I was immensely disappointed with "The Ark of Truth." The plot was weak, the acting so-so, the story was not engaging and I found myself laughing hysterically at dramatic and/or serious moments. For example, there is a slow motion shot where Cam is leaping away from an explosion that is so over the top that I laughed so hard the movie had to be paused until I recovered. The shot looked more like a poorly-done Baroque painting than an action shot based on a good Sci-Fi show.<br /><br />One complaint is that Vala seemed to be nothing more than comic-relief. In the past, she has provided support and her skills & resources were useful to the SGC. In "Ark," she was just, sort of...there. Her character was given little substance.<br /><br />The most grievous offense was what they did to Samantha Carter. For the past 10 years, she has been a strong character who has saved SG-1's and Earth's collective ass many times. In "Ark," her hair was long, even though they had made it clear in previous episodes that Air Force policy required her hair to be short. The writers clearly were trying to feminize her. She did not take initiative and repeatedly emphasized her support role. Sam had no brilliant, save-the-day ideas and in the end, she baked cookies and kissed Cam on the cheek. It was sickening how much they dis-empowered what was previously a truly amazing character. Samantha wasn't just the token woman, she was a smart, strong and essential character. The writers of "Ark" assassinated this character.