SGU
After a long delay in posting - thought I'd come back with a review of the first episode of Stargate Universe. Here goes...
After the cut for spoilers.
Let me start by saying that I loved SGA and liked any episode of SG1 that I've seen (though I can't seem to get through 10 seasons) so I was torn by the announcement of SGA's cancellation immediately followed by the ill advised press release stating that SGU was a "go". Since that time I've wrestled with my love of nearly everything sci fi and my anger that SGU was brought to life by sacrificing SGA. As it turned out - time did seem to heal many wounds and I began to get excited about the prospects of the new show. I'm a fan of Robert Carlyle and was excited to hear that he was tapped as a lead. The rest of the cast did very little to excite or repel me - which is fine. Then along came Comic Con. I went to the MGM party, watched the sneak footage one night and mingled with many of the cast for 3 nights in a row. I think that solidified my interest in seeing the show and gave me that much needed fangirl boost. I was especially impressed with David Blue and Brian J. Smith as they were both very accessible and friendly guys. Doesn't hurt that Brian is also exceptionally attractive... but I digress. I met Ming Na, Elyse L., Alaina H. and Robert Carlyle and they were all lovely people. I was officially "on board".
At that point, I decided to avoid as much additional information on the show as possible so I could watch it unspoiled. I wanted to view it from the perspective of someone who may have just tuned in and had no prior knowledge of the franchise as I figured those are the eyeballs that Syfy and MGM will really need to capture. I think I did a pretty good job keeping clear of plot twists and avoiding advance reviews. With all that said - I tuned in last night and...
From the start, I was very intrigued. The opening was very impressive. It had a very different feel to it... very stark but big and foreboding. As the show progressed, I was struck by a few things: I had a hard time hearing some dialogue and it was dark and grainy. When everyone started dropping through the gate on top of eachother I found myself feeling like it was cool initially but became excessive quickly. Seemed hard to believe that people wouldn't start moving away from the gate once it became clear that people and objects were flying out of it at an accelerated rate. The resulting mayhem did set the stage for where the group is but I felt it was almost too heavy handed. Once the situation was established I dropped back in line with the story and very much enjoyed meeting each character and learning bits and pieces of their background via flashbacks. My one big gripe though is that those flashbacks were very poorly transitioned into. I honestly had no clue initially when we were in the current situation and when we went back to the past. I'm no newbie when it comes to these kinds of shows but some kind of subtle sign that we are making a jump to the past would have been helpful - especially if you are aiming to snag a more mainstream audience on your premiere episode. My husband and I actually argued at one point as to whether we were watching post attack Destiny scenes or pre-attack flashback scenes. Not good. Yes we re-wound the scene and watched the dialogue that was missed during our little squabble but that really shouldn't happen. BTW - I won the argument. It's my review so I control the outcome.
Back to the show... Once we are clear on what happened and where most characters seem to fall in the whole scenario viewing became a bit more enjoyable.. Rush can't be trusted. Scott is a capable pinch hitting leader both brave and capable under stress. Eli is smart but also a bit of a smart aleck, TJ has some secrets is also capable but in over her head. I won't go on but the show does an excellent job laying out everyone's motives and allowing the viewer to get the large cast situated in their brains which is a difficult task for certain.
The story stalls a bit as it progresses - The Destiny is old and failing and no one seems to know how to salvage it. Rush seems to know a great deal but seems to have another agenda and only shares his knowledge in the most dire situations leaving the rest of the crew to act on his pronouncements. There is such a lack of a heroic person in this show that it is a bit frustrating. I know the creators wanted to have a more stark realistic world but in doing so they have removed an element that many watch TV or movies for... the escape. I'm gathering that this may change as the show continues but I fear that the tendency towards realism will temper the excitement to a less than ideal place for me.
The acting is all top notch and the show is well cast. That said - the writing is overly melodramatic. There are some great moments and some unbelievably annoying and sappy moments with the balance in this premiere tipping over on the latter side. If this trend continues, I know I won't be able to withstand much of it as I just can't take to much melodrama in my sci fi. The scene that I found most exceptionally problematic was when Lt. Scott asked Chloe to tell her about her father... I actually said out loud... "are they serious here? kill me now" and got a chuckle from my husband. The whole scene just didn't need to happen. I'm guessing they wanted to bring the Chloe character some depth which she clearly needs but not at the expense of making her even more annoying than she already is. Battlestar Galactica often pushed me nearly to the edge but always carefully navigated it's way safely back to my sci fi safe zone in the nick of time. That is part of what made that show genius to me. Great inventive storytelling, amazing acting and exceptionally dramatic without being overbearing. SGU needs to avoid being overly dramatic and sharpen up the storytelling. Since the entire first season has been written and is nearly complete it remains to be seen if the creators/writers figured this out as they progressed.
The final scene was promising as Rush explains what the Destiny is doing and this was a revelation to me. I like the idea that the ship is stopping when it finds what it needs... though there is some chance that Rush is a lying liar who lies and that is not the case at all. I even like that possibility. I also like that I feel like I "get" where most of the characters are coming from after that 2 hour mishmash of a premiere episode. Despite the fact that I found the pilot uneven, too dark (literally - not figuratively) and more than a bit heavy on the drama I will continue watching the series to see what comes next and hope for the best.
I can't help myself from comparing SGU to SGA. SGU feels like it has some potential to revive the Stargate franchise and reach an expanded audience which I like the idea of and for that reason I hope it is successful. It is complex and more understated than it's predecessors and I applaud the creators for attempting to do what very few have done successfully. Even BSG with all the critical accolades never really reached a respectable audience rating even in it's final season. I guess the bottom line is... I enjoyed the simple heroism, team camaraderie and subtle humor that was a trademark of SG1 and SGA and I will miss that quite a bit.
Color me on the fence... skeptical but not lost... optimistic but in a "I need to see it to believe it" kind of way... if that is possible.
After the cut for spoilers.
Let me start by saying that I loved SGA and liked any episode of SG1 that I've seen (though I can't seem to get through 10 seasons) so I was torn by the announcement of SGA's cancellation immediately followed by the ill advised press release stating that SGU was a "go". Since that time I've wrestled with my love of nearly everything sci fi and my anger that SGU was brought to life by sacrificing SGA. As it turned out - time did seem to heal many wounds and I began to get excited about the prospects of the new show. I'm a fan of Robert Carlyle and was excited to hear that he was tapped as a lead. The rest of the cast did very little to excite or repel me - which is fine. Then along came Comic Con. I went to the MGM party, watched the sneak footage one night and mingled with many of the cast for 3 nights in a row. I think that solidified my interest in seeing the show and gave me that much needed fangirl boost. I was especially impressed with David Blue and Brian J. Smith as they were both very accessible and friendly guys. Doesn't hurt that Brian is also exceptionally attractive... but I digress. I met Ming Na, Elyse L., Alaina H. and Robert Carlyle and they were all lovely people. I was officially "on board".
At that point, I decided to avoid as much additional information on the show as possible so I could watch it unspoiled. I wanted to view it from the perspective of someone who may have just tuned in and had no prior knowledge of the franchise as I figured those are the eyeballs that Syfy and MGM will really need to capture. I think I did a pretty good job keeping clear of plot twists and avoiding advance reviews. With all that said - I tuned in last night and...
From the start, I was very intrigued. The opening was very impressive. It had a very different feel to it... very stark but big and foreboding. As the show progressed, I was struck by a few things: I had a hard time hearing some dialogue and it was dark and grainy. When everyone started dropping through the gate on top of eachother I found myself feeling like it was cool initially but became excessive quickly. Seemed hard to believe that people wouldn't start moving away from the gate once it became clear that people and objects were flying out of it at an accelerated rate. The resulting mayhem did set the stage for where the group is but I felt it was almost too heavy handed. Once the situation was established I dropped back in line with the story and very much enjoyed meeting each character and learning bits and pieces of their background via flashbacks. My one big gripe though is that those flashbacks were very poorly transitioned into. I honestly had no clue initially when we were in the current situation and when we went back to the past. I'm no newbie when it comes to these kinds of shows but some kind of subtle sign that we are making a jump to the past would have been helpful - especially if you are aiming to snag a more mainstream audience on your premiere episode. My husband and I actually argued at one point as to whether we were watching post attack Destiny scenes or pre-attack flashback scenes. Not good. Yes we re-wound the scene and watched the dialogue that was missed during our little squabble but that really shouldn't happen. BTW - I won the argument. It's my review so I control the outcome.
Back to the show... Once we are clear on what happened and where most characters seem to fall in the whole scenario viewing became a bit more enjoyable.. Rush can't be trusted. Scott is a capable pinch hitting leader both brave and capable under stress. Eli is smart but also a bit of a smart aleck, TJ has some secrets is also capable but in over her head. I won't go on but the show does an excellent job laying out everyone's motives and allowing the viewer to get the large cast situated in their brains which is a difficult task for certain.
The story stalls a bit as it progresses - The Destiny is old and failing and no one seems to know how to salvage it. Rush seems to know a great deal but seems to have another agenda and only shares his knowledge in the most dire situations leaving the rest of the crew to act on his pronouncements. There is such a lack of a heroic person in this show that it is a bit frustrating. I know the creators wanted to have a more stark realistic world but in doing so they have removed an element that many watch TV or movies for... the escape. I'm gathering that this may change as the show continues but I fear that the tendency towards realism will temper the excitement to a less than ideal place for me.
The acting is all top notch and the show is well cast. That said - the writing is overly melodramatic. There are some great moments and some unbelievably annoying and sappy moments with the balance in this premiere tipping over on the latter side. If this trend continues, I know I won't be able to withstand much of it as I just can't take to much melodrama in my sci fi. The scene that I found most exceptionally problematic was when Lt. Scott asked Chloe to tell her about her father... I actually said out loud... "are they serious here? kill me now" and got a chuckle from my husband. The whole scene just didn't need to happen. I'm guessing they wanted to bring the Chloe character some depth which she clearly needs but not at the expense of making her even more annoying than she already is. Battlestar Galactica often pushed me nearly to the edge but always carefully navigated it's way safely back to my sci fi safe zone in the nick of time. That is part of what made that show genius to me. Great inventive storytelling, amazing acting and exceptionally dramatic without being overbearing. SGU needs to avoid being overly dramatic and sharpen up the storytelling. Since the entire first season has been written and is nearly complete it remains to be seen if the creators/writers figured this out as they progressed.
The final scene was promising as Rush explains what the Destiny is doing and this was a revelation to me. I like the idea that the ship is stopping when it finds what it needs... though there is some chance that Rush is a lying liar who lies and that is not the case at all. I even like that possibility. I also like that I feel like I "get" where most of the characters are coming from after that 2 hour mishmash of a premiere episode. Despite the fact that I found the pilot uneven, too dark (literally - not figuratively) and more than a bit heavy on the drama I will continue watching the series to see what comes next and hope for the best.
I can't help myself from comparing SGU to SGA. SGU feels like it has some potential to revive the Stargate franchise and reach an expanded audience which I like the idea of and for that reason I hope it is successful. It is complex and more understated than it's predecessors and I applaud the creators for attempting to do what very few have done successfully. Even BSG with all the critical accolades never really reached a respectable audience rating even in it's final season. I guess the bottom line is... I enjoyed the simple heroism, team camaraderie and subtle humor that was a trademark of SG1 and SGA and I will miss that quite a bit.
Color me on the fence... skeptical but not lost... optimistic but in a "I need to see it to believe it" kind of way... if that is possible.