Ruh roh...

I give it less than 24 hours before at least one angry Whedonite comes in accusing Syfy or this blog of trying to kill Dollhouse or cheering its slip in the ratings...

I don't watch Dollhouse (still need to catch up on season 1) but I hope Fox doesn't drop it without finishing off the season. At this point I really hope Jose and the gang are writting towards a conclusion as the chances of it being renewed are less then Firefly getting new episodes.

I am a loyal Whedonite and watched every Dollhouse last season. I made it mostly through the premiere this season [with some F/F on the DVR] and felt bad. But the 2nd one did me in. This show is so humorless and seeing who Duskhu sleeps with week to week is stupid. Mostly it's a case of illogic. I thought these dolls were going to be serious black ops operatives doing exciting, often crazy, but fun things. Not prostituting them so some rich guy can get over his wife. It's so lame!

I am a bit of a Whedon fan, but guess what... Dollhouse has lost it's luster, and has become rather 'recipe' written, with little real new horizon material being introduced, even if they are trying to string along a continuing story line.
SGU seems to have a great premise, but I am hesitant to give it a full thumbs up until seeing where it goes.
Ghost Whisperer has it's fans, I am sure, but not me... it lost it's appeal after 4-8 episodes of the first season. And bring back Star Trek on Monday nights, and leave the re-running of the GW more appropriately to the Women's Entertainment network.
With the upcoming Sanctuary and Caprica debuts for their seasons, we will see new spikes in the viewing. But how about all the other time SyFy is on, do those numbers reflect the decreased interest with the programming that many in here feel? And is there anyone really watching Wrestling??? Yeah, probably all the beer swilling dudes who watch Spike (the channel overloaded with male impotence ads and probably rightly so!!!). - kh

Can I be that Whedonite?

Seriously, why are thses on at the same time? Making people choose like that is ridiculously evil. At least Syfy has an encore later that night, otherwise I would not be watching SGU at all except online.

I did watch the new premiere just to see what it was like. You guys at SyFy were right. It isn't like Battlestar Galactica at all.

Battlestar Galactica was a series filmed with the hot new shaky-cam technology to put the viewer in the middle of the action. The story line takes place on a ship with a bunch of people trying trying to get to Earth, not knowing where which direction to go. Also the premiere episode opens with two people boinking in a storage for "edginess".

Now Stargate Universe was a series filmed with the hot new shaky-cam technology to put the viewer in the middle of the action. The story line takes place on a ship with a bunch of people trying trying to get to Earth, not knowing where which direction to go. Also the premiere episode opens with two people boinking in a storage for "edginess".

You see, Stargate Universe isn't like Battlestar Gate at all . . . I mean, Stargate Battle . . . Battlegate Universe . . . I mean, one of them is not alike.

Mumbo, that post was hilarious! You get the
post of the week in my book:P

P.S.
Is it BattleGate StarUniversica or BattleStarGate Universica??????????

Really disappointed in SGU premier! Seems to be a lackluster mash up of Star Trek Voyager, Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Atlantis. Saw almost zero originality thus far!

I agree with Syfy, its not Galatica.

Its Star Trek: Voyager (which is even weirder because Stargate: Atlantis was Star Trek: DS9)

I give it less than 24 hours before thehomegaman comes in accusing Whedonites of trying to like Dollhouse or hoping that it doesn't get cancelled...oh, too late.....

Overall I enjoyed the S:U premiere. It was somewhat predictable, especially with the lurking question of why they couldn't have used one of those nifty remotes to bump that button. Still, we'll be watching again on Friday.

My family has been enjoying the new season of Dollhouse. For one thing, Dushku is really acting now. For another, there is some development of the implications of the technology that are getting more and more disturbing. There is some really good storytelling going on here, even if it isn't the trite and predictable pablum that makes up most of "dramatic" TV these days.

I liked the premier episode of SGU. I would say it was about as good as the premier of SGA. That is to say, not excellent, but potential for a good show is there.
That being said, they should have kept SGA on the air.
And they should have 86'd about a third of the commercials. What the heck was that? 60 minutes of SGU sandwiched around 60 minutes of commercials???

So, I wonder who will get voted off first from the island, err..I mean, ship.

SG:A was a terrible show that took the cheesiness and bad humor from SG-1 and amplified it 10 fold. It ran the same episode format over and over until it was just a puddle of mush in the ground and only was amusing to watch because of the egotistical scientist, and even that got old after 5 episodes. SG-1 and SG:A were worse than Star Trek in terms of re-using plots to death, deus ex machinas, time travel and "epic plotlines" that might have been epic for 10 year olds but not for rational thinking adults. For all intents it was a dramedy, leaning more towards the laughs.

Thank all that is holy that SG:U is abandoning the ridiculous nature of SG-1 and SG:A, we don't need another boring ass show with the same group of fans that never changes.

Wow, Dollhouse ratings dropped 20%. Does that mean only 3 people are watching it now.

Man I like Whedons stuff but Dollhouse just didn't do it for me at all. I miss Firefly :(

Are we watching the same show? The Dollhouse has become the dark, noir type of emotional and psychological program that Whedon wanted to create in the first place. How much humor could you find in a scenario such as this, huh? this is no time for jokes, because this is a serious situation. I love it, its definitely a step up from where the show was last season. and I for one am not giving up yet!

I loved the premiere of SGU btw. definitely much darker than SG1 and SGA, which i think works in its favor.

let dollhouse die the death it deserve, whimpering out of existence..... fox you blew it.
the new stargate was awesome can't wait for the next episode.

B.T.A. Man, didn't you see? Shooter McGavin was the first one. But he voted himself off.

Stop comparing, stop hating....I'm glad the premiere did well and I commend the executive producers for giving a damn about the fans and viewers, enough to want to do better. Everyone always gets all hot and bothered when there's change. " Oh return of the jedi is better than empire strikes back!" blah blah blah. Its new, yes, and differen't but its still stargate!!! I'm gonna keep watching it and hoping the ratings go up and I hope everyone trashing it will eat their words by season 2!!! Long live Stargate, lol!

SYFY-
Your captcha sucks. I tried over 2 dozen times to post with the same result: 'text entered incorrectly' - BULL! Even I can't enter it wrong THAT many times!

I just KNEW that would take! And probably this one also.

Star Trek = SG-1
DS-9 = SG Atlantis
ST Voyager = SG-U
Enterprise = ???

Will there be another…..?

Yeah, he was voted off by himself. I think Shooter went to go join Happy Gillmore in a better place. Now that's what the show really needs is Happy Gillmore:) Seriously, they should just crash-land the Destiny onto an island on some remote world and get the whole Lost premise over and done with.
That should give Lou "Fake Diamond" Philips some time to try and take on Cameron Mitchell.

SyFy decided to take 2 of the SciFi Channel's best shows and combine them, hoping the end result would be a good show with good ratings. Instead they may end up with a show that manages to alienate the 2 biggest and most loyal audiences they have.

I vote to rename it Battlegate Galactiverse!

I thought the original premise was, there was not any Star Trek on TV so we should make that show.

Then they thought Battlestar Galactica was successful lets make that show.

So in the end you got the premier of a show that has little direction.

It may have been strongest in ratings, but it was easily the weakest stargate premiere. It might have been a little less boring, had they actually stepped through the gate before the final scene. We already knew what the concept was, they didn't need to spend two hours introducing it. It needed more of a story.

I'm sure we'll get some story later, but the main problem with the show is the characters. They suck. This was the problem with Atlantis (save Rodney). They can't wait, they need to fix this now while they still can. A show is only as good as it's characters. Everything else flows from them.

Oh, and as much as I liked BSG in its first season, it was really something of a disaster of a show and SGU shouldn't be trying to copy that mess. SG has never really been quality sci-fi, it's about the fun. Remove the fun and SG is left with nothing.

I still can not belive they cancelled TSCC for Dollhouse I think this only conforms that Fox has no idea what it is doing. SGU looks promissing I will give it a couple of episoded to see where it goes.

First, Dollhouse is just an awful awful show. I tried to get into it but it just gets worse with each episode.

Before I review SGU, I should explain that I have never been a fan of any of the Stargate series. I thought they were cheesy and trite. They all used that stupid campy Hollywood humor and the f/x seemed less than realistic to me. That being said, I enjoyed SGU. By no means is it BSG quality but it did hold my attention and I will surely turn in next week.

As for some of you peep's comparisons - they are all extremely weak.

You know SGU beating Dollhouse really isnt saying much when every Dollhouse news says the show is circling down the drain.

"As for some of you peep's comparisons - they are all extremely weak."

Yeah, kinda like your post in general.

STARgate + BattleSTAR + STAR Trek Voyager + The Last STARfighter = WTF?!

I watched SG:U just to see what it was like and to confirm my suspicion that I would like it even less than Stargate: Atlantis. I wasn't disappointed. (For the record, I watched the entire series of Atlantis...)

I thought SG:U was awful.

SG:U isn't your mama's Stargate, that's for sure. (What was with that sex scene?!) It's dark, depressing and so far, plotless. It lacks humor and lightness and, with the exception of Robert Carlyle, most of the characters are way too young to be believable.

The show doesn't have one likeable character - yet. Eli might be likeable - if he wasn't a younger version of Rodney McKay... (I loved McKay, I just think they shouldn't have created such an obviously similar character.)

There are many other shows on Friday night that I will be watching. SG:U won't be appointment viewing.

Seriously though.... I like the show and I'll continue to watch it (because I'm a sci-fi fiend) but why would Stargate sellout like this? The "Battlestar" approach is just WAY too obvious! I mean c'mon.... a raw sex scene, shaky-cam filming all over the place, edgy characters, and "dark" production design? Too bad....

What a lot of people fail to realize is that SGU was not the first Stargate show to deal with HURR DURR VOYAGER CLONE complaints. SGA dealt with it first. It seems that any time a show comes up with the concept of people accidentally out of their element, Voyager gets brought up. Rather than give the point more than a cursory examination, these people then high five themselves as the greatest TV critics to grace the Internet.

The HURR DURR BSG CLONE crowd isn't much better. At least with the Voyager remarks, we can reasonably assume they watched what they compared SGU to. Not so with the BSG clone whiners. What? People had sex and all isn't happy and good? Clearly BSG was the first and only show to do this!

When it's all said and done, SGU has a solid start. Voyager royally blew what could have been an amazing series by never seriously addressing resource shortages, crew deaths, or giving actual thought to taking numerous routes back home. If the purists are going to make the same complaints for each new addition to the Stargate franchise, the time has come to at least put a modicum of thought into what they're saying. If they can't respect their positions enough to make it reasonable, why should anyone respect their views of the new show?

Do you like HURR DURR milk chugging contests?

Caught this on Hulu, thought it was a good start, look forward to this Friday! There's a lot of exciting new ground to cover much like SGA with entirely new species & cultures, whether foes or friends... Such a massive ship, I doubt they are alone on it, surely through the millenia it's picked up passangers. It does seem that perhaps some of the drama and plot points will be more character oriented, I don't mind the darker, moodier tone as I enjoyed BSG as well, but no matter how all this unfolds, I'm along for the ride.

loved the new SGU! looking forward to the next one.

i watch dollhouse, but i never look foward to the next episode:(

Some Posts, including Mumbo's, compared this to Battlestar Galactica. This is nothing like Galactica. Galactica was good! There is not a single likable character on Universe.

>Also the premiere episode opens with two people boinking in a storage for "edginess"

This was, actually, the one scene that surpassed Galctica. Brian j. Smith is hot and I'd tune in every week just to see him in his briefs...

Dollhouse more than jumped the shark. It has left the galaxy. SG-U was far more interesting. I'm one of those people moving over. Dollhouse isn't even worth the TIVO space.

BlueMein - yeah, it was so weak that you were inspired to comment, lmao.

You know, there are already a plethora of do^chebags who comment on this site. Why don't you try something new?

"You know, there are already a plethora of do^chebags who comment on this site."

You are too hard on yourself. I took your advice on trying something new and I have not regretted the decision...you must try some of these wings, they are hmmm, hmmmm good!

First off the phrase "jumped the shark" has jumped the shark. Last episode of Dollhouse wasn't at all about who Dushku was sleeping with if you were paying attention. And I'm glad it isn't just a dumb action show with some wisecracks like some want it to be.

I was a huge fan of the movie Stargate, and of SG-1, although I found Atlantis unwatchable. This one's a keeper! "SG-U" and "Flash Forward" represent a tie for me as to best sci-fi of the new season.

But why on earth would 3 networks schedule sci-fi shows against one another, all appealing to the same limited audience? In a situation like this, everyone loses. Thank goodness for fancast.com and tivos. I, for one, will be watching all three, if the others a little belatedly.

I just love a two hour premier that I can watch in less than 90 minutes because of commercials. At least the pilot was a two hour car or deoderant commercial. THing I will go back to Dollhouse next week.

coorection.. the pilot was NOT a car or deoderant commercial. thought in many ways in still was stinky.

Well thats not bad considering how many times Syfy Played it! And since they could watch or record it lets see 4 times before the the second Part shows and How many of Us like to wait a week to see it? Or wait till NEXT Friday and watch both of them?

Dollhouse hasn't been that great this year, but I think my problem with Dollhouse is the main character. I do not like Elisha as an actress. I have never found anything she has been in all that great. I enjoy Joss' shows for the most part, but I find myself liking the supporting cast on Dollhouse more than Echo.

As for SGU. I am sorry, SyFy, but your show was extremely boring. The show seemed to drag out forever and I honestly just couldn't get into the characters. I know it's only one episode, but I expected a lot more and didn't get it. I will try and watch a few more episodes and see how things turn out, but I was not impressed.

Honestly, I am ready for Caprica

I liked the show think it has potential. Just hope they don't do a big bad guy... thats been done to death

The biggest problem with a large premier episode of SGU was that a whole lot of people got to see a pretty dull, inspired, badly written two hour show. The Dollhouse episode was much better done. And I'm not saying this to stick it to SGU - as I did on Friday, I plan on watching both, and neither in real time. The SGU pilot was just very badly done, but I think there is some promise there.

You know things are bad when the only good thing they can come up with is "We beat the show that is tanking!!".

Seriously?? A 1.7 after all that advertising & hype?? Maybe Robert C. Cooper should get a clue and STOP trying to copy every man & his dog and just develop his own style. He ruined SG-1 and it looks like he's going to ruin what should have been a good new series.

Glad to hear the decline in ratings for Dollhouse (FOX network), they deserve it for canceling TSCC.

SGU was fair without being good... Where is the Sheppard/Oneil character... humor/hero figure that made previous SGs so much fun?
Lives up to the new SyFi moto... Imagine Better... I can... any of the previous SGs

I thought DollHouse was clever in it's 1st season, but so far Season 2 has been a bore. I thought they would have learned that no one cares about stupid mini drama plots or about exposing the DollHouse. I think the show would/could do alot better if they gave it a more ALIAS feel. turning the Dolls into CIA Agents & Spies, one or 2 get captured or go Rogue, better yet other governments have their own Dolls & are infiltrating varies parts of the government, making the show a more upbeat, nail biting, crazy adventure. It wouldn't be bad if they killed off a doll or 2 to add suspense. That's how you save a show from death.
But I fear this show is going to dies a miserable death.

SGU was great it dragged a bit but so did the first 3 seasons of Stargate SG1. I hope they can develope the characters and quickly get them out of their whiney modes. As for Dollhouse I support the show as well as TSCC I bout DH season 1 on Blu ray & Both TSCC on Blu Ray too.

it was good but to draw out. i am a big stargate fan and wish atlantis was still around. but all in all id say this show has all the makings for a great series. lets hope they dont screw it up

@. "Thank all that is holy that SG:U is abandoning the ridiculous nature of SG-1 and SG:A, we don't need another boring ass show with the same group of fans that never changes." Exactly!! Though I love SG-1, it was still never griddy enough for me, there has always been a certain "awesomeness" that Stargate shows have been missing [especially SGA which I thought was going to finally f**king go somewhere after three seasons but then never did.. I get mad everytime I think about how much they f**ked up a show that should have been great!! errr] an awesomeness SGU certainly displays.. For all you nay sayers.. What the hell are you thinking?! SGU is sci-fi gold as was BSG, so even if there are similarities, which I'm not saying there are, I don't see how that's a bad thing at all.. This is the Gate series I've been waiting for since I saw the damn original movie.. just some damn good gate action and not all the cheese!!

I liked, in order:
Lt. Scott. Smart, confident, able to take the initiative and lead. Just what a young officer should be.
Eli. Out of his element and a wisecracker, your comic relief.
Chloe.
Colonel Young. The experienced leader and voice of sanity.
Wait, those are character outlines. Hmm.

Dr. Rush is just kind of there to me.

Don't really know enough yet about Wray, Greer and medic girl, but right now any one of them could be killed or left and I wouldn't care, maybe even cheer.

They have to kill Reilly. Gateboy perturbed me with his Canadian pronunciation of "Locked". Yeah, Okay, maybe he's from the boonies of Washington or Oregon or the U.P. of Michigan. Yeah, right.

"Where is the Sheppard/Oneil character... humor/hero figure that made previous SGs so much fun?"

You are the reason they are abandoning quoted bullsh!t. Making the same show 3 times over and hoping it will do better than the previous 2 is a horrible/idiotic idea that only a certain percentage of ignorant fans (IE you) can concoct.

It was okay, BSG is much better than these stargate shows imo. BSG was def really good until season 4 and season 4 was ok.

As a fan of Whedon’s previous work, I had high hopes for Dollhouse.
The initial premise was promising, sometimes described as Alias with a twist: Echo would be one of several amnesic covert operatives who would be downloaded with new identities as well as various skill sets (computer nerd, race car driver, kick boxer, gymnast, etc.). What would set Echo apart from the others, is that she would remember bits of previous assignments, so that mousy computer nerd might kick some serious ass.

But instead of Alias, we get a whorehouse. If that’s the direction Whedon wants to take the series, fine… at least push the envelope a bit. Does anyone remember the knock-down-and-drag-out fling between Buffy and Spike?

That started me thinking… Here are a few things that set BtVS apart from Dollhouse:
Buffy was a superheroine, while Echo is more of a victim.
Buffy had endearing characters that were flawed and funny… Dollhouse certainly has flawed characters, but not in a good way.
Buffy’s dialog was clever and fresh, as opposed to inane and repetitive… I swear, if I hear “Did I fall asleep?” one more time!
Buffy left me in a good mood, often contemplating the latest Buffyism, while Dollhouse just leaves me feeling sad and depressed.

With that said, I still an Eliza fan, and want her to be my wife… Ok, I’m half kidding.

SGU was good, and has potential, but I still miss the original SG1.

I was waiting all weekend for SyFy to run this story, beating Dollhouse in the ratings. So predictable. That being said...
SGU SUCKED !!! We got Evil Dr. Smith from Lost in Space sabotaging everybody to get his way, a spaceship stopping at every planet long enough to find out they can't stay aka Space:19999, Flashback sequences that got old a long time ago on Lost, camera work that make the people from Cloverfield feel sick, 4 2-minute cameos from people that I thought were going to be on the show but didn't serve any really useful purpose, a ripoff from The Last Starfighter with a knockoff guy from Superbad who automatically is the smartest one there because he solved a video game puzzle (duh!), stupid story, no good characters, Way Too Many commercials...
Did I miss anything? Maybe this show next week.

Since 'Flash Forward' has also been mentioned...
That show is going to drag out a mini-series story line into as many episodes as it can, and fill the rest with as much recipe fluff as it can: The never ending search for the person who did not blackout! Kinda why 'Lost' lost me after a few episodes... While we are at it, 'Eastwick' is but a recipe driven 'Charmed' wanna-be... no original thought at all...
I do look forwards to more SGU, and premiering Sanctuary & Caprica, but really am disapointed in the other entries into the prime time campaigns. -kh

well the friday night slot is dreaded for many reasons. Too many good shows on at the same time.

@metalfan20 - that is what a DVD recorder is for, especially one with a hard drive too.

if dollhouse does get cancelled i really dont see much option for whedon than going back to the buffyverse . i kind of like firefly and dollhouse but i can understand why they arnt popular .i doubt whedon will get many more chances after producing two shows that hav nt been a success . i would think hes far from a hot property now .

Thoughts:
Dollhouse - great high concept (the "soul" as mere programming... or is it?), okay execution, unfortunate choice for lead (Dushku - seems like a nice gal, but is a mediocre actress at best). I'm a loyal Whedon fan, but even I think Fox should have kept T:TSCC instead...

SG-U - Fairly derivative, but so is most sci-fi. Great cast, good to so-so characters, average writing, decent direction, great visuals (love the "comet trail" of the ship in FTL), needs more edge, anger, emotion, insanity, gravitas, jeopardy to really make it work. See BSG for ideas...

FlashForward - Meh... might become "FastForward" if they don't add a little oomph to... everything... The FBI angle makes it mostly a long-term procedural... it's "Lost" with cops instead of plane crash survivors and a mysterious island. Not enough science weirdness...

Medium/Ghost Whisperer - both boring. Let them Rest in Peace.

Sanctuary/Caprica - Rock on. Looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish.

Eastwick - Desperate Housewives meets Charmed with MILFs. Fortunately, I like MILFs, otherwise it's nothing to write home about yet - the movie was better.

Heroes - Meh... old news. Time to die, Hiro...

Castle - Very good... channels a bit of Moonlighting and Magnum, but so far, lots of fun.

Bones - Getting tired. It always seems a hair off in timing and just slightly out of tune. Not sure why it's not better... just seems "stiff" at times.

Defying Gravity - A little too much soap opera, but would be even more boring if it weren't there. Realistic space travel is quite tedious, I get it, but sucking up half the show with flashbacks gets old too...

Fringe - Stupid last year, stupid this year. Kill it. Kill it now! Before someone gets hurt!

I personally very much enjoyed SGU. It's an interesting direction for one of my favorite IP. I like the gritty but I'm sure the humor is to come. I think the developing characters have a lot of stories to tell. Here's to a great show that I hope does as well as the others! Just PLEASE keep the writing good!

sad to say, joss whedon jumped the shark with dollhouse. it is so far removed from buffy and firefly in terms of quality. it is like "best little whorehouse in texas," without the music.

Actually, SGU had one character I liked--Robert Carlyle. He reminds me of "Lost in Space"'s Doctor Smith--a well-intentioned bad guy. He's the one original thing about that show.

As for Dollhouse, I'm surprised by the reasons that people are accusing it of not being original. It's *not* original because they're not being used as secret spies? It's *not* original because they are being used--in some cases--as prostitutes? SGU can get as "dark" as it likes, but I doubt it will ever deal with the sort of ethics Dollhouse confronts.

But hey, it's not really a competition. I just hope they look at their DVR and Hulu.com results, because I'm sure many viewers *are* watching both. Except for those stupid T:SCC boycotters.

By the way, speaking of this being a "news" site, how hilarious would it have been if SGU had been trounced by Dollhouse? I somehow doubt these clever writers would have tagged this headline with a SGU deathwatch.

By Lehnsherr at 2:02 PM ON 10/05/09

Star Trek = SG-1
DS-9 = SG Atlantis
ST Voyager = SG-U
Enterprise = ???

Will there be another…..?

The Cam Mitchell team of SG-1 must be their version of TNG.

I still like Dollhouse I just want to see it get to some of the stuff they showed in the extra episode on the DVD. As for BattleStargateica It just doesn't feel like Stargate yet I'm hoping that changes but with the cast I'm not hopeful. The thing that made the previous Stargate shows so great was the interesting characters, the humor in the face of overwhelming odds, and the cool aliens whether good or bad. Where's their equivilant of Teal'c, Teyla, or Ronon? Where's there cool villains like the Goa'uld, the Replicators, the Ori, or the Wraith. The only characters I find even a little interesting are Rush and the medic Tamara. I'm going to keep watching it but they need to quit trying to make it like Battlestar Galactica and start making it more like the other Stargate shows. I'll keep watching it either way but I hope it starts to improve.

And these fabulous numbers for the premiere were due, of course, from SciFi changing its name to SyFy...

And where was the gay character? Such a big deal was made by everyone about one of the characters being gay and yet they obviously didn't have any prominent display of their "gayness" in the show. Does that actually mean it isn't necessary to have a gay character in the show?

In all, I liked the first episode.

I can't believe someone said they liked Castle, and called Fringe stupid. There truly is no accounting for bad taste.

SGU was an OK premiere in an OK franchise. This franchise has always been weak IMO though. It's more of a Saturday afternoon matinee type of show, not a primetime gotta watch it the second it airs type one.

I tend to agree with everything that has been said about SG:U already , and that's saying a lot. That is to say that I like AND dislike the new show, with my dislikes being stronger at the moment. BUT, I'll keep watching it for now, and see if it improves.

And yes -- it is quite the clone of BSG, but not done by Ron Moore. So, let's see if it survives. Because BSG had direction. Where is SG:U going? Are these humans on this ship going to find something important out there in the Universe? Are they going to Ascend? What's their purpose-in-life, in other words? As for their immediate troubles.... Remember, they are still going to run out of air in like a day or so, OH, and the ship will get under way after 12 hours again.

So, there is some potential AT LEAST. As far as programming, no, SG:U is not actually directly against Dollhouse, The SCI-FI Channel (sorry, I don't like the other name), has always programmed such shows on Friday. Fox is the one who moved Dollhouse. Personally, I 've already removed Dollhouse from my TiVo. I've given-up on it.

And unfortunately, Smallville is on its last legs -- and yet it's still better than Heroes (yeah, Heroes is getting ready to get the boot from TiVo also). WB moved it to Friday to make room for the Hot new thing -- Vampire Romances (the Vampire Diaries)..... I watched one episode of that, and I puked.

The issue with Dollhouse is that it hasn't told the viewer what's the point and where the show is going.. That's why everyone scratches their heads over the show.

I just finished watching Stargate: Battlestar Voyager and it seemed Ok. Not good, not great, but Ok.

It seems to me that one is trying to cash in on the void "Galactica" left. And . . .well kinda missed.

I miss SG1,SGA enough to say bring it back. But since you won't i think i'll wait for the next spin off series.

Bring on Stargate: Command (West Wing) or Stargate: Horizon (Enterprise)or Stargate: Empires (Kings) or Stargate: Parallels ( Sliders)

There you are, some original rip offs.

Its a pity you can't reply directly to another's comment. LOL!

SG*U Its way early to tell. The actors will find their individual unique voices and the cast will slowly gell. I will just wait to past judgment on any one character or the story but I will say this, the show has tonnes of potential and I sincerely hope they keep up the pace its currently on.

Cheers

SGU is pretty good.
New music is a plus.Hated the flag waving music of SG1 & SGA.
Wishing they don,t go into the alien/human problem of the week.
That,s why SG series = Star Trek series.

I think they should explain why Dr Rush is hated by all early in this series.
Ep 1 was like being thrown into the middle of the series.
So we really don,t unstand why.

I enjoyed the new SGU and am looking forward to more of it.And i will be tuning in weekly supporting the new show.For those who think it is bad or not to good I find faults too but give it some time and I am sure we won't be let down in the end.
and as far as Whorehouse goes you wont find me going near that turd.After watching 7 of last season episodes I think it is a pointless boring turd of a show.
No competition to SGU

Oops BlueMein - I got the last word...

The things that made Star trek, the original Battlestar, Bab5, and the Stargates worth watching was simple, admirable characters showing loyalty, good character, and responsibility in facing the worst the universe could throw at them. SG:U seems more soap opera than sci-fi, and who wants to watch a slow motion emotional train wreck week after week. It is why I couldnt bear to watch Lost, and avoided the remake of Battlestar so much. We need heroes, role models and admirable characters, not venal, petty, self centered weaklings. We got enough of those in real life. And what is with all the flashbacks? It isnt new any more, just annoying. and give the commercials a rest. My DVR fast forward finger is getting tired.

Actually this article seems like a good spin on less than stellar ratings. I do think the first episode of SGU was a Ronald Moore take on Stargate. And I'm okay with (some) sci-fi shows aiming for more drama and realism with less action, a slower pace, and more adult and dank atmospherics. I thought that was where SGA was initially going to go the first year anyway until some of the characters got sillier and the plots grew formulaic (I still liked SGA). Even though I still miss the heroic smartaleck O'Neill I hope SGU doesn't stray too far from its current tone, even if it resembles RM's BSG a bit.

As for the other shows, as much as I love & miss Firefly, it's been hard for me as a guy and a father to want to see show named "Dollhouse". I'm not interested in the network's version of Ghost Hunters. And I haven't forgiven Smallville for such a lousy season last year.

In regard to SGU, buckwally said "We need heroes, role models and admirable characters, not venal, petty, self centered weaklings."

With all due respect, I have to disagree. While I certainly have enjoyed shows like Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Stargate, those shows sometimes come across to me like cartoons, simply because the characters frequently are so impossibly virtuous and lacking in normal human weaknesses. At the very least I think there should be the occasional show like Battlestar Galactica, where we get to see human beings who have a realistic range of strengths and weaknesses.

On a less serious note, one thing I'd sort of like to see in Stargate: Universe is an attention to the more mundane but realistic details of being a group of unprepared survivors on a strange ship. Beyond finding a way to keep the ship's air running and securing a supply of food and water, I'd also like to see them have to figure out things like how to wash their clothes, brush their teeth when the toothpaste runs out, shave their beards and cut their hair, and, last but not least, figure out how to use an Ancient toilet.

So far buckwally had the best comments. Stargate SG1 was by far a better series than the newest Battlestar or Star Trek. That is why the show lasted longer than Battlestar or any of the individual Star Trek shows.

If you want to make a soap opera, make a soap opera. Don't make a soap opera put it on a space ship and call it Scifi.

Battlestar made so many poor choices and mistakes. The worse being making Starbuck a woman. Also how could an old series have better action and special effects than the new one.

People have to remember that just because a show is dark, gritty and has a lot of sex does not make the show good.

I wish if the fans stopped watching the show it would make them fix it. Unfortunately, the Syfy channel would probably misunderstand their mistake and just cancel the show.

Syfy's best premiere in four years? But Syfy has only existed for a couple of months!

SG:U has been on the "air" for 2 hours and dollhouse hase been on for more than 20.To compare them right now is a bit rediculous but i guess, fair in it's own way.Cooper brought out a show with more polish in it's premiere than dollhouse has managed to produce ever.Making up each script during shooting OF the actual script doesn't look like it's working for whedon.There aren't any real great characters on dollhouse for you to grab on too like in his previous series,which i admitedly enjoyed and own on dvd.SG:U was a premiere episode and as such things go it was almost entirely formulaic-to set up the premise.i enjoyed the cameo's for what they were-a nod to the show that we loved that started it all.you know-like when spock was on ST:TNG or did that not happen at all...and for what it's worth i enjoyed carlisle's character because i came away with the feeling that he was lost in grief and is haveing trouble reconnecting with people and along the way he created the"let's not endanger earth" premise that get's the ball rolling.The kid reminds me of a toned down mckay who hasn't had his big "ta dah! i'm the greatest mind ever!" moment.i look forward to seeing if he gets that swagger.The colniel looks like a solid character with some real insight on the people he has command of.i'm expecting people to be left behind in episode 2 to bring home the"we're all alone out here." bit but i want to find out about them.Dollhouse i don't.Ratings would seem to agree.But then people watch the "love" shows on vh-1 so i don't know what to make of ratings anymore anyway.I know what i like and i like SG:U....for now.

Well, I tought SU was ok. Nothing special. Dollhouse I stopped watching after episode 7 of the first season. I like most of the stuff Whedon has done, but Dollhouse isn''t my cup of tea. I wish The Sarah Connor Chronicles would've continued instead of Dollhouse. Those idiots at Fox should have used Salvation to promote the Terminator tv-series.

HOTPIEtm: Oh I so hope that Eli doesn't McKay. The kid was a lot more likeable than I expected and almost served as an everyman that grounded the episode and maybe even kept it from totally being a Stargate & Battlestar hybrid. McKay served his purpose on SGA, but I really hope they let this kid stay a normal guy under extraordinary circumstances.

i watched, for the first time ever, a Stargate episode shown with the commercials. Up until now, I had watched the whole of SG-1 and all the seasons but the fifth of SG:A. So watching an episode with commercials does lower the level of enjoyment of anything (even fast-forwarding).
Anyway...
SGU was just plain ok. You see, when SGA came about, it built on top of the fan-base the franchise already had coming from SG-1. Despite the disclaimers of making SG-U a whole new thing (whatever that means), where do they think they got all this premiere audience if not from the loyal fans?
First episode: air. You're almost dead, you have a very limited amount of time to turn things around. You know things will be turned around because... duh... there is a whole series ahead of you. Duh! Fake drama. Could have had a better starting story.
Before then, during the evac, they don't know what's on the other side of the puddle? why didn't they have exploration drones ready to send? For the two minutes they spent babbling about bringing in critical supplies (I guess it was so critical to bring a cheery camouflaged uniform -with military cap included- Eli-size...), they could have used their hugely experienced selves sending a drone. No drones available? woa!
The SGU writers promise no more planet-Canada of perennial deciduous forests and no more english everywhere. I surely hope to see some of that.
As for the gripes: "Mercury Rising" style puzzle solved and Eli is annoying; Lt Scott is a beta-male; In general, recruiting brats for SG??; Where did Lou Diamond Phillips go?; Amanda Tapping's performance was flat, flat, flat; WTH was with the cheesy Lost-style Daniel Jackson video?; the HD quality of the Sci-Fi channel HD (via fios) is horrible; again, the fabricated drama to start the series (could've done something.... grander); the Dr. Rush character, so similarly designed to BG's Dr. Baltar; WTH is Chloe doing in the SG project? Contributions... zero. Probability of becoming a mega-bisch(again) and jeopardizing the expeditions to planet-Canada... many, many.
The non-gripes: Jack O'Neill was great, like always (that cheeky bastard); the politician died! yeah!; "Icarus" base fizz... chuckle chuckle.

Despite the gripes (merely so that by any freak chance, the writers notice these points and stop treating their audience like soap-opera incapable-of-mental-growth i...ndividuals), more SG is always welcomed. It's good cheesy fun (no much way around it), but with a large fan base, they can afford to be bolder/smarter/more creative.

p.s. yeah, Fox should have kept The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The characters were getting nice and complex. But alas "Aw Dunna-Leigh! mah brain hurtz! pass me 'nuther beer, I gotta chain chunnels!"

"Oops BlueMein - I got the last word..."

That just shows how immature and weak your posts are in general. And no, I am not interested in the "last word" when it is so poorly stated.

Man, those wings were good. Almost finished burning the remaining copies of the new BSG series as I eat some marshmallows.

I dont need to see people screwing on this show wtf??!! Is this gonna be Stargate/BSG?? Please dont make this another soap like the end of BSG. If i want to watch sex, ill get porn......

Since it was a premiere, I tuned in to SG: U instead of Dollhouse this past Friday. Of course, I'm Canadian, so I watch on Space and my watching generally doesn't count for much.

Fridays are going to rock this fall; Sanctuary at 9pm and SG: U at 10pm on Space, The Ron James Show and The Mercer Report at 11pm and 11:30pm on the CBC (timeshifted, of course), and Dollhouse on Global at 12am (timeshifted)! Best night of the week. :)

I'm with "Impressed" here...bring on more sex scenes and Brian Smith in his underwear.

"That just shows how immature and weak your posts are in general. And no, I am not interested in the "last word" when it is so poorly stated."

BWAAAAAAAAA. How frakkin hilarious. I wrote that because it was so obvious how you troll to have the last word.

Like I said, quit being a do^chebag.

"Man, those wings were good. Almost finished burning the remaining copies of the new BSG series as I eat some marshmallows."

I just love the fact that you spent your money on RDM's work of genius. As trolls go you aren't that bright, are ya?

LMAO

RDM's work of genius?

Funny. When Dollhouse first came out, SciFi predicted its cancellation, the same as when Sarah Connor arrived. Possibly that aided in both shows being dismissed by potential viewers who would rather not invest time in a show that was already being said to end.

Now SyFy has yet another spinoff of Sargate and, of course, they tout their show above the one they (again) expect to be cancelled.

So much for promoting science fiction shows for the simple fact that they are science fiction and have a fan base.

No. Just keep promoting your shows.

Put another ECW commercial on now. We can see where your interests lie.