Stargate Universe Discussion: ‘Air’ Part 3

I am not going to continuing watching, life is too short to donote even 42 minutes plus commericals to this do nothing, go nowhere, dark, dismal, poor plot, poor acting, poor photography, epic. Sad too, because I love each and everyone of SG1 and SGA shows plus movies. I believe that watching 9 of 20 is quite enough to see thats its really a dud. There is no chemistry between the characters and the writers need to tone down Dr. Rush and provide leadership to Young. There really isn't much they can do to improve this crew on a ship that never left the parking lot.

We don't make a habit of reviewing each episode here on Screen Rant. We did these discussion posts for the first few episodes because they were the different parts of the opening story for a new show.

Yep, SGU is pretty bad.

Someone knows that the SG brand is unique and absolutely precious!! And that same someone is engaging in customer abuse (or fan abuse) at its worst!!!

Cindy says: “I keep watching but I find myself falling asleep during the “stones” portions (sooo boring) and then I seem to be making coffee, using the bathroom and letting the cats out during the rest of the show. Yes, I know someone out there is going to ask how I can possibly follow it while doing all this.”

Hahaha! I do almost the same but at least I stay in the room!!!. But I do check my e-mail, go through all my junk mail that piles up during the week, download some music, and surf the net.

I just hope that someone has the ability to turn on the Atlantis Star Drive and rescue the SGU crew but then a partially staffed Atlantis gets stranded with the SGU crew. A revised show starts with a combined Atlantis crew and SGU crew.

The combined crew can unload the current script, the script writers, and any other dead weight. No more communication stones.

Why has it been so silent here? No updates by each episode?

I said i was no longer going to watch the show simply because it was boring and lifeless than i thought to myself " i'm being a little hasty here & seeing as how i'm attracted to the very nature/concept of SGU and shows of its genre i should be fair and at least check up on its progress once in a while". I'm sorry to report that i wasnt wrong about its allure, it may not be the most boring show to ever run but its CERTAINLY in the top two!

I keep watching but I find myself falling asleep during the "stones" portions (sooo boring) and then I seem to be making coffee, using the bathroom and letting the cats out during the rest of the show. Yes, I know someone out there is going to ask how I can possibly follow it while doing all this. My question is - what's to follow? SG1 & SG Atlantis where interesting and above all you had some connection and feeling for each of the characters. SGU - I don't like or dislike any of the characters, I just don't care. Also the storyline is crap.

Yah, pretty freakin horrible. Can't believe they cancelled SG-1 then Atlantis for this dung pile...

this show is horrible so far.

Bye the looks of these upcoming episodes I get the impression the show is only going to get worse.

Divided
Faith
Human
Lost
Sabotage
Pain
Subversion

Even though I have love and hate feelings about SGU, I will probably keep watching SGU.

I did a quick scan of season one episodes, listed below:

Air, Part 1
Air, Part 2
Air, Part 3
Darkness
Light
Water
Earth
Time
Life
Justice
Space
Divided
Faith
Human
Lost
Sabotage
Pain
Subversion
Incursion, Part 1
Incursion, Part 2

Some of the future episodes in season one do look interesting. Earth and Justice might be really good. My guess is that Justice will probably be about murder, rape, crime, or theft on Destiny. My Gosh!!

The last 20 minutes of the episodes tend to be good. In the episode Light, I did like the whole thing about sitting in the observation deck watching the ship go into the sun. That scene and other scenes like it are the main reasons why I will most likely continue to watch the show. Matter of fact, the up close shots of traveling into the sun was one of my top 3 favorite scenes so far.

I do find it interesting that the senator’s daughter is the only one who is always in the observation deck when major events occur. It should be interesting to see what happens with that dynamic.

=Al said: Guys, I was reading your comments. You lot are harsh. You need to give this show a chance. What else are you going to watch?

Harsh? Its a stupid soap opera, they had their chance to make a good action adventure out of it and decided against it. If you like this whimpering drama then more power to you but its not for me.

What else am I going to watch? I rarely watch TV as most of it is geared to a 4th grade level and SGU barely meets that criteria. Not everyone here is a simple minded boob tube addict, Your opening plea reads like some religious fallacy claim or damage control or save this pathetic show.


I'm sorry, if I sound overly harsh but I am not a member of the target audience this show was was designed to attract.

I really dislike soap operas, love stories and flash backs to peoples emotional issues. Just run with action adventure and we can figure out who these people are without the drama queen character building.

Guys, I was reading your comments. You lot are harsh. You need to give this show a chance. What else are you going to watch? Yes, lots of BSG like effects here, some are really very cool. Loved the climax to slingshot of the gas giant. It was very different and the entry into the star. These are not normal sci-fi shots we see. Typically they are distance shots. I remember in BSG in the very first episodes when they went into the gas cloud. That was pretty cool. They never really did anything like that again. Here we are seeing a lot more planetary detail unlike what we have seen before. I think the combination of an unexplored ship which clearly has some AI running it, has a lot to offer and the gate and stones give us exits from the ship, which in BSG, there was not a lot of. I got tired of being on the ships all the time in BSG. Give the show a chance and let the characters evolve. They are already good actors. Young, Greer and Scott and great. Don't like the senators daughter.. she is a bit lame. Rush has a brilliant mad streak in him. There are a lot of details these guys are trying to keep of. For example, when the ship was changing course into the sun, the shadow on Rush's rooms wall was moving. The guys still had a tan from being on the sand planet in Darkness and Light. Stuff like that, you typically see reset from episode to episode, so they are trying!

Going by 38 minutes (SGA) Once something is over the event horizon it will not rematerializes until it reaches the other end and as he was at the wrong end to step through then I believe he would have lost it. Where as from Eli's point of view he can stick his arm in the event horizon and it should stay open for upto 38minutes... of course, new gate, new rules maybe so just conjecture.

Mxx

'Now tell me, if Dr. Rush had asked you to stick your arm in the event horizon in the hopes of engaging a safety feature of the ship, would you have just told him to do it himself? I’m just saying.'

For them most part you dont need knowledge of SG1 or atlantis. However i have this knowledge and know that matter can only go through an active wormhole from the stargate the wormhole was initiated. So if rush would have put his arm in the event horizon he wouldn't be getting that arm back xD

Actually Hewlett flew out there yesterday and as I understand it no SGA crew will be seen on SGU.

Niether have any of them heard any new on the supposed SGA film. I obviously don't know the inner workings of the SG but it comes accross that they are distinctly non gratis... hope ever prevails but I think it is false.

Mxx

@Jake and @others


Bad news for those of you who were hoping that Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) from Stargate Atlantis would join SGU.

It looks like it will not happen. It appears that David Hewlett was recently cast in a film called “The Whistleblower. " The film begins shooting next week in Romania.

Bruce simmons,your QUITE right about life being change and growth being optional; but when you change certain aspects of your life you have to make a consious effort to not move in the wrong direction ( regression is an entregal part of change & can easily be mistaken for growth).If you dont exercise the option of growth ( NOT REGRESSION ) & constantly analize it's progress it going to control you subsequently pushing you in a direction you DO NOT want to go & there is no point in changing in the first place. Hope this made sense,Ive got more to say on the matter but I'm getting tired of typing.

DUDE:

"Life is change. Growth is optional."

(B Simmons @2009)

@ mother hubbard-you make sense; good point.Now I have to reconsider my decision to quit watching SGU.I must be going through another "growth period".

There are too many adults alive today that are like children,that need to be constantly stimulated by incessant chatter,flashy colors,and non-stop stimulation.Stargate:Universe is one of those shows that will continue to get even better than what it is now,after all the introductory stuff has been taken care of.I'm glad they did not stick to the same old "Hey were in danger,let's crack jokes" format of the previous two series,which i continue to enjoy through reruns,would have become redundant if done again in SG:U.The fact that this series is dealing with a more serious situation would of course require a more serious attitude from the people involved.If you were trapped on a space ship far out in the galaxy,uncertain of being able to survive,so you think every one would be all light hearted and cracking jokes?

When SGU was first discussed, they said they wanted to reach a younger demographic and open Stargate up to a broader audience so I believe that ratings wise they are interested in the younger demographic that BSG originally found a niche in.

(Apparently advertisers pay more when a show brings in a younger demo and therefore the networks are happier to prolong a series that attracts them - in the bassist sense.)

This has always been a mystery to me as when I was that age I spent all my money on drink and clothes and its the older people that actually buy stuff but hey ho

The problem is that we continue to compare SGU to other programs, this is no slight on SGU. We compared SG to the film, we compared any scifi film to StarWars and we probably compared Star Trek Voyager to the original BSG. We like to find a common link and there are always going to be common aspects. This aside, SGU is not anything and there I think therein lies the problem.

The characters change the MOD every episode, with the exception of Eli. Rush in particular is a different person everytime he hits the screens, its like multiple personality bingo and I'd say that is def a full house in there.

Camera angles and flash backs that could make it dangerous for the epileptic to watch in the first and second ep and back to normal time flow in the third.

And considering that the SGC is supposed to be full of the best minds, (and I'm aware they can't all be McKays and Carters but at the same time they can't all be Lees and Kavanaugh's either), I was expecting something more. Everyone is blaming shock. I like to think that people that work on a base that is threatened on a weekly basis are a little better at dealing with it by now and considering that no one trusts Rush - would you really sit around waiting for him to find the answers. Also, people don't use the tech to its full advantage and thats just down right annoying.

However, SG writers are superb at spinning a tale and they wrapped SGU in enough curiosity that I continue to watch... however, eventually my curiosity will wane and I am not aware of the younger demo having abundance of patience. I am watching and hoping that once the emergencies are dealt with that SG writers will amaze and thrill me as they always have and that this wont turn into Eastenders in space.

... and yes, I'm fully aware that I waffle *G*

Mxx

PS: Re the Dr Who question. None this year and only 5 specials in the next season.

Good points Preppy.

Syfy Name Change: They wanted to copyright their name. They couldn't copyright a generic term like Sci-Fi. Sci-Fi doesn't stand out and it's not unique. Not to mention I'm not sure they could copyright such a public /generic reference! (It's like when Microsoft stupidly tried to copyright commas and periods... in that case, duh!!! Not copyright-able!) But Syfy, now when you here that, you know exactly who we're laughing.. I mean talking about. Not to mention that they want to branch out and not be restricted by the older brand. IE: OK, maybe wrestling borders on Sci-Fi, but really, now it doesn't stick out like a gangrenous program anymore.


As far as show style:
Ever notice when an original movie / TV show comes out... a slew of plagiarist like shows come on later on in the season or next. IE: Vampires became a hit, now everything seems to be vampires! When the new Godzilla came out, OMG, there were a bunch of sad imitators that were rushed to the small screen.

It's the same with BSG. BSG resonated with enough like dark-minded people and drew them in that they want to capitalize on that demographic and hope to bring in nearly guaranteed ratings numbers like what BSG had.

It's all about the business behind the glitz. We may enjoy something, but there is so much else going on behind the scenes with marketing, advertising and the psychology of a program that it's mind boggling!

And hence, why I try not to think too much about it or I'd just end up unplugging my TV!
-B

@ Jake:

Jake stated: “Caprica is starting soon and I assume it will have a BSG appeal for all the BSG fans out there. So why try to change the Stargate “formula” that brought in such a great revenue stream to begin with by canceling Atlantis and starting SGU with BSG like traits?”

Jake stated: “What does the Stargate Franchise or SyFy gain if they bring in new viewers but lose others? Is the “dark BSG” demograhic larger?”

Caprica always seems to have delays.

I really had to think about your questions a lot.

I would assume that the show did some type of demographic study (before and after BSG) and found some rather interesting facts. I only have four guesses.

My first guess, maybe certain demographic(s) will only watch science fiction shows if they have BSG like traits. While other demographics will watch SGU weather it has BSG like traits or does not have BSG like traits or will watch shows with BSG like traits to see where the show goes before turning of the TV off. I guess I would fall into the category that I will watch almost any science fiction, but if it is horrible I will not watch it any more.

My second guess, maybe international watchers prefer the BSG like traits, while most Americans don’t. The international market is bigger, so current fans may have to get use to it.

My third guess, maybe they are trying to convert a certain demographic to a particular type of science fiction style. Personally, I am waiting to see if the show switches up or changes some how.

My fourth guess, is that show is doing some very long term planning. As Huggybear likes to call the show “Stargate babies.” In 5 to 10+ years, they won’t be babies.

Jake stated: “…and with it the Sci-fi channel. And yes, I hate SyFy. There I said it. I love word play and such but that is just too far down the “we are not nerdy, really we aren’t” trail for me.”

Hahahahah!! I never thought about that way. Science fiction (Sci-Fi Channel) sounds so formal. I just assumed that the Sci-Fi Channel was trying to appeal to someone, who I don’t know. Maybe there was some confusion. Come to think about it, believe it or not, I was at a party and some one asked what was the difference between the (Sci-Fi Channel) and (Science Channel). The more realistic answer is probably that the Sci-Fi Channel was sued by another channel or network who owns a channel with a similar name.

Jake stated: “I still think McKay or others could be helping them decipher things aboard the ship. I have a hard time accepting that no one thinks to use the stones in that manner. Just seems weird to me.”

Uh! Plot? I have no idea!! Other than plot, it would be to easy to use the stones all the time.

I'm pretty sure the ship is semi-sentient. You'll notice that the crew found out immediatly that the air was running low but not that the power was. Probably because the ship knew it needed them to do something for the air but that it had power under control. Also remeber that button that did "nothing" when it was supposed to either blow up the ship or fix the Life support. Well I the fat kid was right and it would have blown up the ship but the ship locked up Rush.

I thought about this a couple week's ago but I got sidetracked by something (who know's what?). Mabey in accordance to the show's name "SGU" this show take's place in a different yet similar universe which could explain a FEW of the illogical & physics related anomalies that are so rampant in the show, It really matter's not to me because I'm sure it will still bore the snot out of me.

The ship is fully automated and has been travelling for ages so uses renewable sources, I wonder if because it's an older designfrom the acients that the hull of the ship is like the stargates and will absorb energy e.g light and heat and store for energy. That will be why there was a time limit on why they couldn't stay on the first planet for ages as energy was a factor. Think the reason why they can't access systems is because it's been programmer to complete a task and not to be canceled! Maybe the ancients thought that this ship getting as far away from all the problems was the only way for them to survive but abandoned it for assension!

I wonder what the shuttles are for... Assuming they don't have transporters so must use these.
& how can world inhabitants use the stargates without these hand held remote controlls? Maybe it's only for ancients to use.

I have to agree with you on the sacrificing. I thought my self "Glue/Tape a stick to a flying thing and go nuts dumbass." Maybe they should have had the senator eroniously hear there was "no way" then when he charges up there with his gun they don't have time to rig the device and he forces his way in or something. Then it would have been even more tragic and sad. As for the OP's mention about having Rush stick his hand through, wouldn't work, wormholes are one way and Rush was on the wrong side. They mentioned somewhere in SG1 that anything that goes through the wrong way (besides radio signals) gets vaporized tho I'm not sure if it has to go all the way through or if he could pull his arm back but I bet it wouldn't hold the WH open.

Interesting! I just randomly turned on the History Channel and watched the last 20 minutes of a rather interesting show. Guess what the History Channel was discussing?

The composition, properties, and the conductive properties of elements found on Gas Giant planets and the conductive properties of elements found on various types of suns.

Apparently, the color blue or the color blue-green on or in a gas giant indicates the presence of Metallic Liquid Hydrogen or Methane.

The History Channel did not go into any depth about Methane, but the History Channel did go on, and on, and on, and on about Hydrogen (the most abundant gas/liquid in the universe) and Metallic Liquid Hydrogen and all of their unique properties.

Yah, the smart thing to do is to set up a "communication stone" meeting to where someone can switch with Sam Carter or McKay to figure things out.

@Preppy

Thanks for taking the time to give us your view on things.

I would have to agree with you that they are trying to tap what they think is a broader market. Entertainment is about making money after all and the broader the market the more revenue it should generate. And we all don't like the same things, so compromises are sometimes made to satisfy the broadest audience.

If they are indeed trying to make it more like BSG with that goal in mind it makes me wonder why. Caprica is starting soon and I assume it will have a BSG appeal for all the BSG fans out there. So why try to change the Stargate "formula" that brought in such a great revenue stream to begin with by canceling Atlantis and starting SGU with BSG like traits? Now you will have two shows that might appeal more to BSG fans but less to those of us who helped popularize SG1 and with it the Sci-fi channel. And yes, I hate SyFy. There I said it. I love word play and such but that is just too far down the "we are not nerdy, really we aren't" trail for me.

My wife is NOT a Sci-fi genre fan but even she liked many of the SG1 and Atlantis episodes and she made several negative comments during the 3 episodes of SGU she saw with me. So they haven't reached out enough to her demographic yet.

What does the Stargate Franchise or SyFy gain if they bring in new viewers but lose others? Is the "dark BSG" demograhic larger?

I am sure there will be people who like the show. It has just not made me personally want to turn it on the following week like I did with SG1 and later with SGA. So far, for me, it has not been very entertaining.

I still think McKay or others could be helping them decipher things aboard the ship. I have a hard time accepting that no one thinks to use the stones in that manner. Just seems weird to me.

Maybe in the future they could do an episode where aliens attack and Eli is the only one not captured. He needs to rescue the rest of the crew but does not have the combat skills. He did manage to hide the stones though....so he swaps bodies with Telford and becomes a lethal hostage rescue machine! Of course it would be way more amusing if we saw Eli doing it rather than Telford. I might even watch that episode. :)

@Bruce

"Gate Lag" : I like that. So maybe the long trip affected them in some way that made them all whiny and unable to bind together in a time of emergency? Plausible but I don't think the writers wrote things that way because of it.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and provoking us to do the same. It is very interesting hearing everyone's viewpoint on things.

I think you are right about expectations. I was expecting new and different, but what I got was BSG meets Stargate which to me is neither. They seem to have taken most of what I never liked about both shows and blended them together. I am sure someone out there loves it though. Now if this flops, maybe they can take most of what I liked about both Franchises and blend them together. Then they can add me back to their viewer total.

“Transatlantic flight” :: Are we saying they might have Gate Lag???