(S01E05) "Why am I watching this on TV?" – Eli Wallace
This week's episode of Stargate Universe picked up right where last week's left off, with The Destiny heading straight for a star and, presumably, oblivion. Thankfully, "Light" featured less of those tired Real World-esque confessionals from last week, but the first few acts really dragged, and it was hard to wrap my head around that out-of-nowhere love scene between Chloe and Scott (more on that in a bit).
With only 17 people able to fit aboard the shuttle, Col. Young came up with a lottery system to decide who would escape to a nearby planet and who would remain aboard the ship to burn. I was expecting a riot to explode during the lottery drawing, but Greer was able to quiet the storm with one swift blow to a Marine's face. The respectful relationship between Greer and the quiet and noble Young is a welcome addition to the series. I like how Greer has Young's back, and it seems like Young might inspire Greer to become something more than just an angry brute with a meditative side. And watching Rush do something other than stress and shout was a nice change of pace.
There were a few more decent character moments scattered throughout the ep, but all of the really cool stuff happened at the end. Finally, we discovered The Destiny's true power source – it's solar powered! I'm sure some of you might not like the idea of a solar-powered ship (it does seem a bit too convenient), but I think it's awesome. At the very least, it means SGU probably won't be recycling any of Stargate Atlantis' ZPM hunting episodes. We're in entirely new territory here.
Did anyone else think the sex scene felt rushed and out of place? I get that these two are attracted to each other, and this might have been their only shot to get it on, but it rang so false to me. I really liked the quiet moment Chloe and Scott shared at the end of "Air (Part 3)," but I didn't foresee them hopping into bed a day or so later. Part of me was actually hoping to see Chloe torn between Scott and Eli, who now seems to be frozen in the friend zone. Hopefully, Chloe and Scott's relationship will go to some unexpected places this season because of their premature bootie call. I'd be cool with that.
The writers are finally starting to flesh out Ming-Na's Camille Ray. I liked how she was angling to get on the shuttle and almost broke down when Young was going to take her off the list. Watching her lose it after her name was drawn made me want to learn more about her. I'm looking forward to seeing her use the communication stones to show us a bit of her life back home.
And we still don't know if we can trust Dr. Rush. Still, I like the guy. I was glad to see him start acting like a relatively normal person for once. I also liked watching him thank Eli for rigging the outside shot of the ship, and later apologize for drafting him into the Stargate program. I think the heart of the show could easily rest in the Rush-Eli relationship.
What did you think of "Light?" Is the solar powered ship a cool idea or a cop out? Are you looking forward to spending more time with these characters and learning more about the ship?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
10-24-2009 @ 2:31AM
EricF said...
the whole time i was just wating for eli to say "why did they not but solar palnes on the ship" or something like that.
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10-25-2009 @ 2:02PM
Mac said...
This is a solid show, I love the pace and character dev. I like the solar powered ship, it was fairly predictable. There was no way the ship was going down. So it had to be powering up somehow. Still, its a cool idea and Im glad they did it. Its TV, not everything can be perfect.
Its not the best show on TV, but its a really good show on TV.
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10-24-2009 @ 3:03AM
e said...
It's too formulaic. The whole leaving video behind just reeks of reality TV - good thing I can fast forward through that in every episode. I would rather get to know the characters as they progress through the series rather than by contrived interviews. This episode was so obvious I fast forwarded through the first thirty minutes of filler. I mean, come on, they dial into a ship that's falling apart and is running out of fuel? It would have been nice and original if the geek got the girl for a change. But I would be just as happy if he got some from the sexy Sergeant, which is so unlikely as to be wishful thinking.
At the end, coming up with Rush knowing the ship would be fine goes against common sense - why would he make a stink of running out of fuel in the last episode? Of course he could just be insane and enjoy seeing others stressed. I doubt it, he seemed stressed enough not to sleep for a couple of days trying to solve the problem.
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10-24-2009 @ 3:17AM
Joseph said...
I disagree, I think it's far enough away from the safety of SG-1 and Atlantis, and so far, my only problem is with the constant bickering of all the people. They're supposed to be hand picked professionals, and they act like children...
Although maybe there's a lesson in that.
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10-24-2009 @ 7:07PM
Earl said...
Part of the conceit of the show lies in the fact that the wrong people are on the ship. It is not the team that they wanted.
10-24-2009 @ 3:24AM
Gordon Werner said...
It isn't so much solar powered ... than it is Hydrogen powered ... it scooped up gasses from the sun.
As for the people there ... they were picked or assigned to be on a base with easy access back to earth. None of them signed up to be stranded billions of light years from earth. That and many of them are support people ... not necessarily the heads of their departments ... I mean the HR lady is there ... a chef is there ... etc ...
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10-24-2009 @ 3:53AM
Pau; said...
I already knew it was solar power and the ship was going to the sun recharging last week at the very end. I don't know what the big surprise is. It was so obvious. Obviously the ship isn't going to burn. It's been around forever. It's got to recharge some way by itself. What other way is there to recharge itself if there's no one around to do it. So when the ship ran out of power, and then the preview said it's heading towards the sun, who in the world would even think it was going to just burn and self-destruct. If anything, it would just stop and not do anything like some of the other ancient ships in Atlantis. I remember them finding one that just sat there forever. So why would any ancient ship fly into a sun to destroy itself...
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10-24-2009 @ 10:46AM
Steve said...
I had the exact same thought, i figured it was either solar light powered or would scoop off the suns fusion energy source
10-24-2009 @ 4:44AM
thebardingreen said...
The fact that it was solar powered might have been obvious (it was to me) but I thought it was awesome. This method of powering a star ship has actually been speculated on in hard sci-fi. I LOVE SGU so far. . . mostly because it has strayed out of the bogus Space Fantasy of the other SG series, something I would call "lovable garbage" and into the realm of Sci-fi that's my true passion - hard speculative fiction.
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10-24-2009 @ 5:40AM
Hooch said...
About time! I have been watching from the beginning reserving my judgement. I have always been a fan of SG-1 and SGA and I have to say SGU is refreshing.
Yeah, some of the play between the characters has a little way to go, and the general pace of the story is not as fast as the other two, but when you do not compare it to the other two it is excellent in it's own right.
This story gave me what I was hoping for, some true sci-fi elements! While it was predictable (Scoop) it was still nice to see as this had been something talked about in sci-fi circles for a long time. The slingshot was another added bonus!
One of the things I have noticed about a lot of the reviews since the series has come out has been the generous amounts of bitterness coming of off long term SG fans, the first thing I have to say to them is “This is NOT SG-1, or SGA”, get over it!
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10-28-2009 @ 5:17AM
chris said...
not only does this show seem like a melodramatic rip off of ST:Voyager, Voyager was much more interesting. The characters actually had personality and a sense of humor unlike these bland asses (minus Eli and the dr.)
SG-1 and Atlantis were action and adventure sci fi, this shit is nothing more than melodramatic crap.
Stargate franchise would be better off with berman and braga at the helm now.
This doesnt feel like SG at all. It feels like 90210 meets voyager. Weak.
11-08-2009 @ 10:09PM
Pam said...
I think it should not have the Stargate name since it is so far away from the original concept. They could have still used the stargate in it but called it something else. It is not a spin off it is a new concept all together. Much darker mood less enjoyable. Looks like the writers and film crew from Battlestar Galactica found a new project to work on.
10-24-2009 @ 8:39AM
getchaos said...
I agree with Hooch...this definitely isn't SG-1 or SG-A. And i'am glad it isn't...of course i'm also glad, that we have at least some referance to the other shows...the Stargate itself...what brings me to the point...another refreshing point...it hasn't been used that much till now. I wonder if the rest of season one will also only be about getting along and surviving on the Destiny instead of exploring...i like that angle.
I was a big fan of SG-1...not so much SG-A. But i really really start to like SG-U and hope they at least try to keep the love triangle stories down.
"Light" was a rather obvious episode...come on...i can't think of any Sci-Fi fan who wouldn't have predicted the outcome of this. Why should a super-intelligent Ancient build ship fly directly into a sun because of a calculation error? Oh..and of course...the show would have killed of its main characters in the 5th episode? On the other side...this would have been genious and refreshing ;-) . Anyway...i was a little mad, no one in the show itself saw it coming... . Hey Eli, you big nerd buddy...stop whining about your love interest and start using your nerd power!
Still...it was a fun episode...and what really made it for me, was the big Dr Rush question at the end. Maybe he was unsure about the outcome...but i guess he had a general idea of what "could" happen...
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10-24-2009 @ 9:40AM
Tim-1 said...
I loved the concept of the solar powered ship! I was wondering how they would extricate themselves from that scrape but that was a novel surprise to me.
I missed the first couple episodes and am curious as to why there are civilian types on board....and so MANY for that matter. I would think it would be difficult to follow too many main characters. But no matter....I like what I see overall. The shuttle/rescue bit was a little over the top but why not?....it is science fiction. A couple of favorite characters to emerge (for me) are the colonel and Camille Ray. Ha!....I like the funny line Camille Ray spoke when she was asked her aged and replied that it "was none of your business". nice touch of humor.
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10-24-2009 @ 10:46AM
Steve said...
It's because they were fleeing there base not launching the proper selected expedition force.
10-24-2009 @ 12:08PM
Randy said...
Tim-1: The early episodes are still available on Hulu:
http://www.hulu.com/stargate-universe
10-24-2009 @ 2:53PM
WF said...
The episode was, well, bleak. I mean, bleak. It was like watching the Titanic sink (the Leo D movie, not the better B&W flick). As for the sex scene, I just thought, geez, will TPTB be brave enough to follow up with unwanted pregnancy? Or maybe not, if Chloe's on the pill...
I missed Rush. He was so... amenable in this episode it seemed wrong. Ming-na finally got to to do something (and she's not a egular cast member, but a 'guest star'. Interesting...)
I can't wait for the episode "Supermarket" for the lost folk will find an alien supermarket full of food, shampoo, new clothes but most of all, lots of bright bright lighting!
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11-04-2009 @ 7:56PM
rachel gabriela said...
You must really like this show.
And i agree thee sex scene was.....bad!
10-24-2009 @ 12:40PM
Tim-1 said...
@ Steve and Randy:
Thank you.
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10-24-2009 @ 2:10PM
David A Moehrke said...
I to guessed that the ship was going to refuel, though I didn't guess until around time that col Young and the angry Sargent were professing respect of one an other. I suppose that if I had given it thought during the week I might have guessed sooner, but I usually don't think about last weeks plots during the mid week. Besides I had to contend with Sanctuary right after, and I am a big fan of Amanda Tapping.
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