Favourite SG + why - Stargate Universe (2009) Discussion

[–] mihaicosmin2007 12 years ago

I enjoy the TV series. The motion movie seemed a bit too holiwood-ish.

The cartoons are so bad i won't even bother arguing against them.

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[–] o-lO-o-Ol-o 12 years ago

I pretty much go in order that they were produced, from oldest to most recent would be from most to least favorite. Sort of. I tie SG1 with SG94. And I tie SGU with SGA. There are elements of each of those 4 live-action productions - "infinity" simply is not worth discussing - anyway, there are many aspects of the original movie and the 3 tv shows that are great. I have no issues with SG94 or SG1, I enjoy everything about them. On the other hand, SGA felt a bit too plastic at times. And SGU occasionally delved too far into the soap opera aspects of character drama.

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[–] Inspector_Spacetime 11 years ago

SGA is my favorite. I watched and loved them all, but the story of SGA interested me the most, and I felt the most connected to the characters on that show.

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[–] Film_guy1986 11 years ago

that's quite interesting, did you find the shift in tone to SGU uncomfortable or did you find it natural?

what was specifically about the SGA story that you enjoyed? I didn't really get past the first few episodes so i'd be interested in finding out more

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[–] saul_rothman 11 years ago

what was specifically about the SGA story that you enjoyed? I didn't really get past the first few episodes so i'd be interested in finding out more

I understand your initial disinterest. It took me awhile to get into SGA (partly, I think, was that I felt disloyal going outside of Trek, lol). In fact, if I hadn't been waiting to eventually see an episode with Michael in it, I think I would've given up (I'm a big Connor Trinneer fan -- Trip from Star Trek Enterprise).

I'm so glad I didn't give up. I love SGA. It actually isn't the stories I love as much as the character interactions. I'm also in the minority of fans who really like the comic-relief episodes.

What didn't you like (or what was missing for you) in the few episodes you saw? If I knew that, I might be able to suggest some episodes you would like better.

I like SGU, also. But I'm much more likely to re-watch SGA.

Saulisa

Logic is our best defense against The Experts.

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[–] saul_rothman 11 years ago

what was specifically about the SGA story that you enjoyed? I didn't really get past the first few episodes so i'd be interested in finding out more

I understand your initial disinterest. It took me awhile to get into SGA (partly, I think, was that I felt disloyal going outside of Trek, lol). In fact, if I hadn't been waiting to eventually see an episode with Michael in it, I think I would've given up (I'm a big Connor Trinneer fan -- Trip from Star Trek Enterprise).

I'm so glad I didn't give up. I love SGA. It actually isn't the stories I love as much as the character interactions. I'm also in the minority of fans who really like the comic-relief episodes.

What didn't you like (or what was missing for you) in the few episodes you saw? If I knew that, I might be able to suggest some episodes you would like better.

I like SGU, also. But I'm much more likely to re-watch SGA.

Saulisa

Logic is our best defense against The Experts.

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[–] Film_guy1986 11 years ago

Thanks Saulisa, that'd be great!

I guess I felt that it was too similar to what's come before it, I saw aspects of SG-1 that, at the time, i was starting to grow weary of. With everything wrapped up in 45 minutes just didn't cut it for me after a while (at this point I'd just started taking a film studies course so started acting quite pretentiously to anything that wasn't foreign, dark or brooding). Having gone back and caught the odd episode of SG-1 I remembered why I liked it growing up, but after returning to SGA, something just didn't excite me. It seemed to repeat the characters of SG1 (which I can understand know there's enough difference when you allow characters to grow), for example the 'alien that joins the team' in Teal'c and the two in SGA (male and female - sorry don't know names), Daniel Jackson as the science geek and, although a very sarcastic and egotistical version of DJ, Rodney McKay and then again with Sheppard and O'Neill.

As I said I understand now that they're different and especially with 5 years of growth to differentiate them, so I'm not trying to criticise. The characters now interest me, especially after hearing what Joe Malozzi said about the movie. I also loved McKay in SG1 and SGU.

When I learned later on, I was surprised at how many fans there were and the eventual casting of Robert Picardo and Jewel Staite (I love Voyager and Firefly) but I've yet to see any episodes with them in - except for the series finale I caught on TV which I did actually enjoy but found I didn't know enough of the backstory to appreciate.

If you can recommend any story arcs or unique episodes that stand out or would get me interested then that'd be a great help!

Cheers.

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[–] saul_rothman 11 years ago

You're right about the characters starting out as copies of the SG1 team, and you're right that they grew into their own. I was lucky in that I saw SGA first, so I didn't realize how closely they all started out. But now I can recognize that it was as if the writers were writing for O'Neill with every Sheppard line. However, I really love the way Sheppard delivers the lines, which was different from how O'Neill would (which I also enjoy).

The first episode I would suggest is the one right before the finale: Vegas (S5,E19). It's a parallel universe episode with a completely different style than the rest of the series, and it'll help shake out some preconceptions.

The other two stand-out episodes I recommend (both of which introduce popular recurring characters) are Michael (S2,E18) and Common Ground (S3,E7).

While there are story arcs, they are more spread out than, say, the Enterprise story arc with the Augments which was three episodes in a row. With SGA, it's more likely that a particular arc will be set aside for a half dozen episodes, then returned to, then set aside, etc.

What I'll do is list all the 2-or-3 parters, and some good action/strategic, dramatic, and comedic episodes. (Asterisks explained below).

Multi-parters:

The Storm and The Eye (S1,E9-10)
The Seige, Parts 1,2,&3, (S1,E19-20 & S2,E1)
The Lost Boys and The Hive (S2,E10-11)
Allies (S2,E20), No Man's Land and Misbegotten (S3,E1-2)
* The Return, Parts 1&2 (S3,E10-11)
* First Strike (3,E20), Adrift and Lifeline (S4,E1-2)
* This Mortal Coil and Be All My Sins Remembered (S4,E10-11)
* The Kindred, Parts 1&2, (S4,E18-19)
* First Contact and The Lost Tribe (S5,E10-11)

Action/Strategic:

The Defiant One (S1,E11)
Sateda (S3,E4)
Midway (S4,E17)
* Search and Rescue (S5,E1)

Dramatic:

Conversion (S2,E8)
The Real World (S3,E6)
Tabula Rasa (S4,E6)
Miller's Crossing (S4,E9)
* Broken Ties (S5,E3)
The Shrine (S5,E6)

Comedic:

Duet (S2,E4)
The Tower (S2,E15)
Irresistible (S3,E3)
* Irresponsible (S3,E13)
Tao of Rodney (S3,E14)
Harmony (S4,E14)

Comedy/Drama:

Letters from Pegasus (S1,E16)
Grace Under Pressure (S2,E14)
Doppelganger (S4,E4)

Two Really Good Episodes That Must Be Watched in the Order Intended:

Sunday (S3,E17)
The Prodigal (S5,14)

BIG WARNING: Don't watch any episodes which aired after Michael until you've first seen Michael. Same goes for Common Ground, except it's not quite as important with that one.

Wow! I listed 46 episodes -- but half of them are the multi-parters which you seem interested in and which I probably wouldn't've listed normally. And at least they're broken down by genre, so you can pick one depending on your mood.

Btw, many fans will tell you that the comedy episodes are the worst, but I think they're hilarious, and they're the ones I'm most likely to re-watch.

If you check one or some of these out, please let me know what you think!

(Also, please take my warnings about viewing order on Sunday, The Prodigal, and episodes after Michael and Common Ground to heart; otherwise, you'll ruin things for yourself)

ETA: I looked things over, and there are actually quite a few episodes you should avoid, unless you're positive you're not gonna watch the entire series, because they contain spoilers when watched out of order. I went back and put asterisks by those so you could save them for later.

Enjoy!
Saulisa

Logic is our best defense against The Experts.

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[–] Film_guy1986 11 years ago

awesome, thanks!! I'll check these out when I get a chance. After SGU finished, I would love to see more SG!

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[–] saul_rothman 11 years ago

Cool!

Hey, lemme give you my short list (one choice from each category) in case the other was overwhelming:

Vegas
Michael
Common Ground
The Storm/The Eye
The Defiant One
The Shrine
Irresistible
Letters from Pegasus

If you're not hooked by then, might as well skip the rest. And if you're hooked before finishing the above, I'd stop right away and start watching from the beginning.

(Btw, my son, the video game fanatic, would replace The Storm/The Eye with The Seige, Parts 1-3; and he'd replace The Defiant One with Sateda -- he loves those four episodes!).

Again, pretty please with sugar on top, come back and give your opinion.

Saulisa

Logic is our best defense against The Experts.

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[–] GracieValenti 11 years ago

SGA was my favorite, I loved the central and side characters so much and the beautiful city of Atlantis was fascinating. The characters are what did it for me. I liked SG1 in the early years but felt it lost something later on as Daniel got more "actiony" and less nerdy and as RDA took a back seat. Haven't watched much of SGU but didn't enjoy the conflict between the characters.

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[–] aniar298 11 years ago

Well that's kind of a hard question to answer. I enjoyed all the different series, for different reasons.
But I suppose SGU is perhaps my new favorite (If that's a fair answer).

I consider SGU to being the most realistic as far as you and me go, if supposing we were on that ship, and having to survive for ourselves.
It really gives me a adrenaline rush because of how realistic that they come to making everyone's reaction like ours, as they slowly discover the ship's purpose, and how everyone interacts with each other.
It really makes you feel like you're taking part in the action that way.

I feel that these kinds of shows helps you to grow attached to the individuals struggling to survive.

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[–] skye2001 11 years ago

Jill Wagner as Larrin would sell anyone on SGA.Now joke aside,the show really comes into it's own after 10 or so episodes and if u manage to see all seasons one after another u'll see why ppl were sad it ended pretty abruptly.
As for SGu...i liked it but,TBH, SciFi drama without the scifi didn't quite keep the fans interested.

*U need not be a movie pro or critic,u just need common sense*

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[–] Gitch28 11 years ago

You don't believe there was 'scifi' in Stargate Universe? That is not a conclusion I imagined possible.

"I was gutted as I had to miss the tiddly winks world championship" - Berserker

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[–] She-Ra42 11 years ago

Haha, I completely agree with you. I think that a lot of people confuse SciFi and SciFantasy. SG-1 was a total mix of the two and jumped a ton into Sci Fantasy, SGA went really into Sci Fantasy even more than SG-1, but SGU was almost straight up Sci Fi with minimal Sci Fantasy... and I think that's what I enjoyed even more about it... I'm much more of a Trek gal than a Star Wars gal (especially with Episodes I-III having come out), and I love the science part -- using actually intellect and problem solving and science to overcome problems, even if it's futuristic and theoretical science rather than more "magical" crack science.

"Jack go to the liquor store and findeth the Jack of Daniels so that ye may be sh*tfaced!"

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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] magnus166 11 years ago

SG1 edges out Atlantis but I really like both.

SGU has some good episodes, but also a lot of horrific ones. Too much drama, too dark, and they seem to screw up most of the cool stuff they do some up with. So many missed opportunities.

I haven't seen infinity or the original movie.

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[–] xxhelterskelterxx 11 years ago

Too much drama in a sci-fi character drama?

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[–] skye2001 11 years ago

Well if u make a star wars anything,ppl will expect some lightsaber action not a storm trooper and a rebel soldier chatting existential stuff the whole time in a room.Don't get me wrong,everyone loves a bit of drama here and there but in season 1 of SGU at least 50% of the character drama was unnecessary and filler.Did we really need all the lesbo issues and body jumping/wife sleeping stuff?Did they add to character depth?OFC they did but was it necessary?No it wasn't.
All that character depth could have been achieved over 2-3 seasons by the action each character takes without the pointless "flashback" episodes.I mean we all knew by the 3rd season that O'Neil was a funny and smart guy we really didn't need to see him in school or telling jokes in a bar.
The creators went over board(just like Caprica)and sadly,paid the price for it.

*U need not be a movie pro or critic,u just need common sense*

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[–] Duragizer 11 years ago

Stargate '94

I have a number of issues with the film (how Daniel joined the program, how the stargate coordinate system works, how no one tried trial-and-error to figure out the Abydos gate's point-of-origin symbol to return home, Emmerich's overall bland direction, etc.), but Jaye Davidson's performance as Ra, David Arnold's score, the costume/set design, and the overall sense of history behind the universe all help to compensate for its pitfalls.

SG-1, on the other hand ... I used to be a fan, but over the years the lack of continuity with the film alienated me. I can still find enjoyment in the series, but it's impossible for me to overlook how much it looks and feels like an uninspired knockoff of Star Trek (especially in regard to the last five seasons). Also, I just utterly loathe the whole "everyone in the universe speaks English" bit and how the Goa'uld, the Ancients, and ascension were handled.

From what I've seen of Atlantis, it's just more of the same from SG-1, only in another galaxy with the evil trills replaced with space vampires.

As for Infinity and Universe, I've never seen the former (the idea of an animated Stargate series initially intrigued me, but I immediately lost interest when I saw the animation style), and have only seen the first four episodes of the latter - so far, I haven't been impressed (I do like the score, though; it has an 80's vibe that I find pleasing).

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he wasn't a great big pansy.

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