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...
Monday, 5 October 2009
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Steamfair nostalgia Trip
Rather than re-start my blog with anecdotes of the beginnings of my life at University (to sum it all up - awesome) I thought I could start with something a bit more interesting. Last night, me and my friends decided to brave the increasingly cold weather to visit a local funfair on Englefield Green. If you don't know the area I'm living in, its simply like old countryside England. There is a green with cricketers, and a pub overlooking it. I'm sure if I got up early enough I could go out there in the morning and find merry old people cycling past on flimsy bicylces, wishing everyone a good morrow. Anyway, suffice to say it is extremely idyllic.
So to then find tucked into the green, a lit up tiny funfair, pretty much explodes the stereotype-o-meter. For it to get even better is beyond expectations. And yet...
It was a Steam-Fair.
This means that rather than the usual rickety dangerous looking rides, countless stalls full of greasy undefined meat and squealing children, we are instead greeted with rickety, really dangerous looking rides, covered in paint and decoration, heavy oiled steel chugging out plumes of steam to keep it going. Colourful stalls full of undefined meat and sweets. It was fantastic. Even the squealing children were bearable. Everything is put into such proximity together, everything is covered in a glow, the slightly dull and warm yellow of old gas lamps and light bulbs. Old music blared out from unseen crackly speakers. The effect was such that it felt as if you had just walked calmly through time into another age. My sense of direction was shot to hell within seconds, as far as I was concerned there was nothing outside of this bubble of nostalgia. We bought tokens to use on machines that must be over double our own ages, not to win anything but instead for the sheer novelty. I fished for a duck, and in turn won a penguin named Albert. Or Alfred. It doesn't really matter, I got a bloody penguin.
The friendliness around the carnival was infectious, except for one situation. My friend, on losing the fishing duck game, tried to fish for another duck. The man literally leaped over the fencing, grabbed the rod out of my friends hands and yelled "ONE DUCK ONLY!" into his face. We took the tiny rubbish frog and moved on. Quite clearly my friend had broken a cardinal carnie rule, and probably deserved what he got. I don't care, I won a penguin.
The other wondrous thing was seeing the small aforementioned squealing children. The looks of complete joy on their face bought a stark realisation that what they were experiencing would form the memories that would make it such a special experience when they returned at my age. I'm almost jealous that my memories were not of such a brilliant, surreal standard.
We stepped outside of our Victorian paradise only slightly, to view the fireworks. Me and my girlfriend then left and headed back to the halls, as it started to lightly drizzle with rain. The glow from the fair seemed to follow us all the way back, because now as I remember it, everything last night had that sepia-yellow tinge of warmth.
If the reason of coming to university is to prepare for the real world, I can't help feeling I have missed the point utterly.
So to then find tucked into the green, a lit up tiny funfair, pretty much explodes the stereotype-o-meter. For it to get even better is beyond expectations. And yet...
It was a Steam-Fair.
This means that rather than the usual rickety dangerous looking rides, countless stalls full of greasy undefined meat and squealing children, we are instead greeted with rickety, really dangerous looking rides, covered in paint and decoration, heavy oiled steel chugging out plumes of steam to keep it going. Colourful stalls full of undefined meat and sweets. It was fantastic. Even the squealing children were bearable. Everything is put into such proximity together, everything is covered in a glow, the slightly dull and warm yellow of old gas lamps and light bulbs. Old music blared out from unseen crackly speakers. The effect was such that it felt as if you had just walked calmly through time into another age. My sense of direction was shot to hell within seconds, as far as I was concerned there was nothing outside of this bubble of nostalgia. We bought tokens to use on machines that must be over double our own ages, not to win anything but instead for the sheer novelty. I fished for a duck, and in turn won a penguin named Albert. Or Alfred. It doesn't really matter, I got a bloody penguin.
The friendliness around the carnival was infectious, except for one situation. My friend, on losing the fishing duck game, tried to fish for another duck. The man literally leaped over the fencing, grabbed the rod out of my friends hands and yelled "ONE DUCK ONLY!" into his face. We took the tiny rubbish frog and moved on. Quite clearly my friend had broken a cardinal carnie rule, and probably deserved what he got. I don't care, I won a penguin.
The other wondrous thing was seeing the small aforementioned squealing children. The looks of complete joy on their face bought a stark realisation that what they were experiencing would form the memories that would make it such a special experience when they returned at my age. I'm almost jealous that my memories were not of such a brilliant, surreal standard.
We stepped outside of our Victorian paradise only slightly, to view the fireworks. Me and my girlfriend then left and headed back to the halls, as it started to lightly drizzle with rain. The glow from the fair seemed to follow us all the way back, because now as I remember it, everything last night had that sepia-yellow tinge of warmth.
If the reason of coming to university is to prepare for the real world, I can't help feeling I have missed the point utterly.
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