First off, in response to you Aussie fans, I’ll hold off on answering any SGU-related questions until the night after it airs in your neck of the woods. Which is when exactly? October 9th? Of this year, right?
Secondly, a reminder to all of you who picked up October’s book of the month club pick: Open Your Eyes – Finish up! Discussion begins next week!
Thirdlies – allow me to announce November’s Book of the Month Club selection…
Emissaries from the Dead, by Adam-Troy Castro
From the Publisher: “Two murders have occurred on One One One, an artificial ecosystem created by the universe’s dominant AIs to house several engineered species, including a violent, sentient race of sloth-like creatures. Under order from the Diplomatic Corps, Counselor Andrea Cort has come to this cylinder world where an indentured human community hangs suspended high above a poisoned, acid atmosphere. Her assignment is to choose a suitable homicide suspect from among those who have sold their futures to escape existences even worse than this one. And no matter where the trail leads her she must do nothing to implicate the hosts, who hold the power to obliterate humankind in an instant.
But Andrea Cort is not about to hold back in her hunt for a killer. For she has nothing to lose and harbors no love for her masters or fellow indentures. And she herself has felt the terrible exhilaration of taking life . . . . “
What the critics say…
Science Fiction Weekly: “A brilliantly executed novel, fully successful as both science fiction and murder mystery. . Emissaries is a dark and moody novel, featuring a disturbed and misanthropic protagonist with a tragic past . Powerfully compelling . One of the best science fiction novels of the year so far.”
Locus: “With its creepy background and complex plot, Emissaries from the Dead offers an intriguing combination of SF and detective story, spiced with moments of danger that raise the perils of cliff-hanging an exponential level.”
Sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun. Discussion the week of November 9, 2009 with author Adam-Troy Castro.
Fourthly, if you’re looking for a good book might I recommend the following literary highlights of my September:
Affinity, by Sarah Waters
I knew absolutely nothing about this novel going in but ended up thoroughly mesmerized by this period tale about a lonely woman of means who volunteers her time at a notorious women’s prison in turn-of-the-century London. The narrative conveys the precise elegance of Victorian literature while delivering a level of suspense and suggestiveness unequivocally contemporary in its sophistication. I’d love to tell you more about the actual story, but rather than risk giving anything away, I’ll leave it for you to discover. Suffice it to say it’s been a while since a book really surprised me – and, boy, did this one surprise me.
The Margarets, by Sheri S. Tepper
The author of the exceptional SF classic Grass is in fine, mind-boggling form in this wondrously complex but infinitely rewarding novel that focuses on Margaret Bain, the young daughter of Mars colonists, who may be humanity’s only hope to avoid destruction at the hands of a scheming alien race. Check that. “They” may be humanity’s only “hopes” as, there’s more than one Margaret. With eac key decision made, Margaret branches off, unknowingly generating alternate selves who end up immersed in the tangled and turbulent cultural and socio-political network of colonized space. Tepper hopscotches between the various Margarets – one a Queen, another a spy, another a shaman – developing their individual characters and stories, before ultimately bringing them together in an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
Fourthly – I failed to approve a comment for the first time in a long while today. The poster started off by informing me that she had a post modded at Gateworld and was in the process of uploading her anti-SGU harangue all over the net – including, I guess, my blog. Well, not really because the rant was so obnoxious, I deleted it. Just so we’re clear (although 99.999% already know this and have been most respectful in stating your opinions)… Feel free to continue posting your comments about the SGU premiere. Liked it or loved it? Tell me why. Didn’t like it or have mixed feelings about what you saw? Would love to hear your critique. As long as you’re not a jerk about it, your comment will be approved.
Fifthly…um, I guess that’s it. Last day of Subversion tomorrow, off Tuesday, and then it’s all Incursion I and II until wrap!
Nothing to say other than thanks for putting up with me. 🙂
Have a good evening, sir! I think I will…less than an hour before Masterpiece Mystery!, and they sure as hell better not have another fund drive!! I’m in desperate need of a new Hathaway fix… 😛
das
Interesting book suggestions. Not sure I’ll read the BotM selection this month, but Affinity sounds intriguing; so does (do?) The Margarets. I did finish reading Open Your Eyes, but I think it needs another run through before I can discuss it coherently. Or it might be that I will never be able to discuss it coherently. I’ve got one more week, right?
I am very much looking forward to the new season of Sanctuary that starts up on Friday.
I must say that I was pleasently surprised with SGU. I didn’t know what to expect as I wasn’t a huge fan of either premiere’s for SG-1 or SGA, but I grew to love each show. And I was one of the fans that felt burned when SGA was canceled to seemingly make way for SGU (we know differently now), so I honestly did not want to like this show. But, I am a huge fan of both Ming Na and Lou Diamond Phillips and I adore Micheal Shanks, so the prospect of seeing them was too much, and I gave in. Even when they weren’t on screen (I love MS’s cameo! Perfect!) I enjoyed what I was watching. I didn’t see anything that looked like Battlestar Galactica or 90210. I saw something that took Stargate to the next level. It IS different from the others, but only in how the story is told. What the story contains is still there. So I thank you and everyone who put their hard work into this show for blowing me away just in the first hour! I have my Friday nights back :)!
Joe,
‘Emissaries from the Dead’ sounds interesting….sci and mystery. Downloaded and will start reading when I finish the novel I’m reading now. Thanks!
Sorry, didn’t see the new show. So no opinion to offer. I saw “Rising” 1&2 instead. Nothing could beat seeing Atlantis rising from the bottom of the ocean. Well, maybe Rodney in orange fleece! 😛
Hi Joe, you’ve gotta love the jerks. Do they really think you’re obligated to post their comments? Don’t let it get to you, darlin’. And, I’ll second Das by saying thanks for putting up with me, as well!
@Das: Like we’re so hard to put up with…;)
Have a good night, everybody!
(((Joe)))
OK, so it “airs” (haha, get it? **sighs**) on Friday night at 8:30pm, so like you can totally discuss on Friday’s post, ‘cos remember we’re from the future – Friday’s post is on Saturday for us.
Cheers, Chev
My thoughts on SGU:
On my first viewing I was a little underwhelmed. The circumstances of the emergency at Icarus seemed a little random and contrived. I understand that you didn’t want to risk losing the viewers, but everything leading up to dialing the Destiny felt a bit rushed. I didn’t feel like there was enough time to really introduce the characters or the background of the 9-chevron project.
To be fair, this is a problem with most pilot/premiere episodes of a new series. It takes a while to understand the characters and accept the circumstances in which they find themselves involved. It would have been nice to take some more time getting settled in at Icarus so that I cared more about the destruction of the base and threat to the characters.
On a second viewing of the show I think I understood who the characters were a bit better and enjoyed the episode a lot. It seemed a little less forced on the second viewing.
The design of the ship is beautiful, but a little too dark. Hopefully it will brighten up a bit once they get their power supply issues sorted out? It reminded me of a level in Doom3– I kept wanting to see more of the design, but it was lost in shadow. I can’t wait for more exploration of the ship.
My biggest concern about the show is the relationships of the characters. I’m not a big fan of soap opera type shows where everyone fights, nobody trusts each other and they are all scheming against each other.
One of my favorite parts about the previous two Stargate shows was that the characters would sometimes disagree, but would always have respect for each other and work together. One throwaway line that always stood out for me in Atlantis was when McKay explained an idea to save the day and Carson said, “That’s very clever, Rodney.” It was just a nice moment to show the professionalism of everyone involved and underscored that these people care about each other.
Eureka is another show with these qualities. All the characters genuinely seem to like each other and respect each other’s strengths.
It looks like you are working for a long-term storyline so hopefully the characters will grow closer over time and we’ll have some quiet scenes with the characters just enjoying each other’s company.
The characters–
Col. Young– nice portrayal of a strong commander. I’d follow the orders of this guy.
Lt. Young– another likable character. I think the actor did a nice job.
Sgt. Greer– holy cow, he’s good! I believed that he’s a little nuts and unstable. Excellent job.
Eli– Not quite buying his character yet, but has potential.
Rush — Again, not sure what to make of him. I can’t tell if I have any sympathy for this character yet. Has potential.
Overall a good start, Joe. I noticed that your premier ratings look very good on SyFy. Congratulations!
The Wraith were the series long foe in Atlantis. In SGU, is the enemy going to come from within, in the form of Dr. Rush?
@sparrow_hawk. I know what you mean. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to say about the Open your Eyes, and how I want to say it. Luckily, I have the day before off, so I may write up my review then cut and paste on Monday.
Thanks Mr. M. for the November selection; it sounds intriguing. I’ll look up some of the other recommendations also. Alas, my favorite book store is no more so I’m back to Amazon.com and/or the big box stores. civilization declines just a bit more….
I’ll be watching Air one and two again later this week, minus the commercials. Hopefully I’ll have a few more lucid comments to make on the show, though to be fair to it I expect it should be watched through the midseason two parter. Thanks as always for your dedication to this blog and all the fun stuff you provide to your fans.
“it involved characters who were later shown to actually have a sense of duty, so the scene made no sense given the characters we started to see develop later in the story”
Actually, I thought it made perfect sense. It pretty clearly illustrates the Scott character’s situation: one minute he’s doing something pretty stupid, and the next thing you know he’s got people’s lives depending on him. How is he going to handle it?
While I’m pretty much the first one to blush during any sex scene (and usually fast-forward through them), I thought the radio questions were hilarious.
I like my stories to be in order, because I don’t like trying to figure out what’s going on, but in this case the confusion at the beginning made sense, so to speak. And again, Scott realizes he needs to get people out of the way, but he doesn’t really know how to take command in the confusion.
@NZNeep, “quietly terrified action hero who needs a hug” is a perfect description!
I liked how the appearances by SG-1 were understated, and in context, not stuck in clearly as cameos.
As GeekBoy said after the show, the frustrating thing about pilots is they have to try to get in a little bit of everything, and sometimes it comes off a little forced. Usuallly it takes a few episodes to really get the picture. In this case, there were moments like that, but overall, we’re sold. We’re happy to have our Stargate Fridays back!
Congratulations on the SGU premiere, I enjoyed it quite a lot. Oddly enough, the only sour note I remember was from the way Eli was brought into the stargate program Last Starfighter-style. Even though a lantern was kind of hung on it with a quip early on, it felt very forced. (ha! I’m using terms I learned from “200” against you!)
That being said, his character added a nice, new everyman perspective to the show that’s pretty different from an O’Neill or Sheppard, and I’m not really sure how else you could have brought in a newcomer that quickly.
Anyway, great job overall and looking forward to Air Part 3.
Thanks for waiting for the Australia premiere. I’m really looking forward to the show this friday night (October 9th). 😀 Someone else already said this, but the 9th in Canada is the 10th here so we’ll be able to participate in the discussions then.
Dear Joe,
Can’t thank you and Mr.Copper and Mr. wright enough for keeping my favorite series ( Stargate) alive. I just wanted to remind you sir not to forget answering my question that I posted after the premiere of SGU. From the bottom of my heart I wish the show a long life albeit the financially roolercoaster at MGM and all. You guys are the best keep it up.
Another little question sir if I may regarding the size of The Destiny space ship…. its freaking huge but I cant really compare it to another one from the other shows. Is it comparable in size to a Wraith Hive?
Hi Joe — thanks for being such a good sport and allowing the flow of conversation on all things Stargate — both positive and negative.
Not trying to be a smartass, but I have a question: When you ask for our opinions about the show, why do you want to know? What influence do fans and their expectations and reactions have on the creative process? I imagine that at this point in your production schedule you are already locked in on story lines, shooting style, and character development, so does it really matter what we think?
I did really like the show (except for a couple of issues which I’ve already discussed in a previous post), and I’m looking forward to a great run for the series.
The Book Club choices sound great, but alas, I am knee deep in nursing school and the only books I’m reading right now weigh about 20 pounds each.
Not a bad start. The Destiny is cool all old and creaky. I liked Rush (is he good or bad?), and I like psycho Greer just cause I want to know where you writers are taking this guy. Lt. Scott was good but the sex scene was jarring and useless. I felt bad for parents whose kids were looking forward to the “new” Stargate and how parents had to explain THAT scene.
Eli is a thumbs down, too much like Wesley Crusher of Star Trek fame. The teen genius saving the day didn’t work on ST:TNG and it won’t work here. Chloe was outright irritating all the way through and I’d like her to take a walk out the airlock. There has to be some other interesting pretty girls in this group, yes?
There did seem to be a lot of negativity, like none of these people even like each other even though they’ve worked together for awhile. What made Stargate so good was the team supporting and trusting each other, and that feeling is nowhere in sight. The wobbly camera needs to stop too. But I’ll keep watching for now to see how things develop.
I noticed on Hulu it said that “Season 1 episodes are posted the day after they initially air on TV. The final five episodes will remain up until the next season begins.” Does this mean that you’ve already been renewed(YAY!), or is Hulu just proving (once again) that whoever types the descriptions and such ought to be fired? I feel like there ought to be more bells and whistles to go along with this, but there weren’t when Warehouse 13 was renewed, so I’m seriously wondering if the decision has already been made…
I really liked Air, there’s definitely some good potential there. 🙂
The only real complaint I had about the premiere was a) the 9 million commercials (but that might be because it’s the first time in ages that I haven’t watched TV online) and b) You never really got a feeling for the urgency of the story. I’m mean sure, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, on some almost broken ship, but there never felt like there was a feeling of death being evaded by their fingernails. The whole two episodes the only time there was real danger was with the Senator and the transport-thingy. Don’t get me wrong, you have a whole lot else there, plus a ton of longer term danger, but “we have 24 hours till we die” never really seemed like enough to really cut it for me for getting the adrenaline going like you would see in most sci-fi premiers.
I do have to say though, the graphics are amazing, as well as the music. The shot of the attacking hatak look soooo good compaired to previous shots of them in SG1, and the music for the show was sooooo good.
All in all a good episode, I look to see how you’re going to raise the stakes. 🙂
I’ve been lurking a bit, reading the comments. I did enjoy SGU, but then, I’m easy-going and tend to let myself enjoy shows without overthinking. With thought, I like the thrown into the show feeling that the pilot gave, not knowing which end was up at times. Just like the characters being thrown onto the ship! No time to think, grab on and take the ride! I’m a fan of chaos once I buckle in.
The sex scene … well, I’m ex-Navy and I can assure the viewing public that storage rooms are indeed double duty spaces. We squids called them “gear lockers” though. “Gear locker” has more than one meaning, nudge nudge wink wink. Hey, I’d do the cute Looey if I were 30 years younger … (Looey = Lt.). Sorry, Old Salt mode off now.
Did Eli ever get his pants?
Oh, and I’m trying to watch again on Hulu! Took some ibuprofen so I don’t get a headache, but not sure if it will work. I’ll let you know….
Well, I watched the premier for a second time and I must say I am much more impressed by this series premier than I thought I would be. I was prepared to let my “Atlantis Anger” color my judgement, but I would give Air a 9/10.
Spoilers
Spoilers
Spoilers
Likes:
I enjoyed the majority of the characters. I think there is potential Shepard/McKay banter between Eli and Scott. I though Young was a better leader than I thought he would be. I think Eli and T.J. have a lot of potential. I don’t like Rush, but he is a very interesting/compelling character. Even if he is a cross between Dr. Smith and Walter from Fringe. I think Scott has potential to grow in command into someone like Lorne, who was the prototypical 2IC.
I loved the Destiny. Keep those exterior shots comming, the FX people should get an Emmy. And that opening sequence was amazing, leading to the whoosh. When you started doing the flashbacks it took me a while to remember where I had seen this recently. I guess some of you are fans of Lost.
Undecided:
I am not sure about the Chloe character. There were moments where she acted like everyone feared she would, a bit of a brat. Then there was her beatdown of Rush and I think I may like her after all. Although there was only one scene with the communication stones, I think I am going to hate them as the season goes on.
Disliked:
Greer. I’m sorry, but he is a psychopath. How he got past the Psychological tests is beyond me, but he not only was about to go after a civilian, and a woman, but a member of the I.O.A. The only thing that slightly redeemed him was his interaction with Sen. Armstrong outside the shuttle bay. And I thought the Wray character was very weak, she should be the next to go.
All in all, I am very much looking forward to Friday. Bring on Air part 3!
I forgot to add how much I liked seeing Carter again! And Daniel’s infomercial orientation videos were classic. I don’t know about RDA though. Ever since he left regular duty in SG1 he has been hit or miss. Great in the Atlantis 2 parter and in Continuum. So so in other recent appearances. Not so great in the first scene with Eli. Much better in receiving the report from Carter. All in all the guest cast was seemlessly intergrated with the new cast.
I loved the show for the most part. The acting was top notch. I am anxious to see what a typical episode will be like. My only big problem was the sex scene, I thought it was too graphic and awkward. No more Stargate for the kids.
@maggiemayday, thanks for the inside info. I wondered if fan fiction writers just made that up! 😉
Hi Joe,
I completely understand the need to delete a comment. I enjoy a good debate as much as the next guy and someone that has an objectable viewpoint, like say about SGU, should be allowed to voice it.
The problem is: a fair amount of criticizers go off on rampant illogical rants with usually poor grammar, unfounded rumors, grudges from the past (caugh: atlantis cancellation deny-ers: caugh), or complete misunderstandings. I know all people have an opinion, but when certain ‘opinions’ do not contribute to improving something or only seek to destroy something/someone, then they have gone too far.
I sincerely respect you for being probably the most direct target of all criticism from fans over the years you’ve done this blog and the fact that you’ve stuck with it and still offer great insights daily.
Ah, good old Sarah Waters. I made it to a book signing of hers once and she is absolutely lovely.
I was quite sick when I read Affinity, and the fever added to the surrealism at times. Maybe I should read it again while I’m well. Have you read the Night Watch by Waters?
I just watched SGU for the third time. Great idea of Syfy to repeat it so there is more opportunity for people to watch it again or for the first time.
I trusted the producers who made such brilliant casting choices (Michael Shanks, David Hewlett, Jason Mamoa) in the past to continue that trend. I think they did it again! I do think all the casting choices are really great and the characters all have potential to go many different places. As a viewer, when I am curious what will happen next, when I don’t know what the characters will do….that is when I get hooked.
Loved the music…Joel Goldsmith is fabulous!
The first viewing…I was confused with all the flashbacks. It really held my attention, but I didn’t get the gist of the characters and how they ended up there in the first place. I assume more will be revealed in future episodes. By the third viewing, I think I understand it now, and enjoyed it immensley. What a great show that you can watch it 3 times, still find new things that you haven’t seen yet, and not be bored!!!!!!!!! That is something I totally love about SG-1 and SGA. I have watched some episodes 5-10 times and have never gotten tired of them.
One aspect I am really hoping they use a lot: the communication stones. That way they can still connect into our fav characters, still feel like it is Stargate and maybe some comedic moments.
Hey Joe,
Just watched SGU for the third time. Go Syfy for putting it on so much. A fans heaven. I love re-watching because I pick up things I didn’t remember seeing or didn’t realize the importance.
The more I saw tonight I knew the depth of contribution so many make. It is some kind of wonderful. When I get tapes tomorrow (yes VHS tapes) I am living in the dark ages now, I will record each episode so as not to depend on Syfy.
I feel myself anticipating the next episode. Love the gate scene…so many favorites.
I did get caught on something I said here. Ooops, I think I am going to remember that. Amazing, your peers read these things. Not meaning your blog, but what we say.
Live and learn, in heaven….hopefully for many years to come (10?)….I hope.
Best to you Joe,
Cheryl 🙂
P.S. About the posting, you were right…your blog is not a soap box. And thank you for NOT posting mine on occasion when I request it.
Although I wasn’t too impressed with the new show, I do have to give kudos to Louis Ferreira’s portrayal of Col. Young – a world weary soldier on his last command who just got the adventure he’s not completely sure he wants.
Thanks for the book recs! They look interesting. For whenever I have time to do reading for pleasure again, that is. 😛
Eli reminded me so much of my oldest son, even down to the PJs he had on when Jack talked to him.
Scalzi’s usually not as nice as you are about comments. I’m really glad he was hired as CC on your show! I really believe that people can be civil in their comments, but if not, ax and ban. It’s your sandbox.
I haven’t been visiting you here as much lately, but I wanted to say that SGU gets two thumbs up from me. I’m very much looking forward to seeing where this all goes. And unsurprisingly, I really like Eli. His whole introduction was really amusing. Hoping we’ll get some more guest stars from older cast people as it goes on, as well, because that’s always fun. I do want to know what the deal is with Rush and the total lack of any confirmation that he actually spoke to Jack when he was using the communication device. Not that I expect you to tell me. So here’s a question, should you feel like answering it: Will the people on the Destiny use the stones to communicate with Earth on a regular basis?
With regards to the comments about not having many ‘character moments’ in Air I & II, it should be noted that with a plot such as SGU has to set up in a short period of time, there must be a lot of time spent developing the premise of the series.
I do agree with the NYT review that said that flashbacks in Air I sapped some of the energy, but I can chalk that up to artistic license. I thought that some of the editing felt odd, but I’m watching a commercial-free version from iTunes, so the ‘acts’ in the script don’t hit as hard.
Again with the character moments: I don’t remember seeing any more character development in the premiere of Star Trek: Voyager than in Air I & II, but the characters were developed very well over the course of what is probably the best spin-off of Star Trek from an artistic stance. Judgement postponed.
I’ll give a big kudos to Joel Goldsmith for the score. I’ve found that a good score seems to be a deal breaker for many TV series.
Family Guy, The Simpsons, Star Trek (except for ST:ENT, bleh), BSG, MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, Dollhouse, ER, House, Top Gear, Warehouse 13, Bones. All of the above have really good themes and/or soundtracks and are successful shows. (If we’re lucky, CSI has run out of good Who songs, because that’s the only thing holding that franchise together.)
Exceptions to this rule would be Numb3rs, which has no theme in particular, and is successful in spite of lousy writing; and Firefly, which had a fantastic theme, was a fantastic show, and tanked (at least in the eyes of the network.)
Think about that theory for a sec, you might surprise yourself.
Congrats on a solid premiere, Joe, and huge congrats to Robert Carlyle for absolutely amazing performances throughout! Can’t wait for next week. I’ll put off studying musicology for it.
Anybody else catch the *second* blooper on SGU?
(Besides the one where the military guy’s uniform hardware didn’t match his rank.)
Thornyrose? Otros ojos? Sheryl? (Asking them is a hint in itself.)
Hi, Joe. *waves* Will chime in SGU this week. Busy weekend.
Hi Joe just gotta a question…I´m from germany and as you know it will take months here till SGU Premieres,the rights are already sold to a TV Station called RTL2 ,but they will do german dubbing so i think it will be shown around Aug. 2010.
Now my question..do you think it is illegal to watch the Season on an Livestream of Syfy.Because there is a program called TVU Player and this shows 1to1 live program of many TV Stations around the world.If it is illegal I would have to wait (Duh..).Im a big SG fan and i would love to see it..at the moment here in Germany they are showing SGA Season 5 were at episode 11 now, so another 9 to go;-)
Thanks and have fun with SGU in the Great U.S.A.
Okay, so I managed to get through it again. On Hulu. Took lots of preemptive ibuprofen for the headache I knew would come. And here’s some more comments:
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SPOILERS BELOW:
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**Sex scene–didn’t even really process it as such the first time I watched it. The camera is so shaky and it’s so dark that I thought they were just fooling around. Nope. Definitely full-on intercourse. And for some reason I don’t care. I would normally be all upset (like all those parents who regret letting their kids watch it) because I enjoy sexual tension [think Ziva/DiNozzo of NCIS], not the actual act. But it made Lt. Scott imperfect, more human somehow. And did I mention that I love Brian’s acting (and Julia’s not bad either, but I didn’t get to see as much of her as I would have liked), and I’m pretty much in love with Lt. Scott? Yeah, that might have something to do with the fact that I don’t mind. And somehow I think there’ll be enough sexual tension to go around.
**Commercials–Hulu has 3 fewer commercials than the original TV airing did, and yet they still feel like they’re in the wrong spots. Although I DID enjoy it more the second time…possibly because Hulu’s commercial breaks are much shorter than those of a normal TV airing.
**Music–It fit so organically into the episode that friday I failed to notice and mention that Joel Goldsmith’s score is another checkmark in the LOVED IT column. 😀
**Humor–Yeah, the humor that I felt like I was missing? It was there. It was just so subtle that I found myself ‘rewinding’ Hulu and watching scenes over again because I couldn’t help thinking “Did he just say THAT?!?” 😀 It was much more subtle than the humor of, say, Castle, where the humor of the dramedy hits you over the head every episode (but so it goes with dramedies. Plus Castle also has a TON of subtle humor too. But I digress.). All of the laughter came from the younger male characters and cast, though, with the one exception of Chloe’s alcoholic behavior when her father toasts her. And that leads me to:
**Gender balance–I LOVE that there are more females on the cast as regulars now. But that’s pointless if you’re not going to use them!!! Ming-Na might be getting an episode all to herself somewhere down the line, but surely she could have been in more than two significant scenes? I felt like I was watching the Eli/Rush/Scott show (not complaining about them, just wish there was a better balance of screen time, that’s all!). For now, that’s a checkmark in the DID NOT LIKE column. I’ll give it time, though. I understand these things take time.
**(This doesn’t have a category, just random other crap)– I keep waiting for someone on board to reference the fact that Tom Hanks managed to fix the air filters on Apollo 13, so why can’t they use similar means to fix them on Destiny? That would be awesome. Also, other people keep bringing up stuff like ==> “why didn’t they use the kino to flip the switch in the shuttle?” “why couldn’t they get Sam or McKay to solve the riddle… why video games?” “why is there STILL sound in space? you’d think after 15 years SG people would have figured out that there is none.” <== all of which I think are valid questions. Can you please answer them on Friday?
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And that's all I've got for now! I stayed up WAYYY too late doing this, but I'm glad I did. "Air" was soooo much better the second time around (and 600 mg of ibuprofen later… remind me to take some this Friday too!)!
Good night~
Stargate Universe thoughts:
I liked it. I really really really liked it.
I did think that, at first, it was a little confusing because it jumped right into the action & then told everything in flashbacks. Not saying I didn’t like how you guys that, cause I thought it was well done, but it was a little confusing at first. And it might have been VERY confusing for new viewers who don’t even know what a Stargate is…
Also, I think, at first, it might have been gone to put a 2 Days Ago…or however long it had been thing. Flashbacks tend to work a bit better with some kind of note of when/where we are going imo. Ok, Ok, I’m nitpicking now!
ANYWAY, other then those two minor things, I really liked the first episode a lot.
I thought Eli was the best character. Lots of humor with him, but not annoying like Rodney sometimes was. Seems like he’s a smart guy & he adds a ‘normal person’ point of view to the show. Without a doubt, my fav character in the first episode.
I’m not sure about Rush yet. He IS a very interesting character, but I can’t say if I like him or not. Though, I was kind of happy when Chloe beat him up. lol. Sorry. Guy deserved it though. Hmmm. I don’t know. It seems like, is it just me, but it seems like Rush is being set up to play the villian part for the show. Too obvious? Do I have the wrong idea? Just seems like. Untrust worthy guy, with a possible tragic background, very anti-social, smiles at strange things, lies to everyone around him, etc. Hmmm.
Oh and I like Chloe too. Very interesting character there imo. Not a dumb senators daughter imo. I think she has potential.
Only other character of note, so far, is Scott. Seems like he’ll be a good leader and possibly interesting character.
So those four are the most interesting characters at the moment imo.
Not sure about the other characters at the moment. Young didn’t have much to do, the woman who was taking care of him didn’t have much to do, and the guy who let Chloe’s dad go into the shuttle just got to be upset for most of the episode. lol.
Liked the plot and the ship looks very interesting. Great cameos from SG-1 cast too!
The commericals didn’t bother me. I’m very use to Sci-fi’s commericals by now. Always a good time to talk about the episode or read something or grab a snack. Though, there could prob be a couple less of them. Maybe get rid of the Ghost Hunters/Scare Tactics stuff. lol.
The sex scene didn’t bother me. It suprised me, yes, because Stargate usually hasn’t done sex scenes in the past. But bother me? Not really. Guess I’m used to that kind of thing by now. lol.
Overall, excellent first episode. I think it was better than Atlantis first episode. Not sure if it was better than the first SG-1 episode. Hmmm. Maybe. I’d have to see both again to decide.
I think the show has a TON of potential and can’t wait to see more of it. SGU and Flashforward are the two best new shows this season! 🙂
G’day Joe
Thanks for holding off on the Q&A for SGU.
It screens at 7.30pm Oct 9. Yes this year!!! it so amazes me we do have to wait over a year. Yeah for Scifi.
Janet
I watched the trailer for Air part 3, and it looks interesting…and that dessert looks really cool. For some reason though, I felt like Rising was a better pilot. But I still wish for great success for SGU
Hi Joe:
I can see why you were so impressed by David Blue. He is remarkable. I enjoyed his acting and comic timing. Especially when he’s waving his hands around yelling, “Save! Save!” as Dr. Rush erases the white board. My “twenty something” sons would have been just like that. I also thought Alaina Huffman was very good at her role. She made me think of Janet Frasier with her character’s professionalism.
Dr. Rush reminds me of Baltar on BSG…completely unlikeable and only interested in protecting his own neck. If this is what the writers were going for, then, yes, the animosity of everyone else made sense. At least he doesn’t have some tall slinky blond that only he can see, telling him what to do. Looks like he’s going to be thoroughly repulsive all by his own self.
I also liked the floating video ball. Seemed much more convenient and sensible then a MALP.
What I didn’t like was the predictability of the Senator giving his life for the people on the ship. I saw that coming a mile off. Chloe is irritating. As the assistant to the Senator, she has no value to the people of the ship. At least the Senator might have been useful to negotiate with aliens later on, if needed. But because she’s the pretty young thing, she, of course had to stick around. To me, she’s like that terrible female character in Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom. When she wasn’t screaming and being annoying, Indiana Jones was forced to save her all of the time. Women are not useless victims in real life. Often, women are the ones who save the day.
The video game to recruit Eli has been done before. It seems like a bit of a theft from a movie and not very original.
Both my sons and I did not appreciate the sex scene. There are lots of other ways to show the two characters being intimate then what was used. We could have seen them adjusting their clothing as they came out of the closet, for example.
I really didn’t get the CO2 scrubber problem. If there was one shuttle, were there not more? Couldn’t someone be ensuring that people were looking for other shuttles that would have had their own oxygen production facilities? Could they not then have either placed some people in them to conserve oxygen for the others, or at least to borrow what ever was working in the shuttles to fix the main scrubbers? Or is that how they solve the problem in part 3?
Finally, for trained Star Gate personnel, they were reacting very poorly to stress. The behavior of the people on the ship was typical for average people under stress, but not for people supposedly trained to deal with whatever might happen to them in an alien environment.
And that’s my two cents.
Patricia
Hey Joe
I just watched the SGU premier off of iTunes so I missed out on SyFy’s million and one adverts. I thought the first couple of hours were truly epic.
The switching back and forth flowed quite nicely and I didn’t manage to get lost. I did however feel that there could have been some scenes that should have been strung together before another time shift. Once or twice it was a little jarring… I will have to watch it again to give you an example.
My one, tiny, opinionated gripe is that the younger cast members who were the most prevalent in the episode, did make it feel a bit like Stargate: 90210 at times.
I know that in previous series there have been plenty of ‘shippers who would prob enjoy that side of things, but selfishly I am far more interested in the action, peril and mystery of the Destiny.
That said, Robert Carlyle was fantastic and I can’t wait to find out what happens next week!!!
“The sex scene … well, I’m ex-Navy and I can assure the viewing public that storage rooms are indeed double duty spaces.”
I am in management education – which means I read endlessly on the subject in order to share the best information I can with my students. I have no doubt that you are telling the absolute truth.
Why? When I saw the scene, I was instantly reminded of something I read from a retired Navy commander. He was talking about instances of claims of gender discrimination he had encountered in his service. He recalled one instance where he had a female subordinate furious at the lack of respect she felt she was getting from her co-workers. He said he dealt with it the best he could – all the while thinking about the fact she had “done” half of those same co-workers (and they all knew that) might have something to do with it.
There was two people in the room, but inevitably, in real life, it will be the woman who gets screwed in the end.
@Maggiemayday
I’ve been watching Air 1 and 2 like five times now and each time when I hear Eli say “can I get some pants” I’m like: Now I must look if he does! But I always forget. After hours and hours I now can confirm that he does have Jeans!
A question for Joe:
On the wallpaper (with the cast) from the official SGU site, Eli is wearing a blue T-shirt. I was wondering if he actually has a blue shirt “in” the show or if it was just a foto shoot.
If it’s not will all characters change their clothing in the show?
Or will you try to make ’em have same clothes all the time?
Would ruin it if they all have tons of clothes each episode when they all had to evacuate so quickly.
Thanks in advance. 😀
I rewatched, THIRD FREAKING TIME, last night. The redeeming thing about it is, almost every actor did superb work with what they had. For them, I am impressed.
But the cut back and forth was just as awful, meaningless and annoying the 3rd time as it was the 1st, taking not adding to it. It’s like shining a spotlight on an outdoor toilet as if that makes it something grand. Back and forth in time is great if it adds, but the 500000 cuts just felt done for the sake of doing.
What I didn’t catch even though I looked hard… did the scientist bring those? I swear I thought Young brought them.
Least fave and least believable character: Ron-nutjob-should-have-left-on-exploding-planet.
What I don’t get is the crying over the sex scene. We were told early on more relationship driven. Relationships include sex. This isn’t “SG1/Atlantis part III. We were told going to be different. I don’t have a problem with sex scenes. And I’m with MaggieMayDay, but I’d do him NOW lol, cougars are in fashion. 🙂
Oh good grief, by “bring those” I mean the communication devices.
Emissaries From the Dead is a great selection! In fact, it’s the most powerful science fiction novel of the year. At least, that’s what I said on my back cover blurb. 🙂
Nomi and I finally caught the premiere of SGU last night; in fact, we stayed up late because I really wanted to see it. Our first impressions are that we both liked the pilot and plan to keep watching. (As if there were any question…) There were some obvious comparisons to Star Trek: Voyager and Battlestar Galactica, but SGU already seems more confident in its premise than Voyager did. It feels like there’s going to be more conflict and potential for conflict.
We were pleased to see Christopher McDonald as Senator Armstrong in the episode. Every time we see him on a show, we remember his powerful performance as Richard Castillo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” It would have been nice to have him as a regular on this show, but his appearance as Armstrong was equally as powerful.
Quand on aime la science-fiction on a besoin de notre dose annuelle.
Enfin SGU est là. Et enfin on peut le regarder en même temps que le reste de l’Amérique. Seul regret, SPACE au Canada diffuse en analogique et non en HD.
Ceci dit, nous avons regardé Air I et II. Nous , fans de SG 1et Atlantis, on se sent très confortable avec ce nouvel opus. Bon début, bons acteurs, bon rythme dans le montage et l’édition; peut-être quelques faiblesses dans les dialogues ( en particulier les scènes où Chloé vit la mort de son père, tout arrive un peu vite ) ; RDA a engraissé !!
Félicitation à toute l’équipe de SGU .
On a hâte à vendredi prochain.
I thought SGU was really great.
Affinity looks interesting. I’ll have to add it to my list. (My very loooong list.)
I liked ‘Air’ pretty well. Good story, good acting, nice cameos, enough throwbacks to previous series to be fun for established franchise fans without being obnoxious for newcomers (I hope). Really the only things I bumped on were the fact that the Carter-O’Neill “Where are they?” scene came after the scene in which Rush explained exactly where they were, and Eli’s “You Are Here” shirt. Yes, he’s the audience proxy, but it felt way too on-the-nose for my tastes. I mean, characters talking directly into the camera/kino is one thing, but when the wardrobe starts breaking the fourth wall…?
Still, I’m looking forward to where the rest of the season takes us.
STOP SGU SEX! I may create a facebook group 😀
Aww, too bad you have to tolerate this. I get it if people say SGU wasn’t their cup of tea, but to rant on about it… yuck. Arrogant. I’ve seen some negative comments and I’ll bet my little toe that they didn’t tune in to give SGU a chance, they just… need to blame something for SGA getting canceled. Really tiring.
I’ll say it again – loved SGU! I’m gonna watch the pilot again tonight. Just can’t get enough of it. 😀 Is it Friday yet?
Some fans have asked why the kino didn’t close the airlock. My thought is that… how can a flying ball press buttons? Go ahead and try to type on keyboard with a basketball, fcol. Okay, tennis ball. 😛
(Really liked the scene, where the senator sacrificed himself. Hmm, I think I’ve mentioned it before.)
I’ve also read how some complain that there were so many plot holes. Well, uhm, not giving an explanation is a plot hole? It’s was a premiere – not all pieces of technology can be explained in that time. Fans need to get used to that there’s no McKay around who has figured everything out by the end of an episode.
Can you confirm or deny that one season of SGU doesn’t cover an entire year?
Long live SGU! Can’t wait to see the survivors settled in and doing their stuff aboard the Destiny. Woot!
Saints preserve us from rabid “fanthings” are they unaware that viewing ISN’T compulsory?
Granted the new format is edgier than previous incarnations, the franchise is evolving and very promisingly so. I’ll let you know what I think when I’ve watched it cuz I know you’re just dying to hear my input…..
Thank you for the book descriptions. I’m looking for new authors. I ordered James Enge “This Crooked Way”. Thanks again for introducing me to his books!
I liked SGU but it is different than the other two. The way you worked in the SG1 cameos was very understated-well done. I liked the way you worked in the alien communication device (can’t remember the name).
It seemed a little like a soap opera more than the previous two, though. My hubby was bored by the soap opera drama going on. He hated all the politics in BSG and hopes SGU doesn’t make that a focal point.
I mentioned before, I thought the sex scene could have been more discreet. Yes, I’m an adult and I know the way closets work. However, I don’t need to see other couples in action. This is not a show for my child to watch.
Although, I personally enjoyed the levity of the other two shows. It was referred in an article by one the SG producers as “bubblegum”. I like bubblegum.
Right now, it’s not a show that I would buy on DVD. BUT I’ve only seen one show, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes. I’m really looking forward to the next show!
I hope you all have a long successful run. I think the DVR numbers will butch up the ratings. I suppose all of you are looking at Warehouse 13’s numbers? 13 is more a bubblegum show, so I don’t know if you can compare the two shows? Different audiences and all. 13 is a show the whole family can watch. SGU seems to targeting an adult audience w/o kids.
Das: Right on about Inspector Lewis show. They way they handled the “gay question” was so discreet and well done. I have two more eppies on the DVR I’m going to savor. My son is on a field trip to Washington D. C., so I’ll have more tv time.
Thanks again Mr. M! Long live SG shows/movies and your comics!
Tam
P.s. how does your mom like her tv now?
The twitter pics are so cute!
Auuugggghhhh we got to wait till the 9th now lol ok. But then we’ll have Air III to discuss will we have to wait a wk to discuss that as well lol
Joe, I do have two medical points to point out.
The seizure scene: The appropriate thing to do is turn someone on their left side to make sure if they vomit, they don’t aspirate. My kiddo suffers a different type of seizure and projectile vomits actually during the seizure, so we were told to turn him on his side.
The warfarin: The senator should not have been popping warfarin pills in response to pain in his chest. Warfarin does not relieve chest pain. Warfarin is usually given for rhythm disorders like atrial fibrillation and is STRICTLY monitored. The patients are usually required to adhere to a certain schedule and to avoid things, including dark leafy vegetables, that would increase their blood levels of this drug. Now, nitroglycerin is what a person can take up to every 5 minutes for chest pain (angina) if they have an attack. I think having made the pills he took nitroglycerin would have been interesting because whatever pills were leftover could have been used for the base ingredient of an explosive material.
You should fire your medical adviser.
Interesting books. Once again due to circumstances I didn’t get to this month’s book but its on the list. Nov’s will be doubtful.
Funny how I can make time for TV shows, but not books? Maybe I should put SGU on the back DVR burner and catch up reading instead… (not exactly kidding)
Just a couple comments
crazymom1: Actually, I thought it made perfect sense. It pretty clearly illustrates the Scott character’s situation: one minute he’s doing something pretty stupid, and the next thing you know he’s got people’s lives depending on him. How is he going to handle it?
This is where I thought this young officer character was coming from, and going, and later scenes confirmed. SG fan response just makes me wonder what the response would’ve been had we been introduced to Sheppard in this manner?
The biggest reason I don’t buy Rush totally as a bad guy is because there was an obvious tragedy in his past, and finding out what happened is one of the subplots I’ve got a big eye on.
Michael A. Burstein: We were pleased to see Christopher McDonald as Senator Armstrong in the episode. Every time we see him on a show, we remember his powerful performance as Richard Castillo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.”
Rather than the “Shooter” cracks this is how I equated his appearance on SGU and it did not disappoint. I won’t call it equal, though, noone foiled him quite as well as Denise Crosby! But wish the Senator could’ve hung around for another couple eps, there was stuff brewing that would’ve been quite lively. As for the daughter, I don’t think she’ll continue to be as annoying as she is now.
DD
>>Aww, too bad you have to tolerate this. I get it if people say SGU wasn’t their cup of tea, but to rant on about it… yuck. Arrogant. I’ve seen some negative comments and I’ll bet my little toe that they didn’t tune in to give SGU a chance, they just… need to blame something for SGA getting canceled. Really tiring.<<
You know what they say about ASSUmptions don't you? First, one of the great things about Joe's blog is he doesn't just want just suck-ups. He wants HONEST response, good or bad. To assUme that if people didn't LIKE IT they went into it not liking it is truly beyond arrogant. I have PINED for a new SG series, waited, worked to be as unspoiled as possible. I don't want your little toe.. especially after where your foot has been stuck.
I have a question, not about SGU specifically but about tv shows in general. I’ve been annoyed by it for ages, but it wasn’t until you mentioned not answering SGU questions yet, to spare australians the spoilers that I remembered that I could try and ask.
I live in Denmark and as a rule new shows tend not to be shown here until about a year after they were shown in America (or whereever they came from) IF the tv-stations here decide to buy it. It’s really frustrating for me because I have to either live with being extremly curious, envious and spoiled horribly if I want to be around other fans online unless I look shifty and figure out more shady ways of getting to see the shows I’m interested in. Obviously the latter is not exactly an ideal solution for anybody.
Is there any specific reason for shows to get to my end of the world so much later? Like for example something to do with it taking time to do subtitles and whatnot, or something to do with licenses or is it simply a question of money and the tv-stations wanting to see if a show can attract viewers before they buy it? Because you’d think that with a franchise as big as Stargate, and the fact that they’ve shown SG-1 several times and Atlantis too, they would know people would be interested in SGU too.
Hi Mr M!
THanks for waiting to discuss SGU til after OZ. THough we get to see it here in Europe tomorrow (Tuesday) I would prefer that ALL the blog regulars and non-regulars can comment together. I suspect that the schedule will mean that Europe may actually go AHEAD of US around Thanksgiving time (This happened in the past, with Unending being screened in the UK/Europe first ..if you recall) At the time there was a furore over same in the US, but (in the main) the UK/Europeans kept silent on spoilers and I think fandom in general was the better for it.
As the tendrils of the internet spread ever further, faster and more insidiously, I am delighted that the distribution deals have meant that our Australian, Canadian and US fans can all share the experience at around the same time. I, for one, don’t mind waiting an extra few days or even weeks to share my thoughts with those who have yet to see the programme.
On that vein, any chance the Powers that Be might consider a “Get in the Gate” for the Rest of the World????
Can you work the Mallozzi Magic??
Best to all
S’n’T
Joe, would you do me a favor and hold off on answering those SGU questions until it’s aired in my home country Norway as well? I mean, personally I’ve already downloaded the episode (legally through iTunes thankyouverymuch) but a lot of folks won’t see it until it airs here.
I don’t know when exactly that will be, but if they handle it the same way they did SG-1 here we should expect the first season in 2013 and further seasons (fingers crossed) beginning in 2019. (In all fairness; if when 2014 comes around SGU has yet to be broadcast here, feel free to answer SGU questions from viewers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. I don’t want to be unreasonable about this.)
Uggh you scared me Joe, I thought it was my comment. :p
Anyways, sorry for my ranting. Well what really bothers me is Mr. Wright, I mean he feels so convicted and recuts an episode just to take out an unnesecary graphic nude scene, just to put in an unnesecary sex scene. I mean that seems a bit hypocritical, doesn’t it. Well my issue was just the modesty of the scene. It was tasteless. I mean as one of my friends at gateworld says, “People poop, but does that mean I need to watch that on my tv”.
Like take a poop scene for example. Someone is using the restroom. You can show them on the upper half sitting reading a magazine, which is fine and modestly done.
Or you can show them pushing and grunting, trying to squeeze the poop out, and the show a shot of the poop falling from into the toilet(and showing parts of their butt). See how UNCALLED for the second option was. You have the same effect using both methods of execution, except the second is immodestly and untastefully done. Do you see what im getting at?
Really, I don’t want you to think im mad at you or hate SGU for it. I just want to give you some feedback and show you my opinion of how the scene could have been done in a better way. 🙂
Oh and one other thing, when someone asked you if SGU would be appropriate for younger viewers(specifically an 11 year old), you said yes. And Ive heard other people accuse you of lying at gateword( personally I don’t think you were lying, cause you are entitled to your opinion of modesty or what is appropriate), but honestly, if I had a 11 year old, I don’t think I would let him watch SGU, especially considering there are more scenes like this coming up. 🙁 And Ive heard a lot of people with similar opinions that regard to modesty. Personally, I think it would have been better to say, “personally I think it will be appropriate for younger viewers,” cause after all, it was rated tv14. 😉
Oh and Im not trying to attack you, I just wanted to give you a heads up to what people are saying to your comment. And sorry if I am sounding like a 14 year old telling a grown adult what to say and how to say it, I just wanted to make you aware of the situation and what other people said. 🙂
So even after what I said, were cool right, I wasn’t out of line, was I?
Thanks so much.
Major D. Davis
Ok joe,
I just wanted to clarify I love SGU. I mean, I just think it could have been better without the scene and will be better if scenes like that one aren’t in every SGU ep. I mean, In 3 days, I have watched the pilot 4 time and the beginning scene from air part 1 and the end scene from air part 2 at least 6 times. I do really like the show. So sorry if you think im some SGU hater, cause im not, and im really looking forward to air part 3. Oh and I have another question to add on.
Are you guys satisfied with the live +3 hours rating. I mean a 1.7(2.35 million viewers) is good but was it what you were expecting? Was it better or worse?
Thanks so much,
Major D. Davis
Coucou Joseph! ah encore une bonne journée de cours^^!
ça va vous?
je pense déja avoir donner mon avie sur sgu, mais si je pense à d’autres choses je vous le dit =)!
Impatiente que vous répondiez aux questions sgu =)
Bisou
aplus tard!
@ Tammy Dixon – I was just glad to see Hathaway reading Loaded and offering up Yorkies in the end. Ya know, for personal reasons… 😉
In last night’s movie, Allegory of Love, Hathaway was quite light and snarky, not very broody…in fact, if anything he was rather loquacious. Must be opening up a bit (Lewis complains about it…lol). Laurence’s real life dad – James Fox – appears in that one, too. I had to watch it twice, however, before really enjoying it – it was one of the more choppy episodes.
I contacted Masterpiece Mystery! about missing parts of the episodes, and their reply was:
We’re glad to hear that you are enjoying the latest Inspector Lewis episodes on MASTERPIECE. It is a pleasure to hear when our viewers enjoy the programming we produce.
Regarding the editing of MASTERPIECE productions, we appreciate your level of interest and attention. Our programs are routinely edited to fit our PBS time slot, which is different from the UK’s. Depending on whether our UK partner is producing for a commercial broadcaster or the BBC (i.e., commercial breaks vs. no commercial breaks), the episodes may vary from between 3-5 minutes to 10 or more. While we obviously have no control over the amount of time we are given by PBS to air particular films, know that when faced with the need to edit, we take it very seriously and with great care. Almost always, it is the UK producers who determine which scenes should be trimmed from the U.S. broadcast. Our goal is to deliver to you the film that is closest to the original intent of the producers.
I felt that there were some edits in this episode – one scene in particular where you don’t know why the police show up to a particular scene. But otherwise it was pretty decent – not nearly as choppy as the commercial break editing for SGU.
das
Very, very disappointed in the sex scene. It was the most graphic sex scene my 12 year old daughter had ever seen in her life, and right up there for my 16 year old son.
And, I am even more disappointed that people asked you on this blog if the show was appropriate for children and you said it was.
In response to PBMom, we were taught in our first aid class that if someone was having a seizure all we were supposed to do was support the head to prevent injury and to only turn the victim over on their side if they were throwing up. I had someone go into a diabetic seizure about a month ago, he had foam coming out of his mouth so I turned him but Young didn’t.
I thought the scene was done very well, Huffman’s character did everything she should have and I was gratified to see that she wasn’t trying to put something in his mouth or something stupid like that.
I like Chloe, so far. As long as she doesn’t play the victim the whole time. The poor girl just got thrown into a crazy situation and at the same time lost her father (that was a fantastic scene when she was clawing at the door), I would have reacted the same way, my father being the world to me. I can already see the potential tension between Eli and the Lieutenant over her…sigh.
I like that Scott’s character refuses to allow Young to go and kill himself, it shows his own fear at the prospect of being left in command, something he is probably not experienced in, being on his first tour and all.
Rush is a douche, I love him for it. Robert Carlye is always a pretty cool dude in the stuff he does so I was expecting the nice, hero type. It’s refreshing to get him as unconcerned with the human drama. I hesitate to say it because I think he does care he just doesn’t let it effect him. He reminds me of my brother actually. Ruled by his logic.
The psycho guy freaks me out man. Not sure how I feel about him.
As for the clothing situation, it would be nice to see them stuck in the clothing they have for awhile until they find something else on a planet. Get a little breakdown going there, like on Scott’s vest. Also interested to see what happens when they run out of ammo.
I like Eli, yes, very Last Starfighter with the video game, nice little nod there. He is cool, the kid (what, early twenties?) who gets loooooost iiiin spaaaacce and is trying to deal with it. I like how he gets excited over things like the kinos, new geek toy to play with like a PSP?…whatever they are called, the props guys mod one of those to get the interface?
Was Eli playing Stargate Worlds? Cause, that would have been funny.
Anyway, I was all set to hate this show in my bitterness at…you know. I like it, so far. I just hope it keeps this edge and doesn’t grow into something typical and soft.
And again, loving the set! They are so “Myst”. Rich, rich colour and the little gadgets! Sweet. Oh, and the treatment given to the kino shots is pretty darn awesome.
The book choices sound really interesting, especially the Margarets and Affinity. You might like The Dress Lodger, which is a Victorian mystery with a modern feel.
On SGU: I was surprised at how negative the crew was; I’m hoping they’ll be in touch with Earth ASAP so the party poopers can disembark and the folks who are excited to be on the ship can stay. Loved seeing Daniel, Sam and Jack; hope we get to see more of them.
The view from the observation deck was gorgeous (GORGEOUS!) and the ship is awesome; it’s too bad the crew members want nothing to do with it. I’m hoping there is at least 1 stowaway on the ship, somebody alien or ancient to represent for the Teyla/Ronon/Tealc fans!
The creepy soldier with the gun who keeps threatening to shoot Ming-Na in the face was a bit of a shock; he comes off more like an abusive thug than a soldier. He has to be held back from hitting a woman? Not cool.
Will the characters stay this bleak or will we see some of that Stargate humor sneak it’s way in?
Can I just say that I liked the SGU sex? North Americans are way too prudish. Let ’em kick off those uniforms and get bizzy, that’s an order. Put a Toy Story DVD on for the kids and let the SGU’ers get their freak on.
I noticed a few people here and there online concerned about the shows budget in relation to the ratings recieved on Syfy, maybe whenever you’re doing a general SGU address to people here you could put some peoples minds at ease Joe.
Also saw someone on Gateworld posting about their daughter asking them why they didn’t use a Kino to close the doors, instead of the Senator sacrificing his life. Ancient tech has always been a touch by a human control thing, unless you’re using a handheld thingy.. Just my thoughts on that comment..
Give me more Robert Carlyle! Wonderful actor.
Wow! There is a bigger, more annoying jerk out there than me? 😯 Who knew?
It’s actually good to know it’s been a long time since you didn’t approve of a post. Although, in my case, maybe you wanna raise your standards? Just a bit? Others may thank you for it.
Again, I’m still not sure what I think of SGU. I didn’t fully hate it. Not a glowing recommendation, I know. I guess I don’t like pilots in general. It’s the whole, “getting to know you” awkwardness that is a necessary evil. Remember silent Teal’c from the first few epis? *shudder* He’s one of my favorite characters from the franchise and I wasn’t crazy about him at first.
@Chev: Since you’re in the future could you give me the winning lotto numbers for the Florida Power Ball please? I could use a cool 100 mill in US currency about now. 😀 I’d even give ya a cut of the winnings! Plus cookies!
Trish
Hi Joe, wanted to throw my two cents worth in about the sex scene in SGU. For Stargate, it seemed a bit out of place, especially the way it came at us, out of the blue. The bit about “What’s your position?” made me chuckle, but then again, when Teal’c said something about a “medical strike” I about fell off the couch laughing. I’m easy with the jokes (and I still want to know who came up with the one about “Hello, my name is Carlos…” in Moebius).
We all knew there would be sex on the show (unless we weren’t paying any attention at all over the past few months), and yet some people who found this scene objectionable allowed their chidren to watch anyway, only to complain now. Others assumed the people having sex were having unprotected sex and complained about that.
To me, it wasn’t a big deal, just not what I’m used to from Stargate. From an adult point of view, I thought it was very nicely done. Oh hell, it was hot 😉 Whether or not I would have let my children watch when they were younger would be at my discretion, as it was when they went swimming in the deep end of the pool.
@maggiemayday/Old Salt: You go, girl! Nicely put 🙂
@Major Davis: Ewwwwww.
anyone please try on this page search the word sex its everywhere great series but please dont give us the sex scenes I really hate it, you create great series but in 14 seconds you can destroy it…hope youll delete sexual thematic scenes from future episodes
@For the love of Beckett, PB MOM found it, he should be taking NITRO not coumadin for chest pain. I figured it had to be medical if you were asking the 3 of us who are medical! How could they make such an EASY mistake like that? WELL JOE? I need to be your medical person for the show. I’ve already done it on another TV show in the 80’s- the real nurse/ paramedic on the set. So I have experience already, and I know where to be to stay out of camera site. later, Sheryl
Congrats on the success of the SGU premiere. Based on the recent SyFy press release the US performance beat expectations. If the trend continues accordingly there’s no doubt you’re all guaranteed a second season.
I’m waiting three or four episodes before doing any critical analysis of the new stories/acting/technical work. I did notice that you have a new Director of Photography. As a long-time fan of the franchise I’m definitely intrigued by everything.
Congratulations!
-Now we need to look at a copy of your comic book…
Yeah Ugly Pig, don’t you think Joe has a bit of an Australian thing going on here? The next minute they will be inviting him around for drinks on the patio at dusk.
“Crikey, checkoutdat sunset Joe!”
Sheesh…
Either that or they bribe him. I know the Oz Dollar is quite strong at the moment… 😆
Hey Joe
I seem to recall you, or someone else, saying that a season 6 of Atlantis would have cost more than season 1 of Universe. Am I remembering correctly? Is that true?
Thought the premiere of SGU was great btw 🙂 Looking forward to the rest of the season.
@Hayloh: From Epilepsy.com: “After the seizure, the person should be placed on her left side. Keep in mind there is a small risk of post-seizure vomiting, before the person is fully alert. Therefore, the person’s head should be turned so that any vomit will drain out of the mouth without being inhaled. Stay with the person until she recovers (5 to 20 minutes).
Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, M.D.
There is a “however” on this, per my son’s neurologist, if you don’t know if the person is going to vomit while having the seizure, and with Lt. Young’s head injury, the risk was higher of that happening (the vomiting), you turn them. Once the vomiting starts, it is too late (the possibility for aspiration pneumonia).
To all: I’ve watched the 2-hour premiere now 4 times and each and every time, I pick up on something I didn’t notice before. I think there is so much packed into it and so much going on with each character that you have to watch multiple times to catch things you’ve missed.
@PBMom, I noticed the warfarin thing, too. It’s taken on a schedule, not popped as needed.
JM, my nephew Dylan called me long-distance to have me ask you a question. Why did they switch from P90s to whatever it is they are carrying now (he couldn’t remember the name of the new guns)? Also, how are they going to get more bullets?
No cable or sat. here, I wish it was on over-the-air TV. 🙁
When will the DVD be out 🙂
G
I’ve watched 3 times now….
As my previous comment, the sex scene just seemed unusual for Stargate and was a bit jarring. As I have no kids, it didn’t matter to me and as someone said, it was hot!!!!
Watching it again, when Eli is speaking into the Kino (love that bit!), when he looks into it from the side as Rush is talking about the Destiny not having enough power to dial Earth, I swear he was channeling Peter Deluise! I’m a big Peter fan and it just so looked like him (the expression)…
Anyway am excited to see the next episode, especially sents it starts a 3 day weekend for me!
Really interesting book recommendations, might have to read one…
“What is it with all these people complaining about the shaky camera … come on … no one said you had to watch it…..”
Sorry, couldn’t resist. We are all geeks or we wouldn’t be watching the thing to start with. What do geeks do? They endlessly discuss the details of whatever they have watched good and bad.
I hate the frequent commercials. I found the back and forth in the time line occasionally distracting and the sex scene jarring and unnecessary. I also thought – in the premier – the female characters were stereotypes – and not particularly interesting ones.
But, to be 100% honest, I have no idea what people are talking about when they refer to “shaky camera”. I never noticed it at all.
Different things bug different people.
(But now, since it has been pointed out, I am beginning to find the medical questions to be somewhat annoying ….:-))
Sorry, that didn’t come out right.
I am not annoyed by the medical comments. I share their concerns about the medical questions on the show.
Rose: I for one am a nerd not a geek lol
Hi Joe!
Watching SGU premiere for second time. First time was via SyFy on my laptop, connected to my TV. Not the best image, but at the end, I was saying, “Wow…wow.”
Now watching iTunes version. (Thanks to the person here who said iTunes had free versions!) I’ll be getting the Unbox editions until I get Uverse. (Didn’t I say that last season?)
Anyway, loved Air Pt 1 & 2! The acting is top-notch, Destiny is awesome, and I like the character and story setups. Loved the SG-1 cameos – perfect in my book. Love to The Hammond (sniff).
It really did turn out like you guys said. It’s darker, sexier, grittier, but still Stargate.
I didn’t mind the sex scene. I thought it was a lot sexier than sex scenes in many other shows. I would prefer not to see a lot of sex scenes in SG shows, but I don’t have young’uns at home to worry about.
I like that the Senator wasn’t a Kinsey clone. Although I’ve seen comments about the women being “weak,” I think Camille is anything but weak. TJ is uncertain, but I think she’ll get stronger as she takes a lead in the medical area. (But warn her, please, that she’s DOOMED! ;P )
Greer kicks ass. ’nuff said. Young is strong, but not OTT. Eli is warm and sincere and smart and huggable. 🙂 Scott is great – he showed his youth, but stepped up to the needs of the group. (Brian J. Smith was amazing.)
Rush was creepy cool and I think has a lot more levels than we’ve seen. (I don’t get when someone here called him a “psychopath,” but I’m willing to listen to an explanation.)
Loved the Atlantis scenes from the game at the beginning! What’s wrong with using an idea from The Last Starfighter? I think it’s fun, and if O’Neill wants to call a ship the Enterprise, and wants to be called “Red Leader,” it’s within the SG ‘verse to reference sci-fi.
Anyway, rock on, Joe! I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far and wish all the best to the SGU gang!
eddy
Destiny is awesome!! love the look and feel of the spacecraft
@for the love of Beckette: Yes, as Sheryl stated, coumadin/warfarin is not a take as needed drug. It’s a very tricky medication that requires regular blood tests to maintain proper theraputic levels in the system, and which can kill the patient itself. Nitro pills would have been the apppropriate medication for angina. I let that point slide, as I don’t expect the writers to maintain that level of medical knowledge, and it’s a matter of who they had look over that bit for them.
@ Rose – hey, you never know! Ever since I was 18, I have periodically run into people who think they know me and insist that I look just like their friend so and so (oddly enough, I never remember the name). It’s happened at least a dozen times. What is more, it’s happened at Star Trek and Stargate conventions, too, so whoever she is, she’s a fan!
Re Forest Gump, the reason I hated the film was precisely the overuse of the “he’s everywhere” technique. It was so overdone that it just made me angry. If not for that, I would have enjoyed the film. Sometimes less really is more, and any overuse of a cool technique in a creative endeavor takes away from the positive effect it could have. It just ruined that movie for me. Re shaky cam, I’ve never understood the appeal. Perhaps because I’m old (although somehow, I don’t think of my age as all that old), or perhaps it’s because movements like that make me sick. Or because I think they’re stupid.
@ Das – I pretty much agree with you on the sex thing. I don’t think that people are prudes just because they don’t have an interest in seeing other people have sex. Sex is good, it’s great, it’s just wonderful. To me, it’s better private. I also think that implying sex on tv and film is much better than showing it. I am not fond of porn and don’t really get the point, although clearly it’s a big industry. I don’t particularly want to see it on tv, and it’s a shame that we may have to make a choice – to avoid it, this particular show may have to go by the wayside. Still, sex sells.
The thing is, I don’t find watching other people hump against a wall all that sexy, and that’s what SGU is being advertised as. It’s not like Stargate hasn’t involved sex, but it’s mostly been implied and the stories have been better for it.
I haven’t watched Lewis, but I think I’ll check it out.
Oh! and regarding the “people poop, but we don’t need to see it” I am still dying from reading Major Davis’ message on tv showing people pooping: I was eating lunch at my desk at work today and reading this blog and I read it. I started laughing so hard I thought I’d fall out of my chair. My boss came over and asked me what was so funny – I just laughed harder but could not explain. I decided I needed to get back to work.
@Iamjohn about the lack of urgency: I agree. First, the urgency wasn’t really conveyed in the story, even though we were told often enough that there were only hours or a day to live unless the CO2 scrubbers and the life support system got fixed. I just didn’t feel it (well, part of that is that I simply didn’t buy the bit about the CO2 scrubbers when there was no indication of other people having been on board and then there was that nice clean bedding). Also, it’s hard to feel urgency building when the stupid commercials are every two minutes.
@Maggiemay – I can buy it that people on ships have sex in lockers or whatever even if they’re not supposed to. But when they’re on duty? Also, one of these people was an officer and the other, I think, was enlisted. This is a bad thing, is it not? This also from a show that for ten years wouldn’t allow Sam and Jack to get together because of military rules.
@ Eddy – I’m the one who referred to Rush as a psychopath. The reason is because he is putting his own needs and desires – his curiosity and obvious burning, all-consuming need to find out where that 9th chevron led – over the needs and lives of everyone else on that base. First, the orders were to dial Earth. Even assuming he was right that the explosion could have transferred through the gate to Earth, there had to be numerous other places they could have gone. HE wanted to find out where the gate dialed if the 9th chevron worked, and that’s all he cared about. They should have gone to the alpha site or some other place that I am sure the military knew to go. There HAD to be evac procedures same as with the SGC.
Once on the ship, again, all he cares about is himself and his wants. He doesn’t care anthing about anyone else – his smirk on the balcony showed that, him not showing anyone else how to communicate with the ship or anything else showed that, his sneaking around with the communication stones said that, and his lie about O’Neill placing him in command said that. And if that latter turns out to not be a lie, I will lose all respect for O’Neill. On the other hand, it’s very likely that if O’Neill DID place him in command, it’s because Rush most likely lied to him.
The man is a rotten SOB and appears to be rotten to the core. Oh, it’s clear from the scenes where he wasn’t invited to the table and he’s all alone looking at the picture of a woman I am assuming to be a dead wife that he’s had big tragedy in his life. Major tragedy is not and has never been enough in my book to justify selfish and even murderous behavior. Almost no one is free of some sort of tragedy in their lives, and it’s not an excuse to harm other people.
And that’s why he’s a psychopath.
@ MARY: Thanks for explaining why you think Rush is a psychopath. I think he’s a lot more than that, which will be revealed in the show.
Where you saw a smirk when he was watching the people come through the Gate, I saw a cryptic smile.
I do think he put his burning desire to go through a 9th Chevron gate over the well-being of others, but I don’t think it was to the level of psychopathy.
eddy
Joe, apparently Affinity was made into a movie. Have you seen it?
Shaggy