#syfy the ark

[eveningspirit]

That SyFy show The Ark is... well... The science there doesn’t deserve the term, that’s for sure. It’s simplistic and naive and requires a LOT of suspended disbelief. But you know what? Four episodes in, I decided to put my love for hard sci-fi on a shelf and just... see where this goes.

A tv show is not a book, where you can worldbuild and create compelling characters and amazing adventures to your heart’s desire. There are time restrictions and choices need to be made. If you want to have an ensemble cast and portray about, I dunno, ten? interesting characters, something else has to give.

And I think (hope?) The Ark is trying to do just that -- create a story centered on the characters.

Like I said, we’re four episodes in and we have:

Sharon, Lane and Brice

Angus, Alicia and Trent

Felix, Doctor Kabir, Eva and Cat

I think those are the main characters. Ten, ha! I wasn’t wrong.

Sharon Garnet, Spencer Lane and James Brice are the three lieutenants, who are inexperienced and were supposed to be low level, but are now supposed to lead the rest of the crew and are responsible for their safety. I love how immature Lane acts. I’m really glad that we have the Sharon mystery out of the way by episode four. That’s great, because dragging such a thing for who knows how long would be tiring. We still have the Brice mystery. Curious where that will go (I’d lie if I said this is not what interests me most, ha!)

Angus, Alicia and Trent are the kids of the crew. Brilliant, awkward, at least in Angus’s and Alicia’s cases, but they are distinct and have their strengths and weaknesses. Trent is a scheming guy, but there’s complexity to that as well. Because after episode four, it seems he was groomed for that scheming. Also, what the scheming even is about, now that we know his “groomer” had some secret agenda?

The security guy, Felix Strickland, is the most reliable character so far. The Doc is all over the place and so, SO wrong with her approach to self-care, poor thing. Someone needs to wrap her in a blanket, lay her down, and stand guard, so she’s not disturbed for, like, a week. Of course, then everyone else would be at a risk of dying, but who cares. I love Eva Markovic too, and not just because she’s Serbian and I adore her accent. She’s determined and focused, and probably smart, but then, they all are. 

Cat, on the other hand... Yeah... Is it bad that I accept, even enjoy, flaws in male characters (like Lane being childish and selfish), but don’t really like them in females? Cat is self-serving, annoying and pretentious. She’s the character I least like. Is it because those kind of flaws tick me the wrong way, or is it because she’s a woman? Hmmm... I don’t hate her, though. She has some redeeming qualities (she steps up to the game when needed, even if she does it unconsciously).

Anyway. Beside the characters themselves, we also get a lot of various interactions between them all. It’s not just Char A always with B and C, because they are connected by some storyline, or a place where they work. They all mix and there’s a lot going on. That’s how we get a lot of different facets of those characters, and I’m very much up for that.

Yeah, I’m definitely liking this show, even if it’s not some great storytelling. 

[medcat-2-u]

Come on over and join the ARK'OHOLICS in the largest #TheArk group on Facebook. You might even run into some of our cast and crew on-board. Let's ROCK SEASON 2 SOON.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/526450588928199/?ref=share

[lapsed-bookworm]

Spoilers for Episode 6: Two by Two under the read-more.

The end of the last episode revealed that Trent's "mission" involved hiding the fact that William Trust and his wife have been hidden in their own secret cryo-pod room. Lieutenant Lane is currently still the only person who knows about this, but this episode includes a "I'm glad we don't have secrets" talk with Garnet and Lane talking to Cat about whether a secret can cause physical side effects from the stress. So, you know, he'll probably eventually not keep this a secret, but it doesn't get revealed yet.

Despite the talk with Cat revealing how many people want William Trust dead and Lane watching that video on his tablet [William and his wife are supposed to be going on Ark Five], I'm just not feeling this whole area of the plot. I mean, there's a slight chance that it doesn't seem pressing compared to the Issue Of The Week, but I also feel like I'm torn between "I don't actually know enough about this guy to understand all the death wishes" and "he's like an archetype of Bezos/Musk/Rich Guy Escaping Dying Planet so we're not supposed to do more than dislike him". I must admit that I am a bit uneasy about the room with samples of animal DNA, which is where Lane said the episode's title "two by two" [reference to Noah's ark].

[I am not saying that there's too many Xtian pings and I don't like William Trust being some sort of "let's repopulate the new earth" potential figure, but like, I'm not not saying that. I dunno. After an earlier comment about how the crew wasn't supposed to bring on genetic relatives, I'm just not confident that this won't turn in a weird cult of personality "let me decide who you procreate with" angle. Proto-cult side-eyeing if you will.]

Anyway, yeah, the Issue Of The Week is needing more uranium for fuel. We've jumped forward "3.2 Earth Months" and we're just about out of fuel, so we have to slingshot around a star [to fuel solar sails] and see if a nearby planet has it. I feel like this perhaps should be of utmost importance, but as an audience member, I think we've had one too many life-or-death situations to really feel panicked. It's like there's no array of choices with "this might suck, but we won't die" as a possible outcome. There was a bit of a twist that the source of the uranium - and the spacesuit destroying element - was not the planet itself, but another Ark ship on the other side of the planet. (I think it's Ark Three? That's absolutely going to be the focus of the next episode, so I'm not worried about going into detail on that.)

There's this... I'm not sure how to describe it, but the writers don't seem to let very many topics get spread out. Dr Kabir made all of that fuss about assuming something's wrong with Lieutenant Brice in the last episode, and now, he's suddenly fainting. Eva sort of uses keeping this a secret as blackmail, and of course, Brice loses consciousness at the worst possible moment in the shuttle. (Almost like we had to prove that Eva was correct to be worried about whether his Undisclosed Mystery Illness could jeopardize safety.) He winds up disclosing that he has Klamkin's disease, which is going to be fatal. The bouts of losing consciousness don't equate to severity, but the only sure thing is that he will eventually die of this disease [which is supposed to explain his willingness to volunteer for every "this might kill someone" assignment].

[Klamkin's. Clemkin's, with the accent... Should there be an apostrophe? Eh... Klamkin's is sort of what it sounds like he said; I think it's supposed to be a fictional ailment, although I did find out there's a Klatskin's tumor. The symptoms are separate enough that I'm pretty sure it's coincidental. Brice attributed this disease to stuff that William Trust put into the troposphere; I assume it was some sort of "alter the weather to save Earth" plan, but we didn't get a ton of details on that. Eva knew all about Klamkin's, so there wasn't an in-depth explanation for the audience.]

Also in this episode: Felix finally intervenes on Dr Kabir's amphetamine usage, and she's forced to start withdrawals and the whole getting clean process. I was probably supposed to be paying more attention to the "admitting there's a problem" and Dr Kabir making such progress aspect, but I'm mostly sidetracked by other questions. I'm only passingly familiar with amphetamines being used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, so if there was all that weird ableism earlier, who was expected to be on the ship that even needed this type of medication? Is there some sort of drug making machine on Ark One, or did Dr Kabir just go through a three month supply of drugs of however many months they need to stretch?

More broadly speaking: Why isn't there some sort of medical protocol for treating addiction, or were the higher ups for this mission not expecting addiction to make out into space? The scene with Garnet and Lane involves her revealing the former Commander's hidden bottle of alcohol, and with how humanity as a whole is, I'm surprised that no one's managed to make their own out of something on board already. Granted, it's taken this long for Angus to have a "crop" (it looked like one carrot per person) from the biodome in the storage unit, but I don't have a lot of optimism that alcohol will not come into play in the future. (These people are going to go off to a new planet and really never figure out a way to make some sort of alcohol?)

[zanephillips]

Richard Fleeshman in The Ark 1.01 “ Everyone Wanted to Be on This Ship”

[ghostlyarchaeologist]

Oh, Brice!

The Ark S02E04 The Other You.

[awesometothe3rd]

"Growing up in a lab, I didn't have a lot of chances to fall in love."

[abby-crofton]

The Ark is so funny, major plot stuff happens randomly in the middle of an episode and every one should be dead a thousand times over and there's SO MANY MURDERS! I love it.

[silveragelovechild]

THE ARK?

I discovered a sci-fi show that’s already in its second season and I didn’t know it existed. That’s one problem with all the independent streaming services - it hard to know about everything that’s available. The show is “The Ark” and it’s on the Syfy channel (which I no longer get) but I found it on the Peacock streaming service which I get free.

I’m not recommending it per se, at this point I’m just sharing that it exists.

As you might guess by its title, it’s about a ship from Earth ship traveling to Alpha Centauri (just like the Jupiter 2). I thought the first episode started well… a cold open where the ship suffers a disaster and one of the units containing cryo chambers is damaged and torn away. In another cryo chamber, the passengers awaken and are able to escape into the main part of the ship. The command crew and most of the senior staff are dead. The surviving crew are younger and less experienced

I thought the design of the ship looked good, and effects and editing were better than you might expect from a TV budget. So I decided to watch some more.

The bulk of the cast looks to be between 20 and 30, emphasizing the idea that they are inexperienced. I like the main character - Lt. Sharon Garnet played by Christie Burke. Garnet young but shes one of the highest ranking officers left alive. Apparently Burke played Renesmee Cullen in the Twilight movies.

There are also two other lieutenants: Lt. Lane (Reece Ritchie). He far too unlikable, argumentative and wants to be in charge. The other is Lt. Brice (Richard Fleeshman). He’s the more laid back and tries to be useful. I like the Brice but Lane should be thrown out an airlock.

And of course there the over-worked doctor who resorts to taking drugs to stay alert. (Another over used trope.)

A few years ago there was a show that was part of the Stargate franchise - Stargate Universe . It involve a bunch of random character stuck on a ship traveling between galaxies. It had a nerd who was a genius at solving things - in every episode. Well - the Ark has two of those nerds - a girl nerd (Alicia played by Stacey Read). And a boy nerd (Angus played by Ryan Adams). If they had a nerd-off competition - Alicia would win hands down because she’s nerdy and perky at the same time. Alicia and Angus take turns every other episode solving the latest disaster. Neither of them irritates me as much as the nerd from Stargate Universe but the genius nerd trope is wearing thin.

After episode 4 I started skipping or fast forwarding scenes. There were too many episodes where a part of the ship malfunctions and they need to solve it immediately. Then there’s the problem with scientific inaccuracy….

In a season 2 episode, they need more fuel and conveniently discover a star system in between Earth and Alpha Centauri. But Alpha Centauri is the nearest star to Earth! UGH! That kind of lame research has no place in a 21st Century sci-fi show!

I stopped that episode and skipped to one where they encounter a parallel version of their ship. Truthfully, it’s the best episode of the ones I’ve seen (even tho, with all my skipping around I didn’t know all the characters). But… dammit! The girl nerd immediately says she would try and untangle the quantum entanglement. Apparently nerds are how writers can solve anything, any time, any where!

[serene-quill]

If I had a nickel for every time I was watching a Syfy show that killed a character named Nathan Stark, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but weird that it's happened twice.

[bellarkeselection]

Has anyone else started watching this series called The Ark because I just started watching it and it reminds me of The 100

Should I write a book about the series???

[gebo4482]

The Ark Season 1 Trailer | 'We're in a War For Survival'

Star: Lisa Brenner / Christie Burke / Richard Fleeshman

[wirbelwindria]

😭

[medcat-2-u]

Spacecraft Ark One encounters a catastrophic event on a mission to secure the survival of the human race; the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to survive with a lack of life-sustaining supplies, loss of leadership, and over a year until they reach the target planet.

The Ark will be premiering on FOX8 tonight at 8.30pm AEST, and also simulcasting on Sci Fi channel.

[lapsed-bookworm]

Spoilers for Episode 5: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back below the read-more.

... I would like to have a chat with the writers. Not in a threatening manner, but like, to figure out why they made certain decisions.

Right, so, I didn't touch on Alicia going on her first ever date in Episode 4 because I assumed that this would be drug out a bit. There would be a second attempt at a date [since hallucinations sort of ruined the first date], and there would just be more time for the realisation that Trent used her tablet to send the video of Denise [Garnet's clone] killing that man in the bar. The hallucinated conversation between Trent and his dead mentor [who he had a relationship with] didn't leave room to doubt some degree of Trent using Alicia, but this episode immediately got into that.

After Eva was written to have the most annoying "I didn't kill the victim because I'd kill someone else in a better way" conversation with Felix, he got around to the video with Denise coming from Alicia's tablet and who sent it. Flashbacks and hallucinated conversations between Trent and his mentor alluded to "the mission" that was in parallel to this exploration mission, but it never sounded like they were obsessed or anything. For me, Trent's capture and almost nonsensical talk of The Mission and how he has a part to play in it while others don't was unexpected. (This reasoning was supposed to explain why the impersonator could be killed, and the unexpected addition of Garnet before launch meant she could take the fall for the murder.)

All of this happened around the Issue Of The Week, which was the attempt to increase speed that broke something in the nuclear reactor thing. Noxious green slime exploded out of the container, Greg - or Gregor? - died instantly, and there was a rush to contain the radiation. The evacuation of certain sections led to at least six more crew-mates lying on the floor unresponsive, but I'm unsure if they were the people in the med bay afterwards who were being attended to but still alive. Pulling the emergency lever manually in a suicide mission was the fix, and Lieutenant Garnet put forward a call for a volunteer. Trent volunteered from his temporary holding, and he definitely did die in the end.

[I'm not looking up the logistics of how much radiation a human body can take in one setting right now, but I was under the impression that people generally didn't die that quickly. Like, I wouldn't expect Trent to linger for weeks, but I wasn't really buying the "stagger into the threshold, pull the lever, die instantly" timeline. In-universe, it's probably supposed to be tied to not having a suit that's actually capable of protecting anyone working around the uranium. Why does a ship have radioactive material and zero safety measures for it? I dunno. Regardless, we are now up to 10 deaths (and six cases of radiation poisoning).]

Also, in this episode, Lieutenant Lane looked up Garnet's medical file, revealed to the voting group that Garnet is a genetically modified clone, and brought forward a vote on whether she should take the commander or captain role (or whether she's unfit to lead). The audience found out that clones were banned after militaries back on Earth used too many and found out that Tier II clones are prone to violence (of the unexpected snapping and killing sort that Denise showed). It wasn't outright said how long that cloning has been banned, but there were a mix of 'older' people who knew and 'younger' people who didn't seem to, though that could just the audience stand-in needing an explanation.

This resulted in most of the gathered voting committee not caring about Garnet being a clone and voting to let her still be the leader. (She did say that she was a Tier I clone, which aren't supposed to have the propensity for violence that Tier II clones developed. Garnet is basically presented as equivalent to any other human conceived via IVF, since the tardigrade stuff happened as a child.) I do think some characters developed a convenient amnesia around aggressive past behaviours [like in the men's showers], but no one else thought she was actually a potential danger in this moment. Dr Kabir was even given a line about how Lieutenant Lane had "small dick syndrome" to keep questioning Garnet's ability to lead, Garnet ordered him to see Cat [the annoying pseudo-therapist] for his "mommy issues", and Cat asked him if he "hated Garnet or all women".

Narratively, it seemed like the show wanted to offer up sexism as the reason why Lane didn't think Garnet could or should lead the crew. It is possible that I'm off the mark on this, but I felt like this was more in the direction of a presentation of Fantastic Racism from a brown-skinned character. Possibly to avoid talking about non-fantastic racism, since to me, it would not seem like "small dick syndrome" for a man of color who has gone through training with everyone else to question an unknown white woman (who hasn't really demonstrated that she's similarly trained) just assuming that she's going to be the leader. Yeah, Garnet was assigned to Ark One at the same level as him, but that doesn't automatically get rid of the 'is a white person taking this higher position without even being as qualified as a character of color' suspicion.

[Also... Garnet saying that she should throw Lane out of the airlock after he called the vote and everyone else voted to keep her as leader, uh, doesn't exactly contradict his concerns about her snapping. That was the same threat she made to that random lower rank guy, you know?

And another thing... Dr Kabir said that Lieutenant Brice's medical file was "too perfect" so he must be hiding something, and she just made up him having a bad knee in order to talk around his unknown issue in front of the voting committee. The cynic in me was not surprised that the doctor character was given the line "we need able bodied people to do this" since ableism is not an entirely unsurprising thing in the medical field, but the audience member in me just wanted the writers to stop giving all these shitty annoying lines to Dr Kabir.]

[ghostlyarchaeologist]

"I have to go now." "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. C'mon, please, just a little bit longer."

The Ark S02E03 Anomaly.

[awesometothe3rd]

Almost...