I have been trying to think of something that I could write a series of posts about in an effort to try and write something on here a little more regularly. Given that and following the advice I'd heard from a wise person "write what you know" so I started to think of what do I know well and what might at least slightly interesting for others to read. After thinking about it for awhile I decided to write a post about some of my current favorite TV shows since I do spend probably too much time watching these shows and it is something I can do over a couple of posts as I can do one each on shows I enjoy the most. That being said let me start of with one of my absolute favorite shows: Stargate Universe.
Stargate Universe is the latest show in the Stargate franchise. The basic premise of the show is that a group of people both military and civilians end up trapped aboard an Ancient starship which they cannot control with no way home. It may not be the most unique premise for a sci-fi show but what they have been able to do with it is absolutely amazing. Stargate Universe is a very character driven show as a lot of the drama, action and energy of the show comes from the interactions and relationships that form between these characters. The characters on SGU are one of the main things that first got me interested in the show and that even now maintain my interest in this show. All of the characters in the show are real, they all have their own strengths, weaknesses, flaws, beliefs and quirks and it is a pretty good bet that you'll be able to identify with at least one of the main characters if not more and perhaps in different ways which was my experience. Perhaps the greatest thing about the characters though is that fact that they actually do grow and change and develop over the course of the show which is something that you don't often find in a lot of shows as it can mean that they aren't interesting or likable as soon as you see them. SGU is currently in its second season and I can honestly say that at this point there aren't any characters that I think are pointless or that I don't feel some sense of investment in. Dispite the fact that when I was watching the first season there were definitely characters I didn't like and at times wished the story would move onto the characters I found more interesting. It is because of these amazing characters and the journey that they take that I think SGU is one of the few sci-fi shows that people who normally aren't interested in the genre could really enjoy if they gave it a chance.
That being said, there is certainly a lot more going for SGU aside from the characters, the music in the show for one thing is unbelievable, I honestly don't know what I can say about it other then to just go and watch and listen for yourself, it is really beyond words especially when hearing it for the first time. The graphics and visual effects of the show are also incredible, I was re-watching some of the episodes from the first season and just blow away again by just how amazing a lot of the show looks and not only that but how much the show continues to look amazing but in a way that supports the story and immersion of the show rather then in a huge showy display that while does look cool for the moment can sometimes take you out of the flow of the show I have found.
Each of these elements on their own is amazing but when they are all put together and all work with each other strengthening and supporting each other the effect is just mesmerizing. In the case of SGU the whole is definitely greater then just the sum of its parts. However I think for me at least the thing that I love the most about the show is just how committed it seems that everyone that is a part of it is to making sure it is the best it can be. I mentioned in my previous post how much I enjoyed listening to the commentaries on the season 1 DVD not only because they were very interesting and entertaining to listen to but also because it showed how much the people (usually some of the cast) supported and cheered for their fellow cast members and as I have seen on twitter how excited and supportive the crew and the writers are of the actors they work with. And just as if to confirm this earlier today when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to say in this I saw I message on Twitter from Mark Savela who does visual effects work on SGU showing a picture of a set of dog tags that apparently the cast had given to the crew for their work on SGU which I thought was a really nice gesture. To me this clear interest and commitment from the people working on both in front and behind the camera on the show translates through into the show itself helping to make it what it is.
Despite all of this SGU hasn't had the ratings that it definitely deserves and sadly enough I think a lot of it comes from the fans of SG1 and SGA who seem to feel the need to attack the show because it is quite different from its predecessors. I can understand if you don't enjoy something not watching it but I don't understand these people who claim to be "Stargate" fans and yet continue to attack and berate the show. SGU is indeed a stargate show it is just a different type of stargate show, it is a little more serious, it is a little darker but that doesn't mean it isn't a stargate show. The story in SGU does start off a little slowly in season 1 but if you look at it in the bigger picture it makes perfect sense why that is the case as that is in all likely would actually happen, when you start off pretty much with nothing it is going to take awhile to get things going and as season 2 has proven so far now that they have that foundation things are definitely starting to pick up in terms of pace. Another thing I have often heard said against SGU is that isn't funny and is missing all the humor that was present in the other stargate shows which I can't agree with at all. There is plenty of humor in SGU it is definitely more of a subtle humor but it is definitely there. It really wouldn't make sense in the context of SGU to have the same kind of humor that is in the earlier shows but the same comic sensibility is definitely there just adapted to fit with the type of show SGU is.
I know this post has been fairly long but there is one last thing I would like to mention, SGU is approaching the end of the first half of Season 2 and how well it does will likely have an impact on whether it is picked up for a third season or not. It is because of this that I have joined a group of SGU fans to try to raise awareness of this great show and try to get as many others as we can to start or continue to watch SGU live on whatever channel it airs on where you live (Tuesday on Syfy for the US and Friday on Space for Canada are the only ones I know of). If you would like to help us do what we can to try to make sure that SGU gets another season please tell anyone you think might be interested in the show to give it a chance, also every tuesday while the show is airing we are supporting the show by including #SGU and #giveSGUseason3 in any of the messages you send on twitter. I have included a link to the website for the SGU Awareness Campaign in the links section of my blog you can also follow @SGUAwareness on Twitter. Thank you very much to the entire cast and crew of Stargate Universe for such an amazing show which I will enjoy for a long time.
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