SGU Premiere

[Lt. Staplic]

[Mark]

Not yet.......it's ready for me on Hulu.

[Sionnach Glic]

I saw it there not too long ago when it aired. I'm sort of in two minds about it. I'll just do up a list of what I did and didn't like about it for now, as it's the most orderly way to get my thoughts out.

The Good:
I'm liking the Destiny. It's a nice change from the usual Ancient aesthetics, and they've done a really good job in showing the vessel as ancient, damaged and on the verge of failure.
I also think that the concept has a lot of promise. I was worried that it would just be Atlantis 2.0, but there's a lot of possibilities for the setting.
The effects were also pretty nice. The new hyperspace effect looks really good, and it may have just been my imagination but I thought that the Ha'taks looked different.
Rush is an interesting character. I'm hoping we'll see a lot more of him.
The way they revealed the story through little flashbacks was pretty neat. Got the exposition out of the way without dragging the story to a halt.
It was nice to see cameos from SG-1, but I was dissapointed we didn't get to see T'ealc. And I have to agree with whoever said that RDA is starting to look old.

The Bad:
I found it all very predictable. For much of the episode I was able to predict with fair accuracy what was going to happen. Here's hoping they change it.
With the exception of Rush, I'm not particularly thrilled with the characters we have. They all seem rather bland and uninteresting.

The Ugly:
I already can't stand Eli. Annoying, and with vibes of Wesley Crusher.

Overall, I'd give it an 8/10. Not spectacular, but a fairly solid opening that's got me intrigued. Did Rush really contact Earth? Will they be able to stabilise the Destiny to let them live a bit longer? Who attacked Project Icarus? Was someone responsible for the damage the Destiny has suffered, or was it all just natural? Can they turn Eli into a likable character?

I'll be watching it again next week for certain.

[Sionnach Glic]

I've abused my mod powers a bit to add a poll, and change the title to reflect the fact that we're discussing the episodes.

[Sonic Glitch]

Did Rush really contact Earth?

Don't we see him and Dr Lee switching bodies? Or at least an implied body switch?

Will they be able to stabilise the Destiny to let them live a bit longer?

Well if they don't it's going to be a real short series...

Who attacked Project Icarus?

Lucian Alliance IIRC yes?

Was someone responsible for the damage the Destiny has suffered, or was it all just natural?

Maybe those alternate reality Atlantis villains? The ones with the flashing lights in their skulls or whatever?
[qote]Can they turn Eli into a likable character?[/quote]
Hey, they did to McKay didn't they? (Btw, is it just me or did Eli's entrence remind anyone else incredibly of Dr McKay

[Sionnach Glic]

Don't we see him and Dr Lee switching bodies? Or at least an implied body switch?

I think that was a flasback. We see Rush taking the stones out of his case, but then it seemed like we were jumping to an earlier incident where Rush possessed Lee. Of course, I may very well be wrong.

Though even if Rush did indeed possess Lee, we never heard what O'Neill said. And putting someone like Rush in charge would be one of the last things I'd expect O'Neill to have done. I guess we'll find out in future episodes, but I feel suspicious about it for now.

Well if they don't it's going to be a real short series...

Fair point.

Lucian Alliance IIRC yes?

It may have been. I can't recall if any names were mentioned.

Maybe those alternate reality Atlantis villains? The ones with the flashing lights in their skulls or whatever?

I heard someone on SDN suggest them as well. It would be cool if it was, though the question of why then becomes relevant. If they have the tech to keep up with and damage the Destiny, what would they want with it?

Hey, they did to McKay didn't they?

McKay at least had a good reason to be annoying.

[Lt. Staplic]

I think that was a flasback. We see Rush taking the stones out of his case, but then it seemed like we were jumping to an earlier incident where Rush possessed Lee. Of course, I may very well be wrong.

Though even if Rush did indeed possess Lee, we never heard what O'Neill said. And putting someone like Rush in charge would be one of the last things I'd expect O'Neill to have done. I guess we'll find out in future episodes, but I feel suspicious about it for now.

I thought it was on ship...I'm definitely watching the new one tonight, I'll watch the premiere again to see if it was a flashback or not.

I think he was BS'ing the command part though, O'Neill wouldn't ever put him in charge. Remember how much he hated the replacement for Danial after Sharae's death, and he wasn't even all that annoying

[Lt. Staplic]

Just watched it again and two things:

1. The attack is believed to have come from Lucian Alliance, but it's not definitive.

2. Dr. Rush did in fact contact Earth using the ancient stones while on the spaceship, however, we don't see what happened while there.

[Lt. Staplic]

Just saw the new one...I thought it was pretty good, more a back story on Mathew's, which was nice, and legit communication with Earth.

[LaughingCheese]

*sigh*

They turned one of my favourite shows into a soap opera!!

LOL, Stargate's equivalent of DS9? I guess it had to happen.

I seriously don't understand the need for 'darker and grittier.'

In an age of violence and terrorism, and with a nutcase regime in Iran about to go nuclear, why again do you want darker and grittier? I thought TV was about ESCAPING that?


On the flip side, I guess I'll be more productive now.

EDIT: What I loved about Stargate was its light hartedness and its ability to poke fun at itself, no matter how serious the situation.

Example:

I think Season 8 or so, when SG-1 learns Anubis is planning to attack Earth, on Thursday:

O'neill: "Thursday?! That doesn't work for us."

[Lt. Staplic]

I agree SG1 is the best, but this doesn't seem too bad...I already like it more than Atlantis.

[Graham Kennedy]

I've watched the first two hours of this. I find it... troubling.

On the upside, I like the feel of the show. I like that the characters are unprepared for what they are into, I like that we have people who are not the best and the brightest, for instance the guy who was sprung from lockup, etc. I think there's a lot of promise to it.

The ship is... well, it's okay. The overall shape is vaguely Klingon, and the surface is way too fussy for my liking; it's so covered in surface detail that it's got no lines, the whole surface is just a jumble. But I can live with it.

But it was SO unoriginal. The opening scene was a guy solving a puzzle in a computer game which turns out to be a recruitment tool that takes him off into space. So we've basically just ripped off the first half of The Last Starfighter. This is not a promising beginning.

So we go off to the planet and have some shenanigans with an alien attack, then it's off to the Destiny. And we get a lot of wandering around exploring, whilst discovering that the ship is in imminent danger because its systems are failing... and so we're basically re-doing the start of Stargate : Atlantis, now.

So they're worried about air escaping, and they are worried about CO2 buildup. And then I'm becoming aware that over an hour and a half has passed now, and basically very little has happened for that much time. I described all this to Ian, who hasn't been watching it, and said "so how much screen time do you reckon that would fill?", and he guessed about half an hour. Hmmm.

Then we get the real setup; the Destiny stops off now and again and allows access to a nearby Stargate. The crew have a period of some hours to go through and explore, then the ship moves on. And so now we have the basic premise of SGU... and it's Space : 1999.

I'm not close to giving up on it at all, but so far I am less than impressed.