Fans of Space Sci-fi but not fans of Stargate might enjoy Stargate Universe.

[ScottSF]

I’m writing this in the general tv forum because I’m seeking out people who lost interest or never were interested in Stargate SG-1 or Stargate: Atlantis.

The ratings of SGU have dropped in comparison to Atlantis for a few reasons, some of them have to do with new media alternatives but mainly I’m guessing the drop is because of how different SGU is from the previous shows. Well there is a vocal group among the fans of the first Stargate shows that don’t like it but for every “I’ve been a fan of stargate from the beginning and I don’t like SGU” I hear a “I was never really into Stargate but I’m enjoying SGU.” Also there are plenty of fans who love all three shows. And since I found out about shows like Fringe and Rubicon via suggestions I want to be a sugester to someone who likes thoughtful space sci-fi but maybe hasn’t given SGU a chance yet. I don’t work for any of the companies involved but as a fan I just want the show to catch on and continue for a while. I don’t want another Firefly scenario where a show gets cancelled because people are unwilling to embrace something new.

What SGU has going for it:

Sense of Wonder: When they go through a gate or visit a planet or even see an alien ship, I have no idea what is going to happen. The Aliens don’t all speak English and look mostly human and the planets they visit don’t all look like Canadian forests. Plus the ship itself is full of opportunities for discovery as they find it on a sort of auto-pilot and don’t have access to the whole ship right away. I really get a sense of the vastness and diversity of space that I usually only get through reading sci-fi. Sci-fi author John Scalzi is involved and you can feel his influence in the science and approach of the show.

Show not tell: If you want to know what’s going on with the characters or even some of the plot, you have to pay attention. It’s not one of these shows that will stop every 10 minutes to explain everything that is going on. There are also great character interactions and you can learn about who the characters by how they act just as much as what they say.

The Long Story Arc: The show is set up more like chapters and it doesn’t have the last minute tie everything up and hit the re-set button that many adventure type shows suffer from. They don’t always guess the right answer and it doesn’t always work the first time. For me this is much more interesting to watch and adds to the suspense and peril.

Great performances: Robert Carlisle is the biggest name on the bill but the whole cast gives great performances. Like I mentioned before with good acting and directing a character can say just as much with a look as with two paragraphs of dialogue.

If you enjoy Space based science fiction and like reading sci-fi I think you will like it and if you give it a solid chance you should be pleasantly surprised.

If you’re a long time fan of SG-1 and SGA and you really don’t like the change of pace and tone, it’s unfortunate and I’ve heard from other like minded people and I really wish Atlantis would have continued so we both can have some science fiction we like.

 

[Dave]

The ratings of SGU have dropped in comparison to Atlantis.

I live in the UK, Scott. Where can I see it without signing up to a contract for several years?

I still have not seen the final episode and the TV films of Stargate: SG1 or the later Seasons of Atlantis because I got rid of my cable when they stopped showing it. Neither series has been shown on terrestrial TV here; you have to have satellite or cable. I can't watch them legally on the internet, and if you do then you have to make use of a cloak and watch them in a very small box and very poor quality. You can buy them or (sometimes) rent them on DVD, but at a price, and you need to wait many months.

I'm sure that the exclusive deals made with the UK distribution has made them a lot of money, but it is not maximising the number of viewers. So, any talk of ratings for the series is a bit of a misnomer.

 

[PTeppic]

The Aliens don’t all speak English and look mostly human and the planets they visit don’t all look like Canadian forests.

Well, they've only met animal sized aliens or the blue ones, so there's not much to go on. The major threat to the second half of the season was the Lucian Alliance, so wasn't even from the galaxy they're in, requiring a load of flash-back to Earth! Hardly awe and wonder. Now s2 has started, more the same Alliance. Uninspiring.

Agreed on the planets point, only half of them look like Canadian forests, the other look like Canadian quarries. As usual.

I live in the UK, Scott. Where can I see it without signing up to a contract for several years?

DVDs or iTunes. The latter (obviously) is download. I've done both for different episodes.

 

[Moonbat]

I loved the first series, but I have moved and no longer have SKY so I'm missing out on the 2nd series.
I did see series 1 on DVD/Blue Ray recently, so I'm guessing byt he time sereis 3 (if there is one) comes to SKy I might be able to buy series 2 on DVD/Blue Ray.

Looks like I'm in for a long wait.

 

[ScottSF]

Well, they've only met animal sized aliens or the blue ones, so there's not much to go on. The major threat to the second half of the season was the Lucian Alliance, so wasn't even from the galaxy they're in, requiring a load of flash-back to Earth! Hardly awe and wonder. Now s2 has started, more the same Alliance. Uninspiring.

Agreed on the planets point, only half of them look like Canadian forests, the other look like Canadian quarries. As usual.



DVDs or iTunes. The latter (obviously) is download. I've done both for different episodes.

I would disagree that there needs to be a major Alien threat in order for it to be good sci-fi. You can have science fiction without a mustache twirling bad guy.

My sense of wonder came from episodes that included using planetary bodies to navigate, discovering what the ship is about, finding a planet the appears to have been either constructed or moved because the sun was too young to have planets around it etc. The lost waaay far away from Earth.

The earth based scenes are just that and not the majority of the screen time in the show. They have a device for communicating insane distances by swapping consciousnesses which some may consider unfortunate but it's also part of Stargate cannon that was developed in SG-1. Probably would have been bolder not to have those but there is still plenty of exploration in the show.

As for the planets there have been planets that were Canadian Quaries/forests, New Mexico deserts, sets, blue screen, CGI. So I see more variation. They have been to Snowy/Jungle/Desert/forest/rocky etc.

The alien creatures have been very diverse. I would go into detail but wouldn't want to spoil

But like I said, I know some people don't like it. Some expect Stargate to be a War/Action story and I'm aware that some don't like it for various reasons. I was just recommending it to people who may have not been compelled to watch Stargate in the past because a lot of science fiction fans enjoy what they're doing but the show is more of an underdog for it's differentness. Similar to the Deep Space 9 controversy when it was trying something new. Just like people suggested Fringe to me and I'm happy they did, I'm putting my take on SGU out there.

I think most of the folks in these forums are European and I think I heard the show is doing better there anyway.

 

[PTeppic]

I would disagree that there needs to be a major Alien threat in order for it to be good sci-fi. You can have science fiction without a mustache twirling bad guy.

That wasn't my point - it was that the types of alien they HAVE found were hardly "awe and wonder". I would imagine s2 is going to be slightly different, for reasons that suggest themselves in "Awakening", notwithstanding the blue creatures from s1.

 

[Dave]

The original Stargate was good precisely because it did not have lots of weird aliens to begin with and only had our current technology; all they had was the Gate, which they didn't know exactly how it worked.

The reason for humans (and Earth fauna and flora) being everywhere had a logical explanation, and they used USAF advisors to give a flavour of how a real mission might actually go.

Later they brought in an assortment of alien species, various alien technologies and spacecraft and it became just 'another' Sci-Fi TV show. 'Atlantis' brought along a group of squabbling geek civilians and some alien ghouls but little else.

Now, it sounds to me like 'Universe' is a better idea - how 'Star Trek: Voyager' or 'Battlestar Galactica' or 'Lost in Space' should have been - just the crew against the natural environment. However, they will need to bring in "awe and wonder aliens" at some point because dying of starvation or lack of water; outrunning or avoiding some galactic disaster; on a weekly basis, those quickly wear thin.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Hmm. It's a shame Universe wasn't available on terrestrial TV. I watched most of SG-1, and very much enjoyed it. Atlantis didn't grab me, but Universe sounds good (almost like the Voyager double episode A Year of Hell[sp] made into a series).

Hmmmm. Maybe I'll ask for a DVD of it for Christmas.

 

[Connavar]

SGU is a pointless, cheap version of Battlestar Galactica. Why it fails and why it is not getting acclaim.

SG1 was good not for the military action but they had good stories,no matter they didnt have huge budget for sets for other planets.

 

[Steve Jordan]

I always refer to the show as Stargate: Galactica myself. The parallels are so obvious--pseudo-documentary filming, ragtag and reluctant characters, lots of relationships and angst, hidden agendas and plotting malcontents, today-era people surrounded by futuristic technology--that watching it is just painful!

 

[Rahl Windsong]

I was and still am a big fan of the orginal Stargate series, didn't like Atlantis much, and I basically hate SGU. Mostly because of the parts where they warp back to Earth and pickup the story before they left on their voyage, those parts make me feel like I am watching an epidsode of "As the World Turns" or some other soap that I hated just like SGU.

I can not for the life of me figure out how SGU has lasted as long as it has, I can not think of one character in that show that I really like. Maybe the smart chubby kid, other then that I can't stand any of them....