Since most reviews seem to love it or hate it, I'm going to split the difference and call it a so-so endeavor. I loved SG1 and enjoyed SG-Atlantis, plus the spin-off movies (except Catherine Origins), all of which had some interesting plot lines (I give SGA an 8, SG1 a 10), and then SGU came along and I immediately felt like I was in the dank, dark Battlestar Galactica (as others have rightly noted).
Even the soundtrack was BSG to the max. The fluffy pop music introduced at random intervals was generic enough that it served no purpose. But the soundtrack was very off-putting. All queasy atmospherics.
I have a theory that the morons who destroyed the Sci-Fi channel gave the producers/writers instructions to make a BSG clone but using SG material. What a 9-chevron mistake.
The main problem with this show after watching it twice now (when it aired and now on Amazon Prime) is the lack of continuity and action. It wasn't until episode 5 or 6 when Rush has his breakdown that we learn many of the crew are going through caffeine and nicotine withdrawal (no tobacco or coffee grounds in space, folks). Even I forgot about that.
It's also hard to get excited about a show where they're hanging onto their laptops for dear life in every situation and using algorithms to fire weapons. It seems the real heroes of the show were those laptops that somehow found 120V plugs to charge the batteries (oh wait, they didn't get enough power until episode 6). In season two they discover the Bridge, which in my mind was 20 episodes too late.
Halfway through season one, we learn Destiny is about to exit the galaxy when some members are trapped on a planet. Except Destiny never does! They don't leave the galaxy until the last episode of season two. What happened to that whole plot? Did the writers realize that if Destiny left the galaxy they wouldn't have any storylines left? I assume it's because they gained control of the ship once they found out Rush had cracked the master code and they were able to travel the galaxy at will. It was all quite confusing.
Every character had their flaws but Rush was a very unlikable protagonist. Or maybe he was the show's antagonist. Either way, his melodramatic acting and barking out the most inane lines was a missed opportunity for such a talented actor. The love scenes with Rush and his long-lost love were just sloppy.
The most intriguing aspect of either season was when a duplicate crew, through a misguided attempt to use a star's energy to power the Stargate back to Earth, went back in time 2,000 years and populated a few worlds reachable by Stargates. That's about how long it took humans on Earth to develop our planet. These folks also had a head start as they were mostly scientists and military and didn't have to deal with the pesky Dark Ages, which ground technology and science to a halt on Earth. They literally began with the shirts on their backs as they couldn't bring anything with them on the billion-light-mile journey to Earth.
But the best line in the entire series was when Rush tells Eli in the last episode how much he's grown as a person since boarding Destiny. Eli looks at him puzzled and says (paraphrasing), "Funny because you haven't changed at all." Rush just smiles and gets in his Popsicle pod.
Is it worth a viewing? Sure, why not? The second season is much better if you can get past the sluggishness of the first. I give the first season 3 stars, and the second season gets 8. Split the difference and we get 5.5. In this case, I'm rounding down.
Even the soundtrack was BSG to the max. The fluffy pop music introduced at random intervals was generic enough that it served no purpose. But the soundtrack was very off-putting. All queasy atmospherics.
I have a theory that the morons who destroyed the Sci-Fi channel gave the producers/writers instructions to make a BSG clone but using SG material. What a 9-chevron mistake.
The main problem with this show after watching it twice now (when it aired and now on Amazon Prime) is the lack of continuity and action. It wasn't until episode 5 or 6 when Rush has his breakdown that we learn many of the crew are going through caffeine and nicotine withdrawal (no tobacco or coffee grounds in space, folks). Even I forgot about that.
It's also hard to get excited about a show where they're hanging onto their laptops for dear life in every situation and using algorithms to fire weapons. It seems the real heroes of the show were those laptops that somehow found 120V plugs to charge the batteries (oh wait, they didn't get enough power until episode 6). In season two they discover the Bridge, which in my mind was 20 episodes too late.
Halfway through season one, we learn Destiny is about to exit the galaxy when some members are trapped on a planet. Except Destiny never does! They don't leave the galaxy until the last episode of season two. What happened to that whole plot? Did the writers realize that if Destiny left the galaxy they wouldn't have any storylines left? I assume it's because they gained control of the ship once they found out Rush had cracked the master code and they were able to travel the galaxy at will. It was all quite confusing.
Every character had their flaws but Rush was a very unlikable protagonist. Or maybe he was the show's antagonist. Either way, his melodramatic acting and barking out the most inane lines was a missed opportunity for such a talented actor. The love scenes with Rush and his long-lost love were just sloppy.
The most intriguing aspect of either season was when a duplicate crew, through a misguided attempt to use a star's energy to power the Stargate back to Earth, went back in time 2,000 years and populated a few worlds reachable by Stargates. That's about how long it took humans on Earth to develop our planet. These folks also had a head start as they were mostly scientists and military and didn't have to deal with the pesky Dark Ages, which ground technology and science to a halt on Earth. They literally began with the shirts on their backs as they couldn't bring anything with them on the billion-light-mile journey to Earth.
But the best line in the entire series was when Rush tells Eli in the last episode how much he's grown as a person since boarding Destiny. Eli looks at him puzzled and says (paraphrasing), "Funny because you haven't changed at all." Rush just smiles and gets in his Popsicle pod.
Is it worth a viewing? Sure, why not? The second season is much better if you can get past the sluggishness of the first. I give the first season 3 stars, and the second season gets 8. Split the difference and we get 5.5. In this case, I'm rounding down.