tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post3995433318461667679..comments2024-02-19T08:20:10.456-06:00Comments on Public Transportation Snob: Reconsidering Stargate Universe: "Life"Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-37645330971191224692018-05-13T15:10:35.150-05:002018-05-13T15:10:35.150-05:00Greg, I like "Cloverdale", but it is ver...Greg, I like "Cloverdale", but it is very literal in the way it shows the other characters (Young as his dad, James as former love, etc.), so your point makes sense. Legion is such a trip in the best way possible. We watched S1, and I can't wait to dive into S2. It does surprise me that "Cloverdale" is the lowest rated. My guess would have been something early like "Water" or "Darkness". The fans were rough on those early episodes in S1.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-27573837178613076502018-05-13T12:57:25.292-05:002018-05-13T12:57:25.292-05:00Actually, the lowest rated episode of SGU was &quo...Actually, the lowest rated episode of SGU was "Cloverdale", which I happen to agree with. Doing psychological episodes is extremely difficult to pull off, and I don't feel they did a good job of it in that episode. Most of the problem was that they tried to make Scott's dreams too literal, and there needs to be a sense of symbolic representation that needs to be interpreted. It needs to be surreal, but not so much that it is incoherent and uninterpretable. People who pull this off well are Bryan Fuller and Noah Hawley in "Legion".Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05820995578584481542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-82028695123916876892018-01-09T21:23:05.529-06:002018-01-09T21:23:05.529-06:00No problem! It is odd that "Life" is an ...No problem! It is odd that "Life" is an episode that had so many low ratings. I would have guessed that "Earth" would be lower; that is when I started to feel the tide turning against the show among many fans. You may have a point that Camille and Sharon's relationship played a role given that fact. Nearly double seems like too much of a disparity to just explain away as people not liking the episode. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-76303416940583737672018-01-06T21:06:14.639-06:002018-01-06T21:06:14.639-06:00Sorry, didn't mean to suggest that this was th...Sorry, didn't mean to suggest that this was the only faction against the show, but on IMDB, this episode received 10% "1" ratings, nearly double the other episodes. I think it is safe to conclude from this and the online hateful comments that this was a substantial share of the backlash against SGU. This faction of the Sci-Fi demographic always irks and perplexes me -- people who are interested in stories about the future yet live in 1960. I agree that they handled Camille and Sharon's relationship well. It was also handled in about the most G-rated way possible. Any more so and you almost wouldn't have been able to tell that they were a couple.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05820995578584481542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-82872645907752498002018-01-02T17:16:06.497-06:002018-01-02T17:16:06.497-06:00Greg, I agree that a decent portion of the Stargat...Greg, I agree that a decent portion of the Stargate fanbase wasn't ready for SGU, though it likely stems from a variety of factors. You make a good point about the Wray/Sharon relationship, which is handled really well on the show. It shouldn't be controversial, and that's true for many of the relationships and conflicts on SGU. After 10 seasons of SG-1 and five of SGA, the formula was in place. I love those shows too, but it's refreshing to see something new in the franchise. SGU gets more interesting with each re-watch, and it's really too bad that it didn't last a long longer. Thanks!Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-78094170650797766282018-01-01T20:59:56.558-06:002018-01-01T20:59:56.558-06:00Here is where most of the thinly veiled criticism ...Here is where most of the thinly veiled criticism against SGU begins. I see a lot of online comments about people who stopped watching SGU after nine episodes because "the characters aren't likable". What they are actually referring to is specifically at 0:17:00, because how "dare" TV shows portray gay characters? Life also has the highest percentage of 1 rating votes of any of the episodes in IMDB. One of the major problems SGU has was that SG-1 and SGA were "family friendly". While it is good to have shows with ratings that young children can watch, this term also serves as a magnet for the homophobic extreme religious right. This ended up being a large part of the SG fan base when they introduced SGU. Most people these days know that they will be justly attacked for straight-out declaring their horrid prejudices, so instead they disguise their criticisms into seemingly intelligent forms. I guess it's a good thing that Dominic Zamprogna left the show and they didn't get a chance to fully flesh out Boone's character? The haters would have doubled.<br /><br />As for the episode, I think that especially the second half contains some of the most intense scenes in the entire series. I loved the confrontation between Spencer and Franklin with Young's intervention. That's what conflict looks like! It made the confrontations between the Maquis and Federation in ST Voyager seem like two siblings fighting over their toys. The whole end of Life was basically one thing after another that caused Young's life to unravel. Add to Spencer that Telford is, in Young's mind, fooling around with his wife. When he confronts them, not only does he make things worse, he finds out that Emily thinks he's still fooling around with TJ. Rush is lying to the crew about the Icarus-type planet and trying to convince people that someone needs to sit in the chair (anyone except Rush, that is). This all puts Young in the position to act rashly against any better judgment in Justice.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05820995578584481542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-36119532713875747132016-02-15T20:11:06.018-06:002016-02-15T20:11:06.018-06:00I know! It would be great to see him get another m...I know! It would be great to see him get another major role in a series or movie. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-88362384755214646602016-02-06T13:08:38.680-06:002016-02-06T13:08:38.680-06:00It is a pity that Jamil has had very little work s...It is a pity that Jamil has had very little work since SGU..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08930064500720408510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-7016129866717500872016-01-12T09:09:31.396-06:002016-01-12T09:09:31.396-06:00No problem, Jaina! I took a super-long break betwe...No problem, Jaina! I took a super-long break between writing about previous SGU episodes and the last two. I'm hoping to keep a better pace this time, though it may be a few weeks before I can dig into "Justice" and "Space". <br /><br />It's definitely true that the Stargate writers never felt that comfortable showing the home lives of their characters. This was especially the case on SG-1. With SGU, they sometimes fell prey to obvious plots with characters like Scott and Chloe. They tried a lot harder and it worked at times, but it still felt a little forced.<br /><br />I totally agree with Jamil Walker Smith! I've really noticed just how good he is as Greer in this re-watch as I've been writing about it. He just owns the screen and creates a really believable character. It surprises me that he hasn't done much since, at least from what I can tell. I found that the show sometimes felt that the audience cared more about a few characters than we really did. I think Brian J. Smith is very good as Scott, but he wasn't always as interesting as the show thought he was. Same for Chloe too. Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351431577484530230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917634143872972680.post-74109206595776626802016-01-12T02:21:34.804-06:002016-01-12T02:21:34.804-06:00It's taken me so long to get around to reading...It's taken me so long to get around to reading this, sorry Dan! <br /><br />Think the one thing all of the TV shows in the Stargate universe struggled with was portraying Earth life. The writers and directors really couldn't put together the genuine and real lives of the military and people involved with the Stargate project. Until Universe, and a few of the characters. Totally agree with you about Camille and Sharon's relationship - it's refreshing to see something like that in a TV show that's so male dominated and hardcore sci-fi at times. <br /><br />I wish they had done more with Jamil Walker Smith - his character really starts to come into his own and one of the most underrated actors on the show. Shame he hasn't appeared in anything notable since. More time with Greer, less time with Scott would have made me very happy.Jainahttp://time-wellspent.comnoreply@blogger.com