An observation about the Ancients

[Romulan_spy]

in Ark of Truth, we see that the Ancients ran away from the Ori and started anew in the Milky Way. Then, when the great plague hit, the Ancients again run away to the Pegasus galaxy and start anew. Then, when the Wraith attack Atlantis, the Ancients run away back to the Milky Way and start anew again.

Notice a pattern? It seems like the Ancients would let things get really really bad and then they would just cut and run and start over again.

 

[HIj'Qa]

If the Ancients were the/a first form of sentient life in the universe, living alone for a long long time before any other form of intelligence evolved or was encountered in another galaxy, they might not have the social skills to deal with problems and relationships. Avoidence would be their way of coping.

 

[Kpnuts]

I remember a time when the Ancients used to be mysterious, cool and only mentioned rarely. Then Stargate Atlantis happened to them.

 

[zenophite]

The ancients were a good idea that has gone stale through overuse - rather like how the Klingons became progressively more goofy as time went on.

 

[Kpnuts]

^ ditto ascension and the replicators

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Final nail in the Ancients' coffin: The ship of them that took back over Atlanis...only to die to the man/woman at the hands of the Replicators...off screen.

What a joke.

 

[Skywalker]

Why did they run back to the Milky Way instead of keeping to their pattern and finding yet another new galaxy?

 

[David cgc]

Probably because there were only a few thousand of them left, and ascension had become so common they didn't really need to create another huge empire as in Pegasus, and the Milky Way was no longer barren. They could just retire to Avalon and, at a ripe old age, turn glowy and squid-like.

 

[Brikar99]

I think my problem with it was that they were built up to be this amazing race of ancestors, but eventually we found out that for all their advancement, they lacked even basic compassion for other beings, except a few 'rebels' ... and people STILL looked up to them.

It's like waiting for years to meet your idol, only to find out they're a douchebag and then STILL worship them instead of taking that poster down off the wall.

 

[bigdaddy]

^ ditto ascension and the replicators

Oh god the reps...

How much you want to bet we will see the reps in the Atlantis movie?

 

[zenophite]

Let's not forget that the premise of Stargate:Universe revolves around finding an as yet unknown Ancient ship and it's mission - or something like that.

 

[DWF]

I think the non use of the Ark of Truth kind of proves that they were a pretty complex people, I don't think it's fair to lump them all into the same catagory. They were dying of a virus when the left earth and they were losing to the wraith because of the wraith's cloning abilities. I imagine we might learn more about them in the new series but so far they seem to have been teetering on some important moral issues that weren't resolved while they were mere moral beings.

 

[cylkoth]

I think my problem with it was that they were built up to be this amazing race of ancestors, but eventually we found out that for all their advancement, they lacked even basic compassion for other beings, except a few 'rebels' ... and people STILL looked up to them.

It's like waiting for years to meet your idol, only to find out they're a douchebag and then STILL worship them instead of taking that poster down off the wall.

I think the non use of the Ark of Truth kind of proves that they were a pretty complex people, I don't think it's fair to lump them all into the same catagory. They were dying of a virus when the left earth and they were losing to the wraith because of the wraith's cloning abilities. I imagine we might learn more about them in the new series but so far they seem to have been teetering on some important moral issues that weren't resolved while they were mere moral beings.

You've both hit on the issue that's been...erm, plaguing how they've been portrayed, especially after Atlantis' arrival. We have to kind of separate them into 2 distinct camps-their original mortal forms, and their ascended selves, which technically, should be considered a different species onto itself. We're judging them mostly by the strict rules that ascendant beings must adhere to, while their lives as mortals has been pretty much depicted as less than stellar-repeated failed experiements, dubiuos choices made during wartime....The near worship of them that Pegasus residesents showed early in ATL's run, hasn't been backed up with onscreen examples of the mortal Ancients doing anything noble, heroic, or extraordinary, that is deserving of admiration.
They're the freakin gatebuilders, as Daniel repeatedly points out. The show uses (one of) their most miraculous acheivments, yet the people themselves have been shown to be without any sense of...wonder that they were originally endowed with.

 

[DWF]

You've both hit on the issue that's been...erm, plaguing how they've been portrayed, especially after Atlantis' arrival. We have to kind of separate them into 2 distinct camps-their original mortal forms, and their ascended selves, which technically, should be considered a different species onto itself. We're judging them mostly by the strict rules that ascendant beings must adhere to, while their lives as mortals has been pretty much depicted as less than stellar-repeated failed experiements, dubiuos choices made during wartime....The near worship of them that Pegasus residesents showed early in ATL's run, hasn't been backed up with onscreen examples of the mortal Ancients doing anything noble, heroic, or extraordinary, that is deserving of admiration.
They're the freakin gatebuilders, as Daniel repeatedly points out. The show uses (one of) their most miraculous acheivments, yet the people themselves have been shown to be without any sense of...wonder that they were originally endowed with.

yet again though I don't think you're being quite fair we've seen several good Ancients including Oma, Morgan and Janus but they do seem have two or more schools of thought much like ourselves. Janus was all for time travel experimenting and the council wasn't so it could've just been a policital thing.

The non ascended Ancients are similar to the Time Lords on Dr. Who IMO, we don't seem really miss the fact that they're gone since they appear to be have been somewhat corrupt as a people.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I remember a time when the Ancients used to be mysterious, cool and only mentioned rarely. Then Stargate Atlantis happened to them.

They were screwed long before SG:A got their paws on them. Every time they were depicted by bad actors in white robes woodenly reciting terrible dialogue, another chunk of their mystique was chipped away.

The only time the Ancients were "cool" as depicted on screen was when they got George Dzunza and Mel Harris to play them - hire some highly competent veteran actors to invest those blank slates with some personality! Too bad they didn't keep up that strategy.

 

[The Wormhole]

^^George Dzundza actually played Anubis.

 

[Crewman47]

Final nail in the Ancients' coffin: The ship of them that took back over Atlanis...only to die to the man/woman at the hands of the Replicators...off screen.

What a joke.

I missed most of the third season and I always wondered why the writers decided to bring in a shipfull of Ancients, have them assume there right to Atlantis (basically kicking out the Humans without so much as a Thank you for minding the house), and then kill them all off two or three episodes later. Would it not have made sense for at least one Atlantean to survive the Replicators and then we could have them help out the Humans from time to time with all the Tech etc, or would that have been to easy for them?

 

[matthunter]

If the Ancients were the/a first form of sentient life in the universe, living alone for a long long time before any other form of intelligence evolved or was encountered in another galaxy, they might not have the social skills to deal with problems and relationships. Avoidence would be their way of coping.

Interesting idea - very similar to the Vorlons in Babylon 5, where Kosh tacitly admits he was afraid to get more involved in fighting the Shadows because "when you've lived as long as I have, you kind of get used to it".

 

[TerriO]

I think my problem with it was that they were built up to be this amazing race of ancestors, but eventually we found out that for all their advancement, they lacked even basic compassion for other beings, except a few 'rebels' ... and people STILL looked up to them.

It's like waiting for years to meet your idol, only to find out they're a douchebag and then STILL worship them instead of taking that poster down off the wall.

The 'Gates have always had a penchant for basically telling us that everything we thought we knew about our "gods" may not be true.

Why shouldn't they do the same with the Ancients? Hell, they created a race and built them up as "gods" over the early years of the series. It absolutely fits that everything we thought we knew about them may not be true, too. We were getting stories passed down from generation to generation. We were basically being told myths of the Ancients. Myths don't always equate to reality.

 

[roguephoenix]

SPOILERS:

Spoiler

the replicators ARE cylons 3.0! the ancients ARE the 13th colony! omg!