It seems that SGU is on a very clear path to becoming another great series in the Stargate franchise. After last week’s episode, “Darkness,” that became pretty clear. What the episode did, mixing some light comedy into the darker plot of Stargate Universe, was what I think fans have been looking for.
On top of that, “Darkness” had some very well-acted performances by both Robert Carlyle (Rush) and Louis Ferreira (Young). Episode 104 also had the advantage of having veteran Stargate director Peter DeLuise at the helm (who also happens to have a bit of a cameo in this episode).
Some of the best parts of this episode came from the acting. I mentioned Robert Carlyle and Louis Ferreira earlier, but David Blue (Eli) also gave an outstanding performance. In “Darkness,” we got to see a different side of Eli: while he seriously underestimates himself and isn’t sure of what people think of him, he can hold his own, as we saw while he was being questioned by some of the crew. It’s nice to see that Eli is getting some character development and isn’t just this funny slacker guy. This was a great episode to also get some development of characters we normally won’t see as much.
Out of all the acting performances in this episode, Louis Ferreira was the best of the bunch. While Colonel Young definitely is in command, that really came out in this episode, and I felt Ferreira really came into his role. The mess hall meeting scene was really well done, as were his scenes with both Rush and Dr. Volker. As we get to know the character of Young more and more, you can tell that he is a no-B.S. kind of guy and that was played very well.
Robert Carlyle is a terrific actor and he doesn’t have any problem letting that come out in SGU. He really got to go deep into his character last night and go a little crazy. Obviously it was mentioned that a lot of that had to do with caffeine and nicotine withdrawal, but I would like to think that some of it has to with Rush regretting his decision to dial Destiny – but that’s probably not the case.
Instead, the ship is an obsession for him that he so eagerly wants to fix to the point that he hasn’t even slept since coming on board. That was extremely evident as he was yelling at people throughout the episode to turn systems off to conserve energy; he almost looks at the ship as if it is a child. I thought between the characters of Rush and Young, Carlyle and Ferreira stole the show last night.
For the most part, “Darkness” was a well-balanced episode. One of the main reasons it was able to stay that way was because Brad Wright (who wrote the episode) mixed in enough comedy and enough serious moments so you didn’t want to jump off a cliff after the episode’s end. This is a big reason why I think SGU is such a different animal than Battlestar Galactica so far. There was not a whole lot in Battlestar to smile about, but with the character of Eli and the mess hall scene, along with some hilarious sexual innuendo, viewers are given something to laugh and smile at — which will make this show very successful.
The only problem with “Darkness” is that, without getting too much backstory, Colonel Telford comes across as a total jackass and not a very likable character when he comes on board the ship. It would have been nice to have some development on Telford before he started bossing everyone around. Hopefully in the very near future we’ll be able to get into his character a little bit more.
Overall, another great episode. I think SGU is a keeper!
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I loved this episode, classic Stargate humour mixed in with great acting. Oh and for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, keep an eye out for a special cameo….
joecool280 | October 17 @ 6:16 pmway better than the first episode(s)! (thank god)
mistergroenevingers | October 17 @ 6:19 pmdying to find out what will happen next episode
Julian, great review.
I’m so glad you acknowledged Ferreira’s performance. I was impressed with Young from the beginning and that impressioned jumped with this episode.
I too would like to know more about why Telford is so quickly on Young’s case, but sometimes with backstory, it pays not to throw it all on the viewer at once.
MediaSavant | October 17 @ 7:21 pmQuestion: as Rush could use help from people of Sam Carter and Rodney McCay capabilities in learning how to operate the ship, why not use several of the communication stones so that such people from Earth could do so via several folk on the Destiny?
pervasive | October 17 @ 7:29 pmthe humor part at the very beginning was the best part. Rush would have to be put down to make him any better. Still hoping it will get better. Might end up like STNG…have to wait a whole year before it’s truly watchable.
Tichiba | October 17 @ 7:41 pmi lol’d when i saw peter deluise’s cameo
Trak90 | October 17 @ 8:52 pmThis show is terrible. As I watch it I can only wish that each of these people dies a horrible and painful death. They are all morons and they all complain and cry too much. You guys stopped making Atlantis for this piece of garbage?
Stormin | October 17 @ 9:21 pmI really like this new show, and i’ve been a fan of all three series for quite awhile now. I really thought it needed a new direction..not that the old one was bad…it wasn’t…but it was becoming predictable.
I think this show balances a good story..with a very good amount of suspense…and well placed humour where its appropriate.
I think this episode marks a first in the ‘entire’ SG franchise in that I don’t ever recall an SG episode where there was definitely some nipple. I know the original cut of ‘children of the gods’ had nudity in it…but you never saw it otherwise. Others must have noticed this on James’s character? unless it was cut out of the US version
civicboy1981 | October 17 @ 11:02 pmI enjoyed this ep more than the previous ones, can’t wait for the rest of season.
Zulchi | October 18 @ 6:06 amThe last shot of the Destiny heading towards their ‘new’ problem coupled with the great music was just epic.
I’d have liked the episode more without the little “personal videos” interspersed in there. All of those people were annoying as hell. I’m enjoying Eli’s character, though.
terpette | October 18 @ 9:59 amSo much better than this crappy Atlantis!
Piernik | October 18 @ 10:39 amI enjoyed this episode a lot more than the 3 part opener. Seeing the ‘crew’ bonding at the start was very reminiscent of the meal scenes in Firefly.
No payoff to the pod/shuttle/thingy that left Destiny at the end of the last episode, though.
Discosis | October 18 @ 11:07 am@ civicboy1981
“The Broca Divide”, when Carter forced herself on Jack in the locker room.
ulkesh47 | October 18 @ 11:19 amWhile I wouldn’t call “Darkness” GREAT, I’d say the episode demonstrated potential for the series. SG-1’s first season was often cringe-worthy yet I stayed tuned and was most definitely rewarded once they got past the ridiculous ‘Carter is a woman’ issues of Emmancipation and Broca Divide, as well as the embarrasing ‘O’Neill can Kirk’ business in Brief Candle.
David Blue has been repeatedly quoted as saying that the series really falls into place around episode #7. In the meantime, there’s enough pearls in these early episodes to offset the cringe. My only concern is that as of yet, the women have been mostly written as strident whiners or set dressing (with the exception of TJ knocking out Telford). Certainly these actresses have the proverbial balls to tell the writers to give them some meat. If Tapping was able to tell them to write her as a person first, a woman second, why can’t these current actresses?
digitalred93 | October 18 @ 12:18 pmPerson first, woman second? WTF? Women in many cases make their decisions based on their nature and character as well as the males.
There is nothing wrong with women on SGU. If you sat down to watch it as quite realistic character drama – this is how it is in real life. Most women are whiners, except those who are born and developed as truly Persons or had special training like the military chicks.
BTW Military girl with the huge boobs was classy, Eli should never trust her at all. :D
universacred | October 18 @ 2:19 pmI fell asleep twice on my first viewing of this idiotic episode. First, we have the recycled plot device from Atlantis telling everyone there last words into the camera. Then we have Eli and the annoying girl in some back story which adds nothing.
What really got me is there they are having a full power failure with Destiny and commander Young feels it necessary to go back to earth and tell his wife he loves her instead of trying to get the ship fixed for Christs sakes.
You would have thought he rushed back their to get a hold of McKay or Carter for some advice.
So far this show is starting to become a soap opera rather than an exciting SciFi show.
I’ll give it some more time but I am disappointed. IMHO-They should have never cancelled Atlantis it was really a very good show.
SyFy has just about destroyed all the good shows and replaced them with reality TV and wrestling.
ScottyDog | October 18 @ 3:06 pm@pervasive: There are many reasons why Carter and McKay might not be able to help Rush. For example: Rush, as we know doesn’t like taking help from anyone, he has showed that on many occasions. Second, we don’t know were McKay is, depending on the Atlantis movie, they might already be back in the Pegasus with Atlantis. Third, Rush might have told O’Neill that he can handle the science on the ship. And we don’t know if Carter is busy fighting the Lucian Alliance. But then again this is a new show and they can’t have the old characters be the heroes so they probably won’t let them help our new heroes, that’s one thing you have to understand.
Nikst | October 18 @ 3:08 pmI am not sold on this new Stargate show. I didn’t like the last episode. It was dark and there was too much shouting. How interesting can it be if they are stuck on a spaceship for years? It will be tough to measure up to Stargate SG-1, and Stargate Atlantis.
wealthint | October 18 @ 4:40 pmanother ridiculous episode. Rush who supposed to be smart, but doesnt solve a single problem on the ship. But he does find time to push everyone around. Oh right that is great drama. And why exactly cant Samantha carter or Mckay help out??? I am sorry I know that Rush wants to work alone..but I dont really think the air force would care about that .. do you??? But then again how would Rush push Mckay and Carter around. They have decided to copy a season 1 episode from Atlantis. But in Atlantis we got to get to know the characters and feel for them. And why is Eli playing with KNOS instead of helping Rush with the ship. And would a female officer appear in front of her commanding officer in underwear..Chloe is pretty much taking a shower the entire show. And it seems the writers are building up a love triangle between scott-chloe-eli. The only redeeming part of this episode was that Greer was around only for 2 minutes…
krdstargate | October 18 @ 4:53 pm@Nikst
I don’t really think it matters where Carter & McKay are. That’s not really the point. SG history suggests they’d find a way to bring one of them on board. But, assuming they have better/more important places to be, there ARE more qualified experts on Earth than, say, Cloe and pretty much anyone on that ship that could help out Rush. Someone qualified to help. Whether Rush would let them help would just be a matter of added drama, not a reason to simply avoid the topic as though the possibility hasn’t crossed someone’s mind. It falls into the story flaw. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve still enjoyed the show so far, flaws and all, but something this critical and obvious should have been addressed and seems to have been completely missed by the writers. It happens and that’s okay, but like any continuity mistake, it can’t be denied that it was missed.
dmoas | October 18 @ 6:13 pm@dmoas: I see your point. You’re probably right, maybe they were afraid of having too many characters and didn’t want to stretch the cast further, there are 9 of them and some extras that have reoccurring roles. But yeah, like Telford they could have had an extra scientist. But if you look at the continuity thing, SG1 and Atlantis was faaar worse at that. The 200 episode of SG1 made fun of allot of those mistakes. Maybe they will address it later, who knows. But I like this new show, I like them all, SG1 SGA and SGU. I don’t mind the slower pace like some do, I am certain that the show will have both “slow” and “fast” episodes. Slow doesn’t mean bad, at least not for me.
Nikst | October 18 @ 7:03 pmI pretty much agree with all of what you just said. It’s just one of those little distractions that ultimately doesn’t detract from the show being good. And I’ve definitely seen much worse errors on shows that I also thoroughly enjoyed.
dmoas | October 18 @ 8:52 pmIf the writers do have the Destiny crew use the communication stones to ‘trade bodies with scientists and engineers, I would hope they explore the privacy/modesty issues. I’ll refrain from being more specific as the writers’ interpretation of copyright law might preclude the ideas, not that they’re great ideas. They could also explore EXTREMELY long distance relationships.
I’d like to echo those above that continuity and other flaws do not keep me from enjoying the show. It/they do make the suspension of disbelief, which is part of the audience’s means for entertainment, laborious and distracting. But I still enjoy SGU. I’m thrilled that the show seeks a more gritty, gray arrary of flawed, conflicted characters.
pervasive | October 18 @ 9:26 pm