I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Sucks that we're hitting the midseason finale (which was never intended to be the midseason finale).
SG-U – Life (1x09) - (Discuss – Grade | SPOILERS)
- Thread starter Brent
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All I caught was the promos on Space.
And all I hear is Justin Lewis (Col. Everett Young)yelling, I can see why some media types call him a "Perennial Series Killer" in Canada, I find his Voice annoying like nails on a black board.
And all I hear is Justin Lewis (Col. Everett Young)yelling, I can see why some media types call him a "Perennial Series Killer" in Canada, I find his Voice annoying like nails on a black board.
I'm choosing to believe it's the latter. The look in his eyes was more vindictive than anything else and I think Scott suspected it wasn't as innocent a gaffe as it seemed. They both knew Eli was twisting a knife.
If the writers didn't intend to imply that subtext, it seemed to me the actors sure did.
The ongoing Telford/Young/Young's wife story is painful to watch. Not because it's boring (as a lot of people apparently feel), but because it feels so true. And because Young's basically powerless here. He can't really do anything but watch as this man steals his wife from him, and what hurts even more is that it's all his fault. He's the one who cheated (so she'd have no reason to trust him if he were to say Telford's lying) and he's the moron who had sex with her in Telford's body (without thinking how that would cause his wife to become attracted to Telford).
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. Grounding it in this sort of human drama is what's kept me watching. If I want the same thing SG1 and SGA gave me, I'll just pull out my SG1 and SGA boxed sets.
And I also don't get the other common critique, that the body swapping stones interfere with the premise of them being isolated and desperate. First of all, I think it enhances it because they're tortured with glimpses of lives that they can't really lead. They're in other people's bodies and the clock is ticking. And every time they return to earth (if Young's trips are any indication), they have to witness their earth lives slipping farther and farther away. Young's losing his wife. Chloe's losing whatever it was she had. Ming Na's character's wife says she'll wait, but any of us who've heard that in real life know that's usually wishful thinking. Scott has no control over that stripper chick and has to watch as she ruins his kid's life. They're not reconnecting with their earth lives, they're watching their earth lives steadily atrophy.
Secondly, the premise isn't what we think it is, it's what the writers think it is. If an unfolding story isn't what we thought it would be, does that mean the writers don't know how to stay true to the premise, or is it more likely that we made the wrong assumption about the premise? I think it's the latter. I think if they're not giving us stories about people stuck on a ship, totally isolated from Earth, then this is simply not supposed to be a show about people stuck on a ship, totally isolated from Earth. And I'm fine with that.
Some of the complaints make me think people would rather watch a rehash of earlier Stargates, and others make me think people would rather watch a rehash of BSG. 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.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I just want a balance of human drama and scifi action (which is what I've come to associate SG with). We've leaned quite heavily on the human drama at this point but I believe this series can be more than just that (as "Time" proved). If I only wanted soap opera drama, I'd watch a soap or prime time drama that doesn't have the scifi trappings. I watch scifi to see fantastic elements and yes, a degree of action and adventure as well.
I'm not one to give up however, even if SGU was just human drama for the rest of the season I'd still give it a shot because I think what it has done so far has been done well. They're certainly setting up a bunch of mysteries, I just want to see us getting a bit of light on them by the end of S1 (which can then unfold into even bigger ones).
Yeah, the show shouldn't be a lighthearted, action-adventure romp like SG-1 often was. The situation is also not comparable to BSG, and shouldn't be portrayed like it is.
I don't even have a problem with the Earthside stuff. What I do have a problem with is no one stepping in and taking charge of the situation. Young and his people are still US military, and they should act like it. I'm eager to see if the hammer comes down this week on Young for decking Telford. Deserved or not, that's just something you don't do. It gives the impression there isn't anyone really overseeing this whole mess.
Having them watch their lives slip away is good drama. Letting them act like idiots in the process, however, is not. Even under the circumstances, the brass would only tolerate so much bullshit. I could see Young getting banned from using the stones for personal business, or even getting all recreational use forbidden because of his actions. Consequences: that's what I want to see.
They are immensely far from home, and that's very painful for them, but the patience of those on Earth can only go so far.
For me, "Time" was great precisely because it wasn't the norm for the series. We've watched these people caught up in internal struggle and subsistence struggles for so long that when an alien threat came along, it had a bigger impact on me than pretty much anything I'd seen in the earlier series.
I can see how it's too slow-paced for other people, but I don't mind that sort of thing. I have different shows I can watch when I feel like something faster. Thank God (and TiVo) for DVR's.
I agree. I think the reason I'm enjoying the human drama is I feel it's all contributing to grander stories down the line. I lost patience with seasons 1 of Babylon 5, DS9 and Farscape, and didn't come back to watch the rest of those series until years later. I learned my lesson then that slow first seasons sometimes pay off by slipping in tons of exposition and foreshadowing -- the stuff that helps you appreciate the later seasons a lot more.
I think the patience of those on Earth is already exhausted. Despite O'Neil's pep talk a few episodes ago, I'm pretty sure he'd relieve Young of duty if it were possible. And the IOA recognizes they're probably going to lose the ship if they don't have one of their own take over (and Ming Na's character probably wouldn't have been their first choice, but she just happens to be the only one they've got onboard). The opening credits keep telling us these are "the wrong people in the wrong place."
They weren't trained for this, no one but Rush ever wanted to be there, and it's a miracle they're still alive. They need to be replaced with people who're more competent. Even Young said that about himself in the second or third episode.
But they can't replace them so they all have to make due with what they've got. Therein lies the premise of the show.
Earth has to give them a lot of slack to be disrespectful and insubordinate at times so that they don't melt down and lose everything. This is actually the first time I've watched Stargate and not thought "in real life they'd replace this guy." It's the first time I've seen a plausible reason for the allowance the higher ups give for our main characters' individual failings.
I think the fan base will eventually settle down and the complaints will go away. I also think that the show will pick up as the threads they've set up start playing out or coming into focus. So far, we have the following...
- The two people who stepped through the gate in "Air, Part III".
- Rush's reason for wanting to be on the ship.
- Camile's little conscpiracy.
- The alien craft that detached itself and flew off.
- The alien swarm that has taken an interest in Lt. Scott.
- The two people who stepped through the gate in "Air, Part III".
- Rush's reason for wanting to be on the ship.
- Camile's little conscpiracy.
- The alien craft that detached itself and flew off.
- The alien swarm that has taken an interest in Lt. Scott.
^ Ming Na's character. She keeps meeting with that guy over something they have in the works.
As for Lost, it actually has been answering and addressing its questions over the years.
As for Lost, it actually has been answering and addressing its questions over the years.
^ The producers of Lost did say that the island would appear mundane if we knew everything about it. That would be true for just about any mystery or magic trick.
Well that's because those of us who don't like the show will stop watching it and commenting on the newest episodes. Stargate Universe is causing a pretty big divide in the fandom and just like Voyager and Enterprise I don't think that the non-fans are just going to get used to the show. Hopefully it won't degenerate into a idiotic flame war between the two sides though.
One can only hope.
I'm enjoying the show so far. It's been kind of nice not having a wisecracking colonel in charge for a change.
3. This one sucked. Soap crap. What's worse, they're obviously developing the potential for more soap crap through the goings-on in this episode and Earth. Hate that. I'm just really dissappointed. Much potential but it's being thrown away.
Destroy those stones now. Everything that happens on the Earth is tedious. They give an easy out to the writers. Instead of being forced to write creatively challenging stories set on a ship far out in space, they get to write about soap on Earth in the modern day! Sheesh.
Destroy those stones now. Everything that happens on the Earth is tedious. They give an easy out to the writers. Instead of being forced to write creatively challenging stories set on a ship far out in space, they get to write about soap on Earth in the modern day! Sheesh.
I disagree. I really liked the episode myself; and if anything the stuff on Earth gives a lot of background on WHY these folks are as messed up as they are. We had SG-1; which took the world presented in the original film and expanded that. Then can the disaster (story and character-wise) that was SG:A - couldn't watch that and the leads were terrible and imo had no on screen chemistry. With SG-U we have the wrong people in the wrong place trying to keep from loosing it while trying to also work together to get back. For me, it's made Stargate interesting to watch again.
No, sorry, there was no substance this time. I agree with your statement about not wanting more Earth storylines.
Mr Awe
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