A few people have asked us for our full review of Stargate Universe, seeing as how the press kit arrived a few days ago (story). While we work on the complete review, we thought we should share some informal first impressions of the new series right away.
In no particular order:
IT’S DIFFERENT, YET FAMILIAR. Much has been made about how the show is going to be unlike what has come before it, and long-time Stargate viewers will certainly be struck by how different SGU is. The difference in shooting style, the focus on characters and relationships more than a driving plot, and a very different approach to music may stand out in particular. It’s not just the next Stargate show; it’s a different kind of Stargate show. It is done beautifully, and for us it is a welcome change.
There’s a ton that is familiar, though — and we don’t just mean the big, spinning ring. In spite of the differences it still feels like Stargate. Not least of all is the world that the characters inhabit. The faces, the technology, the set design, the subtly updated sound effects, the humor mixed with fantastical circumstances and emotion … it’s Stargate.
NO BAD GUYS, PER SE. We heard rumblings of this early on, and it seems to be working out nicely so far. There are enemies, to be sure, and the Destiny will encounter alien species. But the pilot doesn’t set up a primary antagonist like the Goa’uld or the Wraith. Instead, the show is about the Destiny crew and their struggle to survive, to learn what they are made of and who they can count on.
DAMN GOOD ACTING. There are a whopping nine cast members, and every one of them is very good at their craft. Everyone gets moments to shine, and after three episodes it feels like we know a bit about who they are and what makes them tick — and where they have personal flaws. There are a few stand-outs, but we are eager to see the spotlight shone on everyone in turn.
One of the very first feelings we got when watching “Air, Part 1″ was that these characters have history, and history with each other. Most of them aren’t meeting one another for the first time. They already feel “lived in;” we get to drop into the middle of their story and figure out what kind of people they are. That’s a credit to the writers (who are clearly writing for an audience that is smart, and doesn’t have to have every plot turn or relationship pointed out with banal dialogue), and it is a credit to the actors.
IT MAKES YOU THINK. Shoot-em-up action and plot-driven fun is great. But because many of the characters on SGU have a history with one another, you may miss something if you’re not watching closely. Our second pass through the pilot revealed over a half dozen clues to characters and potential future scenarios that we didn’t catch the first time around. Thus …
IT PLANTS SEEDS. A large portion of what is hinted at throughout the pilot does not come to fruition at the end of the three hours. The pilot shows a concerted effort to establish that this is going to be a marathon journey — one that will be rewarding to the viewer — than a solo sprint every week.
Our full review of “Air” will be online next week. Why wait so long? Press kits do go out weeks in advance, to give television writers ample time to watch and write. But there’s a reason why most of the mainstream media reviews you will see in the days ahead won’t be published until Friday, October 2: For viewers who aren’t sure if they’re going to watch, that final week and final day are the most critical for publicity.
We’ll have lots more to say about “Air” and Stargate Universe as we count down these final days to the show’s premiere, as well as after the rest of the world has seen it! To make sure that we don’t miss a beat, we have already recorded podcast discussions for the show’s launch week, for “Air” Parts 1 and 2, and for “Air, Part 3.”
Stay tuned for all that and more, and watch the premiere of SGU on October 2!
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You paint a positive picture of the show. I know you are vested in the series, but not to the extent of say an NBC employee who would only point out the positives.
With that in mind, I appreciate the effort at putting some of us at ease. I have had concerns that the show would diverge too far from what we have come to love about Stargate. I think you have helped with this small article.
Cheapshot | September 21 @ 5:03 pmI don’t think the ptb need to worry about gettin an audience for the premier. I’m sure many will tune in just to see how good or bad it is. The true test will be whether it continues to appeal after the first 5-6 episodes and from reviews so far I find it disconcerting that some reviewers feel we need to hang in there to really be able to judge how good the show will be. What are premiers for if not to bring in viewers. If an audience doesn’t like what they see in the premier they wont come back. A lot of effort and money has been put into SGU and the premier in particular, so if reviewers state that even the premier won’t be enough to keep the audience watching then thats a bit worrying. I intend to watch the premier. I’ve hated what I’ve seen so far and I know this new incarnation won’t be for me. A show focused on the drama of the characters from week to week in not my kind of scifi,particulary with characters I feel no connection to. But my biggest gripe with the reviews that have come out is the constant need to say that SGU has great actors. I would assume they wouldnt have been cast if they werent considered to be good actors. Stargate has always had good actors and I’m getting sick of the implication that the SGU actors are any better than the previous casts. If fact what I have seen of Robert Carlyle so far has been rather underwhelming.
blackhawlk | September 21 @ 5:30 pmIt didnt help me at all. I was actually very excited about this at first, and was not bothered by the idea of a younger cast, which was probably the first thing we heard about the series. But as the premiere has gotten closer I have become less and less excited with every bit of new information. I’ll wait and watch it to be sure, but I really dont have much hope left. These are some of the things that worry me:
Clemontine | September 21 @ 5:41 pm-”the focus on characters and relationships more than a driving plot”
-”the pilot doesn’t set up a primary antagonist like the Goa’uld or the Wraith. Instead, the show is about the Destiny crew and their struggle to survive, to learn what they are made of and who they can count on.” (they expect me to come back each week because of a strong interest in the characters relationships instead of in a driving story? Doubtful)
-”we get to drop into the middle of their story and figure out what kind of people they are.” (dropping in the middle of a story doesnt sound like it could ever be a good thing)
-”That’s a credit to the writers (who are clearly writing for an audience that is smart” (so are fans of the original SG writing style stupid?)
-”Shoot-em-up action and plot-driven fun is great. But…” (but not as fun as ppl making out? 3 times in trailer!? I really hope that isnt a proportionate representation)
I feel vaguely insulted, so I’m not smart cause I liked SG1 and SGA? I’m sure you didn’t mean that though. But it’s all part of why SGU disturbs me; the frequent insinuations that everything about this new show is better than something that I’ve loved for years. Makes me feel like a second class citizen.
Sylvia | September 21 @ 5:56 pmNo matter what people say; I’m really excited about the show! I’m a big fan og scifi and I’ve enjoyed SG1 and SGA, and the fact that Universe is a characterdriven show is great news! I can see why many people are scared by the “no-plot” thing, but come on… We have this large, incredible universe that is Stargate and we get a show that is focusing on a group of people whom are lost and need to rely on eachother. This just ups the ante: Stargate has always been a kind of “realistic scifi series” beacuse of the fact that it is not set in the future, we don’t have overwhelming technology and we are naught but a small part of a large galaxy. And now we get to dive even deeper into that. I’m loving this! I’m really excited and can’t wait for the premiere.
It seemes to me that everyone wants a new SG1. I loved SG1, but when a new show comes along, I’m pleased that it’s not just a rehash of a former, succesful series. It’s gutsy to jump into a new thing. I respect, I believe in that, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it.
And I think GateWorld does a great job promoting this. It could be I’m just a genuinly positive guy, but I really look forward to this. October 2nd is so far away…
Tindeland | September 21 @ 6:24 pm“so are fans of the original SG writing style stupid?”
…sigh. Yes, you are a complete idiot because you liked SG-1 and SGA. I’m SURE that’s what they’re trying to tell you here.
Seriously, these “complaints” are getting pathetic. It seems as if with every positive review that comes out, with every unfounded argument against SGU that gets refuted, the anti-SGU crowd desperately try to make up for it by coming up with new complaints and arguments (because they WANT to dislike SGU, not because they have a legitimate reason to) and making less and less sense as they do so.
Come on… Even if you’ll never admit it, things are looking good for SGU at this point. It’s time to either just drop the BS and give SGU a fair chance, or just GTFO of the debate already.
Ugly Pig | September 21 @ 6:26 pmSo far everything I am hearing about this show just sounds brilliant from the cast, the many scenes which have I have read about, the depth of characters and character histories something we lack. They seem to be using more modern story telling techniques. More modern look.
knowles2 | September 21 @ 6:41 pmSo far SGU seem to be fixing the flaws that were obvious in SG1 and SGA. I love that we are having a darker side of the Stargate universe, I am personally fed up of the light side so that ought to be great.
Sounds good!!
+ i don’t believe the intent is to say fans of SG-1 are stupid + this is a step up… in fact i think it very much implies that Stargate fans are smart + the writers are playing to that. That being said i would be o so very happy if the level of writing managed to rebound from SGA. To be sure there were some good episodes + Season 5 of SGA might be my favorite since the first but it was certainly less consistent than SG-1, @ least in my opinion.
ZJW | September 21 @ 7:00 pmWhy do people have to twist things around when something is said in an article?
Originally posted by Sylvia:
“I feel vaguely insulted, so I’m not smart cause I liked SG1 and SGA? I’m sure you didn’t mean that though. But it’s all part of why SGU disturbs me; the frequent insinuations that everything about this new show is better than something that I’ve loved for years. Makes me feel like a second class citizen.”
Actually, if TPTB are smart and all, I hope it is better. (Although, it is primarily a different take and a different direction for Stargate.) There were flaws in SG-1 and Atlantis, so they are taking the flaws from those two, learning from them, and making something better. Wouldn’t you want to take mistakes that you make and better yourself from them? Or stick to more of the same.
Will SGU make mistakes? You betcha. It is created by humans and last I checked, humans are flawed. Future sci-fi will simply learn from SGU’s mistakes to become better. It’s a process. We learn from the mistakes to create or become better at whatever it is we are trying to do.
Come on, if you know or at least think they would never insinuate something along the lines that SGU is for ’smart people”, why make the comment, “…so I’m not smart cause I liked SG1 and SGA” at all?
You (will) either like it or hate the show. Stop looking for things to jab the show because they look childish to say something like you did.
(I don’t have a problem that you are not looking forward to the show and from what I can tell, probably won’t watch it, but that is guessing on my part only by your take on this. I could be wrong with that, but oh well. My problem with your post and others is that you make statements like the one I mentioned above that shouldn’t even be mentioned because they are simply jabs, nothing more, nothing less.)
Just read above before I posted. Nicely said Ugly Pig.
Orion Coran | September 21 @ 7:05 pmI also just want to say that while SG-1 and Altantis had flaws, they also had strengths that made them awesome. All shows are flawed, unfortunately. (Whether there are plot holes, etc.)
Orion Coran | September 21 @ 7:08 pmEven the commenters are not nice to those of us who liked the old shows :(
Sylvia | September 21 @ 7:32 pmNo, they’re not being nice to you because you’ve somehow gotten this crazy idea in your head that the producers of SG:U have decided that the “old” stargate sucks and plan to drastically change everything about it. Thus, you have the “us vs. them” attitude that is impossible to understand. If you like SG:U, it doesn’t mean you somehow love SG-1 and SGA any less. And let’s be honest here… it won’t bring them back, either.
Look, I’m a HUGE fan of SG-1 and SGA. I’ve seen every episode, many more than once, and it has, hands-dowwn, some of the best characters of any show out there. It was consistently good. THAT BEING SAID… it was a fairly fomulaic show. I’m not saying that to be detrimental… I’m just being honest. I knew that at the end of the episode, the life threatening problem that presented itself would be solved through the heroics of one of the characters. There’s nothing WRONG with that, but that sort of episodic plot-driven show can only really go so far before it gets old. How many times can Atlantis be threatened by some sort of disease that is poised to kill the entire population? You start of run out of places to GO with it.
Now, if you turn it around and instead focus on the PEOPLE, the plot builds itself. In SG-1 and Atlantis, most of the time, the plot really only existed to allow the characters to interact in various ways, and that’s why we all watched. Nobody REALLY cared what happened with the big baddie of the episode, ’cause 9 times out of 10, we knew that the SG team was going to win in the end. Now suppose you take that whole predictability aspect out of the mix, and you don’t know HOW the plot is going to unfold. It’s a lot more interesting that way, innit?
Again, I’m not insinuating that the aspects I’ve mentioned make the older SG series BAD in any way. We’re just talking about different kinds of shows. It’s the difference between a hero serial and a drama. Just give it an honest chance. SG-1 and SGA will forgive you if you manage to like it. :)
Greg Dean | September 21 @ 7:59 pmThere are a lot of lessons to learn about a third series. Taking Star Trek into account you can argue that staying with canon brought down the franchise (or at least stopped it). Voyager had a great deal of promise, but clinging to traditional writing made it lack in some ways.
SGU has the potential to correct itself if the “lite plot” thingy doesn’t pan out. Much like VOYAGER, the crew will no doubt be focused on getting home while dropping by strange new worlds and perhaps making new friends.
This is what I hope for the most. New and interesting beings and planets, discovering quirks among the crew and getting to know the characters. Obviously we start at the beginning… the Sg team has to actually put a team together first, leave earth, and do a bit of traveling.
I wouldn’t be concerned about being dropped in the middle of a familiar story or situation.
Cheapshot | September 21 @ 8:04 pmI for one am above and beyond excited for “Stargate: Universe”! I love this franchise and I’m so much looking forward to seeing a new chapter in the “Stargate” mythology and watch “SG: U” build on the foundations previously laid down by the amazing “Stargate SG-1″ and “Stargate: Atlantis” whilst also being a distinctive show in and of itself! It’s gonna make it’s own mark with the main lead characters, the situation they’re all in, and the friends/enemies they’ll meet and those are all things I’m looking forward to get to know!
Suffice it to say…if it has “Stargate” in the title…I’m there!
October here we come!
Alan | September 21 @ 8:21 pm“Even the commenters are not nice to those of us who liked the old shows”
Playing victim now? Gimme a break. You know damn well that every commenter on this page is here BECAUSE OF the old shows. Everyone here is an SG-1 and/or SGA fan. Some of us just happen to realize that this is a reason to welcome another Stargate series, not dread it.
Ugly Pig | September 21 @ 8:25 pmSo…. nothing there that isn’t amazing/wonderful/BestTVShowEver made? the whole thing is flawless? no weaknesses? Wow. Guess I should be impressed and excited…
but I’m not surprised…
SGAFan | September 21 @ 8:35 pm@Ugly Pig I’ve never been a victim in my life and I’m not about to start now. But I am SICK to death of people telling me I have to be happy about SGU. I am NOT. How does that affect anyone but myself? I said what I think and feel. I don’t know why this inspires the kind of anger and snide comments that are made to those of us who aren’t all gung-ho over the new show.
Sylvia | September 21 @ 9:17 pmWhy does anyone even care enough about what I think or say that they respond to it? I did not ask for feedback. My not having good feelings about SGU is in no way expected to have any impact on anyone else at all. I am just happy to have a place to say my piece, and expect you do do the same. So please, just go ahead and be happy about what you are happy about! And I’ll be sad about what makes me sad.
Interaction is at not all necessary.
Thanks heaps Gateworld team :) This is going to make me tell all my friends about it and get some of the newbies into the Stargate Franchise. If they like it so much I’m sure they are going to want to go back and buy the DVDs of SG1 and Atlantis.
Now…if only they would screen it on aussie tv :(
ssx001 | September 21 @ 10:40 pm@Sylvia – we’re not telling you you HAVE to be excited about SGU. You’re acting like it’s the plague that’s about to befall all mankind, and I think a lot of us are just trying really hard to UNDERSTAND it, is all. I mean, our two Stargate shows got cancelled, and then there’s news of this NEW Stargate show they’ve been working on. Isn’t that supposed to be exciting? Isn’t that what we WANT?
It’s kinda like the new Star Trek movie… yes, it was a different approach to Star Trek. Was it better or worse than the previous approach? Of course not… but it made the series accessible to a new audience while still retaining the core of what it WAS, and made for a helluva ride in the meantime. That doesn’t detract from what came before, because it wouldn’t have had a CHANCE of success if it didn’t already have years of history and world building to make it possible. I see this new SG series much in the same way. It wouldn’t be possible if it didn’t have fifteen YEARS of excellence to back it up, so I say we give it a shot and see how Wright and Cooper do. They haven’t let us down yet, after all. :)
Greg Dean | September 21 @ 11:10 pmWow, generalization much? Sylvia was actually very articulate and reasonable in her feelings against SGU. SOME ppl are acting like SGU is a plague, but not everyone who isnt excited does so. For a lot of us thats all it is, a lack of excitement. And its true, the announcement of a new SG series was a very happy day. But eventually, after enough information was released, I realized that it wasnt the SG I loved anymore. But if the things that you love about SG are still present in SGU, I am very happy for you. The release of new, generally positive reviews, isnt proof to any skeptics that SGU will suck, its just further proof that its not what we are looking for.
Clemontine | September 22 @ 2:42 amEveryone is entitled to their opinion. If some think SGU will be awesome then good for you, but the constant need to attack posters who give their honest opinion about the show not being for them is uncalled for. The old style Stargate lasted for 15 years so it couldnt really have been that flawed and kept audience coming back for more. I doubt SGU will bring in any more numbers once it gets past its first season. There was nothing wrong the previous Stargate except uninspired writing and lack of imagination. I find it amazing that these same writers think they can make SGU more interesting because they have a new group of characters to work with (they tried that with Keller and look how that turned out) and yet they never once explored Atlantis in the entire 5 years of the show. They barely developed any of the characters. They had a myriad of possibliites to make SGA different from SG1 and amazing talented characters to do it with but yet pretty much only concentrated on one character. SGA had loads of potential but it was mostly ignored. The ptb couldnt think of anything besides falling back on old cliches so they decided to chuck it aside and start all over again with a new set of characters, not realising that in order to create good and interesting characters, you need good interesting writing. SGU won’t be any different. Stargate didnt need to be changed, the orininal formula just needed some intelligent writing. Bringing dark angsty characters with manufactured issues and throwng in sex will not solve the issues that plaged SGA.
blackhawlk | September 22 @ 3:45 am