[COLOR= black]
[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Stargate Universe: SG-U: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Directed by Peter DeLuise et al
Studio: MGM
Year: 2009-2010
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 871 minutes
Rating: TV-14
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: SDH, French[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Region:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] A
MSRP: $ 59.99[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Release Date: October 5, 2010[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Review Date:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] October 6, 2010[/COLOR]
The Series
3/5
The third time’s not necessarily the charm with Stargate Universe: SG-U. The third television series spun off from Roland Emmerich’s entertaining 1994 film Stargate, SG-U is the first season of episodes from the latest sci-fi incarnation of the movie’s central conceit, a series notably darker and grittier than previous entries in the franchise but so far, at least on the evidence of these first season, not as much fun either. The characters are mostly grating and unlikable, the stories are slow paced and not always engaging, and the production values are only average. There’s a mostly fine cast at work, but their characters are usually so morose or guarded that identifying with them is sometimes a trying experience. There have been some entertaining and thought-provoking episodes to be sure, but the series still has not reached a point where it’s must-see TV. This new release culls the first two SG-U Blu-ray releases of each half of the season into one convenient package. The discs are identical except for new labels on the final three discs.
For the benefit of those late coming to the party (desultory as it often is), here’s the set-up: a group of civilians, military personnel, and scientific researchers trying to evade an alien attack make a desperate escape through a Stargate that lands them aboard an ancient, unmanned space ship, the Destiny. The ship, created thousands of years ago as a way to place stargates throughout the universe, is on an unstoppable, pre-determined course billions of light years from Earth. With no way to alter the ship from its current autopilot and with much of the ship a complete mystery to them, the group must grudgingly continue on the ship’s unknown mission with the hope that somehow someone can eventually dial the Stargate back to Earth coordinates. The cast basically divides up into military personnel and civilian scientists, and the unease and mistrust that each side has for the other fuel many of the series’ stories.
Heading the military operations is Col. Everett Young (Louis Ferreira), a tough, demanding commander. His second in command is the series’ charm boy, 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) with the unamused, hot-tempered Master Sgt. Ronald Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) often right in the thick of things. The science end of the equation is helmed by the eternally cranky and dyspeptic Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle). He’s assisted by unemployed science nerd and video gamer Eli Wallace (David Blue). Among the civilians is the daughter of a U.S. senator, Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque), and head of human resources Camile Wray (Ming-Na). No doctor is on board the Destiny, but 1st Lt. Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman) is a military medic who serves the needs of the crew more than adequately in these first season episodes. She also reveals several episodes in that she’s pregnant, another ongoing complication.
These first stories mainly involve the crew attempting to get used to this ancient vessel which has maintained itself for centuries without any human assistance and then having to deal with seemingly simple matters like a lack of power or a reduced water supply to service their own needs. As the scientists learn facets of the ship’s operating system, it often becomes necessary for the ship to drop out of hyperdrive so various individuals can slip through a Stargate to accomplish some mission on a nearby planet. The peril-of-the-week scenarios so far have been fairly predictable, and the show’s large number of irascible characters has given these first episodes a decidedly sour and repetitive tone. In fact, were it not for the sense of fun that David Blue brings to his Eli, there would be no light-hearted moments on the show at all, and the tone would be acerbic enough to alienate viewers. Several of the scripts are confusingly put together resulting in storylines that are either needlessly unclear (the first episode “Air”) or unsatisfying in their resolutions (“Time” is particularly rambling and pointless.)
Of the ten episodes in this second half of the season, the best ones have taken reliable formulas, added a bit of ambiguity, and made them seem like fresh ideas. “Faith” had eleven of the crew walking onto an Earth-like planet, an almost paradise with clean air and water, fruit growing in abundance, and peacefully quiet after the stress and conflict onboard the ship. Many wish to stay, obviously over the objections of Colonel Young. But is the planet a Venus flytrap placed there to lure unsuspecting victims? Was it created as a haven for the tired and lost? The answers aren’t forthcoming, and the ending is unsatisfactory, but for two-thirds of the episode, the show had a real winner. “Pain” finds several members of the crew experiencing hallucinations that feed on their senses of guilt, loss, and anger. Again, the story goes out of control by the end, but much of the episode is harrowing and very well done. “Human” and “Sabotage” give us backstories on Dr. Rush (which will remind the viewer of A Beautiful Mind) and Sgt. Greer, but neither is very effective. The two-part season finale is, of course, tediously loaded with cliffhangers for every major character as the cold-blooded Lucian Alliance takes over the Destiny.
The following are the twenty episodes contained on the five Blu-ray discs in this set. Names in parentheses refer to those who contribute to the audio commentary available for that episode.
1 – Air, Parts 1 & 2 (Robert C. Cooper, Andy Mikita, Mark Savela)
2 – Air, Part 3
3 – Air (extended edition) (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
4 – Darkness (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
5 – Light (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
6 – Water (William Waring, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
7 – Earth (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
8 – Time (Robert C. Cooper, David Blue)
9 – Life (Ming-Na, Brian J. Smith, Louis Ferreira)
10 – Justice (William Waring, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, Jamil Walker Smith)
11 – Space (director Andy Mikita, effects supervisor Mark Savela, writer Louis Mallozzi)
12 – Divided (Elyse Levesque, Louis Ferreira, Julie Benson)
13 – Faith (Patrick Gilmore, Alaina Huffman, Brian J. Smith)
14 – Human (creator Robert Cooper, DP Michael Blundell)
15 – Lost (Brian J. Smith, Peter Kelamis, Jamil Walker Smith, Patrick Gilmore)
16 – Sabotage (Elyse Levesque, Louis Ferreira, Julie Benson)
17 – Pain (Brian J. Smith, Patrick Gilmore)
18 – Subversion (Brian J. Smith, Patrick Gilmore, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith)
19 – Incursion, Part 1 (Elyse Levesque, Alaina Huffman)
20 – Incursion, Part 2 (Elyse Levesque, Alaina Huffman)
Video Quality
4/5
The program’s 1.78:1 television aspect ratio is delivered in 1080p using the AVC codec. Though not possessing optimum sharpness, the images are crisp and imminently watchable only occasionally sporting soft, undefined detail. The show doesn’t usually boast striking color saturation unless the characters find themselves somewhere other than on the Destiny. At those times when an alien planet is landed on, colors become richer and a bit impressive. Flesh tones are always nicely rendered. Each episode has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio Quality
4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is very entertaining and nicely delivered on a television series budget. The LFE channel gets a solid workout on most episodes with a constant low rumbling bass setting the uneasy mood of the series. There aren’t enough split surround effects to give the audio a reference quality score, but the music is certainly immersive and beautifully recorded. Dialogue is also cleanly delivered in the center channel.
Special Features
5/5
Each episode contains an audio commentary. There are audio commentaries for every episode apart from “Air, Part 3” with participants listed in the episode list above. When the cast gets together in various groups, it’s basically a gab, laughter, and cheering session with very little information about the making of the episode being imparted. The director, producer, and special effects coordinator on “Air” give the best of the commentaries giving real behind-the-scenes information on the genesis of the series and the making of the first episodes. On the later commentaries. the newness of doing them has worn off somewhat with the cast-based talks, and there is much less raucous laughing and joshing around than in the earlier episodes. In fact, for several of the actors, they’re seeing the episode for the first time and seem more interested in watching than in discussing anything pertinent. The episodes with crew member commentaries turn out to be much more interesting for fans of the show.
All bonus material is presented in 1080p.
Disc One
Destiny SML is an interactive star map which contains a series of brief behind-the-scenes featurettes (lasting from 2-6 minutes) which the user can go to in any order. There are brief interviews with five of the leading actors: Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ming-Ha, and David Blue. The other vignettes are “A Brand New Universe” (background for this new incarnation of Stargate), “Designing Destiny,” “Inside Destiny,” “Stargate 101,” “Kawoosh 2.0” (the making of the special effects cloud that emerges from the Stargate), “Chatting with the Cast,” “Shooting on the Destiny,” “Director’s Minutes: Andy Mikita” (about shooting the first three episodes), “No Day at the Beach” (filming the episode “Darkness” in hideously arid conditions), and “White Sands, NM” (the location for thee desert scenes in “Darkness”).
There are six Kino video diaries: six individual scenes staged for this video release featuring cast members in character being eavesdropped on by the Kino. They may be viewed individually or in a 9 ¾ minute group. Actor David Blue also introduces this section of the bonus features in a 3 minute clip.
Disc Two
Destiny SML is an interactive star map which contains a series of brief featurettes (lasting from 2-3 minutes) which the user can go to in any order. There are brief interviews with Alaina Huffman, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, and Jamil Walker Smith. The thirteen featurettes showing behind-the-scenes aspects of the show’s production are “Director’s Minute: William Waring,” “Falling Through Ice,” “On the Ice,” “Setting the Mood,” “Out on the Town,” “A Stunt in Tight Places,” “Director’s Minute: Ernest R. Dickerson,” “Helmet Cam 101,” “Shooting in the Rain,” “Let It Rain,” “Fight!” “Future/Past: The New Stargate,” and “A New Look for SG-U.”
There are nine Kino Video Dairies: nine individual scenes staged for this video release featuring cast members in character being eavesdropped on by the Kino. They may be viewed individually or in a 10 ¾ minute group.
Disc Three
“David Blue: An Interview with the Creators of SGU” is just what it says: the actor asking questions of Brad Wright and Robert Cooper who created the show. It runs 9 ¼ minutes.
“Designing a New Race: Space Aliens” has special effects coordinator Mark Savela describing how the show wanted the aliens to appear in the premiere of the second half of the season. It runs 2 ¼ minutes.
“Tanked! Elyse Levesque Goes for a Swim” is a 2 ½ minute featurette on the actress’ introduction to scuba diving for the episode “Space.”
“Chatting with the Cast: Peter Kelamis” has the actor explaining his great good fortune of being hired for a three episode a guest star role which has turned into a regular gig for him. It lasts 2 ¼ minutes.
There are four Kino Video Diaries, scripted and improvised moments with the actors in character talking among themselves or to the Kino video sphere. These are much lighter in tone than the episodes themselves (perhaps a dose of this kind of humor might brighten the show up considerably). They may be viewed separately or in one 10 minute bunch.
Disc Four
“Brian J. Smith: An Interview with the Creators of SGU” is just what it says: the actor asking questions about the conception of his character to Brad Wright and Robert Cooper who created the show. It runs 11 minutes.
“The Destiny of General O’Neill” is a 2-minute throwaway with Richard Dean Anderson describing his pride over the growth of the franchise and his pleasure of handing over the reins to another group of actors.
“A Day in the Life of Louis Ferreira” finds the actor giving viewers a tour of the sets, the soundstage, the lot, and his dressing room during a typical day of shooting. It runs for 7 ¼ minutes.
“Chatting with the Cast: Julia Benson” is another actor pleased to be a part of the show in a 2 ¼ minute vignette.
“Out for a Spacewalk with Jamil Walker Smith” has the actor describing his costume and the work which went into his space walk for the mid-season premiere. It runs 2 ¼ minutes.
“Finding Destiny: A Tour of the Destiny Set with Chris Beach” has the show’s art director showing us how the set operates with multiple uses for many of the sets, altered by shifting flats or pull down doors. It runs for 5 ¼ minutes.
There are three Kino Video Diaries, again lighter in tone as the actors improvise situations while on camera. They may be viewed separately or in one 8-minute grouping.
Disc Five
“Alaina Huffman: An Interview with the Creators of SG-U” has the actress talking about their writing her real-life pregnancy into the season’s scripts. It runs for 10 minutes.
“Chatting with the Cast: Jennifer Spence” is 2 ¼ minutes with the actress who is thrilled to be a part of the show.
“A Behind the Scenes Look at ‘Incursion’” spends 6 ¼ minutes summarizing the basic plot behind the two-part season finale with interviews featuring several of the core cast members.
“Two-for-One: Behind the ‘Incursion’ Double Ratchet Stunt” shows behind-the-scenes work on some tumbling stunts used when the ship is invaded by the Lucian Alliance. The stunt coordinator speaks for 2 ¼ minutes while some dry runs are staged before the scene is shot.
“Chatting with the Cast: Patrick Gilmore” finds the actor delighted to finally be a part of the primary cast of a Stargate series after jobbing in as a day player on the other two incarnations of the franchise. This runs for 2 ¼ minutes.
There is one Kino Video Dairy entry which lasts 2 minutes and features actress Julie Benson in character describing some experiences from the season’s second half.
“SG-U: Survival Instinct Game” is a video-based role playing game trying to avoid mine fields and traps on an alien planet using the colored buttons on the remote.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Stargate Universe has established a promising foundation for a reasonably entertaining science fiction series. The tortured, tormented characters and ever-increasing conflicts between them, however, seem a bit heavy-handed to the casual viewer, but the infusion of some lighter material to mix with the overemphasis on angst might help make the series a must-see program for its second season. The Blu-ray set for season one features loads of bonus material for fans and very good audio and video transfers.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
[COLOR= black]Stargate Universe: SG-U: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Directed by Peter DeLuise et al
Studio: MGM
Year: 2009-2010
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 871 minutes
Rating: TV-14
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: SDH, French[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Region:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] A
MSRP: $ 59.99[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Release Date: October 5, 2010[/COLOR]
[COLOR= black]Review Date:[/COLOR][COLOR= black] October 6, 2010[/COLOR]
The Series
3/5
The third time’s not necessarily the charm with Stargate Universe: SG-U. The third television series spun off from Roland Emmerich’s entertaining 1994 film Stargate, SG-U is the first season of episodes from the latest sci-fi incarnation of the movie’s central conceit, a series notably darker and grittier than previous entries in the franchise but so far, at least on the evidence of these first season, not as much fun either. The characters are mostly grating and unlikable, the stories are slow paced and not always engaging, and the production values are only average. There’s a mostly fine cast at work, but their characters are usually so morose or guarded that identifying with them is sometimes a trying experience. There have been some entertaining and thought-provoking episodes to be sure, but the series still has not reached a point where it’s must-see TV. This new release culls the first two SG-U Blu-ray releases of each half of the season into one convenient package. The discs are identical except for new labels on the final three discs.
For the benefit of those late coming to the party (desultory as it often is), here’s the set-up: a group of civilians, military personnel, and scientific researchers trying to evade an alien attack make a desperate escape through a Stargate that lands them aboard an ancient, unmanned space ship, the Destiny. The ship, created thousands of years ago as a way to place stargates throughout the universe, is on an unstoppable, pre-determined course billions of light years from Earth. With no way to alter the ship from its current autopilot and with much of the ship a complete mystery to them, the group must grudgingly continue on the ship’s unknown mission with the hope that somehow someone can eventually dial the Stargate back to Earth coordinates. The cast basically divides up into military personnel and civilian scientists, and the unease and mistrust that each side has for the other fuel many of the series’ stories.
Heading the military operations is Col. Everett Young (Louis Ferreira), a tough, demanding commander. His second in command is the series’ charm boy, 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) with the unamused, hot-tempered Master Sgt. Ronald Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) often right in the thick of things. The science end of the equation is helmed by the eternally cranky and dyspeptic Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle). He’s assisted by unemployed science nerd and video gamer Eli Wallace (David Blue). Among the civilians is the daughter of a U.S. senator, Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque), and head of human resources Camile Wray (Ming-Na). No doctor is on board the Destiny, but 1st Lt. Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman) is a military medic who serves the needs of the crew more than adequately in these first season episodes. She also reveals several episodes in that she’s pregnant, another ongoing complication.
These first stories mainly involve the crew attempting to get used to this ancient vessel which has maintained itself for centuries without any human assistance and then having to deal with seemingly simple matters like a lack of power or a reduced water supply to service their own needs. As the scientists learn facets of the ship’s operating system, it often becomes necessary for the ship to drop out of hyperdrive so various individuals can slip through a Stargate to accomplish some mission on a nearby planet. The peril-of-the-week scenarios so far have been fairly predictable, and the show’s large number of irascible characters has given these first episodes a decidedly sour and repetitive tone. In fact, were it not for the sense of fun that David Blue brings to his Eli, there would be no light-hearted moments on the show at all, and the tone would be acerbic enough to alienate viewers. Several of the scripts are confusingly put together resulting in storylines that are either needlessly unclear (the first episode “Air”) or unsatisfying in their resolutions (“Time” is particularly rambling and pointless.)
Of the ten episodes in this second half of the season, the best ones have taken reliable formulas, added a bit of ambiguity, and made them seem like fresh ideas. “Faith” had eleven of the crew walking onto an Earth-like planet, an almost paradise with clean air and water, fruit growing in abundance, and peacefully quiet after the stress and conflict onboard the ship. Many wish to stay, obviously over the objections of Colonel Young. But is the planet a Venus flytrap placed there to lure unsuspecting victims? Was it created as a haven for the tired and lost? The answers aren’t forthcoming, and the ending is unsatisfactory, but for two-thirds of the episode, the show had a real winner. “Pain” finds several members of the crew experiencing hallucinations that feed on their senses of guilt, loss, and anger. Again, the story goes out of control by the end, but much of the episode is harrowing and very well done. “Human” and “Sabotage” give us backstories on Dr. Rush (which will remind the viewer of A Beautiful Mind) and Sgt. Greer, but neither is very effective. The two-part season finale is, of course, tediously loaded with cliffhangers for every major character as the cold-blooded Lucian Alliance takes over the Destiny.
The following are the twenty episodes contained on the five Blu-ray discs in this set. Names in parentheses refer to those who contribute to the audio commentary available for that episode.
1 – Air, Parts 1 & 2 (Robert C. Cooper, Andy Mikita, Mark Savela)
2 – Air, Part 3
3 – Air (extended edition) (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
4 – Darkness (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
5 – Light (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
6 – Water (William Waring, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
7 – Earth (David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque)
8 – Time (Robert C. Cooper, David Blue)
9 – Life (Ming-Na, Brian J. Smith, Louis Ferreira)
10 – Justice (William Waring, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, Jamil Walker Smith)
11 – Space (director Andy Mikita, effects supervisor Mark Savela, writer Louis Mallozzi)
12 – Divided (Elyse Levesque, Louis Ferreira, Julie Benson)
13 – Faith (Patrick Gilmore, Alaina Huffman, Brian J. Smith)
14 – Human (creator Robert Cooper, DP Michael Blundell)
15 – Lost (Brian J. Smith, Peter Kelamis, Jamil Walker Smith, Patrick Gilmore)
16 – Sabotage (Elyse Levesque, Louis Ferreira, Julie Benson)
17 – Pain (Brian J. Smith, Patrick Gilmore)
18 – Subversion (Brian J. Smith, Patrick Gilmore, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith)
19 – Incursion, Part 1 (Elyse Levesque, Alaina Huffman)
20 – Incursion, Part 2 (Elyse Levesque, Alaina Huffman)
Video Quality
4/5
The program’s 1.78:1 television aspect ratio is delivered in 1080p using the AVC codec. Though not possessing optimum sharpness, the images are crisp and imminently watchable only occasionally sporting soft, undefined detail. The show doesn’t usually boast striking color saturation unless the characters find themselves somewhere other than on the Destiny. At those times when an alien planet is landed on, colors become richer and a bit impressive. Flesh tones are always nicely rendered. Each episode has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio Quality
4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is very entertaining and nicely delivered on a television series budget. The LFE channel gets a solid workout on most episodes with a constant low rumbling bass setting the uneasy mood of the series. There aren’t enough split surround effects to give the audio a reference quality score, but the music is certainly immersive and beautifully recorded. Dialogue is also cleanly delivered in the center channel.
Special Features
5/5
Each episode contains an audio commentary. There are audio commentaries for every episode apart from “Air, Part 3” with participants listed in the episode list above. When the cast gets together in various groups, it’s basically a gab, laughter, and cheering session with very little information about the making of the episode being imparted. The director, producer, and special effects coordinator on “Air” give the best of the commentaries giving real behind-the-scenes information on the genesis of the series and the making of the first episodes. On the later commentaries. the newness of doing them has worn off somewhat with the cast-based talks, and there is much less raucous laughing and joshing around than in the earlier episodes. In fact, for several of the actors, they’re seeing the episode for the first time and seem more interested in watching than in discussing anything pertinent. The episodes with crew member commentaries turn out to be much more interesting for fans of the show.
All bonus material is presented in 1080p.
Disc One
Destiny SML is an interactive star map which contains a series of brief behind-the-scenes featurettes (lasting from 2-6 minutes) which the user can go to in any order. There are brief interviews with five of the leading actors: Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ming-Ha, and David Blue. The other vignettes are “A Brand New Universe” (background for this new incarnation of Stargate), “Designing Destiny,” “Inside Destiny,” “Stargate 101,” “Kawoosh 2.0” (the making of the special effects cloud that emerges from the Stargate), “Chatting with the Cast,” “Shooting on the Destiny,” “Director’s Minutes: Andy Mikita” (about shooting the first three episodes), “No Day at the Beach” (filming the episode “Darkness” in hideously arid conditions), and “White Sands, NM” (the location for thee desert scenes in “Darkness”).
There are six Kino video diaries: six individual scenes staged for this video release featuring cast members in character being eavesdropped on by the Kino. They may be viewed individually or in a 9 ¾ minute group. Actor David Blue also introduces this section of the bonus features in a 3 minute clip.
Disc Two
Destiny SML is an interactive star map which contains a series of brief featurettes (lasting from 2-3 minutes) which the user can go to in any order. There are brief interviews with Alaina Huffman, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, and Jamil Walker Smith. The thirteen featurettes showing behind-the-scenes aspects of the show’s production are “Director’s Minute: William Waring,” “Falling Through Ice,” “On the Ice,” “Setting the Mood,” “Out on the Town,” “A Stunt in Tight Places,” “Director’s Minute: Ernest R. Dickerson,” “Helmet Cam 101,” “Shooting in the Rain,” “Let It Rain,” “Fight!” “Future/Past: The New Stargate,” and “A New Look for SG-U.”
There are nine Kino Video Dairies: nine individual scenes staged for this video release featuring cast members in character being eavesdropped on by the Kino. They may be viewed individually or in a 10 ¾ minute group.
Disc Three
“David Blue: An Interview with the Creators of SGU” is just what it says: the actor asking questions of Brad Wright and Robert Cooper who created the show. It runs 9 ¼ minutes.
“Designing a New Race: Space Aliens” has special effects coordinator Mark Savela describing how the show wanted the aliens to appear in the premiere of the second half of the season. It runs 2 ¼ minutes.
“Tanked! Elyse Levesque Goes for a Swim” is a 2 ½ minute featurette on the actress’ introduction to scuba diving for the episode “Space.”
“Chatting with the Cast: Peter Kelamis” has the actor explaining his great good fortune of being hired for a three episode a guest star role which has turned into a regular gig for him. It lasts 2 ¼ minutes.
There are four Kino Video Diaries, scripted and improvised moments with the actors in character talking among themselves or to the Kino video sphere. These are much lighter in tone than the episodes themselves (perhaps a dose of this kind of humor might brighten the show up considerably). They may be viewed separately or in one 10 minute bunch.
Disc Four
“Brian J. Smith: An Interview with the Creators of SGU” is just what it says: the actor asking questions about the conception of his character to Brad Wright and Robert Cooper who created the show. It runs 11 minutes.
“The Destiny of General O’Neill” is a 2-minute throwaway with Richard Dean Anderson describing his pride over the growth of the franchise and his pleasure of handing over the reins to another group of actors.
“A Day in the Life of Louis Ferreira” finds the actor giving viewers a tour of the sets, the soundstage, the lot, and his dressing room during a typical day of shooting. It runs for 7 ¼ minutes.
“Chatting with the Cast: Julia Benson” is another actor pleased to be a part of the show in a 2 ¼ minute vignette.
“Out for a Spacewalk with Jamil Walker Smith” has the actor describing his costume and the work which went into his space walk for the mid-season premiere. It runs 2 ¼ minutes.
“Finding Destiny: A Tour of the Destiny Set with Chris Beach” has the show’s art director showing us how the set operates with multiple uses for many of the sets, altered by shifting flats or pull down doors. It runs for 5 ¼ minutes.
There are three Kino Video Diaries, again lighter in tone as the actors improvise situations while on camera. They may be viewed separately or in one 8-minute grouping.
Disc Five
“Alaina Huffman: An Interview with the Creators of SG-U” has the actress talking about their writing her real-life pregnancy into the season’s scripts. It runs for 10 minutes.
“Chatting with the Cast: Jennifer Spence” is 2 ¼ minutes with the actress who is thrilled to be a part of the show.
“A Behind the Scenes Look at ‘Incursion’” spends 6 ¼ minutes summarizing the basic plot behind the two-part season finale with interviews featuring several of the core cast members.
“Two-for-One: Behind the ‘Incursion’ Double Ratchet Stunt” shows behind-the-scenes work on some tumbling stunts used when the ship is invaded by the Lucian Alliance. The stunt coordinator speaks for 2 ¼ minutes while some dry runs are staged before the scene is shot.
“Chatting with the Cast: Patrick Gilmore” finds the actor delighted to finally be a part of the primary cast of a Stargate series after jobbing in as a day player on the other two incarnations of the franchise. This runs for 2 ¼ minutes.
There is one Kino Video Dairy entry which lasts 2 minutes and features actress Julie Benson in character describing some experiences from the season’s second half.
“SG-U: Survival Instinct Game” is a video-based role playing game trying to avoid mine fields and traps on an alien planet using the colored buttons on the remote.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Stargate Universe has established a promising foundation for a reasonably entertaining science fiction series. The tortured, tormented characters and ever-increasing conflicts between them, however, seem a bit heavy-handed to the casual viewer, but the infusion of some lighter material to mix with the overemphasis on angst might help make the series a must-see program for its second season. The Blu-ray set for season one features loads of bonus material for fans and very good audio and video transfers.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
