Stargate Universe (This thread will have spoilers!)

This was one of the best episodes yet. Kind of got a western feel from it.

Wait, someone actually died in Stargate? Wow this really is a different show. Usually they would think of a way to make them alive again through some ridiculous sci fi idea.

I really like the direction the show is going in now. It sure as hell took it's time but I like it. Seems like Scott is starting to work his way into leading the ship eventually.

One major change is that we no longer have the situation where the audience has significant knowledge (the bridge) that the characters do not. Instead of being frustrated with them not figuring it out we're back to discovering things as the events unfold. That knowledge gap always felt like bad writing to me.

I wonder if the rest of the crew will start seeing hallucinations on the bridge like Rush was, or was that just a function of him being overworked/stressed?

padriec wrote:

I wonder if the rest of the crew will start seeing hallucinations on the bridge like Rush was, or was that just a function of him being overworked/stressed?

Some theory is that it is the chair that did it. I think it was the ship doing to him what it was also doing to the commander.

I actually expected main characters to start dropping like flies. Am kind of disappointed they didn't.

I agree with ccesarano. I think the ship is attempting to help the crew work through their issues with the illusions. It wants a stable crew and both Young and Rush have been doing things that are definitely not helping with that stability. I do think that Rush's wife is an illusion from the ship but Franklin is the real deal who has somehow merged with the ship.

I know we all knew, at least a little, that they were going to kill off Ginn, but I was kind of enjoying the suddenly confident version of Eli we were getting. If he goes back to moping I'm going to be sorely disappointed.

It seems to me we might be seeing the beginnings of Rush 2.0 with Eli, which I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Then again, a confident Eli that wants to kill someone might be kind of bad ass.

Asterith wrote:

I agree with ccesarano. I think the ship is attempting to help the crew work through their issues with the illusions. It wants a stable crew and both Young and Rush have been doing things that are definitely not helping with that stability. I do think that Rush's wife is an illusion from the ship but Franklin is the real deal who has somehow merged with the ship.

nah, Franklin is dead. I think it is the First. (bonus points if that makes sense to anyone)

kazar wrote:
Asterith wrote:

I agree with ccesarano. I think the ship is attempting to help the crew work through their issues with the illusions. It wants a stable crew and both Young and Rush have been doing things that are definitely not helping with that stability. I do think that Rush's wife is an illusion from the ship but Franklin is the real deal who has somehow merged with the ship.

nah, Franklin is dead. I think it is the First. (bonus points if that makes sense to anyone)

The first evil? Where's the eyeless minions?

Grenn wrote:
kazar wrote:
Asterith wrote:

I agree with ccesarano. I think the ship is attempting to help the crew work through their issues with the illusions. It wants a stable crew and both Young and Rush have been doing things that are definitely not helping with that stability. I do think that Rush's wife is an illusion from the ship but Franklin is the real deal who has somehow merged with the ship.

nah, Franklin is dead. I think it is the First. (bonus points if that makes sense to anyone)

The first evil? Where's the eyeless minions?

You can't kind of think of the alien race that is chasing them down as the Turok-Han (ubervampire).

Confession time: I've reached the point where I'm actually starting to like Useless due to what this modification has been doing to her character. It started {ableist slur}, but now it's like she's actually realizing her own worthlessness and that this whole thingy, while risky, could evolve her into Useful.

I'm even starting to like Lesbian because she hasn't been a Female Doggo all season, insisting on stupid impractical non-military stuff that has no place on a survivalist mission. Even Rush, now that his secret is out, is less of a dick.

Yet Scott is bland and boring. Bland and boring as ever. They've tried to make him interesting, but I feel like Leonardo from Ninja Turtles has more personality. And he's the lamest of the Turtles! (based on the cartoon, at least)

I'm glad that they are slowly developing some of the side characters though, like Grier in general and his burgeoning relationship with Science Lady.

Was it just me or did the actor playing Young's Canadian accent come out when he said "Sorry" to the shuttle people?

Rat Boy wrote:

Was it just me or did the actor playing Young's Canadian accent come out when he said "Sorry" to the shuttle people?

Half the cast is Canadian I'm sure.

Er wait, did Kane (Cane?) die? He wasn't already dead when the aliens took him, so while in bad shape he never actually died and thus death shouldn't catch up to him like the others... Wonder what the realization that his realization about not being the original Kane will do to his faith in God...

I liked the bleak outcome for the guys that stayed behind on the planet. I also thought the conversation between Grier and Chloe was well done.

What I didn't like was the whole concept behind the episode: being resurrected by the aliens for a few days only to die again from the same thing that killed them in the first place? Doesn't make much sense to me.

gewy wrote:

I liked the bleak outcome for the guys that stayed behind on the planet. I also thought the conversation between Grier and Chloe was well done.

What I didn't like was the whole concept behind the episode: being resurrected by the aliens for a few days only to die again from the same thing that killed them in the first place? Doesn't make much sense to me.

I thought it was kind of neat. A chance for those guys to say good bye, and now the crew knows what happened to the people left behind on the planet.

It was interesting, but lets face it, this episode was about getting a shuttle back.

Agreed, Gaald, that's what I thought.

Nos is right about Kane, though we don't know what happened after the aliens arrived.

I haven't been keeping up with this show, but I have just started watching SG1. There's an episode in the first season where they're trying to justify the continuation of the Stargate program to some senator, played by the actor who played Edward Jellico.

Just prior to this epsiode, they discovered that the Goa'uld were preparing to launch an attack on earth with starships. The senator cockily says, "Then they'll regret taking on the United States Military."

O'Neill says, "Oh, sure, we'll just upload a computer virus to the mothership," making a reference to, and fun of, Independence Day.

Stargate was created and directed by Roland Emmerich. So was Independence Day.

NSMike wrote:

played by the actor who played Edward Jellico.

They recently did a comic centering around Jellico, which hopefully portrays him better than the punching bag (literally) that he is in Peter David's New Frontier novels.

Goddamn it people, there are no sounds in space, this could have been so much more tense if there were no footstep and other sound, just them breathing and the ambient music. Too bad they always have to rush things in the good episodes. And that ending was BS.

I enjoyed the episode, especially going more into what Eli is going through; his lapses of judgment in general, culminating in him letting out Chloe (which may end up being for the best eventually, though I doubt it).

I also really liked the idea of exploring the wreckage of a battlefield, though I wish they had mentioned something about how old it had been. Also interesting to have some strong indications that the Destiny is far, far more combat worthy than that other species' ships.

As far as the general premise of the new enemies, I do sort of wonder what the hell it is with dormant robotic weapons that awaken and wage never ending war against any species that happens upon them. I mean, damn. I understand that we have had problems with Minefields blowing up innocents and whatnot, but through in super sci-fi technology and there are better ways. Also, while the Wraith aren't really robots (or are they? Dun Dun Dun) they did do that whole sleeping -> murderous intent thing also.

When I develop my questionably intelligent robotic race, replicators or not, I'm going to program them with a list of things to kill, that just seems so much safer than a list of things not to kill. If for some reason I do need a white list of people not to murder instead of the other way around, maybe a time limit would be good idea? I don't know if there is an intergalactic Geneva Convention, but if there is maybe they should jot down "1000 year countdown to self-destruct for autonomous death machines".

Sorry for the rant, but while I'm on the topic I bet $10 that in the next episode

Spoiler:

The seedship rams the drone command ship, destroying them both.

But Universe has surprised me before.

liquid wrote:

Goddamn it people, there are no sounds in space, this could have been so much more tense if there were no footstep and other sound, just them breathing and the ambient music. Too bad they always have to rush things in the good episodes. And that ending was BS.

To be fair, most shows get that wrong. Even my favoritest spaceship-based series, Farscape. I heard the issue raised on a dvd commentary track once, and supposedly it's not always willful ignorance on the matter, so much as directors just not liking long sequences of silence in their shows. Either way, if the series is good enough I'm willing to overlook it.

Now this is a loose set:

Yonder wrote:

As far as the general premise of the new enemies, I do sort of wonder what the hell it is with dormant robotic weapons that awaken and wage never ending war against any species that happens upon them. I mean, damn. I understand that we have had problems with Minefields blowing up innocents and whatnot, but through in super sci-fi technology and there are better ways.

Given how quickly they almost overwhelmed Destiny, it's probably a case of the weapons destroying their creators as well as their creators' enemies.

After all, who didn't like The Doomsday Machine?

Really enjoyed this one.

Ratings info from GateWorld:

Some reduced competition from the major networks didn’t help Stargate Universe at all when Syfy aired the mid-season finale on Tuesday. “Resurgence” drew an estimated 1.094 million viewers, down 6 percent from the previous week.

The episode held on to last week’s slightly improved 0.5 rating in the all-important demographic of adults 18 to 49.

The show faced a very different line-up of competition on the major networks, following last week’s conclusion of Dancing With the Stars. ABC moved its new sci-fi/fantasy series No Ordinary Family into the Tuesday 9 p.m. time slot, where it drew 6.228 million viewers (below average for the series).

Instead of NCIS: Los Angeles CBS aired a repeat of the original NCIS, picking up a very healthy 15.049 million viewers.

NBC’s The Biggest Loser weighed in with a 8.309 million average for its two hours, while 6.653 million tuned into FOX for Raising Hope, followed by 3.363 million for Running Wilde at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively.

In other Syfy ratings news, last Friday’s new episode of Sanctuary (“Breach”) drew 1.483 million viewers, an 18 percent improvement over the previous week.

SGU has averaged 1.0782 million viewers in the first half of Season Two, which premiered on September 28. The show started with 1.175 million (“Intervention”), and peaked two weeks later with 1.222 million (“Awakening”). The season low was episode six, “Trial and Error,” with an estimated 967,000 viewers (Live + Same Day).

Ratings that factor in a week’s worth of DVR viewing typically saw an uptick of 40 percent or more.

The ten episodes maintained a perfect record when it came to never moving the same direction two weeks in a row. A drop in ratings was always followed by an increase, and vice versa. This illustrates the fact that, while the show did better in live viewership on Friday nights, its Tuesday viewership was rather steady, overall.

Check out our full chart of Season Two’s ratings here.

Syfy is expected to announce whether or not it will renew Stargate Universe for a third season later this month or in January, after the holidays. SGU returns with another 10 new episodes next spring! Stick with GateWorld every week through the hiatus for our coverage of the entire Stargate franchise.

If they announced it's canceled I'm so not watching the rest of it.

I wouldn't be surprised, though. It will be a shame for them to cancel the show with the best production but at the end of the day that's not the most important thing. It lacks soul.

liquid wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised, though. It will be a shame for them to cancel the show with the best production but at the end of the day that's not the most important thing. It lacks soul.

?