SGU 1x01/02 "Air" - **Spoilers**

Overheal

Indeed....

User45701

eyes closed eyesclosed - didn't see your post - vote overheal ! i want to know what to expect

Overheal

what to expect? .... I'm going to say, Don't expect. I didn't know what to expect either. And thats the mindset from which I viewed it.

Below are my discussion thoughts once you've watched it.

Totally definitely not the sum of my fears for the show. Pilots are always awkward in places.

Like, video game talent seeking? Really? I think I saw that in a Disney move once. And when did Daniel Jackson become Troy McClure? When did Jack become so fat? My gawd. Its really noticeable when you watch the full scene. Somewhere 20 LY away from earth, Carter is glad she never made that mistake.

But first thing you have to appreciate from the opening shot on, is the gloriously stupid high production budget attached to the show. Special effects have never been crisper on a stargate offering and the level of detail is stunning. There are some explosions that will make you kick your own ass for not owning DVR.

I think its far to early to say anything about the shows longevity. They had about enough time to throw in enough of Carlyle's forced acting to leave me unsure. At the moment, the only thing the show has to offer is a rehash of every piece of sci fi to date: bit of Sliders, BSG, Voyager, Emmanuelle (oh yes - even more so if you think about the ancient communication stones), and oh yeah: stargate. Ha.

About the only shot that really made me think this show might have potential from an originality PoV is when they show the route the Destiny has taken on the Starmap. Nobody has ever really tackled what is out that far, and it makes me wonder. And other cool bits, like the reason behind the Icharus base. And the 9 chevron address. I think if they actually try and bring up the real questions about the Universe and get less bogged down in epiodic teen angst smut, somewhat predictable story tie-ins, the show might stand half a chance.

Its a 3 parter, so Im sure we're missing an important leg of the tripod here. So far I'm going to give it a thumbs up and see where it goes.

User45701

ah - cant read spoilers iull jusrt wait it was on the net there about 10 min ago - on route now

Overheal

if youre not watching it in HD youll be sorrrry.

User45701

hmmmm ok then ill just go to bed and get a hd one in the morning

thanks

Thor

waiting for the hd myself.

HURRY UP!!!!!

AntiRip

Just waiting for the 720p to download

First impressions anyone?

Sherifu

I'll give that a thumbs up. Good to have it back. No sign of a medieval village set, so far so good.

sutty

Not watched it in HD, only a HDTV rip. But it was damn nice. Going to wait for it to air on Sky HD this week to get all the lovelyness. That will do me.

The show its self, I liked. I enjoyed watching it, I liked the FLD SFX very well done. Cant wait to see what other routes the show takes. From what I have seen the first few deal with things like Air, Water, Food and so on. So should be interesting.

Now I cant wait for part 3!!!!!

ei.sdraob

wow just wow

i love it! i love the new direction!



watched the HD version this morning

the camera work is excellent, the attention to detail is stunning, the graphics made me pause and admire


best part of the premiere was the sound and the music, they have outdone themselves

once again i love the new direction and the new characters, compared to the last few seasons of the other gates which were getting ridiculous this had me on edge of my seat grinning

cant wait to see more now

Gareth-W-A

Really enjoyed this!
Hopefully a decent opening title sequence coming soon.

ei.sdraob

I definitely recommend getting the HD versions

it is worth the wait

once again, they have outdid themselves! lock yourself in a room and turn up the sound!



im gonna try not to spoil anything:

* if anyone thinks this is BSG, it is not! BSG is downright depressing in the must commit suicide sense, this on the other hand is dark but in a more realist kind of way, and yes there is humor in it

* if anyone think this is Voyager, oh boy voyager looks likes swiss cheese compared to this


now a comparison to other Gates, I really like the new characters, i dont feel like im watching McGuiver over and over

and whats more important unlike Atlantis, you can not predict what happens next!

did anyone notice how chubby O'Neil and Carter got?

Stokolan

I didnt like it. I was the same way when atlantis started. So ill reserve judgement till anotehr few eps.

ei.sdraob

Stokolan wrote: »

I didnt like it. I was the same way when atlantis started. So ill reserve judgement till anotehr few eps.

Watch Atlantis premiere

its cheese compared to this

Venom

Watched the first part and its pretty good but no stand out characters like O'Neill, M'kay or Sheppard so far.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I enjoyed it. I think Eli is a good character - haven't mind my mind up about anyone else yet.

JohnK

Gotta say, I really liked it

Nicely dark but not overly so and of all the characters the only ones I really didnt like were the senator (I dont know what it is, just the look of him pissed me off ) and the IOA one who seemed really pointless and petty with her "You were in detention for good reason...I'm just wondering what to do about it now" comment. Seriously, you're stuck in a spaceship feck knows where running out of oxygen and the only thing your concerned with is putting someone back in lockup? ffs :rolleyes:

ei.sdraob

JohnK wrote: »

Gotta say, I really liked it

Nicely dark but not overly so and of all the characters the only ones I really didnt like were the senator (I dont know what it is, just the look of him pissed me off ) and the IOA one who seemed really pointless and petty with her "You were in detention for good reason...I'm just wondering what to do about it now" comment. Seriously, you're stuck in a spaceship feck knows where running out of oxygen and the only thing your concerned with is putting someone back in lockup? ffs :rolleyes:

well thats the thing

we dont know what he did to deserve that treatment?

more importantly

people die in this!

and its not rushed, hence making people comeback for more

J-blk

ei.sdraob wrote: »

more importantly

people die in this!

Also:

sex in Stargate

:eek: - guess that's part of the new "direction"...

I did like it overall. Recruiting Eli was like something out of the "Last Starfighter" (yeah, I'm old ) but still, his character makes a lot of sense, as he is used to "introduce" people to the premise who have no previous concept of Stagate in general from the previous two shows.

Watching in HD is totally worth it - some mighty fine shots of the Destiny in there too.

Still, without any off world (or should it be off ship now?) activity since the third part of "Air" is MIA, it's hard to make a full judgment of where this will go. Looks promising though and any Stargate is better than none IMO .

JohnK

ei.sdraob wrote: »

well thats the thing

we dont know what he did to deserve that treatment?

more importantly

people die in this!

and its not rushed, hence making people comeback for more

True but still it just stinks of "doing things by the book" which doesnt really apply when you're in the situation they're in. Whatever he did the fact is hes no use to anyone if hes locked in a room somewhere so my attitude would be use him and if necessary deal with whatever else he did when back in some sort of normal environment.

James74

Jaysus...

it was hardly worth getting Lou Diamond Philips, was it?

Kiith

I really enjoyed it. Would have prefered if it had been the full 3 parter, but what we got was polished, darker then usual, but still felt similar to what we all want in Stargate. Lets hope they can keep it up.

James74 wrote: »

Jaysus...

it was hardly worth getting Lou Diamond Philips, was it?

I'd say we'll see him again. He was probably beamed up to/docked with the Hammond before it jumped away.

ei.sdraob

Kiith wrote: »

I'd say we'll see him again. He was probably beamed up to/docked with the Hammond before it jumped away.

Ill say, he will be back definitely

but via the Long range communicator device yoke

which is an interesting plot tool

User45701

Overheal wrote: »

if youre not watching it in HD youll be sorrrry.

thankyoo! - That Hata'k looked

AMAZING

Better than i expected aright but a bit dissapointed no leaked episode 3:( i really thought the people buying it on ebay would upload it (some press kits with the first 3 episodes are on ebay going for about 200 dollars each)

Anyway it was a good episode i liked Lt Scot - seemed like the best character introduced so far.

One thing im wondering is episode 3 - in the SG1 & SGA pilots we where introduced to an enemy in the pilot - will there be a hostile race/lifeform on the planet?

I am still wondering how serious the show is going to take itself - it was an emergency evacuation and we saw everyone going through the gate - i didnt see any change of cloating for the civvies or anyone else - will the cloths they are wearing now be it for the season? - what happens if someone gets shot or lit on fire will there be a mark on what they are wearing for the rest of the season? Soap/cleaning products make-up ect. - will the charactors look good&clean in 15 episode or will they be mankey looking? Ancients showers/toilets ect

Still im enjoying it even though i have no clue where the show is going or even a remote idea of what it will be like week to week.

i was thinking 7 out of 10 but that Hata'k - and the Alkiash coming in - wow i give it an 8 out of 10 and i normally don't care about the effects but i was not expecting to see that!

ixoy

I kept this as a "treat" for myself this evening - I actually enjoyed it a lot. Thought it was a strong pilot in that it set up the premise and introduced us to all the characters including a little bit of background.

I only watched it in the regular version (still don't have a HDTV and didn't want to watch it on my monitor) but it still looked fantastic.

Characters were a good mix - Eli was to my mind the most familiar from the Stargate mould: a young, slightly dysfunctional genius. The role was played well.

Rush as the darker genius, clearly with a hidden agenda, could be quite interesting. Clearly he's not meant to be likeable at first and it'll be interesting to see how his personality rubs up against the rest of the crew.

Scott, whom I knew little of, quite impressed me. He was one of those people who some fans were fearing was the "90210" element but the actor playing him pulled off a very credible performance of a young lieutenant under severe pressure and just about coping. Could be quite interesting.

None of the rest have made an impression yet, but it's very early days and I'm liking what I'm seeing.

The ratings are pretty decent - the best since Atlantis Season 2 and, in the 18-49 demographic, the best premier since BSG. We'll see if it the ratings and the quality keeps up over the next few weeks.

ei.sdraob

User45701 wrote: »

Anyway it was a good episode i liked Lt Scot - seemed like the best character introduced so far.

yes there was a focus on himself

User45701 wrote: »

One thing im wondering is episode 3 - in the SG1 & SGA pilots we where introduced to an enemy in the pilot - will there be a hostile race/lifeform on the planet?

from what I gather there wont be an ever present enemy like before, the enemy is their inexperience and situation,

but Destiny was damaged from what looks like weapons fire, also since the ship jumps from galaxy to galaxy so unless the enemy gets in board...

User45701 wrote: »

I am still wondering how serious the show is going to take itself - it was an emergency evacuation and we saw everyone going through the gate - i didnt see any change of cloating for the civvies or anyone else - will the cloths they are wearing now be it for the season? - what happens if someone gets shot or lit on fire will there be a mark on what they are wearing for the rest of the season? Soap/cleaning products make-up ect. - will the charactors look good&clean in 15 episode or will they be mankey looking? Ancients showers/toilets ect

ill expect they would get dirtier and more battered with time, the show is alot more realistic (and i love that!) and

people die!

User45701 wrote: »

Still im enjoying it even though i have no clue where the show is going or even a remote idea of what it will be like week to week.

Yes that the exciting part, its so different that you cant predict where it would go, unlike Atlantis and SG1 (later seasons) which were way too predictable, i mean by watching the first 10 mins you could predict the ending, which was getting rather annoying

cant wait for episode 3 and beyond

there are few trailers online, and the planets they visit look very different from what were used to it seems

no longer do they all look the same Canada wilderness worlds

BopNiblets

Battlestargate Galactiverse!

I doesn't feel right, not yet, it's just not Stargate without witty banter and earth references that make aliens look blankly at each other, THAT'S WHAT MADE STARGATE!

bizmark

Didnt feel like stargate at all big let down tbh

ei.sdraob

bizmark wrote: »

Didnt feel like stargate at all big let down tbh

what did you expect? a McGuiver like moment?? we had 15 seasons of that and imho it got rather boring and predictable

roll on Universe, i re watched the premier and cant wait now for more and how they solve the problem and how characters develop, its not the same regurgitated McCay saves the day story as before

its more... human ... down to earth (well as far as sci-fi goes) but not underground in a grave like BSG

don ramo

ei.sdraob wrote: »

its not the same regurgitated McCay saves the day story as before

some one has to save the day over and over,:D

thought it was ecellent well part 2 anyway, part one even though i could follow it, didnt really need all the time jumping, its a cheap tool that i really dislike,

i like lieutenant scott, but i prefered young, i think he will become a great caracter, id say he will become the leader of the this expedition, and he will need to be a good mix of weir and hammond, the show i feel will succeed or fail on his performance,

hard to say where rush will end up, i suppose he would be third in command after wray (who even though is the most senior official there, seems incapable of leading such an expedition) and young,

lookin forward to part 3, :cool:

also seen someone has gone to the trouble of listing all the caracters backrounds on IMDB here

bizmark

ei.sdraob wrote: »

what did you expect? a McGuiver like moment?? we had 15 seasons of that and imho it got rather boring and predictable

roll on Universe, i re watched the premier and cant wait now for more and how they solve the problem and how characters develop, its not the same regurgitated McCay saves the day story as before

its more... human ... down to earth (well as far as sci-fi goes) but not underground in a grave like BSG

Odd as this may seem i watched stargate from the start because it was stargate not a "down to earth gritty sci fi with sex!!! and random shaky close ups" if i wanted that depressing crap i would of watched bsg still ill give it a few episodes

cotwold

I was pleasantly surprised with this. I really liked the opening sequence. Like the falshbacks, and the darker atmophere. I hope it doesnt end up as cheesy as atlantis though. I liked atlantis for what it was but its time for something different.

Was anyone else a bit suspicious of Dr Rush?

ei.sdraob

bizmark wrote: »

Odd as this may seem i watched stargate from the start because it was stargate not a "down to earth gritty sci fi with sex!!! and random shaky close ups" if i wanted that depressing crap i would of watched bsg still ill give it a few episodes

as if there is any other sci-fi to watch nowadays

the moaning fans killed star trek before, seems they will do the same to stargate give the producers a chance they are trying something new here

im just delighted we will get a new team going thru the gate everyweek, and the characters this time feel like real people

one of the reasons Atlantis plummeted was the "meh" factor and they absolutely bothched up the final seasons and finale, even the final season of SG1 was "bleh" too much spaceship battles not enough gate travel, and some terrible jokes
unlike Atlantis which seems to have remained in shiny condition after few thousand years this "feels" old and that only ads to the mystery


anyways i want to see part 3 of air, thats when we apparently get to see some aliens (who are not wearing rubber masks) and new alien planet (desert) and how the team solves the usual problems


im not sure why you think this is anything like battlestar? shakky cam where? the only similiraty would be in the dark color pallete of the ship

the music for this was amazing and as i said i sat on edge of couch grinning, delighted that i get to watch more stargate, theres absolutely nothing else left on tv nowadays, it got so bad that i started rewatching old star trek and stargate series

/

J-blk

cotwold wrote: »

Was anyone else a bit suspicious of Dr Rush?

Everyone is suspicious of him I would think - that's the way his character is written. He obviously cares about his own agenda/experiments more than anyone/anything else. It'd be surprising if you didn't find him suspicious!

ei.sdraob

On further taught

I think Universe has found something that was lost since about Season 2 of SG1


people stepping thru and not knowing whats on the other side, that expectation the questions about the unknown and what will our characters do


everything since has been the exact same predictable forest world with little village and yet another race of bad guys who are all universally stupid and retardingly not evil enough

anyways will wait till part 3, im pissed of they havent shown it all


and then there are so many questions that need to be revealed, im delighted they didnt do the same job on it as atlantis which just felt too rushed and rediculos at times

cotwold

J-blk wrote: »

Everyone is suspicious of him I would think - that's the way his character is written. He obviously cares about his own agenda/experiments more than anyone/anything else. It'd be surprising if you didn't find him suspicious!

Oh good so it is being written that way, im really looking forward to seeing how these conflicting interests play out.

I liked the power struggle element already, where nobody believed that O'Niel had put him in charge of the expedition.

ei.sdraob wrote: »

and retardingly not evil enough

Yeah it would be nice if the bad guys were actually scary this time but i dont know that having a some bad guy race of aliens would do it many favours this time. Its too formulaic, why not have the antagonism come from within.

AntiRip

Liked it alot. The HD version was def worth it! Jasys, Colonel Jack O'Neill got fat in the face! and when did the Sci-Fi channel turn into SyFy channel....I know I notice silly things

Anyway, this is one show thats on my download list. Liked the humour especially with Eli and his "flying cameras"

I would be interested in learning how the hell did they found a gate with a 9th chevron. Or the base they set up. Or how was the gate powered, was it the planet core?

ei.sdraob

cotwold wrote: »

Oh good so it is being written that way, im really looking forward to seeing how these conflicting interests play out.

I liked the power struggle element already, where nobody believed that O'Niel had put him in charge of the expedition.

yeh would O'Neill really put a civilian in charge of such a disaster of an evacuation?

What did happen at the other side with these stones?

I liked how the characters played their part, there was despair/confusion/conflict and so on

as would happen in real life, there is no clearcut leader, and thats yet another problem for them to solve

AntiRip wrote: »

Liked it alot. The HD version was def worth it! Jasys, Colonel Jack O'Neill got fat in the face! and when did the Sci-Fi channel turn into SyFy channel....I know I notice silly things

my taughts exactly about O'Neil

AntiRip wrote: »

I would be interested in learning how the hell did they found a gate with a 9th chevron. Or the base they set up. Or how was the gate powered, was it the planet core?

I taught they all had 9 chevrons? as for power something about the planet having a radioactive core and them spending alot of time trying to find such a location

cotwold

ei.sdraob wrote: »

yeh would O'Neill really put a civilian in charge of such a disaster of an evacuation?

What did happen at the other side with these stones?

Exactly, we'll have to see when the other expedition members are chosen.

Thargor

Good first ep, if Id had the third one I would have watched it straight after the first 2 and its been a looong time since SG has been that good.

If they start visiting Medieval villages in this Ill fecking scream.

J-blk

ei.sdraob wrote: »

people stepping thru and not knowing whats on the other side, that expectation the questions about the unknown and what will our characters do

That is an interesting point but I do wonder if they'll water down that element soon - the flying camera spheres are essentially substitutes for the MALPs so now they kind of have a way of knowing where they are going again, rather than just jumping through the gate...

Another "problem" that comes up with SGU is will they still encounter a bunch of English speaking people on different planets? In both SG-1 and SGA, we could suspend our disbelief and accept that the Goa'uld had dropped these people there (or they were descendant from the Ancients/Wraith food in SGA) but how does that jive with SGU's world? They are now galaxies away from everything known. That's why I'm really looking forward to watching the 3rd part of "Air" as it essentially will be the first time we get to see how the weekly story of stepping through the gate really works...

Thargor

They've already said that unmanned seeder ships had gone out and seeded the place with stargates, I bet they'll just keep running into them.

Taltos

Holding back judgement on this for a few more episodes.

First my issues with it:
> flashbacks - why are all the shows doing this - I am getting dizzy from them all.
> Voyager anyone? - except unlike voyager this ship is pointed the opp direction and is heading outwards.... Nice little twist there with limiting the time spent on any trip out...

Like the way it was filmed and some of the interactions of the new crew. Just so glad that you know who is dead. Annoyed me in all the other shows he was in - saw him in this and thought - either die or I switch this off.

As I said though - interesting start. Hope they manage to make more of it than a Voyager clone.

ei.sdraob

J-blk wrote: »

That is an interesting point but I do wonder if they'll water down that element soon - the flying camera spheres are essentially substitutes for the MALPs so now they kind of have a way of knowing where they are going again, rather than just jumping through the gate...

Another "problem" that comes up with SGU is will they still encounter a bunch of English speaking people on different planets? In both SG-1 and SGA, we could suspend our disbelief and accept that the Goa'uld had dropped these people there (or they were descendant from the Ancients/Wraith food in SGA) but how does that jive with SGU's world? They are now galaxies away from everything known. That's why I'm really looking forward to watching the 3rd part of "Air" as it essentially will be the first time we get to see how the weekly story of stepping through the gate really works...

apparently the aliens are meant to be very "alien" and id say thats whats gonna happen, allot of money was put into this and the quality of visual effects is stunning

http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/10/review-stargate-universe-catches-air/

Taken together, “Air” Parts 1 and 2 are a fine set-up for the show and an illustration of how SGU is about people, more than technology, alien planets, or the plot of the week. Neither of these episodes, however, represents what we think is going to be a typical hour of the show. For that, you’ll need to hold out for the end of the story and come back for “Air, Part 3″ on October 9.


SGU makes use of impressive new vistas to depict galaxies far, far away.

In the final hour of what is really an extended pilot, the human refugees must send a team to an alien planet to find what they need to keep breathing. It’s a trip through the Stargate to a vast, desert world in a galaxy where no human being has ever set foot. In so many ways, this is what Stargate is all about — and has always been about. But SGU gives the classic “trip through the gate” formula a new twist (or three): Instead of exploring a planet, meeting a village of humans, and finding (or causing) a crisis, here the characters are on a continual mission of survival. Air. Water. Food. Like plane crash survivors in the wilderness, they need to stay alive long enough to find a way home. And there aren’t any medieval villages to go to for aid.

yes i always found aliens talking English funny at least in star trek they had universal translator thingie

and them villages all looked the same

Taltos wrote: »

As I said though - interesting start. Hope they manage to make more of it than a Voyager clone.

doesn't feel like Voyage at all (i recently watched all 7 seasons during summer), only similarity is being stranded in space, but thats common theme in sci-fi (points at Atlantis too)

Voyager had starfleet officers who are trained for long term missions, and i was always amazed how the ship was clean and brand new every week, Destiny on other hand is full of holes, and seems the next few episodes would be about the characters dealing with the place falling apart (something that should have been done in Atlantis!)

i would love to see them explore the ship, whats behind them doors with an X?

and the new gate is cool, i heard that its not meant to be as reliable since its older gate technology (should be fun) and then theres that countdown yoke (12 hours is it?)

/

Mr E

Before I watched this, I was worried about the parallels between the storyline for this and Voyager. Thankfully, the pilot blew that away. Sure, there are similar story ideas, but the tone is completely different and there are enough unknown elements to make this stand out on its own (and stand head and shoulders above voyager).

Liked it alot, and look forward to seeing what happens next.

Just stay away from Medieval villages, and if I ever hear the metallic scuttle of a f**king replicator in this show, I won't be happy.... keep it fresh.

Sherifu

Lads, could we keep air part 3 stuff in a pre air thread please?

JohnK

ei.sdraob wrote: »

i would love to see them explore the ship, whats behind them doors with an X?

Hull breaches and the vacuum of space I'd imagine - thats what was behind one of them anyway when they had Eli open the door from the main controls.

telemachus

I'm not sure if I missed something about how those personality swapping magic stones work but aren't they rather missing out on an opportunity with those things? Just for a start they keep going on about how their only doctor is "just a medic" , couldn't they stick a highly trained doctor from earth onto one of the stones and call him up when needed, the same goes for calling up Mckay/Jackson/Carter et al for general tinkering/puzzle solving so as to avoid relying totally on the rather dubious Rush? Or are these things just one way to earth, still, you'd think they could at least send Rush or Eli back periodically to update and work with other experts.

Sherifu

telemachus wrote: »

I'm not sure if I missed something about how those personality swapping magic stones work but aren't they rather missing out on an opportunity with those things? Just for a start they keep going on about how their only doctor is "just a medic" , couldn't they stick a highly trained doctor from earth onto one of the stones and call him up when needed, the same goes for calling up Mckay/Jackson/Carter et al for general tinkering/puzzle solving so as to avoid relying totally on the rather dubious Rush? Or are these things just one way to earth, still, you'd think they could at least send Rush or Eli back periodically to update and work with other experts.

Very good point. Great plot device and opportunity for guest stars. Now that I think about it i'm sure that's the way the writers will go with it. Probably for the first few episodes it'll be all about survival. But once things stabilise i'd expect to see the stones being pulled out.

JohnK

When they used those stones in SG1 it sent Vala & Jackson to the Ori galaxy but their bodies with (presumably?) the Ori galaxy peoples consciousness were unconscious on beds in the infirmary so it may not be possible for earth people to come to the ship if you understand me.