Stargate Universe

[Spirit]

Why oh Why oh Why did some Moron think it would be a good idea to clone Battlestar Galactica in the SG universe, then delegate the camera work to a camera-person with skill bordering on completely inept. After a few episodes I want to vomit (I'm usually ok with motion in films, but this is silly), and find it hard to care about any of the characters. I really wanted the ship to burn in the sun just now, but unfortunately someone found the ships recharge socket.

But seriously... WTF is going on with the camera technique. It seems to be some sort of 'style' started by Blair Witch, and has since cursed the likes of Lost, BSG, Cloverfield and 24.

What do you make of this new SG series?

Rakku

[Vaz]

I love it.

It's BSG meets Lost meets Star Trek Voyager meets Stargate. It has shed both the over-the-top drama of BSG (*jettisons Starbuck*) and the bland, too-irreverent style of the later SG-1 seasons.

The banal archetypes of Teal'C/Ronon/Teyla, Sheppard/O'Neill/Mitchell, Jackson/McKay/Carter, and Weir/Hammond/Landry have been done away with for the most part.

My only criticism is that the plot is predictable thus far - I knew from the moment Destiny started heading for the star that it was going to use it to recharge. Now flying through the star, that I didn't expect, and it was kind of cool despite the likelihood that it's flaming pseudoscience. But hey, pseudoscience is part and parcel of the genre.

[Romirez]

i like it. i make sure not to miss an episode.

[Spirit]

and the bland, too-irreverent style of the later SG-1 seasons.

See now I actually like that. The characters in the previous series kinda matched the type of people you'd have in a situation like that. Trained, professional individuals working in a mostly professional manner ... rather than these emo-trip whack jobs that seem to be prevalent in SGU. ST Voyager was the same ... most of the crew most of the time work professionally as part of a team.

I am biased most likely because my work involves a team working to procedures in a professional manner. It works, and there's a reason we do it. Any bunch of people sent to work on another planet would have to do the same, since they're in a confined area based somewhere remote. Check out how Nasa are planning to send people to Mars, and the psychometric profiling required to pick a suitable crew. In SGU, having these people ... what seem like call centre staff (just more scientific), a single nerd , and a few emotional military to keep them in line just seems weird.

It could make a more interesting series for some, and I agree that it could appeal to others who would never normally go for sci-fi. I really like the idea for the series, and I like the basic story they've come up with so far (up to the Sun episode anyway) ... but it's spoilt for me by the 'styleistic' camera work and the people issues above. There was a reason Steadycam was invented. I can't see any benefit to using wibbly wobbly home-movie-camera-work for a series like this.

The general mood on some SG forums I've found out there doesn't seem too warm for this series. I hope the makers are watching closely and have room for tweaks, if they indeed become needed. DS9 was in danger for a while, as was B5, but they evolved and both became excellent sci-fi. SGU could be very close to being a great show. It could also go the way of Enterprise and Crusade.

Thanks for your replies.

Rakku