Stargate

[The Doctor]

Stargate: Universe

Well, I watched the pilot. It's trying for a different tone rather than the usual patented Stargate special brand of tosh. Which is fine, we've had 15 television seasons and 2 DVD movies done in that style so time to move on. Unfortunately, this falls between two stools. It doesn't work as tosh and it's very poor drama indeed with a scene involving 'who will die' stretched way beyond the point of credibility and into complete nonsense. Robert Carlye is doing a very good job though and most of the cast are trying very hard to inject some life into it but generally the whole affair felt very generic and lacking in anything distinctive.

-Ralph

[Deleted]

The original movie is the only Stargate thing that I will watch.

[Andy Turnbull]

If they'd just let RC be an amoral bastard it would be fine, but they are trying to give him some back story. Sadly the pilot telegraphed all the subplots for the first series in a rather ham-fisted way.

Also - Lou Diamond Philips why were you there?

Andy

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Oct 9, 2009 21:10:01 GMT @zudobug said:

The original movie is the only Stargate thing that I will watch.

I did watch the first two seasons of SG1 but then dropped it as I was too frustrated at how much less intelligent it treated its audience than the original movie, which is now the only Stargate I will watch.

(Main gripes being the people on other planets speaking English, all the time rather than subtitled Ancient Egyptain dialogue, and the way the plot was always explained by characters for the viewers' benefit rather than tell the story by means of good directing/editing, as exemplified by the almost dialogue-free but plot-twist-dense final 15 minutes of the movie. Oh, and the fact that they got bored of Ancient Egypt having barely scratched the surface, and started introducing other Earth religions at random.)

Have you seen the extended Director's Cut DVD, Zudobug? It soundly beats the cinema version that they keep showing on TV.

Martin

[Bogatan]

Oct 9, 2009 21:10:01 GMT @zudobug said:

The original movie is the only Stargate thing that I will watch.

The only stargate I wont watch.

Nah just kidding, large chuncks of Atlantis more me senseless too.

I find a lot of early SG1 too slow now, but I enjoy a show that is happy to to be fun and 200 will stay near the top of my favourite shows list for a long time I think, I think the season 1 final ep of Dollhouse is the only new episode I've enjoyed more.

I'll enjoy Universe too I'm sure. I do think it's going to take some time to find its tone. I don't want to lose the tosh factor, but I would also like the show to get more desperate as the series progress' unlike say Voyager.

Andy

[primenova]

It started out bit like SGA - but with them landing on a ship instead of base

[Bogatan]

Oct 9, 2009 21:10:33 GMT Andy Turnbull said:

If they'd just let RC be an amoral bastard it would be fine, but they are trying to give him some back story. Sadly the pilot telegraphed all the subplots for the first series in a rather ham-fisted way.

Also - Lou Diamond Philips why were you there?

Andy

Phillips reappears later on. How or why I don't know. I wonder i they are possibly stacking up potential characters to replace RC if he does an Ecclestone.

Oct 9, 2009 21:19:06 GMT Grand Moff Muffin said:

(Main gripes being the people on other planets speaking English, all the time rather than subtitled Ancient Egyptain dialogue, and the way the plot was always explained by characters for the viewers' benefit rather than tell the story by means of good directing/editing, as exemplified by the almost dialogue-free but plot-twist-dense final 15 minutes of the movie. Oh, and the fact that they got bored of Ancient Egypt having barely scratched the surface, and started introducing other Earth religions at random.)

Martin

In fairness they were having to target American television viewers. And no thats not a joke.

I always wished they had simply explained the language thing with the discovery of a universal translator early on. But the Eygptian variety remained the primary G'ould enemy the entire run and got seriously convoluted before they largely got wiped out. For me the show gets better around season 4 I think.

Andy

[The Doctor]

Can't stand the original movie. The appeal of Roland Emmerich films completely eludes me. I enjoyed SG1 as it knew it was nonsense and I appreciated having a show that was just trying to be daft fun. When I wanted my fix of more serious stuff I had other stuff to watch/read/listen to that filled that need.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Oct 9, 2009 21:56:29 GMT Bogatan said:

I always wished they had simply explained the language thing with the discovery of a universal translator early on.

But the whole original premise was about deciphering the language, and the main character in the movie was an Ancient Egyptian language expert. What's the point of it all (and him staying on the team) if there are no foreign languages being spoken and needing interpretation?

For me, anything that is supposed to have a foreign culture 'feel' to it is spoilt if rendered in English, be it Japanese animation, Chinese period costume epics, Russian vampire blockbusters, French classics, you name it. If the makers are lazy and have everyone speak American, it feels like you're in America.

District 9 this summer would have lost all its punch if the aliens had spoken English thanks to some universal translator thingy. And at the other end of the quality spectrum, the Transformers lost all their alien feel in the first live-action film the moment Optimus Prime and co. started talking.

Destroy all universal translators!

Martin

[Bogatan]

Yes but that goes back to American audiences and probably any other audience in the world,the show would not have last 10 episodes if every alien in the show was subtitled. I don't think it's laziness, it's trying to find an audience of at least 2 million people. Theres no point making the greatest show in the world if the pilot is rejected because there wont be an audience for it. Possibly if the show had run on Sci Fi from the start the tone early on might have been more willing to push the sci fi aspect and the viewers might have been more prepared for alien languages but Showtime was the home of cop shows and strong sci fi would likely have not found any viewers. Once the makers found a channel they have to adjust the show to that channel.

Also Daniel Jackson was not brought in to decipher the spoken language of ancient eygpt, that was a lucky plot break. He was there to decipher the writings which is exactly the role he continued in for 9 years.

Cinema is a far more involved experience. There are no distractions and it's easier to take in subtitles.

Andy

[Deleted]

Oct 9, 2009 21:19:06 GMT Grand Moff Muffin said:

Have you seen the extended Director's Cut DVD, Zudobug? It soundly beats the cinema version that they keep showing on TV.

Martin

I first saw it on TV and that prompted me to pick up the DVD a short while later. I don't know whether my DVD is the Directors Cut version or the cinema release.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Oct 10, 2009 18:22:22 GMT @zudobug said:

Oct 9, 2009 21:19:06 GMT Grand Moff Muffin said:

Have you seen the extended Director's Cut DVD, Zudobug? It soundly beats the cinema version that they keep showing on TV.

I first saw it on TV and that prompted me to pick up the DVD a short while later. I don't know whether my DVD is the Directors Cut version or the cinema release.

Does it have the Ra flashback at the start, the fossilised Horus guards and the misunderstanding over the gates being closed for the sandstorm?

Martin

[The Doctor]

Mmmm. Gave second episode of Universe a go and it was much improved.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

The parentals wanted to see it so I saw the pilot again. It's much better on second viewing. I have been instructed to acquire more episodes. Burns Sr, unprompted, did not that it's the same premise as Space: 1999.

-Ralph

[Andy Turnbull]

Heh, something we chatted about when we watched it.

Andy

[The Doctor]

Glad I gave this show another chance. I've went from thinking it was bollocks to quite liking it. Hurray.

-Ralph

[Bogatan]

Wow, that was a good episode. Love that basically no one does anything to save the day. The effects looked great to and I'm starting to get a sense of whose who.

Andy

[The Doctor]

Yeah. It's a real grower.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

I could have sworn we had a Stargate thread, but buggered if I can find it.

Anyway, Big Finish put up 27 mins of their full-cast series up as a freebie taster:

www.bigfinish.com/podcasts/v/july-2012-2-stargate-podcast

I actually quite enjoyed it. Damn you, Big Finish, you get enough of my money already!

-Ralph

[legios]

Jul 19, 2012 18:07:44 GMT The Doctor said:

I could have sworn we had a Stargate thread, but buggered if I can find it.

Anyway, Big Finish put up 27 mins of their full-cast series up as a freebie taster:

-Ralph

May have to give that a go, always willing to try a taster of something that I might not otherwise spring for at full price.

The Daniel Jackson/Vala Maldoran double-act was always good value on TV, I'd be curious to know how it survives the transition to audio.

Karl

[Marc Graham]

I hate to bring back a zombie thread - but as a fan of Stargate I actually really got into Stargate: universe despite its totally different tone. Such a pity it was cut off so shortly into its lifespan as it was a show with potential.

[The Doctor]

I really got into it as it went on and it was a shame it was curtailed. Though if you ignore the last two aired episodes the third last actually works ok as an ending of sorts.

-Ralph

[legios]

Universe was rather good I felt - very different premise and tone to its predecessors but I thought it had a really good cast who played very well against each other. It is a great shame that it died a death, but I am glad that we got what we got of it.

Karl

[Andy Turnbull]

I enjoyed Universe as well. Markedly different from the previous Stargate shows, which was needed. Shame it was curtailed but it was damned fun.

Andy

[Toph]

I never could get into Universe. Seemed to reek too much of Syfu channel screaming "ZOMG! WE DON:T HAVE STARGATE OR BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ANYMORE! WHAT DO WE DO? Hey, wait... Let's make them make this new Stargate series into the next BSG! Kaching!"

I don't mind a new formula, but Universe lost too much of what made Stargate unique. None of the trademark humor, especially.

Movie... blegh. Feels like wrong actors.

SG1... I think was one of the most fun TV series around. From season two to season eight.
Nine and Ten were not what killed SG1, and letting go of the virtually non existant Richard Dean Anderson didn't kill it either. Nor did getting rid of the Go'auld as the main villains. These three things are usually what fans berate the final two seasons for the most. (Though I do feel the ori were more boring. Anything to do with the ancients tended to lose my interest)
Personally, I feel that it lost it's steam because it became Northing but Ori from start to finish, and very few non-ori episodes to give us a break and continue to explore the galaxy.
The previous seasons weren't almost exclusively about the goa'uld or the system lords. There was a lot of fun things going on without them... or at least with them being a very minor role.

Atlantis... felt was a fun series, but just not as good as SG1. Mostly because what made SG1 so strong, and stand out so much from Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG and all the others, is because it was contemporary. Most of the characters were everyday military men and women, who were placed in these extraordinary sci-fi settings.
And while the progression of the various series... SGC aquiring technology and getting starships and stuff, Atlantis jumping out to an alien space station in another galaxy, and SGU jumping onto a ship that belonged to the gate builders all made logical progressive sense... each step in advancement carried it away from the core concept that made Stargate and SG1 so different.

[Bogatan]

It did have a lets make a hybrid of our two stongest shows vibe about it, but I enjoyed Universe. I do have to watch the final half season though. Much preferred it to Atlantis which was a show that never seemed to know what it wanted to be. FOr me it had the same basic issue as Star Trek Voyager. If you do a series in which the premise is that your heroes are trapped far from home, that sense of being lost has to be there all the time not just when the writers remember to throw in a mention or sad look. Also it makes the premise a bit pointless if they are almost never short of supplies etc.

Atlantis handled those issues a bit better than voyager and quite quickly seemed to decide it didnt want to be that kind of show and established a route home, but then never developed a new identity. The constant chopping and changing of cast probably didnt help either.

Universe took the premise seriously and was better for it, but I do wish a little more of the SG1 humour had survived. Whenever ONeil appeared I always wanted to see what he and the rest of SG1 were up to rather than watch more Universe. It would have been great (if Chuck hadnt been on) if Adam Baldwins guest star from SG1 could have been cast.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

The original Stargate movie (extended Director's cut superior to theatrical release, but both good) is the only version that's stood the test of time with me. I watched the first few years of SG1, but I could never get used to the alien civilsations speaking English rather than ancient Egyptian with subtitles. Plus, no Mili Avital or Viveca Lindfors. Other things I loved about the movie were the soundtrack and the way the last ten minutes were carried by actions speaking for themselves, trusting the viewer to have been paying attention, rather than holding their hand with explanatory dialogue.

Edit: Apologies, friends. Scrolling up the page I see I posted the same thing a few years ago. At least I'm consistent!

Martin

[The Doctor]

I recall being bored out of my mind by the movie and other than the score was pretty low grade rubbish. Took itself far too seriously for such a bonkers premise too. Never felt the urge to go re-watch it!

-Ralph

[Deleted]

i've got a good number of SG1 eps on DVD as well as both series of Universe.

btw has anyone tried the Stargate Command app yet? which you can get from Google Market for free, it's no bad & you get to walk around some parts of SGC + it has a golf minigame, which you can hit balls through the stargate.

the downside to the app is

there's a Teal'c fighting game, which you have to buy

you cannot activate the stargate, unlike the the SG1 dialing sims that you can download for your pc. it really needs this

& finally, there's only a handful of areas that you can visit, it really needs more.

[Philip Ayres]

Mrs A is watching them on Pic at the mo. They annoy the f*** out of me when I see them