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**entil2001** · 01 October 2010, 03:32 PM

â€œStargate Universeâ€ used its first season to redefine the boundaries of a show in the Stargate franchise, focusing on a tighter plot continuity as well as a much darker array of complicated, flawed characters. The result was a success, especially among formerly jaded Stargate fans who initially refused to give SGU the time of day, only to be enthralled.

I was a fan from the get-go, having grown tired of the formulaic nature of â€œStargate Atlantisâ€ by the end of its run, so I was definitely looking forward to the seriesâ€™ return. And for the most part, it managed to live up to the expectations, with a few minor points.

Perhaps most annoying was the seemingly easy resolution to the first season finale cliffhangers. After setting up so many untenable situations, putting so many characters in immediate peril, it was a bit too easy to have everyone intact by the end of the first act. In particular, Youngâ€™s survival felt like a cheat, as he really had no part in it.

However, this is SGU, and itâ€™s never that easy. One way or another, unless they toss the captives out an airlock, they now have more mouths to feed. I wouldnâ€™t necessarily mind having some of these Lucian Alliance survivors eventually involved in the story, though. For one thing, they would make great cannon fodder to keep the stakes nice and high. But I also thought the redhead in the leather top could have used some more screen time. (OK, so Iâ€™m shallow!)

SGU has done a great job of spooling out consequences. Rush made a tough call to ensure that his people regained control of the ship, and I doubt that will be forgotten in any respect. Young is going to have to come to terms with the fact that it was a combined military/civilian effort that saved the ship, but it took the civilian strategy to do it. Never mind his personal loss, and how that will affect TJ. (As tragic as it was, Iâ€™m thankful that it will keep the show from having to endure a â€œbaby plotâ€, as they almost always kill good shows.)

While I have no doubt that the fallout of this ordeal will be explored in detail over the course of the season (until the next crisis hits, at least), I do wonder if there was something specific that TJâ€™s injury-induced vision was supposed to foreshadow. Itâ€™s not like this series to leave mysteries lingering for too long, and that seemed just a bit too on the nose.

**Promethius30** · 14 October 2010, 07:11 AM

Not really a review but i have a quick talk about the episode on my blog http://joelhopkins.wordpress.com/201...-intervention/

**Rachel500** · 15 December 2010, 05:14 AM

When last we left the crew of Destiny, all were facing mortal peril after an invasion by the Lucian Alliance and generally stumbling around in the dark. Question after question was posed in the finale: would Rush wrest control of the ship from the Alliance invaders? Would Eli get to the airlock in time? Would Scott and Greer get fried? Would Chloe die from bleeding out? Would Young get executed? And would TJ lose the baby? All these, and other questions, are answered as Stargate Universe opens for its second season but more are posed making this an intriguing beginning if lacking in action.

I think I complained in my review of â€œInsurrection Part 2â€ that for a finale, the episode was heavy on drama but light on action, and actually I have the same complaint about this opener. There is action: Young and Dannic fight in the mess, Scott and Greer fight in the infirmary, Ginn kills Dannicâ€¦but really thatâ€™s about it. Even the action-oriented montage of perilous situations that closed season one, are all wrapped up and dealt with so quickly in this episode that itâ€™s a bit of anti-climax. As a season opener, itâ€™s definitely missing the high excitement of Goaâ€™uld motherships or Wraith hive ships exploding in bright balls of pretty fireworks. Maybe itâ€™s just me, or years of SG-1 and Atlantis, but I was expecting fireworks and this didnâ€™t deliver. What it does deliver, which has become a key characteristic of this new variant of Stargate, is very good drama.

The continuation of the story arc with the Lucian Alliance is solidly worked out. The stranding of the majority of the crew on a barren planet including Young is well done (if a little reminiscent of Star Trek: Voyager) and again, love the alien landscapes that theyâ€™re continuing to show. The power struggle within the Alliance is well-played too with Varro unable to maintain control, Dannic being wildly OTT and Ginn stepping up (go girl power!). The drama evoked by Rushâ€™s plan: give up or die is well-paced for the most part and there are some really lovely notes: Rushâ€™s struggle to convince the others of the necessary sacrifice of their people outside of hydroponics, Scottâ€™s order for him to do it, the tension as Telford argues with Dannic. Itâ€™s an interesting note that most of this tension is down to Dannic and Rush being equal to each other in fanaticism. Both are not prepared to give up.

On a totally shallow note, can I just say that I love Scott and Greer padding about Destiny and acting like military men, loved it. I love them sneaking up and killing the Alliance guys whoâ€™ve just found Rush, Brody, Eli and Chloe. I love them taking control of the infirmary. Two hot young guys in action was very welcome. More of that, please.

What is also very welcome is the focus on TJ. My favorite character from season one, TJ proved to be the most sympathetic of the crew of Destiny. The story was always going to have to deal with the baby situation and the prevailing view of fandom was that the baby would die. The producers and writers give this a nice twist though, using it to expand the storyline from â€œFaithâ€ and pleasing fans of the yummy Doctor Caine, with a return. Has the baby been transported to the planet? Or is baby Carmen dead after all? Which will TJ believe? Thereâ€™s a beautiful lyrical, mystical quality all through this sub-plot although the pacing drags in places. The visual of the gorgeous space nebula at the end to give TJ hope is just stunning though and Alaina Huffman gives a wonderful performance.

Indeed, most of the cast pick up right where they left off in terms of performance; all of them delivering quality including those playing the additional recurring Lucian Alliance characters who are set to rock the boat in the coming episodes. The production value also remains high with everything from the costume design to the visual effects (which are as fabulous as ever) being slick and well-made. But then quality of production has never been the issue with Stargate Universe.

There are signs that criticisms of the first season have been heard; for all the male posturing in this episode, the women are very much front and centre - apart from TJ, James and Wray both get good moments as does the Lucian Alliance character, Ginn. Although Chloe isnâ€™t given much screen time there is a hint that there is a storyline for her beginning to be seeded. Thereâ€™s also nice use of the communication stones to bring in actual doctors to assist with the wounded (including a nod to SG-1 with the recurring use of Doctor Brightman). The teamwork between the military and civilian crew left on Destiny saves the day. Unfortunately nothing has been done about the lighting - itâ€™s still too dark! Are the tweaks going to be enough to keep fandom happy? Itâ€™s hard to say.

The struggle Universe has always had is that itâ€™s not the Stargate that was loved by fandom during the twelve years SG-1 and Atlantis aired. Itâ€™s missing the lightness both metaphorically and literally of its predecessors and itâ€™s missing the fireworks. But taken on its own merits, â€œInterventionâ€ is a classy season opener filled with quality drama and maybe itâ€™s time to stop expecting Universe to be anything else.

Previously published at GeekSpeak Magazine

**ZRFTS** · 16 August 2012, 02:18 AM

Intervention

That episode title gives me hope; could it be that the powers that be realized just how bad the show is and they've actually decided to take control, guiding the show in a direction where it's potential has been realized? Nah! They're still incapable of giving themselves an intervention, hence the content of this episode. If "Incursion (Part 2)" was the bread containing the sandwich then "Intervention" must be the stick that holds the sandwich together, possibly with a pickle on top.

Whatever good stuff that was in the last episode is gone; no more Eli and Chloe plot to hold it down, no more decent Young scenes and no more need to save the ship. What we do get is a furthering of the crisis involving medical people, a new commander who's obviously crazy and the furthering of the conflict between the people on the ship and the invading captors. The action mentality is there; you've got people yelling, you've got fights, arguments, dramatic tense situations, people running around but none of it really seems to be focused. It's almost as if the episode is trying to throw everything at you at once; sci-fi series thinks the audience would like to have everything thrown at them at once, the shakey cameras, the characters acting actiony, gunshots, over-the-top raised stakes; there are a ton of them as the Lucian Alliance tries to take control of the ship, placing our characters in situations where they feel unnatural. These characters are good when placed in their own situation but in here, it feels like they're trying to be as action-packed as possible in order to fit the mood. Why is it that they keep throwing everything at us? it usually ends up disjointed and jarring at the end; I could barely luster up a sense of excitement for what they were doing on screen mainly for the fact that there was too much action on screen and I could barely recall what had happened.

Many of the scenes involving the Lucian Alliance mainly involved a tone which is offensive and with very few dynamic people with them; the commander-in-charge really could of had a chance to be evolved in a characteristic way (due to the death of a certain someone) but instead he turns up generic and so do the rest of the people, the only chance where they don't seem generic is during the end where one of them stands up and finally shows they're more then one dimensional characters. That moment shows they're more then just people invading the ship but we have to suffer through an entire episode to get to that point, which is inconsequential. The rest of the characters should fare better but as usual, they turn in less then inspiring performances. TJ is given her own plot which is supposed to be charming and emotional; you could see how excited the writers were when they written that scene but everything about it screams excessive and underdone. TJ's performance reaffirms that her actor is overrated as she gives monotone voice to every word she speaks, not even bothering to care much for the pregnancy plot she's been given and when she does shed a tear, it's forced; same goes for Ming Li who is somewhat better then her but still manages to underutilize her acting talent. The science crew try their best to seem important but they just can't, the only people who are good are the usual suspects; Rush, Young and Eli.

Rush's strategical elements are put to good use here; it shows that he knows his people more then we know and that he is willing to do anything to get the upper hand, almost seeming condescending at times. It's a contrast to the Rush we know but to see him like this allows us to see another side to him. Eli's sense of worry, awkwardness and skill is put to good use here; not having Chloe by her side definitely hurt him (who's also underused here) but he still does well for himself and contributes nicely to the mood of the episode; he's not the best or anything but he's good. Young himself takes a hit from the previous episode; he's still good, he's still caring for his people and he still manages to be angry when needed but there's something that's missing, don't know what though... Though he too may not also appear much, we got to see that he still has the ambition, the skill and the personality needed to get himself through the situation. It's nice to know they're doing the best they can with the material that they're given; what with all of the inconsistencies, unnecessarily added edge, characters who's motives aren't clear, uncertainty as to where the plot is going. That's an example of true acting talent, and that's reaffirmed in every episode where they've always manage to out act each of the actors who are on the show, mainly because they put in a sense of effort and personality other actors could only hope to match.

And with all of the stuff that's going on, the episode manages to include some decent stuff... The planet was a nice touch as we got to see a sense of survival going on and ridiculous weather being thrown on them. The environment, the threat, it really showcased the unison of the people on the planet as they attempted to make due with their new place, finding ways to survive and mainly acting in a way reminiscent to humanities past, worried through every threat but bound nonetheless; these scenes may have been short but man do they show the aspect of life that SGU rarely shows, it's a real sight to see these people together. For the first time in a Stargate series, a threat isn't entirely eliminated; yes the entire group of people who boarded the ship are being kept for future episodes. The way it happens sort of undermines the four-parts we had to face through (Lucian Alliance threat, commander taking over, hostility, really makes those three-parts seem unnecessary.) but it does show how different SGU is from it's bredrin, willing to spare those lives instead of eliminating the threat entirely like they did in SGA and SG1, hopefully they should come in handy wherever Season 2 may lead us.

"Intervention" starts off the season with a jumbled mess, throwing all sorts of action on us but only returning to the collective of yawns and even a few snores. It was admirable what they were trying to do but this looks like Season 2 is going to be more of the same; same unnecessary edge, same over-the-top stakes, same underacted characters and the same old drama. People say Season 2 is the best season of the show so I am willing to stick around but how many episodes must I stick around for before the show becomes good?

4.0/10

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FAN REVIEWS: 'Intervention' (201)

FAN REVIEWS: 'Intervention' (201)

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