Total Number of Ratings: 4
Stargate Universe Season 1, Episode 5 Review
Thursday, October 29, 2009 2:49 AM
"Light"
Sorry for the delay in posting this! My Saturday was taken up with Mad Men dvd viewing and the rest of the days just slipped away! Anyway, our most recent episode of Stargate Universe finds the Destiny hurtling toward the heart of a sun! Low on power and with time quickly running out, Col. Young informs the crew (of about roughly 80 people) that only 17 people will be able to take the ship's lone shuttle to one of three planets in the solar system. Young then tells them that a lottery will be held to determine who 15 of the 17 will be. Young has reserved the right to choose the mission pilot and one other person. He also takes himself out of the running. As the crew disperses, they find ways to occupy themselves despite the impending drawing. This treats the audience to more testimonial videos from the crew over the course of the episode. Once the 15 are chosen, the shuttle departs and the remaining try to spend their last hours as best they can. As the ship dips into sun's corona, the shuttle crew find out that the only habitable planet in the system is just barely ale to sustain life!
Again, I have to be upfront in saying this was probably the best episode of the show so far. As mentioned previously, this story was originally supposed to be a single episode, but the writers expanded the episode to accommodate more of the action. And presumably this is where the testimonials came from. I'm quite glad we got the two episodes, in the long run. I was a bit worried that this episode would end up feeling stretched out or badly paced because it was essentially confined to the "falling action" and "resolution" of a previous installment. Much of this episode was focused on the human drama of the lottery and what happened to those chosen and those who weren't. I thought it played out fairly well and that I was amazed at the character level writing in this episode for what would be, in other genre shows, people acting overly noble. While nothing is ever said by Eli, you can tell by the look on his face how utterly devastated he is the whole time after the lottery. While the resolution was a little obvious, it did not feel much like a deus ex machina. This is helped a bit by the mystery of Dr. Rush's blasé attitude when Young asks him if he knew what would happen at the end of the episode.
People are going to be tired of hearing it, but Rush and Eli remain the draw of the show for me. Their acting was spot on here and it felt very real. Especially for Rush, who we finally got to see a softer side of this episode. I was fond of his "I have 100 pages of a truly mediocre novel to finish" line, which I thought said a lot about the character. As well as his acceptance of the situation. Col. Young, as well, really caught me attention this episode. There was far more depth to his character, but also subtlety. Simple things like his knowing looks to Rush or Greer spoke more than any lines he had. Greer, who had only a few scenes captured my attention here. It seems we've moved on from just pointing to him and saying "Crazy" and decided to give him a little more fuel and it certainly pays off. His emotional cold open was excellent and set the tone for the episode and his one-punch take down was a highlight for me.
In this episode, Lt. Scott more or less disappears and I really didn't feel like I missed him. This doesn't bode to well, though. As well, the whole relationship triangle between Scott-Chole-Eli is already getting tiresome. The sex scene felt a little uncomfortable to me and very cliche with lines like "We've only known each other for days but I know you better than anyone" and the like. It screamed unnecessary to me. As well, almost every scene had someone referring to the fact that Chole's sole defining character trait is that she is the daughter of a Senator. It makes the character two-dimensional and begs the question as to why she is even a main cast member other than for eye candy for male viewership. I was finally happy to see Camille Wray (Ming-Na) get some characterization beyond "stone-cold bitch government employee." I was quite impressed with the performances of some of the background actors as well. All in all, save some hiccups, the cast are really hitting their stride.
This episode featured the most prominent scoring since the premiere and I felt like it was finally coming into its own. The music underscoring the Destiny's escape from the sun was quite rousing and stood apart from what has come before in the franchise. As well, the music playing during the shuttle's return was particularly different and more heavily electric than before. While talking about production elements, I thought the lighting on this episode was evocative and really sold "we're hurtling toward a sun" better than just flooding a room with white light. There was a creepy, angry orange tinge to everything.
In all, I think "Darkness" and "Light" have given the viewers a good feeling of how this show will go forward. If we can keep this level of writing and acting, the show can really set itself apart from the franchise. Hopefully we can now just ignore the ancient communication stones and focus on the continuing adventures of a stranded crew. Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 PM on the SyFy channel. And check back Saturday where I will have my thoughts on the next installment, "Water."
Hey Brian -- glad you put this up. I think you nailed the reasons why this was also my favorite installment of the series thus far. Even though the stakes were still life and death, they really made it interesting by showing the choices people were forced to make, and their reactions in the face of death. THAT's the key to this kind of drama.
That said, I'm still on the fence about the series overall, as this whole "we just got saved by 'x'" thing can get a little old. But it does appear as though they're doing a little exploration in the next episode, and maybe that's what this series needs: a little good old fashioned "thrill of discovery."
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Once again, nice review, Brian!