Stargate Universe (Complete Series)

Zach Goodier

Stargate Universe is the most recent addition to the Stargate franchise. Project Icarus, headed by Col. Young, is working on unlocking the secrets of an Ancient expedition, sent roughly 1 million years ago. This expedition involved sending multiple unmanned ships across the universe, to seed stargates, but, more importantly, to gather information. The main ship, the Destiny, was later sent to follow the seed ships across space on a mission to the very ends of the universe, with the final goal that is still unknown. However, powering the gate is proving problematic, with the calculations proving too complicated for the lead scientist, Dr. Rush. To solve this problem, the Ancients original calculations are embedded in a public game, which is eventually solved by Eli Wallace, a civilian dropout. After Eli is brought to the Icarus base, on a distant planet, he is asked to help finish work and finding the lost secrets of the Ancients.

Meet Destiny, an unmanned Ancient ship sent on a mission across the universe roughly... well, let's just say a lot of years ago.

This show has a great premise, but the start can be a little slow. The first episode does a great job of establishing the important characters, and get the ball rolling, but the following episodes are a little slow. An attack by the Lucian Alliance forces the crew to dial out to abandon the base, but Dr. Rush decides to dial the address provided by the Ancients. After arriving on the Destiny, the crew immediately has to struggle to survive as several of the ship’s systems start failing (mind you, a million year-old ship is bound to have some issues). What ensues is a lot of tension as a group of characters who is ill-equipped and unable to return home struggles to adapt to life a few billion light-years from home. However, as the show progresses, things pick up as the crew finds new civilizations, both hostile and… well, mostly hostile.

The characters are all very interesting. Col. Young is unprepared for the struggles he faces, and has a lot to overcome. Eli and Rush are both brilliant, but Eli is still idealistic, and Rush is somewhat callous and pragmatic, a combination that often puts him at odds with Col. Young when making major decisions. Tensions only escalate as military and civilians both attempt to work together, but are often at odds with each other in a high stress situation.

There isn’t as much exploration as some might hope for in the Stargate series, but the main focus is the Destiny itself, and uncovering its’ mysteries. This has some high points, but it also means a lot of time is spent with idle crew dialogue and drama. And with the communication stones discovered in SG-1, the sense of isolation also feels somewhat lessened.

There are races keen on taking the Destiny for its' advanced technology, and to uncover its' secrets.

The special effects are all well done, and sets are wonderfully created. One of the things I loved about this series was the sense of continuity, with people wearing down and things like ammunition and food being a constant issue, sense the expedition can’t resupply. These issues add a sense of desperation and tension that even Atlantis couldn’t compete with. The overall tone and aesthetic is much darker than the typical Stargate series, with there being a noticeable lack of the humor you might expect, given the previous entries in the franchise.

Meet Nicolas Rush, a brilliant, but callous man, who is always looking at the bottom line.

Overall, this is a very interesting show, and I did enjoy it; however, it certainly has its’ shortcomings. It takes a while to get started, and even then, you spend more time getting bogged down with personal drama for each character, rather than focusing on the journey ahead. This doesn’t make the diversions all bad, but it can over-complicate the plot, at times, and distract you from what is going on with the Destiny itself. The look into much older Ancient designs is interesting, with a ship that is much less advanced than designs found in Atlantis, being much more relatable to our modern tech.

Destiny is powered by solar matter, that it takes by literally flying into stars. Only way to keep a ship flying for all those years.

The remarkable, exciting, and often frightening fact that this ship is still functioning after roughly a million years travelling the universe keeps thing on edge, in a good way. Things break, and the crew is often stuck simply working around damaged systems, since knowledge, as well as spare parts, are very limited in supply to help Destiny. For its’ shortcomings, this show is an interesting entry to the frachise, one that will unfortunately never see its’ conclusion due to cancellation, leaving a very disappointing cliffhanger. For these issue, though, I did really enjoy this series. It’s different, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you want a unique entry to the franchise.

Good:

-A mysterious story that teases both the characters and audience.

-Interesting characters.

-An unprepared, under-qualified, and poorly supplied team on a neglected ship makes for great tension to spark conflicts throughout.

-Great aesthetic, with detailed set pieces and great CGI, and a ship that always holds more surprises.

Bad:

-Too much drama with individual character ties back on earth.

-A bad cliffhanger ending that we’re stuck with due to early cancellation.

-Lacks a lot of that humor, and adventurous spirit, that established the Stargate franchise.

Scully Rating: 8 out of 10