn't care for the darker haired Weir episode. I still can't figure out how the president could consider her for command of the SGC, where she was a bit over her head anyway, then give her the ability to handle what could be the most important mission(to Atlantis) in human history???

I don't see Atlantis lasting by itself. With the exception of the first two-parter the show has been as boring as watching paint dry. Once Stargate SG1 goes off the air, it looks like Battlestar Galactica will have to carry the load should they move it to Fridays to fill in for SG1.

MYOB'
.

Posted by: Drizzt's Syn Aug 14th 2004, 10:37 PM

It's funny how Weir, who started out almost as a main character (I'd go as far as saying THE main chara) is seemingly being pushed back into a supporting role ala Hammond.
Originally I thought she'd be with the team and be doing Daniel's job of translating Ancient
Nice episode, albeit annoying with 2 re-used actors (for crying out loud).

Posted by: drew00149 Aug 14th 2004, 11:08 PM

The jumper wasn't at the shields center. When McKay returned from Atlantis, he landed the jumper well outside the shields coverage so that when the shield was powered back up they would have no problem. Who is to say the jumper wasn't so far from the original shields coverage that it was still outside the improved shields coverage? After all we have no idea how big the original shield was, a 50% boost might still be relatively small.

Posted by: xayeidemon Aug 15th 2004, 12:18 AM

QUOTE (aliaras @ Aug 14 2004, 11:07 PM)

OT: I'm addicted to the atlantis theme song...the only thing that gets it out of my head is the Olympic song...

Are you referring to the theme that's been used since the 1984 LA games composed by the venerable John Williams? I

to that man. Or is it the one that's been adapted from Copeland's Appalachian Spring: "Simple Gifts?" Either way, they're both phenomenal.

To keep this on topic I'm just gonna say that SG-1 was better than Atlantis this week because we got some MAJOR character development on SG-1. That didn't happen on Atlantis. McKay's not good with kids...okay... I felt this ep should have aired on the WB, but that's just me.

I still

McKay, though. He's my favorite.

Edit: Eye caynt speel wuth a dern.

Posted by: Cackles Aug 15th 2004, 12:46 AM

1. Character development.

2. Showing the actual morality of who we are dealing with, as with point 3.

3. Character development, did we learn anything of those involved?

4. Seeing another side of the characters, cant remember what its called ...

blah blah, bitch bitch, whine whine ... go make your own series that has so many viewers ... you want a good show? you want something you can follow? oh well umm watch and learn then ...

IT TOOK 8 YEARS FOR STARGATE TO HAVE A BATTLE OF HOTH SCENE ... whats that? go watch star wars and recognise a legend replayed in stargate ...

Sad, attempting to flame something that in one weekend has more impact than the entirety of your excistence ...

It will take a good while for them to get the characters out their shells ... its just groundwork right now ... I r in luv wi Weir ... she r sexeh babeh ... Yea shes like that just now ... I reckon ep 18 she'll b cool wi it ...

Posted by: xayeidemon Aug 15th 2004, 12:51 AM

Um, I didn't see any flames in my posts. Maybe you'd better go back and read them again.

Edit:

QUOTE

Sad, attempting to flame something that in one weekend has more impact than the entirety of your excistence ...

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who's flaming who here?

Posted by: Sal'tesh of the Tok'Ra Aug 15th 2004, 6:15 AM

I like this episode. it was interesting and fresh (although there was actor recycleing). McKay is becoming my favourite character. He cracks me up. Lets hope atlantis continues in this fashion.

Posted by: bigjohn_1972 Aug 15th 2004, 11:29 AM

QUOTE (linda_lol @ Aug 14 2004, 09:57 PM)

Yup, that is the same actor. It is a little funny when they do that. There was some reusing of actors in the latest SG1 as well.

I liked the ep, I was surprised that near the end they didn't get into a shoot out. I would be tempted to show the lethality of the P-90's to give those guys with the bows something to think about.

Posted by: Cackles Aug 15th 2004, 12:36 PM

QUOTE (xayeidemon @ Aug 15 2004, 12:51 AM)

Um, I didn't see any flames in my posts. Maybe you'd better go back and read them again.

Edit:

QUOTE

Sad, attempting to flame something that in one weekend has more impact than the entirety of your excistence ...

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who's flaming who here?

actually it was to the guy havin problems spelling bamboo shoots and has boring, boring, lame, lame, boring, boring through his post ... Its like theres so many people that just hate Atlantis because they can ... All they want is killing, spaceships, technology, spaceships, kill, kill, kill, spaceships, spaceships, spaceships, technology ... Its the first season, plenty time for that unless Atlantis is only going to be one season.

Posted by: xayeidemon Aug 15th 2004, 12:39 PM

Ooohh... My bad. I got confused when you didn't say who the post was directed towards. It was late, and I was tired. Sorry about that.

Posted by: SG1Papa Aug 15th 2004, 1:00 PM

I liked the episode, but it wasnt great. I was suprised and a little disappointed at how easy (morally) they took the ZPM. I mean they seem to have had a few issues with foreign things. Also, what makes their new presence of 40-50 people more important in the Pegasus galaxy more than the natural inhabitants of a few hundred.

Posted by: Cackles Aug 15th 2004, 1:30 PM

Its cool xay ... me quoting woulda saved confusion ...

Posted by: Raicho Aug 15th 2004, 3:53 PM

Good episode. I liked the plot and the way they interconnected the suicide pact and the gate generator, was this the Ancients plot? hmmm maybe theyre not so good, anyway it was good stuff and I also didnt notice it was Lt. Elliot.

PS-That one guy with the beard who plays one of the abythonians (sp?) was in that SG1 episode where they find the static bubble on that wasted planet. Also in "hide and seek" one of the soldiers was the same actor who played young general Hammond int he episode "1969".

Posted by: Raxor Aug 15th 2004, 6:16 PM

enjoyable episode ***

well this series should do well i hope, but so far season 8 has been better. i will keep watching this and its sure to find its ground soon. cant wait for the next episodes

Posted by: Lord Malice Aug 15th 2004, 8:22 PM

I didnt like the episode. Im gettin tired of these primitives pushing our people around. At the end I wished Shepperd mowed them down for their stupidity. Hethons should be eradicated!

Posted by: Ehzarhorden Aug 15th 2004, 8:31 PM

OMG Weir actually seemed rather reasonable this episode to me. Maybe it had to do with her only being in it like 5 minutes, but she seemed pretty decent.

As I read the episode posts, from the first Rising 'till this one, it's funny when I remember how many hated the thought of McKay starring in Atlantis, and yet he has really become the favorite character of alot of people so far.

Another episode without Dr. Beckett. Let's hope he's around next week lest we forget about him.

I was happy to see Courtney Stevens again, too badhe wasn't in the role I would have preferred (Lt. Elliot) I think he did a good job with the material he had to work with, guest starring in this role was hardly as challanging as Proving Ground, I'm sure. And I think his recasting was fine since a few years have passed and he wasn't wearing the cap to cover his *cough* baldness .

Still, this ep could have done a lot more than it did.

Thank goodness McKay is along.

Posted by: SlavsyaRossiya Aug 15th 2004, 11:10 PM

QUOTE

1, 6, 9 (Boring)

IMO, that kind of indicates you aren't even giving it a chance. Kind of how my wife reacts whenever we move, or change beds, or computers..."I hate it hate it hate it hate it!!11!1"

[Q]7. Why aren't they spending more time exploring the city? I assume they are, but why couldn't we have some more time seeing that in an episode? [/Q]

That would be because of the "Stargate" in the title.

[Q]8. I can't imagine the puddle jumpers being the full extent of what ships they have available around that city? The damned things look like cut bamboo shutes.[/Q]

I doubt they'd have a huge armada spacefleet, especially considering that it was just a city. Don't see huge bombers parked in the center of New York, do you?
Not to mention: They could have launched ships to fight the wraith and lost. They couldn't rebuild them cause they were on the rame.

[Q]. Sheppard is as lame as they come. Not enough acting skill on his part to keep it interesting.[/Q]

I agree, he hasn't been used as much, but at this point in SG1 neither was O'Neill.

[Q]McKay is also a bit of a stretch. Using him for comedy relief is not going to work out.[/Q]

Just as using Jack for Comedy relief in SG1 didnt work out? Sorry, but *THAT* is a bit of a stretch.

[Q]Teyla is just a Teal'C light version,[/Q]

So you both want Atlantis to be like SG1 but you DONT want it to be? A logical contradiction, which is unlikely. What seems to me to be more likely is that you dont want to give Atlantis a chance, and thus want to point out every little flaw, and thus the reasoning for your contradiction.

[Q]blah blah, bitch bitch, whine whine[/Q]

THANK YOU! Thats what I want to say, but I'm already seen as the evil mean grumpy old man here, so...

I'm sorry, but all this moaning and whining about how Atlantis isn't exactly like SG1 is really starting to get on my nerves. Duh its not! Give it a chance! I hate it when people become so closed minded....
If you want to read more of my mindless ranting, go to the main page of the Atlantis forum

Posted by: rkenshin Aug 15th 2004, 11:56 PM

I personally judge Atlantis Season one with Stargate SG-1 Season one, because it's not really fair comparing a show with 8 season to a new show which only aired just six episodes.

Posted by: 1969 Aug 16th 2004, 12:01 AM

I really like the episode-#2 so far from the episodes Ive seen. #1 right now for me is 38 minutes. Seeing Elliot was great, I dont know why they killed him in sg1, he was good. But when I saw the previews i was like "Noooo dont kill him again!!!" I was very relieved at the end of the episode when he lived. I was kinda hoping he would reurn with them to Atlantis. Oh well, maybe well see him in later episodes.

Well I didnt like MCkay in this episode,he was being a moron, but he was funny with the kids. Hes kinda like the Major Davis of this show where he just doesnt think for the good of the team sometimes, only jumps quickly to resolve a solution or come up with a conclusion like "Oh I'll just take this ZPM without regard for their protection," where as Davis is"Oh well Sg1 must be dead." And he was working way too slow in the end.
I mean get your ass moving buddy! Well Ill still keep watching Atlantis even if it gets to be not very good because these(stargate shows) will probably be the only scifi I can follow- Andromeda, I tried and couldnt follow the science at all.

Posted by: seymour Aug 16th 2004, 3:03 AM

Sheppard must have brought along more than the one personal item allowed (we know he chose to bring a football game) because he seems to have an unending supply of hair gel and used rather too much of it in this episode.

Perhaps Teyla Emmagan had some alien hair products to lend him, she never has a hair of her beautiful wig out of place. Now Dr. Weir on the other hand obviously forgot to pack her hair brush.

Posted by: xayeidemon Aug 16th 2004, 8:50 AM

QUOTE (seymour @ Aug 16 2004, 04:03 AM)

rotflmao!!

That's hilarious, and better still, a great point. Where is Sheppard getting all this hair gel? Maybe the Ancients left some behind. Judging from Aiyanna's hair in the pilot, they must have had plenty.

Posted by: seymour Aug 17th 2004, 12:23 AM

QUOTE (xayeidemon @ Aug 16 2004, 08:50 AM)

rotflmao!!

What does this mean?

Posted by: drew00149 Aug 17th 2004, 12:26 AM

rolling on the floor laughing my ass off

I personally don't find it funny...

Posted by: CitizenK Aug 17th 2004, 5:09 AM

hmmm... I thought this episode was pretty average. I think the problem I had with the story had to do with how many other stories it reminded me of. Yeah, I know there isn't anything new in sci-fi anymore.

Oh, it wasn't the Lord of the Flies that was going through my head, it was the Miri ep from the original ST as well as the Logan's Run movie. I knew exactly what was going to happen from the moment we met Karis. I knew Sheppard and team would find a way to A) inadvertantly notify the wraith that there's good eating at this location. Show this misguided society that sacrificing themselves at 24 was unnecessary. C) Try to take technology that protected the culture, but return it once they discover the battery wasn't as useful as they needed. I wonder what they would have done IF, they had found a fully charged battery. Bet, the situation would have been different if they discovered that it could have powered the stargate for a return trip to earth.

One nitpick I had was the kids. I don't understand why they weren't more fascinated with the "old" people. If, their culture had been sacrificing themselves for centuries, then they wouldn't have known what an old person looked like or for that matter what the Wraiths looked like too. In Logan's Run (and it makes alot of sense) when the people escape from the dome and finally see an old person, they are fascinated by his wrinkles, his white hair, his skin... You didn't see any of that in this story and you should have. That bothered me. I know you could say that different beings visited their settlements and were killed, but you'd still think they'd be more curious about what the intruders (McKay, Sheppard, Teyla and Ford) were like. Is it me, or does there seem to be a definite lack of curiousity being shown in Atlantis ? Okay, I can make the same argument for Stargate, but really... first contacts should instill more of a sense of awe and curiosity and I'm just not seeing that. so much for first contact.

I think the only thing that I really really enjoyed in this story was Rodney McKay. He just seems to be getting better and better with each episode. I LOVED his comments about Carter ! Oh, that was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing at his wonderfully pompous attitude. And the kids ! they were great with him. I loved how they kept needling him. That was alot of fun. It's the one redeeming aspect of the episode I liked.

For the folks who didn't understand why Teyla keeps showing up on their mission teams. I think she's acting as Sacajewa (sp?) to the team's Lewis and Clark. You know, she's their translator (don't know why they need one since everyone speaks English.) and guide through the wilderness of Wraith space. Personally, you'd think they'd have brought along some UAVs and better surveillence equipment to explore these worlds. Remember, on Stargate, they always send a drone through to check out the area before a team goes in. Not doing that seems like sloppy proceedure to me.

You know, I did like the actor playing Karis. He was pretty good. But, in general, the story struck me as uninspired. But, these are my own opinions.

Posted by: Samantha Carter - O'Neil Aug 17th 2004, 8:23 AM

Alright did anyone else notice when Shepperd and Tayla were talking to....oh crap....the main elder of the group? and aries about the whole sacrafice thing i think and tayla did somthing VERY Teal'c? she did the one eyebrow thing! i thought that was great. good episode...this one was most likely the most interesting to me..it kinda seems like the season is starting now.

Posted by: seymour Aug 17th 2004, 6:06 PM

QUOTE (drew00149 @ Aug 17 2004, 12:26 AM)

rolling on the floor laughing my ass off

I personally don't find it funny...

Thanks for the translation "drew00149",

I'm just rotflmao!

Posted by: Cuokuo Aug 18th 2004, 1:04 AM

I think i'm starting to get attached to Atlantis as much as SG1.

I dont get y the ZPM wasnt useful to us, ZPM's provide electricity...is there much more to it?

Posted by: drew00149 Aug 18th 2004, 1:31 AM

Their ZPM wasn't useful to use because it was almost dead and would be more useful to the natives. McKay said it could probably power the Atlantis shield for a few hours but that would be it.

Posted by: Cuokuo Aug 18th 2004, 1:54 AM

ah k
thanx

Posted by: drew00149 Aug 18th 2004, 2:18 AM

If you were confused about what was being said, McKay was saying the electromagnetic shield wouldn't be useful to them because it was reliant on the electromagnetic propeties of the native planet. I know I thought he was talking about the ZPM the first time.

Posted by: Cackles Aug 18th 2004, 10:36 AM

Something Ive been wondering about is ... no one has come through the Wraith well in 500 years ... Were they talking Wraith or humans ...

If that device has only been there about 800 years at most, takin into account the Wraiths hibernation, theres a chance un ascended Ancients are about.

or even better for the Atlantis team ... humans with that level of tech/some/better understaing of it.

But I hope for teh un ascended Ancients.

Posted by: SGx Aug 18th 2004, 11:31 AM

Just me or did the natives at the end give up their ritual suicide just a little too easily. They had it for 500 years and even had enforced suicides. The next in line elder seem pretty bent on them. To me that was the lamest part of the episode. So they have 50% more space, what so they bump the age to 30 now?????

Other then that I enjoyed the episode but the very end part seemed to easy to change 500 years of culture and custom.

Posted by: taujin Aug 19th 2004, 5:11 AM

For this episode, I would have liked to see more about the sacrificial ceremony. Even if it was a 500-year-old tradition, people should be questioning the validity of such a law and lifestyle.

On the other hand, the StarGate producers clearly don't have an equivalent of the Prime Directive in Start Trek. The SGC seems pretty happy to "help" anyone less fortunate than themselves, even if that means destroying ancient cultures.

Overall, I liked the show as it developed McKay's character a little more. Teyla and Ford need more screen time, and Sheppars, is still mediocre in my mind.

What I didn't like about this episode is how it ended with "they lived happily ever after because all 12 tribes decided to throw away their beliefs in one afternoon". I know there wasn't enough time, but to have everything solved and wrapped up so quickly didn't do the show justice.

TauJin

Posted by: CitizenK Aug 19th 2004, 7:54 AM

QUOTE (SGx @ Aug 18 2004, 11:31 AM)

You know, I was thinking that too. The culture of young people did seem to give up their only known way of life alittle too easily at the end. Some how, I have a bad feeling the writers were only interested in "wrapping" up the story at the end and having the team move on instead of showing the ramifications of their actions. There are alot of arguments to be had as to why their religious beliefs needed to be refuted. But, that wasn't the point of the story.

The point was having the team find these people only to discover that the technology protecting them was a ZPM they could use to power their own gate. So, do they take it and leave them defenseless ? The suicidal nature of their society is what complicated the situation for Sheppard's team. Remember, McKay was perfectly happy to take the ZPM up until it was discovered that there wasn't enough power to power the gate. But, conveniently, it was just enough to power the force field that protected the small bands of youngsters. Still, it seems to me that if that Wraith beckon started transmitting, then the Wraith will find these people anyway.

If, the Wraith can defeat the Ancients, then, they can find a way around the force field.

Nah, I thought this story was pretty sloppy. too many lose ends and too many easily solved problems. It seems to me, there are better stories to be had, by actually putting the team into sticky moral situations. Then we see what sort of people they really are.

Posted by: Ehzarhorden Aug 19th 2004, 4:04 PM

I agree with the sentiment that wrapping up the storyline like this is just plain unrealistic. More than one episode had the team "solving" the other cultures problems and everybody is just so obliging to go along with it. Also, the other villages were more than willing to end hundreds of years of traditions based on hearsay. I'm sorry, but zealous people will simply refuse to believe otherwise, regardless of the so-called proof you provide them. Anything is open to interpretation and fear has been a powerful tool used by religious and political leaders throughout history to keep their subjects in line.

I hate to bring up Star Trek TNG so often, but this issue kinda reminds me of the episode where Riker was observing pre-warp aliens and he got discovered and captured. Picard had to break the Prime Directive to get him back, but the one guy, some Security Minister, was zealously against any involvment by his people with aliens, believing they would become invaders. He even went so far as to attempt suicide making it appear Riker killed him so his fears would not materialize. A person like that, a person willing to die for what they believe in, is a very powerful obstacle to change. Recent modern events in our history have shown this as well. ok sry for going ot

Posted by: Doomgoggles Aug 19th 2004, 9:04 PM

This episode was entertaining. Not great...but worth watching. Its true there haven't been any real 'character' episodes on Atlantis yet; and it looks as if the first one might be about a character not even in the opening credits! Ford and Teyla definitely need more development.

The VFX for that scanner sphere thingy were...questionable.

Overall, the events didn't seem to play out logically, and WHY was it assumed that 1 of their year would equal 1 Earth year? That's even worse than everyone speaking American English. Especially after Mckay pointed out that a compass wouldn't likely work on another planet. Anyways. yeah the themesong rules.

Posted by: Belissner Aug 20th 2004, 2:16 PM

Just okay; I give it a 3 out of 10.

Plot not terribly original -- ref. "Lord of the Flies."

I find McKay so irritating that I can't bear to watch him.

Actually found this episode just the teensy, weensiest bit BORING! I fell asleep actually....

I assume that it ended with everyone okay and the 500 years of ritual suicide problem solved in a politically correct manner.

Posted by: SlavsyaRossiya Aug 20th 2004, 6:36 PM

QUOTE (Doomgoggles @ Aug 19 2004, 09:04 PM)

Overall, the events didn't seem to play out logically, and WHY was it assumed that 1 of their year would equal 1 Earth year? That's even worse than everyone speaking American English. Especially after Mckay pointed out that a compass wouldn't likely work on another planet.

I hate to bring up yet another comparison to Stargate, but episode resolution for Emancipation, The Broca Divide, and The First Commandment weren't exactly realistic either - they all ended with a "and everyone gave up their old ways and lived hapily ever after" ending.

Re the years: Good nitpick.

Re the American english: Bad nitpick. Would you rather we spend 30 minutes each episode translating every new language out there? Or, better yet (to be more realistic), spend entire seasons, multiple seasons, translating new episodes?

Posted by: Doomgoggles Aug 21st 2004, 3:50 AM

No, just OCCAISIONALLY have developed cultures speak a different language. Maybe one from Earth. Heck, I'd be happy if they spoke in different ACCENTS!

Posted by: tfwarlord Aug 21st 2004, 7:05 AM

i tought that the sg1 episode was a lot better then this atlantis episode, even dough it was ok, for me atlantis is only an subalternative to sg1, not the real deal

One thing i really cant get to fit, is is the wraith really are the enermy that beat the acients.
How the hell are they so reallative easy to kill, i mean we shot one of their small ships down in the first episode, and walked into their big ships and launched a recure mission within it with ease! so we have 3 options.

1st, the acients did at some point go nox (meaning will rather die than kill a other lifeforme (in this case) they havent always been with explaines earths acients weapons, and the weapons on the puddeljuper, they have just become it at sometime, which also explaines the politics of the acented acients)

2nd the acient were horrible shots, they couldent hit a barndoor 1 foot away with a saw-off shutgun (most unluckly, this is not a humor/parady of sg1)

3rd the wraith wasent the enermy that beat the acients, remember there were no mention of that the enermy of the acient were named wraith when we saw the hologram seen, the atlantis team just asumed it were the wraith because they were the first bad gues they saw.

------
One that cant work is, that the wraith inventet the virus that were infected on the acient they found frozen on earth, because the wraith use humans as lifestock, and there would no way to contole who they sould infest and who they shouldent, due to the stargate, and most viruses can lay dormant for many many years, and they can mutate and maby start killing of the wraith, so it would be stupid for the wraith to invent such an virus (yes they are good at regenerate but do they have a good imune system? (next episode mite explain this))

Posted by: stargatefreak Aug 23rd 2004, 5:49 PM

This was my fav. Atlantis episode~!!!

McKay was so funny with the kids and the chocolate. I was really psyched to see Lt. Ford as Aries. He's alive!!!

I think that it was so rude of the team to even consider stealing the ZPM from that planet!!! I couldn't believe the gall of McKay. He made up for it in the end though by worrying about getting the sheild working again.

When they gave Aries the chocolate for his birthday that was really funny. I can't wait for next week.

Posted by: StillLoveJeffWebber Aug 24th 2004, 6:16 PM

QUOTE (Aquila @ Aug 13 2004, 10:10 PM)

QUOTE (StillLoveJeffWebber @ Aug 13 2004, 07:27 PM)

What was with the BIG OBVIOUS white plastic 5 gallon bucket!!!!!

Silly - who left that there?!?!?

[i]What!?

I saw no such thing...where was it in the episode?i]

It was during the scene as they first walked into the treehouse village - looks like it was supposed to be under some cloth - but they missed. I'm trying to get an image of it.

Posted by: StillLoveJeffWebber Aug 25th 2004, 6:39 PM

Got a shot of the bucket! It's below the yellow question mark. (attaching a file for my first time...)

Attached image(s)

Posted by: Cuokuo Aug 26th 2004, 4:05 AM

Hahaha

thats a classic

u'd imaging that the actors would go "wait, get the plastic bucket off the scene"

Posted by: Dafmeister Nov 16th 2004, 5:14 PM

An average episode. I was hoping for a bit more action. At least an attack by the Wraith. Perhaps the worst episode so far.

Posted by: stargatesweetie Nov 17th 2004, 11:54 AM

Mediocre at best. Everyone has pretty much covered the questionable aspects for the episode ie. ease of convincing people to let go of their culture. The only question I have is why have the inhabitants never found the generator in the last 500 years (or however many years it was)? you'd have thought that all those inquisitive children running around would know the land like the back of their hand. You're telling me no-one has investigated the old ruins or so much as touched the generator? -hidden ever so carefully under a piece of dangley plant. Just a thought

Posted by: ali Nov 17th 2004, 12:41 PM

I liked this episode. It wasn't very exciting, but it was enjoyable..
I think I really seem to be enjoying the characters more than the storylines in Atlantis at the minute, it was really funny to see Mckay completely uncomfortable around those kids. I thought it was a bit mean of him not to really care about the people on the planet though.
Very disappointing lack of Beckett in this episode, and there wasn't much Weir either, but it was good to see an episode that took place almost entirely offworld, as they seem to be settling in a bit and getting more of a routine going now.
And I actually thought it was a little dark that they commited suicide. Surely, if it was a religion like Mckay said, that can't be the nicest way to die and make sure you go to eternal peace? (or whatever it was...)

Posted by: hawkes Nov 17th 2004, 5:53 PM

It depends on the way they commit suicide really ali... besides, look at the alternative of having a Wraith make you age and die really painfully. I don't think i'd like that.

I have to say i didn't like this episode so much. There's just something about an episode involving kids running their own little settlement, ganging up on the adults who are only trying to help them, and then in the end seeing the light that i've seen too many times.

stargatesweetie, perhaps the kids did come across the generator. And perhaps they didn't have a clue what it did... after so long, i'm guessing they just learned to live with the mystery and carried on. After all, did it seem as if they were brought up to be little scientists and investigators? Most probably they did what all kids and teenagers do, concentrate on the more important things.

Posted by: invisible painting Nov 17th 2004, 6:13 PM

Well i liked the episode, theres been better theres been worse, but i liked it more then everyone else here. I thought it was also funnier then most episodes have been, the whole mckay thing with the children was very funny. And they re used actors from sg1 AGAIN!! They had leutenant Eliots actor in it and that guy from The light too. Im sick of them doing that!!
But i had no problem with the fact that they were kids taking control of the adults as they were still 20ish, but i did think it a little quick and convienient the ending how they all suddenly changed their minds about their religeon that theyve had for 500 years because of a device that has been there for 500 years also, peolpe do not just abandon faith that easily!!
But i did like the episode, not too original, i.e. theres a problem with a planets culture, SG1/A comes along, gets them to change their ways and live forever good lives, but therve been worse and i did like it

7/10

Posted by: wack Nov 22nd 2004, 10:06 AM

I hope the idiot who wrote the ep gets fired. The only good thing was McKay (like always). They should also fire the actor with red hair (forgot her name). The writing and acting was a joke.

Things to do:

Fire the actors (all expect for the one who plays McKay)
Fire the writers
Fire the director

Posted by: 38 Minutes Dec 4th 2004, 12:59 PM

QUOTE (drew00149 @ Aug 14th 2004, 11:08 PM)

I was wondering about that, although should of realiesed that when they fixed the shield the PuddleJumper was in a different area and without earth on it.
I enjoyed the episode, but the Wraiths took a long time to attack the planet. few

Posted by: soma_momma Dec 11th 2004, 2:04 PM

QUOTE (SGx @ Aug 18th 2004, 11:31 AM)

Just me or did the natives at the end give up their ritual suicide just a little too easily. They had it for 500 years and even had enforced suicides. ...

On the flip side, I kept thinking that many of the villagers would have deperately hoped the sacrifices would somehow end before they reached their 25th birthdays.

Posted by: mithwriter Dec 11th 2004, 4:08 PM

Well, I finally bothered to watch the rest of this ep that I've missed in past viewings, and I have to say...

It wasn't bad. Not great, mind you, but certainly not worth firing anyone over. I enjoyed seeing the actor who played Lt. Elliot again. He has a nice talent for giving his characters a lot more depth than one would expect with the role he's given, at least in the Stargate universe.

The one glaring thing that stuck out for me was the combination of story elements used in previous Stargate stories. First, there was the concept of a land based shield generator that can only protect a certain amount of territory (The First Commandment, Revisions). Revisions also touched upon the the topic of population control through sacrifice, but in that case it was a computer that was manipulating the population and making the decisions for the people's survival based on obsolete orders give long ago.

just thought I'd mention it since no one else has yet.

Posted by: BrandonTheGreat Jan 13th 2005, 8:11 PM

This episode if you ask me reminded me more of "Brief Candle" in Season 1 of SG1. Except these people kill themselves after 25 years.

Didn't really like the title, it rips off the name of a great Arthur C. Clarke book.

Don't mean to get off topic but Arthur C. Clarke invented the stargate idea. Watch 2001: A Space Odyssey, see the part where Bowman gets sucked through the monolith. In the book that is called the Star Gate. And yet when he goes through it, it is similar to wormhole travel.

Posted by: Christy Mar 13th 2005, 2:25 AM

i reckon it could have been better...but the way mckay and ford handled those kids was so cute.
it was a slow episode which was disappointing.

Posted by: General Jen Apr 24th 2005, 9:19 PM

i liked this episode 7.5/10

it was a bit slow, and mcay was a loser for taking their zpm to see if atlantis could use it, but everything ended alright and that nice guy keryc didnt have to die.

Posted by: Monty Python Apr 25th 2005, 3:22 PM

mckay is just putting atlantis first 6/10

Posted by: Christy May 1st 2005, 3:35 AM

Mckays first duty is to protect atlantis and do things for atlantis...it is for their survival.
Taking their ZPM may have been morally wrong but you have to remember that Atlantis does need it and it did build on the storyline for this episode even though you didnt really learn anything about atlantis

Posted by: padr49904 Jan 26th 2006, 8:46 PM

[b][i]I think this was one of the better ones and it should of had at least one of the kids killed by a wraith that came in a dart when they are arguing just so they would have a bigger problem to get out of. I don't know why but i think the kids should of got really hyper when they got given the chocolate. When the wraith probe thingy came why was that. It could only have come off the planet and why would the wraith want a planet that had a forcefield on it that can destroy them. I still think its one of the better ones that has come out.

Posted by: blackbelt83 Jan 30th 2006, 12:56 AM

why couldent the anchents make one that generated a field around the plannet atlantis is on then if the wraith tried to get close there tech would'nt have worked. that would have solved some problems

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 30th 2006, 11:08 AM

If you recall the Ancient tech didnt work either. When the Puddle Jumper passed through the EM field it crashed, that would mean that if the erected a field like that around the planet that Atlantis is on then none of the Ancient tech would work.

Posted by: blackbelt83 Mar 6th 2006, 12:56 AM

QUOTE(Dafmeister @ Jan 30th 2006, 11:08 AM)

No not there tech but it would make a safe place where they could work on ascending like in latter ep. I don?t remember the name of the ep. Where shepard gets pulled into a the asendo crater

Posted by: Dafmeister Mar 6th 2006, 5:47 AM

QUOTE(blackbelt83 @ Mar 6th 2006, 5:56 AM)

No not there tech but it would make a safe place where they could work on ascending like in latter ep. I don?t remember the name of the ep. Where shepard gets pulled into a the asendo crater

It still wouldnt protect them. The Wraith arent stupid, they would eventually figure out that any ships flying over that particular area would crash and they would just bring soldiers through the Stargate or just land their ships outside of the field.

Posted by: kordone May 30th 2006, 4:08 AM

QUOTE

One thing i really cant get to fit, is is the wraith really are the enermy that beat the acients.
How the hell are they so reallative easy to kill, i mean we shot one of their small ships down in the first episode, and walked into their big ships and launched a recure mission within it with ease! so we have 3 options.

The reason the Wraith beat the Ancients was because of their shear numbers, not because of the level of technology.

QUOTE

2nd the acient were horrible shots, they couldent hit a barndoor 1 foot away with a saw-off shutgun (most unluckly, this is not a humor/parady of sg1)

Where did you get that?
If anything the Ancients would have been almost perfect shots due to the fact that the Drones are controlled by the mind & the person controlling the Drone will not stop until it had impacted on something.

QUOTE

One that cant work is, that the wraith inventet the virus that were infected on the acient they found frozen on earth, because the wraith use humans as lifestock, and there would no way to contole who they sould infest and who they shouldent, due to the stargate, and most viruses can lay dormant for many many years, and they can mutate and maby start killing of the wraith, so it would be stupid for the wraith to invent such an virus (yes they are good at regenerate but do they have a good imune system? (next episode mite explain this))

Ofcourse they couldn't have created the Ancients with the plague. The Ancient that was found in Frozen was there even before the Ancients left the Milky Way galaxy, and its is said that the Wraith were accidently created the Wraith after they arrived in Pegasus, therefore there is no way that they could have created the plague.

The real question that comes out of this episode is if the Ancients had already abandoned the Pegasus Galaxy 10,000 years ago & the EM Field Generator had only been in place for 500 years, give or take... who were the people that created the EM Field Generator???

Posted by: Romestar Jul 14th 2006, 2:14 AM

QUOTE(wack @ Nov 22nd 2004, 10:06 AM)

I couldn't agree more.

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Posted by: C_O_K_E Aug 17th 2006, 3:06 AM

998

Posted by: Josh Aug 17th 2006, 3:28 AM

What the hell are you doing COKE, trying to increase your post count? Stop It!!!!!