Stargate Universe

[veeten]

The third installment of the Stargate franchise just had its premiere tonight. It was very good, and different from the other two, as it has a more 'Battlestar Galactica' verve to it.

http://stargate.mgm.com/

[Jag_Warrior]

I was a huge Stargate SG-1 fan. I joined this one about 15 minutes late. And after about an hour, I began watching a show about the history of the Porsche 911.

I'll give it another try next week.

[CaptainRaiden]

I am a huge fan of Stargate SG-1 myself, but became a fan much later. I saw a re-run on TV once, and so got the whole 10 seasons and the two movies, Ark of Truth and Continuum, and watched all of them over like two months. :D

I saw the Stargate Universe episode day before yesterday, and well while it's not exactly SG-1, it's different. I like the dark tone, and that kickass Ancient ship. :p And holy sh** has Richard Dean Anderson aged fast!

So, anyway, I guess I'll be patient and wait for at least 3 or 4 episodes to see which direction this one goes.

[Sonic]

The first episode airs here on Tuesday so as a SG1 (and let's face it an all round sci-fi geek) I'll tune in.

The missus loved atlantis (coz of that bloke Jon *swoon* :D ) so I doubt I'll have to fight too hard over the remote.

[Jag_Warrior]

I was looking forward to this one. But getting in late, I was totally lost - so I gave up. Who are these new people? Where did they come from? Why would anything about the Stargate be a mystery, since I thought I saw Samantha and O'Neill on the show? Is this set in another dimension or something? Where are Teal'c and Daniel Jackson? WTH is going on???

HELP!!!

[Sonic]

Interesting. Think I like it - certainly a bit darker than SG1 or SGA but Eligh (sp?) Looks like he can bring some comic relief.

It reminds me a bit of sliders with the limited time open stargate before jumping again. I'll certainly watch again.

[Mark]

I hope that it's good. But the whole - stuck a long way from home struggling to get back - thing has been done a lot before.

Dungeons & Dragons, Quantum Leap, Sliders, Star Trek Voyager, Lost.

It's also the law in this kind of series that they must reach home at one point, but then be forced to return due to some greater good.

[Sonic]

It's also the law in this kind of series that they must reach home at one point, but then be forced to return due to some greater good.

It is a scientific fact!

[Jag_Warrior]

I missed the first 5 minutes or so again last night. I am so lost! Guys, I was a REAL & true SG1 fan. I liked Stargate Atlantis well enough. Can somebody just get me a little bit up to speed on what's going on here???

When the girl went back to see her mother, how did she do that? What form did she take? And why can't they just use a stargate to gate back to earth or some known safe location? Why isn't anyone asking one of SG allies to find these lost souls... maybe the To'kra or the Jaffa?

[raybak]

The girl went back to see her mother by using one of those 5 egg thing communicators. She was actually in the body of someone back on Earth. They have made it easier for us viewers by making the person look like they normally do to us but like the other person to whoever they are talking to.

It's a bit confusing if you miss some bits, but overall not a bad show.

Ray

[Jag_Warrior]

Thanks, Ray. That helps. I really want to like this show. They'll show the episodes I've missed at some point and I'll catch up.

[ozrevhead]

I wonder if it will make its way to Aussie TV

Loved SG-1 (I :heart: Daniel Jackson) but wasnt a fan of alantis so im keen to see this

[Mark]

The girl went back to see her mother by using one of those 5 egg thing communicators. She was actually in the body of someone back on Earth. They have made it easier for us viewers by making the person look like they normally do to us but like the other person to whoever they are talking to.

It's a bit confusing if you miss some bits, but overall not a bad show.


That really confused me, as I'd never seen the egg things before. I would have made more sense if they hadn't made them look like they normally do. As isn't the point that they don't?!

[raybak]

Latest episode when they look in the mirror they see the reflection of the person who's body they are in.

The show looks alright but is taking it's time to get to the good stuff.

Ray

[CaptainRaiden]

The show looks alright but is taking it's time to get to the good stuff.

Yep, my thoughts exactly. I don't really like the slow pace at which the series is going on right now. I'm waiting for it to get as adventurous and interesting as how SG-1 was.

For example, the scenes with that colonel going to Earth to say goodbye to his girlfriend or wife, whatever, and the meaningless part with that girl on the ship trying to take a shower with steam, could have been cut much shorter.

That said, I liked how Robert Carlyle acted in this episode. Edgy.

[Jag_Warrior]

I finally saw a complete episode last night. I still can't really get into it though. It's not a bad show. But it seems much more like Battlestar Galactica (which I wasn't a huge fan of until the very end) than anything from the Stargate franchise. I mean, there's very little humor in this show, which was the one thing that I really liked about the previous Stargates (including the original movie). This show seems to take itself very seriously. And so far, other than the nerdy kid, I can't say that I've warmed up to any of the characters on the show.

Maybe it would have really helped if I'd seen it completely and from the beginning. But I feel like I'm just lost. Plus, there are certain things I miss about SG-1. :s mokin:
http://www.scificool.com/images/2009/03/amanda-tapping-stargate-2.jpg

[CaptainRaiden]

I liked yesterday's episode a bit. Finally, the pace got a bit faster, and they had a REAL problem, but still too much drama here and there. Yeah well, we get it, problems being stuck on a ship in space, but come on, don't turn it into a soap opera.

And another thing. The show's name is "Stargate" Universe, and they haven't used the stargate itself at all in the last two episodes. I know power failure and blah blah. But still, what's going on? Are we gonna see new planets, new races, any action and adventure? I miss SG-1, O'Neill, Teal'c and the Goaoulds, the whole thing.

I guess the best thing that could happen to this show right now is for Teal'c to come on and say, "Indeed." :p

[Jag_Warrior]

After making it through the midseason stopping point, I hate to say that I'm still not a fan of this iteration of Stargate.

How can they use the linking devices to place their consciousnesses in people on Earth... and still not know where they are in relation to Earth? That's a big one that still confuses me.

And, still... other than the chubby, smart kid (Eli?) and Seargent "Teal'c Light" Greer, I don't really like ANY of these characters. I don't like the captain/commander. I don't like Dr. Rush. I don't like the wussy, whiney 2nd Lieutenant. I don't like Camile "The Angry Lesbian" Wray. Other than to serve as teen eye candy, why is the Chloe character even there?

SG-1 was by far the best of the bunch (IMO), where I liked or enjoyed almost every character (evil or good). The writing was fantastic (up until the last season or two), and like I said, there was a sense of lightness to contrast with the occasional dark moods.

But when this one comes back, unless I see some Goa'ulds, To'Kra, Wraith... or SOME life form that gives this show more of a purpose, I guess I'm done. If it doesn't get better, my hope is that Sergeant Greer goes ape-s### and just opens up on these sad souls with a his squad automatic.

[Sonic]

Yeah, I'm still struggling through it too, although it feels like I'm only still watching because I hope it will get better. There have been a handful of decent moments; Rush getting dumped on his a$$ and left for dead on some Alien world was cool, but everything else has been like watching someone do a crossword puzzle.

The problem IMO as well as the mind numbingly slow pace is that we are having the characters back story shoved down our throat already - just get on with making a good show and then fill us in with some character developments later.

At this rate SGU won't see the end of its second season.

[Jag_Warrior]

Is anyone else still watching this show? I tried another episode last night. And while I enjoyed seeing some background on the only character that I still like (Sergeant Greer: the troubled badass), I don't believe the show has gotten any better overall... it actually seems to have gotten worse (IMO), and has even less direction than before. At first I liked Eli. Now I can't stand him either. Lieutenant T&A, I mean T.J. isn't so bad, but I've yet to figure out what role most of these people fill.

I think I'm now hoping that Greer pulls a reverse Teal'c, joins up with some aliens and kills the entire Destiny crew. :devil:

[Sonic]

I've given up.

The UK broadcaster stopped showing it at Christmas and as I didn't miss it from my life I never bothered going back.

[CaptainRaiden]

Well, for starters, they've at least started to "Use the Stargate" (It is called "Stargate" Universe, isn't it?) go on other planets, and they showed some aliens FINALLY some episodes back when Rush was captured by them, and then Chloe (Oh I hate her with a passion. Major irritant.)

Still nowhere near SG-1 quality though. In fact, not even Atlantis was on par with SG-1. Well, the last episode was watchable, and finally there's some major twist with the 3 of em left in that galaxy and Destiny out of it. Hopefully they can build on this, and for christ's sake stop the damn shaky camera "artistic, gritty" thingy.

[CaptainRaiden]

Syfy announced on December 16, 2010 that it would not be picking Stargate Universe up for a third season and that the Spring 2011 season would be the last to air on its channel.


In its second season, SGU has declined in viewership ratings.[78] This decline has been attributed to its change in timeslot (from Friday night to Tuesday night) and by what series co-creator, Brad Wright, claims: "I don’t think if we for any reason go away, it is an issue necessarily of the quality of the product that we’ve been making. I think getting moved on the schedule has hurt us. And the fact that some of the fans that liked SG-1 and Atlantis were so angry that they have deliberately hurt us, which is unfortunate"

So, I'm sure by far all of you know that SGU has been canceled. I followed it since last year and expected it to become better, and I thought it picked up a bit in the second season, but well, it won't go past the second season now. IMO they shot themselves in the foot with this one. There was no need to focus THAT much on relationships, and especially trying to make the annoying Chloe character almost the centerpiece of the whole show. Hell, if we wanted to watch a teen drama, there are plenty of other stuff on TV these days. The formula which made SG-1 so popular was the actual science fiction aspect of it, and not only was it adventurous, but they also explored the technical aspects without it being too nerdy.

Besides another thing which made SG-1 a good watch was that it was almost a small movie in every episode, in that you got to know the whole story by the time the episode ended. They didn't end the episode on a cliffhanger, expecting the audience to wait until the next week to "find out." That IMO was again a stupid strategy and took away from what was an already struggling franchise.

Well, that's it for Stargate for now. There was some news of a third SG-1 movie coming in 2011. I don't know whether that's still on.

[Mark]

Never liked any of the Stargate spinoffs. But probably never would since SG-1 was such high quality in the first place.

[Jag_Warrior]

So, I'm sure by far all of you know that SGU has been canceled. I followed it since last year and expected it to become better, and I thought it picked up a bit in the second season, but well, it won't go past the second season now. IMO they shot themselves in the foot with this one. There was no need to focus THAT much on relationships, and especially trying to make the annoying Chloe character almost the centerpiece of the whole show. Hell, if we wanted to watch a teen drama, there are plenty of other stuff on TV these days. The formula which made SG-1 so popular was the actual science fiction aspect of it, and not only was it adventurous, but they also explored the technical aspects without it being too nerdy.

Besides another thing which made SG-1 a good watch was that it was almost a small movie in every episode, in that you got to know the whole story by the time the episode ended. They didn't end the episode on a cliffhanger, expecting the audience to wait until the next week to "find out." That IMO was again a stupid strategy and took away from what was an already struggling franchise.

You summed up my feelings perfectly. I kept watching this series, week in and week out, almost trying to force myself to like it... just because I was such a big fan of SG-1. But the only two characters that I ever came to like were Sergeant Greer (psycho soldier/Teal'c light) and Lt. Johansen (blonde eye candy/Samantha Carter light). I was hoping all of the rest of them would begin dying at some point. I hated Chloe, the colonel, the spinless lieutenant, the fat crybaby whiz kid, Rush... ALL of them!

And yes, I think it's some sort of new Hollyweird fad to feature annoying, precocious teenagers as primary characters. Caprica did the same thing... and it got canceled too. Chloe wasn't quite as annoying as the two teenie bopper girls from Caprica, but she was close, IMO.

The Caprica writers did a fairly decent job of wrapping that series up. Maybe the SGU writers can pull a rabbit out of the hat and give this series a decent send off too.

[CaptainRaiden]

Never liked any of the Stargate spinoffs. But probably never would since SG-1 was such high quality in the first place.

I agree 100%, heck, 120%! Nothing after SG-1 has even come close to being good. I know some people like Atlantis, but it was pure crap IMO. In fact even SG-1, after Richard Dean Anderson wasn't the main character after season 8, wasn't that good afterwards with Colonel Mitchell and Vala. I liked the quirky humor that the Jack O'Neill character brought to the show. Although the Ori did seem a more menacing enemy than the Goa'ulds.


You summed up my feelings perfectly. I kept watching this series, week in and week out, almost trying to force myself to like it... just because I was such a big fan of SG-1. But the only two characters that I ever came to like were Sergeant Greer (psycho soldier/Teal'c light) and Lt. Johansen (blonde eye candy/Samantha Carter light). I was hoping all of the rest of them would begin dying at some point. I hated Chloe, the colonel, the spinless lieutenant, the fat crybaby whiz kid, Rush... ALL of them!

"The fat crybaby whiz kid" :laugh: Yeah, he is annoying. Although I liked the character of Rush, brought some interest to the show with his anti-hero character, and with minimal drama. With the blonde lieutenant/medic, the whole baby dream/planet thing and her relationship with the colonel again was a bit too much drama for me. And I agree on Sergeant Greer, perhaps the most likable character on the whole show, especially how the actor played it as well. Also, Colonel Telford was an interesting character, which could have been explored a bit more.


And yes, I think it's some sort of new Hollyweird fad to feature annoying, precocious teenagers as primary characters. Caprica did the same thing... and it got canceled too. Chloe wasn't quite as annoying as the two teenie bopper girls from Caprica, but she was close, IMO.

The Caprica writers did a fairly decent job of wrapping that series up. Maybe the SGU writers can pull a rabbit out of the hat and give this series a decent send off too.

Never saw Caprica, so can't compare, but I absolutely HATED every time Chloe was on screen. It was like every time the show took a good turn, maybe some adventure, maybe some alien planets, alien ships, they completely ruined it with her drama bullcrap of love and friendship, and oh dear I'm turning into an alien-zombie-brilliant math genius. Sometimes you have to wonder how many people did that actress had to do "special" favors for to get this much screen time on a sci-fi series.

[Jag_Warrior]

^^^IMO, SciFi (excuse me, "SyFy") Channel has REALLY gone down hill since SG-1 went off. When it was still "SciFi Channel" and they had SG-1 and BSG, they were really pulling in the viewers. Now they're reduced to showing wrestling on Friday nights and cheesy B movies the rest of the time. Yeah, wrestling has so much to do with science fiction. :rolleyes: I kind of soured on SG-1 too once Vala showed up (I hated her worse than I do Chloe), and then Richard Anderson pretty much left the series. I love sci-fi that is based on history or mythology. That's what I loved about SG-1 and even Lost. That's why I enjoyed the Goa'uld so much. With the Ancients, they lightly touched on Merlin and King Arthur, but I more enjoy Roman, Greek and Egyptian mythology and history. And although many believe that King Arthur was based on an ancient Roman, that's not the route that Stargate took... so I lost interest. But still, each episode stood on its own and was generally so well written.

I tried to watch Caprica. But like SGU, I was usually angry at the end of each episode because I felt so let down. There's another BSG spin-off called Blood & Chrome that's coming on soon. If it's not any better than Caprica or SGU, maybe they'll just let all these franchises die a peaceful death.

I don't watch that much TV anymore. But over the past few years, it seems like what few shows I like either get canceled, begin to suck or just play out. With Rubicon also canceled, now all I have left is Breaking Bad, hopefully Luther on BBC America... and Mad Men (once you reach middle age, you sometimes have to watch and pretend to like stylized soap operas to get snuggly time with the gal-pal).

[CaptainRaiden]

Perfectly put, and I agree with everything you said Jag. :up: How they explored mythology and history in SG-1 and gave it a new take was one of the things that kept my interest peaked. Loved the alien Thor. Even the Goa'uld villains were awesome, Apophis and that badass Anubis. In fact, I think I might wipe the dust off my SG-1 collection and give the first 8 seasons another go, get ourselves some SG-1 fix. Me and the missus have always loved it. Better than waiting for SGU to become better. ;)

[Sonic]

I didn't morn the loss of SGU - until today, when I read that the SGA direct to DVD movie has been canned because of Universe's failure. GRRRRRR

[Jag_Warrior]

I didn't morn the loss of SGU - until today, when I read that the SGA direct to DVD movie has been canned because of Universe's failure. GRRRRRR

Well, that sucks. So I guess this is pretty much the end of the franchise? Any word on future SG projects???

[Sonic]

Well, that sucks. So I guess this is pretty much the end of the franchise? Any word on future SG projects???

Yeah. I think it's dead although just about everyone from the SG shows are turning up in Sanctuary which is my new obsession. :D

[Jag_Warrior]

Yeah. I think it's dead although just about everyone from the SG shows are turning up in Sanctuary which is my new obsession. :D

Really?! I admit, I've never seen a complete episode of that show. I guess it was hard for me to accept Amanda Tapping in a role outside of "Samantha Carter". Who else from the SG franchise has been on that show?

[CaptainRaiden]

Well, that sucks. So I guess this is pretty much the end of the franchise? Any word on future SG projects???

I think there is a third SG-1 movie in the loop somewhere, will be titled Stargate: Revolution. Details are sketchy, and I'm not sure if it's still on the cards. But after the failure of SGU, I think they should definitely go ahead with it. Here are more details on the project:


In April 2009, MGM confirmed a third new SG-1 film that Brad Wright had first announced in May 2008.[115][116] Joseph Mallozzi revealed the working title as Stargate: Revolution.[117] Although Wright stated in April 2009 that he "can almost guarantee we are proceeding with the SG-1 movie this year",[118] production is still on hold as of September 2010.[119] Wright explained that the late-2000s recession made DVD premieres less lucrative than in the years before.[120] In January 2010, Michael Shanks said that the proposed third SG-1 direct-to-DVD film is unlikely to happen due to the large delay since the second film. He commented, "Never say never", but appeared skeptical that such a film would ever be made, saying, "This might be the closing of the book on that particular [chapter of the] franchise."[121] In September 2010, Wright also pointed to the financial crisis of MGM as reason for the delay. Yet he was optimistic, saying "We held on to a lot of stuff and were ready to go for a very long time, but that doesn't mean it's not gonna happen. We have a plan B, and I've been talking with MGM about it, and hopefully we'll still get our chance."[119] In early November 2010, Joseph Mallozzi stated on his blog that "recent obvious developments over the past week have increased the likelihood of the SG-1 and SGA [films] finally seeing the green light of a production schedule. The biggest hurdle has just been cleared."[122]

In the original plans for the third new SG-1 film, Wright and former Stargate Atlantis executive producer Carl Binder will co-write the film,[123] and Martin Wood will serve as director.[12] According to Wright, the film will center on the Jack O'Neill character and will reunite as many of the SG-1 cast as possible, depending on the cost of the film and actor availability.[115] Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) has confirmed his and Richard Dean Anderson's participation,[6] although contracts have not been signed as of April 2009[update].[124] Amanda Tapping confirmed her appearance in the third SG-1 film and the first Atlantis movie.[10] According to Wright, the character of Vala Mal Doran will not appear in the film.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1

http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/11/third-sg-1-movie-is-stargate-revolution/

http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/04/third-sg-1-movie-has-a-go/

[Sonic]

Really?! I admit, I've never seen a complete episode of that show. I guess it was hard for me to accept Amanda Tapping in a role outside of "Samantha Carter". Who else from the SG franchise has been on that show?

Yeah. It's certainly weird at first but her faux British accent and black hair make it a bit easier to accept.

Well let's see, who have seen so far? Carter, obviously, Daniel Jackson, Carson Beckett, Todd the Wraith, the dude who played the Genii leader - his character escapes me at the moment, Radek (sp?) and some other bit players.

[CaptainRaiden]

Saw Monday's episode, and finally some action, some aliens! Sadly the stupid storyline STILL revolves around that annoying as hell Chloe character and her romance with the loser lieutenant. I think this is what killed Stargate Universe, those two. Spare me the drama please! The Eli character was actually interesting in this episode, none of the whining, more of the math whiz kid at work. Still, this has the put-you-to-sleep quality. I don't know what it is. Is it the disinterested, nonchalant Colonel who is neither charismatic nor funny or is it the group of tools who spend the better half of the program shedding tears.

I thought Atlantis was a step down from SG-1, but this takes it a step further below.

[Koz]

Very much agree with you, X-ecutioner.

Young has no screen presence, charisma or anything worthwhile at all. He's just annoying. They should have given the part to Lou Diamond Phillips and given him some cojones, and the show may have had a chance of working.

Rush was the only half decent character - but come on, he's for the most part a Gaius Baltar clone.
The crappy story lines they stole from BSG military vs civilian BS. And the incessant bickering which leads to nothing at all.

The more you watch, the more it turns into a drama with a sifi used only as the deus ex machina.

Can't believe they gave this crap two seasons and firefly gets canned at one. :(

[Jag_Warrior]

I finally watched the final episode that had been sitting in my DVR all week. I felt an obligation to see it through but I will not miss this show one bit. As I watched each episode, I always began feeling kind of angry that they'd done such a job of mucking up this franchise. IMO, it was an insult to the fine and witty writing of Stargate: SG-1. The best scene of the entire series was (IMO) the final 15 seconds.

AMC is not bringing Rubicon back (too many stupid people in the U.S. for it to find an audience, I'm sure - we need more Snooki!!!) and now I'm nervous that the BBC may not bring back Luther. At this rate, all I need is a way to watch the Bloomberg feed during the day and F1 on weekends and I can unplug the sat. dish for good. More programming for the Least Common Denominators among us!!! Yes! :bounce:

[Sonic]

I caught a bit of a later (the last?) episode too, and I doff my hat to you sir if you managed to sit through two seasons of that sh*t. Nothing seemed to have changed in the episodes I had missed, the character chemistry was still non-existent, as was any action or witting one liners that were a stable of SG1 or A. Good riddance.