Brikar

The jury's still out on this newest entry in the franchise. The producers have said that this was going to be a very different show than SG-1 and Atlantis, but still very much 'Stargate'. From what I've seen so far, that's mostly true. The show still features the gate, and a team traveling to different worlds.

There are other aspects that are familiar: the jokey character, the scientist, the device sent through the gate to determine what's on the other side before the team will risk it. Ships fly through hyperspace, transporters, etc.

The elements are moved around, given new window dressings (much like it was on Atlantis, where everything from SG-1 was doubled and given a new name) but it's all very familiar.

Where do things differ, then? The characters, although built from the same archetypes, are very different. As we're repeatedly told, these are not the people that are supposed to be on that mission. As a result, a lot of them are unprepared for what's going on; they're anxious, unqualified, and a lot of them don't like each other. There's the beginnings of a brewing power struggle between Colonel Young and Dr Rush, a possible love triangle with Eli, Scott and Chloe and a whole lot of weirdness elsewhere.

The tone and pacing of the show are much different, as well. This three hour premiere features far less action and adventure than shows past. In fact, the only major action sequence at all in the premiere is the Lucian Alliance attack that sets things off. Other than that, the show focuses entirely on tension regarding the ship's life support system and character drama. As a result, the show has a slower pace.

In terms of tone, the show is far less jokey than previous Gate shows, as well. The only humor here comes from the nerdy Eli character, who, frankly, grows a little stale by the end of the the third hour. He starts out fine enough, but in hour three seems almost solely to be there to make "Planet of the Apes" jokes. Hopefully they'll manage to find a balance for him.

Another difference is the lack of a main 'villain'. Whereas SG-1 and Atlantis right off the bat were pushing long-term enemies in the Goa'uld and Wraith, Universe instead goes for setting up a mystery: Where is the ship going? What secrets does it hold? Where will they end up next? Exactly how smart is the ship's computer? At this point, the show seems more to resemble "Lost" than "Stargate" in that respect.

The other intriguing twist is that the cast ISN'T cut off from Earth, as Atlantis was in its first season. Through the use of the Ancient communication stones, the survivors of Icarus base are able to communicate with the SGC and others on Earth, which opens the show up to some new possibilities. Chloe gets a good scene where she visits her mother, and has to tell her that her father is dead. Colonel Young gets to visit General O'Neill. Also good is that it allows the Earth-bound characters to visit the Destiny, as well, which has the potential to change up the character dynamics on the ship in interesting ways.

But there's the key word - 'potential'. Universe is off to a decent start. There's a lot of setup here, but not too much else. With a slower pace, different tone (and radically different production design - this is by far the darkest and slickest 'Stargate' production yet) Universe has a lot of potential to grow into something really fun and involving. But we'll have to take much more of a 'wait and see' approach to it than previous shows.

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Sirgets

I like what i saw from the pilot also. Your right the Eli Charater did get old real quick.

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Arik

I generally enjoyed it. Eli felt out of place...I hope the reality of his situation works to destroy his...well...unbridled enthusiasm. I also kind of hope he's not a regular going through the gate.

I also liked the character of Dr. Rush. Well, to be specific, I liked that I didn't like him. SG characters all seem so likable. Even McKay...after trying to kill Teal'c, was incredibly likable. Rush...I understand him. I don't like him, but he's not there for me to like.

Definitely going to watch this show. Hope it doesn't take a Voyager dive.

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Brikar

It's definitely a more 'adult' Stargate show. While the previous shows certainly had their share of violence, moral quandaries and whatnot, at the end of the day they were bright, candy-coated sci-fi action shows. The characters were all friends who got to go on cool adventures and fight dastardly, over-the-top villains. They had the potential for the occasional character piece, but for the most part, it was whitehats vs blackhats with lots of nifty special effects. And don't get me wrong, that was what made the franchise so incredibly charming. It was easy to get into and digest, just downright fun to watch.

The pilot for 'Universe' feels like 'Stargate' that's a few years older, a bit more mature. Like jumping from regular Batman comics to 'The Dark Knight Returns' - There's nothing really wrong with those other comics, they can be lots of fun, but then here's a different take on it that shows you just how wide the premise really is.

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"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Cymro

One of SGA's flaws was that McKay was about the only character I really did like. I don't know if it was the acting or the writing, but I never liked Sheppard anywhere near as much O'Neill or even Mitchell, and the rest were either dull or annoying.

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Arik

Really? I liked Sheppard more than I liked O'Neil.

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Brikar

I didn't care much for Sheppard, either. Joe Flanigan wasn't much of an actor. Every time he delivered a line, I feel like they used the wrong take.

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"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

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http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Arik

Flanigan didn't have much range, I'll give you that. But, I thought he was much more believable as a military leader than RDA was in SG1 (not saying I didn't like RDA).

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Brikar

So at the end of this episode, we find that, basically, we're at the same place we were about 40 minutes into the premiere of 'Atlantis' - coming aboard and doing shit drains the last of the power on the ship. The crew is tired, smelly, and hungry and now they're in th dark.

This is essentially the fourth episode of the series, and it still feels like we're in the pilot, which is funky and kind of interesting. I'm really digging the interchangeable dynamics of having the characters using the Ancient communication stones and swapping out with someone on Earth. The scene at the beginning with everyone ragging on each other for how bad they smell was a really loose, well-played scene for the cast. I again like that the crew is having troubles like withdrawal from caffeine or nicotine instead of being affected by a mysterious alien virus or whatever.

I'm sure we'll get to episodes like that, but for now, I like that this show is taking its time and developing this situation instead of having it just be one-and-done like so many Stargate episodes previous. I wonder just how 'smart' this ship really is.

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"A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown."

http://olympusmans.blogspot.com
http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

Bean

I really enjoyed this episode as well. Even Eli was a decent character. I'm also really enjoying the serialized format and how they're taking their time and developing the situation instead of coming to some semi stable status quo at the end of each episode.

The real standout in this episode though were the visuals. The shots of the Destiny going dark, dropping out of FTL and skimming the atmosphere of the gas giant had to be the very best visuals I've ever seen from Stargate.

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