Stargate Universe [SG:U]

[kavoven 4]

Due to the forum rules I think discussions like this one should stay out of the thread... :)

[abs 2]

Fair enough...silly me for asking. :)

Abs

[R0adki11 3949]

im liking the new series, but it doesn't seem to have that punch like the other two stargate series, but that's because we have had any proper fighting yet against an enemy yet. The show is looking very promising, just cant wait for it to get going properly, the episode light wasn't too bad could have been better. But once people get use to these new characters i think it will be another loved series.

[Bulldogs 10]

Finding out it gets power from stars could be an important detail later. I just want to know what flew off the back of the ship at the end of Air (Part III)

I think that was the shuttle that what's her face's dad died in

[jakerod 254]

Where do you watch it?

Abs

They put them up on Hulu the Saturday after they play. Granted I think that Hulu might have international restrictions on it. You could also try whatever channel it plays on in your local region like SyFy.com or Skye.com. I can't remember what it plays on in Canada though.

@Bulldog

It wasn't a shuttle. The engine color and layout was different and the shape of the ship in general was different. Not to mention it flew off a part of the ship where the shuttles aren't docked.

[Bulldogs 10]

They put them up on Hulu the Saturday after they play. Granted I think that Hulu might have international restrictions on it. You could also try whatever channel it plays on in your local region like SyFy.com or Skye.com. I can't remember what it plays on in Canada though.

@Bulldog

It wasn't a shuttle. The engine color and layout was different and the shape of the ship in general was different. Not to mention it flew off a part of the ship where the shuttles aren't docked.

Seems the most common theory around is that it's a pod that seeds stargates, although it's odd that it's a different configuration to the main ship

[abs 2]

I know I'm a little late to chime in, but I liked this episode.

I think it showed the character of a lot of the people there, especially Rush, and the army dude that got knocked out.

Now that the ship is fully powered, I expect we'll see a lot more interesting things in the next episode.

Abs

[maddogx 13]

I think it showed the character of a lot of the people there, especially Rush, and the army dude that got knocked out.

Speaking of the "army dude", what happened to him? There have been two SGU shows now that have ended strangely. First at the end of "Air" part 3

where some kind of shuttle or escape pod seemed to undock from the ship. I thought someone had stolen the working shuttle at first, but that's obviously still there.

then the bald "army dude"

who was knocked out by Greer last episode. After he woke up, he was briefly seen stalking around the ship, obviously looking for someone (Greer?). I expected him to do something insane before the end of the episode, but nothing happened.

[abs 2]

Yea, I expected him to go after Young because of the choice that was made. It was kinda disappointing.

Abs

[Dwarden 1125]

so far nothing special ... i would save time of 1 whole episode by removing useless scenes from last 3 (prolonged drama of nothing but e.g. sand and sand and sand and sand agian ;) )

oh well ...

[maddogx 13]

so far nothing special ... i would save time of 1 whole episode by removing useless scenes from last 3 (prolonged drama of nothing but e.g. sand and sand and sand and sand agian ;) )

oh well ...

Yeah, the sand scenes were a bit drawn out, but when you consider that they were supposed to have spent 12 hours there it's not surprising. If they had cut those scenes down to five minutes, it would have felt much too short I think.

[Dwarden 1125]

no the point is you get absolutely nothing from these scenes ... they too long and wasting time for more important content like what's going on board ship ...

so far i would say my impression from SGU are below average to low

it's sad as the potencial is there and portions of script are good but overall result is waste

[maddogx 13]

no the point is you get absolutely nothing from these scenes ... they too long and wasting time for more important content like what's going on board ship ...

I guess it's a matter of taste. Personally, I never reached a point during the desert scenes when I would have been thinking "fuck this desert! what's going on on the ship?". The whole episode was centered around finding the right stuff for their air filters in the desert. There was nothing much going on on the ship, except for people worrying about suffocating.

so far i would say my impression from SGU are below average to low

it's sad as the potencial is there and portions of script are good but overall result is waste

Disagree. :)

The pacing is slower than the previous Stargate installments and some scenes are rather drawn out, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It's very much like the first few episodes of the new Battlestar Galactica, where they spent a whole episode jumping away from the Cylons every 33 minutes, or looking for Starbuck on an uninhabitable planet.

I find these kinds of episodes important for building up atmosphere and characters, but your mileage may vary of course.

[Bulldogs 10]

Admittidly, with BSG I got so bored of the series slow pace that I waited til the end of each season, bought the box set and watched them all in a row.

[Baker65 0]

I knew this series was in trouble even before it aired when the producers said "this is not your fathers Stargate". This is always a receipe for disaster like "new" Coke. It's basically a "bait and switch" situation. To me it would be like ArmA3 being a knockoff of the cartoony Team Fortress 2.

I watched Stargate because it was Stargate. Call the series something other than Stargate because the gate itself is about the only thing the two have in common. Maybe Battlestar Galactica lite would be a better title? I've read many interviews with the producers and they are planning on turning the series on its head.

[Placebo 29]

I've watched the first three episodes, I love the Stargate franchise but it seems they simply nicked the Star Trek: Voyager premise, sever lack of originality is IMO going to stop the show going beyond 2 seasons.

[kavoven 4]

I've watched the first three episodes, I love the Stargate franchise but it seems they simply nicked the Star Trek: Voyager premise, sever lack of originality is IMO going to stop the show going beyond 2 seasons.

Quite a good guess, I'll expect that, too, judging by all the bad reviews from people.

The thing is, Baker65 is right with "its not really stargate" since they used the gate 2 times in 5 episodes...

On the other hand a new SG1 or new Atlantis would be quite boring because it would result in more and more technical progress. And people on Earth are, technically not so far beyond the Ancients (remember they beat the Wraith and the Replicators, who both were a nemesis for the Ancients)

Only new story I could think of would be some kind of inter-galatic organisation much farer developed than everything before.

[maddogx 13]

The thing is, Baker65 is right with "its not really stargate" since they used the gate 2 times in 5 episodes...

The trend of using the Stargate less and less started a long time ago. At the beginning of SG-1, the only way to reach other worlds was to travel through the gate. Twelve years later we've got humans flying around in their own starships, kicking ass across three galaxies. The problem in SG-1 and Atlantis is they no longer need the Stargate to get anywhere. Even if the entire network collapsed, they could simply fly around in their ships and everything would be fine. It's no longer primarily about the Stargate. Insisting on using the Stargate at least once every episode would turn gimmicky very fast.

I've watched the first three episodes, I love the Stargate franchise but it seems they simply nicked the Star Trek: Voyager premise, sever lack of originality is IMO going to stop the show going beyond 2 seasons.

Atlantis was similarly unoriginal. Humans exlore galaxy, encounter [insert evil alien race]. Fight for survival ensues. Oh noez, protect Earth! Sound familiar? I think SGU is a pleasant break from that formula. Yes, it does have a whiff of Voyager to it, but you could say that about pretty much any series about people stuck somewhere far away from home. Lost for example.

Having a vaguely similar premise to another series is hardly something I'd call "unoriginal". Nowadays you can be pretty sure any new film or TV series will be reminiscent of something that's already been done before. The trick is to still keep it interesting, and I think SGU is doing pretty well so far. The characters are deeper than on the previous SG series, they're in a whole new area of space, far away from Earth, yet they can still communicate with Earth through the stones, allowing for a change of scenery and some interesting character development that we've already seen in the first few episodes - very much unlike on Voyager.

I think the main problem people have with SGU is "They changed it, now it sucks" syndrome. The same thing happened with Atlantis and it will always happen whenever someone creates a spin-off of something great. People just need to get used to it.

[Drew 10]

it reminds me of a combo betwee battle star & Stargate

[Bulldogs 10]

The core story has been done a few too many times (Voyager, Stargate Atlantis), trapped in another galaxy/other side of the galaxy, trying to get home.

I still like the series though, but it's kinda like one episode of Stargate drawn out into 10 episodes (kinda like Draonball Z), which is getting a little too slow and boring. I'm hoping that it's just for the first 7 or 8 episodes, just to build the character backgrounds up, then they can meet and enemy and get into the fun of it.

[abs 2]

Someone had coined this series:

SGU: Battlestar Voyager

It fits...but either way, I still like it. I really just wish they wouldn't leave such loose ends. Like the two people who jumped through the portal during the desert episode.

Either way, I'm still looking forward to the next episode.

Abs

[maddogx 13]

I really just wish they wouldn't leave such loose ends. Like the two people who jumped through the portal during the desert episode.

Yeah, I've been wondering about them too. They didn't respond when Eli tried to contact them, so whatever happened at the other end, it probably wasn't good. But they might not necessarily be dead. They might return in a couple of episodes, having experienced some weird shit. :D

Anyway, I think the "loose ends" are being created on purpose, so the writers have an array of threads to pick up later down the line. I can see a few interesting storylines coming...

[Scrub 0]

Good thought about the loose ends, start early.

I'm thinking they are rather stuck in their current location with no chance of getting home. In Atlantis, they needed a new form of power (ZPM).. In SG:U they need a new form of power (purpose adapted planet). Maybe a bit formulaic, but the chances of finding ancient tech while flying in the only piece of ancient tech in that region of the universe is slim. All hail the power of impromptu method writers. :D

[maddogx 13]

Maybe a bit formulaic, but the chances of finding ancient tech while flying in the only piece of ancient tech in that region of the universe is slim.

Indeed. From what we know so far, the only other ancient tech in the region would be stargates deployed by the "gate seeder" ship. Possibly also the seeder ship itself if it crashed somewhere or otherwise got stuck. Everything else they might encounter is still pretty much wide open.

At this point I'd like to point out that all three known galaxies so far (Milky Way, Pegasus and the Ori Galaxy) were largely populated either by humans taken from Earth or by direct decendents of the ancients. All other humanoids were either dependant on human hosts (Goa'uld), evolved as humanoid hybrid offshoots (Wraith), or actually created in the human/ancients image (human form replicators). Well, except the Nox (their origin is unclear).

Looking at those facts, I am assuming that any alien races they encounter in SGU should be non-humanoid. At the very least the writers would have a hard time explaining how human-like aliens got all the way out there. Should be interesting to see what they come up with, especially since it has been said in an interview that the Destiny will be using its huge guns somewhere down the line. :)

[kavoven 4]

Hu, I thought the Destiny was the gate seeder ship?

Edited October 28, 2009 by kavoven