"SGU Stargate Universe" (2009) TV series

Creators:

Robert C. Cooper
Brad Wright

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Only Mission Is Survival

Plot:

The Previously unknown purpose of the "Ninth Cheveron" is revealed, and ends up taking a team to an Ancient ship "Destiny"...

Plot Keywords:

Stargate | Survival | Spaceship | Spin Off | Wormhole

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 23	1:00 AM	SYFY	Life	#1.9
Mon. Nov. 23	8:00 AM	SYFY	Life	#1.9
Wed. Nov. 25	1:00 AM	SYFY	Life	#1.9

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Dr. Nicholas Rush (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
Justin Louis	...	Everett Young / ... (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
Brian J. Smith	...	Matthew Scott (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
Elyse Levesque	...	Chloe Armstrong (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
David Blue	...	Eli Wallace (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
Alaina Huffman	...	Tamara Johansen (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
Jamil Walker Smith	...	Ronald Greer (20 episodes, 2009-2010)
Patrick Gilmore	...	Dale Volker (19 episodes, 2009-2010)
Peter Kelamis	...	Adam Brody (16 episodes, 2009-2010)
Jennifer Spence	...	Lisa Park (15 episodes, 2009-2010)
Julia Benson	...	Vanessa James / ... (15 episodes, 2009-2010)
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman	...	Darren Becker / ... (12 episodes, 2009-2010)
Mark Burgess	...	Jeremy Franklin (9 episodes, 2009-2010)
Ming-Na	...	Camile Wray (9 episodes, 2009-2010)

Also Known As:

SG.U Stargate Universe (USA) (promotional title)
Stargate Universe (USA) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:PG (TV rating) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

Company:

MGM Television

Trivia:

This is the fourth series in the Stargate franchise. The other 3 being: "Stargate SG-1" (1997), "Stargate: Infinity" (2002), and "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004).

Quotes:

Everett Young: [repeated line in reference to Dr Rush] That man's a lot of work.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Attack of the Show!: (2009-11-12)" (2009)

SGU - a writer's guide to bad character development and chaotic plot...

I've watched every episode of SG-1, every episode of SGA and thoroughly enjoyed most of it. Yes, it could sometimes be repetitive, cheesy or downright stupid, the special effects made me laugh from time to time, the "science" made no sense, aliens spoke English... But it WORKED. The main reason for me were the characters. They were interesting and likable (both in the regular sense of the word and in the love-to-hate way), there was chemistry between them, and the viewer really cared about what happened to them. Most of the time their actions made some sense and you could see them as people.

That's where SGU fails. The similarity to BSG, lack of humor, the claustrophobic feel of the one, confined setting, the sex that seems to be put into the show for the sole purpose of pointing out how grown up SGU is, compared to its predecessors - those are obvious problems as well, but I could live with that. I'm not so devoted to the previous shows that using the ideas they developed in something completely different offends me. What does offend me is a show where I wish something really awful would happen to the main characters, because they are so badly written.

I'm watching episode 6 (I actually stopped in the middle to write this comment, because I was so annoyed) and by now there isn't a single character I feel any kind of connection with. Those who were annoying from the start are rising to new heights of jerkiness. And the ones I was beginning to like act so inconsistently and unreasonably that I lost all sympathy for them. If it were based on their personalities, I'd have no problem with it, but it's not. It's sloppy writing, full of clichés, cheap tricks and "imaginative" twists and turns of the plot - I know it was supposed to make the characters more interesting and original. Instead they are just about as alive as your average brick and as consistent as a schizophrenic on crack.

Eli, who was rather charmingly goofy, lost and too smart for his own good, in this episode is a spoiled brat, whose solution to a problem is yelling "We're gonna die! We have to do something! Why aren't we doing something!" at people.

Scott has random sex with random girls and a back-story that makes me cringe.

Rush has mood swings that have nothing whatsoever to do with a quirky personality and all with bad writing. Too bad, he was the only one I had real hope for and Carlyle actually can act.

Young is a reasonable and strong leader one moment, only to slip into a clichéd "On your feet, soldier! We're gonna save them or die trying'!" American officer the next.

Telford thinks it's his duty as an officer to contradict Young's orders and undermine his authority every time he can, even if he has little to no information about what's going on on-board Destiny. If I were one of the soldiers under his command, the only think that would stop me from punching the little jerk in a face would be the fact that it's also Young's face...

The minor characters seem to think that People In Charge know everything and can actually fix all their problems without breaking a sweat, but won't, out of spite. So of course, the right course of action is yell at everyone, blame people for things they have no control over and demand to be taken home, right now. Or else. *sigh* And don't even get me started on Greer - he must be one more victim of the C-class writers, I shudder to think anyone might want to write him that way on purpose. The man is clearly psychotic, we have no idea why, and if he were on my side, I'd join the enemy just to avoid being in the same room with him, because he'd make my skin crawl and I'd be afraid he'd shoot me in the head just for fun.

All in all - I'm only sticking with SGU for now, because I'm eagerly awaiting the episode where some big, slimy monster gets on-board Destiny and starts picking off the crew, Nostromo-style. I'll make popcorn and cheer for it...