I'm a big ole Science fiction fan! Loved the Stargate SG1 and SGA... When I first heard about Stargate Universe (3 years ago) I was thrilled we were getting a new sci-fi show. As the descriptions of the new show trickled out from the producers I became more and more wary of what they were doing. Words like younger, edgier, darker, character driven, etc, began to emerge. Hard core SG mythos fans were panning it before it ever aired. I decided to make up my own mind and watched it last night... minus the commercials which many said were a detriment to the flow of the pilot. I also decided this thing has to stand on its own as a piece of work. The cameos from the old guard were token gestures at best.... They didn't do anything but remind us that the 'old' Stargate is gone. The new characters are unlikable with the possible exception of the young lieutenant who finds himself in charge. The flashbacks to the characters 'previous' lives was just plain boring and unneeded at this stage of development in the storyline. I haven't seen enough of them to care who they were sleeping with or what kind of angst they personally deal with. All I can figure is that the producers thought they needed to explain all the whining and crying going on. They were so busy explaining the whining and crying.... they forgot to explain some of the basics... Like why 'that' gate. Who attacked and why. Who were the other people that came through the gate with the crybabies and why they didn't immediately all go to work to resolve the crisis instead of finding a room to take a nap. With the exception of the computer geek and the senator and his daughter (a summer glau knock off) everyone else there should have been some of the greatest minds the government could find to work on this project. And they were all sent to their rooms? I mean they couldn't have all been cafeteria workers .... could they? The Science Fiction part of it?... Well, they were on a different planet and then they all went to a broken down space ship. That's pretty much it. The can-do confident techno-babble of "I can do this with my eyes closed" or 'oh crap... give me a minute to figure this out", I have come to love in modern sci-fi, Just wasn't there. I mean ... come on.... they only had one guy on the whole planet that was thoroughly schooled in the ancient language? Not working for me.
I could spend some time making comparisons with other sci-fi shows of the past ... but I'm not going to bother.
the gist is , The new SGU is Tedious, angst ridden,badly paced,unlikable and un-smart (yes I do mean UN smart because they divested this show of all the cleverness, self deprecation and humor of its predecessors) Yes,yes.... I know its supposed to be darker... but does darker have to mean duller and dumber?
So, to the die hard Stargate fans... I say... Nope, this isn't Stargate and its not worthy of the name.
To those who like shallow mindless who-is-schtooping-who and who-wants-revenge and who-is-mad-at-who and how-mean-can-someone-be-without-be-without-being-strangled-in-their-sleep-turning-the-show-into-a-whodunit........ you will probably, like it.
For the rest of us who just want some smart, engaging sci fi programming. This isn't it.
Whining is not edgier. Except maybe on "Red Dwarf", which is Sartre-as-sitcom, so both whining and a dark chasm of eternal hopelessness are important elements. And usually funny, too.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the fine folks at ASS (Amalgamated Stargate Shows) simply forgot to write in some jokes on SU?
The only way to save the thing is to ....
ReplyDelete1. Get rid of the flashbacks
2. Lose the 'visions'
3. Blow up the communication stones
4. Just tell the feakin'story.
Of course if they did that... Then everyone would see clearly that the characters are all silly, self absorbed incompetents. which would be okay... If the tale was about rising above one's own crap.... After all "the problems of (a few losers who can't respond functionally in a crisis) dont amount to a hill of beans in this world"