TVSquad

I am not sure how sentient they are. I think they were helpful on the planet because they did not see the humans as a threat. Somewhat like a pet dog they were just eating up the scraps of water spilt. I think they only seemed to help because they went back to the dry lake (given their use of water - probably where they live?) which is what Scott needed.

On Destiny their population exploded and they perceived the attacking humans as a threat as they started protecting the water. Even a pet dog will attack if starved. But they ignored TJ because she was not threatening them.

I did like this storyline. It was good to see TJ in a commanding role where she could develop a bit. As it looks like she is now third in command she needs to built up some respect in Greer - as Scott and Young already have. I agree with other people that a coup could soon happen headed by Franklin and Spencer, and I expect Greer would key to deciding who wins.

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When I saw the sands and how cohesive they acted, I kept thinking they were possibly nanites, perhaps an Ancient prototype, or some other race's attempt. Unfortunately, I got distracted by thinking of the ecological concerns of the Earthling's act of releasing them on the ice world.

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Hmmmm....being a recent viewer of this show I did not quite know what to make of this episode in terms of how it gripped my interest. I want to be fair about it since I don't know a lot about the characters yet. It was not an uninteresting story....It had drama and mystery. I think I usually do not prefer my villains to be in the form of fog, mist, or in this case....sand ( Or as Ms. Boursaw questions....was it a villian?).

If I prefer more action or energetic scripts I will always find patience for character developement. And, as mentioned, this installment was not bad. The acting is sound all around and there are many attractive characters to go around. I hope people continue to give it a chance.

One minor brickbat here. I am by no means a prude when it comes to the making-out bits that are sometimes shown. I like to watch erotic scenes as well as anyone but I don't like to be nuked with the tongue-action up close when I am watching a science-fiction show. Do we really need that in the context of quality sci-fi? Show it in the implied form if they must but not in borderline graphics. Just an opinion.

Col. Young is a good man but If Riker from Star Trek was there he would not have let him go out there (LOL).

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In my honest opinion, theonly creatures introduced in the Stargate Franchise that have the ability to influence people are the anceints themselves, or at least, creatures which have accended already. If you recall he Stargate SG-1 episode where Teal'C was between life and death, Dr. Jackson helped Teal'C by portraying a Therapist. Now, in the SGU episode "Sand" the Alien Creature portrayed a Priest, the exact priest that raised Scott.

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Just a way to kill off a person. They did say no one is safe on this show.

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The aliens weren't being helpful on the sand planet, only self-interested. They pointed Scott the way to the calcite in exchange for water, which they got.

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Some things are hard to take....
The effective mission commander cannot be risked on every out mission. He needs to delegate. Of course this doesn't make so exciting TV.
A life risking kisssion for minor chunks of ice (which won't provide even a days water for the crew of the vessel) is plain STUPIDITY.
Pleasw writers and producers at least try to make the story threads acceptable.

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Ian
I agree with you. In the first place, the commander and his second in command shouldnt both go on a mission like that, and second, there was no way that they were going to get enough ice out of the deal to make it worth the risk involved! And to top it all off, how in the hell did they plan to get a sufficient quantity of ice back to the Stargate before Eli sent the sled dohickey through? That made it even more stupid. Were they just planning on standing back and throwing snowballs through the Stargate? Were they to far away to send the shuttle, which at least could have held a decent amount of of ice, and would have been safer than hiking cross country in a million year old space suit. Was there any mention of using the shuttle and I just missed it? So, yea, this was lazy, unimaginative writing.
As for the "sand creatures", Johansen obviously wasnt scared of them and thought they were trying to communicate with her, so why didnt she seek them out and try and see if they could communicate, instead of sending Insubordinat Sgt. to look for them with a flame thrower? That was only slightly less provacative than angry villagers with torches. We all know how effective a means of communication that usually is. Anyway, I"m wondering if the sand creatures werent already aboard Destiny before our band of heroes even arrived. Maybe they were dormant of something.
And even though I am starting to like him, Young has been a very weak and ineffective leader so far. His second in command is always off on a booty call whenever Young wants him, and never gets called on it, Greer pretty much does as he damn well pleases, though he does seem to respect Young, and the thieving, riot inciting marine that was in the brig suffers little consequences from being a constant pain in the ass. Do you think Gen. Hammond, Gen. O'Neil or Col. Shepard would put up with all this nonsense? Any one of them would snap these guys back in line with just a look, because they have gravitas, they have command authority. Young doesnt. Johansen does, though. Thats an intriguing development.


On a positive note, it was nice to see Rush tell Eli to stop sniveling and acting like a child. I like Eli, but he can be a bit whiney at times.

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The swirly things reminded me of the tiny light creatures SG1 came across once before. They did not attack if you didn't.

These things did not attack TJ because she made no threatening moves. The guy they did attack shot them! They helped Scott in exchange for a ride. Obviously they had probably used all the water on the sand planet and hoped they would have the opportunity to get to a planet with more water.

As far as using the shuttle to get ice, that would be tricky. Just because you are in Stargate range does not mean you can fly the shuttle to the planet load up on the supplies you need and get back before the ship leaves without you. The Stargate can take you from planet to planet in a blink of an eye. Like going from Earth to Mars in a half a second. Try flying a shuttle from here to Mars I am pretty sure it takes a few days. The Destiny only stops for a few hours. The shuttle is not always an option.

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I think they were nasty on the ship because they've seen a few Eps of this series and realize it sucks.

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I too figured them for nanites, or nanomachines but I was just waiting for them to go Replicator. Remember how the "sand" was starting to take the shape of Johansen's face ? That's something the more evolved Replicators were doing. Anyway, just keep that in your back pocket.

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The shuttle probably wouldn't have worked. remember that the ship seems to be jumping from galaxy to galaxy, so when it stops in a galaxy it shows the planets in range of the stargate. the range is a long damn way, so if there is only one or two planets in range there is nothing to say the planets are any closer then halfway through the galaxy they are in at the time. so even if the shuttle could go to hyperspace, there is no way they could make it to most of these places in the few hours they have.

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stargate universe is the first show that make me wont more commercials, and i hate commercials. please take this mistake off the air. the actors my be good people, the writers have no idea what we as stargate fans wont. I hope i was nice, it took every thing in me not to say the show sucks big one, glad i stopped my self, aren't you. i wont watch this show any longer, i have better things to do, like stabbing my self in the neck with a catfish. good luck, you need it. Edward w brooks.

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From day one the show (SUCKS) What else needs to be said. Oh, yeah, go team.

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