Stargate Universe cancelled
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http://www.bscreview.com/2010/12/stargate-universe-cancelled-by-syfy/
Honestly I didn't like Universe nearly as much as SG-1 (or Atlantis), but it was the only Stargate still being made
Honestly I didn't like Universe nearly as much as SG-1 (or Atlantis), but it was the only Stargate still being made
Replies
*ducks*
Maybe the mistake was to call it stargate, people were probably expecting a more SG1 style show, with a diffrent situation everytime they step though the gate and a slight over arching plot.
Tbh I like shows with a strong plot running though the entire thing. Anywayz not much sci fi left.
It was my favorite show on TV. I am beyond disappointed. When they spent a few minutes in the pilot and first few episodes using real science...describing orbital paths, trajectories, delta-V, carbon sequestration I knew it was a show I could enjoy. Great production design, and cinematography. No silly "rubber forehead alien of the week", just humans being humans...which means assholes and heroes, in space.
Oh, well now SyFy can dedicate more programming hours and money to stupid bullshit like Professional Wrestling, and worse-than-Ed-Wood "SyFy original" monster schlock.
Fuck that network.
main problem was it was VERY slow picking up and they went way to drama soapy for a stargate series
hay who knows maybe they can get to work on the SG Atlantis movies they promised.
Edit: even know i didn't like the series that much... still brings back memories of when they canceled Farscape *grumbles, and mutters under his breath* so that does suck for the people who actually liked SG Universe
But not sad that it was a shitty show. Sorry scoobs. I watched about 5 episodes and it was just absolutely abysmally boring. The main doctor guy is incredibly freaking annoying.
Personally I tried watching a bit of it in the first season and it really was a bore to follow. The entire premise of being stuck on a ship and using other peoples bodies on Earth also seemed kinda ridiculous and it was a bit hard to grow any attachment or familiarity with anything.
What was the problem with Atlantis anyway? Seemed like that show had potential and at least got off the ground as a reboot.
To quote myself:
EDIT: Acting was "OK" for series. I would not expect anyone to do sick ass job for a TV series, especially when you know they have spent alot of money on the equipment and not in the actors.
I thought this was easily the best of the Stargate serials, it was dark and uncomfortable with a cast of broken people distrustful of each other due to being stuck in a horrible situation. It was very human and realistic rather than golden and hokey; so often in scifi everyone is trying too hard to be cool that it just devolves into pure soap opera sacchirine, one step removed from housewife daytime tv, cept for geeks.
Ach well, thats the way with quality I guess, no one appreciate its difference. I guess I can see folks point about pacing, but I have a pretty decent attention span so I enjoyed that.
Right there with ya, Kevin!
Each of the shows I list here had some glaring flaws of course, but they all had a long story arc as well as short arc's that worked within the long arc and thats something I enjoy a lot.
It does seem that audiences as a whole have no tolerance for these longer running stories with more human characters though as all these shows were cancelled!!!
Of course, being older and wise than I used to be in regard the biz world, its clear that more so than the audiences, the suits that run the studios have an even lower tolerance for the things I consider the hallmarks of quality
You know, the best tv show ever on TV was The Wire and its ratings were terrible for most of the 5 seasons, but they had HBO execs on their side and they cared about quality rather than ratings. The Wire is a worldwide phenomenon now, instantly went to the top of the charts and has stayed there in the UK and I expect it will continue like this with each new country it travels to.
David Simon said in one of the interviews he did in the wake of the show finishing that the problem with tv writers and shows today is that no one has anything to say, its not even considered that they should!
Most shows sit down and create based on a simple formula of adding X to Y. They then wait to see what the audience wants more of, X or Y and then they add or subtract as necessary to keep their attention! This is why shows like , oh, lets say Heroes for instance, radically change up the status quo each season as they blindly bounce between X and Y trying to appease people.
So in general, I either look for shows that have something to say or at least know what they are and are honest about it. Stargate Universe had a couple of things to say, it certainly seemed to know how it was, its just a shame that most watching it did not, I was amazed they cast Robert Carlyle, he hates scifi and fantasy and needed someone to teach him how to say the big words, but casting folk like that really made the show seem fresh.
Ach, I'll stop whining now!
To anybody who didnt like the show, or never saw it, I'd recommend at least checking out the first season episode "Time". One of the best hours of sci-fi TV in decades, IMO. Lots of action, human moments and drama, a smart storyline and an ending that trusted the audience to figure it out for themselves.
Modern audiences have no patience for subtlety or unclear motivations. They want the good guys (who wear light colors) and the bad guys (who wear black). They want the heroes to spout one-liners, while always defeating the bad-guys in the end. Oh, and lots of slow-motion explosions. (SGU still had its fair share of that as well lets not forget)
As a couple people in this thread have said...there were no/few aliens and thats what "the kids" want is to see. Big, weird, evil, scary aliens...and then kill them. They can't possibly be entirely alien forms of life(I mean Alien in the truest sense of the word), who's motivations are unknowable because...while intelligent and realistic, most people find that "slow and boring" rather than thrilling, and stimulating(as I do). I loved the intelligent swarm of dust particles.
I loved LOVED the character of Dr. Rush. Such a flawed person, not a villain, not a hero, just a very tortured human.
I hadn't mentioned it anywhere, since I didn't want to make any public noise until I was further along, but I was doing a UDK project based on SGU and the Destiny. I'm torn now as to whether or not to continue. At least now I'd be less likely to get a cease and desist I think...
In a genre that always pushes the notion of each person being the best of the best, here was a group of folk that really should not have been on the mission.
wankers
and this and this! and this!!
There seems to be a lot more Sci-Fi that gets made with the Sci-Fi/Horror story arch in mind. Which is actually horror with some greeble-fied sci-fi props. People mix up the two genres all the time and what's worse is writers create horror, the execs strip out the gore, marketing pedals it as sci-fi leaving the rest of us to sift through the piles of junk looking for actual sci-fi.
I can't really get mad at the horror fans who think sy-fy is Sci-Fi because there is so much garbage to sift through. They rarely come into contact with it and when it does its different and weird, it stimulates other naughty bits and they feel ashamed... Let the good sci-fi diddle your brain, its ok it won't cause you to go blind or grow hair on your palms.
I love a good mindless horror flick like I love a good steak but not once its been through the modern meat grinder, mixed with garbage and served from a gut truck on the side of the road.
I had written off SG as more Sci-Fi/Horror without the gore. But you guys have convinced me to check it out... even if it makes me sad they canned it.
Rush was a great character, its not often you have someone so machiavellian as the lead. The problem was the constant conflict with the other character ended up making me hate everyone but rush especially the military guys.
I thought it was an interesting dynamic for a tv show and the internal conflict was at the heart of most episodes but I can see how it might have been hard for some people to get it when they are expecting to like the gung ho military dudes. Shows like the Wire and OZ really play on audiences stereotypes so people can identify with the characters immediately, the writers can then go and develop the characters over time from a good starting point. SGU tried to be too clever at the beginning making the characters too complex too soon.
Ah hellllll nah. BSG was one of the best damn scifi series ever.
Satire? Humor? Really? Regular Stargate is straight up retarded. It's scifi for the A.D.D audience. No consistency, rhythm or feeling.
Now you're going too far. Just because it wasn't trying to be a soap opera in space doesn't mean it was without feeling. Not every show can or should be BSG.
Sometimes sci-fi really is at its best when things are exploding all the time.