General Discussion & Recap/Review Thread: SGU Episode 01 - “Intervention”

[Overmind One]

WELCOME!

I think this episode was one of the best ones in Stargate Universe, and actually one of the best ones in the whole Stargate franchise, too. It had it's intensity, it had a good, working B-plot that left viewers wondering wether it was true or just imagination, and it set the events of Season 2 in motion with Lucian Alliance as prisoners on Destiny and with Chloe's healing abilities.

Say whatever you want, but this worked for me. Of course, when you watch it with hate in your mind instead of going with open mind, you only try to spot the bad things and don't give any merit to the things you actually liked. SGU deserves a chance.

WELCOME, Osiristi!



This isnt a hate site, but you can see that for yourself. As far as giving SGU a chance, there are only about 100 active members on this site. Hardly responsible for the utter failure of the show. I get it that you like the show, and at least 1.17 million liked it enough to watch it Tuesday night. But the reality is that it needs a bit more than half a million more viewers to be at the bare minimum for it to survive this season and hope for a third.

Its good you enjoyed this episode, but at least 20% of those who liked the season finale of season 1 did not watch the premiere. Even less than the second to the last episode, Incursion Pt 1.

For me, it has nothing to do with Chloe or TJ's baby or the Faith planet. I want to watch science fiction, not a soap opera on a spaceship. These people would not be my friends or associates in real life. If I encountered anyone like them, I would avoid them. I imagine the majority of people who did not watch it rejected it for the same reason. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks its as awesome as you do, but thats not our fault.

Welcome to the site!

 

[Gatefan1976]

My comments are in blue



What other opportunities?

Cheers, buddy.

Grr, that makes it hard (the "in quote blue bits" that is)
As I said, most of the opportunities were written out "on screen" I was merely pointing out other opportunities Rodney had. I'm not saying they were handled "right" (cause, honestly, I think they wern't), just that some other opportunities did exist.

Cheers mate

 

[agent509]

Great review, and this episode was really an all-time bad. The whole subplot had no point and was just used to use up time. It did not leave me wondering anything. The whole episode was just plain bad. Acting was as usual awful, and of course, nothing could be seen.

 

[SexyDexy]

Great review, and this episode was really an all-time bad. The whole subplot had no point and was just used to use up time. It did not leave me wondering anything. The whole episode was just plain bad. Acting was as usual awful, and of course, nothing could be seen.

You know, I've been thinking about this, after it was pointed out earlier how Ming Na's performance seemed so overacted, and I think the acting stands out as especially bad because we, the viewers, just don't care. While I think BJS is a terrible actor, I think Carlyle, LDP, and Ming Na, and some of the others are actually quite good. The problem is, they can look really bad when their performance fails to elicit an emotional response from the viewer.

Take Ming Na's crying over TJ's baby, for example. Looking at Ming Na crying as its own segment, disconnected from anything else - she looks realistically upset, to a level one might expect under the circumstances. But, the viewers a) don't care about her character much, b) didn't care about the baby, c) feel no tension/danger in the episode - so we are watching and thinking WTF what a cry baby, you know?

Anyways, don't know if that was confusing, but it made sense to me - I think the acting looks much worse because we just don't care about the characters. Also, it is hard for any actor to deliver on ridiculous lines.

 

[Rac80]

Chloverine!

It was pretty bad. Some stray thoughts.

It sure looks like the SGU writers still have not figured out the idea that the easiest way to write good scripts from episode to episode is to fully think everything out first. It's ironic that they want SGU to be a Stargate/BSG because in its early seasons BSG was extremely well written and SGU is not - not even close.

If you want to see how a season premiere SHOULD be made, look at the BSG Season 2 premiere (Scattered). It is tightly written and logically follows up on the prior season events while advancing the main and secondary plots. Alas the writing stayed good until roughly the 11th episode of the season then it fell off a cliff.

As to Ginn, she had little screen time so it's hard to see what she is supposed to be. If she is to be a Kaylee clone (and I loved the character of Kaylee on Firefly - she was the girl you really wanted to be with), what on earth is she doing with the LA? A big part of the "Kaylee appeal" is her innate goodness and warmth. Terms I find it hard to attach to the Lucian Alliance.

It's really hard to find redeeming qualities in this episode. As already noted there was no sense of peril, and the fact that the established characters are so unlikeable makes it worse - no sense of danger to people you find it really hard to root for anyway. That is the end result of the extremely poor job of character building done in S1 (having people so completely defined by their flaws and who do not rise above them) - who cares if these clowns die?

Plus we get "Cloverine". No doubt this is the start of the silly stuff in the previews about Chloe turning all silver or such (if the writers have real guts let her change all the way into an Alien and don't change her back - that'll give Scott a new relationship twist).

I found the only likable characters on SGU are Ginn and Varro (LA), pretty sad eh?

I love the "Cloverine" nickname! (should there be an "h" as in Chloverine?)

I think this episode was one of the best ones in Stargate Universe, and actually one of the best ones in the whole Stargate franchise, too. It had it's intensity, it had a good, working B-plot that left viewers wondering wether it was true or just imagination, and it set the events of Season 2 in motion with Lucian Alliance as prisoners on Destiny and with Chloe's healing abilities.

Say whatever you want, but this worked for me. Of course, when you watch it with hate in your mind instead of going with open mind, you only try to spot the bad things and don't give any merit to the things you actually liked. SGU deserves a chance.

One man's trash is another man's treasure...feel free to use sgpoo for compost in your garden...I do! I would suggest you watch as much sgpoo as you can now while it is still on tv.

 

[tetrion]

The need that the writers and showrunner to hit the reset button by killing all of the Ancients in the Asuran attack on Atlantis effectively prevented them from giving the Earthlings any advanced technology and made the Ancients appear to be royal fools. This could have been prevented by allowing a few of the Ancients to survive the attack, agree to give back control of the city to the Earthlings, and help the Earthlings maintain the operation of the city.

It also would have been fun to have McKay asked the ascended Ancient for ZPM information, and to have the Ancient tell him that he would be a nicer person, if he had sex more often. This is the second or third strongest insult that a man can tell a woman, and it would have been interesting for a woman to tell it to a man.

Back to SGU

All of TPTB have claimed that SGU represents storytelling of serial, rather than episodic, nature. This is nothing new, as it has been used in US television by Babylon 5 in the 1990's and Blake 7 on UK television back in the 1970's. For all of the hype that TPTB have generated about SGU's serial nature, the true story arcs in Season 1 of SGU have been no longer than the average story arc in SG-1 or SGA. Like SG-1 and SGA, there are plenty of episodes of SGU that have appeared to hit the reset button at the end of the episode. I saw zero character development in the episode Pain, and very little in the other episodes. Let me summarize what the Destiny crew now know:

1. How to survive on the Destiny.
2. How to make rudimentary repairs of the ship.
3. How to make a working moonshine still.
4. The basics of interfacing with the chair.
5. The ship recharges by flying into a star.
6. Blue aliens are evil.

Neither the characters nor the audience know:

1. What was the motivation behind the Lucien Alliance attack on the ship?
2. What was the ultimate destination and purpose of the ship?
3. How is the ship to be controlled?

I have been told that some of these questions will be answered in Season 2. It seems to me that some of them should have been answered in Season 1.

Serial my arse... Looks like the producers were thinking of the sugary, tasteless cereals they had for breakfast.
If by serial, they mean drawn out, Soap Opera like storytelling. SGU is by no means serial like B5 or Blake 7, as that would infer that the writers know exactly what's going to happen from start to finish. Mazz even admitted that he'll pull an ending out of his arse as soon as he gets the cancellation memo.

It's soap opera, episodic at best, and paint drying at its worst. Seriously 7 episodes to find out that Rush found the bridge. C'mon!!! Yet in those 7 episodes we'll probably have numerous sex scenes, numerous arguments, a few funerals and teary sappy nonsense. Gawd what's next, a marriage ceremony, followed by someone standing up pronouncing their undying love, and end of scene stares...

 

[SexyDexy]

I found the only likable characters on SGU are Ginn and Varro (LA), pretty sad eh?

Just wait until they do a flashback sequence or stones episode that ruins them! You know, I think Telford is actually coming across pretty well post-brainwashing - like he has real character (it might not last long, tho).

 

[SG-Rocks]

Gawd what's next, a marriage ceremony, followed by someone standing up pronouncing their undying love, and end of scene stares...

Since this show is modelled on Stargate 200 you can certainly expect a wedding ceremony as well.

In fact think of SGU #200. Would you believe #100? How about #30?

 

[sp23]

There are two things about the baby storyline that irk me. First of all, the fact that the producers didn't have the guts to just go there with the tragedy of TJ losing the baby and her life hanging in the balance. I'm assuming this was their intent from the time they introduced the Faith planet which means they were planning a cop-out probably from the time Alaina told them she was pregnant.

The second big complaint I have is that the intrusion of the pastoral scenes into the action taking place on the ship/planet Lightning Strike took me right out of the moment. We get some action: shooting, bad weather, skulking around in complete darkness, and then cozy cabin, lamplight, and warmth and ease. Of course, again, this was planned out to show the contrast between the Destineers and the fight for their lives/the ship and TJ's looming loss of her baby. And perhaps this would have been touching if not for the fact that I don't like getting smacked in the face by a deus ex machina which this so painfully obviously was. It's lazy, sloppy storytelling in my opinion, and an indication that BW's claim of making a darker, grittier show is pure bullshit.

It may have worked better if they had made TJ's story the second episode when the shifts in scenes could have been less jarring. The Destineers story could have been figuring out what to do with the captured LA while the main story was TJ and the baby. I still would have hated the cop-out, but the cuts to Faith wouldn't have been so instrusive and out of place.

 

[ChromeToasterX]

You know, I've been thinking about this, after it was pointed out earlier how Ming Na's performance seemed so overacted, and I think the acting stands out as especially bad because we, the viewers, just don't care. While I think BJS is a terrible actor, I think Carlyle, LDP, and Ming Na, and some of the others are actually quite good. The problem is, they can look really bad when their performance fails to elicit an emotional response from the viewer.

Take Ming Na's crying over TJ's baby, for example. Looking at Ming Na crying as its own segment, disconnected from anything else - she looks realistically upset, to a level one might expect under the circumstances. But, the viewers a) don't care about her character much, b) didn't care about the baby, c) feel no tension/danger in the episode - so we are watching and thinking WTF what a cry baby, you know?

Anyways, don't know if that was confusing, but it made sense to me - I think the acting looks much worse because we just don't care about the characters. Also, it is hard for any actor to deliver on ridiculous lines.

I think you hit it right on the nose. I remember the Rush crying scene in Air, Part 1 and not caring because at that point I knew next to nothing about the character. The writers have done such a bad job on the character development that it is practically impossible to summon any emotional reaction when they are on the screen. In all honesty, I have had a greater emotional reaction to the events onscreen (whether good or bad in terms of writing or performance) than for any of the characters. That undermines all the work the actors are putting into this and just makes the show even worse for the viewer, since they are basically enduring episodes for the sake of enduring them. That's not how television and movies should work.

 

[Joelist]

The other big problem is the main characters all lack any real nobility. They don't rise above their many faults and as such it's REALLY hard to get the viewer to care what happens to them. So, even if they could create a real sense of danger (which they have not thus far) you wind up not caring if the characters survive or triumph (in fact, in some case you wind up rooting for the villain, which is bad news).

 

[deco]

Intervention​

The FINAL Season Premier​

By Rac80​

Synopsis:
The storyline of SGU had the usual A story and B story. The A story was the conflict between the Lucian Alliance (LA) and the people from Earth (I will use the Stargate term Tau’ri for simplicity) for control of the Destiny. The B story was TJ’s dream/hallucination/out of body experience dealing with the loss of her unborn child.
The episode began with a long recap of not just the previous episode but the entire first season.
In storyline A, most of the Tau’ri are put off the ship by Dannic, while Varro is the voice of reason. Those left on the ship are trying to find a way to retake it and survive the next radiation burst from a nearby pulsar. Varro has conflict with Dannic and then is sent to the same planet the Tau’ri are marooned on. Rush saves the day. Storyline B is mostly in TJ’s mind…whether reality or not we do not know, but her body never leaves the ship. She is on the planet from the episode Faith with those that stayed there and her baby daughter (whom she names Carmen). She is told about the life they are building on the planet and how they believe the aliens who made the planet are watching over them. She is told her baby will stay there but she must return to the ship.
The episode has the Tau’ri finally retake the ship after Ginn kills Dannic. They bring the people back from the planet, and imprison the LA that sided with Varro along with the rest of the LA on the ship. TJ awakes and discovers she never left the ship, but sees the same nebula/pulsar in the sky she saw on the planet.


Critique:
The story:
The episode jumped around constantly and I often had to pause and rewind my copy to get a clear idea of what was happening. There were several instances when I couldn’t see how events had happened…how they reached the caves on the planet so quickly, what happened to the other civilians/doctors, how they returned to the ship. It seemed very incoherent at times as usual. Chloe’s miraculous healing was obviously part of the plotline, but was TJ’s? Shortly after abdominal surgery and losing a baby at what 6 or 7 months of pregnancy, she sits up and walks around. I have had abdominal surgery and miscarried at child at 5 months and let me tell you, there is no way you can sit up on your own, much less walk without help for at least a week afterwards from either incident, and if it is both at the same time, I am sure recovery time would be extended. I found Telford’s level of incapacity more believable.
I felt that Ginn repeatedly shooting Dannic spoke of overkill and wondered mildly about their history. She had seemed so passive, so for her to suddenly take a dominating role in the death of their leader seemed out of character. I did find it interesting that Varro seemed to be the only one who understands HOW the stones should really be used: to bring doctors on board to try to save the injured. He really has more sense than the entire USAF at this point! There was an obvious attempt to paint the character of Varro as SGU’s Chakotay, the reasonable rebel who has compassion for his enemy. He was willing to rebel against his own leadership when he felt they were wrong.

Technical aspects:

The lighting (naturally) was horrible whether they were on the ship or either planet. You couldn’t always see what room the scene was supposedly in or who else was in the room. I have often wondered if the bad lighting is a way to disguise the reuse of the sets from SG1 and SGA. There are a couple of hallways that I swear were on a Ha’tak. Scott and Greer on the outside of the ship was the only acceptable lighting there was…you could actually see what was happening. I was surprised to see the cabin TJ was in also suffered from poor lighting, hadn’t the aliens heard of windows? And naturally the Tau’ri arrived on the rocky planet in the dark (almost).

The costuming is a joke as always with SGU. The LA costumes look like something leftover from a Goth party. They are also self-mending; Varro’s jacket and shirt were ripped in one scene (which I did not mind one bit) then were perfect when he showed up on the planet. The clothing of everyone looked rather neat and clean, a few wrinkles here and there, but how do the Tau’ri soldiers keep their uniforms so spiffy? Even the LA women seemed to have brought make up and combs along with them.

Sets were problematic as well, they obviously visited the quarry near Bridge Studies that was used in SG1's Season 7 ep Enemy Mine and it became the planet the Tau’ri were sent to. The supposed Faith planet was a typical Vancouver forest that TPTB had promised us would not be seen in SGU, but I am sure finances played a role in that. The Destiny is obviously cobbled together from bits and pieces of ship sets used in SG1 and SGA, which makes me wonder what exactly the extra budget was spent on.

Shaky cam was there as always, these people don’t understand the phrase “too much of a good thing” do they? Yes, there were a few scenes where it worked, but not in every scene. This added to the incoherence for me. I couldn’t tell what they were trying to emphasize in the scenes.

The performances were all over the place. The new characters were more enjoyable and likable than the old ones. Here are some specifics.
The Tau’ri:
I noticed at the beginning of the episode that David Blue (Eli) has lost some weight and gotten haircut, the only problem with that is his scenes from the previous episode are supposed to flow seamlessly into the new scenes. A wig and padding would have helped for continuity. David also badly over acted in this episode, to portray peril I suppose, but it fell very flat.
Robert Carlyle has also gotten scruffier in the course of what is supposedly one day…his beard was thicker and his hair longer. Unless he had some Miracle-Gro around, the makeup department should have taken care of that. He also doesn‘t seem to be interested in playing the role, it feels like he is just reading his lines.
Alaina Huffman did the best with the material and direction she got. I felt her character was very under played, but I do not know if that was the actress’s choice or the directors. Her losing the baby should have resulted in a highly emotional response (been there done that) not the cold calm shown on screen.
Lou Diamond Phillips (Telford) was finally given something to do and delivered as he always does.
Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Ming-Na, and Elyse Levesque all performed far below the level needed for a daytime soap opera much less a prime time drama. LF, BJS, and EL were all very wooden. BJS was moving in several scenes as if he were constipated, maybe a colonic would help. Ming-Na seemed to be overacting. I was very surprised as she is an excellent actress.

The Lucian Alliance:
Ian Butcher did an excellent job as Dannic portraying a rather over-the-top villain. He is familiar to the audiences of SG1 from his appearance in Beachhead as the Ori Prior. I did not see any over acting on his part, his character was believably nuts.
Julie McNiven played the LA geek Ginn. While she is lovely to see, I had the feeling she was based on Kaylee of Firefly. A young girl who knows more about the technology than anyone else? She is a sympathetic character and did an excellent job. I just do not see her as being a member of the LA.
Mike Dopud was a delight to watch as always. He excellently portrayed a level of compassion not expected to be seen among the LA. His character was believable and interesting to watch. I feel his performance added greatly to the episode. He portrayed Varro’s interest in TJ very realistically, he did not fall to his knees and proclaim everlasting love, he simply expressed a desire she survive. Mike Dopud is the only reason I would watch another episode of this show.
Overall, I see the meshing of these two crews, Voyager-style, with the LA being the nicer and more sympathetic characters. Varro will obviously provide the voice of reason for Young as Chakotay did for Janeway. The benefit of Mike Dopud as eye-candy will only be realized if TPTB kill off all the Tau’ri on the ship.


In conclusion:
This is the usual dreck and drivel I have come to expect from SGU. The constant jumping around, the melodramatic musical montage, horrible acting from actors who should know better; are all symptomatic of what is wrong with SGU. TPTB seem to think that darker and grittier refers to lighting and set quality, not the quality of the writing. The stories are predictable and do not hold my attention at all. I did not wonder at the pulsar TJ saw at the end- it did not convey to me that she was “really” on the Faith planet; I still feel she was only unconscious and her mind provided a form of closure for her. I didn’t really care about any character other than Varro. I actually rolled my eyes as Chloe fingered her healed wounds in the music montage scene (while she was in bed with Scott), I did not feel any interest in how she got so miraculously healed. It was funny to see advertisements for Sanctuary that looked better than the SGU episode I was watching. I also saw several ads for the complete first season of SGU on DVD and Blue-ray and I wondered how they could expect anyone who had seen this horrible show would buy the previous season. The Lunesta (sleep aid) ad placement was very amusing….the episode was definitely a yawner.

I give it 1 star out of 5 (only because Mike Dopud is a delight to watch!)

this is pain full to read

 

[Robbie_Rocket_Pants]

How did the Lucian Alliance manage to get Lt James through the gate? I didn't think her super chebs could only fit through a super gate!

 

[Joelist]

For some reason she looked "smaller" in the premiere...

 

[Robbie_Rocket_Pants]

For some reason she looked "smaller" in the premiere...

I did notice that aswell. I'm not going to speculate though, it's not gentlemanly

 

[Gatefan1976]

My comments are in green, I'm feeling somewhat mellow

There are two things about the baby storyline that irk me. First of all, the fact that the producers didn't have the guts to just go there with the tragedy of TJ losing the baby and her life hanging in the balance. I'm assuming this was their intent from the time they introduced the Faith planet which means they were planning a cop-out probably from the time Alaina told them she was pregnant.

Actually, from what I have read, the "pregnancy" storyline was going to happen to a minor character anyway. The writers just (in a flash of actual intelligence) ran with TJ because AH was pregnant anyway/

The second big complaint I have is that the intrusion of the pastoral scenes into the action taking place on the ship/planet Lightning Strike took me right out of the moment. We get some action: shooting, bad weather, skulking around in complete darkness, and then cozy cabin, lamplight, and warmth and ease. Of course, again, this was planned out to show the contrast between the Destineers and the fight for their lives/the ship and TJ's looming loss of her baby. And perhaps this would have been touching if not for the fact that I don't like getting smacked in the face by a deus ex machina which this so painfully obviously was. It's lazy, sloppy storytelling in my opinion, and an indication that BW's claim of making a darker, grittier show is pure bullshit.

I didn't mind it that much. I agree that it doesn't suit the "tone" of the show they are supposedly trying to make, I do think however that the dichotomy serves a purpose in the series as a whole. I thought the timing choices in ad breaks broke my concentration alot more.

It may have worked better if they had made TJ's story the second episode when the shifts in scenes could have been less jarring. The Destineers story could have been figuring out what to do with the captured LA while the main story was TJ and the baby. I still would have hated the cop-out, but the cuts to Faith wouldn't have been so instrusive and out of place.

I agree 100%
It's like we have said "hurry the fuck up" to TPTB and, in thier infinite wisdom, have said "OK, we'll speed up the interesting stuff and linger on the shit" I just don't get it.

 

[Robbie_Rocket_Pants]

Although I just remembered that James strayed too close to the cave entrance on the planet & was struck by lightning............ I thought that lightning was attracted to metal objects not mammoth objects!

 

[Gatefan1976]

Actually

Although I just remembered that James strayed too close to the cave entrance on the planet & was struck by lightning............ I thought that lightning was attracted to metal objects not mammoth objects!

For what might be the second time in SGU history, "chesty Mcboobs" was wearing proper military attire and not her "check out my rack" outfit. I must admit however, she does know how to wear a "tank top"
(how many pound cannons do you think those tops are hiding)

 

[Robbie_Rocket_Pants]

For what might be the second time in SGU history, "chesty Mcboobs" was wearing proper military attire and not her "check out my rack" outfit. I must admit however, she does know how to wear a "tank top"
(how many pound cannons do you think those tops are hiding)

As the caption on my demotivational poster dedicated to Lt V. James declares "Instant Wood, Because Big Boobs Sell".

........................ Oh shit I just realised, we have gone off topic with our intensely annoying, off-topic wisecracking about Busty McBoob's paps! Must stop that, wouldn't want to upset the applecart now would we :icon_e_wink:

 

[Gatefan1976]

As the caption on my demotivational poster dedicated to Lt V. James declares "Instant Wood, Because Big Boobs Sell".

........................ Oh shit I just realised, we have gone off topic with our intensely annoying, off-topic wisecracking about Busty McBoob's paps! Must stop that, wouldn't want to upset the applecart now would we :icon_e_wink:

Not that far mate, we are discussing the wardrobe choices on the ep, just because it involves a rack does not mean we have gone totally of topic.