The latest installment of the 'Stargate' franchise, 'Stargate Universe,' seems to be faring well with viewers who have no history with the franchise, whereas longtime fans who started with the original 'Stargate' series and stuck with it through 'Stargate SG-1' and 'Stargate Atlantis' (as well as the many other videos and incarnations) are hoping for more.
While the show certainly has plenty of admirable attributes, there's always room for improvement. So we decided to help out the cast and crew with a few ideas that will not only make 'Stargate Universe' better, but make it the best show on TV right now. We know it's a tall order, but we're up for it.
1. Pick a direction. Is 'Stargate Universe' supposed to be dark like 'Battlestar Galactica'? Playful like 'Firefly'? Inventive like 'Doctor Who'? All of the above? The show seems to be all over the place in terms of both overall feel and storyline. One week they're dealing with nefarious swirling sands and the next it's a 'Predator'-type plot on a jungle planet. We realize that shows have to move fast to secure good ratings early on, but it needs a little more focus.
2. Make something happen. And yet, even though the stories are all over the place, 'SGU' manages to be all talk and no action.
Yak, yak, yak, let's talk everything into the ground and never do anything exciting. It's like Woody Allen in space. Even the jungle planet episode ('Life') was lots of talk and not enough tension. 'Stargate Universe' meanders way too much; it's downright boring at times. You could nod off for an episode or two and not miss anything important. At least throw in an interesting alien or two.
3. Resolve something. We hate to keep picking on that jungle planet story, but that particular one left us, well ... unsatisfied. Unlike shows such as 'Fringe' or 'Lost,' we don't have any assurances that the long-term story will pick up these unresolved threads later on. What was the deadly virus? What the heck happened after the credits rolled and it seemed as if the entire crew would perish? And in case you're wondering, yes, we did watch the show. The time jumping was a little goofy.
4. Stop with the one-dimensional characters. The genius scientist with long hair and a sad past and no people skills (Robert Carlyle as Dr. Rush); the nerdy kid who cracks a code and ends up on the spaceship (David Blue as Eli Wallace); tough-guy military types with guns; strong silent guys in charge; gorgeous female crew members ... while there's nothing wrong with any of these characters, it's just all too pat. We realize that Nathan Fillion is busy with 'Castle,' but if you could create a character like Mal Reynolds -- or any of the crew onboard the Serenity, for that matter -- that would be super.
5. Up the realism factor. The ship is out of water, so they find a planet with plenty of water and everything will be alright. Really? They're going to transport enough water to keep the crew hydrated for who knows how long? You could drive a spaceship through some of the plot holes on 'SGU.' And let's not forget the implausibility of a massive ship that's been languishing in space for possibly thousands of years that has one day or so of air left when the crew gates in. And yes, we understand as Dr. Rush explained it, the Ancients were sent to meet the ship later, but achieved ascension and reached a higher plane of existence so were no longer around to meet the Destiny as planned. Yada, yada.
6. Do something new. So far, commenters on TV Squad's 'Stargate Universe' reviews have compared 'SGU' to 'Doctor Who,' 'Sliders,' 'Lost in Space,' 'Firefly,' 'Battlestar Galactica,' 'Star Trek' and just about every other sci-fi series known to humans. Let's face it, it's difficult to come up with anything new at this point, but we hope 'Stargate Universe' is up for the challenge. A lot of it boils down to the characters and how they interact with each other.
7. Cut the gratuitous sex scenes. There must be a memo circulating among producers of just about every show on TV to throw in an unnecessary sex scene every episode or two. 'Stargate Universe' climbed on that bandwagon in the very first episode. We're not prude, but if you're going to have a sex scene, make it count.
http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/12/04/seven-ways-to-make-stargate-universe-the-best-show-on-tv/