Stargate Universe Season 1 Announced

It looks like Season 1.0 has been announced:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Stargate-Universe-First-Release-Scheduled/13021

Unfortunately, I won't be picking up this new series. While I have purchased all ten seasons of Stargate SG-1 and all five seasons of Stargate Atlantis, I won't be picking up the new series.

First, I've seen some of the episodes and it's the most boring and depressing sci-fi series I have ever watched. Secondly, I'm through supporting new TV shows that are released via half season sets. I'm just sticking up the classic television shows. While I still purchase newer shows on DVD, they're only full season sets that I'll purchase.

The problem is that the producers and execs have tried to turn this latest series into an actual sci-fi show like Star Trek or Star Wars. I'm just disappointed by the fact that the Sci-Fi Channel (I refuse to call them SyFy) pulled the plug, canceled Stargate Atlantis in favor of this new series. Personally, I think SciFi made a huge error in this move.

Just look at their history: Farscape, The Invisible Man, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Tremors, Battlestar Galactica ... every series canceled because Sci-Fi execs decided to interfere with the production of their shows.

This is why I no longer watch the Sci-Fi Channel. Besides, they only show horror movies anyway and crap like WWE. The Sci-Fi Channel should prove to be an example of how not to run a network or produce television shows.

Actually, that's incorrect. Sci-Fi wanted to continue the series until someone came up with the idea for a spin-off series. The same thing happened with the Stargate Atlantis series . The series was canceled because of the desire to create a spin-off series. Sci-Fi wasn't going to fund two shows from the same property at the same time.

The only exception where two shows from the same franchise series were being funded by the same network was the Star Trek series. Star Trek TNG/DS9 running at the same time and then there was DS9/Voyager airing at the same time when TNG ended its run.

TravisR is looking at the wrong argument here. My point is that Stargate Universe is the most boring sci-fi series I have ever watched and I'm not the only sci-fi fan who has expressed contempt over this new series. Many other fans, even those at Sci-Fi's website, have expressed anger over this new series and that it isn't up to what they hyped the series over.

The problem is that Sci-Fi over hyped this new series prior to its debut and it literally sucked. It's basically a copycat version of Star Trek Voyager. Remember the premise? Human crew from Earth gets trapped on the other side of the galaxy on a starship. This time around, the crew doesn't control what the ship does ... it's just not a very good series.

At least Star Trek Voyager was more interesting to watch ... and I continue to watch it to this day. I just don't see SGU lasting for too much longer.

Tell me about it. It's not like I didn't give it a chance. I have watched some of the more recent episodes, trying to get into it, but it just doesn't do anything for me. The problem is that SGU was rushed, the characters are drab, dry and uninteresting and they they have no appeal.

Another problem with the series is the casting of Lou Diamond Phillips. The promos leading up to the series debut made it sound like he would be a regular cast member for the series. Unfortunately, his character has been written out of the series and cast as simply a recurring character who shows up now and then when the series flashes back to what's transpiring on Earth. I was under the impression that he was in charge of the crew on board the starship.

If the producers kept Lou Diamond Phillips as a regular cast member, I think his star appeal might have been able to keep fans tuned into this series but without an anchor for the series, Stargate Universe will be doomed for cancellation. With Stargate SG-1, the original series had Richard Dean Anderson to anchor the series. With Stargate Atlantis, the series had Joe Flanigan to anchor the series along with Torri Higginson. With SGU, the series has no anchor for the series and Robert Carlyle is such a bad actor that I don't see how he was cast for the series in the first place.

I thought we were talking about Stargate Universe? 

Ouch, there are very few TV shows that I watch on TV. Most of what I watch are on DVD ... 

That's incorrect, Arild. Stargate Atlantis was introduced alongside Stargate SG-1 Season 9. It was only two seasons ... 

Joseph, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that SGU is a horrible sci-fi series. When SG-1 originally debuted, it was one of the few original sci-fi shows ever created. It didn't try to succeed by stealing ideas from other television shows and relied on a strong cast to keep the series interesting enough to keep fans coming back for me. SGA built upon what was established in SG-1 by focusing the series on Atlantis, which had been built on in SG-1.

SGU? They based the series on a concept that had already been done before. Stuck on a starship that they can't control, which is flying aimlessly in whatever direction the ship chooses to head into, backed up by a cast who can't act themselves out of a wet paper bag ... I don't know how else to explain it. I'm just shocked and dumbfounded that SGA was canceled over this new series. Adding to that insult, Sci-Fi execs must be kicking themselves in the rear having canceled a series that had already established itself (SGA could have lasted another two seasons, at least) while getting trashed by a lot of Stargate fans.

While I'm sure the series is getting some decent ratings, I just don't see how this series is going to last. Lou Diamond Phillips drew fans to the series but I'm sure that after fans discovered that he was not part of the regular cast (I remember Sci-Fi hyping Lou Diamond Phillips as the Captain on this little adventure and in charge of the crew onboard the ship) I'm sure fans jumped off that sinking ship rather quickly.

Far as that whole lesbian kiss goes? You're right. It was done before on Star Trek Deep Space Nine and I remember that ST:DS9 received a lot of media attention over that particular episode. They were talking about a sci-fi character who used to be a man, but now inhabits a female body and that s/he meets up with an acquaintance s/he was in love with in their past life.

The only reason they're doing this lesbian angle on SGU is for shock value and to get fans to come back to the series. It's a cheap gimmick and while they may attract some viewers, it won't be enough to sustain those viewership numbers. It's been done before. But, instead of coming up with something original or possibly rebooting the series with a different direction, the producers for SGU are aiming for shock value. It's cheap entertainment and only meant to shock their viewers. I doubt it'll be enough to save the show.

Even Chicago Tribune staff writer Maureen Ryan criticized the series:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/11/stargate-universe-syfy-.html

There are even other reviewers who have abandoned the series and they described SGU as being too drab, depressing and boring:

http://www.cinemaspy.com/article.php?id=3600
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/09/maureen-ryan-stopped-watching-stargate-universe-and-shes-not-the-only-one/33088

With ratings continuing to slide for this series, the ratings for the show peaked around episode 2 but have steadily declined as the weeks dragged by. Check out the most recent tally:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/26/stargate-universe-sgu-ratings-for-first-half-of-season-1/34668

The problem with the series is that Brad Wright and the other producers tried to take the franchise in a new direction. With SG-1 and SGA, there was never a question of whether the series would be interesting enough to keep your attention. The studio sets weren't depressing or drab. Even the characters have the attitude that they don't want to be stuck on that ship. However, take one look at the sets for SGU and you get depressed. It's like being stuck in a dark depressing room for several years with nothing to do.

What should the producers do? Get rid of the "trapped on a starship so far from home" storyline and get back to doing what the previous two shows did. Stargate is about adventure and this new series just lacks that approach.

Plus, there's the other problem. The ship only stops in order to get supplies for the ship or the crew. The crew are just trapped on the ship and there's only so much you can do, plotwise, because the series becomes dull and uninteresting. I think it's simply going to run out of steam.

By the way, the whole point of these topics isn't just to discuss the DVD release but to discuss the series related to that DVD release and that's what we're discussing. When you limit discuss to just the DVD, these topics become boring. Bear in mind, we're discussing here what every other topic in this forum has done before.

At any rate, this release has two things going against it. The series isn't all that good and when you combine that fact with the fact that MGM has fallen into the pantheon of other studios releasing half season sets, they're absolutely going to single handedly kill the DVD market. I just refuse to buy any DVD release where the studio doesn't offer the release as a complete set.

I just think that MGM is worried about this series and are trying to get current fans to buy the DVD's before they lose interest, as well.

The episodes that I had watched were basically just those episodes that are available through Comcast's On-Demand service. The problem that I had with watching some of these episodes is that the characters in the series seem too one-dimensional and I have a hard time understanding if this is due to the writing or to the actors themselves.

I think that while Brad Wright may have wanted to go in a different action with SGU, that it may have backfired on the director because we're already several episodes into this first season and it still feels as dry and boring as the first episode. While the first episode got the series off to a roaring start, racing through the Stargate in order to escape the firefight that had transpired on the planet they were on, it just sort of fizzled with the second episode.

The series just doesn't have that 'Stargate' feel to it and unless the directors, producers and writers figure a way to get the series out of this slump that it could be doomed for cancellation. I would recommend that the powers-that-be halt production and come up with a way to reboot the series. If I'm not mistaken, studio networks have done this with various shows that were in danger of being canceled. Knight Rider 2008, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse and some others I'm forgetting at the moment. It's not that this hasn't been done before but considering that there are more dissenting fans of the Stargate series who dislike the current direction that SGU is going in isn't doing the creative staff any good.

Most of the fans of the Stargate franchise fell in love with the SG1 series and the SGA series. While I've never watched one single broadcast episode of any of these shows, my introduction to the series and my immersion into watching both of these shows comes from the purchase of every single season set that has been released. There's just something about the way the SGU is being produced that is failing to hook fans and those who find themselves watching the series, hoping that it's going to get better, are becoming rather impatient that the series isn't going anywhere.

While I don't know if anyone has been checking the forum topics on Sci-Fi Channel's own website, there are multiple topics from their own users about how dreadful the series is and most are ready to abandon the series if the producers cannot turn the series around:

http://forums.syfy.com/index.php?s=f483ecaf214fc473d4cc285de236bc79&showforum=167

The one thing is that there are more angered fans of this latest series then there are from those who enjoy it.