Sci Fi Noise 12: Catching Up With Stargate Universe
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Host Derek Coward has taken the time to get caught up on the current season of Stargate: Universe. Find out if he still feels it is a great disappointment or if he feels it has redeemed itself and reclaimed the title of Best Science Fiction Show on TV. There’s also some talk about Fringe and Doctor Who.
Tags: doctor who, fringe, stargate: universe
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Hi Derek,
Great episode, but I guess I can only say that because I watch SGU. I'd image someone who doesn't watch or like the show would be pretty confused and/or disinterested. As much as it pains me to hear your constant criticism of SG-1, I still enjoy hearing a different opinion so that I can look back at this series I loved with a little more objectivity. A few thoughts on your SGU coverage:
1) It's good to see some strong female characters on SGU, but it's disappointing that none of them are lead characters. Sure, Ming Na's character is the head of the civilian crew, but the real driving forces of the plot and the decision-makers aboard destiny are Young and Rush. Since Young is the head of the military, ruling by force, it might've been nice to have Rush's role performed by a woman. This way, the character who rules by the strength of MIND would have been female, whereas the present driving forces onboard Destiny have a blatant absence of estrogen.
2) As the science part of the show is always of interest to me, I was curious to find out if the murder of Eli's girlfriend from the Lucian Alliance resulted in the death of both women on Destiny and Earth. After the murder, it was mentioned that no one knew for sure what would happen, but no follow-up ever took place. We still don't know what happened to the body and mind of the person on Earth.
3) The Lucian Alliance is not a group of aliens in the sense that they are not human. True, they are from a bunch of planets throughout the Milky Way, but they are all humans. As explained in SG-1, the defeat of the G'aould left a power vacuum, in which the Lucian Alliance was born. The G'aould transported humans to every part of the galaxy many centuries ago, and they have formed their own societies which sometimes have competing interests. Thus, the Lucian Alliance is a group made up of humans from other planets who are fighting for what they see as their own interests.
4) I find it interesting how the character of Barnes keeps changing. First, he was a crazed rouge element, and now he's slowly transitioning into a part of the crew with a stronger sense of humanity and connection to his crewmates.
5) I've often wondered just where Eli comes from (figuratively). Here was this gamer/slacker with no ambition who got recruited because he solved a video game. I'm sure it was mentioned sometime, but did he go to college? How did he get so smart? How young is he? He seems more mature than a high school/college gamer, but he's also very naive. I enjoy his character, but how did he get to the point where he's telling the other scientists what to do?
6) Lastly, Doctor Who is not scifi? I've always looked at science fiction to be along the lines of Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlen's work, where science is the impetus and environment of the story, and the plot is centered on the human condition and reaction to the science. Maybe you could enlighten me on where a story's limits would be or the criteria it must meet to be considered science fiction.
Thanks for the show; I always enjoy listening to it, even if half the time I'm in disagreement with you (but I agree with the other half, so we're cool, right?). Since it's part of your network, I would appreciate your feedback on something I contribute to on a regular basis, namely Marvel Noise. I've been doing the Smash Tales segment for a year now and I've always wondered if you've heard it and what you think. Best to the family!
Kind regards,
Rick Hansen
I learned today that Stargate Universe has been cancelled and the news filled me with a great sadness. This is the end of an era of science fiction that sometimes took itself seriously, sometimes didn't, but always threw something new at the viewer. I was a much younger man when Stargate, the movie, was released, and I can't say I've ever found it to be more than mediocre. When Stargate SG1 first came to cable television, I had no cable. Thus, I had to wait for the two year-old reruns to come to local stations at around 2:00 in the morning on a work night. Fortunately, this show really struck a chord in my fanboy mind, as did a little program starring Kevin Sorbo called Andromeda (although Andromeda never lived up to the promise of its potential). As the years went on, I became totally engrossed in the history of the Stargate universe and the relationships between O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'C and the folks at Stargate Command, not to mention the characters in Stargate Atlantis and, now, SGU. These shows have brought me countless hours of enjoyment. I'm sure you would argue that the writing is lackluster, perhaps on the "mindless fluff" side of television. Maybe you think the characters are too flat and that there isn't a driving storyline you can sink your teeth into. I always felt that the SG1 stories of exploration and ongoing fight against the System Lords was the perfect mix of Star Trek and X-files: lots of good one-and-done stories combined with an overlapping crusade to free the galaxy from its eons-long oppressors. The characters were extremely likeable, while maybe they could have been more dynamic, and I found genuine enjoyment from their kitschy interactions. Perhaps I am easy to amuse; perhaps I lean toward the simplistic. Regardless, I will miss every incarnation of Stargate, even though the world of Asgardian aliens, FTL drives and gold-foreheaded warriors will be a part of me forever. I know you will never love this series in its entirety as much as I do. Rather than argue the merits of SG1 and Stargate Atlantis with you, I feel lucky to have enjoyed it during its run, and I hope whatever comes along next in the world of SciFi offers you just as much enjoyment. And everybody should listen to Smash Tales on the Marvel Noise podcast.