'Air, Part 2' (102) General Discussion

[VSS]

Um, I have nothing profound to add except I loved the last shot, of Rush turning around, looking back, and then stepping through the gate.

That's also the last shot in the original Stargate movie, where O'Neil says "See you around, Dr. Jackson."

Nice homage to the original original.

[Nemises]

Actually that's for people who haven't seen the previous eps or missed an ep here and there, not because they think people are idiots.

To be fair most are idiots and get all confused. Us folks who post on gateworld probably know the in's and out's of stargate thoroughly.

[jelgate]

who is supposed to be a lesbian ?

Wray

The fact you don't who is some what refreshing to me. I want them to know Wray is a lesbien but it become preachy like so many shows with gay characters do

As Brian Regan would say;
"I'm a dufus moron". I couldn't tell where the parts divided.

You could just look at the clock

Sex Scene: seemed like it was just arbitrarily tossed in there because somebody said; "Let's have a hot sex scene in the series opener to give it an extra boost." Mathew Scott doesn't seem like a "player" sort of guy, so the scene would make more sense further along in the season, after some sort of build up.

I don't think Scott is a player. I think it was just thrown in their to show he isn't the "clean" soilder who follow rules to the book like we saw in SG1 or SGA.

How many different looks were being copied?

1. CHLOE ARMSTRONG looking all Summer Glau in Terminator: SCC
2. EVERETT YOUNG looking all Sylvester Stallone in Judge Dredd
3. ELI WALLACE in his house playing a video game like straight outta Wargames: The Dead Code.

Anybody got more?

That is a pretty generalized view. I bet those looks were copied by someone even older

[mindfire]

I liked it, it's different but that is what I like about it.

[SGFerrit]

Actually that's for people who haven't seen the previous eps or missed an ep here and there, not because they think people are idiots.

Really? They rarely do stuff like that on British TV. It comes across as very noticeable to me, especially on Flashforward.

[jelgate]

To be fair most are idiots and get all confused. Us folks who post on gateworld probably know the in's and out's of stargate thoroughly.

The whole point of "Previously on X" isn't that the audience are idiots. Its for the audience who missed an episode. It helps from people getting confused which in turn helps the ratings

[jelgate]

Really? They rarely do stuff like that on British TV. It comes across as very noticeable to me, especially on Flashforward.

Every country's TV is different,

Oh yeah. Especially since Flash Forward is heavly serialized.

[knowles2]

Well the 9 long months are up. Stargate universe has arrived. Like most pilots this one introduce all the characters to us, couple using controversial scenes to say the least but we will get back to those later.

All the main characters were introduce to the audience during the pilot and they all seem to have complicated past lives, to Dr Rush and the women in the photo, to and his mysterious medical condition, Jamil and Everett Young relationship, to geer an his confinement to the brig, Wray who seem to be use to power and having controlled over people. All these characters unlike the previous SGA an SG1 characters seem to have complicated lives which goes far beyond just the Stargate program . They all seem to have depth and back stories planned out, an not tact on like they seem to be SGA an SG1.
Now we get to the infamous sex scene which took place between Vanessa James and Everett Young .

Many of my fellow fans will undoubtly disagree with me but I think this scene belong in the pilot. It shows that these characters have knowing each other long than five seconds and they have got to know each other may be even fallen in love over the time they knowing each other. An unlike the clean by the rules Jack and carters, which let be honest drag on way to long, they got straight into it like most humans do.

The reason it’s controversial is because Stargate SG1 and Atlantis use to be a family show, but to me I thought it setting up complications and difficulties for the future, I am going to take a guest and say they were not using protection why they were doing it, which could set up some great moral arguments in the future of the series. Stargate has grown up and it better off for it, I hope the writers do not back away from it.

Apart from the characters having actual depth and background from the opening, the biggest change to the series is that it far mature than previous Stargate will to tackle today issues and not the scientific one but social ones lack the problems with American health care system and it insurance companies not paying out, it was only briefly touch on but I hope they will in depth on the issues. We also sure for the first time in a long time that the SGC is actually being run like a secret organisation non afraid of kidnapping people, bribing and coercing them and even the odd threat to make people to do what they want. My personal hope is we see this side of the SGC and more often and it about time we shake of that clean and all good image we have for the last 13 years, it was wearing thin anyway.

The actors themselves played the character well, Robert Carlyle was awesome throughout, but the stand out scene has got to be when he was in his quarters and= when he just cried his heart out about the women in the photo, his character has so much conflict inside of him and from the pilot it seem he alone without any close friends, this portray on screen well, I got the feeling he was be picking up a few awards for his performance over the series. My only concern is that he puts the other actors to shame, it going to be interest whether they are able to come up to his level of performances over the season.

Elyse Levesque character plays Cloe Armstrong in the series and why did a okay job was not totally convince of her character. The scene where dad died was over acted and over dramatic and I was just not feeling it.

She however was not as bad Aliana Huffman as TJ, the few lines she did get were pretty bad and she lack any on screen emotions or acting ability, she said the lines but there was no feelings or emotions there. She for me just does not make the grade, and if there one character I think should go it would be her, she did not even do he tear scene convincingly.

David blue did alright as his character Eli Wallace, and why I am not completly convince that they would actually put top secret information into the game, it non the less a interesting way to introduce the character.

The rest did not really have the screen time to convince me of their character but apart from Aliana Huffman they can all act here roles well enough.
The thing I must congratulate the SGU production team on is the SFX they were awesome throughout and certainly shows that they spend some of the extra cash on the CGI. Although they were beautifully done they could of been longer and more detail, especially the Icarus battle scenes. The destiny , fully revealed in the opening credits looks stunning an certainly gave me the impression of holding many secrets beneath it skin, they actually got back to the quality of the credits in the first seasons on SG1 which were always the best in my opinion. I personally hope the writers do not ignore her like they ignore Atlantis for five seasons and treat her like a character, after all they need there alien character why cannot it be the destiny.

The editing and the use of flashbacks is a other controversial element of the pilot. My own opinion is that it was well done an it was easy to follow what was going on, it kept me engage an guesting what was going to happen next, an also certainly left a few questions to be answered in the future storylines. This trick was borrowed from Lost and while not done as well as Lost, I am not convince anyone will equal it one lost, it was done well enough to enjoy an I hope they keep it up for the rest of the series life.

For the stargate know it all fans there are a few minor plot points, the poo they use was not earth origin, through that does depend on the date the project was launch, Earth was given a new stargate after all. The lack of Asgard energy beams of the USS Hammon.

This by far the best pilot this fall I have, putting other with far higher profile shows to shame, including Flashforward and Forgotten, an why it was not perfect there is plenty of stuff for the audience to get their teeth stuck into. From what I am hearing, non stargate fans, especially ones who are fans of Lost and BSG have liking what they see.

I will be editing this over the coming days and adding to it.

[reddevil18]

Okay, I think I can finally formulate an opinion
Well, I liked it. I didn't love it, however.
It was a bit TOO slow at times, but I think it's better than rushing it. Speaking of rushing...I love Rush. He's not as unlikable as I thought he'd be. I also love Eli and I think both of them have potential to become iconic characters for the SG franchise. Scott was also cool and I liked Greer a lot more than I thought I would, even though he wasn't in it that much. The cast is huge here. I mean, not as many background characters as SGA and SG-1, but a lot of these people will have fairly important roles to play, so it's to be expected that not all of them will have enough exposure in the pilot episode. But I'm patient and I'm looking forward to seeing all of them develop.

I wasn't impressed with some of the acting, but overall, it was good. I saw a lot of people praise Levesque. I was so-so about her. She wasn't really annoying, but her acting wasn't as strong as I expected after reading some of the reviews. Heck, all of the female characters were pretty "meh" to me. But, again, hopefully with time, that will change. I'm certainly looking forward to more from Ming-Na.

The ship itself was incredibly cool-looking. That opening scene, going through the corridors, reminded me a lot of "Alien", and that's always a good thing.
The sets look great, as do the VFX...so far. Let's be honest, there weren't even half as many VFX shots in this pilot as SGA's "Rising". And...that's not a bad thing. Though, I still expect my fair share of VFX "porn", as it were. The fact that the ship's damage seems to have come from a battle, as well as comments from the likes of Mallozzi leaves me hopeful for at least a space battle or two in the coming episodes.

There was PLENTY of humor, IMO. Given the pilot's premise, I think it was more than enough. As time goes by and the people get more accustomed to the situation, I expect more of it. Afterall, the blend of different elements, including drama, action and humor is what made SG-1 one of my all-time favorites. I have hope that TPTB will strike the right balance.

I can appreciate that the way they did the flashbacks could have confused some people, but I liked the fact that we didn't have "Now", "Two hours ago", "A year ago" and so on title cards. Perhaps some of the transitions could have been done better, but I thought it made sense. I followed it easily.

While I did find myself looking at my watch from time to time, once the gate dialed and the team was assembled and went through the gate...I wanted more. I was thinking "Yes, this is Stargate." And, at the end of the day, that's what a good pilot does - makes you want more. And I do.
I preferred "Rising", but I found this superior to "Children of the Gods". Good, it could have been more, but a solid start. 8/10

[Rhodan]

who is supposed to be a lesbian ?

Wray, the asian girl is.

As for the premier, let´s start with the cons:
- People screaming in the dark corridors immidiately made me asking who is Cylon.

-Altough I didn´t so mach dislike flashback format at the beginning itself, I had to think if it wasn´t done to make plot more interesting.

- The second half was essentially survivalist drama. Realistic considering the situation, but I would expect something a little more compelling for the pilot. I am also worried that "survivalist drama" will be series for a lot of episodes now, as it seems.

- Unstoppable attack of Lucian Alliance seemed a little too convinient.
And now Pros:
-Probably the first Stagate series with charecters both realistic and interesting: liked Eli, liked Chloe, liked Rush. Not too much interested in other characters as of now but they have potential.

-Destiny is more interesting environment than Lost City of Atlantis itself.

- No-nonsense attitude of characters, a lot of thought going into script.

I still can´t much figure out how much will the series look after they will cover basic needs but I´m definitely curious!

[Arative]

Well I've had a night to reflect on the episode and my initial impressions are still the same. I enjoyed it, its a refreshing change of the SG-1's and SG-A's writing style, that I think will help re-invigorate the franchise. Sure, they could have made it exactly like SG-1 and SG-A but, that's been done before and I think it would have led to a more stale show.

The sex scene didn't bother me at all, for those who watched the pilot of SG-1 on showtime or have it on dvd, there was graphic nudity and cussing, so this was fairly mild by comparison.

My only complaint really is that they killed off Shooter McGavin, would have liked to have seen the Senator for more than 2 episodes but it was a good way to go out. He knows he's dying, heat condition, possibly bleeding internally, why not go out, giving your daughter and 80 other people an extra day to survive. Those of you with kids, can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same thing to make sure your children have a fighting chance?

Visually, I thought the episode was pretty good. The shaking cam effect doesn't bother me so much, unless there is a lot of action on the screen, like Bourne Supremacy. Now that shaking cam effect really bothered me. The effects for Destiny being in FTL or Hyperspace or whatever it was, was pretty cool. Overall, I thought the CGI was top notch.

Did anyone else get impression that someone or something was watching people through the camera ball? They kept showing the perspective through the camera ball and I just got that feeling. Now I've avoided all the spoilers and everything else but has there been any indication that the ship itself has some sort of AI or something like that?

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the characters. Rush is very intriguing, the calm way that he speaks is pretty cool. I can't help but wonder what he did when he used the communication stone to contact Earth. Speaking of which, I like that they aren't cut off from Earth so to speak, opens up realms of possibilities for story telling. Eli, was a pretty good character as well, although I tend to think that the "genius" character is overplayed a little in the Stargate franchise. I thought Scott was a solid character as well, trying to be calm and a leader and losing his cool was well written. Chloe was ok, would like to see where they are talking that character. TJ, was meh, didn't learn much about her, except she wasn't suppose to be there. Greer seems unstable, so that should play out well.

I think SG-U is a good entry into the Stargate franchise and I think I'll like it a lot.

[Madwelshboy]

Loads of information to take in over 7 pages!!!!!!!

Just want to comment on this before i givemy thoughts:

I was surprised that she was only in a handful of scenes. It's still more than LDP :\

Indeed, though I think Ming-Na has commented on this and how it's not necessarily going to be the norm for the whole season. Not to mention, the ensemble cast is quite large and some characters are bound to take a back seat eventually.

Still, it is unfortunate that it was so little even in the pilot episode

When the pilot was being written Wray was oringinally created as a recurring character, but after production started and Ming-Na was cast, the character was uped to regular. So there wasnt that much of a shock that, it wasnt really more than show that the character was there to establish here for later on.


So what did i think? Well i thought that it was quite intersting and it did show potensial for somthing great, i wasnt really wow-ed by it. I remember thinking to myself as the "team" walked though the gate at the end of the episode, that I dont really care what happens to these people in part 3. The shots of the Destiny were just beautiful. The visual style while different from stargates past, works well for the concept. The flashbacks, i really liked the flashbacks. They did their job in explaining how these people got to were they were and they werent like LOST style flashback, which can be disjointed from the main plot. I really do think they worked better than if it was told in a liner way, which could have made it come across as a bit rushed. The pacing was good, once or twice a little slow, but overall good.

As for the characters, from reading some of the reviews and after watching the show, i agree with what people were saying that Rush and Eli, were front an centre. That kinda made me get a bit bored with these two characters by the end of the episode, Eli more than Rush. That's not a refection on the actor, RC did a great job as Rush and DB is a funny guy. I know that Eli was the audiance way into this world, but i do think as the episode went they could have dailed him back abit, and maybe done a bit more with Chloe, another character who was a fish out of water in the Stargate world. Speaking of Chloe, im a bit indifferent right now about the character. The same goes for Col Young. There was scenes i liked with these characters, but there wasnt enough for me to say that, yes i like these characters. Greer and TJ were probably the character, that i reacted differently to than i thought i would. Greer was more interesting than i expected, while TJ was the only character, were i felt that i really wanted to know more about them. The stand out character for me was 100% Lt Scott. He was potrayed great (not that i doubted that), was the most real and human character. He really stepped up, even with his lack of experiences.

Overall, while it wasnt amazing it was solid and did the job of a pilot. It showed potensial.

[Nemises]

Wray

The fact you don't who is some what refreshing to me. I want them to know Wray is a lesbien but it become preachy like so many shows with gay characters do

The IOA chinese bird..who'd have thought. I tend to stay away from spoilers.

I reckon we'll have a lesbian scene within the first 10 episodes...cant say im not eagerly waiting

[iolanda]

Possible. But Carter said that they were not able to beam anyone on board due to the sheilding from the mountain. (I forget they exact quote.)

He was in a glider.

[jelgate]

The IOA chinese bird..who'd have thought. I tend to stay away from spoilers.

I reckon we'll have a lesbian scene within the first 10 episodes...cant say im not eagerly waiting

Yes.

That will be hard considering her partner is back on Earth