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Review of Stargate Universe (part 3)
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The Destiny. Credit: SyFy/MGM studios
In part three of this review of the new SyFy/MGM television series Stargate Universe, we'll look at some weaknesses in the pilot episode, speculate a bit about the future of the series, and ponder the bigger picture.
Some sledge hammer scenes
Despite its many strengths, the Universe pilot episode also contained some weak scenes, plus one that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Series pilots are notoriously difficult to get right, so most of these problems can be forgiven if the production staff learns from their mistakes in future episodes.
Many of the refugees blame Dr Rush for dialing the ninth chevron when he could have (perhaps) dialed some other local gate address during the evacuation. Yet the scenes explaining this animosity didn’t play out very well. The emotional content in these scenes seemed too convenient and contrived. I credit the flashback format for causing this problem. As a production trick, flashbacks can inject a sense of drama and foreboding into a plot that would otherwise seem stale when told in a linear progression… but it’s a difficult trick to pull off well, especially when the producers need to convey emotional content as well.
The flashbacks were a big mistake because they weren’t needed. The pilot episode contained plenty of linear excitement already. The flashbacks merely jumbled things up, interrupting our natural sense of cause and effect. Without the jumbling, the anger toward Dr Rush may have seemed more credible.
Likewise, the attack by the Lucian Alliance wasn’t explained well, nor was the reason the planet exploded. Was the alien base designed so carelessly that an attack from space could destroy the entire planet? Perhaps a linear plot could have explained those important details, firmly grounding the reason for the evacuation and its outcome. Cause and effect, again.
The worst blunder in the pilot episode involved an early scene with very suggestive sexual content (you know the one). It’s rarely a good sign when writers smack you with a sledge hammer. Behind most frivolous displays of sex on TV is a team of writers too lazy to take the time and effort to develop their characters. Bad, bad writers (this is another pet peeve of mine).
Experienced authors and script writers use suggestive scenes (flirting, kissing) to build tension. Explicit scenes are one way to release tension – but at a high price. Refer to Casablanca as a classic example of a tension-building formula that works – or for viewers my age, Star Wars episode IV. Unless these are red-shirts waiting to be killed off later in the episode, why would the Universe writers risk alienating most of their family viewers with a tension resolution scene at a point when they haven’t even developed any tension yet?
As an author, I’m really scratching my head here. I want to assume the writers know what they’re doing and give them some leeway, but this is simply a freshman mistake. It makes me wonder what other sledge hammers they’ll smack us with as the series progresses.
On the lighter side, I wonder…
The wounded politician martyr turned into one of the most interesting characters in the pilot episode. Bring him back, please! His final scene strongly implied his death, yet Stargate characters have cheated death before by finding stasis pods. The dude did die in a shuttle, after all. Wouldn’t any smart alien equip a shuttle with a stasis pod?
And wouldn’t it shock Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque) during some later episode if her father wheezed into the room, fresh out of stasis? How would that little bombshell change the evolution of the characters and series?
Does the Destiny house a traitor? The timing of the Lucian Alliance attack seemed awfully convenient. Could we explain this coincidence through some vehicle that advances the plot? Perhaps a spy knew that Eli had solved his little math riddle and the gate would soon be operational. Too bad they didn’t know the ancient base failed its last safety inspection.
A final look at the new series
I’ll give the pilot episode 7 out of 10 stars (or galaxies). I deducted a star/galaxy for the confusing flashbacks, another for the freshman writer mistake with character development, and a third for the annoying waste of $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars.
I also predict the new Stargate Universe series will be a hit, but only if the writers resist the urge to smash their viewers with more sledge hammers. If the writers avoid shortcuts with character development and build upon the winning plot formula of SG-1 and Atlantis, viewers should expect a quality program for many years to come.
What exactly is that “winning plot formula?” Despite temporary setbacks and evil villains, SG-1 and Atlantis projected a positive, hopeful vision of the future. Their casts of flawed yet larger than life heroes inspired us while showing the true potential of humanity. During these pessimistic times, a positive, uplifting series should “air” well, while a darker series (insert Battlestar Galactica here) will end in tears.
We’ll see what route they take through the universe…
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