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RATINGS SCORECARD GATEWORLD - * * 1/2 FAN POLL - 7.80 SYFY RATING - 1.7 Season Ratings   DOWNLOAD FULL EPISODE:   EPISODE NUMBER - 101 ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE - 10.02.09 WRITTEN BY - Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper DIRECTED BY - Andy Mikita GUEST STARRING - Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill), Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter), Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson), Ona Grauer (Mrs. Young), Peter Kelamis (Adam Brody), Mark Burgess (Jeremy Franklin), Jennifer Spence (Lisa Park), Martin Christopher (Major Marks), Gary Jones (Walter Harriman), Bradley Stryker (Curtis), Christopher McDonald (Senator Armstrong), Lou Diamond Phillips (Colonel Telford), Julia Benson (2nd Lt. Vanessa James), Haig Sutherland (Sgt. Hunter Riley), Patrick Gilmore (Dale Volker), Josh Blacker (Marine Sgt. Spencer), Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (Pvt. Darren Becker), Glynis Davies (Maryann Wallace), Christina Schild (Andrea Palmer), Michael Lenic (Eli's Friend), Andrew Dunbar (Marine Cpl. Gorman), Agam Darshi (Dr. Sonja Damji), Jim K. Chan (Dr. Simms) When a research team is forced to evacuate their secret base, they find themselves on board a derelict Ancient vessel that is many galaxies away from Earth.

The ship's engines throttle back. Lights illuminate dark corridors. The on-board Stargate spins to life. Its kawoosh billows into the Gate Room. Lt. Matthew Scott follows, landing hard on the floor. He stumbles to his feet but before he can get his bearings, a metal case and a woman fly out of the event horizon. More people, boxes and cases are violently ejected, creating chaos in front of the active Stargate. Scott radios back through the gate, ordering them to slow down the evacuation. But civilians and soldiers continue pouring through. Dr. Nicholas Rush, less disoriented than most, immediately examines a nearby console before climbing to a balcony overlooking the turmoil. Looking down on the scene, he smiles ever so slightly. As people sort themselves out, Scott approaches MSgt. Ronald Greer. Scott asks about their commanding officer, Colonel Everett Young. Everyone is startled when Young is hurled from the Stargate and across the room. The Stargate shuts down, plunging the Gate Room into darkness. Flashlights allow Scott to locate Colonel Young, who has a bleeding head injury. Young transfers command to Scott before falling unconscious. After summoning Lt. Tamara Johansen, their only medic, Scott orders Greer to try and keep everyone calm. Unsure of where they are, unable to locate Dr. Rush, Scott and a wide-eyed civilian named Eli Wallace start off to assess their situation. The ship's engines suddenly power up. The two men locate Rush on an observation deck, bemused because they are traveling at faster-than-light speed -- but not through hyperspace, the means of interstellar travel which is familiar to Earth's Stargate Command. Rush concludes that the ship, of Ancient design, is several hundred thousand years old. And when an air vent in the Gate Room shuts down, Rush realizes that life support is failing. Scott returns to the Gate Room in search of scientists to help Rush work on the life support system. A number of people, including Senator Alan Armstrong, demand to dial Earth. His agitation brings on a possible heart attack. Johansen does her best to help him, Young, and the other injured. When Scott, Greer and the scientists reach the Control Room, they find Eli and Rush arguing. Greer, worried that Rush will worsen their situation, immediately sides with Eli and raises his weapon, ordering Dr. Rush not to press a button on his console. Eli is convinced that the man has no idea what he is doing. Scott quickly derails the confrontation, convincing Sgt. Greer to lower his gun. Rush pushes the button, believing it might reset the life support system. But nothing happens -- that would have been too easy. The group next discovers a visual log of the Ancient ship's journey. Originating in the Milky Way, it has traveled through the Pegasus Galaxy and many others -- dozens of galaxies, at least. Rush estimates they are currently "several billion light years" from Earth. Returning to the Gate Room, Scott organizes the able-bodied into search teams. As he speaks to the assembly of frustrated civilians, Rush opens the bag Young brought with him through the Stargate. When the teams move out, Rush quietly picks up the carry-all and leaves. Meanwhile, Colonel Samantha Carter contacts Lt. General Jack O'Neill at the Pentagon from her command on the U.S.S. George Hammond. Just hours earlier the Hammond ferried Dr. Rush, Eli, Senator Armstrong, and his daughter and aide Chloe from Earth to Icarus Base -- an Earth outpost on planet with a unique core. For two years Icarus has been home to the ninth chevron project, into which Rush has poured his life. Eli Wallace was recruited to help Dr. Rush solve a key power allocation problem to dial the first and only 9-chevron Stargate address, discovered in the Ancient database in Atlantis. A brilliant young man with few prospects, Eli used to spend his time playing video games in his mother's basement. He solved the "Dakara weapons puzzle" on the video game Prometheus -- planted by the U.S. military to find brilliant young minds. Rush and General O'Neill visited him at his home, but when he proved skeptical he was beamed aboard the Hammond against his will, and introduced to a vast new world of Stargates and space travel. His mathematical solution to the video game's puzzle should have supplied the Stargate with the precise amount of energy necessary to activate the ninth chevron. Eli and Rush work on the problem, only to have the Colonel order a dinner break for the honored guests. During the meal the base came under a surprise attack by Goa'uld motherships, death gliders, even a troop transport attempting to take the Earth base by force. The Hammond and a squadron of F-302s (led by Icarus's Colonel Telford) defended the base while its people were evacuated through the Stargate. But Dr. Rush didn't dial Earth. At the last minute, with new insight from Eli, they figured out how to properly dial the 9-chevron address. Angry when he learns what Rush has done, Young is forced to proceed with the evacuation, even though no one knows where it leads. He sends Lt. Scott through first to scout the mystery destination. As civilian and military personnel flee the collapsing base, they take mission supplies with them. Many are killed in the attack, including the base's chief medical officer, Dr. Simms. Young is the last to escape, flung through the Stargate by an explosive shockwave. Due to its unstable core the planet blows up, destroying the attackers in a massive shockwave. Surmising they were attacked by the Lucian Alliance, Carter reports the loss of 12 people. Since the Icarus Stargate was active for six minutes, she presumes the more than 80 people unaccounted for are safe on Earth. But O'Neill informs her that they did not evacuate to Earth. No one knows where they have gone. - S. Fetter

PRODUCTION The premiere episode of Stargate Universe was originally planned to be two hours in length, but was extended to three hours. The show premiered with a 2-hour event on October 2, 2009, with the third act of the premiere airing the following week. Check out the original casting breakdowns for the SGU regulars here! The character of Nicholas Rush was originally named David Rush. The character of Matthew Scott was originally named Jared Nash. The character of Chloe Armstrong was originally named Chloe Walker, then Chloe Carpenter. The character of Eli Wallace was originally named Eli Hitchcock. The character of Ronald Greer was originally named Ron "Psycho" Stasiak. Actress Julia Benson (formerly Julia Anderson) plays 2nd Lt. Vanessa James, the officer with whom Matthew Scott has a relationship. She previously played Willa, Lucius Lavin's wife, in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Irresistible." "Brad and Rob did a terrific job of kicking things off in thrilling fashion. The script is fast-paced and fun; its characters unique and engaging. My favorite: Dr. David Rush [later renamed Nicholas]. Oh, he's going to be a handful. Originally planned as a two-parter, Brad and Robert quickly discovered that there was simply too much story for such a tight frame, so the series opener is now looking like a three-parter." (Writer-producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog) Expect to see the I.O.A. representative, Camille Wray, much more in future episodes. The character was written to have a small part with possible recurring status on the show. After producers cast well-known actress Ming-Na in the role and saw what she could do, they gave her more to do and eventually promoted the character to "regular" status. "What a day! We were on Icarus Base shooting a couple of HUGE scenes featuring Rush, Young, Scott, Chloe, Eli, Telford, Senator Armstrong, Dr. Damji, Lt. James, Sgt. Riley, Park, Brody, and Franklin. The set is spectacular, I'm loving the new gate set-up, and, surprise surprise, really loving those Icarus military uniforms. Stylin'! "... Andy Mikita, directing the three-parter, is running a tight ship -- but everyone is enjoying themselves immensely. I got some nice behind-the-scenes pics of Bobby and Justin along with the actor playing Telford (not sure if his identity has been announced yet but I have to say -- and did say -- I've enjoyed his work, especially his performance in my very favorite Mark Wahlberg movie. And, no, it's not the movie you’re thinking of. Or the next one. Or the one after that.). "Speaking of announcements, apparently TPTB are just getting their ducks in a row in preparation for the big announcement that should be coming ... very soon. A truly phenomenal cast!" (Writer-producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog) "I was up there doing a snippet of a scene with Robert Carlyle and I'll be going back March 17 for another scene in part 2 of the two-hour. I had told Brad that if he wanted help in the launch of Universe I'd love to be a part of it. (Truth be known, I missed those guys 'n gals.) So I'll make a few slim appearances in the first half-dozen episodes, or so. "Again, details are sketchy, but I've already shot the first of my scenes so the ball is rolling. Andy Mikita is directing the two-hour, so we had a good hug and huge laugh." (Actor Richard Dean Anderson, in a message at RDAnderson.com) "I play a character called Dr. Nicholas Rush. He's a scientist, very much a kind of driven man. He has his own motives, you know, and you're not quite sure what his motives are -- even Rush himself sometimes I don't think [knows]. What happens in the beginning of the show is that Rush [and the cast] are propelled through a Stargate into the ninth Chevron address, and the ninth Chevron address is the Holy Grail of the Chevron. When they get through there, they think they're in another world. In fact, they're in a massive spaceship. This thing is as if you put five aircraft carriers together. This has been sent out hundreds of thousands of years ago by the Ancients and no one was ever meant to be there. "So when they get there, they find this ship which is basically falling apart. How are they going to survive on this thing? And the first [priority], which is the title of our first three episodes, is air. So they can actually breathe. That's the first, basic step." (Actor Robert Carlyle at the Syfy advertising upfront [via IGN.com]) "At the beginning of the show, Rush has transported a team through a Stargate to what they believe is another world. In fact, when they get there, they realize they're actually on another ship, a space ship, a massive spaceship which has been floating through the universe for hundreds of thousands of years, launched by the Ancients long ago -- unmanned, picking up information, gathering data. "So once they get there -- and they're relieved to get there because they have a very tricky situation to get there -- Rush then tells them: 'You can’t go back. You can never go home.' Then things start to get really, really tense. A battle for leadership takes place on the ship. We have three deaths in the first three hours. A suicide in episode five, I think. "This is a hearty band. They're literally billions of light years away, on the very far side of the universe. And the thought of that is quite terrifying. So it has to be character driven. This piece will stand and fall on the characters, for sure." (Actor Robert Carlyle at the Syfy advertising upfront [via Multichannel News]) "It was terrific having Rick [Richard Dean Anderson] back. He's just a good-natured, easy-going guy. A lot of fun to be around. When I told him we had added a French bulldog to the brood since last we spoke, his reaction wasn't the usual 'Are you crazy?!' but a grin and a 'Bless your heart.'" (Consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog) "Yesterday, we sat down and watched the director's cut of 'Air' I and II. Even without the visual effects and the music, it was mighty damn impressive. MIGHTY damn impressive! A big congratulations to show creators/runners Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, the entire cast and crew, and go-to-guy Andy Mikita who directed his big ol' heart out in treating us to one hell of a spectacular premiere." (Consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)

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