Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe | |
---|---|
Genre | Military science fiction |
Created by | |
Based on | Stargate by Roland Emmerich Dean Devlin |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Joel Goldsmith |
Country of origin | |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 40 (Episodes) 34 (Webisodes) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Editor | Mike Banas |
Running time | 43 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | Syfy |
Release | October 2, 2009 May 9, 2011 | –
Related | |
Stargate Universe (often abbreviated as SGU) is a
The first 10 episodes of the second season were aired in the United States beginning on September 28, 2010,[2] and the final 10 were shown beginning on March 7, 2011.[3] Syfy announced on December 16, 2010, that it would not be picking up Stargate Universe for a third season.[4] The second season of SGU ended as a semi-cliffhanger.[5]
There is an ongoing comic book series set after the end of season two, but the original creators and writers are not involved.[6]
Premise
Dr. Rush and Eli work together to discover the means to dial the ninth chevron, just as the base is attacked by members of the
As the rest of the team works to make the ship habitable, Dr. Rush, Eli, and other scientific members of Icarus Base start to understand the function of Destiny; they are not able to directly control the ship, and find that it will drop out of faster-than-light travel to allow its Stargate to connect to a number of nearby worlds for a fixed period of time before it continues; it fuels itself by diving into the outermost layer of a nearby star and collecting energy from it; the first time the Destiny did that, the crew feared the worst, until they understood why it happened. The crew is able to remain in contact with Earth via the Ancient communication stones that Dr. Rush brought, and are told to continue the Stargate mission of exploring that galaxy, while searching for a way to return home.
The team's mission adapts in season 2, when the Ancients' mission for Destiny is discovered in "
Cast
- Everett Young – Described in the initial character breakdown as a "handsome, capable, former SG team leader" in his 40s who holds the rank of Colonel. He is "like the Jack O'Neill of ten years ago" yet has sharper edges. At the beginning of Stargate Universe, he has been married for approximately five years and is the temporary commander of a secret off-world base.[13] Young is Rush's nemesis on the ship.[10]
- Brian J. Smith as Matthew Scott – A 26-year-old skilled and well-trained Airman and junior SGC member holding the rank of First Lieutenant. He is "mentally unprepared for the urgency of the situation" aboard the ship. He was named Jared Nash in the initial casting call.[13] Before being cast, Brian J. Smith had been working as a stage actor in New York for a year and a half. Smith taped his Stargate Universe audition and was invited to a screen test in Los Angeles. He received the news of being cast a few days after the screen test.[19] He prepared for the role by doing military research. He had not seen the Stargate TV series before being cast, but caught up with much of SG-1 afterwards.[14]
- Chloe Armstrong – She is the daughter of a US Senator, 23 years old, whose character is tested "after her father's tragic death and the dire circumstances of being trapped on a spaceship".[13] Her father (played by Christopher McDonald)[20] had political oversight over the Stargate project trying to dial the ninth chevron.[21] Before the producers settled on the final name, the character was named Chloe Carpenter[13] and Chloe Walker.[21] Levesque's "wonderfully nuanced audition" convinced the producers to cast her, as she demonstrated an "impressive range in two very different [and] demanding scenes".[20]
- Eli Wallace – Named Eli Hitchcock in the casting call,[13] Eli Wallace is a "total slacker" in his early twenties and an "utter genius" in mathematics, computers and other fields. He is a social outcast with an "acerbic sense of humor", and lacks confidence in his intelligence. The character breakdown compares him to "Matt Damon's character from Good Will Hunting with a little Jack Black thrown in".[13] He was the main source of comic relief in the show.[9] David Blue, a self-declared fan of the science fiction series, has seen all SG-1 and Atlantis episodes.[14][22]
- First Lieutenant. Friends call her "T.J."[23] She finds herself the most medically experienced person aboard the ship after the death of the Icarus Base doctor in the pilot episode "Air" (according to co-creator Robert C. Cooper). She has a modest background, yet is "beautiful, tough, smart and capable", but also has a secretive past with another member of the Destiny's new crew. At the beginning of the series, she is overwhelmed by the lack of medical knowledge, experience, medicines, and supplies aboard the ship.[13] Mallozzi considered Huffman's audition in December 2008 "so good that, quite frankly, we would've been crazy not to cast her".[20]
- Master Sergeant.[24]
- Camile Wray– Camile Wray is the first openly lesbian character in the Stargate franchise. She is the IOA representative on Destiny and supports civilian leadership on the ship. Ming-Na was credited as a regular character in the first two episodes. She was downgraded to a recurring character from then on until the episode "Justice", in which she returned and continued as a regular character.
Production
Conception
Stargate producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper conceived Stargate Universe as "a completely separate, third entity" in the live-action Stargate franchise
Brad Wright pitched the series and its first five episodes to the Stargate Atlantis writers and producers in mid-September 2008.[33] Wright, Cooper, and Carl Binder produced the show, while Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie served as writers and consultant producers.[34] Stargate Atlantis writers Martin Gero and Alan McCullough contributed scripts, but were not part of the regular writing staff.[35] New writers were initially sought for freelance scripts and possible staff positions.[31] Author John Scalzi was hired as a creative consultant, "a background rather than foreground sort of job".[36] Most of the Stargate Atlantis crew, such as stunt coordinator James Bamford and composer Joel Goldsmith, moved over to Universe.[37]
Casting
Short character breakdowns for the series regulars (created for casting calls) leaked on the internet on September 17, 2008.[13][38] Joseph Mallozzi explained the largely negative initial fan reaction[12][33][34] as a passionate response to the preceding cancellation announcement of Atlantis.[34] Brad Wright dismissed negative comments as a sole reaction to the wording of the network; character breakdowns are written to aid casting directors and agents in the selection process, and "always sound shallow, and if they're written to appear 'deep' it's just ridiculous".[12] Robert C. Cooper replied to concerns of young age that the SG-1 cast was also quite young in their first season. The producers were "looking for people who are a little more identifiable and contemporary," with an "everyman on the street point of view" after being challenged by the situation.[38] Martin Gero considered Stargate Universe as an ensemble show, more than the previous two Stargate live-action series were.[39]
Auditions were held in Los Angeles.
Writing and filming
The writers started drafting stories for the first season in mid-November 2008.
Pre-broadcast marketing
Themes
Stargate Universe is set on the spaceship Destiny, which was launched by the race known as the
The series begins when a team of soldiers and scientists from present-day Earth escape through the Stargate and arrive on the Destiny after their base is attacked.[53] Many of its primary systems are damaged or failing, and they are unable to return to Earth or even maneuver the ship. However, the Destiny periodically stops to dial the Stargate to planets with necessary supplies to repair the ship, and sustain human life.[16][26] The writers have discussed the possibility that each season represents a voyage of the Destiny through a different galaxy.[54]
Stargate Universe was intended to appeal to both veteran fans and newcomers, being firmly entrenched in established Stargate mythology without relying on it too often.
Broadcast and release
Home media
Season | Product | Episodes | DVD release date | Blu-ray release date | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Region A | Region B | ||||
1 | Stargate Universe - SG-U: 1.0[55] | 10 | February 9, 2010[55] | — | — | February 9, 2010[56] | — | |
Stargate Universe - SG-U: 1.5 | 10 | July 27, 2010[57] | — | — | July 27, 2010[58] | — | ||
Stargate Universe - Complete Season 1[59] | 20 | October 5, 2010[60] | July 5, 2010[59] | January 12, 2011[61] | October 5, 2010[62] | July 5, 2010[63] | ||
2 | Stargate Universe - The Complete Final Season | 20 | May 31, 2011[64] | July 4, 2011[64] | November 2, 2011[65] | — | — | |
1–2 | Stargate Universe - The Complete Seasons 1-2 | 40 | — | August 29, 2011[66] | November 2, 2011[67] | January 15, 2021[68] | January 15, 2021[68] |
Reception
Critical reception
The series holds a score of 58 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic.[69]
Stargate Universe was well received by several major media outlets upon airing of the pilot episode. Mike Hale from
Among reviewers who were negative towards the new installments was Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune. The reviewer wrote that the "gloomy, underwhelming Universe seems to have ditched many of the elements that the previous "Stargate" shows had, notably camaraderie and a sense of adventure, without adding much in the way of narrative suspense or complexity." The only characters she felt were "worth following" were Eli Wallace and Nicholas Rush.[75] Vince Horiuchi from The Salt Lake Tribune, while not overall positive to the series, said the cast and characters were a "little more likable and interesting" than previous entries in the Stargate franchise.[76] Reviewer Laura Freis from Variety concluded her review with "Sure, SGU is grittier, darker and psychologically deeper than previous versions. But so far, it's also a lot less fun." While negative towards the show, she called Robert Carlyle an "excellent" actor.[77] The Hollywood Reporter noted a lack of "intelligent" and "surprising stories" and was overall negative towards Stargate Universe.[78] The show has also been criticized for its similarities to the reimagined Battlestar Galactica.[79][80][81]
Ratings
In its second season, SGU had declined in viewership ratings.[82] Series co-creator Brad Wright attributed this decline to its change in timeslot (from Friday night to Tuesday night, and then again to Monday night), stating:
I don’t think if we, for any reason, go away, it is an issue necessarily of the quality of the product that we’ve been making. I think getting moved on the schedule has hurt us. And the fact that some of the fans that liked SG-1 and Atlantis were so angry that they have deliberately hurt us, which is unfortunate.[82][83]
After the cancellation of Stargate Universe, Stargate fans reacted angrily towards Syfy. On May 12, 2011, Syfy released a letter explaining its reasons for the series' cancellation.[84] The letter discussed the fact that ratings during the first season had fallen significantly on the Friday timeslot, dropping over 25% of its viewership during the long hiatus between the first and second half of the season. This prompted Syfy to start the second season in the Tuesday slot making room on Friday for wrestling, the change from Friday to Tuesday being a major factor in the reduction in viewership.[84]
Awards and nominations
The episode "Time" won a Writers Guild of Canada Award for best one-hour TV series[85][86] and both "Air" and "Space" were nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series at the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards.[87]
Robert Carlyle won Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for the first-season episode "Human" at the
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{{cite web}}
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External links
- Official Stargate site at MGM
- Stargate Universe at IMDb
- Stargate Universe episode guide at GateWorld