Stargate Universe First Impressions

So last Friday saw the premier of the new "edgier" iteration of the extremely long running Stargate franchise. Magically, the first episode (technically the first two, in a double feature effect) magically appeared on my hard drive. Amazing I know, how these things turn out.

Before I start explaining my opinion of this show, I think its probably important to note I have never ever seen an episode of any of the previous god knows how many years of Stargate. I know there have been two TV-series, but that's about as far as it goes. The general concept as I understand it, is there are nice cool looking portals that allow travel across space. Beyond this, I am clueless to its universe and back story.

I must also admit I wasn't expecting SG:U to be as good as it actually was.

For a start, the show really ticks the boxes with casting and writing. Whilst it would be a complete lie to say that every character was interesting, it definitely passed the test. As the first episode, it does a far better job then say, Lost ever did. In particular, a few characters really shine. At the head of this is Robert Carlyle, as Dr, Nicolas Rush. He's played superbly by the excellent Carlyle, and the makers of the show seem to realise just how lucky they are to have the actor. He exactly where he needs to be in each scene, never overtaking it but always a complex presence. That said, at some points the show could feel a little bit... obvious. At the beginning of the episode, people fall through an open Stargate, flying out of it, injuring themselves, trying to figure out where they are. Its a fantastic opening, completely grabbing the attention, but do we really need Dr Rush in the middle of this to observe from above, with a foreboding smile? Carlyle is a good actor; He could have got this across without such a stunt easily. That said, Rush is indeed the best thing about this new show - that's not to say that the other actors are inferior, just that Carlyle is on a whole different level.

Eli Wallace is another character worth mentioning - played brilliantly by David Blue, Eli is our eyes into the episode. And frankly, if you even like sci-fi a little bit you can't help but love Eli. A genius who figures out a near impossible puzzle on a video game, actually put there by Dr Rush, he is contacted by the Stargate programme, and then beamed on to a space ship... from his bedroom. Its a brilliant piece of fantasy-playing escapism, and throughout Eli gets the wittiest lines. Nicely, he's not just used as comic relief. He's the only other person on board who can match Rush's scientific knowledge, and as such is thrust into a position of great importance and power. It's very well done and only serves to make the character more interesting.

The other character that this pilot seems to concentrate on is Matthew Scott. Played by Brian. J Smith, this Lt. is put in charge once the catastrophe takes place and the crew are stranded on the ship. He's played well, but the writing always feels a little flat. Its not bad, and possibly its just in comparison to Eli and Rush, but the character just isn't as interesting at the moment. The rest of the cast all perform brilliantly, but no other characters are really given much time in the limelight. It is only a pilot however, and it will be interesting to see the other characters come to the forefront in subsequent episodes.

The writing and the direction was spot on, perfectly capturing the mystery of the ship and the danger of the situation. I'm keen to see how much the ship will come to feel like home - at the moment it feels very much like the characters are in enemy territory, say compared to the feeling of the Enterprise and its crew.

So we've got these great characters, and a ship millions of light-years away from home. Its a good concept, so lets hope its used well. Next episode will be up for magical acquirement tomorrow...