Stargate Universe -- 2 Hour Series Premiere -- "Air" -- 10/02/09

[Michael Corvin]

I watched about 90 minutes. I'll finish tonight but I enjoyed it so far. I'm not sure about McKay-lite. So far he's the most interesting character though since he got the most development on screen. It just sucks that he seems to be a rehash of another SG character.

I liked that the vibe was clearly different than the other two shows.

[rw2516]

Originally Posted by iggystar

I kept waiting for him to slay the whole crew and eat them in a big pot of stew.

I was thinking about the same movie while watching.

[nemein]

Originally Posted by rw2516

The video game guy is also an MIT dropout.

Spoiler:

The reason they couldn't get the gate to dial the ninth symbol is because they assumed the point of origin was the planet they were on. The video game guy came up with the notion that maybe the point of origin is somewhere else. They guessed at earth. The ship they ended up on originated from Earth(maybe). They discovered that in the ship's video log. The ship was designed to travel through space depositing stargates on planets so the ancients on Earth could travel to these planets by dialing them from Earth. The stargate at the base must be from Earth or something. I'm assuming the ninth symbol represents the ship. Or the ship just passed by Earth while leaving stargates in our galaxy. I guess that's how the stargate network was built.

Gotcha... missed the MIT part.

I got most of what you wrote, thanks though I guess what I missed though was how did they discover there was a 9th symbol to begin w/?

[Chew]

Originally Posted by nemein

I guess what I missed though was how did they discover there was a 9th symbol to begin w/?

Apparently, it's always had 9 chevrons. I've never bothered to count them before now.

[starman9000]

I think they were pretty sloppy early on in the show with the "rules" and some of the gates had different numbers of Chevrons.

[iggystar]

Originally Posted by rw2516

I was thinking about the same movie while watching.

It's actually a guilty pleasure of mine. Me and about three others in the universe.

[DeputyDave]

Quick question: I don't want to read the thread to get spoilers, but do you have to have watched either show to get into this? I loved the movie but never watched the first two series.

[DJariya]

Originally Posted by DeputyDave

Quick question: I don't want to read the thread to get spoilers, but do you have to have watched either show to get into this? I loved the movie but never watched the first two series.

Personally I don't think so. It's an entirely new cast and new premise. They will have guest stars from the SG-1 series, but that shouldn't affect the story arc for this show.

[nemein]

I would agree and say you probably don't, the concept is simple enough to pick up and they did a good job of highlighting the basics (of course I have watched the previous series so it all made sense to me ). My question is why wouldn't you want to watch it though? SG1, esp the first 8 seasons is one of the best series out there IMHO. Sure it takes a little while to get going, but once they do they do a good job of bringing some of the stuff from the first three season back into it.

[nemein]

Originally Posted by Chew

Apparently, it's always had 9 chevrons. I've never bothered to count them before now.

DOH! kind of obvious once you mention it.

[Tommy Ceez]

Originally Posted by DeputyDave

Quick question: I don't want to read the thread to get spoilers, but do you have to have watched either show to get into this? I loved the movie but never watched the first two series.

Its being touted in some circles as a VIRTUAL RE-BOOT

Not truly resetting the story but completely open to new viewers

Thats why I tuned in

Ive never watched any other series

[Ravenous]

I never got into the first series cause I wondered why there was a black drag queen Rupaul carrying a gun.... I still dont get it.

[Patman]

I never watched much of the other 2 SG series, but I'm not all that interested in a Voyager/BGS redux either, plus they need some more eye candy.

[nemein]

Originally Posted by Ravenous

I never got into the first series cause I wondered why there was a black drag queen Rupaul carrying a gun.... I still dont get it.

[mikehunt]

I think I heard something about them finding the 9 digit address in an ancient database on Atlantis

[Tommy Ceez]

Since it was popular in the True Blood threads...io9's recap

This weekend SGU had its dark, bleak, awesomely star-studded premiere. You sounded off your opinions about the brand new series — now hear ours.

From the start, this was a pretty compelling new series. Right away the SGU introduction music got me all worked up and excited. And no, I'm not going to point out the obvious sounding flute-esque choral mixed with low sitar Star Trek/BSG correlations because I am one of those people that likes this type of vast, awe-invoking space music. And frankly that's what space music should sound like, according to television. So I'm completely happy and content with SGU's space jams.

The series wastes no time, throwing us all into the action. Dusty coughing passengers are flung willy nilly through an open Stargate, looking bloody and scared. Ming-Na stands wide eyed, and the camera shakily moves about, trying to locate the mangled members of the crew. Meanwhile an ominous Robert Carlyle stands above the frightened crowd surveying, ominously.


And right there, that first moment beautifully demonstrates my biggest problem with the series. SGU both succeeds and fails at trying to gritty up Stargate. Its team of producers, crew and writers are the best of the best today, when it comes to creating a light-hearted series that embraces the fun of space travel. Stargate shied away from the ugly and real, such as permanent death and complicated characters. Heck, these creators even excelled at making a Stargate CSI episode, one of my personal favs. But even though the people who make the Gate are exceedingly clever, taking on darkness seemed to fall a bit out of their reach from time to time with this new series. And since it's such a dirty new pill we have to swallow, the flaws stick out. Especially on the heels of one of the more successful dark space operas, BSG. There were a few "just doesn't fit right" moments, like that ominous Carlyle moment. And while they didn't make me dislike the series, it rubbed me the wrong way as a viewer.

Case in point: Robert Carlyle's "here's my misunderstood thinking face," throws off the calamity that is happening below. People just died on the other side of that Stargate, the crew almost died. I know that Carlyle's character, Dr. Nicholas Rush, might be some sort of level-headed-in-the-face-of-adversity science ninja, but putting him on top of the crowd by the light of the gate is too over-the-top and obvious. I don't need the zoomy Simba at the top of the mountain shot to know that this guy might be up to no good. Give me the benefit of the doubt, I'll figure it out.

But these moments are thankfully few and far between. The chaos, the camera work even the sound effects are all better. When the group first flops down on the ancient ship Destiny, take a good listen. You'll hear people moaning and crying in the background, scared of the unknown darkness. This is not something we're used to hearing on the Stargate set, and it's every bit as spooky as intended.

So even though there are a few out of kilter moments, like the strange almost "so obviously BSG it could have been a nod" storage-room sex scene, the majority of the darkness worked. I just hope they can smooth out the more obvious "doesn't work" moments.

Each character still has a lot of work to do to win over the crowd, but it's a pilot, I'm patient. And from what I've seen, I've liked the exceedingly diverse array of soon to be Destiny crew members. What SGU is dealing with is a group of people who are all ill equipped to handle the tasks in front of them, professionally and mentally. Chloe, the young "looker" of the outfit is pretty, played by Elyse Levesque is reliant on her father, spending her life at his side as his aid. Sadly Poppa, Christopher McDonald, is not long for this series and sacrifices his life to save the crew in a pretty emotionally stirring moment . Now he leaves his daughter alone in pieces on a broken-down ship.

Josh Blacker's Sgt. Spencer is the quiet character I've long waited for on a Stargate series: someone who is strong and a bit reserved, but isn't a warrior with a violent streak. Don't worry Gaters, there's still one of those characters too, but I really want to see more from Spencer. Eli, played by David Blue is slowly getting over his cowardice and stepping up as the comedic science guy. Some of his jokes are hits, others are misses — but the delivery is from the heart, and genuine important part of the Gate comedy franchise.

The character's that will need more development include the medic Alaina Huffman, the all-but-silent lesbian bureaucrat Ming-Na, and Jamil Walker Smith who takes his place as the handsome young rogue amidst the crew of faceless boys in military uniforms. Dr. Rush is going to need a flashback episode very soon, or his over-the-top dramatics may continue to get in the way. But it's still Robert Carlyle delivering each insane eyebrow curl, so at least it's being executed beautifully.

As for fans, all the old Gate tech is still up and running. And they catch the new crew up with an especially hilarious "welcome to the Stargate" Daniel Jackson video. Some of the technology gets a bit in the way. Like the ancient communication stones allow characters to swap with folks back on Earth. It's a little too confusing for even the casual Stargate fan and really stretching the ability to take a bit of scifi tech with a smiley for newcomers — at the same time, I see how they can open the door to interesting future episodes, but right now they just seemed like a cheap ploy to get Lou Diamond Phillips more screen time. But we'll see what the stones may bring.

All in all, it's a great step forward for Gaters everywhere. It was mostly captivating, interesting and well done. There are a few annoying wrinkles but what pilot doesn't have those? This was an important step that the Stargate franchise needed to take, and it seems like they are handling it with care without losing the clever parts from the original that we loved. Stargate always asked for a lot of give with the audience, by saying things like, "Hey it's a magical cave alright?" so things like the magic stones and the forcefields that leak in some areas but not others, come with the territory. We're ready for the darker SGU, and I'm more than happy to let this team guide us through it. Especially since they seem to be as much in the dark as we are. We'll get through it together.

[Chew]

I don't know how I missed this, but what exactly was the fate of Lou Diamond Phillips character? (I had thought he was supposed to be a series regular)

[Superman07]

I watched it and liked it overall. I did think it was a little slow, but once everything hit "real time" the pace picked up a little.

I liked the raw and new feeling that it had. I feel that both Atlantis and Star Trek Enterprise squandered their chances at capitalizing on the same opportunity. In both of those shows the tech caught up too quickly to resolve the larger peril of the series. Likewise, I hope the ship isn't fully operational by the end of the season (let alone episode 3), and that the later seasons are jumping back and forth between galaxies across the universe.

I'm interesting to see more of how Lt. Scott adapts to being in charge of the main SGUnit since the Colonel is shipbound for the time being.

I think that the medic had an affair with the Colonel as well, so we'll have to see where that goes. Hopefully she starts to lean what she needs to without buckling under pressure. Although it would be nice to see her screw up along the way to show consequences.

Eli is okay, but needs more development. I think they gave more to the Senator's daughter.

I'm willing to bet that the girl Scott was "seeing" at the beginning ends up dead sooner than later as well.

[wmansir]

The last we saw Lou Diamond Phillips he was in a fighter ship defending the base. He didn't make it through the gate but was most likely rescued by Carter before the planet exploded.

[Superman07]

Originally Posted by Chew

I don't know how I missed this, but what exactly was the fate of Lou Diamond Phillips character? (I had thought he was supposed to be a series regular)

As did I! I assumed he made it back to Sam's ship in the X302 (what number are they on now?).

[Flave]

I'm new to the Stargate "universe" so can someone explain something to me? In addition to the stargates, these guys also have Star Trek like transporters AND faster-than-light spaceships? If so, wow, talk about your sci-fi trifecta!

[Jedi Master 33]

Originally Posted by Flave

I'm new to the Stargate "universe" so can someone explain something to me? In addition to the stargates, these guys also have Star Trek like transporters AND faster-than-light spaceships? If so, wow, talk about your sci-fi trifecta!

That didn't come into SG1 until MUCH later.

[rw2516]

Originally Posted by Flave

I'm new to the Stargate "universe" so can someone explain something to me? In addition to the stargates, these guys also have Star Trek like transporters AND faster-than-light spaceships? If so, wow, talk about your sci-fi trifecta!

The transport rings have been around since the theatrical feature film.

[starman9000]

Originally Posted by Flave

I'm new to the Stargate "universe" so can someone explain something to me? In addition to the stargates, these guys also have Star Trek like transporters AND faster-than-light spaceships? If so, wow, talk about your sci-fi trifecta!

Yeah, they added those as the series progressed, a lot of people think that severely hurt the show. Especially the transport beams, which took away tension from most every situation. (How will they ever get out of this situation....oh, let's beam them up with a ship that go to orbit just in the nick of time!)

[Superman07]

Originally Posted by rw2516

The transport rings have been around since the theatrical feature film.

He was refering to the Asgard beaming technology, not the shorter range vertical ring technology (which by the way wasn't in this pilot).