Stargate Universe

[Ghost Train]

All I gotta say is: "Good job Colonel Young!" lolz ... Dear lord, another sci-fi hostile-environment pregnancy.

[Dynaman]

It is easier to build a model for a Movie that can be altered to show damage like in Wrath of Khan than for a sries like the TNG or Voyager.

Especially when the damage in Wrath of Khan was done with a clay version of the ship. (they didn't have the budget to do anything else, so they modelled the sections of the ship that get hit in clay, then they just scrap off the clay to show the damage). The end result was excellent so I'm not complaining. (see the DVD commentary and documentary stuff for a description of what they did - it also has the great clip by the director saying that getting a good performance out of Shatner consisted of having him say his lines so many times Shatner got bored and stopped overacting...)

[Snail00]

This is the only StarGate Show I ever loved. Great drama and good acting like the the good old days of Season 1 and 2 BSG!!!

Awesome

[sketchley]

Last week the civies were staging mutiny, waving guns in people's faces, willing to let people die because they were so distrustful and angry at the military.

Erm... I don't remember any civilian waving a gun. It was the military doing that. Also, it was only Dr. Rush that was willing to let a couple of military members die, and Wray talked him out of it saying something along the lines of the civilian alliance will fracture apart if they let anyone die.

[eugimon]

Erm... I don't remember any civilian waving a gun. It was the military doing that. Also, it was only Dr. Rush that was willing to let a couple of military members die, and Wray talked him out of it saying something along the lines of the civilian alliance will fracture apart if they let anyone die.

nope, when they open the door for Eli they have guns drawn and the one guy had it in Eli's face. Rush and Wray were then willing to play the attrition game with the military as were several of the other civilians.

[sketchley]

Ah. Forgot about that scene. Nevertheless, it took place after the two soldiers depicted on the civilian side having surrendered - surrendering their weapons in the process. Which then begs the question: before that, did the civilians have any weapons?

[eugimon]

Ah. Forgot about that scene. Nevertheless, it took place after the two soldiers depicted on the civilian side having surrendered - surrendering their weapons in the process. Which then begs the question: before that, did the civilians have any weapons?

I don't think so. I think there's even a line saying the military guys had all the weapons when wray was laying the case for how the civilians were being o pressed by the military

[eugimon]

So they're saying obvious creepy ulterior motive guy DID stay behind along with some crew members!

http://stargatecomplex.com/post/530612442/...faith-questions

So that makes me like the episode better.

[Ghost Train]

A bit off-topic... but has anyone here gotten one of these? They look awesome!

Edited April 19, 2010 by Ghost Train

[miles316]

My mother has watched Fridays episode for like the second time today and I have come to the conclusion that I hate this episode with Eli whining that it is impossible to build a star and the Born again Christian doctor bantering on like some Prior about Divine providence placing that artificial star system right in their path just annoys me.

[CoryHolmes]

So in a fit of caffiene-fueled insomnia I decided to rewatch some older SG-1 episodes, and the first thing that really struck me about them is the humour, especially from RDAs O'Neill. Then I went back and rewatched Air I, II, and III from SGU and the style change was almost like whiplash. Now I'm beginning to understand why people whined that SGU was too dark and "not funny enough" to be a Stargate show. Not that I mind, really, and I still adore SGU; but now I know where the whiners are coming from.

[eugimon]

So in a fit of caffiene-fueled insomnia I decided to rewatch some older SG-1 episodes, and the first thing that really struck me about them is the humour, especially from RDAs O'Neill. Then I went back and rewatched Air I, II, and III from SGU and the style change was almost like whiplash. Now I'm beginning to understand why people whined that SGU was too dark and "not funny enough" to be a Stargate show. Not that I mind, really, and I still adore SGU; but now I know where the whiners are coming from.

I think much more interesting than the gradual loss of humor in SG-1 is how very patronizing and ethnocentric those early episodes were. All about how backwards "alien" cultures were... alien cultures that all, by coincidence, were based on real world non western cultures.

[CoryHolmes]

I think much more interesting than the gradual loss of humor in SG-1 is how very patronizing and ethnocentric those early episodes were. All about how backwards "alien" cultures were... alien cultures that all, by coincidence, were based on real world non western cultures.

Oh yeah. That part comes through loud and clear I'm onto Season 5 episodes and that attitude is still there, though you have to look for it. Also, I'm struck by how quickly these episodes fly by. In SGU, there's a definite sense of serialization and the knowledge that mysteries take time to unravel (and sometimes never). Here in SG-1, everything is completed before the end of the episode and wrapped up in a nice, neat bow.

[Scream Man]

I think much more interesting than the gradual loss of humor in SG-1 is how very patronizing and ethnocentric those early episodes were. All about how backwards "alien" cultures were... alien cultures that all, by coincidence, were based on real world non western cultures.

To be fair that's ALOT of Sci Fi shows as well. Star Trek makes liberal use of it sa well. Even if they're advanced, they have an 'antiquated' moral code that the good crew needs to help set right.

[eugimon]

To be fair that's ALOT of Sci Fi shows as well. Star Trek makes liberal use of it sa well. Even if they're advanced, they have an 'antiquated' moral code that the good crew needs to help set right.

true but at least in Star Trek they're just aliens and Jackson doesn't stand there and talk about how they're just like "X" culture back on earth, complete with the "aliens" in stereotyped tribal costume.

And if you notice... western gods - good guys. Non western gods - evil despotic warlords.

[Ghost Train]

To be fair that's ALOT of Sci Fi shows as well. Star Trek makes liberal use of it sa well. Even if they're advanced, they have an 'antiquated' moral code that the good crew needs to help set right.

I kind of got mixed feelings about Trek. On the one hand they've always pushed the boundary since TOS but had to moderate to existing beliefs and views of the time as they still had to make money. So for a long time well into TNG the Feddies were always the good guys.

By the tail end of the "Prime Timeline," the Federation although generally still good, has been treated with a large amount of amorality, like the creation of Section 31, and the forced relocation of Baku.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Ghost Train

[eugimon]

Actually the idea that there was something rotten underneath the shiny veneer of the Federation was always there from ToS onwards.

So, back on topic. I think faith scientist dude is one of the aliens that built the solar system

Edited April 22, 2010 by eugimon

[sketchley]

So, back on topic. I think faith scientist dude is one of the aliens that built the solar system

Hmmm... this raises some interesting questions. Not the least of which is: did the alien appear on Destiny at the same time as everyone else did, thereby creating the illusion that he's human? If so, are there other (alien) plot elements going on from (before) the time that the humans gated to the ship? Hmmm... deep thoughts.

[eugimon]

Hmmm... this raises some interesting questions. Not the least of which is: did the alien appear on Destiny at the same time as everyone else did, thereby creating the illusion that he's human? If so, are there other (alien) plot elements going on from (before) the time that the humans gated to the ship? Hmmm... deep thoughts.

well, we already know something was going on because of the ship that undocks and flies off the Destiny at the end of first episode.

[sketchley]

I think that was one of the aliens that were in eps. 11 & 12, just detaching to go tell the rest that Ancients/Humans had arrived on the ship. I haven't gone back to rewatch it, but the shape of the pod-like ship was similar.

Anyhow, right now, I'm a bit more interest in what the robot-probe like thing they found in one of the previously-unexplored storage rooms was in eps 13. Was it there from the start? Or something that arrived later and was deactivated and put in the cargo container by someone else who "left" the ship (maybe the faith scientist dude - who's been on the ship since before the arrival of the humans).

[eugimon]

I think that was one of the aliens that were in eps. 11 & 12, just detaching to go tell the rest that Ancients/Humans had arrived on the ship. I haven't gone back to rewatch it, but the shape of the pod-like ship was similar.

Anyhow, right now, I'm a bit more interest in what the robot-probe like thing they found in one of the previously-unexplored storage rooms was in eps 13. Was it there from the start? Or something that arrived later and was deactivated and put in the cargo container by someone else who "left" the ship (maybe the faith scientist dude - who's been on the ship since before the arrival of the humans).

Yeah, I thought of that but it doesn't really make sense to me. The blue aliens are obviously advanced and they want Destiny. So if they could get one ship to dock with Destiny, why didn't they just take it over? They certainly had enough ships to overpower Destiny and had no problems tracking her.

[sketchley]

Yeah, I thought of that but it doesn't really make sense to me. The blue aliens are obviously advanced and they want Destiny. So if they could get one ship to dock with Destiny, why didn't they just take it over? They certainly had enough ships to overpower Destiny and had no problems tracking her.

They've already had ships dock with Destiny. There was one pod attached to the outside destroyed in Eps 12, and the one attached to the outside that cut a hole and took Chloe in eps 11. At the end of eps 11 Rush also explains (partially) why the aliens haven't been able to take over the ship.

[eugimon]

They've already had ships dock with Destiny. There was one pod attached to the outside destroyed in Eps 12, and the one attached to the outside that cut a hole and took Chloe in eps 11. At the end of eps 11 Rush also explains (partially) why the aliens haven't been able to take over the ship.

Yeah, but I'm saying in the context of an empty ship with nearly zero power versus a crewed ship with enough juice to run defenses. The Blues obviously have no qualms about firing on Destiny or cutting her open. So what Rush tells them just doesn't make sense. If the Blues can board Destiny when she's powered up and has shields and guns then they should have had no problems disabling and boarding a limping Destiny.

If Destiny were fighting off the Blues with some sort of automated systems, then when humans entered they would have seen some evidence of the fight or intrusion. But they didn't see anything or any evidence of a fight or struggle.

[CoryHolmes]

Anyhow, right now, I'm a bit more interest in what the robot-probe like thing they found in one of the previously-unexplored storage rooms was in eps 13. Was it there from the start? Or something that arrived later and was deactivated and put in the cargo container by someone else who "left" the ship (maybe the faith scientist dude - who's been on the ship since before the arrival of the humans).

Yes, this is something I'm very interested in finding out. Something I always wanted to see but never got enough of in Atlantis was exploring the city and learning more about what it could do. It seemed that always took place off-screen.

[bluemax151]

Creepy ulterior motive guy is the religious civvie aka Dr. Caine right? I wager this particular plotline is in line with what we've seen in the other series, where a character establishes themselves as a religious figure and/or god for their own personal benefit. It would be an excellent plot twist if he turned out to be an Ori type character.

I think the reason why the ship has been fighting of the alien incursions previously by itself is because not only was it on auto mode before but it wasn't wasting precious power sustaining a bunch of parasites (humans).

[eugimon]

Creepy ulterior motive guy is the religious civvie aka Dr. Caine right? I wager this particular plotline is in line with what we've seen in the other series, where a character establishes themselves as a religious figure and/or god for their own personal benefit. It would be an excellent plot twist if he turned out to be an Ori type character.

I think the reason why the ship has been fighting of the alien incursions previously by itself is because not only was it on auto mode before but it wasn't wasting precious power sustaining a bunch of parasites (humans).

It still doesn't explain why they would only dock one ship and not a bunch of them working on hacking the systems. The Blues had no problems using firepower to overwhelm Destiny, why would the treat the ship so gingerly when they were the only game in town?

[sketchley]

Yeah, but I'm saying in the context of an empty ship with nearly zero power versus a crewed ship with enough juice to run defenses. The Blues obviously have no qualms about firing on Destiny or cutting her open. So what Rush tells them just doesn't make sense. If the Blues can board Destiny when she's powered up and has shields and guns then they should have had no problems disabling and boarding a limping Destiny.

If Destiny were fighting off the Blues with some sort of automated systems, then when humans entered they would have seen some evidence of the fight or intrusion. But they didn't see anything or any evidence of a fight or struggle.

Hmm, the impressions that I have is that the damage to the Destiny was caused by the Blues (possibly others) in their attempts to board and capture the ship. They also have the power to destroy the ship, but don't, as they have a (misbegotten) believe that it holds technology that they want. On the Destiny's part, it's had a bit more power for defenses (most likely shields, but probably also limited weapons) as it didn't have to power things like life-support, the lights, gravity, etc. for the human crew - which, if I understand it, is the main reason why they attacked the ship in eps 11 and 12: they believed that with the human presence, they'd be able to overcome the ship's defences.

Again, those are the impressions I'm left with.

I've also inferred that there is something inside the ship preventing the aliens from actually entering it. The main reasons are: they have the capability to latch onto the hull and cut holes into the interior. But on the occasion that we saw it, we didn't see a Blue enter the ship. The other reason was when they were trying to repair one of the guns, and there was a power malfunction that killed one of the crew sent to investigate the area. What if it wasn't a malfunction per se, but an accidental activation of an internal defence weapon? (Though, this could be reading between the lines, and the main thing stopping the Blues is the Destiny's barrier technology - specifically the hull breach barriers).

Of course, going the religious-guy-is-really-alien-who's-been-on-the-ship-all-along, then maybe there was a "crew" defending the interior. Which leads into your subsequent reply: what if the Blues aren't the only game in town? The monument on the planet in eps 13 implies there's another race of aliens at work in the area.

Hmmm... sadly, I don't think we'll get any answers to this plot thread until the season ending. Why, if you ask, because all of the previous Stargate series' had season enders, beginners and middles (eps. 9, 10, sometimes 11) on the "main enemy", and the rest, indirectly about the "main enemy" or something else all together. To be honest, it's a bit tiresome, and I truly hope that SGU breaks from that formula.

EDIT: Bluemax beat me to some of the impressions.

Edited April 22, 2010 by sketchley

[miles316]

Hmm, the impressions that I have is that the damage to the Destiny was caused by the Blues (possibly others) in their attempts to board and capture the ship. They also have the power to destroy the ship, but don't, as they have a (misbegotten) believe that it holds technology that they want. On the Destiny's part, it's had a bit more power for defenses (most likely shields, but probably also limited weapons) as it didn't have to power things like life-support, the lights, gravity, etc. for the human crew - which, if I understand it, is the main reason why they attacked the ship in eps 11 and 12: they believed that with the human presence, they'd be able to overcome the ship's defences.

Again, those are the impressions I'm left with.

I've also inferred that there is something inside the ship preventing the aliens from actually entering it. The main reasons are: they have the capability to latch onto the hull and cut holes into the interior. But on the occasion that we saw it, we didn't see a Blue enter the ship. The other reason was when they were trying to repair one of the guns, and there was a power malfunction that killed one of the crew sent to investigate the area. What if it wasn't a malfunction per se, but an accidental activation of an internal defence weapon? (Though, this could be reading between the lines, and the main thing stopping the Blues is the Destiny's barrier technology - specifically the hull breach barriers).

Of course, going the religious-guy-is-really-alien-who's-been-on-the-ship-all-along, then maybe there was a "crew" defending the interior. Which leads into your subsequent reply: what if the Blues aren't the only game in town? The monument on the planet in eps 13 implies there's another race of aliens at work in the area.

Hmmm... sadly, I don't think we'll get any answers to this plot thread until the season ending. Why, if you ask, because all of the previous Stargate series' had season enders, beginners and middles (eps. 9, 10, sometimes 11) on the "main enemy", and the rest, indirectly about the "main enemy" or something else all together. To be honest, it's a bit tiresome, and I truly hope that SGU breaks from that formula.

EDIT: Bluemax beat me to some of the impressions.

I wonder if they will be Replicators as the main Bad guys and the Blues were trying to get destiny to find technology to fight them.

[Freiflug88]

Yeah, but I'm saying in the context of an empty ship with nearly zero power versus a crewed ship with enough juice to run defenses. The Blues obviously have no qualms about firing on Destiny or cutting her open. So what Rush tells them just doesn't make sense. If the Blues can board Destiny when she's powered up and has shields and guns then they should have had no problems disabling and boarding a limping Destiny.

If Destiny were fighting off the Blues with some sort of automated systems, then when humans entered they would have seen some evidence of the fight or intrusion. But they didn't see anything or any evidence of a fight or struggle.

Come to think of it the Blue's pod was seen detaching from the Destiny at the end of episode 3 right after they found right sand to use with the air filters and before the power to the ship was completely drained by the beginning of episode 4. Whats more the 2nd shuttle had a big hole in it that the shields were plugging up, there were only two damaged space suits left of the destiny, and the guns had to be rewired before they ever fired in episode 7 in order to drain power and start a solar recharge for that gate back to Earth plan. So its possible that some Blue scouting party got on the ship, sabotaged the guns, and poked around until the air become too toxic for them causing them to retreat back to their comfy little space pod while they waited for reinforcements with air filters. That is until they noticed the armed SGU crew restored life support and were there to stay.

So perhaps the air was just to toxic for the Blues and they were waiting around in their pod for reinforcements to show up with space suits and air filters of their own until the SGU crew came aboard.

They also have the power to destroy the ship, but don't, as they have a (misbegotten) believe that it holds technology that they want.

What about the technology to recharge a ship through suns? I dunno about you, but if I were a space faring alien that happened to notice a ship just wandering through my side of the galaxy and then recharging inside of a sun, I would be obsessing over acquiring it like the Blues.

I also get the feeling that the blues are an off-shoot of the Ohne from Waaay back in Episdode 13 season 1 of SG-1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb-j9u8QwSAt=5m25s). In the SG-1 episode it was stated that a few Ohne supposedly tried to help humans revolt against the G'ould back in Babylon. So perhaps as early as the time of Atlantis the Ancients and the Blue/Ohne knew of each other. I also can't help, but think of how the submersible Atlantis city ships are obviously far newer then the Destiny so perhaps the ancients were inspired to design them after encountering these aquatic blue aliens from another galaxy.

[CoryHolmes]

Save me.

During the week-long spells between SGU episodes, I've found myself rewatching SG-1. While most of the episodes are engh, and some are of meh quality, I found myself being sucked into the Ancient storyline. Y'know, episodes like Solititudes, The Fifth Race, Fallen, etc. I've now just finished The Lost City and I find myself with the undeniable urge to start watching Atlantis now, to see that storyline play out. I don't have time for all these episodes, and yet I can't help myself.

Halp...

[RedWolf]

If some of the civilians were left on the planet I do wonder if they were also left with a communication stone.

Cause you know being totally cut off is stupid.

Edited April 23, 2010 by RedWolf

[Freiflug88]

If some of the civilians were left on the planet I do wonder if they were also left with a communication stone.

Cause you know being totally cut off is stupid.

The were not left with any stones just the damaged shuttle and the supplies they had with them. Initiating the communication stones for long range distances is impossible without plugging it into a powered interface which they only have one of aboard the Destiny in the first place. So they are totally cut off from Earth and Destiny unless of course the alien creators of the planet come in and help.

[Dynaman]

So they are totally cut off from Earth and Destiny unless of course the alien creators of the planet come in and help.

Which is about a 100% probability... Not that I mind, I like the show.

[CoryHolmes]

Which is about a 100% probability... Not that I mind, I like the show.

I doubt that, actually. From the general tone of the show, I figure there's a 60-70% change the aliens either won't come back, or will come back and swat those hairless monkey insects off their garden world.

[Totoro242]

I doubt that, actually. From the general tone of the show, I figure there's a 60-70% change the aliens either won't come back, or will come back and swat those hairless monkey insects off their garden world.

Its also very possible that the aliens are good. Perhaps they were lied to and manipulated by Rush into attacking Destiny. Since we only got Rush's side of the story, we don't really know at this point.