Are You Ready for Stargate Universe? [Geek Editorial]

By Jimmy Rogers (@me)
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

When Star Trek: TNG ended and the franchise melted into less compelling series like Voyager and DS9 (let’s not even DISCUSS Enterprise), we “space action show” geeks felt a little lost.  Nothing really stood out and said, “Here’s that great formula you know and love.”  Then Stargate: SG1 came along and for many it was like a second wind.  O’Neill, Carter, Jackson, and Teal’c filled our evenings once again with heroic space explorers fighting against evil and discovering amazing technologies.  Their mission wasn’t far off from “to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go…”

Stargate: SG1, like all good things, had to come to an end.  Atlantis kept alive the spirit of Stargate (fairly valiantly, in my opinion), but eventually that story also came to an end.  The spiritual void opened up again.  Other shows, like Heroes, Lost, and Battlestar Galactica, filled in the gaps for some, but personally I bided my time with SG1 reruns and Doctor Who.

Now, a new Stargate star is about to rise.  Stargate Universe, or SGU for short, will launch this Fall.  After Comic-Con, we have a new tidbit to share with you:

Ok, after that geektastic video explosion, here are my thoughts.  The creators of SGU clearly want to piggyback on Battlestar Galactica’s incredible popularity with some audiences that may not have otherwise been into Scifi.  It looks like the cast IS essentially on a Battlestar, so it’s hard to wiggle out of that one.  It also appears that they want to include some more of the “darker” aspects that BSG was known for.  This is definitely a shift away from the more happy-go-lucky mood of SG1 (despite dire, world-ending danger at all times).

That being said, I still see potential for SGU.  It’s hard to tell from the clip, but the formula seems to be intact.  That is, stern military commander, genius/scientist who likes to blunder ahead in the name of exploration, and….well that’s the groundwork anyway.  The model is flexible as we saw in Stargate: Atlantis.  There is time enough to find a burly native and a sexy second-in-command!

While it’s hard to pull much more out of a < 3 minute clip, I do like the tip they made to the geeks in the audience (the Hoth reference).  In a darker Stargate universe, a youngish geek character will not only add occasional bits of humor, but might also give the fans a “seat in the cockpit,” so to speak.

Whatever the outcome, I hope that SGU improves upon the Stargate franchise instead of simply leeching off of a very loyal fan base.  Dial the gate!

How did the clip strike you?  Have you got any early feelings about SGU?  Share them below or let me know on Twitter!

[Via io9] [Crew picture from Fused Film]