I always got the impression that the writers behind the Stargate
franchise would really rather do the kind of serious drama that a great TV show
like The Wire is known for: gritty realism, with a dash of the "cinéma vérité"
filmmaking style. But they were stuck working on what was basically a fun SF
popcorn show, instead. The original (and still the best) series, Stargate SG-1,
ably pulled off some hard-core drama every now and then. But the writers fell flat on their collective faces
whenever they tried to inject "dark drama" into the bubblegum sequel series,
Stargate Atlantis--because that show was even more further removed from any
vague notion of "realism," thanks largely to the fact that their heroes were
busy fighting a pack of space vampires.
It's certainly possible to have great drama
in science fiction TV. The original Twilight Zone proved this, as did the recent TV
series remake of Battlestar Galactica. But there’s also a fine line between drama and soap
opera--and Stargate Universe, the third in a franchise which looks to be as
unstoppable as Star Trek itself, has become so much like a soap opera that I’m
surprised the characters aren’t overwhelmed by the suds. The series starts off
very strongly with the three part pilot, called "Air," which shows how members
of a special scientific team, escaping an attack on their base, wind up on a
mysterious spacecraft that was built a millennia ago. Right off the bat, this series is dark (literally, there are no lights aboard
the ship) and mysterious. But the real mystery comes from the characters
themselves; many of whom have their own agenda.
A good example of this is Dr. Rush, who’s extremely well-played here by Robert Carlyle. Rush reminds me of a far more malevolent
Dr. Smith from Lost In Space--and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Unlike
the rest of the stranded team, Rush clearly enjoys being aboard the ancient ship,
which is called Destiny. And he may well be working against the efforts of the
others to find their way home. Justin Louis is also very good as the
understated Colonel Young. Young is a more
thoughtful, laid-back commander, and is a welcome change from the more driven,
"macho" heroes of recent SF series. The scenes of the crew struggling to survive life aboard a rickety old spaceship
are superb, and riveting to watch--such as the gripping aero-braking sequence at the end of "Darkness."
Also, the absence of
the clichéd ‘alien baddie of the week’ plotline is a superb notion, and
Stargate: Universe runs with it, coming up with plenty of fascinating conflict
within the crew itself. But where they stumble very badly is in the body
switching technology that Rush just so conveniently happens to bring along with
him. This technology enables the stranded characters aboard the ship to return
to earth by "swapping souls," so to speak, with volunteers back on earth. First
off, if it’s established that Rush wants nothing more than to be left alone
aboard Destiny, then why should he be eager to initiate contact with earth? This
act goes against his character. Secondly: if you’re going to write a series about
a stranded crew, then let’s see them being truly stranded--have them completely
cut off from earth, with no help, and no communications whatsoever.
This sort of
pressure cooker environment would be perfect to toss a group of characters into
and see how they broil. But I guess the Stargate writers don’t want to be that gritty, now, do they?
If only the writing was on par with that of the Battlestar Galactica revival,
a series that made you care about its characters while avoiding the soap
opera pitfalls, these visits back to earth might mean something. Another really annoying thing is that the DVD set contains only the first
ten episodes of the first season--which was an irritating marketing ploy
that the Stargate franchise had always avoided, until now. Even when SG-1
and Atlantis were getting cut in half by the SyFy Channel, their seasons
were still complete when released on video. Still, there's major potential
in SGU--if nothing else, it's creative team deserves kudos for trying something
new--and since the series has been renewed for a second season, here’s hoping the
writers can get it on track.
--SF
