Stargate Universe (comments on spoiler review from Futon Critic)

[wraithfodder]

Hmm.... I dare say I do believe my LJ will always be focused on Stargate Atlantis, since the characters just caught my imagination and heart. THe writing wasn't always the best, but Flanigan and Hewlett and the rest made me tune in no matter what.

Anyway, Futon Critic just did a review of Stargate Universe, and it voiced a lot of my...c oncerns? fears? For spoilerphobes, don't click on the cut, otherwise proceed...

Futon Critic review: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20090910_sgu


You can read the review at the link above for plot details, but here's the stuff I"m going to discuss:

What doesn't: ...the show inevitably decides to sidestep following through on them in the name of having an easy out. In other words, nobody dies because of the decisions of others - the deus ex machina of the plot actually frees them from doing so. Both cases expose the inherent flaw of the show: it's more than willing to walk up to the precipice of truly shaking things up, it's just not willing to make the leap. Said aspect bleeds into other aspects of the show as well. The Destiny crew for instance isn't actually on their own: several just-so-happened-to-make-the-trip alien devices will allow them to trade consciousness with folks back on Earth, meaning everybody they've ever known is still a phone call away.

More troubling however is that the characters don't really seem to solve their problems, they just luck their way into solutions - week two in particular ends in a "whaaa???" fashion that's more than frustrating (for reasons which I won't spoil here). All of the above certainly blunts the overall excitement of the show - for all the refreshing aspects it's just unfortunate to see the franchise fall back on old habits so quickly. That's not to say there's not a lot to like, or look forward to, in this incarnation, it's just it could have been a home run...

.Okay, for lack of a better word, this is what i've bitched about. They're falling back on stuff they already used on both Stargate shows, and worse, they're doing to SGU what they did to Atlantis: that damned 'we're lost in space but look, we can dial home and chat with family/friends.' 

I think what I find dismaying about the review is that this is not a fan reviewing the show, but a critic  (and I've already heard from another critic who has yet to post their review that the show isn't up to snuff.

If SGA hadn't bitten the dust 24 hours before SGu was announced, it probably wouldn't be so bad. I would have preferred just one more year of SGA, let them explore the city, etc. than the quick end and pollyana finale they tacked on. Yeah, it's beating a dead horse, but it's my horse and I can beat it ;) Feel free to add comments below but please don't stick in any really bad language - I'll delete. I know lots of fans are still ticked off, to be polite, at the cancellation.

However, all said, I'll watch the pilot, because I want to see just what the heck is going on, then I'll write my review ;) 

Comments

[cimmerdeux.livejournal.com]

I wasn't going to reward 'bad behavior' but the more I read and hear about the new show the happier I am that I'm not going to watch this 'reboot'. You know what really annoys me? The various critics (including TPTB oddly) who point to the prior two shows and all the faults and issues and talk about the prior shows as if they were done by somebody else. You know the old 'SGA had non realistic characters and deux ex machina fixes and no consequences', not to mention the whole 'rubber faced alien' comment and now we're going to fix that with this new show. It's like some sort of weird disconnect. But guys, you did everything you say you're going to 'fix' with SGU but apparently not, considering the review. It is nice to have an actual critical review saying good and not so good things; at least it's an attempt to be balanced.

I do have to say that I understand why they didn't run this side by side with SGA. I mean, especially since they've been kind of trash talking their own prior show; it's a little in your face if you have your past 'mistakes' right there up against your 'second chance' although considering that SGA was supposed to do a lot of what they say SGU is going to do (according to their old interviews I read before they started SGA) this would actually be thier 'third chance' wouldn't it?

[domjohn.livejournal.com]

ITA

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

The various critics (including TPTB oddly) who point to the prior two shows and all the faults and issues and talk about the prior shows as if they were done by somebody else.

Yes, this. It especially bothers me when TPTB do it, because they're talking about SGU as if it's going to be this vastly superior show to SGA and SG-1, yet it's being created and written pretty much by the same group of people who worked on SGA and SG-1. If that group of people were capable of the cutting-edge brilliance they're ascribing to SGU, why didn't we see signs of it on the other shows? What were they holding themselves back for?

The short answer, of course, is that they weren't. We've seen the best they have to offer, and if they want something better than that, then they need to hire some new people to get it.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I really dislike how TPTB put down their past shows ("Oh, no more rubber faced aliens!") as though they were, well, bad. Gee, sure kept them employed, didn't it? it took till SGA was near done for them to give us a great episode like "Vegas"...

And yes, if you have the same people writing the show, they will undoubtedly fall into the same pattern.