Again guys sorry, next week, 2 threads, one for live commentary, one for grading and the grading poll will have several categories to vote on
one scene I'd like to see that would say "this is not Atlantis" would be for them to gate into a room loaded top to bottom with fully powered ZPMs
One thing I noticed I didn't like, they never noticed that the Stargate looks different. They did this same thing in Atlantis, when they gated over to Atlantis NO ONE mentioned that the Stargate looks different!? So once again, they gate to a ship, the gate is different, yet NO ONE says, "WTF, why is the gate different?"
What shaky cam? Seriously. I didn't notice a shaky cam (in fact, I didn't notice a shaky cam in Trek XI either even though everyone seemed to be annoyed by it).
SG-1's gate - Orange lights. Atlantis' gate - Blue lights. SGU's gate - White lights. I wonder if the gates on the various worlds will look different or have different color lights. I can see them not doing that for budget reasons, but we'll see.
Bottom Line: Wasn't expecting to like it. I did. Yes, it's BSG-Lite. Still, it's engaging,enjoyable Television and that is an increasingly difficult commodity to find in the shuffle of reality TV and prime time soap operas. 8/10.
I was really pulled in for about 30 mins then it kinda lost me. Then again the commercials kept pulling me out of the show. Eli is my favorite character so far. He seems the most well thought out non cookie cutter character there. Which isn't that great of a compliment because he is the cookie cutter super smart college drop out computer nerd. I thought we already had the angst black solder character with Ford on SGA? You'd also think they would get this scientist against soldier thing worked out after so many years of running the Stargate. Don't they have psych evaluations at the SGC anymore? I hope they get past this fake drama and start exploring soon. I gave it a 6.
There's no gruff warrior character, so the show sucks. Hopefully they'll find planets that look like Renaissance Fairs and we can call this a legit Stargate show. It dig drag a bit, but thankfully they did not instantly introduce a scary new enemy of mankind. OMG! It's the Ravagers! A conquering race of semi-parasitic space nazis who worship unseen elder gods!!
It seems that the only scientist that people had issues with was Rush. And it appears those issues were well founded. The only other major yelling match for who is in control was between the senator and Lt. Scott. But that was more about the senator thinking he's hot shit and Scott fumbling when trying to lead.
I feel like the Senator's death was unnecessary. The new "Last Starfighter" and the Ravenous guy both read a good bit of ancient. They are on a spaceship. Does the ship have spacesuits? They didn't even check. They didn't try to trigger the button with the Kino. They didn't try to physically barricade the opening. They just decided someone would die. I am also amazed that they didn't grab the damn stone communication device right then and there when that dirty bastard announced himself to be the leader. They could have sent someone back that was a little more trustworthy, maybe a couple people. Do the stones burn out after each use? We don't know and none of the military guys were curious enough to check it out. I guess they are supposed to be dumb and trusting.
I was underwhelmed, but then again, all of the Stargate pilots have been a tad underwhelming. I would have liked to have seen less copying of BSG and more original ideas. The sex scene was out of place in any kind of Stargate. The repainted SGC walls to make the icarus base were a little too obvious, as well as the SGC gateroom redress. Kinda curious how the Earth Point of Origin shows up on a gate not from Earth. Also sort of odd that you'd run a life support system on an uninhabited ship for millenia, especially considering you've got "incoming gate turn-stuff-on" technology.
I was really surprised how much I liked it. Dark and gritty yes, but not relentlessly so like BSG (thank the gods for Eli!) I found the characters to have a lot of potential, and the acting to be pretty damn good all around. I especially love how the problems of survival aren't just brushed away with a flick of the super-science wand. Yep, I'll be watching this one. Edit: And let's hear it for human beings engaging in natural sexual intercourse. In a supply closet.
First, the implication was that, given his heart condition and internal bleeding, the Senator was dead meat out there anyway, and he knew it. Second, I didn't get the impression that it was as simple as pushing a single button, and that Kino doesn't look particularly dexterous. Third, they clearly don't have full command of the ship's UI, and didn't have time to search for spacesuits. Or maybe they have higher priorities to sort out, like staying alive, and even if they don't trust Rush, they need his brilliance at the moment. so it would pay not to push the issue at that very moment. Especially since his attempt to take command clearly went nowhere, and he dropped it. Also, if you'll notice: Spoiler: Spoilage Lou Diamond Phillips' character is talking to them in the clips from future eps, so we can assume the stones will be used in the future. So, be patient.
It left a stronger first impression than Atlantis did. Atlantis said "CHEESE!!" right from the start. Here at least there were no inexplicable humans inexplicably speaking English. There were no Teyla's, Ronan's, or any other Teal'c knockoff. No bad guys spouting over the top evil cliches. No renaissance fair sets. There was a lot of continuity, but they managed not to be bogged down by it. The acting wasn't great, but most of the characters seemed better thought out in two hours than the Atlantis ones did in five years. Not that that says much. I was going to say that I'd give it a few more episodes, but with the total lack of sci-fi on TV, the truth is that I'll probably watch it regardless.
Loved the first few seasons of SG1. Awesome characters and excellent stories. Went downhill after that, and had become unwatchable by the time they imported those two from Farscape. Loved a lot of the characters on SGA. The stories were excruciatingly bland and uninteresting, so I only watch later episodes with Keller because she's Baberaham Lincoln. Based on that trend, I was not expecting to like SGU at all. Most of my fears turned out to be true. Very cliche. Yet another franchise turned Grimdark. Yet another show consisting mostly of confusing flashbacks. (Though maybe that's just the pilot episode.) Yet another show filmed with a weird camera style. Yet another smartass kid genius with a chip on his shoulder. Yet another show with all the characters against each other because they all think they know best. No hot chicks!!!!!! However... Judging from the previews of future episodes, there might be potential for good stories. (Though my opinion of Syfy's track record pretty much rules that out.) I'll watch next week and hope it engages my interest. Otherwise it's back to TOS reruns and original BSG on Hulu.