Stargate Universe season 1 review
So I just finished the first season of SGU. Now I'm a big fan of SG-1 and SGA, but my reaction to this series is strangely an unpopular opinion... kinda.
Popular opinion states that SGU was terrible. I originally had no intentions of watching the series because of this. Of course, whenever I say that something comes along to have me change my mind. Obviously, that instigator was the fantastic Robert Carlyle. All my other Stargate fan-friends/family (mainly the fam) didn't like it or didn't want to "waste their time" on it. I posted the question of whether or not the series was worth watching on the Stargate tag on tumblr and surprsingly all who replied generally liked it; they said it was different but enjoyable.
My dad said he didn't like it was because of the characters; that they were all selfish jerks and it was hard to choose who were the bad guys and who were the good guys. My sister, the one who got me into Stargate at all, refused to watch it because of the popular opinions that she heard. My mom was of the fence; she liked the story but couldn't get into the characters.
And me? Generally, yes I liked it. Yes, I'm going to watch the second season.
I can see why some people didn't like it. It was shot on hand-held camera which throws some people off, however it was mainly because of the characters. Throughout a majority of this season most of them are at each other's throats and are having a hard time cooperating. Some characters who you think you can trust become self-centered and those you think you can't trust at first you start by the end of the season. And then there are the characters you don't even know how to feel about. I did not like the characters I did not like any of the characters; I found them to be disgustingly selfish, arrogant, disrespectful, annoying people. One of the main concepts of the series was that it was supposed to be a bunch of people stuck out in the universe without any clue what to do. All I can think of that is why were they all on Icarus anyway? If half of them are not qualified to be doing anything important, then why were on the planet in the first place? This is something that still bothers me. It just doesn't make any sense. If anyone has an answer to that that I missed, let me know.
It wasn't until the last third of the season that the characters became likable to me. Why? Because they were finally putting aside major differences in order to survive and work together. Dr. Rush I hated at the beginning, but I found I liekd him more after "Human." Eli went form being that annoying guy you knew in high school to someone to rely on. Generally, the character's personalities you can't change, but you get used to them. I think that's what the majority of the pop-opinion SG fans did; they watched the first couple of episodes then gave up. It wasn't like SG-1 where you knew some of these characters from the movie. It wasn't like Atlantis where in the first episode who fall in love with Sheppard and McKay on sight. You have to grow with these characters. Yes, they're idiots who have no clue what they're doing, but that's the point. It's different than the other series and that's what puts people off.
Is it better than SG-1 or SGA? Hell no. Is it a big pile of crap? No. Does remotely suck? No. Is it about a bunch of selfish jerks stuck on a spaceship in another galaxy who eventually learn to have to work together to save each other? Yes. Is it for every Stargate fan? No. Will you love it? It varies from person to person. If you're curious, is it worth a watch? I'd say so. Should you hate it just because of popular opinion? Hell no. You should never do that. You can take it into consideration, but that doesn't make it right. Everyone has different opinions and even though all my fellow RL Stargate fans may not like it, that doesn't mean I have to.
Stargate Universe is blamed for the fall of the Stargate series. I don't know if that's true, but that doesn't mean you have to hate it.
Personally, this is a series that I consider a guilty pleasure. It has major faults, but it's still enjoyable to watch.