We are now four episodes into Stargate Universe and so far I'm quite impressed.
First of all a warning as this is a bit spoilery.
After the first extended episode (or two episodes, however you want to class it) I wasn't so sure. It struck me as just trying to tap into the Battlestar vibe and channel Star Trek: Voyager at the same time. Personally I felt that Voyager never lived up to its original premise of a crew being stuck in the middle of nowhere as much as it could have done, and was worried Stargate is a franchise that would probably end up doing the same.
However, SGU - as it’s apparently being called - seems to be going the same route Battlestar went in its first series rather than the usual Stargate way of a big bad alien race looking to enslave them. With the first story concentrating on the lack of air on the Ancient ship, then the second about them losing power it looks like this is very much going to be about them struggling to survive rather than usual Stargate fare. The closest we've come to aliens so far is the strange dust clouds that may have guided the Lieutenant to the lime so they could repair the air filters and the mysterious shuttle seen leaving the ship at the end of the Air story.
One touch I really liked was a lot of the staff have been cranky. Dr Rush, Robert Carlisle, was even suffering from headaches. Why was this? Alien signals messing with their brains? Something wrong with the ship making them ill? No, they were suffering from caffeine and nicotine withdrawal. It was totally unneeded yet really grounds the fact that they've jumped onto a ship and lost access to everyday amenities.
Despite being stranded in a galaxy far far away, the makeshift crew of the Destiny do have a way to communicate with Earth thanks to the Ancient communication devices first seen in the Ori storyline of SG-1. This works by swapping the minds of people at either end and allows the other person to walk around on Earth, just in someone else's body. This has given the show some great scenes of characters delivering the news that they are trapped in another galaxy to their family members, who are in great discomfort as the person speaking looks and sounds nothing like their loved one.
This is a fantastic addition to the Stargate franchise. I'm still annoyed Atlantis was cut down in its prime so this could reach our screens earlier but Universe has certainly found its feet a lot faster than Atlantis did during its first season. I'm hoping that this high quality is maintained and it doesn't fall into the usual Stargate plots any time soon, as it would be a waste of the concept.
5 comments:
I have my reservations about a new Stargate series. I enjoyed much of Stargate, myself. But towards the end I was completely put off, to the point where I stopped watching it mid-season. The style of the show seemed to change, with lots of pointless build ups with no real payoffs. I also never found the Ori to be particularly compelling as a nemesis. Strong enemies the cast can struggle against are fun, All powerful unbeatable enemies are boring. But that might just be me.
I never got into Atlantis either. I watched a few episodes when it first started but I found all the characters pretty dull and one dimentional. It may have gotten better since. I hear a lot of people praising it, but the odd episode I caught never made me change my mind.
So, this new series. I'd have to see it to really make up my mind, but I'm not going in with high hopes.
Also, being stranded in another galaxy... isn't that what Atlantis was trying to do...?
I was talked into watching this by my brother, who is a fan of the previous series. I came to it knowing nothing about it, and having never watched an episode before.
The whole thing annoys the piss out of me, for the same reason as Battlestar Galactica (the new one). The series' main selling point is its (to its credit) very strong plot, unfortunately it's driven by annoying unlikeable characters spewing a very generic script, who spend he whole time just shouting at each other. Quite how they managed to spend an hour in the second episode wandering around the desert looking for... something I can't remember. I'd tuned out mentally by that point.
The writers of Battlestar and SGU need to realise that 'Putting flaws into characters' doesn't involve just making everybody an arsehole! Compare them to the characters in the Godfather, Breaking Bad, There will be Blood or The Wire... Those characters are seriously flawed but at the same time understandable and engaging. I wouldn't be surprised if, before taking to the set, the director said to the SGU actors... “OK, you're motivation is that your angry.. GO!”
No going to be tuning in any more I don't think!
Stu x
i was a bit disappointed with the pilot but after the next 2 parter im definatly alot more optamistic about the series..
I just carnt wait for some space guns cause the ship bound to have them :D.. i also dont think they will be drones as it probably predates them ala no Hyperspace engine.
Wow all I can say is that you are a great writer! Where can I contact you if I want to hire you?
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