Opening Statement:

I’ve been a Sci Fi fan as long as I can remember. It has been my escape from the world. When I was a teen I fell in love with a movie that I must have watched 30 times or more. This wonderful movie was Stargate! In 1997 Stargate SG-1 came to be, and it was a big hit. I didn’t really get into it ’til about a year ago (I know, shame on me). Since then I have seen every episode of SG-1, the SG-1 Movies and Stargate Atlantis multiple times and never seem to get tired of them. So when the news of SGU came around I got goose bumps and marked my calendar for the big event. Finally, last night, the season premiere aired!

Review:

For months I have heard the line that SGU would not be like other Stargate series. This would still have the Sci Fi element to it, but it would be more character-based. Right off the bat I could tell the difference in SGU. The quality of the camera almost seemed like it was the quality you would find in a movie. The very first time we see the characters they are being hurled out of a strange looking Stargate (some injured) on an Ancient Ship. Colonel Everett Young (Louis Ferreira) is severely injured and leaves 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) in charge. The large group of people are very disoriented and are trying to figure out what is going on. Dr. Nickolas Rush (Robert Carlyle), is the only one who seems to be “enjoying” what has happened.

We flash back to Eli Wallace (David Blue) playing a video game in his room. If you pay close attention and know your Stargate you will recognize some Ancient writing in it. He is visited my General O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), and Dr. Rush. They unsuccessfully try to explain to Eli that he has solved a complex ancient puzzle. It takes a beam up to The Hammond, a ship named after General Hammond (Don S. Davis) who passed away (I thought this was very respectful), for Eli to believe what is going on. He gets brushed up on his Stargate knowledge with some educational videos done by Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks).

We realize that Dr. Rush is hiding something and only seems to care about pushing Eli to help him get a 9th Chevron to work on a base that has an extra power source. The base becomes under attack by what looks to be a Goa’uld mother ship and fliers. Col. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) keeps up a good fight with The Hammond, but unfortunately the base is about to blow. Under the pressure, Eli and Dr. Rush figure out how to make the 9th Chevron work and the staff and civilians on the base all go through the gate.

The show goes back and forth from present to past with different characters. We even get a quick, and I mean quick, sex scene (very unStargate-like) with 1st Lt. Scott and another solder. We find out that the Life Support is shutting down on the ship and must be fixed for everyone to survive. Dr. Rush discovers that the ship is named The Destiny and that the Ancients sent it out, unmanned, billions and billions of galaxies away from Earth. The ship’s job was to make Stargates and put them on inhabitable planets. Dr. Rush “tells” the ship that they need help with the life support. The ship automatically jumps out of Hyperspace and dials the Stargate to a planet that will have the necessary items to help get life support back. Col. Young, now ok thanks to Medic Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman), tells Eli to send a flying camera, found on the ship, through the Stargate to see what might be on the other side of the Event Horizon. Readings show that the planet is indeed ideal for human life. The show ends with a team, headed by 1st Lt. Scott, Eli, Dr. Rush and other characters stepping through the Stargate.

Final Words

So what did I think about SGU? I liked it! It was very different from what us fans are used to, and some may be put off by the new style Stargate has taken, but I am open to see where this new format will take me! I want to learn more about the characters and about this new Universe. This is like a more mature version of the Stargate we all know and love, and I can’t wait to see more.