The darker approach of Stargate Universe with the competent and fun characters of SG1 or SGA. The bunch of ignorant, scheming idiot assholes they wrote for SGU was absolutely horrible.
O'Neill or Sheppard would have held the whole gang together like pros, and Carter or McKay would have repaired the ship and searched for a way back like pros, and Jackson would have analyzed the database and searched for the bridge and other vital systems like a pro.
I like the drama more when things go wrong even though people do their best. I hate it when things go wrong in fiction just because people are absolutely stupid. If people make mistakes and bad decisions, then it have to be mistakes and bad decisions that I can relate to. None of the stupid shit that happened in the show was anywhere close to being relatable.
SG-U was the "adult" series of the Stargate franchise, IMHO. SG-1 was so formula and easy-action with a little humor thrown in. I'm not knocking it, as I liked it for what it was. But you know, by the end of SG-1 it had run its course. Jack O'Neill was tired, and so was everybody else. Didn't you see them in SG-U, looking out of shape and a little bit two dimensional? They were DONE.
SG-U made one serious mistake, though. Season 1 was too heavy handed. True, there had to be episodes focused on the basics, as they boarded a starship with failing systems and there was a lot of work to be done. Air, water, and food were dire priorities. But given what was covered in S1, I think they could have done it in half as many episodes. And the human factor was a little much to start. There was clearly lots of tension between many characters. SG-U was a touch too dark. All of this was apparently too much for most SG-1 fans and they turned away.
As for competence, give me a break. You have a bunch of people thrown onto the decks of Destiny, mostly unprepared, and have to fight for their lives. This isn't SG-1 with a seriously heavy-duty highly experienced crack team who can take on anything. The three main physicists (Volker, Brody, and Park) were playing major catch up. And then of course there's Eli who is very smart and clever, but needs some time to absorb it all. Given how little time they had, they did more than anyone could have expected. Really, you need to ease up on the criticism here.
Season 2 of SG-U clearly showed that the series was developing and improving. The whacky paranoia of Dr. Rush was toned down and he was going to start cooperating more openly with the rest of the crew; no more secrets to hide (like the bridge!). The Lucian Alliance members finally whittled down to trustable members. The alien drone vessels became the painful nemesis, with no clear way of defeating them until the realization of the control ships. After dispensing with them, Season 3 could have opened up with so many more things to do. More worlds to discover. Maybe even another seed ship located for yet another chance at dialing Earth. And **THEN** you'd have the much needed staff change. Most of the people would go home, with a select few remaining to continue the voyage along with a fresh team of people from SG-C.
Seasons 3 and 4 could have uncovered a much broader relationship between the various alien species encountered and more answers to what happened to the Ancients. Perhaps even some video logs uncovered so we finally see them!
SG-U was a virtual gold mine to a fantastic extension of the Stargate franchise. But no... short sighted SG-1 die hard fans just couldn't give it any chance. They cut off their noses to spite their faces. Canceling SG-U meant the complete closure of the franchise. Keeping SG-U alive would've meant much more entertainment and a sustaining of the franchise for other opportunities. You SG-1 guys killed it and you don't even realize it.