Fix Stargate Universe

[bullethead]

Fire all the actors except the fat nerd.

Robert Carlyle is a damn good actor, as is Lou Diamond Phillips. They are worth keeping, especially Carlyle.

Why does everyone always want the cast killed off? That never solved anything on Atlantis, so why do you all think it would achieve anything here?

Well, it's a show where they are stranded on the other side of the universe in a really difficult position, so some of the main cast should die to prove the situation is actually serious. Then add in the fact that most of the viewers don't give a fuck about the characters, so no one would really complain about the characters dieing as long as it wasn't badly executed.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I don't want the cast killed off. I think a lot of them have potential. But they should narrow it down and cut some of the dead weight. Ming-Na is next to useless here. So is Lt. James. I'd keep Young just because he's such a fuckup, he makes it entertaining.

Scott is so bland and vanilla I really don't care what happens to him. Likewise with Chloe.

 

[Teelie]

Killing off cast in SG-A was a mistake when they could be written off more convienently to come back later. Killing one of the popular actors off was a dumb move and didn't serve anything and in turn was lessened when they brought his clone back.

That's not how you trim excess cast members. You get the ones with no redeeming value or are just not going to work long term and kill/write them off. They started off with a large cast for a reason, presumably so they can kill some of them off and it have more impact than Ensign Nobody we see two or three episodes before their death if we're lucky.

What they should not do is go and kill off a main cast member people actually like, or dislike but will provide proper friction with likable characters. Rush is an excellent example. The character is an asshole and not even one who is always (or at first often) likable but he provides good contrast and antagonism for the other crew. He's the kind of character who is needed even if his personality clashes so often.

 

[The Wormhole]

Well, it's a show where they are stranded on the other side of the universe in a really difficult position, so some of the main cast should die to prove the situation is actually serious. Then add in the fact that most of the viewers don't give a fuck about the characters, so no one would really complain about the characters dieing as long as it wasn't badly executed.

Most shows rarely kill off anyone in the main cast unless the actors want to leave or the writers are operating under a misguided sense to "shake things up." Even BSG, with a severely dark, depressing, and dreary premise only killed off one character in the main cast, and even then it became rather confusing what the hell actually happened with Starbuck.

Besides, at least good guys on SGU have been killed, even if they are usually meaningless "Red Shirts." That's better than Enterprise which did not have a single good guy killed at all in the first two seasons, be they Enterprise crew or alien ally of the week. Now when you have a ship getting into firefights with aliens on a weekly basis including one incident where a cloaked mine blew a significant chunk out of the ship, it defies credibility that no one dies.

 

[JarodRussell]

People just should get along well and explore the worlds. I don't care for the soap opera bullshit. "We actually don't have any problems, so we create them to kill ourselves as we go!" That's just terrible writing as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Dr. Chandra]

I don't want the cast killed off. I think a lot of them have potential. But they should narrow it down and cut some of the dead weight. Ming-Na is next to useless here. So is Lt. James. I'd keep Young just because he's such a fuckup, he makes it entertaining.

Scott is so bland and vanilla I really don't care what happens to him. Likewise with Chloe.

Leutenant. James. Stays.

 

[T J]

After reading some of these comments I'm glad the guys at MGM aren't taking fan suggestions!

 

[Jack Bauer]

I don't want the cast killed off. I think a lot of them have potential. But they should narrow it down and cut some of the dead weight. Ming-Na is next to useless here. So is Lt. James. I'd keep Young just because he's such a fuckup, he makes it entertaining.

Scott is so bland and vanilla I really don't care what happens to him. Likewise with Chloe.

Leutenant. James. Stays.

Yes...keep the eye candy!

 

[Barbra45]

James isn't eye candy. TJ's the only one remotely pretty. The Men are not any better looking. Most are nerds anyway.


What happened to Robet Carlyle's movie career. That he had to slum in Stargate.


I said in an earlier post that SGU needs more heart. Maybe we would care more about the characters and thier issues.
Plus the dark and gritty, mommy abandement crap or whatever is getting old. I think SGU has tied to be like everyother tv show and has lost it's Identity.

 

[bullethead]

What happened to Robet Carlyle's movie career. That he had to slum in Stargate.

I heard he got tired of being in movies no one saw, so he decided to go Hollywood in order to get more exposure.

 

[PsychoPere]

My ideas, which are pretty much the same as many of the ones already proposed (and in no certain order):

• Better characterization. We need genuine reasons to care about these characters. I don't feel we've been given much in the way of that. Give these characters (especially Scott) some real personality.
• Time to end the military vs civilian in-fighting. Now that Destiny has faced two external threats -- the aliens and the Lucian Alliance -- everyone needs to band together. Some occasional tension should still exist between individuals but no more dividing into camps.
• Make Young competent, or sideline him and have Telford take over. If Young's incompetence so far has been due to his desire to leave behind off-world SG operations, it's time to get over that and lead.
• Give Wray something real to do. She's the IOA representative, right? That makes her a leader. Get her involved in organizing and planning. This also means, coupled with #3, that Young needs to involve her and stop treating her as an obstacle.
• End the love triangles. The Chloe-Scott-Eli and Chloe-Scott-Lt James nonsense is boring as hell.
• Keep exploring Destiny. The few promos I've watched give the impression that this will be done (particularly since we've seen set pictures of the ship's bridge), so I look forward to it. Gain at least a measure of control over the ship so that we can...
• ... Explore some more planets & continue to show the need to hunt for resources. Show the crew trying to be resourceful in the face of attack, whether that's from an LA uprising, blue alien attack, or just wildlife on some planet. These people have to be running low on medical supplies & ammunition by now, particularly after the Lucian incursion.
• Don't rely on the Ancient communication stones as often. I'm not going to echo the general idea of "losing" the stones, but we don't need to see them used for Destiny to report to Homeworld Command - just mentioning it is fine.
• Eli's supposed to be a genius. Have him step up and be genuinely useful for a change. Also, tone his incessant "humor" down because I don't think it's funny. He is far too obviously supposed to be the audience's "in" character.
• Highlight the secondary characters. Show that, even though these are the "wrong" people, they can be useful, that they were on Icarus in the first place for good reason. I'm not really sure I buy this "wrong" people thing, anyways, other than the mess cook sergeant because many of them seem to be specialists that you would want for an expedition. In other words: Rush should not the only one who can figure stuff out.
• Get rid of this "does he have a secret agenda?" nonsense with Rush. He doesn't need to stop being an asshole but he's supposed to be a genius, which means he should be smart enough to realize he needs these other people and should be willing to include them in his plans. Given his performance in the face of the LA incursion, might as well give him genuine authority within the expedition as well since he did a hell of a lot better than Young or Wray.
• Speaking of generic assholes, drop it with Greer. He doesn't have to be happiness and sunshine but the angry black man routine is ridiculous. Allow him to have some more levity. Give the crew a reason to respect him the way Scott and Young apparently do.
• Next time there's a "huge" and dangerous situation like the LA attack, at least one genuinely recognizable character should die. They're stranded far, far away from Earth and the stakes need to be recognized that they have no (easy) way to gain replacements or have reinforcements.
• Fewer montages. Limit the number of times they're used per season. They don't need to go away entirely because some shows have used them effectively (i.e., Battlestar Galactica). If the producers want to continue using montages, they should examine effective uses and learn from those examples.
• More details on the blue aliens, please! Who are they? Why are they interested in Destiny? Will they always be an enemy, or is there a possibility they could end up an ally? Are there other aliens in this region of space?
• I would suggest making Chloe useful, particularly considering the number of times she herself has pointed out her uselessness, but it looks like that's already being worked on. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out.
• Since this post, I've changed my mind. Shake up the writing and production staffs. These people have been with the franchise for too long. It's time for a massive infusion of new blood.
• As part of the characterization & giving people things to do idea, split up the main cast when they're working on issues. Don't always have Scott & Greer, Rush & Eli, etc., working together. This could help bring the secondary cast into focus, as well.
• Relegate the Kino from now on to legitimate uses as Destiny's "MALP." No more video diaries.

 

[Corran Horn]

I guess I don't get it. A lot of these things seem to break down to having everybody act in an ideal manner in every situation, and have everybody have the ideal skill set for every given situation. It's a little hard to believe.

After seeing Voyager abandon its premise so quickly (Maquis members were basically indistinguishable from Starfleet officers after the pilot except for one episode in the later seasons) I don't want everybody to work together easily. That's not particularly realistic.

Sure, maybe this 'mission' would work better if Jack were in charge instead of Young, but Jack's somewhere else.

That kinda reminds me of people who never liked Weir. (different scenario because she could be easily replaced once they established gate and ship travel back and forth)

I'm sure many people said...heck, Carter would be a better expedition leader than Weir. Well, they did eventually have Carter. How did that work out? (that's more of a writer thing though)

 

[PsychoPere]

No one has said they want everyone to "act in an ideal manner in every situation." The problem is that the writing in season one was not sufficient to believe in the conflict. None of it felt real but rather forced in order to have conflict. I'd rather the SGC personnel be a well-working team if the quality of the conflict writing in season one is all this production team is capable of handling. Again, the problem is believability. Since I didn't believe it in season one, might as well drop it and let the source of internal ship conflict come from the Lucian holdovers instead (though I'm doubtful of the writing staff's ability to handle that well, either).

As for "Jack vs. Young," I don't see anyone in this thread who has compared the two beyond you. I don't want Young to be perfect but I do want to actually understand how this man could be a full Colonel in the United States Air Force. So far, Young hasn't been presented as someone who should've reached that rank. As I've said before, I feel his leadership skills are sorely lacking and that he could've avoided much of the military vs civilian tension if he were to include Wray in decision-making. That doesn't mean he has to turn command over to anyone, it simply means that Wray needs to feel like she has a voice. If he had done that, then the ridiculous mutiny would have been unlikely.

 

[MilleniumLance]

^^^ thank you psycho

 

[Corran Horn]

No one has said they want everyone to "act in an ideal manner in every situation." The problem is that the writing in season one was not sufficient to believe in the conflict. None of it felt real but rather forced in order to have conflict. I'd rather the SGC personnel be a well-working team if the quality of the conflict writing in season one is all this production team is capable of handling. Again, the problem is believability. Since I didn't believe it in season one, might as well drop it and let the source of internal ship conflict come from the Lucian holdovers instead (though I'm doubtful of the writing staff's ability to handle that well, either).

I don't agree. The stressful situation created the conflict...conflict that might have been there in the first place anyway. (For Wray, look at IOA vs. SGC personnel through the different series)

As for "Jack vs. Young," I don't see anyone in this thread who has compared the two beyond you. I don't want Young to be perfect but I do want to actually understand how this man could be a full Colonel in the United States Air Force. So far, Young hasn't been presented as someone who should've reached that rank. As I've said before, I feel his leadership skills are sorely lacking and that he could've avoided much of the military vs civilian tension if he were to include Wray in decision-making. That doesn't mean he has to turn command over to anyone, it simply means that Wray needs to feel like she has a voice. If he had done that, then the ridiculous mutiny would have been unlikely.

I was using Jack as an example of an ideal leader. From the start, Young treated it as a situation where the military should be in control--as they were at the SGC and Icarus Base. How exactly do you think Young undermined his rank? Because he took charge and didn't take advice from others? That doesn't seem antithetical to a high-ranking military officer. (in my view anyway)

 

[bullethead]

No one has said they want everyone to "act in an ideal manner in every situation." The problem is that the writing in season one was not sufficient to believe in the conflict. None of it felt real but rather forced in order to have conflict. I'd rather the SGC personnel be a well-working team if the quality of the conflict writing in season one is all this production team is capable of handling. Again, the problem is believability. Since I didn't believe it in season one, might as well drop it and let the source of internal ship conflict come from the Lucian holdovers instead (though I'm doubtful of the writing staff's ability to handle that well, either).

I don't agree. The stressful situation created the conflict...conflict that might have been there in the first place anyway. (For Wray, look at IOA vs. SGC personnel through the different series)

No one is saying that the conflict wouldn't have come about, they're just saying that how it unfolded on screen was really poorly done.

As for "Jack vs. Young," I don't see anyone in this thread who has compared the two beyond you. I don't want Young to be perfect but I do want to actually understand how this man could be a full Colonel in the United States Air Force. So far, Young hasn't been presented as someone who should've reached that rank. As I've said before, I feel his leadership skills are sorely lacking and that he could've avoided much of the military vs civilian tension if he were to include Wray in decision-making. That doesn't mean he has to turn command over to anyone, it simply means that Wray needs to feel like she has a voice. If he had done that, then the ridiculous mutiny would have been unlikely.

I was using Jack as an example of an ideal leader. From the start, Young treated it as a situation where the military should be in control--as they were at the SGC and Icarus Base. How exactly do you think Young undermined his rank? Because he took charge and didn't take advice from others? That doesn't seem antithetical to a high-ranking military officer. (in my view anyway)

Taking advice from experts and the representatives of those under your command are generally considered to be part of good leadership. Young did practically everything in his power to make the civilians not trust him or like him by not listening to Wray, having his little clique of Scott, TJ, and Greer do everything when it came to the civilians even when it wasn't appropriate, and not telling anyone what was going on. If that doesn't undermine someone's confidence in their leader, I don't know what will.

 

[PsychoPere]

No one is saying that the conflict wouldn't have come about, they're just saying that how it unfolded on screen was really poorly done.

Exactly! I do think there should be conflict, otherwise the setting of a ship they have no control over and can't easily leave & come back to would get pretty stale very quickly. However, as bullethead just said, much of it in season one did not unfold in a convincing manner. To me, it felt like bullet points on a piece of paper in the production office, rather than arising organically from the situations the crew were confronted with. You could pretty well see the puppet strings on the actors.

Taking advice from experts and the representatives of those under your command are generally considered to be part of good leadership. Young did practically everything in his power to make the civilians not trust him or like him by not listening to Wray, having his little clique of Scott, TJ, and Greer do everything when it came to the civilians even when it wasn't appropriate, and not telling anyone what was going on. If that doesn't undermine someone's confidence in their leader, I don't know what will.

I don't think I can add anything at this time to this excellent answer.

 

[DWF]

Taking advice from experts and the representatives of those under your command are generally considered to be part of good leadership. Young did practically everything in his power to make the civilians not trust him or like him by not listening to Wray, having his little clique of Scott, TJ, and Greer do everything when it came to the civilians even when it wasn't appropriate, and not telling anyone what was going on. If that doesn't undermine someone's confidence in their leader, I don't know what will.

Contrast that with the long history of insubornation we seen from O'Neill and Shep, a change was needed.

 

[DarKush]

I don't think that SGU needs much fixing. I give the writers credit for taking SGU in a different direction. From what I read about Atlantis, it was supposed to be a darker show but it quickly became SG-1 2.0. The writing staff with SGU is trying to produce the dark show that Atlantis was perhaps supposed to be, to some extent in response to fan concerns perhaps, not to mention the success of BSG. But I have to wonder if that desire for dark and gritty TV was fleeting.

It seems like there is a new spate of action-adventure shows that are far lighter in tone lately and maybe SGU is now behind the times.

SGU reminds me of ST: VOY, but unlike VOY I think SGU has been more true to its premise and has shown a willingness to drag that out. So, I don't have a problem with military/civilian conflict or even the love triangles. I mean, what are these people supposed to do on the ship but screw, drink, and argue. Being on Destiny must be like having a severe case of cabin fever. Stuck in close quarters, with danger potentially around every corner-and that's just the ship, not to mention space and the planets they visit. I can see why these people would be on edge almost all the time.

Though I agree with some of the things listed on this post.

-Brighten up Wray. I was watching a Comic-Con clip of Ming-Na and she has an electric smile. I would like to see more of that. Plus, I would like to perhaps see her take on the role as diplomat/first contact specialist/ambassador when the ship encounters more aliens.
-Also add more character development and complexity to Greer. I agree that the angry black guy thing has been taken too far.
-Stop using the stones. I think having contact with Earth so frequently lessens the feeling of isolation.
-Introduction of more alien species. I would like to see more of the Blue (but no so much that they become run-of-the-mill like the Wraith did).
-Shifting the conflict from civilian/military to Earth humans v. Lucian Alliance.
-More screen time/character development for Lt. James.
-Slowly brighten up the ship as the humans learn to control its systems.

 

[bullethead]

-Stop using the stones. I think having contact with Earth so frequently lessens the feeling of isolation.

Honestly, I would've been fine with them being able to video chat or something, since that reinforces the isolation by showing what they are missing, but allowing the crew to be there with their loved ones (albeit not in their bodies) is truly a massive betrayal of the premise.

-More screen time/character development for Lt. James.

I'm not sure these writers can write female characters without making them devolve into bitches and whores. I know they've got a new writer who happens to be a woman, but I'm not sure there'll be any positive change for any of the female characters, not with Joe Mallozzi on the staff.