Voyager vs SGU

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Tsukiyumi
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Sonic Glitch wrote:...However people don't (generally) watch Stargate to get "space drama." If I wanted drama/tension in space, I would watch BSG but that is not Stargates niche. I think that is where SGU went wrong, to some extent they tried to be BSG but they lost the "stargate" feel we all knew and loved.
I see this argument a lot, and really don't get it. The fans wanted... what? Another 10 seasons of the exact same thing? I loved SG-1, and to a much lesser extent, Atlantis... and then I thought SGU was a great move - a different feel because the circumstances and crew were so different to what we'd seen previously on Stargate.
Jim wrote:BSG and SGU were very similar... which is why SGU failed. I didn't like either show.


Yes, it failed because you didn't like either show.
Jim wrote:SGU was a drama that just happened to take place in space. Very little adventure, very little action. Mostly just drama and inter-characer tension (more drama). It was like West Wing, Law & Order, Dallas or what-have-you in space. zzzzzz


I take it you're one of the folks who watched two or three episodes, said "I don't like it", and never watched again. Or perhaps someone kept changing the channel when you weren't looking. "Very little action"? Wrong show.

As an aside, there was supposed to be a whole series of SG-1 and Atlantis movies, but the "fans" blew it by not supporting SGU. Now, no new Stargate at all, probably ever, and certainly not with any of the beloved old cast members. So much for finishing the story arcs.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Teaos »

I never knew that about the movies. Shame...

But they did tie up a lot of lose ends as it was in the two they did do.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Teaos wrote:I never knew that about the movies. Shame...
It really is. They had a finished script for another SG-1 movie featuring O'Neill prominently, and one for Atlantis to finish the Wraith story arc. With MGM almost going bankrupt, and the lack of "fan" support for SGU, they put them on hiatus, and then cancelled both.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Teaos »

Damn, well SG1 had finished most of its arcs. SGA I didnt care for as much, but yeah, the wraith was a big open plot arc. They killed the ancients and we just leave them there... But in general I didnt like the wraith arc.

But I feel Earth was just getting to uber what with our super ships and Asgard tech. It was a nice end to the series but it lost its way almost.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Sonic Glitch »

Tsukiyumi wrote:
Sonic Glitch wrote:...However people don't (generally) watch Stargate to get "space drama." If I wanted drama/tension in space, I would watch BSG but that is not Stargates niche. I think that is where SGU went wrong, to some extent they tried to be BSG but they lost the "stargate" feel we all knew and loved.
I see this argument a lot, and really don't get it. The fans wanted... what? Another 10 seasons of the exact same thing? I loved SG-1, and to a much lesser extent, Atlantis... and then I thought SGU was a great move - a different feel because the circumstances and crew were so different to what we'd seen previously on Stargate.

I enjoyed both SG-1 and Atlantis and didn't disllike SGU but to me it almost seemed like they were trying too hard to be different. SGU didn't strike me as an organic development of the stargate universe (no pun intended) so much as "Well BSG did really well and that sort of angst-ridden, space drama is popular now and we're losing support because we keep doing the same thing only different, let's try that!" It wasn't tath it was necessarily a bad move but it struck as too clearly business motivated. Visually, SGU kind of struck me like this:
Image
With SGU being the random offshoot that didn't quite fit.

That said, much like Caprica I wish it had continued because I was intrigued to see where it would ultimately go. It wasn't my favorite but another season or 2 wouldn't have hurt it (a bit like Enterprise. It was finally getting to a good point).
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by McAvoy »

I did watch all the episodes. First season for the most part was boring but the last half of season 2 was getting good. However to me it never felt like Stargate.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Teaos »

Well you are the resident StarGate fan :D
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Lt. Staplic »

When SGU came out I liked it a lot, I thought it was an interesting turn for the franchise.

I'm re watching it now with my girlfriend after having watched all ten seasons of SG1 and 5 of ATL and I've noticed that I'm liking it less. One of the big things that bother me is that things seem to be thought through less. For example, when the George Hammond attacks the Lucian Alliance Base Carter is force to leave two 302 pilots behind in order to get the ship out of the system in time....but why didn't she beam the pilots out of their 302's before jumping? It's little things like this where the whole point of the beam technology was so that our main characters could be heroes putting themselves into situations just like those pilots, and then be rescued...

I also like the Young-Rush interaction a lot less. I never understood why Young was so interested in opposing Rush. I get that he doesn't like him for sending them to the ship, and I also understand that having some doubts about what he says in relation to gating back to earth etc would be wise as Rush obviously has motivations to stay on the ship, but it seems like every time Rush decides or says anything Young takes the opposite attitude just to spite him. On that subject Universe seems like a different kind of feel between science and military IMO. the other shows have the practical realistic military person who knows when to make the tough calls to save lives, and then the scientific minds/brains that are able to devise a cleaver techno-babble solution that saves everyone and mitigates the downsides of the hard solution. It seems like Universe is opposite with Rush being the person making the hard (unpopular decision) saying that there is no other choice and the rest of the crew pulling shit out of their ass and getting lucky more times than not to find a different solution.

and then there's Wesley Eli. He is able to solve this one single math proof, after what probably amounted to a series of very basic crash courses in higher mathematics off the internet, and then suddenly his math and science abilities are considered superior to the experienced astrophysicists, and engineers on board. In fact the only person he's considered to be sub par to is the one person who's job he was able to do better. It would be one thing if they wanted to make him some super-genius math wiz, but he should have to demonstrate that and prove that he's better than the other people on board, all of whom proved to be good enough at what they do to warrant their inclusion in the Stargate Program.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Teaos »

I agree with the Eli thought.

I think they were trying to go for the stertypical story of people ike Bill Gates and other who leave Collage early and then go on to fo great things. But the thing is, with those people they left because collage was slowing them down or something similar. Eli is just shown to lack motivation and have family issues.

I did the same as you though, Watched SGU after a SG1 and SGA marathon. It is a totally differnt feel, but I really think they needed it as the Ori plot and almost all of SGA just felt like beating a dead horse.

I can understand people not liking it because it is different to SG1 and thats what they wanted... but I just find it odd since SGU really is what most of us have been saying what Voyager should have been.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by Lt. Staplic »

I think the problem boils down to the kind of character issues that I was talking about. I don't have a problem with the premise of the show or the darker angle of it, but I feel like the darker angle should have been more of the militaries making the hard calls with scientists unable to find a better solution, with the new ship, new technology etc. instead of the scientists being unable to find a good solution and dictating what needs to be done, and everyone hating them for it.

I also get that they wanted to be clear that Young wasn't the person that was supposed to be here, but considering he was a candidate for the position, and the fact that you don't get to be a Colonel without the ability to make important decisions and the discipline to hold it together when your whole world goes to shit, he should have been a lot better.

Like I said, really still not a bad show. It shows a perfect sort of general trapped in deep space feel for a show, but just like the show as it is wouldn't have fit well as Voyager without a Trek flavor to it, I feel likes it's missing a bit of a Stargate flavor in the form that the characters interact.

Note I chose flavor over style, because I agree that a full Trek style would have had everyone being happy cheery and we likely would have wound up with the exact same Voyager, similarly a full SG Style and we would wind up with a crew that gets tough, gets over it, and looks at the whole thing as a chance to explore the galaxy and everyone gets along perfectly. But we can have doubt and suspicion and conflict without making our characters antagonistic to the point of three year olds that decide they don't want something because the person they have to share with wants it.
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Re: Voyager vs SGU

Post by McAvoy »

Teaos wrote:Well you are the resident StarGate fan :D
Am I?

I liked SG-1 because of the different feel of it over other series. In both SG-1 and SG-A I liked the humor. SG-U really had none of the cornerstones of a Stargate series.

The only thing I truly did not like was the pacing.
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