Stargate: Universe, season 1

FOUR STAR
-Faith
Depending upon the life experience you bring to this, you might be tempted to call it the most exquisitely-rendered character drama in the history of science fiction. And you might be right. From the moment you realize that you're watching the show's breakthrough episode, your eyes may widen in your determination to not miss a single breath. You may laugh. Your chest may tighten. Destiny is brought out of FTL by a star and planet that shouldn't be there. For the month that it will take to leave its gravity well, they send a crew to the surface. The discovery of an obelisk leads to the conclusion that this solar system was created by aliens. Eleven people decide that staying on the planet is preferable to returning to Destiny. Young and Rush know that losing so many might cripple their chance to survive. The debate they share with Camille is powerful, and stunningly unforced. All the human conflicts in this episode feel real in ways that few products of any genre do. The element of faith is brought in, as pertains to both god and a higher meaning; this too is perhaps the first time such issues have felt so rawly, unpatronizingly real in the sci fi universe. Choices will surprise you, and your ability to project how it will end is negated. At the heart of the episode is Alaina Huffman, as the ship's medic. She is pregnant, and the thought of raising a child on a sterile, possibly-doomed starship is unacceptable. Young's solution is unexpected, and as perfect as every other thread in this tapestry.
NOTEWORTHY
-Air ***
This pilot episode is better than its SG predecessors on so many levels. It's gritty, raw, unpredictable, and the characters feel real. It all starts with the writing, of course...it's the usual suspects, so maybe they got a visit from some glengarry-glen-ross-sci-fi-Alec-Baldwin type. ATLANTIS was an improvement over SG1, because of better chemistry. This is something else, though. It very nearly reaches the level of the most brilliant sci fi pilots ever. An accident, perhaps coupled with the ego of Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle - THE FULL MONTY, TRAINSPOTTING) sends an ill-prepared crew onto an ancient starship traveling from galaxy to galaxy on auto-pilot. The Destiny is falling apart, and the demands of supporting a live crew give them only a couple days to live...nor can they go back whence they came, as the unique origin gate was destroyed. The only annoying aspect is the religiosity, particularly with the second-in-command, an otherwise thoroughly likable performer (Brian J. Smith). Louis Ferreira lends crusty, humanistic gravitas as Col. Young, whom you're sure is dead in the first ten minutes. David Blue is great as Eli, a slacker recruited by the Air Force because he was the only person in the world able to solve an equation embedded into an online game. Jamil Walker Smith is Master Sergeant Ronald Greer...in the real world, in military prison. Among this small band fighting for survival, he becomes a captivating presence. Throw in a little Lou Diamond Phillips (LA BAMBA, SUPERNOVA), some Ming-Na (THE JOY LUCK CLUB, MULAN), send-off appearances by Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping, and the potential is...well, the universe is the limit. Is it fair to say that all TV sci fi of the previous three decades had very obviously walked in the long shadow of STAR TREK, and that SGU is the first SG series to be born post-BATTLESTAR GALACTICA? Yup. Yet it doesn't feel derivative.
-Light ***
The Destiny is out of power, drifting toward a star. A lottery is held, to send seventeen people on the shuttle to a planet that may be habitable. Before Matt leaves, he and Chloe make love, to Eli's dismay. A tense, four-star effort that glides back to three with an ending that doesn't quite ring true, as Young openly throws unsubstantiated suspicions upon Dr. Rush.
-Water ***
Mysteriously-disappearing water reserves cause tension, and require a dangerous away mission to an ice planet. On the ship, a coalescing alien particle cloud that seems friendly, becomes deadly when aggravated. What sets this series apart from virtually all sci fi that's come before is ambiguous dissonance. Most TV sci fi characters fit neatly into the ol' "good" and "bad" files, but here...one moment, you're rooting for Eli as a youthful voice of humanistic idealism, the next you're angry at him for losing his composure. One minute you're thinking Dr. Rush is an egomaniacal sociopath, the next you're lauding his clear thinking. A more honest portrayal of life? Another effort that pushes up against four-star greatness...
-Earth ***
The parade of excellence rolls on. This episode explores one of the more interesting scientific notions of the show, the idea that this stranded ship can stay in communication with Earth through communication stones left by the ancients, which allow two people to switch bodies, no matter the distance. Body-snatching is hardly a new concept, but here for the first time we're allowed to experience it as friendly technology. Earth orders Young to try a risky procedure. When he balks, Col. Telford (Philips) exchanges bodies with him, and takes over. Rush sabotages the attempt, certain it will kill them all. The most fascinating part has Eli, Chloe, and Young interacting with their loved ones on Earth, in different bodies. They all handle it in different ways. Eli pretends to be a friend of his, knowing his mom would never understand. Young has sex with his wife, but Telford accidentally returns to his own body in the middle of it. Throw in a little Richard Dean Anderson, and away you go.
-Time ***
Okay, we're entering a patch of episodes where things unravel a bit. Much unevenness. This one starts out great, as the crew discover a kino recording of events that haven't happened yet. An away team is attacked by deadly speed-slugs, while lethal sickness breaks out onboard. The ending loses focus.
-Life **
A gay lead character on a sci fi series! With actual gay scenes! You go, Ming-Na-used-to-be-Wen!
-Justice **
Young is framed for murder, and the resolution on an alien planet between he and Rush is more bloody and permanent than you'll expect. The writing could have used a defter touch, but the other elements almost obscure that fact.
-Space ***
One of the most satisfying reappearances of a character left for dead, in sci fi history. Amidst unrest and suspicions about Rush's demise, aliens attack. Chloe is abducted. Able to board their ship by communication stone, because Rush pocketed one and was then picked up by the aliens, Young frees him.
-Divided ***
A gripping, can't-turn-it-off ride. The back-again Rush leads a civilian mutiny, and the tensions over choosing sides are explosive. Then the aliens attack again. Major plot holes, but great fun...and pardon my being an undersexed male, but lt. James (Julia Benson) must officially be given fair consideration for the most conspicuous breasts in sci fi history.
-Sabotage ***
The exploration of our own humanity through the communication stones continues. With Destiny stranded between galaxies, they need to bring in Earth's top expert on the engines of the ancients. She turns out to be a quadraplegic...so for several days, Camille finds herself paralyzed on Earth, while a woman who hasn't been able to feed herself since she was a child, is inhabiting a perfectly healthy body. She returns to the closeness she once shared with Rush. A subtle powerhouse of emotions is explored...and scientifically, who's to say that some form of reality like this won't someday exist, even in our own lifetimes? On a lighter note, if you have sex while temporarily inhabiting someone else's body and contract an STD...does Hallmark have an apology card which covers that?
-Pain ***
Claustrophobic, raw exploration of humanity is this show's bread and butter, but almost as if to show that they can kick it old school, you're treated to an episode of traditional sci fi. Ticks. Alien ticks. Not impressed? Okay, how about HALLUCINATORY ALIEN TICKS!!! It doesn't fall into silliness either. The character work still resounds, but let's just breathe and have fun for one episode.
-Subversion ***
The most satisfyingly cheeky of the handful of SGU episodes Richard Dean Anderson has done. Plus a little Michael Shanks, if you fancy that sort of thing. Plus a lil' Rhona Mitra (HOLLOW MAN). We learn that Lou Diamond's sliminess thus far has been the result of Lucian Alliance brainwashing. WHY has it taken me this long to figure out that the reason they didn't name the show STARGATE: DESTINY (which would be consistent with the pattern of the previous shows) is because they didn't want the fan shorthand to forever be...STD?