Stargate Universe is a Five Year Story

[Mr Awe]

Yeah, the whole "we have a 5-year story but we can do it in 1" just indicates they have enough padding to get through 5 years, not that the story itself needs 5 years.

But this is TV and it's still a job. Who would be stupid enough to say, "we're only going to do this for a year"? They'd be putting themselves out of a job! Five years is a nice run for a TV show.

They should just develop a story that truly needs 5 years then. They did it for Lost. At this point, I don't the writers are up for the task.

Mr Awe

Let's not pretend Lost didn't do its share of wheel-spinning, they just made it very entertaining.

It's true that they did for one or two seasons. Once they got an end date, they were putting plenty of stuff into each and every episode. If you want to see wheel spinning, nuBSG did too much of that. SGU seems to do even more.

Let's face it, Lost had a far better execution of a serialized show than either SGU or BSG. I actually prefer the premises of both SGU and BSG better than Lost. However, Lost's execution was so far superior that I followed Lost with much more motivation than either of the other 2 series.

Serialized shows by their very nature have to take a more flexible approach. You don't know up front how many seasons you're going to get. This is just the reality of TV.

I understand that but it's no excuse for excessive padding.

But it's a lot of work to come up with all these contingency plans you may never have to use, or five years' worth of scripts you may never get to shoot, so I'm not surprised people go into these things without a detailed master plan. Writing for TV is a job, and like most jobs, you aren't going to do any more work than you have to if you can get away with it.

I suspect that it's not as complicated as you make out. If a main castmember drops out, you can still go on with the same story, just distribute the events to different characters. They don't need each and every script ready. Just an overview of where they're going.

Yeah, it is a job and that's why they get paid good money. This isn't asking too much of them. Apparently these guys *aren't* getting away with not doing the required work. They're getting called out on it--as is appropriate.

It doesn't excuse the sometimes shoddy quality of SGU's scripts but I think it helps explain why the show seems so uneven.

I agree with this. I really want to like this show and it does show good sparks. I want them to succeed with it.

Mr Awe

 

[bigdaddy]

Let's not pretend Lost didn't do its share of wheel-spinning, they just made it very entertaining.

Something that the SGU writers don't know how to do.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I don't get Enterprise from SG-U at all.

That's because you're literally comparing the internal details of the show. I'm talking about the mentality that goes into creating the shows.

Enterprise was an attempt by the Same Old Gang to do something different with the Franchise, and the Same Old Gang couldn't really do it.

The same thing is true of SG-U.

Next to that, whether the shows resemble one another in the details of their premises is trivial.

I think my brain went out for a spell there...

I think SG-U bit a little harder on trying something different but your point stands nonetheless.

 

[SG-17]

I have to admit that I do love SGU, I love all Stargate (hell I am hard-pressed to find an episode of Atlantis or SG-1 that I didn't enjoy at least a bit, none that I won't watch again), however I think I would love SGU on par with SGA if they actually used the Stargate every episode and kept the planet-of-the-week whilst moving forward with the characters the Pattern.

 

[Saquist]

Yeaaah, but they don't have 5 years of stories. They're not even filling the current season with story. Lots of imaginary crud that doesn't advance things, just there for a diversion. Halucinogenic lives, computer simulations, and the undead that don't really do anything. There is a grand mission which they could focus on. But, they don't. Come on guys, kick into gear. Stop beating around the bush. Sure, not every episode has to deal with the big mission. But, get the frick started and let the adventure begin.

At the current pace, the show will just fizzle out.

Oh, and the truth comes out. They say they have 5 years of stories but, in actuality, it's just one year.
"if it came down to it, we could pay it off over the course of a single season.”

So, if it went for 5 years, they'd be milking it big time.

Mr Awe

I think this ariticle is the first time that Joseph Mallozi admits the ratings are going to kill the show. He dresses it up with his interpretation of the ratings system and the DVR + Sameday but he seems to see the writing on the wall.

HE EVEN says they have to make attempts to reach out to SG-1 and SGA fans. .......I thought...I'd never hear him say that....

 

[Procutus]

I find it hard to complain about where the story and characters are now, Bablyon 5 was in a similar position a tthis stage in their second season too.

Although I'll be the first to admit the show has its flaws, I agree with your assessment. B5 didn't start to work for me until about the end of Season 1, and more so by mid-Season 2.

Which is where we find ourselves tonight with SGU, and I really do feel the show is finding its stride. I will agree with most of the other posters that there were any number of slow moments along the way, but over all, the show is stretching the Stargate concept quite a bit.

I'd like to see it do five seasons, though I have high doubts that will really happen.

 

[Tek]

I do think the show is finally starting to get really good too.

 

[Listener4]

This show does seem to finally be starting to find its way. I hope it hasn't taken too long to get to this point.