There are changes coming to Stargate Universe when the show returns for the back half of the season in April, executive producer Robert C. Cooper says.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper talked about a number of elements introduced early in the show which many fans have expressed concerns over. As it turns out, some of those same conversations were taking place in the writer’s room.
First on the list, perhaps, is the amount of time the characters are spending back on Earth — rather than trapped on board the Ancient space vessel Destiny, billions of light years from their loved ones. On the show, these mental trips home are accomplished using Ancient communication stones, a technology which allows one to swap bodies with somebody back on Earth.
“It’s certainly been a hot topic of debate,” Cooper said. “It’s very valuable in terms of tying the crew to Earth, and some have suggested the crew should be more isolated. There’s also a debate about the moral issue of how the [body swapping] stones are used and whether it’s right for a person to do certain things in the body of the another person and that’s interesting too.
“I think there’s some value in terms of seeing who they’re missing and the political ramifications of the Destiny‘s mission back on Earth. We’re not going to abandon the stones, but the emphasis of the second half of the first season is more heavily weighted to what’s going on with the ship.”
Also conspicuously absent from the first half of the season: aliens. Though the producers didn’t want to distract from the core stories about the characters, they also recognize that life “out there” is an important element of science fiction and the Stargate mythology.
Robert C. Cooper
“The show was always intended to be a drama and about people who are struggling to survive,” Cooper said. “There is a sci-fi element, but it was never going to turn into the ‘alien of the week.’ However, there is a big story point coming up that does introduce an alien race that’s a very cool, CG alien. It’s more along the line of a District 9-type of alien. Our interaction is handled in a very Universe way — they’re not the typical Stargate alien bad guys.”
Cooper also expressed a hope that those who have loved SG-1 and Atlantis over the last 12 years will come to embrace Universe for what it is — not what it isn’t. “Hopefully as it goes on, people will began to appreciate it for being its own thing,” he said. “That’s all we can hope for. It sometimes takes awhile to overcome those expectations. I can’t really be upset that people came to love something I had a part in creating. But as a creative person you have to move on and have to grow.
“I don’t think we could have been successful in the exact same vein as what we did before. We had to evolve.”
Writing and principal photography on Season One has been complete since October. Scripts are currently being written for the just-announced second season (story).
Check out the full interview with Robert C. Cooper now at The Hollywood Reporter. The producer also talks about SGU‘s female characters and some viewer criticisms, sex on the show, the use of kino-vision, and more. Stargate Universe resumes in April on Syfy in the U.S.
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http://www.uberprints.com
“I Want To Be Like Ron Moore When I Grow Up”
Probably $25 bucks with shipping. Far less expensive than cheating and slapping the Stargate brand on your show.
AsFarAsLarry | December 14 @ 12:40 pm“slapping the Stargate brand on your show”
erm its there own brand, there well within there rights to continue to use it.
Tanith | December 14 @ 12:44 pm[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bob Oesterlin , SciFi Rules. SciFi Rules said: SGU has been renewed for a 2nd season, but changes coming when it returns from winter break #scifi http://bit.ly/8PELX5 [...]
Tweets that mention GateWorld » Cooper on changes in SGU’s future -- Topsy.com | December 14 @ 1:48 pmSeems the name of the series should be “Destiny” since the stargate isn’t really used that much. I think a series call Stargate should revolve around the Stargate. This series just looks like Star Trek.
kflowers74 | December 14 @ 2:28 pmOkay, can we not ignore the content of the article now?
Tanith | December 14 @ 2:36 pmWhat is there to discuss. RCC has just made it clear again that they went ahead and did exactly what they wanted to do and couldnt care less what the fans of Stargate fanbase wanted. They cancelled a succesful show because they were bored and rather than stepping away from the franchise they have taken away everything that made it great, and expect us to embrace it. If they wanted something TOTALLY different from the Stargate concept, then why not just do a spin off with all the soap opera drama and just call the show Destiny.
blackhawlk | December 14 @ 2:57 pm@junebug, You are my hero, I think I love you. hehehehe.
@kflowers74, I think you hit the nail on the head. But Trekkies WILL take offence if you call SGU Star Trek like. But maybe Galaxy Quest or Space Balls ??
US06154 | December 14 @ 3:01 pmBTW, “Hopefully as it goes on, people will began to appreciate it for being its own thing,”
If it is it’s own thing, Why call it Stargate? They fully knew the premise was different, and wanted a different audiance. So why use tactics like Cameo appearences from SG-1, and use the name Stargate? Tang is not Kool Aid, though both of them are drink crystals,(or for our British fans, Marmite is not Vegemite) so there’s no point in trying to pass off one as the other. No one for a second is going to be fooled.
US06154 | December 14 @ 3:12 pmI like the stones, it leads to us getting to know more about thier lives before they were stuck on the tin can. I loved Cloe drunk! I also love how akward the body-swapping is, and how they can return home – but not really do anything while they arnt in thier own bodies. Love it. Cant wait for SGU to return!
Craig_92 | December 14 @ 3:53 pm@blackhawlk well I was thinking something along the lines of the “changes in SGU’s future” would be good discussion for this article. Not sure where I got that idea from though.
Or we could just have another pointless discussion (for the umpteenth time) about just how much some people don’t like SGU.
Tanith | December 14 @ 4:24 pm[...] GateWorld » Cooper on changes in SGU’s future [...]
links for 2009-12-14 | Acerv.us | December 14 @ 5:04 pmThis is smoke and mirrors. Nothing is changing.
The aliens were already going to put in an appearance and the communication devices and Earth aren’t the problem – it’s what the characters do while there.
Except what they do while on Earth is the same as what they do on the ship. The only difference is that on Earth the thin veneer of sci-fi can’t cover the ugly soap beneath.
There is no change here – it’s just a PR manoeuvre to lure some viewers back.
ngreen | December 14 @ 5:48 pmIve been watching stargate for most of my life i was there at the begining for the first episode and have loved every minute of it was very upset whn they cancled sg1 thn atlantis and was looking forward to sgu now tht ive seen it im so dissapionted i agree u cannot call this a stargate show it goes against everything stargate is a drama with satrgate as a name only it just doesnt work. add to the fact tht the writers cant even get there ancient history correct so that the timeline doesnt make sense it just frustrates me the only reason i will continue to whatch is tht i nead my stargate fix.
Shazza | December 14 @ 7:48 pmThe title of the article is misleading – there are no real changes. Cooper says it himself – “The show was always intended to be a drama and about people who are struggling to survive,” “There is a sci-fi element, but it was never going to turn into the ‘alien of the week.’
A real change would be less drama and more than just an element of sci-fi.
“Our interaction is handled in a very Universe way — they’re not the typical Stargate alien bad guys.” Will they be dealing with these aliens without pants?
Uncle Al | December 14 @ 9:43 pmYes, alas it will just be more of the same badly written soap, with few if any redeeming features.
GateHunter | December 14 @ 11:44 pm[...] [...]
Stargate Universe - Folgen/Staffel/Gesamtbewertung - SciFi-Forum | December 15 @ 6:30 amThe changes in the second half of season one will probably be minimal even if the writers where getting concerned about some things. As they’re busy writing season two now my hope is they will take into account the comments people have been leaving and implement some more change.
mistergroenevingers | December 15 @ 7:03 am[...] GateWorld-ön: http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/12/stargate-universe-renewed-for-second-season/, http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/12/cooper-on-changes-in-sgus-future/, [...]
Universe hírcsomag /091215/ « Csillagkapu hírek magyarul | December 15 @ 10:13 amFind a tecnobabble way to use the Stargate, rescue all the losers and then replace the entire cast with better characters. All with the stroke of a pen…er…click of a keyboard.
Stormin | December 15 @ 12:20 pm[...] [...]
Stargate: Universe - Page 35 - Fires of Heaven Guild Message Board | December 15 @ 12:27 pmWhy do these SGU threads have to be so negative & bitchy! No amount of moaning will bring Atlantis back (and I too would have liked to see at least one more season), and as for “they don’t listen to their fan base…” the franchise is a business – SGU should be praised for being different enough to attract new people. Fans of SG1 & SGA should accept that those shows are finished and either like SGU for what it is, or don’t like and don’t watch it. Either way, not come on here, bitching and moaning thinking you’re going to change it. I, for one, like SGU for it’s more serious, gritty, and realistic side – another SG1/SGA would probably have killed the franchise completely as it wouldn’t have got any new audience, and surely that would have been worse?
g.widdowson | December 15 @ 1:57 pmWhat a bunch of promo babble. Try talking without saying you’re “creative” or saying female without saying “strong”. The series is exactly the pablum the fans were afraid of. I wish he’d just admit he’s just run over the type of fans that own at least a hundred bucks of discs and they’re just demographic roadkill at this point.
Keep writing the network to can it and try again. Nothing’s going to change, not even this second wave of PR and the ludicrous 1/2 DVD set being promoted. Why isn’t someone organizing a dump SGU site? I’m sure not letting this guy tell me he’s so creative and dumping his shakey cam baloney down my throat.
Mentat | December 15 @ 4:02 pmJust a couple of thoughts about the “introduction of a District 9 style alien.” Now granted, not much is said other than the above statement, but it implies that the aliens will ‘look’ like the D-9 aliens, and ultimately this doesn’t matter. What the aliens end up looking like is far less important/interesting than what their culture/motivations are. They can look like *anything* and would just as likely be a warmongering race, as they would be a race of nearly brainless frogs that do nothing but wonder around and eat bugs and mud.
Now on the other hand, if by making them like the D-9 aliens in culture/situation, by making them a bunch of refugees, while in possession of great and advanced technology (compared to our own), are generally not able to harness/utilize it to the potential that it was created, or to meet their own goals; Then that would be more interesting… And if that sounds familiar, it should, because in the context of SGU, that refugee alien race is us (the humans). It’s that simple brilliance that challenges the notion that those in possession of great knowledge/tech are advanced, but rather just a bunch of bumbling and scared lifeforms, who happened upon something great.
So in that context, if continuing the comparison to D-9, if we’re the refugee aliens, then the show is missing their equivalent version of us, a feudal system and brotherhood of nations, that is more intelligent than ourselves, albeit less technologically advanced. And after a brief period of misguided reverence at our presence, quickly realize that we are not the answers they were looking for, and get about the means to take the from us the thing that really holds their attention and desires… the ship, with all its contained knowledge/secrets.
Thoughts?
rubba | December 15 @ 5:28 pmit they think i’ll learn to love the show that totally won’t happen lol all i can say is that is totally not gonna bring all your loyal sg fans that u lost to come back and watch this show lol
nudgeerulz | December 15 @ 6:53 pmI think what he means by D-9 aliens is that they won’t be the just-happened-to-be-human-and-speak-English aliens that we’re used to in SG-1 and SGA. They may not necessarily mean a carbon copy of the aliens in an attempt to ride the coattails of something popular. I think they mean that they’re starting to explore the new, more alien of the aliens, without going into things like clouds of hive-minded bugs (which isn’t to say that those things weren’t neat).
Cameron Mitchell | December 15 @ 8:38 pmFor those of you who’ve read Ender’s Game (like myself) you may have a better idea of what to expect with these new aliens (comparable to the mannerisms of the “Buggers”).
Honestly, SGU is different to me, but I think I like it a lot. And I can’t wait to see more.
This is the first time I’ve really seen fan feedback on SGU here and I’m surprised so many people don’t seem to like it.
For me, personally – speaking as someone who watched SG1 from the very beginning – I think SGU is actually a lot better than either of the other two shows.
The main difference is that it’s a more mature form of storytelling – I’m 26 now and watching back the old SG1 episodes can be a bit embarrassing to say the least.
I also love the fact that SGU has one continuous story broken into episodes rather than one story punctuated by forgettable standalones. I also thought SG1 would have benefitted from this form of storytelling a lot more.
macabremagpie | December 16 @ 8:37 am@macabremagpie: Mature form of story telling? The Stargate Franchise was built on a concept. A gate to the stars. It was: dial a few chevrons, Send a MALP or FRED or whatever, then send a team, explore etc., It was successful enough for 15 seasons. There was actual SciFi content. If the creators wanted to be creative, then they could’ve simply brought this new rubbish as “from the Creators of Stargate”. most people dont watch Days of our lives for Science Fiction, and that’s character driven Drama. then why would we watch a Science Fiction Genre to get a dose of Character driven Drama? They made the Drama the A story of every episode, and the scifi was made to be the C or D story. They knew right from the start, the show would not stand on it’s own as a Scifi, so they first slapped the name Stargate on it, and then went on to get cameo appearences from older established characters in a lame attempt to “tie in” with the old show. Atlantis didn’t require a tie in to SG-1, heck infact, it was preferred that there was no tie in, to Carter, Wolsey or anyone else. The Atlantis Characters were likeable, and the story lines light. You are 26 you say, That would make it around 12 to 13 yrs old when you started watching SG-1? what made you watch the series at that age? would a 12/13 yr old watch SGU now?(specially if they took the sex out?). Just because Wrestling or ghost hunters are on Syfy, that doesn’t make them SciFi, and I don’t watch those series to get a Scifi fix. can you honestly say, what events of SciFi importance happened in 10 episodes of SGU? They landed in a Ship cleary not in the time line of stargate. They found a dentist’s chair, that’s used for lobotomizing. they found an alienship, and had to leave it behind. That’s 10 episodes worth of SciFi? For a SciFi genre, THAT’s embarrasing.
US06154 | December 16 @ 10:36 am“Atlantis didn’t require a tie in to SG-1, heck infact, it was preferred that there was no tie in, to Carter, Wolsey or anyone else.”
Not sure if memory serves wasn’t Carter on SG-1?
Tanith | December 16 @ 1:19 pm@Tanith: gosh! read the whole darn thing, not 2 words. Said “didn’t need the tie in” in fact it didn’t add anything to the series bringing her in. Her place was in SG-1, not Atlantis. The producers messed up that too. since Atlantis was Wier’s home, and no one elses. After they sent Carter packing back, They brought in Woolsey, the Robot. This seris started to sag around the 4th season? wasn’t that the time they decided to bring in Carter to make matters worse?
US06154 | December 16 @ 1:56 pm@USO6154 Unlike you, it seems, I don’t judge the series on what “events of SciFi importance” have or haven’t occured and it isn’t even something that has threatened to cross my mind – and infact, it’s not even broadcast on the Sci-Fi channel in the UK, where I am, so I don’t go into it with any expectations about what Sci-Fi standards it has to meet. Atlantis may have had more likeable characters but I would have thought it was deliberate that most of the main SGU cast blur the line – Rush, for example, is my favourite character by far and his motives are always questionable and somewhat of a mystery. Atlantis (and to a lesser extent, SG-1) had characters that were very unbelievable, and the acting was also really cheesy on both SGA and SG1 for at least half the cast. I don’t think I’ve spotted one verbal exchange in SGU yet that has struck me as something nobody would ever say yet that happened on a weekly basis with SGA.
Your problem, it would seem, is that you’re watching SGU because you want a particular type of “Sci-Fi” and it’s not delivering what you, personally, want. Well, that’s fine. But saying this is not a Sci-Fi show because it features any other element more heavily than the former is ridiculous because many successful shows have gone before and done a similar thing. It’s simply a no-brain argument. It’s like claiming all horror movies should be like Saw and anything with a focus on psychology rather than blood and guts shouldn’t be classed as horror. Ridiculous!
How about the next time SGU is on, why don’t you enjoy the drama elements of the show and satisfy your need for more Sci-Fi by… I don’t know, playing with some Star Wars toys infront of the screen or something?
macabremagpie | December 16 @ 5:11 pm@USO6154
mistergroenevingers | December 16 @ 5:14 pmI often find myself somewhat agreeing with your comments, that is if I don’t check my feelings. At first I was really pissed off about a few directional issues tptb had taken but I find I have cooled down somewhat. You on the other hand seem to be holding a serious grudge. Though your opinion may hold merit it may get lost a bit in the wildness of your words so to speak.
But anywayz, in this case I also agree with you when you say that Carter’s place was not on Atlantis. And Weir should have stayed. Woolsey is alright, though not as great as he was on Voyager.
Still, Carter rules!
@mistergroenevingers
I’ve never covered up that I have a serious grudge. Infact, Here you go: “I have a Serious grudge about cancelling SGA for absolutely no good reason and giving us this drivel, which may soon turn out to be either in the latter part of Season 1 or Right from the get go of Season 2.” This “experiment in creativity” benefits the producers only, at the cost of the Franchise fan who stood behind the franchise for the last 15 seasons. Tell your story whichever way you please, but you didn’t have to do it at the cost of of SGA. People who follow blindly as lemmings will be doomed to re-live this situation in the future. If we were once screwed, we could always be screwed, if the “Naysayers” are not present, to keep them on the straight and narrow. But Hey, that’s my 2 cents. Enjoy the show if you can.
@macabremagpie: Since I am not an Artsy whatever, I don’t get Drama. So I am off to Toys-R-US to buy a whack of Star Wars action figures to play with, in front of my TV. Started watching Stargate at 12 or 13? My ass!12 & 13 yr olds don’t watch Stargate, they watch shows like Naruto, Bleach, Clone wars (animated series) etc., How do I know this? I have a 13yr old, and he has approx 60-70 friends in his form who watch the same shows, Okay maybe the girls watch some other emo shows as well, certainly not Stargate.
US06154 | December 16 @ 6:47 pmWhen things evolve wrong…they go extinct. Instead of evolving towards a drama, they should have taken a step farther into the sci-fi realm.
nkilbourn | December 16 @ 7:28 pm@nkilbourn A rather redundant metaphor that when “things evolve wrong they go extinct”, considering SGU just got picked up for a second season…
macabremagpie | December 16 @ 8:33 pm@USO6154 I never actually said I started watching when I was 13, you made that assumption. I actually started watching when I was 17, from picking the DVDs up having seen the film. I would have mentioned in the last reply, but it seemed rather irrelevant..
macabremagpie | December 16 @ 8:35 pm@USO6154
mistergroenevingers | December 16 @ 9:08 pmIt’s not that I disagree with you. It’s not even that I don’t have the same sentiments as you.
It’s just that I’m sort of on an anger management course and am trying just to be happy. ;)
@macabremagpie
mistergroenevingers | December 16 @ 9:17 pmWho needs drama? There’s more than enough of it in real life.
Seriously who plays with dolls? Why are those things even made?? Aren’t there Jack and Sam dolls? And if not, why not?
@US06154
“I have a Serious grudge about cancelling SGA for absolutely no good reason”
Kinda agree with you here, even though I like SGU, SGA did have at least 1 more season in it in my opinion.
“at the cost of the Franchise fan who stood behind the franchise for the last 15 seasons”
Thats the main issue at the moment, SGU has more or less split those said fans due to there individual tastes and each side has taken up the role of either bashing or defending the show which has turned into a never ending argument.
I apologise for some of my comments in the past its just that your one of the most persistent naysayers with points that I tend to disagree with often and you come across as rather insulting at times.
Tanith | December 16 @ 10:04 pmWhat a pretty bunch of strawmen the interviewer set up for Mr. Cooper to knock down! Do they bother reading actual fan criticisms or are they just regurgitating the hyperbole, red herrings, and spin spewed out of Mr. Mallozzi’s blog?
Imitation Tofu | December 16 @ 10:23 pmI agree that Universe is not Stargate but that doesn’t stop it from being a good show. Losing Atlantis was hard but if the writers have lost interest, there wouldn’t be much point in continuing. I think the widespread praise for Battlestar is behind the switch to a character driven show. To me, Battlestar was a soap opera in space and I gave up after three seasons because I didn’t like the characters. So far I like the people on Universe, especially Col. Young, and I want to keep watching. It’s possible that it might get too soap opera at some point but for now the scifi aspect is quite prominent. They have to keep the characters likable, though.
chaak | December 17 @ 5:01 pmSimple fact is I think, that for half of fans currently watching SGU, the hardcore “Scifi” Stargate fans. Simply find themselves watching SGU because of the lack of any other major Scifi franchise at the moment.
If however MGM, another scifi franchise were to be released and you found Universe competing with it, Im pretty sure you would find your ratings halfed drastically. Stargate Universe, while being watchable simply cannot compete.
Try it MGM, create Atlantis Season 6 and run it in competion with SGU, I bet you dont like the results. Your massive budge Universe title wouldnt last 5 episodes.
xxninjaxx | December 17 @ 8:33 pmI agree with the last statement… the only reason I keep coming back to gateworld is in hopes of seeing news on Sg-1 or Atlantis movies… I still have the last episode of SGU half ssn finale on dvr, yet to be watched. I have to wait till I am really desperate. And whats up with 4-5 months in between the 1 half and second half of the ssn and why on earth would they sell it that way? I am looking as hard as I can to find something to make me hang on just a little longer and right now the only thing doing that is the title.
nkilbourn | December 18 @ 5:25 amIf this is evolution, then I’m an Ancient! =))
Moreover if I like meat loaf, there is not way you can feed me a fish pie I hate and plus make me like it! Why keep calling to the old audience if you wanted new? He did say it himself here, so we do have all the rights to reply “We don’t like it, so we won’t eat it!” And if you do want old fans for the sake of commerce, it is simple – invent another dish with meat instead of fish at least if you came to hate the specific meat loaf dish so much! It is the attempts to pass the cheaper production & lower quality for creativity and evolution that makes those statements so outrageous for someone with a grain of brain in his head and they happen among old fans because previously Stargate was quite an intellectual show! (So of course these new characters cannot lead us to anything else than frustration because they don’t display any true professionalism or integrity or even decency like the old times)
Better make an SGA movie! To end up decently with it at least. There IS a huge demand!
WillKatt | December 18 @ 9:19 amOh my god, will everyone please quit spreading your hate messages for SGU…We get it, you do not like SGU yet for some reason you must be clearly watching it in order to spread your hate messages and have them be correct. If you don’t like it don’t watch it. Simple…
I agree that the Stargate should be used more in the series but if you stop and think back to Atlantis, or even SG-1 the Stargate wasn’t always being used. I also believed that they were over using the communcation stones too, but still, there is a flaw in everything… Now as for my self, I too like Atlantis and SG-1 but I also kept an open mind about Universe and in fact have come to like it too. Universe covers the stuff Atlantis didn’t and that SG-1 did very little of, the time period before Atlantis. I for one am going to keep watching SGU for the simple fact to learn more behind the Ancients and the Stargate Universe in a since. I want to know the timeline of the Ancients because I’m curious about how the Ancients went from some of the old technology on SG-1 to Atlantis in general…
So if you don’t like SGU simply please for the love of god stop going around saying things like its filled with too much drama and that you hate it when you make it sound like you are still watching it…
blackcat124gt | December 18 @ 12:27 pm@WillKatt: sga movie is not going to happen i lost all hope with this and what joe f. indicated at the LA convention that he hasnt heard or been approached by TPTB. hopefully they change their minds and film it. :)
mrs john sheppard | December 18 @ 5:46 pmDont like the show it’s boring as hell, it’s like watching Coronation Street on uk tv. No action plot lines are dire to say the least and no action, and your telling me they have gone all round that ship and found nothing! please ^^.
Bring back stargate sg1 and atlantis best shows ever done.
ukpred | December 19 @ 7:11 amWell ukpred, they haven’t actually gone round the ship since it’s locked down for the largest part. But like you I wish they would have been able to explore a bit more of the ship. Perhaps they will be able to in the second half of the season.
mistergroenevingers | December 19 @ 6:45 pmthey need to bring Rodney in using the communication stones….
mightyunicorn | December 20 @ 2:53 pm@mightyunicorn
Why do people assume that he or Carter would have any better luck than Rush to access the ships systems.
Rush has had a big head start and after all the time they have been on the Destiny he still hasn’t managed to access the ships systems, I doubt Carter & especially Mckay would like to spend an extended period of time in someone else’s body.
Atlantis was very user friendly but because the Destiny pre-dates the use of the Ancient gene the ships systems have paranoid security to protect them.
I would be willing to bet that Rush is just as intelligent as Mckay or Carter.
Tanith | December 20 @ 9:37 pmWell… He might be pretty smart. But is he as smart as Carter and Rodney? Hmmm… I dunno. Let’s have a vote on that one. ;)
mistergroenevingers | December 21 @ 6:12 amI don’t really care if they decided to go with the new direction. Great for them. But what they came up with just didn’t do it for me.
1) Characters – There isn’t one character I care for.
asthegateturn | December 22 @ 1:33 am2) Plot – Yes I got it. They want it to be real life like situations. Only people in reality TV act like those people on Destiny.
3) Camera – Please stop the shaking camera. I can handle the ONE camera they have that they keep moving swinging around to focus on a character. But they really need to stop moving it when it is focusing on a character. It is so nauseating to watch.
4) Sex is not going to sell this show. It never did.
Budget constraints are probably limiting the storylines, using the basic sets as much as possible. I get the feeling that this show has as small of a budget as BSG. There is large cast, too, that I think they’ll be whittling down. When you have episodes with complex sets like the jungle world, I bet it forces them to do less on other episodes. I’m really surprised they are not using more virtual sets, I really thought that was the way they were going to go to make the fantasy series affordable. Farscape and Babylon 5 were a real treat with all the different alien characters. This series is not going to be that kind of show? Well, where can I find that kind of show?? Do we perhaps need series with, say, only a half dozen episodes, like they do in Britain, in order to have shows where they can afford to elaborate custumes and fantastic sets? I might be willing to have less episodes for that instead of having a lot of character conflict stories. However, it is pretty interesting and unique character conflicts they have on that show. Not sure I want that season after season. Would hope the budget would increase for the show and the “wrong people for the job” evolve into a good crew.
TrekkerT | December 22 @ 1:58 amMy suggestion would be – if the writers are psyched about having ‘heavy drama’ on the show, that’s acceptable as long as the drama has quality.
The current drama is more like a reality show made even dumber.
Characters hate each other and have anger bursts for no reason what so ever, threesomes by Telford, Young and ex-wife through a stones malfunction etc.
This is an insult to any viewer, whether a scifi fan or a drama fan. I think even for reality show fans.
So writers – if you want to be drama heavy, at least do it right.
gigitravels | December 22 @ 4:02 am@rubba man you give them way to much cridet, these guys could come up with a storyline like this anymore if it saved their lives, or the show, and since they cant the show is doomed. they only thing these guys are concered about right now is how can they rip off Gossip Girl Threesome epi withour looking like they are ripping it off. And I like gossip girl becase it is called gossip girl, and Stargate:90210 like someone has mentioned don’t sell me orange juce in a pepsi can please.
shaq33 | December 22 @ 11:29 am@mistergonevingers my vote is:
1. Rodney
shaq33 | December 22 @ 11:50 am2. Carter
3000. The Jackass Cast
4000. Tweety
2000000. Me :-)
10000000. A Donkey
999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999. The whole of SGU Cast and anyone involved with that show, ohhh and then after them Dr. Rush.
@shaq33
mistergroenevingers | December 22 @ 7:18 pmWell you’re not giving high marks for dr. Rush I see. Thanks for the vote.
I’m a bit concerned though by the fact that you put the Jackass cast higher up the ladder than yourself. :)
@shaq33
mistergroenevingers | December 22 @ 7:46 pmOne more thing.
I still have all my vingers. ;)
Some of the remarks here are funny.
Mature drama? Really? The characters on the show do not behave like adults, much less like professionals (and in many cases military professionals). Mature drama requires mature behavior, not (as an earlier poster pointed out) behavior striaght out of reality TV).
Also, you need likeable characters the audience can in some way identify with. None of the SGU characters are likeable, and the only way I can think of an audience identifying with them is along the lines of “Thank God I’m not like that”. Now you can have one or even two characters on a show like that, but when virtually everyone is like that it makes it difficult to maintain interest in the show (and the horrid ratings – despite SyFy’s spinning they are bad – testify to this).
The reality is the only reason they picked up SGU for another season was prior agreement to give it two seasons. At current ratings with the budget of the show they lose $$$. If they don’t improve those ratings the next season will be the last.
Joelist | December 24 @ 4:00 amI think the ratings were higher at first because there was quite a few people interested in the new show. But then after a couple of episodes people started dropping out, perhaps also due to some negative reviews. In the end I think the flock of viewers will consist mainly of people that have been following stargate for years and ofcourse also new viewers but to a lesser extent.
By the way, merry christmas to everyone! Both haters and likers alike.
mistergroenevingers | December 24 @ 8:10 pmI’ll not jump on the wagon of “I want more SG1 or Atlantis” in this series. I really loved SG1 for what it had. I wasn’t so crazy about Atlantis, mostly because the writing just wasn’t up to par with SG1. I measure that by my clock watching, or lack of regarding Atlantis, and more recently SGU.
I like a few of the characters, and the base story is interesting. What I do not care about is the trips back to earth. The last 3 episodes that had any of that…I surfed to another channel. Scratch that, I recorded the last episode so I could fast forward through that.
The other thing I do not want in this series, is the “porn”. I watch sci-fi for the sci-fi, I do NOT watch it for extended SEX scenes. As far as I am concerned, it does nothing for the story. They can imply what is about to happen and go to the next scene without showing us the bumping uglies details. Seriously, if I want to watch porn, I can get plenty. I am not interested in watching porn when I watch Sci-fi, and I find it extremely insulting when tv programs must have this to “attract” an audience. All it accomplishes for me is a change of the channel or fast forward through the recording on my dvd recorder.
Graywolves | December 27 @ 9:21 amI am a big SG-1 and SGA fan. I am trying to watch SGU but it difficult at times. I miss the relationships of the team members. I just don’t have the feeling that anyone on the Destiny would ever give their life for any of the other passengers. They just all seem to be plotting against each other.
SGU feels to dark to me. It reminds me of Battlestar Galactica which I boycotted because of the cancelation of SG-1.
It is also too sexy for my taste because my child watches it because he was a big SG-1 fan.
I don’t want to be all negative so I will say that I love the character Elli (sp). He is brilliant and brave and really funny.
samcfan | December 27 @ 7:09 pmHi, i really like SG-1 & SG Atlantis, the most important thing about these 2 shows is the mythology(Egyptian,Norse,Greek,Arturian) mixed with science and create new concepts(the Ancients, the Wraith, Goa’uld, Jaffa), these make it different to any other sci-fi (star trek,star trek, BSG), I haven’t watch SGU and i don’t know if it’s worth to do it, because they are on a ship(a lot a like BSG, ST Voyager) and don’t use Stargates, BSG is a very good drama on a ship(except the last episode), so why another ship show??? I’ll watch SGU soon, but my expectations are low, now I don’t expect a good SG show, but I don’t thinks is good like ST Voyager or BSG.
Nomendil | December 30 @ 10:52 pmI’ve really enjoyed SGU (the sex was annoying, but heh, times change I suppose)
Kylie | December 31 @ 10:43 amAnything at the moment is better than all the murder shows on at the moment.
However, I am really dying for a ‘bad guy alien’ for the guys to get stuck into worrying about. There doesn’t feel like a plot is happening.
I’ll still watch it, because I do find the characters interesting, but I’d like a story. You know, the kind where good guys fight bad guys and aliens fit somewhere in between =D
But, really, here in Australia, I’m just loving the fact that we’ve got something good on tv for once! =D
Great job guys! The graphics are great too!
I’ve been reading a lot of comments about SGU. And here are my opinions:
For people who say its alike BSG I disagree. BSG is way better than SGU. It has al lot more action in it for one. And the music is also awesome!!!
I’m really hoping they change SGU in some way, cause untill now there’s only been one great episode and that was ‘time’.
I also liked SG-1 and SGA a lot, but I’m still willing to watch SGU till the end of season 1.
badanNL | January 1 @ 3:28 pmI’ve been seeing quite a lot of comments about “Time” being such a great episode. In my opinion, it may be one of the best SGU episodes so far, but come on people, how good is it really? How many times do you think you could watch that episode before it becomes dull and uninteresting? I reached about 1,5 times myself. The plot amounts to not much more than people going to a planet that start dying and get attacked by buggy-like-creatures. To sum up the things that make me say “hey… now that’s interesting”:
mistergroenevingers | January 8 @ 12:35 pm- a kino travelled back in time to be found by the same people that left it
- ….
Hmm well that’s not really a lot of points of interest then. What else was there in this episode? Ehm… Eli was whining about his family… not interesting… people died… interesting until they came back alive… hmmm… I guess that’s all of it right there.
I agree with Blackhawlk. He’s ignoring the fans. First you say you want to go off in your own direction but you use Stargates name to bring SG-1 fans to the table. Blackhawlk right why not call it Destiny if you want to try something new and see if it survives.
Battleready_73 | January 20 @ 9:39 pmI took a web design class back in high school. Every class we’d take a full 85 minutes designing a single web page, just a few lines of code. At the end all my peers and I would look around and say, “That’s it?” That’s what watching SGU has been like for me. Sure there’s character drama, and okay if you like that stuff, but for me, it have been slightly disappointing with the series thus far. I recently returned to this site today to check when SGU would return. April! Seriously? The last episode aired in early December. That’s terrific. Paired with extremely long commercial breaks (that force me to dvr) and sub-par episodes (plot wise) the series has just not been something I expected from the Stargate franchise (though as people have stated before, I don’t really consider it part of the franchise). I will continue watching the show when it finally returns in April, hoping to see some improvement in the SciFi aspect. New aliens, new bad guys? Maybe some problems that actually get solved in a single episode instead of going through 5 episodes figuring out how to turn the lights on (I know I’m overreacting a little bit here, but still). Despite all of the series’ short-comings, I will still watch SGU (the rest of season 1 and season 2) as it does have me a little intrigued.
wellslogan | February 8 @ 6:39 pm