SG-U – Darkness (1x04) - (Discuss – Grade | SPOILERS)

[Admiral Buzzkill]

This show is just a dreary mess.

Here's their problem: they're penciling in all the scenes that they think a "dark and gritty" show (like nuBSG, the show they pretend they're not imitating) needs to have, but their writers simply aren't good enough to then write anything interesting into the scenes.

They're generic: Rush has "murky motivations" and goes nuts yelling at and abusing people - because he's in withdrawal from caffeine and nicotine (edgy!). Of course, since he's a cardboard character he can say nothing more specific or interesting than "You're stupid! You're wasting my time! Go away!"

The "time capsule" scenes were awful and exemplify the problem: the reason for making them is vague, to say the least - but come on, the real reason for making them is that they're on the figurative "list of scenes:" the reality-show confessional moment in which the characters stumble and stammer and tell the camera stuff in a way that's supposed to be affectingly real and honest (because, come on, we're all at our most un-self conscious and vulnerable when we know that we're on camera). Yeah. They all stumble and stammer and finally blurt out one generic remark or another that are, in fact, all the same: "I shouldn't be here/don't want to die here/knew this was a mistake" etc. One guy recites a psalm.

Couldn't one of them been interesting? Said something unexpected?

Nope, 'cause telling the writers to write like nuBSG doesn't mean that they know how.

 

[Gepard]

This show is just a dreary mess.

Here's their problem: they're penciling in all the scenes that they think a "dark and gritty" show (like nuBSG, the show they pretend they're not imitating) needs to have, but their writers simply aren't good enough to then write anything interesting into the scenes.

They're generic: Rush has "murky motivations" and goes nuts yelling at and abusing people - because he's in withdrawal from caffeine and nicotine (edgy!). Of course, since he's a cardboard character he can say nothing more specific or interesting than "You're stupid! You're wasting my time! Go away!"

The "time capsule" scenes were awful and exemplify the problem: the reason for making them is vague, to say the least - but come on, the real reason for making them is that they're on the figurative "list of scenes:" the reality-show confessional moment in which the characters stumble and stammer and tell the camera stuff in a way that's supposed to be affectingly real and honest (because, come on, we're all at our most un-self conscious and vulnerable when we know that we're on camera). Yeah. They all stumble and stammer and finally blurt out one generic remark or another that are, in fact, all the same: "I shouldn't be here/don't want to die here/knew this was a mistake" etc. One guy recites a psalm.

Couldn't one of them been interesting? Said something unexpected?

Nope, 'cause telling the writers to write like nuBSG doesn't mean that they know how.

I'm going to print this post and mail it to the producers.

And I'm registering my prediction now that the ship is not on a collision course with the star, but is going to dip in and recharge itself with star-stuff, like at the end of Rendevous With Rama.

Ditto. So far, the ship has been the only character on the show with a clue, so of course it's not going to plunge them to a fiery death.

By the way RJ, I came very close to PMing you last night after I saw this episode to say I'm starting to agree with you about the "D&G" fad and all the negative consequences, because if there was ever a perfect example of the phenomenon it's "Darkness." And then...

Well, there were actually several things to like about this episode-- aside from the shower scenes-- making it the best episode yet. Which isn't saying much, of course.

I liked the "time capsule" recordings; some nice little characterizations there. The Gas Giant flyby was excellent; it was great to see some actual sense of wonder in TV sci fi, since it's so rare these days. They actually introduced a reason for Rush to be acting like a cranky teenager. The camerawork wasn't as bad, but I hope they hire some professionals soon and stop giving the donut girl ten bucks to do it.

Other problems still remain, like the forced conflict. The little domestic drama was ridiculous. And those little stones should be constantly put to real use; Rush should be consulting with Daniel Jackson et al. Especially Al. And the sets on the ship are just incredibly soporific; nothing but dark gray everywhere. Hopefully, the next planet they visit will have stores where they can pick up some potted plants and nice posters for the walls.

 

[Snaploud]

What would Daniel Jackson know about fixing a ship? Yes he can read Ancient but so can Rush,

One of their biggest difficulties is figuring out how to use the systems. This is likely due to the fact that the language is a much earlier version of ancient (as they are used to systems hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions of years, more recent). A language specialist like Daniel would be a huge help.

No, the problem is getting full access to the systems not understanding what they mean.


KK

I think the two issues are linked, but I'll wait for the show's characters to confirm.

 

[Jimmy_C]

As for them not using the stones to grab McKay or Jackson: 1) Yet. They haven't done it yet. There are other things going on in the world of Stargate, perhaps those folks are busy; 2) second, the actors themselves may be busy. I would expect Daniel to make an appearance sooner or later.

Also, I can see Jack hesitating to use Jackson, Carter, or McKay. If the situation really is that dire, they could possibly die on the Destiny. It is quite possible the SGC has more pressing matters. The Lucian Alliance has more powerful weapons, we don't know what happened to Atlantis (according to TPTB, something happens involving the wormhole drive in the Atlantis movie), the Hammond is severely damaged, etc. Right now, the Destiny doesn't pose much of a threat to Earth. I can see TPTB refusing to send Jackson or others to help without first waiting for the situation to calm down.

 

[Harvey]

So, they can't send their top people to the Destiny. But there has to be somebody more useful than Chloe ready to go help when they are in the midst of a seemingly life-threatening crisis.

 

[Ryan]

If Chloe is so useless, why isn't Colonel Carter or somebody more qualified body-swapping with her in this time of crisis?

Because having someone swoop in and magically fix the tech is boring. And really, if that's going to be the solution to all the problems on the show there's no reason not to have one of the regulars like Eli or Rush do it.

 

[archeryguy1701]

Something to consider for the body-swap stones is that eventually, there might come a time where the stones stop working. While calling in "experts" might be helpful, they already have one Ancient expert in Rush, and when the stones stop working, they're going to have to know how to fix the ship on their own. And, the ship predates all other Ancient technology by hundreds of thousands or millions of years. Just because it's from the same race doesn't mean that the technology is close enough to "modern" Ancient tech to be easily understandable by the Milky Way experts.

 

[Yoda]

Channing Tatum (Scott is it?) is rapidly becoming my least favorite character on the show. Shut up with the Jesus already.

He had a hallucination of a cross in one episode, and says a very short prayer in another, and it's enough to warrant this sort of reaction already? I could understand if they were beating it to death, but this is nothing compared to what they could be doing.

If Stargate had any balls they would've made Jesus into a goa'uld charlatan who came back from the dead thanks to the wormy and made a run for it to the other side of the galaxy. But no, the only 'false' gods have to be the ones that nobody seriously worships any more.

And yes, two episodes in a row of anything Jesus is too much. It's not just Jesus, it's damned corny Jesus. Though I walk through the valley of the.... for the love of god, that's like #2 on the top 10 list of bible cliches. You know, I've actually seen some bible quotes be put into shows in contexts that were pretty awesome. This ain't it!

 

[kNkg]

No, the problem is getting full access to the systems not understanding what they mean.


KK

I think the two issues are linked, but I'll wait for the show's characters to confirm.

I disagree, they haven't had any problems finding and understanding the systems they can access. Take the recharger platform for example, it took them something like a day or so to figure out what it was and how to make it work with human batteries.


KK

 

[Caliburn24]

6 Chevrons. Sort of hard to rate since it isn't really your typical three act episode, it just is a slew of character vignettes and the passage of a day or so on the ship. I'll give it a 6 in the hopes that it is going somewhere worthwhile.

The Good.
Telford and Young at odds(please build on that later on...). The gas giant surfing. The willingness to be continuity heavy without making it a two part episode. The odd format of the episode, no resolution. The lack of showers. The large number of background characters given names and job descriptions.

The Bad.
Chloe, got over Dad dying quick it seems. The body swapping stones. Use them logically(bring in that expert) or get rid of them. They sap any sense of pacing from the show, the Earth scenes just d....r.....a.....g.

The Questions.

Was the food served at the beginning, from the ship or was it brought with them? If brought with them, it seems a very odd choice.

How did the crew know there were three habitable planets approaching? I thought all power was being used by life support? Sensors should have been off, and the naked eye is only so good.

Do the body swap stones have a finite power supply?

What happens when Chloe uses the stones and winds up in Telford's body?

 

[RJDiogenes]

By the way RJ, I came very close to PMing you last night after I saw this episode to say I'm starting to agree with you about the "D&G" fad and all the negative consequences, because if there was ever a perfect example of the phenomenon it's "Darkness." And then...

Well, I'm objective. And I didn't say it was good, I just said it wasn't as bad. The only part that was actually good was the Gas Giant fly-by; it was like a window back to the days when Sci Fi was about the Sense of Wonder and not about people puking all over themselves or blowing cigarette smoke in the faces of pregnant women. That's one of the great things about the Doctor Who revival; they always manage to maintain that Sense of Wonder, especially through the eyes of the Companion.

 

[Danny99]

I'm one of the people who like this show, so I guess I'll be getting cheers from one side and eggs thrown at me from the other.

I loved that the writers even though that people, such as Rush, could suffer from cigarette and coffee withdrawal. We haven't even seen that in many different scenarios where it could come up in across many forms of drama.

With Scott and his religion, this is one of the first times we've seen a military person with any kind of religion. Let it play out! I doubt he's going to be wandering through the corridors preaching from the Gospel for sweeps week!

Unfortunately nuBSG is the look for science fiction right now. From what I understand of Firefly, this is what their ship looked like. Even Enterprise had the cramped corridor idea, which was a departure for Trek. Somebody is always stealing from somebody these days, so it doesn't bother me.

Let's keep being civil!

 

[MPH]

This show is just a dreary mess.

Here's their problem: they're penciling in all the scenes that they think a "dark and gritty" show (like nuBSG, the show they pretend they're not imitating) needs to have, but their writers simply aren't good enough to then write anything interesting into the scenes.

They're generic: Rush has "murky motivations" and goes nuts yelling at and abusing people - because he's in withdrawal from caffeine and nicotine (edgy!). Of course, since he's a cardboard character he can say nothing more specific or interesting than "You're stupid! You're wasting my time! Go away!"

The "time capsule" scenes were awful and exemplify the problem: the reason for making them is vague, to say the least - but come on, the real reason for making them is that they're on the figurative "list of scenes:" the reality-show confessional moment in which the characters stumble and stammer and tell the camera stuff in a way that's supposed to be affectingly real and honest (because, come on, we're all at our most un-self conscious and vulnerable when we know that we're on camera). Yeah. They all stumble and stammer and finally blurt out one generic remark or another that are, in fact, all the same: "I shouldn't be here/don't want to die here/knew this was a mistake" etc. One guy recites a psalm.

Couldn't one of them been interesting? Said something unexpected?

Nope, 'cause telling the writers to write like nuBSG doesn't mean that they know how.

Enough with the BSG comparisons This show to me still seems like a Stargate show, also didn't people want a change in direction for the franchise?

 

[Captain Shaw]

I know David Hewlett is busy writing a untitled script for MGM which we will probably never see.
And he is living in the UK so i think he might be too busy to pop up on SGU.
Which is a shame because i was hoping he would pop over to Canada so he could revise his role on sanctuary.

 

[Jenee]

If Stargate had any balls they would've made Jesus into a goa'uld charlatan who came back from the dead thanks to the wormy and made a run for it to the other side of the galaxy. But no, the only 'false' gods have to be the ones that nobody seriously worships any more.

Why would they risk alienating, at least, half their potential audience when they can use it as a potential storyline?

I don't consider myself Christian, nor do I consider myself anti-Christian. So, I'm fine with the storyline - as are most people, I think.

 

[Kirby]

I just got around to watching it and I gave it a 5. Granted, I've been suffering from the flu for the last three days so my head may not have really been in this one...

They completely lost me with "We have dozens of HR issues." That would be the last of my worries in that situation. Too bad they didn't get Toby from The Office to be the HR person instead of Ming Na.

Also, I don't like Young's wife, she looks kinda skanky to me.

 

[1001001]

Busty Soldier Chick

She needs to be in every scene.

Right. So everyone can bitch about her like Seven and T'Pol.

Well, I don't care about people bitching. They'll always find something to complain about.

Okay yeah, maybe I went a little overboard.....



She is a stunning woman, though.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Busty Soldier Chick

She needs to be in every scene.

Right. So everyone can bitch about her like Seven and T'Pol.

I'm surprised that there hasn't been any complaints about her already, given the uproar that the sex scene in the pilot caused.

She is a stunning woman, though.

I thought that Chloe would be the resident hottie, but so far, it looks like Lt. James might take that spot.

 

[Jono]

Gave it a 6.

While Chloe is pretty unless in terms of getting things working on the ship I do like that they have her as another "outsider" instead of there just being Eli and I hope they do end up doing something interesting with her.

The gas giant scene was cool.

Not sure if having the stones is a good or bad thing but I'm just waiting for the inevitable episode where Telford takes over the other colonel's body from Earth due to his view that Young is useless and imposing his rule on the Destiny and for everyone to band together to bring back Young.

I'm not really getting this whole out of range of a stargate. I thought as long as there is one in the galaxy there are in they could connect. Is it just a power issue? The ship can only muster the power to link up to close gates or am I just forgetting some random episode where Carter or McKay told us that a stargate has an X light year range?

It probably isn't a great sign that the biggest talking point of the episode was a 10 second scene with a chick with big breast (pun intended). On the females of the show I really can't stand the paramedic who looks like she at least remembered to pack her makeup before she evacuated Icarus base. Her personality is so dull and whiny when she talks I think my brain shuts down...I know its still early and she might prove to be an interesting character but at this point I'm wishing they'd swap her for Shooter McGavin.

 

[Harvey]

If Chloe is so useless, why isn't Colonel Carter or somebody more qualified body-swapping with her in this time of crisis?

Because having someone swoop in and magically fix the tech is boring. And really, if that's going to be the solution to all the problems on the show there's no reason not to have one of the regulars like Eli or Rush do it.

Sacrificing an obvious technical solution for the sake of cheap drama (or giving your regulars something to do) only means the writers didn't have any foresight.

Speaking on the medic's smart packing of make-up, everyone is still clean shaven. I guess they all brought those razors after all (and have done a pretty good job considering their small water rations).