'Human' (114) General Discussion

[CarrieAnn]

I, however, like sitting on the fence and not being a fan of either Young or Rush really. They're both daft IMO. But interesting characters.

Maybe we should make up Young's background. I bet someone here has done that. I'm guessing he had things go wrong in his military career which he blamed himself for. What Artemis wrote fits in with that:

But there's also some kind of an obsession to never lose a person under his command, even if that means he'd lose all of them or kill himself by trying.

Or maybe people kept being promoted over him and he became power crazed! lol.

[garhkal]

I too would like to know where his "i don't want to lose a single person" obsession came from.

[CarrieAnn]

Its quite a good obsession to have really. It is best IMO not to lose a single person if you can.

[Artemis-Neith]

Its quite a good obsession to have really. It is best IMO not to lose a single person if you can.

As long as you cut the sentence at that point, there's no question about that statement. It's exactly what it should be. But what I wrote goes on, and that is Young's problem:

Young cares about those people under his command, as long as it is not Rush. But there's also some kind of an obsession to never lose a person under his command, even if that means he'd lose all of them or kill himself by trying.

This makes it an unhealthy obsession. And he has no problem to exclude Rush from his rule.

[CarrieAnn]

So we can deduce from that, Professor Artemis, that he's had some terrible tragedy in his past where he lost a lot of people. Let's write a paper on the psychology of Young, lol.

Maybe if they'd done a series 3, all would have been revealed about his past!

[Artemis-Neith]

Well, to each their own obsession!

[garhkal]

Its quite a good obsession to have really. It is best IMO not to lose a single person if you can.

But as any Military commander knows (OR SHOULD KNOW) you will always lose someone. Whether from enemy fire, suicide, or just plane old getting out of the military. No matter how hard you try, how well you plan etc..

[sci-fi fanatic]

It's taken longer than I'd like, but I've now written a new article on "Human" for my look back at Stargate Universe. If you check it out, let me know what you think!

Reconsidering Stargate Universe: "Human"

[garhkal]

Wow.. Once again your work is amazing in how your writing brings the viewer into the mind and see's things how you do..

Now onto specific comments..

The remarkable work from Robert Carlyle only improves with each viewing. He’s willing to show the darkest sides of Rush, but it’s never just for shock value. There’s a method to his madness even when his behavior is callous towards his fellow crew members.

What makes Rush work is the humanity beneath the character. Carlyle says so much with his eyes; there’s compassion even when he’s being cruel.

The bolded part is one of the most poingent parts of Carlyle's acting that several people seem to overlook.. Few are the # of actors imo that can say so much just with facial expressions... And Rob is one of the top 5 for me..

The choice to have Jackson appear as part of Rush’s memories also works. He isn’t just stopping by a brief cameo to remind us of SG-1.

Jackson serves as a bridge from Rush’s personal life and his time on the Destiny. That moment comes near the end of his wife’s struggles and begins his journey to work on the Stargate program. Jackson also provides clues that help Rush unlock the basis for the Destiny’s master code. It’s fitting that an archaeologist who studies ancient symbols would help Rush on his way. There’s also a nice callback to the death of Jackson’s wife Sha’re in SG-1’s “Forever and a Day”.

There are parts of me that wonder if that's the reason they DID choose Daniel for the 'crossover role' there.. Cause he DID go through something similar with Sha're.. But another part also makes me wonder if it might also have had something to do with the fact he was also the only member to have ascended.. And his being in rush's vision/dream state while attached to the ancient chair was deliberate....

It’s easy to forget the B plot of this story involving Eli, Chloe, Scott, and Greer’s expedition to a new planet.

I have chatted to many folk on other sites and in person who don't even 'remember that plotline' was also in the episode.. Almost as if they felt the entire human ep was just on rush.

Another interesting aspect is Young’s tough decision on whether to save Rush. If he doesn’t act and Rush discovers new info, that may save the stranded people on the planet. Despite the new information, there’s little Rush can do in such a limited time.

It was a painful decision which could have meant doom either way young chose to go...

It takes some patience, but the adjustments feel natural over the full season. “Human” is an engaging detour that provides Rush’s history while still driving the story forward. The clue he found sets up greater discoveries down the road.

And it also proves in a way, Rush was right that sitting in the chair WAS the key to unlocking the Destiny...
Too this day i am still shocked that we never see whether rush ever got an award FOR just this episode.. Yea we know he won several Gemini awards for SGU, but when i check his IMDB page, it doesn't list which eps he won it for..

[Artemis-Neith]

Hope it doesn't bother you when I share this on Tumblr. I cannot green you, so I hope you'll take this as a different kind of green.

It's taken longer than I'd like, but I've now written a new article on "Human" for my look back at Stargate Universe. If you check it out, let me know what you think!

Reconsidering Stargate Universe: "Human"

Someone on FB pointed out that you miswrote Louise Lombard's name and was quite unamused by it (can happen, I don't think it's that horrible )

The loss of his wife Gloria (Julia Lombard) drives his pursuits on the Destiny.

[sci-fi fanatic]

Someone on FB pointed out that you miswrote Louise Lombard's name and was quite unamused by it (can happen, I don't think it's that horrible )

Thanks! I fixed the mistake, so hopefully that person will calm down a bit. I am my own proofreader, so things happen unfortunately. I appreciate the catch (and the Tumblr share)!

[Krisz]

It was when I watched this episode I felt it was worth hanging on when I nearly gave up on SGU after episode five. As you said, the slower pace of character development in SGU really paid off down the line. This episode was a great example of it and is one of my favourite ones of the show.

As always sci-fi fanatic you pick up everything about an episode that reminds me of why I really came to like this show. A joy to read as always.

[garhkal]

I agree. the Slower pace of the show so they could develop characters more WAS one of the bigger draws for me..

[sci-fi fanatic]

It was when I watched this episode I felt it was worth hanging on when I nearly gave up on SGU after episode five. As you said, the slower pace of character development in SGU really paid off down the line. This episode was a great example of it and is one of my favourite ones of the show.

As always sci-fi fanatic you pick up everything about an episode that reminds me of why I really came to like this show. A joy to read as always.

Thanks. I was on board during the show's original run, but I think the slow pace works even better on DVD or streaming. Without the long breaks and commercials, it all flows even better.

[garhkal]

It certainly does.. Many of my comrades in gaming, say that its those breaks that has pushed them off Several shows...

[jelgate]

It certainly does.. Many of my comrades in gaming, say that its those breaks that has pushed them off Several shows...

The average viewer isn't so dedicated to a show that they care when it goes on break