When it premiered a year ago, "Stargate Universe" faced widespread fan skepticism -- natural given that its predecessors combined for 15 seasons.
'Stargate' promises another wild ride
"Universe" is different from its predecessors, but in a good way as its second season begins.
By SCOTT SLOAN, Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader
September 27, 2010 at 9:06PM
The show's producers promised a "Stargate" unlike anything before -- one that focused on character relationships and less on evil aliens hell-bent on enslaving humanity.
Some worried that the producers would stage a show identical to "Battlestar Galactica," focusing on drama to the detriment of action.
Complaints came often during the first season of "Universe." "There's not enough action," many fans wrote on message boards. "There aren't enough cameos by past characters," others shouted in text form, using their exclamation points and all caps.
Yes, "Stargate Universe" is different. But it's good.
It tells the tale of present-day Air Force personnel marooned on a spaceship built by the same ancient race that built the Stargates, devices that allow interstellar travel via wormholes. The ship is too far from Earth for the crew to return, but the producers have made use of "communication stones," introduced in "Stargate SG-1" years earlier, to allow the crew not to lose all contact.
The first part of last season offered the back story on each member of the crew, weaving intricate tales. By midseason, the action began ramping up, including alien encounters, and the season finale saw an Earth-based nemesis defy all odds and invade the ship in the same way the Air Force crew wound up there in the first place.
With that cliffhanger, Tuesday's second-season premiere promises action of old, with character drama that previous "Stargate" shows always seemed to touch just lightly.
No, it's not "Battlestar Galactica." I've watched every hour of "Battlestar" (even "Galactica" 1980) and each "Stargate," and science fiction is a large enough genre that the two shows stand alone.
Despite its heavier overtones, "Universe" hasn't lost the sly humor that imbued "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis." There's just less of it.
But sometimes less is more, and "Universe" is just that.
