io9 
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San Francisco, 8:19 PM
Sat Dec 19
18 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/14/09
If there is going to be criticism on the portrayal of characters, it should be on the fact that that every minority character is portrade as violent, incompetent, scheming, or untrustworthy.
SGU has the first Black NON-alien on a Stargate show and the character has to be the 'angry black guy' way to go SyFy.
12/14/09
I in fact recommend this as a writing excessive -- just write a character without pre-assigning a gender to them and see whether they turn out to be male or female. The results can be freakish/cool.
But back to the show, it's fine to have characters that have sexuality, but what's the point in forcing them to put it out there and let it all hang out when that isn't something they would be doing in a realistic situation? If SGU was realistic, somebody would have gotten raped by somebody by now. How's that for sexuality? Where are the abusive relationships, the psychotic mind-jobs and vindictive revenge-sex sessions? If we have to deal in extreme sexual situations, at least make it interesting. Don't just throw random naked people at us. It's crude.
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One thing I noticed when comparing the Stargate: The Ark of Truth commentary to the Stargate: Continuum commentary is that Cooper seems much more interested in the technical aspects of making television than he is in the actual development of story or character. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't think it's a coincidence that some of my least favourite parts of Stargate SG-1 come from episodes in which Cooper has been heavily involved as a writer or director.
It's too early for me to say whether I would commit to another season of Stargate Universe. The mid-season finale intrigued me, sure, but I need to see how the rest of the season plays out before I make any decisions.
12/14/09
Lot's of scifi shows deal with sex on a regular basis, but in an adult manner. What you do is portray women as gun toting blow up dolls, complete with lingering nipple-level POV shots and steamy shower voyeur clips. That wasn't sexual, you say? O RLY? So, where was Eli's magical scrub session? Uh huh, that's what I thought.
"I don't think we over-use it; I directed the Kino episode."
I don't think my sh*t stinks, and I should know, as I'm the one who just shat it.
*rolls eyes* Whatever Cooper, keep blaming the fan base for your ineptitude.
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12/15/09
in any case, I totally agree!
12/15/09
12/14/09
Well that just ruined my day.
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12/14/09
SGU is not SciFi, it is SciWhine, or better CryFi.
The show's producers better listen to the wisdom of Conan "lamentation of women" only AFTER crushing enemies. Not as the core plot of an entire season.
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Maybe it's because I don't think the meta-plot is represented strong enough. Why isn't the show about helping Rush discover what the ship is about? Why does it seem like nothing happens unless they run out of water, or power, or air? Setup episodes are setup episodes, and I'm glad they have water and air now, but they are hurling through the universe in an ancient spaceship and no one seems interested, other than Rush, who they all hate anyway.
I have other issues too: I'm really not into Eli, the kino confessionals are silly, and the body-transfer-to-visit-the-real-world gimmick has been overused and really cheapens the "I want to go home" aspect.
I feel bad too because I see potential, but a lot of what it does seems designed to make me stop watching. I have a feeling that if this ever turns into a really great show it will be like so many others in that it's footnoted by "except for the first 10 episodes".
12/14/09
Second bit - how bad is that city they're in? Its the middle of the day - is everyone afraid to step outside their door? I assume so, since there's NO hiding of bigfoot as he searched the streets. What's the cover story - Max Cavalera fell off the Soulfly tour bus, has amnesia, and hasn't shaved in a week?
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(What Would Mary Ratliff Say?)
12/14/09
We're on an ancient ship and so far the coolest things we've seen are a console that recharges batteries and an apparently broken command chair (knowledge downloader my ass). I think the episode where they flew into the sun was the most interesting one of the season, just because the ship actually did something!
SG1 was fun because of how the team reacted to what they found on other planets.
Atlantis was fun because of how the cast reacted to the neat stuff they found in the city.
So far, the SGU cast are so obsessed with their petty little rivalries that they completely ignore the ship around them. The most interesting piece of tech that they've used on the show is the long range communicators, which have now been so overused as a plot device that I'm sick of them.
I don't care about Young's issues with his wife, Rush and Telford. I don't care about this stupid little love triangle Chloe is building. I don't care about Greer's constantly chomping at the bit.
Things I do care about: What the hell was that little ship that detached from the hull in the third episode? Now that the ship has recharged, are the containment shields holding better? What's the deal with this shipboard AI and when are we going to meet it?
12/14/09
The problem with the sex/romance elements in the show is that they are BORING. I've been enjoying the way it's been going for the last few episodes overall, but scenes with Scott and the Senator's daughter make me zone out while watching.
The reason for this is that they're pretty irrelevant to what the story has been about so far. You can't just declare strong female (or male) characters into existence, you have to build them up and make us believe in them. I don't have a problem with sex in being in sci fi, I have a problem gimmicks to make us feel like we're watching a strong character when we're actually not. There's some really good actors on SGU being given a not a lot to work with.
The people, like Robert C Cooper, behind the Stargate shows are very good at what SG1 and Atlantis were. I'm yet to be convinced that they're capable of pulling something off as real and dear to you as the characters on BSG were, and their implicit trashing of their previous shows and manipulation of the discussion here actually just reflect how defensive they are about that.
Just compare how well you felt like you knew Adama, Col Tigh, Roslin, Sharon, the Chief, Starbuck or Gaius 10 episodes into BSG.
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I tried to promote your comment, Tzepish.
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Helo and Sharon - First of all, I always found it too convenient that Helo always went along with every single thing Sharon asked. He didn't really have all that much motivation to love her in the first place... I kind of felt once they introduce Hera, it stopped being a romance and was more about him protecting his child. Even after Hera went away it just seemed a bit too contrived.
Starbuck and Sam was just ridiculous. For the most part it was just sam whining about Starbuck doesn't love him, then [SPOILER] he turn catatonic and she whines about how it's too late. Maybe it's just me, but I never really felt a connection there at all.
12/14/09
Apparently if an editor promotes a comment, the rest of us can't affect it any more.
12/14/09
SG-U is getting better. I'm happy to try 20 more.
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12/14/09
While the suits love the idea of injecting what is popular into every show, a scripted show needs to stay a scripted show.
One of the biggest things that made Virtuality a big fat fail to me (well that and blah characters that I didn't give a damn about) was its over reliance on the reality show gimmick.
I don't even like real reality shows, why the hell would I want to watch a fake one?
The creators of this show have already said they have used the kinos to provide character development to characters they otherwise haven't gotten around to yet.
It's a cheap shortcut and an unnecessary one when they had plenty of time that they wasted on the crisis of the week because they ran out of hand wringing, only to get that item in the nick of time, and then find something else they need.
The fact is, they are never going to get the audiences that American Idol and Dancing with the Stars have and no amount of kino cam confessionals will change that or lure those people in.
Instead they should focus on what they do have, what the strong points of the Stargate franchise are and how they can incorporate new dramatic elements into that are not gimmicks or shortcuts.
12/14/09
12/14/09
Also, I suspect that if these first few episodes had focused on characters' backstories instead of how the hell they're managing to survive on a millenias-old derelict ship hurtling endlessly through deep space, people would instead complain about the show being unrealistic by taking the characters' survival for granted. It needs to establish a believable day-to-day reality before it can sell us believable characters. The early stories should depict the struggles they go through to maintain a livable situation aboard Destiny. The kino as a "shorthand-character-development" device is a legitimate, if imperfect, solution for the short term.
12/14/09
I thought the episode that used the time travelling kino with a mystery of everyone dying and then the crew had to try and figure out why and how to prevent that was interesting and good use of the device. However I also feel, like the interviewer in the above referenced article, that they've overused it in these early episodes and relied on it too much for quick fix character development. I'd rather see the characters interacting with other characters than talking into a camera.
On the idea of the resources and realism vs character development, I don't think it's an either or situation. I think there could have been a balance of both. Of course there should be some reference to trying to acquire resources, and again BSG did a good job of reminding of this without dwelling on it too much, but I also would have like to have seen more of a shift to the human interaction regarding these resources.
Instead of the repetitive crisis of the week where we of course knew they would get what they needed at the last second and be saved, they could have, for example, featured Camille Ray (Ming Na) more and had more debate and struggle over how the resources get distributed and who gets the bulk of them, what everyone's roles are etc.
Yes it would have made the show parallel early BSG with it's Adama/Roslin power struggle even more, but it worked there and was more compelling to watch than the generic resources crisis of the week.
It's just like how most people thought more positive of the mid season finale because it featured the main characters interacting and actually doing something instead of running around looking for X and hand wringing over whether they would get it in time when of course we all know they will.
12/14/09
IRT using the quest for resources as an opportunity for meaningful character interaction - I think they've honestly been trying to do this to some extent, particularly in "Air, Part 3" and "Water." In the former its was more of a character-goes-on-quest-and discovers-something-about-himself kind of thing, a la Lost, and in the latter it just kind of collapsed into a pit of cliche when Scott fell into that hole. And the "Eli has an awkward moment and makes a funny" trope has gotten kind of old. Yeah, I guess the writing has been a little lazy thus far.
You're definitely right that they should be involving more characters by now, too. Especially Camille and Lt. James.
12/14/09
JJ Abrams with Lens Flares EVERYWHERE! In the New Star Trek, and FRINGE.
BSG had its shakey came style with the "Breathing" in the framing. Heck even the effects heavy shots from the pilot to the end of the show...but then again that was why i thought BSG was nigh unwatchable in the beginning. I don;t know enough about what the space dogfights were supposed to look like to deal with the "embedded reporter" style.
Heck even Star Wars Episode Two did the "Embedded reporter, Black Hawk Down" style snap zoom shakey cam thing.
We view our movies as we view out world, and wobbly cam is here to stay.
12/14/09
The Office
Paranormal
Quarantine/REC (the Spanish original)
Best in Show (et all)
District 9
...just to name a few off the top of my head. And this doesn't even consider the many single episodes of various TV shows that made use of the technique. ER is one show that had a "reality" episode.
And these are only examples that appear after the advent of so-called reality TV. Of course the scripted use of documentary style has been around a lot longer. I remember 2 great M*A*S*H episodes that used it.
BTW, American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are competition shows more deserving of the moniker of variety television than reality tv.
12/14/09
Heck there are even some examples of 'reality television' in scripted stories that I liked, like The Running Man and The Truman Show, but those are almost more social commentaries on our fixation with being entertained at the expense of others and maybe that isn't such a good thing.
I think the 'documentary' style reality technique can be and is at times certainly used to a beneficial effect in a story.
I guess the technique being used in SGU that bugs me is the MTV Real World 'confessional' style with a bit of Blair Witch thrown in. I find it overdone and tired and I find myself wanting to get on with the story and would rather learn about the characters through the story than having them sit there as a talking had and spout out their background and feelings exposition style.