Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe is the 3rd TV series based on the 1994 movie Stargate. I was a fan of the original show Stargate SG-1 because the story initial interested me, but it kind of lost me in the later episodes. For those of you who have never seen the movie or the original series, the movie's premise is that an archaeological dig in Egypt found an artifact which turns out to be a "stargate" a gateway to another world. A military team is sent through the gate and finds that the ancient rebelled against an alien being posing as the Egyptian god Ra.

The series SG-1 built upon that concept by introducing the possibilty of an infinite amount of gates to other worlds with other Goa'uld (the alien race posing as gods). A rivalry was set up between the Goa'uld and Earth. The show evolved to include other threats I also thought the show was too formulaic, one world one show. Everything seemed neatly cleaned up every episode. Additionally, the SG-1 and the whole operation seemed too idealistic. They would do things that were ethically the best without considering the inherent danger in the situation. I'm pretty sure earth should have been destroyed many, many times.

I started watching Stargate Universe just because it peaked my interest. I didn't watch Stargate Atlantis because I premiered when I was still turned off by many of the later plot lines. The premise of the show is that the Ancients, the builders of the stargate system, have a ship named "Destiny" to explore gates that had been deployed by another ship. In the first episode, Stargate personnel come under attack during an gate experiment. The personnel flee through the gate to "Destiny". Destiny at this point is millions of years old and millions of light years away from Earth. Much of the early show involved surviving on the ship. If your thinking of a comparison, its kind of a combination of Lost and Stargate.

The cast is an ensemble with many characters, but a group of regulars. Interesting developments include:

• A power struggle and distrust between Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) and Col. Young (Justin Louis),
• A power/personal dispute between Col. Young and Col. Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips)
• The social and psychological aspect of trying to survive.
• The opening of new sections of Destiny.
• The grumblings of the lower level crew who wonder about the decisions of leadership.

The Good.

• I'm fairly exciting about this show because it is a good concept and there is plenty of space for this show to grow. The communication stones, which link them to Earth, are a good idea and allow us to return to Earth as viewers so that we are reminded of more familiar settings. The amount of unknown passengers on Destiny also allow the writers to easily introduce new characters.
• I like that, at least early into the series, plot lines seem to be running through the season rather than only through episodes.
• Also it is nice to see significant conflict between the main characters which builds better natural drama in leiu of action in which drama is often forced.
• I especially like that this show seemed to better explore the darker side of human behavior and our weaknesses.
• I liked the idea that a disease is infecting everybody. The episode gave a weak out, but it is something that really bothered me about SG-1. You'd think that diseases from foreign planets would be a major problem. Just think about when Europeans came over to North America, the Native Americans mostly died of diseases.

Weaknesses.

• They seem to be falling into the trap of one planet, one episode a few times. There's nothing wrong with it, I just hope they don't get lazy and continue to do it.
• As I mentioned before, there seem to be a few weak outs so far. Don't get me wrong characters have been killed off, but it would be nicer to see things just magically get better.
• With many characters, it is easy to forget some and focus to strongly on others giving away the rest of the show. If the story is spread too thin, its hard to truly develop any of the characters.
• The show has lost the humor of the original SG-1 series. Eli (David Blue) is inserted for humor and balance, but it would be nice to see some humor from the other characters who generally seem depressed.
• The logistics seem to be mostly taken care of but... (1)Those clothes have got to be getting old, (2) why is there multiple rooms and life support facilities on an abandoned ship, (3) is there really a bathroom with toliet paper and stuff like toothbrushes and combs. I know that it is TV but some of the actors looked too well put together.

Overall, this is a step towards Stargate being a legitimate drama. The show has some depth and but has not really fully explored it thus far. The show seems to be what is on the surface, but is still in the development of characters and conflicts. However, the premise of the show gives the writers endless directions and conflicts to explore and has tremendous potential.