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STARGATE UNIVERSE |
Dr. Nicholas Rush - Robert Carlyle 1st Lt. Matthew Scott - Brian J. Smith Eli Wallace - David Blue Colonel Everett Young - Justin Louis Chloe Armstrong - Elyse Levesque MSgt. Ronald Greer - Jamil Walker Smith 1st Lt. Tamara Johansen - Alaina Kalanj Camille Wray - Ming Na Telford - Lou Diamond Phillips 
OTHER STARGATE UNVERSE SEASONS Season 1 OTHER STARGATE SERIES Stargate Continuum OTHER TREKS THROUGH SPACE Star Trek The Next Generation Voyager Enterprise Battlestar Galactica Space1999 
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InterventionThe Lucian Alliance have control of the majority of the ship and have put Young and his people onto a desolate planet that is the only one in reach of the ship's stargate. What the Alliance hadn't counted on was the determination of Rush and the other scattered crew that are left behind. The cliffhanger that was left at the end of the first season is pretty well wrapped up in this opening episode, but with enough in the way of twists and turns and tension that it doesn't seem rushed or pushed out of the way. Whilst the gritty violence stuff is carrying on, there is a religious subtext built in as TJ has a vision in her coma that might be simply her battered mind playing tricks or might be something altogether more real and significant concerning the planet created by the mysterious aliens in Faith. Chloe's suddenly healed wound is goin to take some explaining as well. It's an assured, exciting opening that promises STARGATE UNIVERSE has found itself in the off season. It only has to make good on that promise in the coming episodes. TopAftermathRush now has a partial mastery of the Destiny's systems, but has to find excuses for his tinkering. This leads to a shuttle being sent to a nearby planet to pick up nonexistent food and water supplies. When the shuttle crashes the race is on to get the planet's stargate cleared so that the shuttle crew can back aboard with their injured comrade. The situation with the injured man on the shuttle is at the heart of this episode and the show refuses to pull any punches with its harsh storyline, going to places that others woud baulk at. This is the show at its best and if it could pick up some consistency at this level then it would be really memorable. By comparison, the rest of the soap opera storylines pale into the background and even Rush's talking to either himself, a hallucination or a manifestation of the ship takes on a deeper resonance. TopAwakeningThe Destiny comes up behind a ship of similar alien design and docks with it. The new ship turns out to be a ship for seeding worlds with Stargates, but it has been damaged. The investigating team start to fire up systems, but wake up something else other than just ship's systems. This episode goes for atmosphere and tension by having lots of narrow spaces to be explored and a group of aliens that can't be communicated with and might have an agenda of their own if they were about for long enough to talk to. Nothing much actually happens, but the set up is all there and the story is gripping even if it isn't doing a lot and then ultimately fails to deliver on its promise. TopPathogenChloe's leg may have healed, but she is now acting strangely, being found in odd areas of the ship with no memory of how she got there. She is clear of tracking devices, but might be under alien control all the same. Rush decides to use that to his advantage in gaining control over the ship. Meanwhile, Eli has issues with his mother. This is a funny sort of episode that hasn't really got a point. The story just sort of meanders around without going anywhere in particular. Chloe's sort of acting weird and might be a problem, but then she might not. Eli's got issues with his depressed mother not believing who he is when using the communications stones, but that's resolved by giving her a quick trip to Destiny, and the Lucian Alliance survivors get out of the cargo deck, cause a little bit of grief, but nothing too much. The production values remain good and the actors try hard to paste over the cracks that this is insignificant soap operatics with little to nothing to add to the show. TopCloverdaleScott gets infected by a poison from an alien triffid plant that is almost impossible to kill. Whilst the rest of the survey team try to hold off the plants, TJ tries to find an antidote and Scott dreams of his wedding day in a place called Cloverdale which is inhabited by familiar faces. The inner life of characters is something that we often complain about being ignored in science fiction shows, but we might just have to change our opinion following this episode of STARGATE UNIVERSE. Scott is having a fever dream and it is possibly the most deadly dull fever dream that anyone anywhere has ever had. Since the rest of the plot is pure set up to create the fever dream that is a fatal flaw. The alien plants might have been effective had they been on screen for more than a few minutes, but they probably couldn't have saved us from the boredom after all. TopTrial And ErrorColonel Young is losing it. Considering the decisions that he has made and the things that he has done that might not be a surprise, but could there be more to the recurring nightmares of aliens attacking the ship and destroying it than simply frayed nerves? The big money shot of this episode is the fiery destruction of the Destiny by the attacking aliens, so it is not surprising that it is seen more than once in this variation on the GROUNDHOG DAY theme. Nothing that the Colonel does makes any difference, but his deteriorating state is having an effect on the crew. The cause, and resolution, of all this is relatively intriguing even if we have seen stories much like this in other shows quite often, lending a sense of deja vu, but Eli's attraction to one of the Lucian Alliance members is touching (it will end in tears no doubt) and Chloe's slow transformation into an alien also has possibilities. TopThe Greater GoodDestiny comes out of faster than light drive near to a drifting ship. Colonel Young and Rush transfer across to the derelict, but then get stranded. Unwilling to admit that he has control over Destiny, Rush drafts in a colleague from Earth, but the secret still gets out, leading to an even bigger revelation. There is a signal buried in the very fabric of reality that suggest a higher intelligence at work. Is this the voice of God? It's what Destiny was sent out by the Ancients to find out and what Rush believes is worth trying to keep everyone stranded on Destiny to investigate. Now that the secret is out that Rush can control the Destiny the future of the series is in doubt. Up until this point, everyone has remained aboard because they have had no choice. Now we will need to find out how they will justify continuing on the mission rather than dropping everyone off at home and then starting out with a fresh new and willing crew. The main thrust of the plot with Young and Rush stranded and Rush trying to keep his secret is perfectly fine, but hardly stellar (no pun intended) and the fact that it leads to yet another punch up between the two is just getting a bit repetitive. The show is at a tipping point and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. TopMaliceSimeon of the Lucian Alliance kills Rush's girlfriend's mind in the body of Eli's girlfriend before hitting the armoury and escaping onto a barren planet. Rush sets out in revenge and Young sends his men to try to take Simeon alive. It seems that no happiness can last on STARGATE UNIVERSE as Eli's girl is killed the very episode after the two of them get together. After that, it's a bunch of people wandering around the desert shouting at each other and being shot, which proves to be not all that interesting at all. The way in which Rush finally manages to deal with the militarily trained Simeon is inventive at least, but the relentless grimness is starting to become wearing. TopVisitationDestiny drops out of Faster Than Light travel and the crew are astonished to find a perfect shuttle alongside with the colonists that they left behind on an alien planet aboard. As Young tries to determine how they came to be there and what they might be, they start to die of causes that just aren't possible. For a story that aims to be asking big questions about faith and awe, this story fails to come up with any answers and bores the pants of the audience whilst it does so. Are the people aliens, are they miracles, are they dead, are they exactly what they seem? By the time that we find out it really is hard to care any more. The main impact of the plot is on TJ and what it means for the baby she believed she had left with these people and Alaina Huffman gives a very good performance. There is also a nice moment between Chloe and Greer that makes her slow change into something alien all the more tragic. Unfortunately, these are just moments amongst the shapeless morass of the rest of the episode. TopResurgenceIn a graveyard of ships, Destiny encounters alien probes that attack and come close to crippling it. They are saved by a seed ship under the command of David Telford, thought dead. He is now in communication with the Ursini who want the Destiny's help in destroying the drones forever, but can they be trusted? There's plenty of action in this episode with the drones attacking the ship not once, but twice, but it all seems a bit contrived, especially Telford being able to talk to the Ursini and finding a story that explains their presence and keeps him alive. The twist of the Ursini betraying the crew is a nice one, but since this is the first part of a longer story, it doesn't have a satisfactory ending. TopDeliveranceThe crew of Destiny find a way to disable the drones long enough to destroy the command ship, but there are more on the way; a lot more. In order to escape before they arrive, a desperate plan is put into operation. This will either lead to a cure for Chloe or a painful death at alien hands. STARGATE UNIVERSE returns from its midseason break in the heart of a space battle, but that is dispensed with in the first few minutes and there is a typical quiet plotline involving the recovery of a dead drone and the handing over of Chloe to the aliens that first infected her before the attacking aliens return for the tense climax. It's a smart, well put together episode that allows for human drama in amongst the special effects. Anyone new to the show will not be able to enter at this point because of the backstories that are needed to be known, but for fans of the show it all comes together well and leaves matters in a good place to move forward. TopTwin DestiniesEli has calculated a way to make a Stargate connection back to Earth from within a star, but as Destiny manouevres into position a radio signal is received from Rush, a Rush from a future where the crew has been killed. Apart from borrowing a plot that has been used before with crew members coming back in time to warn of disaster, this is a smart and tense episode that contains large scale destruction and more intimate character drama. Using one Destiny from a different timeline to provide much needed spare parts is a clever idea that messes with your head, but not as much as watching Rush annoy himself. TopAlliancesTwo of Destiny's crew use the communication stones and find themselves trapped in Stargate Headquarters with a Lucian Alliance bomb that is about to destroy Washington. The communication stones that allow people to instantaneously inhabit other people's bodies has always been one of the get out features of the show, allowing the action to move beyond the confines of the ship back to Earth and allowing Destiny access to anything that it needs from Earth. Here, it provides a tense and deadly situation for Greer and Camille, but it's a tense and deadly situation that feels manufactured and false and so fails to ratchet up the suspense in the way that it should. Guest appearances by Kathleen Quinlan and French (3rd ROCK FROM THE SUN Stewart are just distractions. TopHopeWhilst waiting for news from Earth, Chloe becomes infused by the spirit of Eli's dead girlfriend. What does this mean for Chloe and can Ginn be saved without harming her? One of the other crewmembers needs a serious operation with no surgeon available. Completely out of the blue, STARGATE UNIVERSE comes up with resonant episode that demonstrates just what the show is capable of. This is a story about people and the technology plays a supporting role to that. There are choices to be made, hard ones and people will be called on to do more than they feel capable of, but it is beautifully written and excellently acted with only moment of narrative excess (involving park benches of all things). The cast rise to the occasion, but not in a flashy way and the conclusion is satisfying if bittersweet at best. TopSeizureRush's girlfriend, now a consciousness within the ship's computer, show him how to join her, but when it is time to leave, he finds it impossible. The team on Earth have found a way to dial up to the Destiny directly on the Stargate, but can't get the authorities of another planet to agree, so stage a desperate mission. Following on from last week's story, this takes an old idea (trapped inside an artificial reality construct) and makes it fresher by adding in the STARGATE UNIVERSE spin. This means that you can see the twists coming, but don't mind so much. The secondary story of a military operation to take the facility that can dial up the Destiny's stargate is much harder to believe, though the use of the communications stones is clever. TopThe HuntVisiting a woodland planet, TJ is taken by an indigenous creature for its larder. Young is forced to call up on the help of the Lucian Alliance prisoners, but who exactly is hunting whom? A simple, stripped down story that isn't worried about plot arcs, but just gets on with the job of telling a compelling tale continues the improvement of the show. It's a familiar story, but it allows the characters to interact in their own ways within the structure to make it feel fresh enough. The support story of Rush torturing Eli for fun with a stasis pod is unsastisfying and the love story that supports the support is sweet, but ultimately unkind. TopCommon DescentDestiny encounters a community of people who claim to be descendants of the crew. The return of the drones forces them all to share the ship's dwindling resources on a trip to a home planet that might just be dead. The story of a ship's crew meeting their descendants is a far from new one, but the STARGATE UNIVERSE spin on it is good enough for it not to scream out that it's all been done before. The simple wonder and awe at the event is something that is often missed in other versions and so is welcome here. It can't hide the fact, however, that nothing much is happening here and even the reappearance of the drones seems to be nothing more than a plot contrivance to get the crew to take the settlers along. TopEpilogueOn the shattered home planet of their descendants (sort of) the crew of Destiny try to save the entire knowledge of a race whilst geological instability threatens to destroy the subterranean storage area. The story of the race to download the information database from the decaying planet's surface is merely a framing device. This episode is all about the flashbacks to the past, the story of the alternative Destiny crew as their fight for survival turns to a story of colonisation, a story that bodes well for some and not for others. This frontiersland story is told with far more effect than it ought to have, revealing how much the audience actually has invested in the show's characters. The sense of time and place (admittedly the future masquerading as the past and a distant planet masquerading as the American west) is nicely evoked and the special ageing makeup is extremely well executed. If the show had been this well-worked from the start then it might have gained more of a following a lot faster. TopBlockadeThe drones have worked out which stars Destiny needs to use for refuelling and have mounted blockades of each of them. Eli works out a plan that will either solve the problem or destroy the ship. The crew have to disembark, leaving only a couple of people to run the risks. This episode runs well enough whilst you are watching it, but when it's over it becomes clear that it didn't amount to very much. The scenes on the planet surface where the foraging parties in the dead city are threatened by a couple of drones have a certain amount of tension, but are over soon enough and don't add anything to the plot. Much better is the story of Eli and Rush on the ship, but once again whilst it is exciting it fails to amount to very much after the fact. Still, the fact that it can be so watchable whilst not amounting to much shows a certain amount of improvement from the start. TopGauntletTo fight their way through the drone blockades of the stars they need to refuel Destiny isn't an option. Eli comes up with the plan of putting everyone into stasis and the ship on an extended FTL jump to the next galaxy. It'll take three years, but they won't notice. Until, that is, the pods start to fail. You can tell a lot about a show by its final episode and so it should be fitting enough that the final episode of STARGATE UNIVERSE is an uneven affair. The diversion play to get the metal resources they need provides the action of the episode, but it feels shoehorned in to make sure that there is some action rather than a seamless part of the story. What this is really about is saying goodbye and as such there is a lot of dignity about it, not least in the remarkably good last ten minutes that leaves one almighty cliffhanger for one of the show's best-loved characters. It's also about failure, about having to turn and run and there's a sense of that about the show. How ironic it is that it was cancelled just as it was starting to find its stride. STARGATE UNIVERSE always wanted to be BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but failed to ever reach those heights. It moved too far from its parent shows to keep that audience. It aimed high and fell short, but was an honourable attempt and that possibly sums up this last episode as well. Top |
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