TVSquad

With that pesky business of putting the kibosh on season six of Atlantis out of the way, Sci Fi is now ready to announce that they are giving the Stargate Universe project a green light. The show will kick off with a two hour movie early next year and transition to a regular series for the summer. Creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper will be the executive producers.

Universe will follow a new cast of characters on the adventure that comes after they explore a ship launched by the Ancients, Destiny. The reconnaissance mission takes a dramatic turn when they discover that the ship can never return to Earth. They are along for the ride as the ship carries on with it's pre-programmed navigational schedule. The adventure comes during periodic stops at stargates. The danger is that if anyone is left behind, there is no way to go back for them.

A few items of interest this month in the world of Stargate. First, it has been revealed that Nicole de Boer has been cast in an upcoming episode of Stargate Atlantis. Boer, who played Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone, will play Dr. Alison Porter in an upcoming episode of the fifth season. Porter will be a "cute nerd" (are there any others) who strikes up a friendship with the guest-starring Carson Beckett.

While we are on the subject of the female sex (get your mind out of the gutter, son) further information has been revealed about the first all-woman recon team on Atlantis. The team will be led by Captain Alicia Vega, portrayed by actress Leela Savasta. Vega will appear during the show's season premiere as a new addition to the city's military contingent and may be a recurring character. Joining Vega on the all-woman recon team will be Janina Gavankar as Sergeant Dusty Mehra and Christina Cox (who has been on Stargate as another character) as Major Anne Teldy.

Good gravy, that was bad.

After being rather impressed with Army Wives, I thought the next original offering from Lifetime, Side Order of Life, would offer something just as engaging and worthwhile, but instead I was given a full hour of cookie-cutter characters, lame dialogue and a plot I've already seen in about eight million other TV shows, movies and books.