1. The concept behind the show is derivative, but admittedly inciting. A group of humans are trapped aboard a derelict alien spaceship on the other side of the universe, trying to get to grips with its technology and figure out a way to get home. The problem is: every episode so far has focused on the characters trying to prevent their deaths (through lack of water, or lack of power) and, while that's certainly a dramatic idea worth exploring, the show has quickly become quite insular in what it's offering viewers. It's called Stargate Universe, but we're stuck aboard that depressing ship most of the time.
2. And yes, while the setup has us aboard a spaceship many galaxies away, it's still basically just a different locale from which to have adventures through a titular Stargate. But strangely, we've only had one actual Stargate-related adventure in four episodes, as the writers seem to prefer exploring their less appealing spaceship. After years of Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis, maybe the writers are exhausted having to come up with new aliens to meet and planets to visit? Whatever the thinking, the sense of adventure is slim so far.
3. While it's a robust setup already used in Lost In Space and Star Trek Voyager, the compelling idea of people struggling to get home is totally undermined by the fact they have alien technology that can send anyone's consciousness into the body of someone on Earth (usually Lou Diamond Phillips), and basically use him as a real-time avatar to puppeteer. This has clearly been done so they can have parallel stories on Earth -- and, while it's a groovy piece of tech, them using it means it's impossible to feel like these characters are truly "lost". Can't we at least have its use rationed because of power concerns?
4. The characters are boring grunts. Robert Carlyle's the best of the bunch, but because his character's a genius scientist responsible for stranding them aboard the Destiny, nobody trusts him and most people don't like him. That makes it difficult to like everyone else, as Carlyle's presented as the lead and we need to feel like there's some kind of bond between him and the crew. But, right now, there isn't. Worryingly, Carlyle's character has recently started bugging me with his elitism and shouting, too, so I find myself hating his haters but partly agreeing with them that he's a pain in the arse.
5. There's no sense of fun. Admittedly, SGU's aiming for a serious angle on the Stargate franchise, which I'm all in favour of, but a big part of its predecessor's appeal was the comedy and camaraderie between the actors. The funniest thing we get here is clichéd geek Eli quoting from Planet Of The Apes (twice in as many episodes, actually, as it's apparently that funny to say "... get your hands off me, you damned dirty ape" for the zillionth time in sci-fi.)
6. Its attempts to ape Battlestar Galactica are a decent approximation visually (lots of dark corridors and handheld cameras), but it lacks a certain elegance. They've also forgotten that a big part of BSG feeling "adult" wasn't just its documentary style, but the depth of character, storylines, juicy allegories and mysteries. Right now, SGU looks like what it is: Stargate-level scripts with the fun bled out, filmed in a BSG-style.
7. There's no outside threat. Admittedly it's early days, but so far threats have come from the environment and each other. Even the illustrious BSG knew you had to have an enemy chasing your tails, but there's no sign of a Cylon equivalent for SGU yet. Which is strange, considering both Stargate predecessors knew how to handle and develop a long-running villain. Of all my complaints, this is the one easiest to fix, and I don't for one second think SGU won't have a big enemy to grapple with. Destiny will be shipshape one day -- right? So they'll need a villain.
8. The exposition is clunky. There are actually a lot of characters in SGU, but the plots are terrible at introducing them within the parameters of the week's story. Really, there are only about four characters getting decent screen-time in which to show their personalities properly. The rest are either two-dimensional grunts, or line-up for exposition-heavy intro's via SGU's version of a "video diary" (floating ball cameras that Eli insists everyone talk into so the audience get to know their name, age and occupation.) Okay, it's a quick way to sketch-in a character, but each scene is so clunky and dull that it's tempting to fast-forward through them, and nothing anyone says ever sticks in your memory. People get remembered through their actions and reactions, not dialogue-heavy "talking heads".
9. The female characters are pushed to the background. Can you even name one, beyond the dead senator's teenage daughter -- who appears to have been cast because she resembles Summer Glau in Firefly? Of the few there are, two have already been caught wearing underwear or taking a shower by Eli.
10. Yes, Eli. A clichéd MIT dropout who found himself aboard an alien spaceship millions of light-years from home after joining the Stargate program because he solved a complex puzzle in a video-game. He's the audience proxy for newbies because, like them, he doesn't understand the Stargate franchise either -- but he learns everything via orientation videos the audience only see snippets of. I mean, I watched Stargate SG1 every week for about five years (before it started to bore me), and even I felt slightly lost during the pilot, and Eli was no help. He's also one of those comedy sidekick characters people write while trying to channel Joss Whedon, coming across as a caricatured, snarky nerd as a result.
I'll give it a few more weeks, but SGU isn't really fulfilling my expectations with what a darker, mature Stargate series should be like. But I guess there are plenty of dissenting voices out there, so can you convince me I'm wrong?
