This is by far the best of the Stargate franchise. Gone are the archetypal characters that don't exist in real life. People who crack one-liners with guns to their heads. People who always get through the situation no matter the odds and yet for some odd reason viewers still worry for their safety. Instead, they are replaced by highly trained, talented people who have personal issues like anyone else. People who let these issues cloud their judgement. People who are just doing their best with the situation at hand who in the end will often surprise you and ultimately pull through. That's what real heroism is. Every issue that they face isn't the end of the world or the universe as we know it. And most importantly, gone is the universe where every alien species is completely fluent in the English language.
I like that I can relate to this group of people travelling through space. The issues they face are real. Space inherently does not want people -- it is inhospitable. Every basic thing that we take for granted becomes a necessity that doesn't exist in space -- air, water, food, heat. It is not luxurious to travel through space, it involves hardship and sacrifice. The fact that these are real people dealing with real issues makes this the one show about space travel that I can most relate to. These people aren't all going to make it through, because they are real people facing real danger. I can most easily picture myself being there with people who are as flawed as I am, no matter how talented they are. (I would have pursued a career in space travel and actually did into college, if not for the simple issue of bad myopia that left me unqualified) A lot of people complain about the first few episodes, but I feel that these are the best ones. My favorite episode of the series is "Time". Most time travel episodes of any show multiply exponentially a number of story inconsistencies, but this one kept things relatively simple and plausible. I especially loved how this episode, and this show in general, assumes that the viewer is intelligent and didn't try to dumb it down. At the end of the episode, it was obvious to extrapolate the storyline as to what happens next. They didn't need to show us or explain it to us. There is one minor issue I always wonder about though, when they would have reached the planet in the third timeline, would there have been one kino or two?
This show becomes weaker when they introduce elements from the original Stargate franchise. I was OK with the communication stones, although I wish they would show the actual people being replaced acting like the characters replacing them. Using the actual characters takes away the point of view from the people around them, and also makes us forget that these characters are using other people's bodies. Would you be OK with someone using your body to have sex with another person or having sex with someone you love, but they are in a coworkers body? As an example, when Colonel Young switched to an alien's body, he would have realized it as soon as he looked at his hands. That's hard to convey when they are showing actor Louis Ferreira instead. Also, everyone always transfers to someone of the same sex. How are they certain of which sex everyone is on each side and who touches which stone to match the other person? Plus they should have been using these stones full time to bring over experts from Earth to help on board and to train Destiny's crew to be more effective while they were sent to Earth. The show weakened greatly when they introduced the Lucian Alliance. (Again with the fluent in English aliens? Also, apparently commander Kiva must have been a part of some Lucian Alliance student exchange program with Cambridge or Oxford?) Then there is Simeon, who is as undefeatable as the Terminator, who in any sense of reality would be no match for special ops forces. If you think about it, the Lucian alliance equivalent in the real world today would be any of our current terrorist organizations. Pick one.
My personal pick, though, for the weakest element in this show is the indie acoustic rock montages. This is a show about professional adults travelling in space, not a CW show about teen angst. I mostly end up fast forwarding through these parts, and thank god they eventually disappeared from the show. Some of the ways the characters act toward each other come across as juvenile, but then again, sadly, people can be that juvenile. The plot lines are written pretty tight. It wasn't until rewatching a third time that I saw Spencer covertly pocketing power bars in one of the first few episodes. Several episodes later he was confronted over them when he claimed that he had them when they went through the gate. Also, when Lt James couldn't handle Amanda Perry's body and pulled away and forgot to wipe the stone, this allowed the aliens to take over her to sabotage the ship which then allowed the stranded party to return. These are a lot of small plot details that all come together to allow more complex things to happen without seeming contrived at all. I applaud the writers on that standpoint. Another big complaint I have about the SG franchise in general is the unoriginality of how their three series structures too closely mirror the Star Trek franchise (SG - NG, Atlantis - DS9, SGU - Voyager).
My biggest complaint however, is for the extremely overly vocal minority of SG fanboys who were probably the greatest contribution to torpedoing this series before its time. They complained about this Stargate, and so now there is no more Stargate -- I hope they're happy now. I still want a season three and beyond.
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My long lost love - Stargate Universe Season 2
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2016
My review will be of both season 1 and season 2 disc sets. You can't review one without the other as together they form one of the best Sci-fi TV shows in recent times. I will be using the same review for both.I remember when Stargate Universe first came out in 2009. Hubby and I loved SG-1 and we watched Atlantis but were not impressed. Right from the first episode of Universe we were enthralled.Each episode was action packed with never a dull episode. The first season was character building and the second season followed with new and exciting story lines. I could see the possibility for several seasons coming but unfortunately the series was cancelled. Talk about a heart breaker.Hubby and I never saw an episode again until the Comet channel started carrying Universe this summer. Watching these reruns made us want to purchase the two season DVD sets. They are currently available at less than $9 a season and I haven't found a deal better than that.The first season is a six disc set while the second season is a five disc set. Hours upon hours of entertainment. Fall in love all over again with Stargate Universe. I can not recommend these two season sets enough!The first season DVD set has over 2 hours of Special Features plus commentaries on each episode. Included are the Kino video diaries, chatting with the cast featurettes and extended version of the season premiere episode "Air" and more!The second and final season has interviews with the cast of SG-U, behind the scenes featurettes including Deconstructing Destiny, audio commentary by cast and producers on all episodes, Pitches: A Journey of Friendship and Discovery and Behind the Season 2 finale - Gauntlet and more!These two season DVD sets are a must have for your collection!
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2016
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Mr. D. L. Rees
FULL CONCENTRATION AMPLY REWARDED
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Sigh. Missing this already
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Excellent Series a shame there is no season 3
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Great series, well worth watching despite only two seasons.
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