Stargate Universe Rewatch: Now with teacake

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Okay and also with Sindatur but I have fatheadedly left him out of the title because he told me to go ahead and start the thread. This is a rewatch thread so spoilers are allowed. I hope we can get a few people watching along!

I'm very much in the mood for this rewatch, have only seen SG:U once and that was before I saw Stargate. Watched them in the order of SG:A, SG:U, SG. Silly. So there are some stargatey things in SG:U which will make more sense this time around.

Air, extended version: This is the first time I've seen the extended rather than broadcast version. There was exactly one scene I thought was new, where James has a big whine at Young about "why don't you ask me how I am, wah wah" which really is an awful scene. James was underused through the show but this scene only makes her look bad. Someone correct me quick if this was in the broadcast version and I just blanked it out.

SG:U starts off with a bang, great opening with everyone throwing themselves through the stargate. Rush stands on a balcony above them all, surveying the chaos with a disturbing little smirk on his face..





It was a smugger smirk than you see here! I don't remember everything about Rush's story but it's quite shocking that he just dialed that 9nth chevron when he could have taken them to another planet. I found myself admiring him a bit for being such a bastard though, and oddly he is not repulsing me as much as the first time I watched this show. At that time I could barely stand to look at him I thought he was so creepy and I would still like to make him stop parting his hair in the middle like that. But some of the repulsion has worn off. Telford is still horrible though.

I'd forgotten about Eli getting beamed up, what a great scene that is. The whole O'Neill dry wit and then it actually happens! And it sucks too. You know they would have taken him even if he had said, "no thanks, never did like mom so keep your free medicine." I guess they would have just thrown money at him, or whatever they thought his vulnerable points were.

It was better than I remembered. The obnoxious senator sacrificing himself was kind of moving. The gloriously hot Park was nice to see, I'm watching her in Continuum but she's better as Park.

I think the switching back and forth between how they got there and what's going on now makes the pilot overly choppy. Still, enjoyed it.





Greer is a very well acted brute!

Shuttle taking off in the end was mysterious.. didn't remember that.

 

[Sindatur]

I enjoyed the 3-part Opener more than I remember liking anything in Season 1, but, thinking back on it, what really turned me off of S1 when watching it in first run, was all the constant cat-fighting, and being unable to care about any of the characters or their character arcs or the arc in general, I woulda spaced just about everyone on that ship. So, hopefully, this is a good sign that I enjoyed the opener, but, I suspect it's only because the opener was different than the upcoming episodes. I also have a new appreciation for Rush, after having seen him for the last 2 seasons in Once Upon A Time, I suspect within a couple more episodes, I'll be ready to space Rush again, though I hope not, I really do want to enjoy the show all the way through, it's mostly a good show, it just didn't appeal to me first time through.

As you say, the editing with the flashbacks did make it a choppy mess, and hard to get your bearings, but, I enjoyed it for the most part, though it did start to drag on "Sand World"

The shuttle at the end, was actually the thing that kept me hanging in until S2 when I actually started enjoying the show. I was so intrigued by it, and had to know what was up with it, and what arcs it would lead to.

In my first watch through during First Run, Greer was at the top of my "Space him now" list, it wasn't until the episode in S2 where they are trapped (Via stone-travel) on Earth in the Bunker that I was able to start appreciating him, and I enjoyed him more each episode thereafter. In my rewatch of the opener, my feelings haven't changed, he still annoys me in a bad way, but, at least I know his character gets better

 

[AJ86]

I actually thought that the première three-parter was a bit of a mess to be honest, and it wasn't until Darkness that I really felt that they knew what they were doing. I'm not sure why in hindsight, I think I felt that the show seemed understated for the sake of being understated at first.

 

[bullethead]

It was a smugger smirk than you see here! I don't remember everything about Rush's story but it's quite shocking that he just dialed that 9nth chevron when he could have taken them to another planet. I found myself admiring him a bit for being such a bastard though, and oddly he is not repulsing me as much as the first time I watched this show. At that time I could barely stand to look at him I thought he was so creepy and I would still like to make him stop parting his hair in the middle like that. But some of the repulsion has worn off.

To be fair, from what I recall of SGU, all the Icarus planets directly connected the stargates to the naquadria cores, which is a horrible idea when 1) naquadria is horrifically unstable and 2) power surges to the stargate have been shown to fling people out at high velocities and/or jump the connection to other nearby planets. Rush probably figured that having everyone show up in one place really faraway from Earth alive was better than scattering them all over the galaxy in various states of injury.

 

[MacLeod]

In my first watch through during First Run, Greer was at the top of my "Space him now" list, it wasn't until the episode in S2 where they are trapped (Via stone-travel) on Earth in the Bunker that I was able to start appreciating him, and I enjoyed him more each episode thereafter. In my rewatch of the opener, my feelings haven't changed, he still annoys me in a bad way, but, at least I know his character gets better

I agree my first opinion of Greer was "Angry black guy". He did improve later in to S1 and in S2.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

As you say, the editing with the flashbacks did make it a choppy mess, and hard to get your bearings, but, I enjoyed it for the most part, though it did start to drag on "Sand World"

I think one reason it's hard to get your bearings is everyone is wearing the same clothes since it's all taking place on the same day!

In my first watch through during First Run, Greer was at the top of my "Space him now" list, it wasn't until the episode in S2 where they are trapped (Via stone-travel) on Earth in the Bunker that I was able to start appreciating him, and I enjoyed him more each episode thereafter. In my rewatch of the opener, my feelings haven't changed, he still annoys me in a bad way, but, at least I know his character gets better

The one I hated was Wray. Greer has some subtlety to him, though it irks how unprofessional he is. Guess you could say that about the whole lot though. I just enjoy Greer's passive aggressiveness.

 

[Sindatur]

As you say, the editing with the flashbacks did make it a choppy mess, and hard to get your bearings, but, I enjoyed it for the most part, though it did start to drag on "Sand World"

I think one reason it's hard to get your bearings is everyone is wearing the same clothes since it's all taking place on the same day!

In my first watch through during First Run, Greer was at the top of my "Space him now" list, it wasn't until the episode in S2 where they are trapped (Via stone-travel) on Earth in the Bunker that I was able to start appreciating him, and I enjoyed him more each episode thereafter. In my rewatch of the opener, my feelings haven't changed, he still annoys me in a bad way, but, at least I know his character gets better

The one I hated was Wray. Greer has some subtlety to him, though it irks how unprofessional he is. Guess you could say that about the whole lot though. I just enjoy Greer's passive aggressiveness.

Yea, Wray and the Colonel, Rush, Greer.

Most of them became better written/acted (IMHO) late S1/S2

 

[The Wormhole]

Air, extended version: This is the first time I've seen the extended rather than broadcast version. There was exactly one scene I thought was new, where James has a big whine at Young about "why don't you ask me how I am, wah wah" which really is an awful scene. James was underused through the show but this scene only makes her look bad. Someone correct me quick if this was in the broadcast version and I just blanked it out.

You're right, that scene was left out of the broadcast version and inserted in the extended version. Other new scenes are Rush explaining the Lucian Alliance to Eli, which includes Rush speculating that someone among Icarus personnel was spying for the Alliance and another scene actually showing Rush's conversation with O'Neill when he used the stones to make contact after arrival on Destiny. The broadcast version just shows Rush swapping into Dr Lee's body.

 

[bullethead]

Air, extended version: This is the first time I've seen the extended rather than broadcast version. There was exactly one scene I thought was new, where James has a big whine at Young about "why don't you ask me how I am, wah wah" which really is an awful scene. James was underused through the show but this scene only makes her look bad. Someone correct me quick if this was in the broadcast version and I just blanked it out.

You're right, that scene was left out of the broadcast version and inserted in the extended version. Other new scenes are Rush explaining the Lucian Alliance to Eli, which includes Rush speculating that someone among Icarus personnel was spying for the Alliance and another scene actually showing Rush's conversation with O'Neill when he used the stones to make contact after arrival on Destiny. The broadcast version just shows Rush swapping into Dr Lee's body.

I really don't get why they reinserted the scene with Rush and O'Neill. It undermines one of the few bits of real ambiguity the show had, plus it makes the character look like an idiot as part of the show's bizarre need to piss on the smart people for some reason.

 

[Gary7]

In my first watch through during First Run, Greer was at the top of my "Space him now" list, it wasn't until the episode in S2 where they are trapped (Via stone-travel) on Earth in the Bunker that I was able to start appreciating him, and I enjoyed him more each episode thereafter. In my rewatch of the opener, my feelings haven't changed, he still annoys me in a bad way, but, at least I know his character gets better

The one I hated was Wray. Greer has some subtlety to him, though it irks how unprofessional he is. Guess you could say that about the whole lot though. I just enjoy Greer's passive aggressiveness.

Yea, Wray and the Colonel, Rush, Greer.

Most of them became better written/acted (IMHO) late S1/S2

Well said. I didn't like Greer in the beginning. I thought he was being too much of a hard ass, although there's a lot about his character we didn't know at that point. He'd been a very bad boy, apparently. The actor who portrays him doesn't reveal his talents until later. And then it pours out. The guy nailed this role, through and through.

"Air" is very slow paced once the Lucian alliance attack starts. Too much footage on getting everyone to the gate. I understood the plot device to severely injure the Senator, but the pace could've been kicked up a notch. And then all of the "settling in" moments, trying to figure out what systems work and then realizing air was the top priority. The time on the desert planet was a bit long too... could've been trimmed down by a few minutes.

Seeing it all through Eli's eyes is terrific, despite the "geek effect" exaggerations. At first it feels like he's struggling with the role, but on the other hand, the "uneasiness" of his depiction falls in line with his character. This isn't just an actor. He's a sci-fi nut who is reveling in a "dream come true" for being involved with such a high tech sci-fi series. So, some of that comes through but it works.

S1 takes a long while to get a rhythm going. And then there's a conflict later on that derails the progress until S2. I won't discuss exactly what it is now (save for later), only to say that had they not taken that detour, a lot more time could've been spent doing INTERESTING THINGS instead of wasting 3-4 episodes. It was another "bump in the road" for SG-U that probably helped stifle the ratings.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

effect" exaggerations. At first it feels like he's struggling with the role, but on the other hand, the "uneasiness" of his depiction falls in line with his character. This isn't just an actor. He's a sci-fi nut who is reveling in a "dream come true" for being involved with such a high tech sci-fi series. So, some of that comes through but it works.

I like how obviously out of his depth he is during the dinner with the brass at the base.

 

[EmoBorg]

From my re watching of episode 1 & 2 of SGU. I just realized that before Colonel Young, Chloe was actually the first person to beat up Rush

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Darkness: This was pretty good. Overall quite atmospheric with the gruel, the darkness, the water supply. Not enough to fill a backyard pool, that hits home. I like seeing people in survival situations actually working on survival.

We learn that Eli is 25 a fact I immediately forgot the first time I watched this. I spent the whole series thinking he was 19. He does not come across as 25, one year younger than James. While it is great they didn't make him a boy genius (enough of those already) he really doesn't seem much more than a kid.

I had a good laugh at the half dressed Chloe telling Eli, "Turn around!" There's a sentence with new associations

And I liked that Riley, the skinny guy, says he has "no regrets". That was totally cool. Okay it also means he has no one he cares about back on earth perhaps but when you can end up far across the universe with no idea whether you will survive and say that it's impressive.





I seem to recall he dies

And we get some first scenes with Volker, looking trimmer than he ends up. Volker and Park were my only hot ones in this show the first time I watched it. I like Volker better later on when his hair and belly spread a bit

I'm confused as to why Young is in such a rush to report back to earth. Is he required to do so at certain intervals? So far nothing of any use has come of it which is just DUMB. Why doesn't he use the stones and request someone exchange with him (OR THE COOK) who has experience with ancient tech? There must be plenty of not very useful people on the ship they could exchange with someone with extra knowledge for a few hours.

The scenes of Young back home in Telford's body with his angry wife took me clear out of all the tension and atmosphere of being trapped on the ship. Absolutely nothing happens too!

Also I really hate the slow note music they play during emotional scenes. It is awful. A lot of the other music is pretty good, not sure why we have this stuff.

And finally I cannot get over how enormous James's breasts are. I can't stop staring at them. I'm wondering if they are real. They are very impressive.

 

[bullethead]

And finally I cannot get over how enormous James's breasts are. I can't stop staring at them. I'm wondering if they are real. They are very impressive.

It's really noticeable in wide shots with other women:


I have no idea why Scott would downgrade from James to Chloe besides the need to have a girl depend on him.

 

[Sindatur]

Darkness didn't do a whole lot for me. It was a necessary episode, but, they didn't do a whole lot to make it exciting for me. Lots of elements that had promise, but, just didn't gel for me. Rush's tantrums, the power loss, the decisions about how and who to choose for the shuttle and the unknown as to wether they would find one of the planets habitable... it should've been a great episode, but, there's just something missing.

Yea, Lt. James has probably knocked over a person or two from turning around too quickly without warning. The online audience definitely noticed it and dubbed her with her nickname

 

[The Wormhole]

Air, extended version: This is the first time I've seen the extended rather than broadcast version. There was exactly one scene I thought was new, where James has a big whine at Young about "why don't you ask me how I am, wah wah" which really is an awful scene. James was underused through the show but this scene only makes her look bad. Someone correct me quick if this was in the broadcast version and I just blanked it out.

You're right, that scene was left out of the broadcast version and inserted in the extended version. Other new scenes are Rush explaining the Lucian Alliance to Eli, which includes Rush speculating that someone among Icarus personnel was spying for the Alliance and another scene actually showing Rush's conversation with O'Neill when he used the stones to make contact after arrival on Destiny. The broadcast version just shows Rush swapping into Dr Lee's body.

I really don't get why they reinserted the scene with Rush and O'Neill. It undermines one of the few bits of real ambiguity the show had, plus it makes the character look like an idiot as part of the show's bizarre need to piss on the smart people for some reason.

I thought it gave an interesting look into the kind of person Rush is. In the broadcast version, all we have is him claiming O'Neill put him in charge and everyone (including the audience) has to take him at his word. In this version, we find out that O'Neill actually made some offhand comment like "you got them into this mess, it's up to you to get them out," which Rush apparently chose to interpret as O'Neill placing him in charge. I preferred this angle on the character instead of the "Rush is a shady bastard" view the series was always trying to push down our throats.

I'm confused as to why Young is in such a rush to report back to earth. Is he required to do so at certain intervals? So far nothing of any use has come of it which is just DUMB. Why doesn't he use the stones and request someone exchange with him (OR THE COOK) who has experience with ancient tech? There must be plenty of not very useful people on the ship they could exchange with someone with extra knowledge for a few hours.

This has often been one of the common complaints about the stones on the show. It gets worse as the show goes on and most of the time random nobodies swap onto Destiny who don't really help out at all. There's the occasional specialist who helps out with the problem of the week, but for the most part they're just off-duty military officers who I guess just relax while inside someone else's body on the ass-end of the universe.

I can understand just grabbing whoever's available if it's a situation where Young or someone needs to go to Earth for a meeting, but the rest of the time there really should have been experts who could help out on Destiny swapping while everyone else got to go home and bang their spouses.

 

[AJ86]

I'm wondering if they are real. They are very impressive.

They're real, I remember her saying so during the series run I think because there was a bit of, er, speculation. She did bare all in Masters of Horror anyway...

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

You're right, that scene was left out of the broadcast version and inserted in the extended version. Other new scenes are Rush explaining the Lucian Alliance to Eli, which includes Rush speculating that someone among Icarus personnel was spying for the Alliance and another scene actually showing Rush's conversation with O'Neill when he used the stones to make contact after arrival on Destiny. The broadcast version just shows Rush swapping into Dr Lee's body.

I really don't get why they reinserted the scene with Rush and O'Neill. It undermines one of the few bits of real ambiguity the show had, plus it makes the character look like an idiot as part of the show's bizarre need to piss on the smart people for some reason.

I thought it gave an interesting look into the kind of person Rush is. In the broadcast version, all we have is him claiming O'Neill put him in charge and everyone (including the audience) has to take him at his word. In this version, we find out that O'Neill actually made some offhand comment like "you got them into this mess, it's up to you to get them out," which Rush apparently chose to interpret as O'Neill placing him in charge. I preferred this angle on the character instead of the "Rush is a shady bastard" view the series was always trying to push down our throats.

That IS interesting because I think we see Rush do that in other conversations. His arrogance and assumptions contributes to his poor communication skills.

 

[bullethead]

That IS interesting because I think we see Rush do that in other conversations. His arrogance and assumptions contributes to his poor communication skills.

Does it really count as arrogance when he is the only competent person on the ship? Everyone else just bickers a lot of the time up until S2.5 and even then Rush is like twenty steps ahead of them outside of situations like flying into a blue giant.

 

[Gary7]

It was clear that Colonel Young had problems. Colonel O'Neill knew it. Camille suspected it. But not so bad that he couldn't be self corrected. He did eventually pull himself together. But given how intelligent and perceptive Rush is, despite being insensitive and seriously arrogant, he felt he had to withhold information for fear of Young exploiting it carelessly. Not every situation had to be taken as a military issue.

I did like quite a bit of the interpersonal tension that was depicted on the show. It was usually quite visceral and at times believable. But it was dragged out a bit too much. Into S2, they finally eased back on it. But by then it was too late. The budget per episode was very high and the ratings just couldn't justify it.