SGU Season 1.5 Blu-ray Review

SGU’s first season has come and gone, but Season Two of the show premieres in a little under a month on Tuesday, September 28.  Until then, you can enjoy Stargate Universe’s back-ten Season One episodes on the SGU Season 1.5 Blu-ray set!

What’s In the Box:

The Blu-ray 3-disc set comes with all 10 episodes of the second half of Stargate Universe’s first season.  Disc One features the episodes “Space,” “Divided,” “Faith,” and “Human.” Disc Two includes the episodes “Lost,” “Sabotage,” and “Pain.” Finally, Disc Three has the last three and most suspenseful episodes of the season, “Subversion” and “Incursion” (Parts 1 and 2).

Also on each disc comes audio commentary on all 10 episodes, as well as special features (more below).  One of the nice additions of this set is that if comes with a special collectors box in which you can put both Seasons 1.0 and 1.5 to make one complete box set.  This is especially nice if you have already purchased both sets and don’t want to dish out the $41.99 on the complete set due to be released on October 5 (story).

Video:

SGU Season 1.5 is presented in full 1080p Blu-ray HD.  Each episode is also in widescreen 1.78:1.  As far as the transfer is concerned, Stargate Universe looks better on Blu-ray than it does on TV — which comes as no surprise.  Blu-ray discs have a way of making just about anything look crystal clear.  The biggest complaint as far as the video is concerned is that from time to time, there is some grittiness.  This just may be due to the way SGU is filmed, but it’s not the first time that this type of grittiness has been caught on a Blu-ray disc.  Apart from that, the show shines … at least as much as anything can shine on board a dark and aged ship like Destiny.

Audio:

5.1 DTS Master Audio seems to be the standard these days when it comes to Blu-ray discs, and SGU 1.5 is no different.  Along with the English audio track, there is also a Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital track.  For those who don’t speak the English language, each episode is equipped with French and Spanish subtitles.  The reason that 5.1 DTS has become the Blu-ray norm is because it is a fantastic way to listen to movies and TV Shows.

While SGU Season 1.5 may have its fair share of action and excitement, those aspects of the show are not what make this audio track so exciting. It’s the music.  Joel Goldsmith has gone and brought something so unique to the way in which Stargate music is done now.  Stargate Universe is a very bass-heavy show, so much so that while watching “Incursion, Part 2,” my front door shook.  Suffice it to say, SGU Season 1.5’s audio track is superb.

Special Features:

Each disc of this set includes a slew of special features ranging from creator interviews to Eli’s Kino video diaries.  Unfortunately this set, like many past Stargate box sets, does not deliver in this category.  It’s not that they aren’t there, but that they are too short.  The special features on each disc focus more on the interviews with series creators than it does on the actual making of the show.

For example: While the interviews last somewhere around 10 minutes, the featurette on the creation of the new alien enemy lasts maybe two minutes.  It’s really a shame, because it was good!  Just as it gets interesting and pulls you in … it ends!  Stargate special features have never been spectacular, but one would hope with SGU being the first series to be released on Blu-ray (not including the two SG-1 films), that this would be a section that was improved upon.

Overall:

Special features aside, the SGU Season 1.5 set is a great piece in any Stargate fan’s collection.  The audio and video quality is outstanding and while the special features aren’t perfect, they are fun to watch.  Getting to rewatch the back half of Season One with such excellent quality is also a plus, especially this close to Season Two.

SGU Season 1.5 on Blu-ray is available at Amazon.com for $28.49 as well as the DVD set for $18.49 (as of press time — both prices subject to change).  For those of you who have not bought either set yet and want to wait, The Complete First Season is scheduled for release on October 5 on Blu-ray and DVD, and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $41.99 and 34.99, respectively.

Be sure to tune in to Syfy for the Season Two premiere of Stargate Universe on its new night — Tuesday, September 28 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific!

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Reviews represent the opinion of the author, and not necessarily that of GateWorld or its owner.