Episode of the Week: ‘Incursion’

The Lucian Alliance manages to board Destiny, taking several crewmembers hostage in a bid to wrestle control the ship. And while Colonel Young and Commander Kiva grapple over control of the ship, a pulsar threatens everyone on board with deadly radiation.

“Incursion” Facts:

• “Incursion” was originally conceived as a single episode, following the set-up by “Subversion” and to be concluded by the second season premiere. But it became clear to producers while breaking and writing the episode that SGU‘s freshman year would end with a two-parter.
• Actor Mike Dopud makes his SGU debut in the previous episode in the recurring role of Varro, a member of the Lucian Alliance who will become pretty much a member of Destiny‘s motley crew in Season Two. With 15 appearances it’s by far Dopud’s biggest Stargate role, though he is one of only a handful of actors who has appeared as three different characters on all three series. Dopud played a bounty hunter in SG-1‘s “Bounty,” and a Runner on SGA‘s “Tracker.”
• Colin Graham has the same claim to fame, though with smaller parts. Here he plays the Alliance soldier Calvos; in SGA he was a Genii soldier (also in an invason story — Season One’s “The Storm” and “The Eye”); and on Stargate SG-1 he played an N.I.D. agent all the way back in the episode “Touchstone.”
• Leaving high-profile guest stars like Lou Diamond Phillips (“David Telford”) and Rhona Mitra (“Kiva”) bleeding out on the deck at the end of the season has some practical benefits for the show’s production. Producers could decide after filming was complete as to whether to bring back the characters for the second season of the show — which, of course, depends in part on contract negotiations and schedule flexibility. (In this case, Kiva would end up being replaced by her second-in-command at the start of Season Two.)

“Incursion” on GateWorld:

• Episode Guide (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Episode Transcript (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Fan Reviews (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Photo Gallery (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Screencap Gallery (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Discussion Forum (Part 1 – Part 2)
• Stargate Universe Season One Podcast
• “Incursion, Part 1” Podcast
• “Incursion, Part 2” Podcast
• Interview with Louis Ferreira (2010)
• Interview with Alaina Huffman (2010)
• Interview with Ming-Na Wen (2010)
• Interview with Brian J. Smith (2010)
• Interview with David Blue (2010)

Download “Incursion” now from Amazon or iTunes!

Rewatch “Incursion” this week! Then post your comments below, or head over to the “Incursion” discussion forums and see what people were saying back in the day. What are your favorite moments?

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