SG-U – Air part 3 (1x03) - (Discuss – Grade | SPOILERS)

[broberfett]

It seems like tumbleweeds are blowing by in here.

I'm worried that the show will be gathering water, food, and random minerals. They will fight each other alot-just having arguments mostly. Next week the power goes out. Time to collect some other element or mineral.

I'm glad they aren't in Vancouver. I'm sick of the wet forest and Renaissance fair villages.

Why is this ship so damn important anyway? The ship is ancient, supposedly more ancient than Atlantis. Wouldn't Atlantis have superior technology? The ship seems to be a broken down piece of shit. It is travelling in a place with no one to interact with. The ship is really, really far away into a whole lot of nothing. If they had gone to Earth I don't think they would have missed out on too much. They can explore billions of uninhabited worlds much closer to home and have cool shit like water and food and interactions with other people if they desire.

 

[Peter the Younger]

I gave it 8 chevrons overall. The third hour really made it work for me, and pretty much cemented me on the premise of the show. I loved the character interactions on the away team (funny how quickly we've slipped into Trek terminology.) I also loved how Scott's heroism was something as simple as hauling a bunch of lime across a desert (I know others will probably scream "Nooo!" but I'd like to see more episodes focusing on the basic challenges of survival on this ship.)

I doubt we've seen the last of those two missing team members. Which is not to say Rush wasn't right; I'm sure there is a very good reason that address was locked out, and I expect that reason sounds like "1st season villain."

 

[Locutus of Bored]

So are Curtis and the blonde doctor gone for good? I never saw them come back.

Good question, and I'm surprised they did not bring it up. I think they are still on whatever planet they went to. I hope they explore this in the next episode, like try to go after them.

I'm thinking that that pod thingie that dropped off the Destiny at the end might be an Ancient version of the McKay/Carter Gatebridge connecting Pegasus and the Milky Way, and that's how they'll be able to retrieve them from the other planet they went to even though they'll be dozens of light years away by that point. The ship was designed to seed Stargates, right? So drop some in its wake and use it so people who don't make the deadline or who gate to other worlds can get back.

 

[Brent]

In one the previews last week, we see our teams on a world, looks like a jungle, and they pick up a human skull. I'm thinking maybe the the skull is one of those people that just gated to the planet.

 

[firehawk12]

I find it kind of awesome how douchey all the characters seem to be. Except for the nerd character, of course, because he's basically standing in for all of us. I guess you need to have one person you don't hate.

I'm just kind of disappointed that they went straight for Jesus after 15 years of basically ignoring Christianity. It just reminds me how American this show is, even if it wins Geminis and is "made in Canada". It's like the long hanging fruit. I think I would have been a little more forgiving if he was Jewish or a Muslim, but that'd be expected too much I suppose.

I also found the threat of a woman threatening to reveal the secret a little silly. Throughout the entire Stargate program, only one person thought of going public? Now, if the show goes dark and zaps the woman to another planet, that might be interesting... but as it stands, it'll mostly be an afterthought.

And while it was nice of them to kill two redshirts, I really wish they do something traumatic to the characters with a first name. Someone meaningful should die in the first season... otherwise, this will just be Atlantis/Voyager all over again.

On the flip side, I find the music to be interesting. It has a bit of a Firefly feel... although, I do miss having a central theme that grounds the show. But, hey, it's 2009 and that's so 90s.

I'll keep watching, mostly because there just isn't any space based science fiction around anymore. I'm hoping I enjoy it more though... as it stands, I'm fairly indifferent to it based on past disappointments.

 

[Hyperspace05]

Excellent.... And I *really* liked the music/score in this episode. (except for the last song) It was very movie-ish score, yet different.

And some very funny moments in between the great drama.

I am very excited about this show. More than I have been about any SG show.

 

[PorthosShadow]

I probably watched the first two hours about three times already because sci-fi has been re-running it. I liked it the more I saw but I felt very disconnected to it. I suppose since it's the beginning that's to be expected but tonights episode finally felt like the beginning of the series. After 10 years of SG1 and pine tree planets I was so happy to see a desert.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

First off, a side note: I don't get why some people are throwing out "I hated this" "I hated that"; I don't even think they understand what "hate" is. To use it as a description for an emotion against something as unimportant as imaginary characters on a TV show seems wholly unrealistic.

However, I do agree in that most characters (with the exception of Eli and the blonde medic girl who's got some character) are utterly unlikable. I still have my fears in this area. On other shows, when they went with the "gritty" and "realistic" approach, the characters became such unbelievable bastards, that the whole supposed realistic angle dissolved completely (example: nBSG). In real life people aren't such complete bastards, and if they are, they need to get their act together. I certainly wouldn't want to have such irresponsible, unlikable and unloyal people as a boss/colleague or especially, friend. So I do hope the characters get more realistic and perhaps even less pragmatic/more idealistic.

Another thing I didn't like was the disappearance of the lovely intro of the first twoparter of Air; the view of empty space (with the Destiny coming into view) with the underlying creepy soundtrack. In this episode, it didn't came back in the title screen; only the very first second of the recap had it, most probably because of re-used footage. Of course, the title doesn't have to be as long as that of the first two-parter, but I do hope the creepy sound will make it's return.

However, the things I do like about the first three episodes are more numerous:

I love the contemporary music at the end. Subtle as a brick, yes, but I love it. It gives the show a more "real" character. At the same time, it distances it from classic space opera like Star Trek. Though there still is too much of an orchestral soundtrack to really modernize it.

Another thing I liked were the unexplained mysteries. Not everything has to be explained, and certainly not in the same episode. The alien "probe" at the end is a prime example of this; I loved it.

I loved how much time they spent on the actual ship (in the first two-parter). The exploring bit is nice, but it shouldn't become more then 50/50 lest it become too much like old Stargate. Like in Atlantis, where they had this entire ancient city under their feet and they barely even knew where the bathroom was.

 

[BigFoot]

I enjoyed the premier as a whole, though I was kinda bored at some parts taking place in the desert. I will definitely continue watching the show.

And I'm kinda surprised by this, by so far Eli is definitely my favourite character. I like the fact that he's not a total pussy. He's also not annoying, which is a plus.

 

[cultcross]

7 chevrons. I thought it was a little better than the first two parts, to which I gave 6 chevrons. It was slow and meandering, but I liked the dramatic tone and it did have some good moments when some of the characters changed bodies. Ordinarily, I wouldn't like that these people are supposed to be stranded in deep space yet have contact with home, but what they did with it was good creative scifi and had enough of a punch that I found myself liking it and wanting more.

---Grade the premiere as a whole---
Above Average. I enjoyed it and thought it was a pretty good Stargate for the most part. Like I said though, it was slow, and on top of that, I haven't developed a connection to a number of the characters yet, so that prevents it from being 'excellent'.

---Grade The SG-U Premier in comparison to SG-1 and Atlantis, which one is better?---
SG-1 - Children of the Gods. It was more focused. I put that premiere ahead of "Air", but not by much. In the end, it's really apples and oranges.

---Are you going to continue watching this series?---
Yes. Despite being a little thin in the story department, this show has given the franchise some freshness which has me excited about Stargate for the first time in years.

Pretty much ditto on all of that. Children of the Gods was a fantastic pilot, but Air certainly holds its own. It's better than Rising which is odd given the similarities of the two setups.
I graded it Above Average too, I really did enjoy it and am interested to see where it goes, although it was by no means perfect. In particular, I'm hoping we see a bit more focus on the neglected characters as time goes on, for example give Ming-Na more than 3 lines, and find out exactly why Greer is such a crabby bastard.
I'm loving Rush as a character, he's a good lead while not being the perfect hero-type, and Scott makes for a good Riker, the action-hero supporting player who gets to play the hero without that being the focus of the show.
Eli is no Rodney McKay, but he's likeable enough, I'll give him a chance.

 

[shivkala]

Eli borders on likeable and annoying. I could have done without the "Planet of the Apes" stuff.

As far as this episode, I think I liked the first two parts better. This was an enjoyable hour of television, don't get me wrong, but I guess I like the mystery of the ancient ship more than the search for calcium.

Last, I got a big Lost vibe from this episode. Young meeting the man who raised him and the mysterious sand spiral, which may or may not have been real, but nontheless helped him find the calcium were very indicitive of Lost. That being said, I love Lost and at this point, I like anything that sets this show apart from the previous two Stargate series.

 

[broberfett]

I'm just kind of disappointed that they went straight for Jesus after 15 years of basically ignoring Christianity. It just reminds me how American this show is, even if it wins Geminis and is "made in Canada". It's like the long hanging fruit. I think I would have been a little more forgiving if he was Jewish or a Muslim, but that'd be expected too much I suppose.

I think they should have gone with something really different. The guy should have been a Scientologist. He could have encountered Tom Cruise or L. Ron Hubbard hawking copies of Dianetics.

 

[BenRoethig]

I find it kind of awesome how douchey all the characters seem to be. Except for the nerd character, of course, because he's basically standing in for all of us. I guess you need to have one person you don't hate.

I'm just kind of disappointed that they went straight for Jesus after 15 years of basically ignoring Christianity. It just reminds me how American this show is, even if it wins Geminis and is "made in Canada". It's like the long hanging fruit. I think I would have been a little more forgiving if he was Jewish or a Muslim, but that'd be expected too much I suppose.

Bigots always expect others to be as intolerant as them and thankfully people always disappoint them.

 

[cultcross]

I'm just kind of disappointed that they went straight for Jesus after 15 years of basically ignoring Christianity. It just reminds me how American this show is, even if it wins Geminis and is "made in Canada". It's like the long hanging fruit. I think I would have been a little more forgiving if he was Jewish or a Muslim, but that'd be expected too much I suppose.

Well, a white, religious man in the US Army is far more likely to be Christian, to me it would have seemed... contrived if he was a 'more PC' religion just for the sake of it. They did go with Catholicism, which gives some bonus points for not going down the Southern Baptist route. I'd quite like there to be other religions on board ship though, it would provide a source of potentially interesting conflict if we get into a 'we're all gonna die' scenario long term.

I also found the threat of a woman threatening to reveal the secret a little silly. Throughout the entire Stargate program, only one person thought of going public? Now, if the show goes dark and zaps the woman to another planet, that might be interesting... but as it stands, it'll mostly be an afterthought.

That seemed better than it would have done because she was the wife of a US senator and friend of the President, it seemed that she had some pull in Washington, or at least believed she did. A bit more significant a threat than, say, Martin Lloyd was, and harder to make 'disappear'. Still, you're right, I hope they revisit this or it's just an empty threat.

And while it was nice of them to kill two redshirts, I really wish they do something traumatic to the characters with a first name. Someone meaningful should die in the first season... otherwise, this will just be Atlantis/Voyager all over again.

I agree, but I'd like them to kill off a main character with a bit more pizazz than that. The idea I'd go for is: main character gets left behind when the timer runs out, and has to make a living on the world he finds. Kind of A Hundred Days from SG-1 without the reset button.

 

[Kitty Worrier]

It was enjoyable, but the desert stuff got a little trying for me. I liked last weeks episode better (which I recorded on a Sunday encore, and didn't have issues many other seemed to have).

I do wonder, why was Ming-Na listed as a guest star? I thought she was listed as one of the stars last week... or am I recalling wrong?

I gave this episode 5 (last week was 7). Whole thing was average/above average for me. I think I liked this pilot the best, of all three. And I'll keep with the show, for now.

I like many of the characters, even if they are asses. I don't like the Greer guy. What the heck is up with him? I'm not liking him putting a gun to Rush's head, even if Rush is a jerk.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Re: SG-U – Air part 3 (1x03) - (Discuss – Grade | SPOILERS)

I find it kind of awesome how douchey all the characters seem to be.

It's what a lot of people have asked for, that characters be more human and realistic. Though now that they give it to us I hope it's not a be careful what you wish for situation. I sometimes find these shows hard to enjoy if it gets too overbearing. Hopefully they give us some things that are likable for balance.

First off, a side note: I don't get why some people are throwing out "I hated this" "I hated that"; I don't even think they understand what "hate" is. To use it as a description for an emotion against something as unimportant as imaginary characters on a TV show seems wholly unrealistic.
<snip>
I love the contemporary music at the end.
<snip>
I loved how much time they spent on the actual ship

Hmm, interesting...

 

[Brikar99]

I also found the threat of a woman threatening to reveal the secret a little silly. Throughout the entire Stargate program, only one person thought of going public? Now, if the show goes dark and zaps the woman to another planet, that might be interesting... but as it stands, it'll mostly be an afterthought.

That seemed better than it would have done because she was the wife of a US senator and friend of the President, it seemed that she had some pull in Washington, or at least believed she did. A bit more significant a threat than, say, Martin Lloyd was, and harder to make 'disappear'. Still, you're right, I hope they revisit this or it's just an empty threat.

I'm not sure how much of a real threat it could be - I guess it depends on whether she's got any kind of proof other than going on the evening news and claiming that her daughter visited her from across the universe by possessing the body of someone else...

 

[Jono]

Thought this as a stand alone without the other two was a lot weaker and gave it a 6...I think I gave the first 7 or 8.

The pilot didn't grab me in the same way SG1's did. I put that down to the fact that I liked the characters immediately in SG1s pilot. It reminds me of Atlantis just without the bad guys getting set up from the get go. The ending of the episode was good with the shuttle thing mysteriously going off and that alone will get me to watch on to see what happens next.

Wait...I wish I hadn't voted because I'd have only given it a 2. We had three hours of stargate premier and not one wormhole transit effect. I took off 4 for the first part because I didn't see one so I'm doing that again. I still can't believe when they were making the Icarus to Destiny trip they didn't insert a funky transit effect. I would have rather see that then the lame senator's wife section.

 

[Harvey]

I'll give this one a 6/10. A small improvement from the premiere. I don't mind that it was seperated from the first two hours, since, structurally, it was entirely different than the flashback heavy episodes last week.

The scene where Chloe talks to her mum was extremely painful to watch. It was as bad as the flashback with Young last week. Thus far the show has been an utter failure when trying to depict domestic drama.

Speaking of painful scenes to watch, when Rush and the Angry Black Man (I'll learn his name when his character develops beyond that) discuss their past histories, I groaned. Rush pulled himself up from his bootstraps. The Angry Black Man is...well, angry. Who knows why, really.

And then, after all this fighting he is willing to shoot the scientist about to enter the gate on Rush's order alone? And then when Rush goes back through the gate, he avoids all responsibility? Ooh, inconsistant characters and contrived drama! Isn't it so adult?

The song that played at the end was far too literal a choice for my tastes. It shows the producers trying to emulate other dramas, but only with limited understanding. We'll see if this improves. I did like the score, though, which for the first time lets Joel Goldsmith stop pretending he has an orchestra and create a true synthesizer score.

I noticed that Ming-Na has been moved to being listed as a guest star. Considering she has a character who has zero to do and practically no screentime, does this signal an approaching exit for her?

I did like the desert location. Stargate finally has some scope. Let's hope they continue to show their increased budget on the screen.

Lou Diamond Phillips as Telford was more interesting than Col. Young in only ten minutes. I hope we see more of him than just a few episodes.

I liked that everyone was burned from the sun in the end, and that the nurse mentioned that using the sedative on Young meant she was wasting valuable supplies. Speaking of the nurse, don't the communication stones make the fact that she's a nurse and not a trained MD a totally moot point? A doctor could be called upon to take over her body at any time. What a waste of legitimate drama (or, if they ignore this obvious solution, what a contrivance!).

I wonder, will they really run out of guns, and bullets, and supplies in coming weeks? Is there a supply of razors onboard that someone was lucky to bring, or will the fact that all the men will stay neatly beardless be ignored?

 

[Kirby]

I enjoyed it, I gave it 7/10, but I probably should have gone a little higher. Nice to see Jack commanding something again instead of making snarky comments, and I like the threat of the program going public from Chloe's mom.
I hated that Breathe song with the montage of everyone breathing. They couldn't find something a little less obvious? If this keeps up, I hope the play Eat It by Weird Al when the resolve the food crisis.