xkcd

by **ArgonV** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:48 pm UTC

Has anyone seen the pilot? I certainly think the series has promise, but I want to see a few more episodes before I make my call. It seemed very reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica and I'm not sure if I want a Stargate like that.

There are other obvious similarities. Look at Rush and Balthar. They're both scientists, they both created the mess they're in (Balthar for giving Caprica Six the codes to the network, Rush because he just HAD to dial the Destiny instead of Earth) and neither of them is purely evil or good. Rush seemed to be an arrogant SOB at first,

Spoiler:

Oh, and did I mention the scheming? :mrgreen:

Rush is still the most interesting character so far. Maybe even the only interesting character.

I just hope Eli doesn't become a laughable character. I mean, McKay was funny, but you still took him serious. Let's see if they can do that for him.

And what's with master sergeant Psycho? I'd expect the SGC to screen their personnel for stuff like antisocial disorders...

by **Ledah** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:46 pm UTC

I liked the pilot. It seems this stargate will be more heavy on character development and less on awesome tech of doom stuff. I think I like that, i was getting a bit tired of the cycle ->

1) Small problem. That turns to
2) Very big life/mankind threatening situation until
3a) McKay pulls something out of his ass -> go to 1)
or
3b) Find piece of ancient/wraith/someone godly technology that is insanely powerful, and then you
4) Win, until
5) Lose control of the tech/blow it up/do something stupid. Now you can start over.

Seriously, for the first few seasons of Stargate Atlantis, every time they found a big ship it'd get blown up in the same episode or the next one.

by **Nath** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:12 pm UTC

I'm up for a character-driven, dramatic Stargate. I haven't seen any Atlantis, and only the first few seasons of SG-1 (working on it), so perhaps I'm less attached to what I think Stargate 'should be', compared to the die-hard fans.

The pilot was interesting, but it did drag a little. Most of the characters appear to have been ripped off from somewhere.

Rush is basically Baltar, as ArgonV pointed out (you'd think they'd see the similarity and try to distance the characters, but no -- they even give him the same haircut). Still, perhaps the resemblance will turn out to be superficial.

Eli is Topher from Dollhouse, and is slightly annoying for the same reasons that Topher was in the beginning.

Young is a humorless version of Jack O'Neill.

Scott, Chloe and the medic whose name I forget are not very well fleshed out at this point, though they each had a couple of character development moments. The psycho soldier is an interesting concept, but the execution hasn't been very compelling.

It'll take another couple of episodes before I can tell whether I like this or not.

by **Wolf** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:25 pm UTC

Yeah, I just finished watching this and I'm not feeling too strongly one way or the other. I hope it's good, but this first episode didn't particularly impress me. (At the same time, it wasn't a disappointment either, which was a bit of a relief.)

Although I thought they did a good job making the viewer distrust Rush just as much as the rest of the crew does. I keep thinking everything he says is just part of some greater scheme. (Perhaps a Xanatos Gambit? I could definitely see Rush being capable of pulling something like that off.)

by **Okita** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:12 am UTC

I like the show so far. Yes, it has a definite Battlestar Galactica feel. But I think that's because it's focus is primarily on characters (ie. their worst enemy is often times each other) and because of the whole "scarce resources" thing. At least, it seems that way to me.

As for the Rush vs. Baltar comparison. I'm not really buying it. Baltar gave Six the codes and essentially screwed over humanity by accident. Afterwards, he's more or less scrambling to stay alive and undiscovered for screwing over so many people. He's changes from selflessness to selfless and then back.

I don't think Rush is selfish. He's just got his goal (perhaps having to do with whom I suspect to be his dead wife) and following it. Is it an evil goal? I dunno. I don't think he wants everyone to die per se either. But he believes he's so smart that it's not worth dealing with other people as opposed to McKay who has a bit of an ego and would like to flaunt a bit when given the opportunity/ like to belittle people a bit.

Anyway, I like the premise so I plan to watch it. Also the musical score ain't bad either.

by **pseudoidiot** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:44 am UTC

Just curious. I haven't finished Stargate Atlantis, yet. I've still gotta watch the last 17 episodes or so. Does anything that happens at the end of Atlantis have any bearing on what happens in Universe?

by **Princess Marzipan** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:06 am UTC

pseudoidiot wrote:Just curious. I haven't finished Stargate Atlantis, yet. I've still gotta watch the last 17 episodes or so. Does anything that happens at the end of Atlantis have any bearing on what happens in Universe?

I'm a few seasons into SG-1. Can I watch Universe without spoiling anything?

by **Xeio** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:37 am UTC

Princess Marzipan wrote:
pseudoidiot wrote:Just curious. I haven't finished Stargate Atlantis, yet. I've still gotta watch the last 17 episodes or so. Does anything that happens at the end of Atlantis have any bearing on what happens in Universe?
I'm a few seasons into SG-1. Can I watch Universe without spoiling anything?

Yes, so far in any case. There is a tiny bit of bleedover in the way of tech (7+ chevrons, one or two ancient devices found during SG-1 series), but nothing plot related really.

by **Nath** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:40 am UTC

Princess Marzipan wrote:
pseudoidiot wrote:Just curious. I haven't finished Stargate Atlantis, yet. I've still gotta watch the last 17 episodes or so. Does anything that happens at the end of Atlantis have any bearing on what happens in Universe?

I'm a few seasons into SG-1. Can I watch Universe without spoiling anything?

I'm in the same situation (season 4 of SG-1), and risked it. Nothing seemed spoiled, though you'll find out that certain SG-1 characters survive long enough to appear briefly in SGU. And, yeah, a bit of tech.

by **Wolf** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 6:26 am UTC

Okita wrote:Also the musical score ain't bad either.

I noticed this, too. I especially like the piece that played when

Spoiler:

It was great at adding flavor but never got in the way of the dialogue, and only really rose up when no one was talking. (One of my major problems with some TV shows is that I have a hard time hearing the characters talk over the too-loud background music.)

by **Auwolf** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:03 pm UTC

I suppose I knew what I was getting into when they said they were going to focus on character development. Eli Wallace I found annoying, he seemed like a much younger version of Rodney McKay but more irritating. Dr. Rush I found the most interesting because of his complex personality. Or that soldier with the anger problems they have a lot of options story wise.

Maybe it isn't the show for me, since I like explosions every 2 seconds and drama isn't my genre. It's nothing in comparison to SG-1 or Atlantis but then again its focus is entirely different.

The ending gave me some hope for some excitement, we'll have to wait and see.

by **Chen** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:46 pm UTC

Princess Marzipan wrote:I'm a few seasons into SG-1. Can I watch Universe without spoiling anything?

Well from what I can see the continuity places SG:U near the end if not after Atlantis' storyline. So the only spoilers that I noticed would be seeing what characters from SG:1 are doing in the future (and consequently determining which are still alive and the like).

by **Okita** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 6:23 pm UTC

ArgonV wrote:Rush seemed to be an arrogant SOB at first,
Spoiler:
but consoling the girl (Chloe?) seemed genuine to me.

Oh, and did I mention the scheming?

Spoiler:

by **Sockmonkey** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:20 pm UTC

Yeah, Rush is really only "evil" in the "I will risk lives to achive what I think is a noble goal" sense rather than the selfish sense.
Eli isn't too bad, he's young and inexperienced enough for the magnitude of the situation to keep his ego in check for now allthough that may change as things progress.

I did always wonder why there were nine chevrons when a gate address was seven.

Personally I'm hoping this bunch actually shows a bit of character, grows up, and pulls together as opposed to the metric buttload of personal BS issues that BG showed.

by **Adacore** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:45 pm UTC

I don't really buy the Rush-Baltar thing either, and Carlyle's acting blows everyone else out of the water when they're in the same scene (imo), so I'm not complaining about Rush so far. I did think this has the potential for elements of sliders of all things, in that:

Spoiler:

Overall, as others have said - I didn't think it was a bad first episode, but it didn't blow me away. I'll keep watching for a bit and see if it sucks me in.

by **Okita** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:53 pm UTC

It occurs to me that now they know where they are (relatively), couldn't they eventually go home through normal gates? It would just be like the Midway Pegasus --> Milky Way network but on a much larger scale.

by **Chen** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:58 pm UTC

Okita wrote:It occurs to me that now they know where they are (relatively), couldn't they eventually go home through normal gates? It would just be like the Midway Pegasus --> Milky Way network but on a much larger scale.

Didn't that gate bridge only work because they moved a lot of gates around? And wasn't the Atlantis gate the only one capable of dialong OUT of Pegasus?

by **Moo** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:34 pm UTC

I watched the Sky (UK) premier last night and I thought the first half of the pilot dragged but by the end of the second half I really wanted to know what happens to these characters. Granted that was mostly focused on Rush and to a small degree Chloe but I'm keen to keep watching.

I don't tend to watch behind the scene stuff but the trailers for the accompanying behind the scene stuff had a clip of Robert Carlyle saying "we wanted to do something grittier, darker" and I completed in my head "so basically we wanted to be BSG". That is an observation rather than a criticism; for one thing that remains to be seen, for another if BSG starts a move towards more gritty, realistic sci-fi is that so bad?

I agree that Rush is the only really good character so far. I'm glad

Spoiler:

Cnl Young, Eli and Chloe and the young officer dude had potential (Matthew Scott, I think?) but are yet to get interesting. The medic (Tamara) didn't do anything for me (and I hate her hairstyle but that's just me

) .

I will keep watching with interest for now. Also, want a flying camera diary.

by **Okita** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:01 pm UTC

Chen wrote:
Okita wrote:It occurs to me that now they know where they are (relatively), couldn't they eventually go home through normal gates? It would just be like the Midway Pegasus --> Milky Way network but on a much larger scale.

Didn't that gate bridge only work because they moved a lot of gates around? And wasn't the Atlantis gate the only one capable of dialong OUT of Pegasus?

That's entirely possible.

by **mosc** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:42 pm UTC

Earth could dial Atlantis if they had a ZPM. At the beginning they only had like 2 I think and when a ship was on route, that meant no earth dialing. Also, they were seemingly out of power on Atlantis for the first two seasons but after that, they had infinite power.

by **Zorlin** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:01 am UTC

mosc wrote:Earth could dial Atlantis if they had a ZPM. At the beginning they only had like 2 I think and when a ship was on route, that meant no earth dialing. Also, they were seemingly out of power on Atlantis for the first two seasons but after that, they had infinite power.

That's kinda what ruined the show for me.

by **guyy** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:10 am UTC

I can't say I like the look of this show so far; it just looks too much like it should be called "BattleStargate"... mostly uninteresting characters, semi-explicit sex, etc. It even uses Battlestar-style ugly digital effects that make it look like a generic FPS game.

The plot gets a bit questionable, too, like when

Spoiler:

I'll have to see how the next few episodes go, but so far it looks like my pessimistic reaction to the previews was right (for me, anyway).

by **Okita** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:50 am UTC

In the 3rd part of Air...

Spoiler:

by **Jorpho** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:24 am UTC

Wait, what? This started already?

I suppose there's no chance I can get it on basic cable in Canada.

by **Megatriorchis** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:55 am UTC

Okita wrote:In the 3rd part of Air...

Spoiler:
I think they ended up stranding and effectively killing Palmer and Curtis. Only Franklin at the time knew how to get the override and he was shot + unconscious. So... Palmer and Curtis are stuck on a planet by themselves. O.o

That's actually really unsettling. I hope they didn't just let them die... but I think they did. Especially since both actors don't seem to be in any other episodes.

It's only 80 people on the ship! You can't afford redshirts with that few people!

Spoiler:

I like this show so far, and I'll probably keep watching it, but it would do better without the melodrama and the BSG style. Rush is probably my favorite character so far.

by **Zorlin** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:58 am UTC

First off, disclaimer: I love Stargate: Atlantis, and I love Stargate: SG-1. Having seen trailers and such I did not have high hopes for this.

But, I trawled through the premiere, and just finished watching the latest episode. I didn't think I'd at all be into this, but

Spoiler:

by **Nath** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:10 am UTC

I liked this episode. They actually managed to build up a little tension at the end. They also fleshed out Scott and Greer a bit; Chloe is still not interesting, though. Rush is also seeming a little less Baltarish; I liked that bit with him and Greer.

Other thoughts/questions:

Spoiler:

by **ArgonV** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 4:44 pm UTC

In response to Nath:

Spoiler:

Also, something about the pilot episode still:

Spoiler:

by **Awia** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:39 pm UTC

Spoiler:

by **ArgonV** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:46 pm UTC

Ok, so I misunderstood :oops:

by **Sockmonkey** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:59 pm UTC

Spoiler:

by **Sana** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:38 am UTC

Sockmonkey wrote:It was my understanding that a gate had to be near enough to a planet to use it as a point of origin in the address in order to function so how can they gate from the ship out in space like that?

The ship knows where it is and so it knows what point of origin to use, and it can therefore dial the Stargate. I do not believe that planets themselves have points of origin, but rather locations in space have points of origin.

by **Chen** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:20 pm UTC

In one of the first two episodes Rush says that O'neill said he was in charge. I had just assumed that was a bluff, but it appears in this last episode to be confirmed Rush actually did communicate with Earth. So is he actually in charge?

I dislike the irrationality of some of the characters. The guy from earth who took over the colonel's body and was pushing it too hard. How ridiculous was that? And the psycho marine is really pissing me off. I can't see how the people in charge would accept that kind of a loose cannon. Even in this situation someone as mentally unstable as him is FAR more of a detriment than a benefit. They're trying to make flawed characters like BSG but its just coming off as forced. BSG was almost literally the last vestiges of humanity. This is 80 people stuck on a ship and who still have direct communication with Earth. It just doesnt seem to justify some of the ridiculous behavior that some people are putting up with.

by **toxi** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:55 am UTC

At first I was excited to have another Stargate going on (it was sort of a ritual for me to watch an SG1 each week, then SGA, and then it was over). The show's been running pretty much non-stop since 1997, so I basically grew up with stargate.

But that's about it. I think SGU kinda took the worst from similar shows, e.g. the emphasis on characters from BSG (which works in BSG, but not here), the ever-increasing stupidity of command decisions from Stargate and so on.

For example,

Spoiler:

... and so on. The good ol' stargate was written with actual military advisors ... well, giving advice about how to do stuff logically. When they

Spoiler:

While in later stargates and in ... this, when they stumble upon a yet another alien pal character, they give him a gun and a frickin squad to boss around on the spot!

But I'm gonna watch it anyway, 'cause it has a big spinning ring with wormholes in it. Spinning is so much better than not spinning.

by **keozen** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:40 pm UTC

Meh to most of the criticisms so far, I'm liking it.

Spoiler Tag time:

Spoiler:

by **Sockmonkey** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:25 pm UTC

What was the name of the song they were playing at the end of the episode? I thought it really added great flavor to the ending.

by **Alder** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:50 pm UTC

keozen wrote:Meh to most of the criticisms so far, I'm liking it.

Spoiler Tag time:
Spoiler:
In Ep 3 you saw Eli dialing after the other two that had buggered off to the other planet and trying to radio them through the gate, they didn't respond. The shot was done in such a way that suggested that it may not have been his first attempt to contact them. I therefore declare that they must have been eaten by raptors on the other side.

The ship detaching from Destiny at the end of Ep 3 was an interesting teaser. It doesn't look to be of the same design as the rest of destiny so I'd say it's something else.

I want a Keyno.

Spoiler:

by **Megatriorchis** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:22 pm UTC

keozen wrote:
Spoiler:
I want a Keyno.

So do I, but I'd put silver foil on it to make it look like a disco ball.

by **Sockmonkey** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:23 pm UTC

I'd use it for lightsaber practice.

by **SlyReaper** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:44 pm UTC

I like it so far. From watching most of SG1 and a tiny bit of Atlantis, this seems sufficiently different to be an interesting sci-fi show in its own right.

Spoiler:

As a side note, I'm actually really hoping that they never encounter any aliens. I think there's enough drama potential without them, and adding rubber-forehead aliens would just ruin the whole "we're all alone out here" thing. The fact that they can still keep in contact with Earth via the blue stones already rankles slightly.

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