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SG-U – Life (1x09) - (Discuss – Grade | SPOILERS)

Grade Life

  • 10 Chevrons – Out of this Universe

    Votes: 2 2.2%
  • 9 Chevrons – Beyond the known Galaxies

    Votes: 11 12.1%
  • 8 Chevrons – In the Milky Way Galaxy

    Votes: 23 25.3%
  • 7 Chevrons – Within our Solar System

    Votes: 22 24.2%
  • 6 Chevrons – Haven’t got past Earth (Average)

    Votes: 13 14.3%
  • 5 Chevrons – No flying machines at all

    Votes: 4 4.4%
  • 4 Chevrons – Pre-Industrial

    Votes: 3 3.3%
  • 3 Chevrons – Dark Ages

    Votes: 3 3.3%
  • 2 Chevron – Throwing rocks and stones

    Votes: 5 5.5%
  • 1 Chevron – Cannot Establish Lock

    Votes: 5 5.5%

  • Total voters
    91
I don't get the aversion to this sort of storytelling. We had over a decade of space battles and humanoid aliens. I was getting bored of it all.

Well, let me let me help you out. Characterization is good. Melodrama and soapy BS is bad. It's not that we just want explosions and shooting, we just don't want a soap opera.

I hope the writers aren't paying attention to either camp, because right now they're giving us something different; and so far I'm enjoying it.

Sorry, but how is a soap opera different?

Mr Awe
 
Best body swapping episode so far. Some decent characterisation for a change (and in hindsite a lot of it was set up in the previous and more boring episode)

I like that Telford didn't just pretend to be Young, he's far more insidious than that. I love how someone I thought was just a throwaway guest star in the pilot has turned out to be so important (and I still think he sold them out to the Lucian Alliance in the first place)

Scott grows on my week by week (and curiously I'm liking Eli less and less each week)

Camile is becoming a more rounded character, and I think she'll play an increasingly central role.

I'm guessing mad bald soldier is gonna go loco and sit in the chair.

Chloe...of please do something interesting with this girl!

Greer, not in it much but still loveably surly

TJ loving her more and more each week

Rush I still can't quite get a handle on, and I actually think the producers need to use him more.

On the downside the stuff characters are allowed to do with borrowed bodies is disturbing. Irrespective of anything else it seems odd that both Young's wife and Camile's partner had no trouble sleeping with them in other bodies. It seems far fetched. We aren't just attracted to our partners by their personality, their phycicallity plays a huge part as well. So I'm still waiting for a wife/husband to say 'but I just don't fancy you in that body!'

Camile's relationship was very sweet, but they're still somewhat ducking the issue of homosexuality on American tv aren't they? such relationships seem (to me at least) to mostly revolve around lesbians--why not two guys? (It's ok, I know why but wanted to raise it anyway)

Anyway, given that Scott got a flash of Telford's memories I'm wondering if the stones will become increasingly unreliable over time. Actually I wonder if part of the reason is down to Telford just sitting there so often, be interesting to see where they'll take it.
 
I'm guessing mad bald soldier is gonna go loco and sit in the chair.

Yeah, they're not being too subtle on setting that one up, are they? :lol:
I assume him running out of medication will put him in lots of pain/imminent death so he sits in the chair as a blaze of glory exit.
 
I'm guessing mad bald soldier is gonna go loco and sit in the chair.

Yeah, they're not being too subtle on setting that one up, are they? :lol:
I assume him running out of medication will put him in lots of pain/imminent death so he sits in the chair as a blaze of glory exit.

Well maybe they'll surprise us and Chloe will sit in the chair ;)

"I'm like, totally super-intelligent or whatever"
 
I find this thread kind of comical really.

I remember in the days of Star Trek: Voyager, how the constant complaints (and rightfully so IMHO) were:

- The ships too clean
- There's no scrounging for resources
- Underdeveloped characters
- Don't address the human issues that would naturally arise in this situation

Now SGU comes out, tackles these very issues and all there is is whining about all of the "emo" problems and hunting for water... jeepers! I guess you can't make everyone happy!
 
I don't get the aversion to this sort of storytelling. We had over a decade of space battles and humanoid aliens. I was getting bored of it all.

Well, let me let me help you out. Characterization is good. Melodrama and soapy BS is bad. It's not that we just want explosions and shooting, we just don't want a soap opera.
That wasn't very helpful because it seems like a false premise to me. I haven't seen melodrama or soapy BS (and I remember Melrose Place, so I know what "melodrama" means to me); I've seen well-written, realistic and well-acted adult relationships.

I hope the writers aren't paying attention to either camp, because right now they're giving us something different; and so far I'm enjoying it.

Sorry, but how is a soap opera different?

Mr Awe
No apology necessary. It's different because we haven't seen it before in Stargate. And because unlike "soap operas," the relationship drama isn't the main thing here. It's pretty well-woven into their sci fi plight.
 
I find this thread kind of comical really.

I remember in the days of Star Trek: Voyager, how the constant complaints (and rightfully so IMHO) were:

- The ships too clean
- There's no scrounging for resources
- Underdeveloped characters
- Don't address the human issues that would naturally arise in this situation

Now SGU comes out, tackles these very issues and all there is is whining about all of the "emo" problems and hunting for water... jeepers! I guess you can't make everyone happy!

What an over-simplistic view.

There has to be a balance.

Gritty ship, arguing characters and scounging for resources with nothing interesting happening to move the series along isn't what people want. Watching Chloe get drunk or people mouthing off to kinos is not interesting. Ditto watching the 65th sex scene in ten episodes (watch DWF come in and say "there's only been 12 sex scenes, not 65!")
 
I find this thread kind of comical really.

I remember in the days of Star Trek: Voyager, how the constant complaints (and rightfully so IMHO) were:

- The ships too clean
- There's no scrounging for resources
- Underdeveloped characters
- Don't address the human issues that would naturally arise in this situation

Now SGU comes out, tackles these very issues and all there is is whining about all of the "emo" problems and hunting for water... jeepers! I guess you can't make everyone happy!

What an over-simplistic view.

There has to be a balance.

Gritty ship, arguing characters and scounging for resources with nothing interesting happening to move the series along isn't what people want. Watching Chloe get drunk or people mouthing off to kinos is not interesting. Ditto watching the 65th sex scene in ten episodes (watch DWF come in and say "there's only been 12 sex scenes, not 65!")

We had that supposed balance on Atlantis and only worked for so long before people got tired of it. The point was that people are going to complain no matter what they do and they've only had eight eps. few shows do much in their first eight eps. either for that matter. And for the record there's only been three sex scenes. :nyah:
 
Right on cue, the voice of unblinking over-the-top gushing.

Few shows do much in their first eight episodes? The show is dull, boring and turning people off already after a handful of episodes. The characters, bland, annoying or unlikeable.

Other series realise that it's early on when you're supposed to excite your audience and get them hooked. Clearly not SGU.
 
Right on cue, the voice of unblinking over-the-top gushing.

Few shows do much in their first eight episodes? The show is dull, boring and turning people off already after a handful of episodes. The characters, bland, annoying or unlikeable.

Other series realise that it's early on when you're supposed to excite your audience and get them hooked. Clearly not SGU.

Maybe you should go back and rewatch the first eight eps. of SG1 and Atlanis, outside of the pilot there's not alot going on there either. And I'm not gushing I can see both sides of the "argument", in the end they'll have a full season and the show is generating more talk than Stargate has had in years, good or bad so it's all good the point being to generate that interest in the first place.
 
Re: SG-U

Right on cue, the voice of unblinking over the top gushing.

Few shows do much in their first eight episodes? The show is dull, boring and turning people off already after a handful of episodes. The characters, bland, annoying or unlikeable.

Other series realise that it's early on when you're supposed to excite your audience and get them hooked. Clearly not SGU.

I think they thought the sex between the LTs and the Colonels switching bodies to have sex would hook them in???
 
Re: SG-U

Right on cue, the voice of unblinking over the top gushing.

Few shows do much in their first eight episodes? The show is dull, boring and turning people off already after a handful of episodes. The characters, bland, annoying or unlikeable.

Other series realise that it's early on when you're supposed to excite your audience and get them hooked. Clearly not SGU.

I think they thought the sex between the LTs and the Colonels switching bodies to have sex would hook them in???

Both Young and Telford are Cols. and since the act wasn't advertised and little attention was brought to the act I can't agree with your reasoning here.
 
I find this thread kind of comical really.

I remember in the days of Star Trek: Voyager, how the constant complaints (and rightfully so IMHO) were:

- The ships too clean
- There's no scrounging for resources
- Underdeveloped characters
- Don't address the human issues that would naturally arise in this situation

Now SGU comes out, tackles these very issues and all there is is whining about all of the "emo" problems and hunting for water... jeepers! I guess you can't make everyone happy!

What an over-simplistic view.

There has to be a balance.

Gritty ship, arguing characters and scounging for resources with nothing interesting happening to move the series along isn't what people want.)

According to this, it is what people want. The ratings aren't great. But they're better than SGA at its end, and the audience fall-off is less than what SGA experienced at its beginning. If it keeps trending downward, it's either gone or it'll be retooled. But at this point most people are sticking with it rather than abandoning it.

If the story doesn't pick up by the end of the season, I'll probably agree with the naysayers. But right now I feel it's building to something and I'm curious to find out what that is.
 
Right on cue, the voice of unblinking over-the-top gushing.

Few shows do much in their first eight episodes? The show is dull, boring and turning people off already after a handful of episodes. The characters, bland, annoying or unlikeable.

Other series realise that it's early on when you're supposed to excite your audience and get them hooked. Clearly not SGU.

Maybe you should go back and rewatch the first eight eps. of SG1 and Atlanis, outside of the pilot there's not alot going on there either. And I'm not gushing I can see both sides of the "argument", in the end they'll have a full season and the show is generating more talk than Stargate has had in years, good or bad so it's all good the point being to generate that interest in the first place.

ffs.

Atlantis and SG-1 had interesting likeable character in it's first 8 episodes.

Atlantis and SG-1 had interesting things happening in it's first 8 episodes.

Atlantis and SG-1 wasn't mind-numbingly boring in it's first 8 episodes.

And yes you are clearly a never-say-anything-bad-about-Stargate gusher. Always have been. If that's what you like doing then fine, but no point denying it.
 
Right on cue, the voice of unblinking over-the-top gushing.

Few shows do much in their first eight episodes? The show is dull, boring and turning people off already after a handful of episodes. The characters, bland, annoying or unlikeable.

Other series realise that it's early on when you're supposed to excite your audience and get them hooked. Clearly not SGU.

Maybe you should go back and rewatch the first eight eps. of SG1 and Atlanis, outside of the pilot there's not alot going on there either. And I'm not gushing I can see both sides of the "argument", in the end they'll have a full season and the show is generating more talk than Stargate has had in years, good or bad so it's all good the point being to generate that interest in the first place.

ffs.

Atlantis and SG-1 had interesting likeable character in it's first 8 episodes.

Atlantis and SG-1 had interesting things happening in it's first 8 episodes.

Atlantis and SG-1 wasn't mind-numbingly boring in it's first 8 episodes.

And yes you are clearly a never-say-anything-bad-about-Stargate gusher. Always have been. If that's what you like doing then fine, but no point denying it.

You're so far off the mark it's not even funny, I stopped watching SG1 after the first five eps. in syndication and didn't try the show again tiil There But For The Grace Of God. Once the first DVD set came out I saw the entire season of course, in the end though it's just a TV show and won't be around forever so there's little need to get all that upset over it.
 
I thought SGU had a very strong start. Dealing with the problems of air supply, water, and energy didn't bother me at all--those are good things to be dealing with and wholly appropriate to this show. They've even had consequences spill over from previous episodes: the swarm aliens from "Air, Part 3" showing up again, and then the water from "Water" being contaminated. But, out of the 9 hours we've had so far, a full two of them were devoted to shenanigans on Earth, plus we've had a fair number of Earth scenes in the other episodes, so that probably adds up to another episode or two.

They've glossed over important issues like morale and discipline so we could have a love triangle. All of a sudden in "Life," everyone on the ship is forced to undergo conditioning and be treated like boot camp maggots? Exactly why did anyone agree to this? Was there really no argument? What's the point of having civilians on the ship if they're just peons at the beck and call of the military? I can't see them putting up with that forever.

I'll hush up about it if these things are addressed in the course of the rest of the season. But if it really does just end up being little more than a soap opera, I'll probably bail at the end of the season. I really want to give this show a chance, and I want to like it. I have found things to like, and those are keeping me going for now. We do have some well-drawn characters here, I'd just like to see them do more interesting things and not just bicker.

I've seen people complain that this show takes too much after BSG. Only it doesn't. The tone is different, the stories are the different, and what motivates the characters is very different. Although I can see similarities in many of the characters versus those in BSG, SGU is a very different show and I don't think it needs to emulate anything else. But I want to know more about the ship, what Dr. Rush is up to, how they intend to maintain order while their situation goes on and on. So, I am hoping the situation with the Ancient chair goes somewhere soon.

So, I'm going to stick it out for now and home some of this Earthbound stuff gets resolved soon, one way or another. If they want to tell these stories, fine, but there's no point dragging it out endlessly. Young punched out Telford, so that should be bringing that particular storyline to some kind of end very soon, unless their superiors really are clueless morons.
 
Gave up bigtime....
Did not even bothered watching this last one....
It does not help that I am rerunning SG-1 either..
 
The worst episode of SGU to date. The Destiny story should have been the A plot. It's like the writers were saying, "look, we're writing about a lesbian relationship to show we're edgy now! Oh and we have a stripper and Scott's illlegitimate kid. That's edgy!"

The one saving grace of the whole plot line was the fact that Scott is going to have to deal with knowing he's never gonna see that kid in his own body. That was worth something, but we didn't need a suitcase to get there when an overnight bag would've been sufficient.
 
I'm guessing mad bald soldier is gonna go loco and sit in the chair.

Apparently, they're going to be solving a murder. And, I think the mad bald soldier is too obvious of a suspect. Totally speculating, I think it will be the ticked of scientist guy. But, who knows.

Mr Awe
 
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