It is typical, and perhaps expected, for a series to take a slight dip in quality after its premiere. The premiere, after-all, is expected to be the show’s only – and therefore best – shot at sealing the deal with potential viewers. This is not the case with Stargate: Universe. The first post-premiere entry into SyFy’s new Stargate series feels more like a breathless continuation of the mounting mytsery, danger, and dramatic depth of Universe’s first two hours. A bitter pill for the early detractors that eyeballed Universe’s sophisticated sensibilities as a change of clothes borrowed from the mainstream closet. With “Air”, Stargate: Universe continues to be a trailblazer both for the franchise and for SyFy in general, albeit a very familiar one.
There is something to the argument that Stargate: Universe has ‘borrowed’ structurally from some of the more successful serial dramas of recent years. Shades of LOST, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Star Trek, and of course SG1 and Atlantis, permeate every beat of “Air.” On closer examination, as with the premiere, those comparisons quickly become academic. Stargate: Universe isn’t a copy-cat as much as the result of earnest study of craft. Nobody can claim domain to good ‘story’ no matter how much we suss out every chromosome of the great archetypal ‘plots,’ but the SGU writers can certainly claim to be masters of commanding the craft of epic adventure.
Story wise, I don’t want to give away too many details of “Air” since it airs in just a few hours. As you saw last week, the hole in
Destiny has been sealed – at the cost of one United States Senator – and the problem facing the Destiny-nauts is the organic depletion of air. “Air” picks up hot on the heels of that problem, with the Stargate auto dialing a nearby planet which may or may not have the means to fix the problem.
As far as alien worlds go, SGU’s first planet is a bit of a statement. It’s pretty much a blank slate. A bone dry desert world, featureless save for the ebb and flow of windblown dunes. For all it lacks in visual excitement the planet becomes an excellent backdrop to display the dramatic chops at work on SGU. Whether it was intentional or not, this sort of minimalist locale creates a sense of bleakness that contrasts remarkably with the intense character struggles.
In the general population, the device of the thought stones rules the day with both Col. Young (Louis Ferreira) and Chloe (Elyse Levesque) spending significant time riding around in other people’s bodies. Probably a huge relief for Col. Young, who is still significantly injured – a fact all but ignored by Col. Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) who Young swaps bods with.
Bottom line: With “Air”, Stargate: Universe comes even further into its own, proving that it has what it takes to occupy Battlestar Galactica’s old stomping grounds. Time will be the real judge, but as of episode 3 SGU continues to be schedule-yourself-in-ink programming.
Follow Us
Stargate Universe so far has not been particularly intense, dark, or funny. The result is a bland mashup of events that have foregone conclusions. As a fan of SG-1, SGA, BSG, and other scifis, SGU clearly doesn't match up.
Stargate Universe so far has not been particularly intense, dark, or funny. The result is a bland mashup of events that have foregone conclusions. As a fan of SG-1, SGA, BSG, and other scifis, SGU clearly doesn’t match up.
I am loving it so far, just a tad on the back and forth character development but I am guessing they want to get that out of the way as soon as possible. With SG1 it took them several seasons to get the background of most of their characters, they also had a great movie to do a lot of that for them. I hope they keep the mystery's fresh, ***SPOILER*** like why did the escape pod launch at the end of that episode. Is it going back for the other two that were left behind or is something else going on. Can't wait until next week and for that matter I can't wait to see how they end the first season, will be watching with anticipation!
"like why did the escape pod launch at the end of that episode. Is it going back for the other two that were left behind or is something else going on."
BlessedMan, I really think that was the pod Senator Armstrong was in when he sacrificed himself for the safety of everyone else. I think it was symbolic for them to let him go since the last conversation of the night between Chloe and Scott was about letting go of the past.
I am loving it so far, just a tad on the back and forth character development but I am guessing they want to get that out of the way as soon as possible. With SG1 it took them several seasons to get the background of most of their characters, they also had a great movie to do a lot of that for them. I hope they keep the mystery’s fresh, ***SPOILER*** like why did the escape pod launch at the end of that episode. Is it going back for the other two that were left behind or is something else going on. Can’t wait until next week and for that matter I can’t wait to see how they end the first season, will be watching with anticipation!
“like why did the escape pod launch at the end of that episode. Is it going back for the other two that were left behind or is something else going on.”
BlessedMan, I really think that was the pod Senator Armstrong was in when he sacrificed himself for the safety of everyone else. I think it was symbolic for them to let him go since the last conversation of the night between Chloe and Scott was about letting go of the past.
I'm not sure what show the reviewer is watching but I wish I could see it. Instead, I seem to have been served up a pale imitation of BSG populated with characters who are at best unlikeable and at worst outright despicable. The storyline is riddled with head scratching moments, the mood is depressing and not at all something that really makes me want to continue to tune in every week. As far as I'm concerned, though, the utter lack of *any* characters worth rooting for or caring about is the biggest sin this travesty of a show has perpetrated. There isn't a single one of them after three hours who I would miss if they bit thrown out an airlock next week.
I’m not sure what show the reviewer is watching but I wish I could see it. Instead, I seem to have been served up a pale imitation of BSG populated with characters who are at best unlikeable and at worst outright despicable. The storyline is riddled with head scratching moments, the mood is depressing and not at all something that really makes me want to continue to tune in every week. As far as I’m concerned, though, the utter lack of *any* characters worth rooting for or caring about is the biggest sin this travesty of a show has perpetrated. There isn’t a single one of them after three hours who I would miss if they bit thrown out an airlock next week.
I don't know what any of you guys are seeing, but this is not by far a pale imitation of BSG nor is bland and boring, imho. I love the show and again it's the pilot so let's give it a season before we get too harsh.
I don’t know what any of you guys are seeing, but this is not by far a pale imitation of BSG nor is bland and boring, imho. I love the show and again it’s the pilot so let’s give it a season before we get too harsh.
I am an avid fan of SG1 & SGA. The movies were outstanding and repeated watching of all of the seasons bring me and my family hours of enjoyment. I have two young sons and they both love SG1 and SGA as well as the movies. After watching three hours of "AIR"; I am worried that this series will not be as enjoyable to watch as the others. I can tell you that I never missed an episode of either Atlantis or SG1 and my family loved sitting down and watching both, and continue to watch them over and over on DVD. My 14 year old, doesn't seem to like SGU, nor does my 9 year old. I haven't developed any care for it because of interpersonal turmoil taking place in SGU and the homage it seems to give to BSG, both thematically, and in cinematic style. There is enough stress in the world and real life, that Si-Fi is a nice hour long escape into a world that we would , for many fans, love to be a part of. Not in an insane, escapist mental way, but in an enjoyable entertaining jaunt. The writers of this show are charging heavily on the credit of the other two series and hoping that our interest will payoff for them. They seem to think that we will support it because it has Stargate in the name, so far the characters are all whiny, self indulgent, overly confident, arrogant…, I could go on, I agree with Ann, I don't think that I would care after the first three hours if they all got sucked out of an airlock and were replaced by furlings. The other shows were great because of the statements made over and over in the series and extras, "we don't take ourselves too serious". it was enjoyable si-fi adventure, si-fi action and plain fun.
This show seems to want to garnish viewers from other series that were no where near as successful or entertaining to the loyal Stargate Fans, or the public in general.
I hope this show goes somewhere fast, or their run will be short. And that is painful for a loyal fan of the franchise to say.
The common thread here is that die-hard fans seem to be biased against SGU. I honestly don't believe it is for the reasons stated. Not trying to be offensive at all, but I completely disagree on the characters. I have to think that this is an aversion that stems from a loyalty to the 'other' lines. I would be offended if I were an SG1/Atlantis fan with all the talk of 'updating' the series… etc. But the message is not that SG1/Atlantis were faulted, SGU is just targeted towards a different audience.
I am an avid fan of SG1 & SGA. The movies were outstanding and repeated watching of all of the seasons bring me and my family hours of enjoyment. I have two young sons and they both love SG1 and SGA as well as the movies. After watching three hours of “AIR”; I am worried that this series will not be as enjoyable to watch as the others. I can tell you that I never missed an episode of either Atlantis or SG1 and my family loved sitting down and watching both, and continue to watch them over and over on DVD. My 14 year old, doesn’t seem to like SGU, nor does my 9 year old. I haven’t developed any care for it because of interpersonal turmoil taking place in SGU and the homage it seems to give to BSG, both thematically, and in cinematic style. There is enough stress in the world and real life, that Si-Fi is a nice hour long escape into a world that we would , for many fans, love to be a part of. Not in an insane, escapist mental way, but in an enjoyable entertaining jaunt. The writers of this show are charging heavily on the credit of the other two series and hoping that our interest will payoff for them. They seem to think that we will support it because it has Stargate in the name, so far the characters are all whiny, self indulgent, overly confident, arrogant…, I could go on, I agree with Ann, I don’t think that I would care after the first three hours if they all got sucked out of an airlock and were replaced by furlings. The other shows were great because of the statements made over and over in the series and extras, “we don’t take ourselves too serious”. it was enjoyable si-fi adventure, si-fi action and plain fun.
This show seems to want to garnish viewers from other series that were no where near as successful or entertaining to the loyal Stargate Fans, or the public in general.
I hope this show goes somewhere fast, or their run will be short. And that is painful for a loyal fan of the franchise to say.
The common thread here is that die-hard fans seem to be biased against SGU. I honestly don’t believe it is for the reasons stated. Not trying to be offensive at all, but I completely disagree on the characters. I have to think that this is an aversion that stems from a loyalty to the ‘other’ lines. I would be offended if I were an SG1/Atlantis fan with all the talk of ‘updating’ the series… etc. But the message is not that SG1/Atlantis were faulted, SGU is just targeted towards a different audience.
First off, I was a fan of SG1 and SGA, but I'll be the first to say that SG1 fell into the same traps that star trek did and became extremely cliche and even downright cartoony, where moments of danger and peril felt as real as an episode of scooby doo. SGA gradually became a complete and utter disaster after season 2, as the producers tried to morph it into another SG1 instead of doing something new, and dull writing ran the show straight into the ground.
Just like star trek, the franchise needed something new and SGU is incredible so far… real characters, an actual sense of danger and a feeling that anything can happen. I'm actually on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next week, and I can't recall the last time stargate made me feel like that. Die-hard fans hate change, even when the shows that they love become completely unwatchable by anyone other than them. SGU has the potential to be more than just a good sci-fi show, but a good show period. If you want more of the same, there's more than enough stargate seasons on dvd for you to watch over and over again.
First off, I was a fan of SG1 and SGA, but I’ll be the first to say that SG1 fell into the same traps that star trek did and became extremely cliche and even downright cartoony, where moments of danger and peril felt as real as an episode of scooby doo. SGA gradually became a complete and utter disaster after season 2, as the producers tried to morph it into another SG1 instead of doing something new, and dull writing ran the show straight into the ground.
Just like star trek, the franchise needed something new and SGU is incredible so far… real characters, an actual sense of danger and a feeling that anything can happen. I’m actually on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next week, and I can’t recall the last time stargate made me feel like that. Die-hard fans hate change, even when the shows that they love become completely unwatchable by anyone other than them. SGU has the potential to be more than just a good sci-fi show, but a good show period. If you want more of the same, there’s more than enough stargate seasons on dvd for you to watch over and over again.
I'm enjoying it. It isn't "Stargate-SG1" and that is a little disappointing, because I did enjoy the original so much. But I can't see how it is trying to be "Battlestar Galactica" either. It's taken the scientific premise behind Stargate and turned it into its own show. The characters are starting to grow on me. And as much as it pains me to say because I'm a huge Richard Dean Anderson fan, I hope that he goes away for a while and lets Universe be Universe. Let the Lou Diamond Phillips character be the contact on Earth.
I’m enjoying it. It isn’t “Stargate-SG1” and that is a little disappointing, because I did enjoy the original so much. But I can’t see how it is trying to be “Battlestar Galactica” either. It’s taken the scientific premise behind Stargate and turned it into its own show. The characters are starting to grow on me. And as much as it pains me to say because I’m a huge Richard Dean Anderson fan, I hope that he goes away for a while and lets Universe be Universe. Let the Lou Diamond Phillips character be the contact on Earth.