Kastang Ramblings of a Geek

My Thoughts on SGU Season 1

NOTE: Season 1 and Season 2 spoilers in this post. Read at your own risk.

SGU 1.0

The first half of SGU was rough in my opinion. I had high expectations for the series even before it aired (which is always a mistake). After watching Air 1/2/3, it was obvious to see SGU would be darker then either SG1 or SGA was. I was fine with that. In fact, I was excited to see a sort of BSG themed Stargate series. After the premier though, things started to go down hill. My main issue was the overuse of communication stones. They took too much from issues surrounding the Destiny too early in the series. The communication stones should have existed only for emergencies (if at all). At times I felt as if I was watching a Lifetime drama during the extended Earth based communication stone scenes. The overuse of the communication stones almost seemed like the writers could not figure out how to write 45 minutes of material without filler space. Some episodes such as Time, were absolutely horrible. SG1 and SGA have both successfully mastered time travel, SGU has failed horribly in this regard. Near the end of Season 1.0, things started to fall into place. In particular Justice. Justice was a very well written episode that would later fuel events in Season 1.5. Most importantly the episode had an amazing cliffhanger. I think this episode alone is what kept quite a few viewers coming back after the mid season break.

Best Episode: Justice
Worst Episode: Time

SGU 1.5

I was happy to see SGU make a comeback after a rocky start. I believe it was a combination of the lesser use of the communication stones, the formal introduction to an alien enemy (and a damn cool looking one at that), space battles, and conflicts between Camile and Young that really had me hooked until the finale. One of my favorite episodes in the entire season was Human. Human showed the much needed background of Rush. It showed how much he sacrificed to get where he is today. It also shows an explanation as to why he is not bothered about never returning to earth again. I believe some episodes should have been extended to more then a single episode, and some events should have been better explained though (see below).

The finale is what really brought the entire season together for me. The revelation of the brainwashes Telford and the invasion of the Lucian Alliance was not expected at all. One important event that I believe will carry into next season is the portrayal of how truly horrible Young is as a military leader. With Telford physically on the ship now (and apparently surviving, see  the Season 2 trailer below), I can imagine him taking over command of the Destiny. I would imagine some of those loyal to Young (Greer, Scott) would try to keep Young in power but would eventually be over powered by civilians and other military personnel. I am not quite sure if Telford taking control would be a good or a bad thing yet as we have never really met the non-brainwashed version of Telford until very recently. Yet again, Stargate pulls out a great cliffhanger (though this one I think is more predictable then the mid-series finale) for the finale.

Things I would like to see next season:

Longer Story Arcs!
The episode “Faith” should not have only consisted of only a single episode. The background of the episode was great: A solar system with a habitable planet that should not exist. If that wasn't enough, there was a man made structure on the planet that conclusively proved that some form of advanced alien live was on the planet before. I understand that the Destiny only had limited time before jumping back into FTL, but it wouldn’t have been impossible to show a few flashbacks of those who decided to stay on the planet. I hate to say it, but perhaps leaving a communication stone behind wouldn't have hurt either. It would have been interesting to see if the aliens ever came. If they did were they friendly or did they brutally murder everyone on the planet? I hope this episode is revisited sometime Season 2.

The Fate of Franklin
Franklin was probably my favorite sub plot so far in SGU. I was shocked to see Franklin vanished after he used the chair. My original reasoning was the ship helped him ascend, but later I realised that would be very unlikey because the ship is millions of years old and Ancients did not have the ability to ascend that many millions of years ago. My second thought was he was integrated into the ships systems. While this is still possible, I would have assumed he would have made some sort of an appearance especially during the invasion of the Lucian Alliance. I had a little hope when the Lucian Alliance member was disintegrated. I thought it was Franklin helping the crew protect the Destiny, but later it was because of the Gamma star and failing shields.

This is a topic that absolutely must be brought up next season. There is no way the writers can just write Franklin off by having him disappear.

Chloe
Chloe needs a clearly defined purpose to be considered a main character. In my opinion Chloe should have been background character from the beginning. During the entire duration of the first season, I can recall one episode where she actually served any type of real purpose. If the writers can not work her into the story in a meaningful way, she should be knocked off the show.

Season 2 Teaser Trailer (SPOILERS):

The Season 2 teaser trailer for SGU was released last week at Comic-Con. The trailer looks very promising, though it does ruin a significant amount regarding this seasons cliffhanger ending.

I have picked out the following bits of information from the trailer: (SPOILERS BELOW)

• All of the Earth crew leave the Destiny (presumably they are forced out at the beginning of the season) but somehow regain control of the ship again.
• Rush finds the real bridge. It appears he is not going to tell anyone about it though. Good to see Rush is staying in character.
• Greer, Telford, Chloe, and TJ  survive the end of Season 1.
• More Camile Communication Stone drama.
• Chloe is infected with some Alien bug that is changing her DNA.
• Rush is working on a highly complicated puzzle (maybe linked to him finding the bridge).
• Rush says: "Ultimately I control this ship" - Maybe a reference to another Mutiny episode.
• Young may be forced out of leader of the Destiny.

Season 2 looks like it has a good amount of action associated with it. I am disappointed to see more communication stone drama though. I hope it will be kept at a minimum. With this trailer and other rumors floating around regarding alliances, space battles, finding out Destinys real mission, and SGA cast guest appearances. I think this season will make up for the shortcomings of last season plus some.