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wraithfodderAnyway, 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 ;)
stargate universe
Date: 2009-10-03 10:24 am (UTC)The show was titled "Air" and there was very little tension over the lack of air on the Ancient spaceship. People complained about bad smelling air which gave them headaches but nobody had any real trouble breathing or collapsed except for the Senator who had badly bruised ribs and a heart condition. Even (spoiler alert) the Senator's sacrifice lacked drama in spite of the histrionics of his daughter.
As for action and drama there was very little. We had an attack on the base and that was it. For drama all we have right now is a misguided scientist and a rundown badly leaking ship that looks more like a dirty World War 2 cargo ship than a cool intergalactic spaceship. There are no aliens and no new civilizations friendly or hostile. There is hardly any cool sci-fi tech. All we got was a floating movable camera! That was it! Whoopee! Heck, we never even saw a bedroom or a bathroom! And you can actually ask the ship for help but it can't provide a map of its interior. What's up with that?
They tried to give us dark and edgy but what we got was dull and pedantic. I will keep watching in the hope of improvement but I am not optimistic.