Stargate: Continuum (2008) Review

Stargate: SG-1 as a television series ended, but the adventures of the team continued in this direct to DVD and Blu-ray feature film. A nefarious plot by the last remaining major villain leaves the team stranded in an alternate timeline and powerless to affect events. An amazing array of familiar faces from the entire ten year run of SG-1 make this a fan’s dream, but the story and action set Continuum apart from being just an extended episode. UPDATED May 2013 with new screen captures and expanded review.

Stargate: SG-1 has played with time travel nearly as much as the Star Trek franchise, usually with superior results (sorry Trekkies). Once again the creative team uses the concept, in this case to show a what if scenario of the Stargate never being used in modern times by the U.S. government. Jack O'Neil makes a return appearance early in the film, as does everyone's favorite System Lord, Ba'al. What follows is one of the darker stories told in the Stargate universe, allowing the entire cast to show off their acting chops.

Director Martin Wood starts the movie off with a bit of fun: a continuous single shot traveling through SG Command. While not quite up to the level of Orson Welles’ famous take in A Touch of Evil, it is pure fan service for longtime followers of the series. Watch for cameos of fan favorite supporting characters who won’t be seen again in the flick.

Eventually the camera catches up to final incarnation of the SG-1 team made up of Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder), Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Teal’c (Christopher Judge), and Vala (Claudia Black) as they prepare for an easy mission for a change.The last clone of the last of the Goa’uld System Lords, Ba’al, has been captured and slated for “extraction.” Okay, if you aren’t a fan of the series, the preceding sentence made absolutely no sense, right?

Stargate Universe: Air - Part 3

Well, I decided I'd give SGU one more shot, in case I was somehow missing something good about the show. With two strikes against it, it needed to be at least a foul ball or a bunt to keep me watching. So did Air Part 3 come through at the bottom of the inning?

It is now confirmed, I despise all the characters. They aren't just an unlikeable lot, they match the quote from Col. Young, being "The wrong people in the wrong place."  It isn't good when you are rooting for the team to fail in repairing the air scrubbers. This is despite finally having a somewhat traditional Stargate mission on a strange planet.  Once again, the parts that were supposed to evoke emotion fell very flat and the deaths had no impact.

The shaky cam was still there, with the over dramatic cuts during overly serious conversations seemed very 1990's to me. Going back to Col. Young scene on Earth, via Ancient communication stones, I suffered an NYPD Blue flashback and half expected David Caruso to walk in the office to ask Young, "Are you okay?" Yes, they managed to even make a scene with O'Neil boring.  Likewise, the scene with Chloe visiting her mother lacked any kind of drama. That wasn't the worst of the episode though.

In dubbing the show BattleStarGatica, I turned out to be more on the mark than expected.  Yes, we had a 'head cylon' moment presented in the form of a hallucination that might not have been a hallucination. Thankfully, it wasn't a 'head cylon' sex scene, though Lt. Scott has been confirmed as a hopeless horndog with Roman Catholic guilt. Other viewers will find out it this becomes a reoccurring part of the show, I won't.

This was strike three without the batter even swinging at the pitch. Sadly, it is getting good ratings, so I don't see the show runners having to change it.  As an owner of all but the Stargate animated show, this feels like a funeral as I bury a franchise I really enjoyed.

Stargate: Universe can be found at Hulu for online viewing.

Stargate: Universe

Watched the first two episodes of Stargate: Universe (SGU) on Hulu.com yesterday to see what the hubbub was about. In the Stargate fandom, there has been a lot of resistance to the show, mainly as it was seen as an excuse to cancel Stargate: Atlantis in its prime, due to rising salary costs after five season contracts expire.  Rumor had SGU would be more edgy and darker, not exactly what the Stargate legacy has been about.  So I decided to check on the show myself, despite a lack of interest, and streamed it from Hulu.

First impression:

Well, that was... bad.  Catastrophically bad.

I'll try not to spoil the details in this review, so on to detailed impressions.

In an attempt to make an "adult" Stargate television series, what was aired is not a Stargate series like fans of the franchise have grown to love.  Stargate has always been about adventure, with heroics leavened by good natured humor and a feeling that there was unlimited potential out there on other planets.  With SGU, there was no sense of humor other than the cameo by Lt. General Jack O'Neil and little in the way of heroics.  Instead it is clear that SyFy Network wanted a clone of Battlestar Galactica (the new one) and that overwrought, gloomy atmosphere is what was delivered.  Galactica had a strong start, if oversexed, but decayed into a depressing amoral mess by the second season.

I will try to say one positive thing about the SGU.  The CGI effects were very good, especially the assault on the base in the beginning.  There, done with that.

The negatives... Everything else about the show.  Bad acting, hackneyed writing, and terrible pacing were topped by the unlikeable characters.  With nobody to root for, it was hard to get emotionally involved amidst all the chaos and canyon sized personality flaws.  Though I will say some of the characters had no personality at all, so they can be excused from the latter.

The bane of all good camera work, the 'shaky cam', was ever present, sometimes distractingly wrong for the content of a scene. My guess is that it was used to make things feel more 'real' and to heighten tension for dramatic effect.  It failed miserably on both counts.

Emotionally charged is what the makers were most likely going for, but the execution was hamfisted at best.  Without spoiling too much, in the second episode one of the characters makes a major sacrifice that was clearly supposed to be the lynch pin of the hour.  What were supposed to be a series of highly emotional scenes were curiously flat and mechanical, failing to evoke any emotion.  Slow motion was used to interminably drag out the big scene and I could see this being MST3K'd very easily.  Given that the following scenes depended on the big impact that didn't even dent and it has to be considered an epic fail in the annals of drama.

Bleh.  I went in with low expectations and still managed to be disappointed.

Unfortunately, there has been a trend toward nihilistic and dreary television for some time.  Stargate was a welcome refuge from that and sadly, that refuge is now lost.  Comparing this two part premiere with Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis makes Stargate: Universe look even worse.  There were engaging characters and villains introduced in each, with a real sense of wonder present.

Much has been made online about the sex scene early in the first episode and yes folks, Stargate is no longer family friendly. It was another thing that made one of the main characters unlikeable.  All I can think is that there had to be network pressure involved in this, because of the past history of the pilot for SG1.

Back in 1997, it debuted on Showtime and the producers were made to have a full frontal nudity shot of an actress that went on at some length.  The producers were upset as they had a goal of Stargate being a family friendly series that would be syndicated on broadcast TV.  After the pilot, they got their way and earlier this year released to DVD a re-edited version sans the nudity (plus some other questionable things) as Stargate: Children of the Gods.  It is hard to reconcile this attitude with the new show.

Bleh. This dismal entry into the Stargate mythos is another example of how the word 'adult' has lost its meaning, or more accurately, has had it twisted.  Instead of a word describing maturity and responsibility, it is used in place of other, more appropriate words: adolescent, sophomoric, and juvenile.  Sex, explicit violence, nihilism, and characters with selfish motivations are all attractive to the young and rebellious. Our culture is doing its best to extend childhood with the result being a perpetually adolescent populace.  Sadly, 'adult' was co-opted by the pornography business years ago and now the slide is complete in the rest of the entertainment biz.

So the new 'adult' Stargate is a huge disappointment and I think a name change is needed for accuracy.  I now dub it BattleStarGatica.

 

del.icio.us Tags: Stargate: Universe,Stargate,TV,show,review,Air

Health Update & What I'm Watching

For those few souls who wander through this blog, I'm not doing so good healthwise. Having run myself into the ground, I'm not rebounding at all this time and I couldn't have chosen a worse time for it. At least I've avoided bronchitis or pneumonia so far with the intent of being able to breath. Which is helpful in living, I've found. Worst thing about this bout of intensified illness has been the inability to read. This past week was the first time I've been able to even follow a storyline in TV shows or movies, so there has been little to no distractions.

Segue way to what TV shows I watch these days:

1. Stargate: SG1 and Stargate: Atlantis. New episodes start airing in March *sigh* but you can download episodes at iTunes.

Both are fun scifi shows with SG1 winding down as it was just getting going again. SG1 is fighting the Ori, ascended beings from another galaxy who draw power from their worshippers and who are out to dominate our galaxy. So far they have been unstoppable and the quest for the Saangral (Holy Grail) weapon that can kill them has brought the Arthurian mythos into Stargate.

Atlantis has been firing away on all cylinders this season with great character development and fantastic action -- sometimes even in the same episode. Common Ground will go down as one of the greatest Stargate episodes ever, mark my words. The cast has gelled completely and dark times are promised ahead for the heroes.

2. Eureka. Season Finale on Tuesday, hope it gets renewed.

Cross Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, and the X-Files, then throw in constant satire and silliness and you have Eureka. Great characters, great one liners, and an underlying sweetness make this a fun show to watch. It is about a top secret town where America has gathered all its scientific geniuses to work together. In comes an average guy, a US Marshall with a criminal teenage daughter and he ends up as sheriff to this exceedingly strange town. In the pilot (can be gotten at iTunes), we are introduced to all of the cast except Stark, the quasi-villain of the show. There is true progression to the characters, so first impressions aren't always accurate.

3. Doctor Who. Starting the 2nd season of the new Who on SciFi this coming Friday

This update has been hit or miss, with the hits home runs and the misses being popups to the catcher. The underlying sexual metaphores are highly annoying, with the gay producer being heavy handed a lot of the time. Still, this has been a fun ride and the closest to family entertainment the Brits have put out in some time. Not for little kids due to the afore mentioned metaphores (and sometimes blatant dialogue). Watch for the return of the Cybermen in a new form and a heartbreaking final episode.

4. Battlestar Galactica. Starting season 3 Friday, catch webisodes on scifi.com

This bleak and adults only scifi show has been an exploration of human behavior under the worst of circumstances. With the shocking ending to season 2, the few remaining humans have settled on an arid but habitable world only to be taken over by the Cylons. The few who stayed in the fleet fled the approaching armada, with both battlestars leading the flight. The webisodes have been grim and are painting the resistance in a harsh light, with the humans sounding and acting more like terrorists than freedom fighters. I think this season is going to be interesting for that reason and for the growing feeling that neither side is particularly virtuous. But a few on each side are and I wonder if the good guys on both sides will unite at some point.

5. Heroes. Just started on Monday nights, can be found at iTunes

Basically a comic book come to life, I was expecting it to be an X-Men lite show aime at kids with little potential. Boy was I surprised, this is one of the darkest things put on TV in some time. Keep kids away from it, the gore is R rated including bones protruding from the skin and a large man cut in half with his entrails visible. The characters are interesting and flawed: a suicidal HS cheerleader who finds out she can heal from any wound, a nurse who thinks he can fly and has an empathic bond with his older brother, a single mother stripper with a murderous split personality she sees in mirrors, an Indian doctor following in his murdered father's footsteps in researching super evolved humans, a heroin addicted artist who paints the future when high, a Japanese office worker/comic book geek with a yen to be individualistic and growing power to stop time and fold space, a cold politician running for office who happens to have a brother who thinks he can fly, and more characters to come in the next episode. Everyone is linked one way or another and the show dared to do a scroll about the heroes being gathered for their first epic battle to save the world. Hiro the office worker and Claire the cheerleader are standout characters already, soon to be fan favorites. Despite the gore, I really liked the show and predict the politician may become one of the most important heroes.

6. Mythbusters. Found on the Discovery Channel

Simply a lot of fun as various urban legends and historic myths are tested with real world experiments to see if they are plausible. Often surprising and always entertaining, I constanty forget to watch new episodes. Good thing they rerun them so much.

7. Smallville. New season on a new network, the CW

I've had to watch this on DVD because of not having the WB on DishTV, but when UPN merged with them to create the CW, jackpot! Season opener had more action than the entire Superman Returns film according to online fans. It felt rushed, should have been stretched another hour, but it was a good ride. Excellent cast and an ongoing mythos that works (unlike the X-Files) make this a fun series. I missed last years season and need to rent it, some major dynamics changed in that 5th season. It looks like this year will have a radical change in that it is setting up Clark to be Superman at long last. Doubt we'll see the costume, but with Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow in Metropolis to gather super humans into a team it may happen yet. Especially since Green Arrow has a costume which breaks the no costumes rule of the series. Looks like this year will be the beginnings of the Justice League of America and gives me hope we'll see Smallville transition to the big screen in a few years. They just better not kill Chloe off.

I find myself watching less and less TV for a variety of reasons, one being most of it is dreck these days. There are more quality shows out there, but I simply don't have time for them. Real world things matter so much more and I'd rather devote time to them. I worry about our escapist culture, too many are fleeing reality and nothing good can come of that. The narcissism of reality shows is scary, with an emphasis on fame and attention that are the worst things we can teach our youth.

Meanwhile, I'm just glad the DishTV box has DVR on it so I can see the shows when I can. Means I don't have to schedule my life around fictional distractions!

The Kiss of Death...

... Or how every show I like gets cancelled. The latest is Stargate: SG-1 which is currently in its 10th season. What a special present for the fans, a cancellation announcement after the 200th episode aired last Friday. I was a late comer to the series as it was on Showtime and syndication originally, with my only chance to see it being around 11 PM on Saturdays (if that). Once it came to the floundering SciFi channel, it became a much bigger series and I was able to catch up with most of the previous seasons. One of the charms of SG-1 was its sense of humor and willingness to poke fun at itself, which is a nice change from the relentlessly grim scifi and fantasy of the current era. It always struck a nice balance between character development and action, all on a tight budget and under the perpetual threat of cancellation. Some fans didn't like the changes to the cast that happened last year, but I really liked Cam, Vala, and Landry coming in and shaking things up.

Oh well, at least its spinoff, Stargate: Atlantis is getting a 4th season. That series has been banging away on all cylinders this season after having an inconsistent 2nd season. Hopefully, there will be a future for SG-1 as a movie or on another network.

Now for a tally of series that I liked that died early or premature deaths:

Space: Above and Beyond
Profit
The Tick
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr
Wiseguy
Sledge Hammer
The Night Stalker (original)
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Ned and Stacy
The Flash
Buffalo Bill
Slap Maxwell
Brimstone

RIP.

I still marvel at how 6000 Nielson families control what we get to see on TV, they are simply too small a sample given the many millions of TV viewers out there.