Stargate Universe opinions.

[qwertyydude]

Ok after watching the first few episodes I'd like to hear from this forum. If anyone here is a fan of Stargate post here. I for one think Stargate Universe is complete and total garbage, it's exactly what they were lampooning in their 200th episode where the cast is replaced by younger "edgier" versions of themselves. Quite a hilarious episode but it's not funny at all when they actually do it. It has now become Beverly Hills 90210 in space.

I've tried to watch the episodes and trying to get "into" it, but it being a soap opera in space makes it about as interesting as watching pro wrestling which is soap opera in a ring. What self respecting fan of science fiction wants to see 50 minutes of characters crying, complaining, bickering, and on occasion sleeping with each other. This has nothing to do with actual science fiction anymore. I hope they fix Stargate Universe they've certainly done a great job at alienating their core fan base, something that usually ends up bad. Remember Star Trek Enterprise? It only lasted 4 years, shortest of all but the original series and even then a lot of fans of Star Trek didn't care too much. I see this happening with Universe even sooner if they don't turn the show around. But I didn't have too much hope ever since they announced an "edgier" "darker" Stargate. They went emo. Nobody wants that, except emo people. Stargate people aren't emo.

 

[Seb71]

I agree with your opinion about Stargate Universum (complete waste of time), but not regarding Star Trek Enterprise. In my opinion, Star Trek Enterprise was better than Star Trek (ToS) and also better than Star Trek Voyager.

 

[bstrickler]

I personally kinda like it, but I agree that its NOWHERE near as good as SG-1 and SG-A. It's a complete 180. I hope they start to develop away from what it currently is (though you've gotta give em some credit for trying to come up with a "what if less-experienced + civilians" plot).


I just have a feeling it's not going to last past the first season, at the current rate. I think they need to bring back SGA or SG-1, whether it be different actors, a different team, etc.

On the other hand, I could support them if they had episodes that'd be more in-depth, even if it meant they'd have to be split into 2 episodes (or maybe extend them to 2-hours, instead of 1 hour) per plot/storyline, instead of cramming it all into 1 1-hour episode. (talking about if they were to bring back SGA/SG-1 style, not current SGU).

~Brian

 

[Max_Power]

I really liked Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. The humor and creativity was wonderful. It showcased the brighter side of humanity. The characters became convincingly good friends. The inside jokes when the Farscape cast invaded were great! (shockingly limited gene pool...) Their ability to laugh at themselves while still touching on deeper topics was well illustrated by the episode "200". Sure, the bad guys seemed to have awful aim, and the good guys had amazingly good luck, but this is not a documentary. It wouldn't do for the main characters to die off every few weeks.

I've been watching Stargate Universe in the hopes that it will not remain a clone of the newest Battlestar Galactica with a dash of Lost In Space, but it is looking worse and worse. I can't stand the stereotypical evil/selfish doctor, unsteady-cam shots galore, and highlighting the dirty, gritty, seamy underbelly of humanity. As Alfred E. Neuman would say, "Blech." Not entertaining. Actually kinda nauseating and headache-inducing, like a 500 lumen strobe.

So far, I'd have to say that I prefer almost any original Star Trek episode over any SGU episode so far. And there were some real stinkers in there! The better Trek episodes did not rely on props and special effects. They had good writing and dramatic acting. They had a message that was positive. That's what is missing so far in this slick, edgy, teen-angst-laden version of SG.

YO DAWG! WHAT YOU DO DAT FO?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwyIMzfzz8o&feature=related

 

[TooManyGizmos]

It is poorly done and not tasteful . B- stuff .

I wish they'd cancel it now & refill the time slot.

 

[LuxLuthor]

So far it is like the Stargate franchise writers got taken over by teenagers going through puberty. I'm a diehard SG and Sci-Fi fan, and this show just plain sucks.

I found pilot of "V" pretty interesting. You can watch it on ABC's site. Episode 2 this week.

 

[Tony Hanna]

My problem with SGU is that they got away from the "adventure of the week" style of SG1 and SGA and more toward a soap opera style where everything is drawn out too long with too much filler and not enough content. They could have condensed the first 7 episodes into 2 or 3 and not lost anything important. It's turning out to be one of those shows that I would probably enjoy if I could marathon watch a whole season on DVD but watching it an episode at a time is borderline painful.

 

[1138]

SGU is a breath of fresh air after 12 years of action / adventure and especially welcome after the last 3 seasons of Atlantis. It's not without it's flaws and there are characters and developments I don't like (the ancient communication stones need to be eliminated) but at least it's entertaining.

It does a good job at bringing back the wonders we should feel about being on the opposite side of the universe. Passing through a gas giant or flying through a star should be really cool and SGU evokes those feelings; in SGA and SG-1, characters blew up stars and solar systems like they eat breakfast. Also, the tech problems the characters face are more basic and feels more real. I can see how CO2 scrubbing is an issue on a million year old ship; on the other hand, draining a ZPM through an interdimensional bridge is much more abstract.

To be honest, the last few seasons of Atlantis have really pissed me off. Especially the replicator storyline. We have main characters who deceive and destroy any replicators they come across regardless of whether they were cooperative or not (espisodes Ghost in the Machine and Outcast). We've had this in SG-1 before, with their betrayal of Fifth, but there were consequences. SGA? We had the heroes patting themselves on the back after every episode.

To me, SGU is better than Atlantis, but not up to par with classic SG-1.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Well everyone has an opinion.

I was extremely excited for more SG action, and was looking forward to this show more than any the entire year. My beef is not with the segments dealing with the technology/science...what little of it there is.

Most of the episodes, with the last being the worst example, are filled with meaningless soap opera relationship drama that completely displaces any sci-fi enthusiasm. I was embarassed for Richard Dean Anderson the way he got drawn into the ongoing soap opera between Rush and the military leaders. Enough already!

I have purchased all of the SG DVD's and movies to date, but hope this series gets flushed out of its misery as soon as possible. Atlantis was far superior to this crap.

 

[Mjolnir]

SG1 really was getting fairly stale by the end (especially without Richard Dean Anderson). Atlantis probably had a few more seasons left in it, although I though it was kind of pathetic how they kept recycling plot elements from SG1 (replicators again? really?).
SG1 was also getting pretty reused; I got pretty bored after the fifth "parallel universe" episode. The "out of phase" concept was also over done, first with the "crystal skull" episode and then later in the series with an ancient device. I think that the 200th episode was good at poking fun at this; the producers had obviously noticed that they were running out of ideas. Once they did that episode about the killer man-eating alien beetles I basically lost hope in any recovery for the series. Additionall,y the Ori were essentially a rehash of the Goa'uld. Half of the Farscape cast being added to the show made it a little strange.
SGU definitely is different. I am kind of dissapointed at the slow pace; originally I thought it was because it was the first few episodes, but it hasn't gotten any faster. I agree that Rush is a completely cliched character, and is basically one-dimensional. He always talks like he is under stress, and is rude to everyone. He is sort of like Rodney McKay, but without a real personality. It was strange having O'neill in the latest episode, since it felt like a completely different series. Also, Lou Diamond Phillips simply annoys me...
It almost seems like the new BSG, but with less going on. I enjoyed the new BSG (despite its somewhat ridiculous and convoluted plot), and felt that they could have gotten a few more seasons out of it. However, SGU simply doesn't have enough going on. BSG had literally dozens of different problems and conflicts going on at once, while SGU basically only has 1 per episode.
Hopefully it will get better, and they will actually do things. However, the preview of this weeks episode wasn't very promising; it seemed like another cliched time travel and/or parallel universe episode. Who knows, maybe it will improve.

 

[Ilikeshinythings]

LOVE the movie Stargate. Never once payed attention to the show SG1 or Stargate universe. Don't really care for those.

The music from the original movie is legendary.

 

[Max_Power]

I really like the theme music from SG-A - I believe they won an award for it. The choir really is a beautiful sound!

 

[UncleFester]

I concur; SGU rots in hayel for all the reasons listed.

Hey Shiny Things:
Please consider watching the first season of SG-1. Most likely you'll find you like the character deveolpemnt and the action and effects are top notch.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Hey Shiny Things:
Please consider watching the first season of SG-1. Most likely you'll find you like the character deveolpemnt and the action and effects are top notch.

I didn't start watching SG-1 until it was in its 5th season. I didn't watch ST Deep Space Nine & Firefly until they were over, and ST Voyager until its 3rd season. All were worth your time.

 

[Mjolnir]

Not to get too far off topic, but I feel that DS9 is very underrated. People mock it as the worst Star Trek, but it did have some good episodes. I also didn't start watching SG1 until it started on the Sci-fi channel, and then I watched the earlier episodes when they played them during the week. They used to have 4 episodes every monday, which was good for multi-part episodes.

Like I said before I am going to reserve my judgment on SGU until they have time to actually develop some sort of storyline. I agree that the soap opera type of drama isn't really what SG fans want... The only real developments that seem to be stressed from episode to episode are "soap opera" -esque, and there seems to be very little action. In all honesty, I'm not really sure where they can go with this show, since they will have hard time coming up with an excuse for a having planets already colonized by humans, as in SG1 and SGA.

Also, the whole "getting power from a star" idea is completely impractical if this power transfer is merely from the radiation and energy form the star. In order to do whatever made up science the producers invented to move the "Destiny" (which is the least creative name in the history of science fiction shows) at such high velocities, you would need far more energy that you can get from flying through part of a star for a few hours. The destiny must have some type of hyperspace/warp drive/slipstream/wormhole type of propulsion, since it isn't experiencing any time dilation. Of course, this is science fiction, so it isn't supposed to be realistic.
At least they don't have "Heisenberg Compensators" though...

 

[LuxLuthor]

At least they don't have "Heisenberg Compensators" though...

ST messed with the fans all the time...seeing what they would catch or question.

The Heisenberg compensator was invented to circumvent the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states that one cannot know both the position of a subatomic particle and its momentum to arbitrary precision. (Star Trek Encyclopedia)



When asked by Time Magazine in 1994, "How do the Heisenberg compensators work?" Mike Okuda famously replied, "They work just fine, thank you."


The Heisenberg compensator started originally as a joke put on the transporter console in TNG.

 

[Brock]

I watch it, but fell it is more like Battle Star than SG. A bunch of you hit it, but it is a soap opera in space. I don't mind a little of that, but come on we need more action and less "talking". Didn't some of the BS writers move to this show as well?

 

[Mjolnir]

I watch it, but fell it is more like Battle Star than SG. A bunch of you hit it, but it is a soap opera in space. I don't mind a little of that, but come on we need more action and less "talking". Didn't some of the BS writers move to this show as well?

+1

It definitely is like BSG, but with less action (so far), and a lot less drama. With BSG there were so many characters that you really had no idea who they were going to kill off spontaneously (and they did kill off a few people). BSG was far more of a dram than SGU has been so far, and I really had no idea what was going to come next. I mean really... OBVIOUSLY they aren't going to die when they go into the sun, since there would be nothing left to be in the show (and no one wants to watch another show about people stranded on an island/planet).

 

[TorchBoy]

Some of these posts make me glad I wasn't even aware of SGU.

 

[DonShock]

SGU is just so-so at this point. I'm trying to give it a chance but if there's not some actual plot soon, I'm going to give it up. There's a lot of hidden plot lines that are hinted at, but never revealed. So far it's been "Woe is us, trapped on an uncontrollable starship and our supplies are running out." If it doesn't grow beyond that soon, SGU is going to end up being an emo space opera flop. We need heroes with humor like SG and SGA, not a bunch of panicky whiners. Then again, if they keep killing off their few trappped survivors like they've been doing in these first few episodes, maybe they'll just run out of cast members by the end of the first season and we'll just have an empty ship for season 2.