Battle-Stargate Universe
After the Treks ended there was not much Sci Fi to be seen on TV. Stargate SG-1 kept us from having withdrawals but we missed the illusion of mainstream acceptance that came with having several shows on at once. Then Battlestar changed all that. It gave us Sci Fi while dealing with some of mans primal inner forces. It combined action and cool gadgetry with the sort of cerebral nuances that could allow a sociology professor watch and not feel obligated to call someone afterward and say, “I don’t even own a television,” to save face. The cool thing about Battlestar having a more diverse basis of appeal is that it did not receive the denouncement by my girlfriend that automatically accompanies any show having Sci Fi as a category. In fact, she actually watched it with me. That has never happened before.
When I heard the premise of Uni I was a bit worried. It sounded like a mix between the ill-fated Babylon5 spin off Crusade and Star Trek Voyager. These shows both had ships out in deep space looking to find something that will allow them to go home. In fact, this cliché can be traced back to the 1960′s and the original Lost In Space. It is the first in a long list of clichés the show is riddled with. They have also hijacked Voyager’s idea of mixing the castaways (Federation and Maquis) into groups that will fit naturally on opposing sides. We have military, politicians, scientists, and POC’s (plain old civilians).
After the first few minutes, we go into flashback mode in order to get the back story on why they were running in the first place. I think doing it this way allowed them to stretch out the action of the opening battle over 30 minutes rather than playing it straight through from start to finish. I guess that is supposed to make the show seem more exciting. I hope this doesn’t mean that such tactics will be needed frequently to mask an absence of action. Also after 5 seasons of Lost, I cannot take any more flashback shows. A show employing this format instantly loses 25% of its points with me for unoriginal thinking. This was the main reason that I immediately tuned out Defying Gravity. We’ve had copies of “Lost In Space.” Defying Gravity gives us “Lost” in space. (get it?) I can even imagine the studio writer pitching the show to execs: “Picture a reboot of Lost, only the island is…wait for it…SPACE!” Exec: “I like it. I like it.” Yuck! Now THAT, is a crappy show.
The main objective of Uni thus far is to begin repairs on an Ancient ship named Destiny, that our SG folks have found themselves on. There is a race against time (what’s a sci fi show without one of those?) because the ship is venting atmosphere (what could be more original that that?). Ultimately they must get enough control over the ship to allow it to return our heroes home by means of a stargate. Changing course won’t do the trick because it is traveling at light speed and has traversed several galaxies on its journey. Therefore, a return trip by ship would take several million years and none of the cast members could survive that long without checking their Facebook page.
I speculate that they will try to stretch the limits as to what to expect on a Sci Fi show. I say that because of a hot and heavy sex scene which prompted me to send my 6 year old out of the room. I guess this is not for the kids. Of course this is not breaking new ground because Battlestar had lots of that. Oh darn, there went my no comparison promise. I think that was a lost cause from the start.
