Stargate Universe (3rd stargate series!) (1 Viewer)

[Arild]

Originally Posted by NeilO

I watched it via OnDemand and was quite surprised to see that the whole thing was only about 38 minutes or so. Hard to believe it came in so short.

Hm... On iTunes it's 43:32...

 

[NeilO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arild



Hm... On iTunes it's 43:32...

On Hulu it is 43:02. I wonder what 5 minutes I missed OnDemand. It wasn't the end as I just verified that. All very weird.

 

[Francois Caron]

Can we kill off the professor tonight? He's really getting on my nerves.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Your statement made me realize something. I'm not even sure I'd watch the show anymore without Dr. Rush. But I think he's more a scientist than a professor.

 

[KevinGress]

I understand that the producers probably didn't want comparisons to either Dr. Jackson or McKay but Dr. Rush is too abrasive right now (too Baltar-ish ). I think they'll probably make him more likeable as the show goes on, but right now I see no reason why Col. Young doesn't have someone use the stones to bring in another 'Ancient expert', even Daniel. (Okay, I know why from the show's creators standpoint, but not within the show itself)

The more I think about it, Dr. Rush's characterization's all wrong - he should be in high-spirits, almost giddy - he's succeeded in his goal to get the gate to use the ninth chevron and he's landed in an Ancients' ship that predates most, if not all, of their previous experience with that race, and he's not acting like a kid in a candy store?! They either need to show backstory as to why Rush is so dour or lighten his personality - they're out of immediate danger and if he's truly a scientist, his sense of wonder should be kicking in.

 

[Robert A. Willis Jr.]

It will continue to be on my record list (the stones should go)

 

[Greg_S_H]

If not for the stones, we wouldn't have tonight's Very Special Guest.

 

[mike caronia]

Lou Diamond Philips is a snake!!!!

 

[Arild]

Him showing up at Young's wife's door at the end creeped me the hell out.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I'm with Arild. We haven't actually seen what's going to happen, but I'm not sure how I'll react if he does what's implied he'll do. It may be so distasteful that I'll stop watching, even though I like the show. I'm for dark and realistic, but I think I hit an internal limit. Here's hoping they don't go there.

It wasn't smart no the team leader's part to engage in such an activity knowing the stones could give out at any moment. They'd already shown the communication breakdown earlier, even though there was some lip service given within the episode to it not happening again.

At least they've addressed my concerns over why they don't just dial home, though as time goes on, I'm really not getting why the Ancients would design a ship that recharges within a sun, but only have it get a quarter tank of gas instead of a fill-up. I can't see the logic except to possibly say that the simply is so old and damaged it simply can't store a fill-up anymore.

My mother also wouldn't understand if I showed up in someone else's body as she has almost no exposure to science (or even TV), but I think I sitll would have taken the time to explain it to her rather than pretend to be a friend. The problem is, there's a security risk. You can't really control what people like that will say and to whom they'll say it.

They touched on the episode about Dr. Rush not really wanting to go home, but added in the layer about how he was almost removed from the expedition and might not be sent back if Destiny can ever dial Earth. That raises the angst as we'll never really be sure his goals are the same as everyone else's.

 

[NeilO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikah Cerucco I think I sitll would have taken the time to explain it to her rather than pretend to be a friend. The problem is, there's a security risk. You can't really control what people like that will say and to whom they'll say it.

Speaking of security, I'm surprised they were given as much freedom as they were without any protections. I wonder if they are going to have an episode when someone from the ship visits family and has an accident back on Earth. They could do without the stones, but the main purpose appears to continue to tie the show in with the others, providing guest appearances and so forth and giving Lou Diamond Philips' character something to do.

Regarding the plot of trying to get them home, there should more of an effort to find another planet from which they can dial to the ship. I can't remember if it has been mentioned whether that effort is going on.

 

[Arild]

No comments on the latest episode? Personally, I loved it. Very stargate-y (in stark contrast to last week's "let's go clubbing!" scenes) and cool. The ending became somewhat predictable as the episode went on, but not so much that it ruined the episode. IMO, probably the best episode since the pilot.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Just to show that you can't please all of the people all of the time, it's probably the episode I've liked least for the following reasons:

- Time travel is always a headache and better have a huge payoff if I'm expected to invest myself in trying to make sense of it.

- I hate jerkycam quick editing. There are people who consider it exciting, so I get why they do it, but it's completely not my cup of tea. I've already had my workout. When I finally plop down to veg out in front of a favorite show, I don't need another one. There's one caveat to that, though. I've always said in war movies that are trying to give the audience the feeling of what it's like to be there, jerkycam quick editing makes sense because it's disorienting, and that's exactly what you feel like in that type of situation. I'm allowing room for the possibility that's what they were attempting here. In which case, I still don't like it, but I'd get it. Just not my cup of tea.

- Geek boy getting up the "courage" to tell Chloe Armstrong how he feels about her -- while she's unconscious.

I actually felt no sense of wonder in the whole episode. For me, if the episode is going to be really compelling, it's needs some Dr. Rush and some Everett Young. And not just as characters other characters pass in the hallway.

Things I liked:

- Consequences for just jumping onto planets without thorougly "testing" them. I think in the original series, they had the MALP's they'd send out to test the desired destination planet for all kinds of things before sending people. As near as I can tell, they currently just send one of those camera things, which is no where near the same. I'm sure I'm missing something, but I'm not even sure how they know there is a breathable air mixture on these planets. Somehow they're figuring out which are "Class M planets" capable of sustaining life. But there could be a million pathogens just waiting to infect them.

- Dr. Rush's few lines. At least he points out to people the recklessness of always looking while mid-leap.

- Character exposition brought about by looking at the recordings of people who were dying and wanted to leave something of themselves behind.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

This was a fairly entertaining ep, but it wasn't definitive in any way due to the "reset button" at the end. Heck, as far as I could tell, the characters in the "prime timeline" were never even exposed to the recorded footage of their counterparts dying in the alternate realities. (Presumably, they just caught the last recorded message and acted on it.) This series seems to want to be linear in nature. And in a linear series "reset buttons" are frowned upon. To be fair, I suppose they did at least expose the pathogens in their water supply. But that was it as far as any meaningful plot and character development which furthered the overall arc.

(On the plus side, we *did* get to see the "Geek Guy" fire a gun -- even if it was in an alternate timeline. And the way that was filmed was "funny as all get out" .)

EDIT: HTF ALERT: We *did* get at least a partial list of "Geek Guy"'s Desert Island DVD's!!

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

True. And every geek I've ever seen has considered whether trilogys count as 1. Because geeks push the envelope.

 

[Vlad D]

Totally missed this and I'm trying to find the first few episode online. Syfy.com seems to have Darkness as the earliest episode, they don't have Air at all. Anyone know anywhere else I may find them?

 

[Greg_S_H]

If you're willing to pay, iTunes has them.

 

[Vlad D]

Thanks Greg, just found them on iTunes. I checked Hulu and they didn't have them either.

 

[KevinGress]

Originally Posted by Arild

No comments on the latest episode? Personally, I loved it. Very stargate-y (in stark contrast to last week's "let's go clubbing!" scenes) and cool. The ending became somewhat predictable as the episode went on, but not so much that it ruined the episode. IMO, probably the best episode since the pilot.

Count me as one that thinks this was the best episode since the pilot, and perhaps so far. I agree that this was the most 'stargate-y' - it had exploration, and dealing with the issues that come from that exploration, not the politics nor the excessive backbiting that has driven the show so far.

The group worked together; they're not friends by any means, but they worked towards a goal.

And I thought Dr. Rush was used well here - while he's still not overly commendable (showing oh-so-like Baltar "survival skills" - which failed alternate Rush, by the way) he at least started showing some signs of connecting by liking Butch and Sundance, same as Young and his life/death talk with Eli.

This would have been a good episode to remove some of the dead weight, character-wise. I'm afraid with all of the people involved in this show, we're going to get more club scenes in order to keep costs down.

Overall, a nice episode, and one that raises hopes for this show.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Originally Posted by Arild

No comments on the latest episode? Personally, I loved it. Very stargate-y (in stark contrast to last week's "let's go clubbing!" scenes) and cool. The ending became somewhat predictable as the episode went on, but not so much that it ruined the episode. IMO, probably the best episode since the pilot.

My comments have tapered off because I think I've decided I enjoy this particular show in a bubble. I watched all of SG-1 and Atlantis on my own recently and it would have been weird to me to have been watching all along and commenting. "Well, Rodney was a little off this week, and I don't know what they're doing with Todd." Etc. I think I just enjoy it better if all of the shortcomings aren't pointed out to me. Just on this particular show.

But, for my last go-round: I didn't mind the club scenes. One of the almost unique strengths of Stargate is that it's happening right now and we just don't know it. It's our earth. Not the future. Not some alternate reality (except for the fictional politicians). You don't have to have Tom Paris explaining cars and rock music to the rest of the characters. So, connecting back to earth life is fine with me.