go Brad Wright!

Lost had magic? I thought It was made of suck tied together loosely by a time-traveling disappearing Island in the one use of said plot device I can sadly say I can't stand. And I love time travel. Seriously, Back to the Future remains my favorite film series, and any movie or series with it in there stays in my top tier list, excluding Lost.
But all sniping aside, ABC hasn't been overly good on programming since they had Drew Carey hosting a little game show known as "Whose line is it Anyways?", their recent hits such as Castle and the obtainment of Scrubs excluded, obviously.
This Maureen Ryan person obviously needs to see more of Universe. It's no Atlantis or return of SG1, but it's good in it's own right.

Good for Ms Ryan, she is spot on about the total disappointment that SGU is. I was hoping for so much better.

Reading this "article" it makes me wonder if a similar situation had occurred with a program not parented by SciFi if it would have even been mentioned or considered "newsworthy". The internet is full of such back and forth (as viewed on this site very often). I'd recommend this site choose carefully what they decide is newsworthy without bias or risk losing credibility with the true fans of science fiction.

Heh, but it is boring and worse of all predictable so far - its like a soap opera in space - but only half the time, they have a device which exchanges the consciousness of the people on the ship in a distant galaxy with people on the earth - and do they use it for science fictiony stuff? No no, they use to to go clubbing get drunk and screw people *g* (Oddly enough, the army seems ok with that!)

i like V and SGU, why can't u nerds just be happy that there are more scifi shows to watch for god sakes

@Shinta-Agreed, I've never been a big fan if SG-1 or SG Atlantis, but have recently found myself enthralled by plot, writing and by the depth the actors give their characters. Huzzah for SG-U! That is until whomever that was that pulled that Boba Fett move comes back and blows them the frak out of them.

Maureen Ryan was right. If you think that the plots on SGU are good - try reading Green eggs and Ham for a real story line.

Lost has magic? The writers have never been strong on consistent characters (existence of Clementine, anyone?), but the last two seasons have been contrived and have done nothing but kill the characters and relationships.

Does this reviewer think SGU is sexist because the characters do exactly what REAL PEOPLE do? In the face of death, seperation from loved ones SGU has characters getting laid and having affairs and regretting them. There's a hint at the end of Fridays SGU that Col. Telford may be using sex as a weapon against a rival. Guess what, people do that all the time. SG1 and SGA tended to keep it Disney and all you got were the typical romantic tension moments. Nothing wrong with that but it's in no way sexist to show people in desperate situations getting together. Sounds like this reviewer needs to get laid.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with Maureen on SGU. While I admit the show needs work, it's still decent. Also, I'm still confused on where the sexism remarks are coming from. Has she watched half of what's on MTV or the show Dollhouse. That is sexism at it's peak. SGU is by no means a fantastic and needs some work but I don't think it's THAT bad. Honestly people need to relax and just watch the damn show if you like it and if you don't then stop tuning in. It's as simple as that.

As a fan of SG-1 and Atlantis myself, I find it completely plausible that Maureen Ryan could take a negative stance towards SGU. She hit the nail on the head with her critique - SGU is a sexist, boring, and unoriginal attempt to be creative and 'cutting edge' by writers who simply aren't capable of as much.

For Brad Wright to attack a critic for, frankly, was doing her job - was hypocritical. It is only natural to compare shows of the same genre and is, in fact, important if we will be able to expand the genres capabilities.

This article, however, is yet another example of poor reporting and bias on SyFy's part. If you're going to post an article about Science Fiction critique - include all the information and don't gloss over Maureen's response. 'The gist of it' is simply not good enough.

SGU is sexist because it fails to live up to the high standards set by strong, smart, brave, amazing female characters like Samantha Carter or Teyla. Admittedly I've only seen bits of every episode after the pilot, but the pilot had me shouting at the TV screen whenever any grasping, pathetic female was on screen crying or doing something one-dimensional. It is VERY Battlestar Galactica, if only in terms of cinematography and mood; I didn't watch BG for a reason and I totally miss the campiness of SG1 and SGA. I don't even, in my own mind, consider SGU canon at this point. It's just such a disappointment.

With that said, V's pilot also held plenty of cliche characters and plotlines, but freaking Morena Baccarin is awesome as Diana and I was kept excited the entire way through. SGU's pilot had me yawning and fighting the urge to switch to a different channel. It also seems like every synopsis of an episode I see has something like "The ship loses power (AGAIN). The crew tries to find water on a mysterious planet. The guy with the accent does something inhuman but which probably saves the ship in some way. Eli says something snarky. The episode ends, leaving you feeling, for some reason, empty and missing bright colors and normal camera angles."

I think the only problem with STARGATE UNIVERSE is that people came into it, expecting STARGATE ATLANTIS or STARGATE SG1.

It's not surprising that people were taken by surprise by SGU, but if you step back and stop expecting anything like what STARGATE used to be, you start judging it on it's own merits and suddenly it looks very different.

You can decide for yourself. I don't need to say whether I like it or not. It doesn't matter. I've made my choice with my remote buttons!

I love the show and all the sg shows for that matter. I just think she was using the popularity of the sgu show to get herself more attention. She was counting on all the buzz in the net making her comments go "viral". Or maybe she is jealous that the characters are gitting a peice and she is not. If she truely hated it she would not draw attention to it by talking about it. All the SG show have done well.

Everyone has their own opinion. People need to respect it and move on. I personally like SGU and V was okay. I will continue to watch both shows.

@Ashley. Maureen Ryan is a fan of Dollhouse.

I think SGU started good and has steadily improved. This last episode, Earth, was excellent character development. And when was the last time Stargate did really excellent character development?

Not saying that SG1 or Atlantis are bad, but this is a serious step up.

Just my opinion...

I fail to see why people are such fans of V. Sure, I was entertained while watching it, but I thought it was badly written. Whereas Stargate Universe I've liked every episode so far. And I watched SG-1 and SGA,

A member of the Stargate TPTB acting like an @ss online is now considered news? Must be a slow newsday, because this is a frequent thing, they just usually direct it towards regular viewers, not critics.

I'm stunned at the level of...hatred SGU has managed to spawn.

Personally, I've been intrigued by the character revelations, and I think this past week the show really hit it's stride. Suddenly we know where the animosity between Telford and Young comes from, and the conflicts that Young is dealing with (boy's a playa, and that gets him in trouble).

Rush's motivation is becoming more clear as well. He can't survive on the ship without the help of the others, and if he leaves he knows he won't be allowed back. So everybody stays...

I don't know what's so predictable about the show, unless everyone's referring to the fact that they haven't found a way off Destiny yet.

Really? Were you honestly expecting them to escape within the first 6 episodes?

I'm not disappointed in SGU because it wasn't a reincarnation of the first two series - I'm disappointed in the predicable plots and, yes, sexist characters. I was also a fan of Battlestar Galactica and Firefly, both of which SGU is a poor mimic. BSG and Firefly were examples of human characters in tough situations. You can put a woman in those situations and still make her strong, independent and three dimensional. SG-1 and Atlantis even have strong female characters - Samantha Carter and Teyla in particular. My biggest disappointment with SGU has been it's failure to portray realistic women. Literally every major female character has served as little more than a sexual tool with minimal power. That is my biggest qualm with a series that has failed on so many levels.

Yes, it's a shame that a loyal viewership who watched probably 15 years worth of SG1/SGA stuck around for SGU, expecting a similar show, but instead got a dark (visually and other), series.

Ms. Ryan makes valid points. A lot of fans have been saying the same things here and there (twitter, blogs, forums, etc.) but are often labeled 'malcontents'.

I would be curious if Brad Wright would respond to each of her points.

And I really have to laugh at the poster who says t he author of the piece did it for publicity. Hello? Author of piece has been reviewing TV shows for eons (and not just SG). The publicity for this article was in fact given a wider berth by none other than SyFy, who perhaps wants the additional PR, because it's not really news, but it is fun to follow.

This is suppose to be an entertaining program about a bunch of people on an alien ship. So why haven't we seen the ship or any cool things on the ship. So far I've seen them looking for water and chemicals to clean the air. Hello this is TV entertain me, I don't care about their struggles for the basic necessities unless I get to see some cool stuff. This show is Boring, the characters except for a few are unattractive and uninteresting. If you want this show to do well get some good looking men and women, turn the lights up and start finding cool things on the ship or on other worlds.Oh ya get rid of the crazy angry lead scientist I've had enough of his predictable outbursts.

Maureen Ryan is right. Stargate Universe is boring and poorly plotted.

Brad Wright's counter argument seems to be... well, he doesn't have a counter argument. Pointing out that she hasn't seen half of it doesn't add up to much, as it hasn't improved since the first few episodes. Her comments would probably be even more negative if she had seen it. Proloned mediocrity is a lot worse than short burts of it.

Suggesting she's some network's shill is a rather pathetic attempt to undermine her opinion. Of course, being a wild, unfounded accusation, there is no substantial counter-argument. Of course, being a wild, unfounded accusation, it is both wild and unfounded.

Finally he points to the ratings. No one opinion is any less valid or 'right' than any other, or any number of others, so to discount her opinion because she dislikes it would be to discount the opinion of everyone who does like it. If someone's opinion can be so easily discounted simply because you disagree with it, how can opinions you agree with any more valid, other than because you agree with them?

In other words, this point boils down to: you're wrong because I say you are.

Brad's a nice guy, and I love SG1, but this is the kind of baseless hissy fit reply I'd expect from a 14 year old fanboy desperately seeking validation.

And, again Maureen Ryan is right. SGU is really, really boring. It lacks interesting characters and even competent dialogue, and failing that it needs BSG-style action to be interesting, but it doesn't have that either.

I'm gonna keep watching to the end of the season, but it seriously needs a new stable of writers, or some action.

@emily margrit

stfu if u dont watch it and only seen bits and pieces

its a show for adults with adult themes, sgu is awesome and shouldnt lower itself at all

I like both shows, but V has one thing for going for it: It's not in league with NBC. I would sooner stop watching SGU than V for that very reason. I'm already contemplating giving up on Sy-Fy because of it's ties with NBC.

the show is awful and offensive plain and simple....
i will be more then happy when it disappears and i hope it happens soon. Especially so i don't have to listen to Joe M and Brad Wright try to spindoctor every negative review the show.

Its a poorly written, poorly executed show... cancel it so we can all move on

So, according to Mo, female characters are bad because they're not Mary Sues like Carter?

The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks.

Brad Wright seems to be behaving very immaturely here. Maureen is a critic, that's what she does for gawd's sake!
Buck up dude and grow a pair!

And this is why I dislike reviewers.

Highly unprofessional to slam SGU in a 'V' review. If you want to write a column on your dislike for SGU, don't write it in another shows review...My God.

I'm enjoying SGU. It's not as good as SG-1 but give it time to get there.

I think Brad Wright was wrong to take the reviewer to task. It is unprofessional and immature.

The reviewer has a job; she did, quite fairly from what I read. If Mr. Wright is so childish he is unable to take some criticism of the show, especially from a mainstream reviewer who has been a fan of Stargate, than I think he needs to step back.

Another point, there has been criticism of the show from male reviewers; however Mr. Wright goes after the female reviewer. Hmmm, Mr. Wright may just have demonstrated the reason behind why SGU is sexist and portrays female characters so poorly – he obviously has little respect for them.

Neither show has caught my interest. Though I do like Flash Forward. Can we make up a fight about that?

Go maureen! I keep watching SGU hoping it'll improve, but the simple fact is this: It's a bait and switch. They called it Star Gate instead of the title it should've had, Universe. I fully believe there was some show called Universe where people ended up on some ship with exactly the same premise, but missing the star gate. :D They thought: Hey, this show's got potential, but nobody's going to watch it because it's new and it lacks a real hook - so let's add Star Gate to it and then lure in people expecting Star Gate and get them to like this show because all of those loyal readers will surely make the jump!

Unfortunately, they are two different shows and SGU is NOTHING like Star Gate. SG1, SGA OR BSG or V. It's horrible. It's boring and a waste of time. If it wasn't really as bad as it is, then Brad Wright and that other guy who ranted, wouldn't feel the need to do so. Obviously they're feeling the pressure and wondering when the other shoe will drop - that is... when we finally DO give up on the show entirely. Right now, we watch it hoping it'll get better - I have to watch it because my husband for some insane reason likes it. But he has no taste. He also watches Glee. 9.9 (At least with V, I didn't have really grand expectations. It's something I loved as a child and I was six when I first saw it. I proceeded to watch the entire series when it was rerun the other weekend on Syfy TWICE. It's heavily flawed in so many ways, but you know what, it doesn't matter, because it's ENTERTAINING - something Brad Wright as forgotten how to be.

While I don't agree with SGU being sexist I do agree with it being boring and poorly plotted. Atlantis already did many of the concepts of SGU much more effectively and with better writing.

Ryan writes that SGU is sexist. My answer: Alaina Huffman is one strong female character. Lost gives us two: Evangeline Lilly and Yunjin Kim. BSG gives us three: Katee Sackhoff, Grace Park and Tricia Helfer. If SGU puts Julia Benson on screen more, SHE could lick any of those women on Lost or BSG - if that is what "strong female" means. If that happens, and/or Ming-Na gets tougher, there's no argument there any more. I'm going to reject the sexist argument outright.

I'll be the first to admit that some plot devices employed by SGU are being used too much, e.g. gravity slingshots and low power levels. But BSG has one over-riding plot: Cylons that are undetectable. And Lost has some stuff that defies even suspension of disbelief, such as that smoke-creature, whatever the heck that is supposed to be.

Having read the review of V, I'm thinking Ryan hasn't seen any more than the single episode we have all seen. She says nothing - nothing at all - that any fans who paid attention to the original series could not have figured out on their own steam. So why is it that she writes SGU off after five episodes, and is not willing to do that after either V or FlashForward, which she does not demonstrate that she knows better?

No, I will feel free to like SGU just as much as I have done. The only thing I will doubt is Ms. Ryan's skill as a reviewer.

V and Sgu are both pretty good so far, go watch reality shows if it doesnt suit your snotty behinds

Real life is often sexist... perhaps we should organise a boycott.
I choose to boycott real life by spending my time watching SGU. (And Sanctuary and V)

-> "FlashForward" still seems like a show that is more about its concept than its characters.

So what if it is? So was Lord of the Rings - and most every episode of the Twilight Zone. Jeez. I hate how these critics are allowed to make statements that millions of people are going to read without really having to back them up. So much erroneous reasoning gets into the life-blood of our culture this way. (Anyone remember that stupid rule about all of the even-numbered Star Trek movies being the best?)

I don't see where V is going that will be more interesting than SGU. We already saw the lizards. SGU is not sexist and it will get better than V.

SGU should be cancelled for committing the worst crime possible in the Stargate franchise: Making Jack O'Neill uninteresting. O'Neill is probably one of the greatest scifi characters of all time and SGU has managed to turn him into nothing more than background noise. For this crime alone SGU deserves a fate worse than Firefly or Crusade.

SGU is definitely not doing good right now. The whole "ship will fail any time now" is played out. And the BSG atmosphere is not what I come to expect from Stargate. The sex scenes can be dropped also. The more I think of it this must be the writing team from BSG or they are trying to be. As far as V only time will tell. I do think there was entirely to much story in the first episode. It was like the whole show will only be 4 episodes.

I believe SGU is sexist.
We have a lingering, loving shot of Lt.James' enormous breasts and nipples for the boys to salivate over, but where is the shot of Greer's bulging crotch?
Honestly the show shouldn't carry the Stargate name, it taints the memory of two fun, adventurous shows.
(I agree, what have they done to Jack?!)
And V was a bit rushed, but very cool, nonetheless.

How can it be a "slam" when its true.

I love the SGate series, but I despise what they did with SGU. The Story is great, but i dislike the drama, all the sex, and the Reality recording style. I am not sure how much longer i can watch this crap. bring back the adventure, the old style. Stay with this story but tape it like SG1 and SGA... i beg of you.

Good thing there aren't original ideas, so REMAKE and SPIN-OFF can battle on the field of honor.

My major problem with SGU is it doesnt feel like stargate. It feels like a whole different show that shouldn't have star-gate in its title..

It has nothing that made me love the first and second shows.

I tried to watch it... but everything seems so forced, and black and white. Where is the grey, the depth. The actors dont have it, and neither does thier characters.

One last thing, brad wright must know some of what was criticized was true, or he wouldn't be so defensive.

And whats with all the sex sex sex.

Didnt he get all high and mighty about the SG1 plot of nudity in it.

Wow what a way to go brad...

Look what they did to the most belived charcter - jake.

Wow just wow.

I have to agree with what Maureen Ryan said about SGU. The new series just plain sucks. I expected much more from SyFy and SGU but the new series is the worst Science Fiction series I have ever watched.

To make matters worse, SyFy canceled Stargate Atlantis for this piece of crap of a series?

V isn't much better. I was so bored with the premiere episode that I couldn't stomach watching the whole episode. This is what happens when you mess with the original series and try to reboot it. I don't see V lasting for more than one season.

At least FlashForward was more enjoyable to watch than these two abominations.

I'm going to save the pros and cons of SGU for another post. Perhaps Mr. Wright could create some kind of forum to see just where the numbers stand on various points of interest in the show? ie the drama, sex, and "reality" of it all.

I think the main point that should be taken from this particular article, is that Stargate has become something of a litmus test by which other shows will be compared by the contentment or disappoinment felt by any fan when it comes to Science Fiction television, because as Brad said, "You either hate it or love it"

Kudos for getting people to care one way or the other. Negative passion is still passion. There's something to be said for "hatred of a show" with all the "who cares" TV out there.

Lost, V and Stargate: Universe are all pathetic examples of the genre and not very good television either. The SF TV revolution that began with Star Trek: The Next Generation and exploded with Star Trek: DS9, The X-Files and Babylon-5 has truly ended.

RIP SF on TV: TNG-BSG

P.S. - At least Who is still around.

Writing modern SF TV-
1: Take normal crap drama script.
2: Add (a spaceship / an alien / a mysterious)
3: ???
4: PROFIT!!!

I really like Stargate Universe, and I really don't like and never did like Lost. And I hate reviews that review one show by slagging another. Flash Forward is another one I like. And another thing I don't like is reviewers or columnists who assume everyone feels the same way they do.

Yes SGU is utterly boring and sexist, yes people are dumb and will probably favor a repeat of Two and a Half Men over the show but i don't really care about that. I just find is outrageously offensive that anyone would even DARE compare V to SGU. V is far superior. Tuesdays 8/7c on ABC ;) SGU

I dont watch V, but aknowledge it premiere success, and should it continue then thats good. I watch SGU and I am dissapointed, I like the drama, but thats all it is. Theres really no action. But I will continue to watch it in hopes for something more. Im not slamming it, but out of SG-1 and SG Atlantis it has the least amount of action but better drama concerning characters.
Lets face it, not everybody is going to enjoy it, they want something else. Thats life. So whether you like it or not, at least it gives you something to talk about.
@classy I enjoy your narrow minded comments and nerd bashings and how you look down on anyone that doesnt share your philiospy. Were you jerk before or after you mother told you she wished she had gotten an abortion?

SGU is a science fiction show. So is V. Mo Ryan was perfectly within her rights to mention her gripes about SGU in her review about V. Her job is to give opinions on what she likes and dislikes. She does so on a regular basis and provides extremely sound reasoning to back up her opinion.
Ryan even said early in her reply that she was really hoping SGU would succeed. Her regular readers can readily attest to tuning in for her thoughts on Lost, BSG and non-genre fare such as Mad Men. During the final Battlestar arc, her columns were must-reads not only for fans but for the people that produced the show. You could read through comments sections and find comments from actors, writers and directors for BSG. Richard Hatch commented on Ryan's blog for BSG's mutiny episodes in 4.5.
A critic's job is to screen out the good from the bad and provide reasons to an audience about why they should either enjoy or avoid something. Mo consistently goes above and beyond this.
Perhaps Mo was more accurate than whoever the Stargate producers are feared, which is why they responded as they did. Ryan writes for a major publication, is well respected by the TV industry and has plenty of loyal readers. Of course the Stargate producers would want to take her down a peg if she writes something that threatens their viewership.

I can't say it often enough: SGU is "Whining Emos Lost in Space" void of any sense of adventure and discovery. If Earth could only send more troops, then at least some of the characters could be placed in real danger and some characters could be killed off.

By comparison V did not waste my time with hours upon hours of introduction. I remember V as the series where a human resistance fights insidious alien invaders and that is where they pick up.

SGU is a snow that started out Star Trek Voyager. STV didn't peak for 3 or 4 seasons. SGU is no where near its peak as it is just beginning. I think if we wait around a while, SGU will get better. For those that hate it, SGU will eventually get its act together.

I think by the 3rd season, we are going to see a toss of actors. We are going to see new faces and lose one or two. By the fifth (final?) season, I think we will have seen some changes in authority, and likely see a female in command by then.

This show isn't going away if not simply for the reason that it is too controversial and thought provoking.

Personally, I like what the show is about. But, like STV, not all the episodes appeal to me.

P.S. Don't anyone say STV is better. STV is comedy compared to SGU.

How anyone can slag off SGU and praise the rushed, disjointed and disapointing shamble that was the first episode of V is laughable.

SGU is taking time to tell a story, V managed to fit about 5 or 6 episodes of events into a 45 minute show with little or no regard to any character development whatsoever.

SGU ftw

Admittedly, I can agree that the real military does actually behave in a shambolic and badly planned fashion - having been in the military I know this - but the Stargate Command take it to absurd levels.

Just one for instance, use of the consciousness-transferring stones. They let the "Destiny" crewmembers wander around loose to visit relatives, get drunk, drive around in cars etc. Right. Why are they not confined to base, for reasons of national security and safety of the host body, and being given intense briefing/debriefing sessions and remedial training? Of course that's what would be happening. If they did visit relatives, it would be in uniform, pseudonymously, with a couple of minders, and under strict orders.

Rush would be back at SGC justifying himself and explaining what he'd found/been up to most of the time.

...and so on. (Never mind the magical, yet broken, Ancient tech of Destiny" being built seemingly at random.)

The writers do really need to raise their game. At least SG1 and Atlantis had the good sense to have fun with the absurdity of the situation.

Go Brad!

but sgu really does suck sorry brad.

The Stargate series aren't all that great. They were ok. Jury still out on V. Only one ep. I'll give it two more before deciding.

First of all, she did not say anything negative at all about "Lost", according to what you reprinted, she said the other ABC shows failed to capture the "Lost" magic. If your going to write an article, get your own facts straight at least. The same mistake was made with SGU that Star Trek made with "Enterprise" (and in my opinion, "Voyager" as well), you went to the well once to often. Next time try an original concept instead of another Stargate. It's like reading yet another entry in Anthony's Xanth series,it was great for a while, but there's only so much you can do. You've done all you can stop being lazy, come up with some new ideas and move on!

I love Stargate but SGU just doesn't have any imagination, I hope the show picks up......

I'm a huge fan of the original V and have hopes the new one will improve quickly. To say the first episode was rushed is an understatement!

As for SGU...I'm fairly new to the Stargate franchise. I'm half-way though SG-1 and starting season 4 of Atlantis. So far, I love SGU. I'm not quite sold on the whole mind-swapping thing (though it was used brilliantly this past week) but I love how they are handling everything else. It does lie somewhere between Galactica and Voyager, and that is fine for me as they are two of my favorite sci-fi shows.

I think it's funny that Wright takes a swipe at Ryan as petty and then in the last sentence of his rebuttal takes a massive swipe at V by implying that it will be canned.

In any case Ryan is right. At the moment SGU is dull, dull, dull. There's a few geeky moments that are pleasurable and a little bit of humour but most of the characters are shallow stereotypes and the pace of the show is yawn inspiring. If they didn't already have a second season commitment I'd have predicted SGU as a first season cancellation.

"to keep us on the air long after "V" is just a letter in the alphabet again. "

Hey Brad Wright, I am a huge fan of Star Gate....yeah, that's right. I helped in some small way to make your franchise what it is now. I got people interested in your (PREVIOUS) shows. I am a HUGE, HUGE fan of the original V. Personally, I HATE your new Star Gate Universe, it is precisely what Ryan has stated it as so, but to slam V that makes me mad! So, you think you will outpace V (you probably will), but I hope your STUPID SGU gets canned way, way, way before the new re-imagined V does!

P.S.

I really hope you read this post from a very disappointed Star Gate fan!

The way I see it, SGU is failing to attract the emo teen crowd who loves soap operas, and is succeeding in turning off long-time science fiction fans.

If SGU's creators want the emo teen crowd to watch their boring soap opera, they will have to introduce a vampire in the story. Rush is the best candidate because he is evil and looks like one.

I am a fan of both V and Stargate Universe. It would be nice if Brad Wright started paying attention to the fans. Does anyone from SciFi Channel actually read these forum posts?

Stargate fans are not happy with the show. So many episodes have past and it still is moving very slowly / boring. Maureen Ryan was blunt but she stated exactly what is wrong with the current Stargate Universe show. "Stargate Universe," is a boring, poorly plotted, lamentably sexist mess.” It has been very boring in comparison to Stargate SG1 and Atlantis. I’ll add that it is too dark and has poor film quality in comparison to previous series. It also lacks the interesting and relatable characters of SG1 and Atlantis.

I think Brad Wright should take it as constructive criticism and fix Stargate Universe before it loses most of its fans. If anyone knows how start a letter campaign for them to fix Stargate Universe, let me know. I don’t want them to cancel the show but I also don’t have the time to waste watching a boring show.

How is SGU sexist? Because it doesn't have all of its women running around in army boots carrying P-90s like the other two interchangeable Stargates did? So far, it seems to me like SGU is trying to create a much broader range of characters than the other two very formulaic Stargates had: (Let's put four people on a new planet each week with guns, make one of them a woman and another an alien, then let's do a second show that's exactly the same format and call that one original!) The whole point of what they're trying to do with SGU is to do something different. Let's give them a shot and see where they're actually going with this before we judge the entire TWENTY EPISODE season based only on the first six or seven. Often times writers on TV shows will come up with these things called "story arcs" that usually require multiple episodes to reveal to their audiences. Maybe I'm going out on a limb in assuming that that's what SGU is doing, but gosh-darn-it, I guess I'm just that much of an optimist.

Battlegate Galctiverse sucks, and Brad is only complaining about the review because he knows it to be true. If he really believed he was producing a good show he wouldn't be bothered by a few unimaginative critics.

Orion Antreas wrote:
Highly unprofessional to slam SGU in a 'V' review. If you want to write a column on your dislike for SGU, don't write it in another shows review...My God.

I reply:
Excuse me? It's entirely professional (and IMO absolutely true) to say this hasn't exactly been the best year ever for SF on TV. Now if Brad Wright wants to swoop in with a weirdly passive-aggressive drive-by, that's his business. But I'd respectfully suggest the next time he's in Vancouver, he should drop by the Caprica office and have a chat with Jane Espenson and Ron Moore about how you can robustly defend your show against criticism without being a jerk about it.

I can't take most of the criticism of SG:U seriously. Many Star Gate fans decided the serious would be a miserable failure the moment they heard it was being developed in the place of a new season of SG: Atlantis. Since then they have tried to destroy the show before even seeing the first episode. Their comments are meaningless and immature.

I have some disappointments with Universe, but I do enjoy the serious attempt at realism the writers have brought to the show. If you think about it, many of the best Star Gate episodes were rather dark and depressing. Entire populations were wiped out, Earth was constantly under the threat of invasion, and major characters suffered loss or were killed.

You can't seriously judge a show on 4-5 episodes. The entire first season of Star Trek TNG was embarrassing. Babylon 5 had a very weak start. Even the first 1/2 season of Star Gate had problems. In the first few episodes, Samantha Carter was written as so aggressive that she was unlikable, and Daniel Jackson was naive to the point of stupidity.

Give it time, folks. But even if you don't like it after giving it a chance, there's no reason to be nasty to those that do.

I liked V up until they reveled that they were lizards. Come on, lizards!?!? they couldn't come up with anything better than that?!? As for SGU, I think of it as the first season of tng, its ok but has a ton of potential, and as for the whole SGU is sexist, I don't think so, it would be entirely unnatural for there to be an equally strong female character for every strong male character or vise versa, just doesnt happen in reality.

Boy, when the world we live is is such a joke that it HAS to be PC to cater to everyone, so as to not OFFEND everyone, we know we are in trouble.

GUESS WHAT: THE WORLD IS SEXIST.

Sorry for the newsflash, but not EVERY SCI-FI show HAS to have a strong female lead to cater to the masses. Or for that instance, every show period.

It should be done when the STORY demands/requires it.

I mean, can anyone here imagine an Alien/Aliens movie without Siguorney (sp?) Weaver?
I sure can't and am glad I don't have to, but that doesn't mean every story has to be about that.

Is SG:U is sexist because it portrays women as frightened over extraordinary circumstances? Men are confused but put on the brave face and act like they know what they are doing?

Uhhmm.... hello...? Anyone there? That, funny enough, sounds like reality.

Guys always try to put on a brave front when they don't know what the heck they are doing, and a LOT of women would be completely out of whack if thrown halfway across the universe where everything you know doesn't count for anything.

The Campiness of SG:1 and SGA? Well they had their time and their day. I liked it too. Doesn't mean I want to see it again though. I LIKE SERIOUS. I LIKE DARK. That's what makes it an ADULT show and SG-1 did start off like that, to a degree, when it was on SHOWTIME. But after a while they dumbed the show down.

Real adults have lives. We have situations we find ourselves in, not always of our own making, that take us out of our element. We get caught up in sexual affairs that challenge ethics and morals.Men ALWAYS play out scenarios in our minds that somehow end with a sexual encounter with almost everyone female we meet.

For a show to at least acknowledge these aspects, to me is more brave than sexist. It means, guess what, we know that bear is in the room, so lets take a look at it and talk about it.

Now, to play devil's advocate, I'm not saying they need to do this all the time. In fact, only with the character of ELI, does it really seem appropriate since he is the non-combatant of the group and the 'fat nerd boy who is super smart but will never get the girl as more than a friend'.

It's actually amazing... people used to give tv shows a season, maybe two before deciding if it was worth watching anyone.
Maybe the networks are right. If after 4-8 episodes, we, the fans, aren't flocking, its time to pull the plug because our attention spans can't handle it.

Oh, and to get back on point. I liked V. I thought it was close enough to the original (why mess up a good thing? if you are going to redo something, just redo it. Don't try to reinvent the wheel) to keep watching.

I also do think they rushed it QUITE a bit. They really, REALLY should have done a two-hour miniseries for just the pilot. The story would have flowed more smoothly.

All other issues aside, Brad Wright should spend less time defending SGU and a bit more time trying to figure out how to make the show entertaining. Contrived conflict based on well educated people acting like spolied brats and military professionals acting like cliche jarheads is not drama, nor is listening to flat characters wallow in self-pity. The characters have no chemistry, the show has no heart, the reality show "mesage home/confessional cam" gimmick is just cheesey and the handheld camera-work is an active distraction.

I can appreiate what he was shooting for and I wasn't expecting an "SG-A: the next generation" any more than I thought Sanctuary was going to be retread of SG-1, but what he's given us to date is a mess that begs for negative comparisons to BSG, Lost and ST:Voyage with maybe a little un-real reality TV thrown it. Honestly it kinda made me long for reruns of Space Cruiser Yamamoto/Star Blazers.

I'm a big fan of Brad Wright's other works but he seriously dropped the ball on this one. Rule number one in fiction, (sci-fi or otherwise) is suspend disbelief. Rule number two is to engage the audience with characters and situations that intergue, inform, entertain and sparke empathy. Rule number three is tell a good story at a good pace. He's running dangerously close to three strikes in my book.

hebramleigh "Give it time, folks. But even if you don't like it after giving it a chance, there's no reason to be nasty to those that do."

I think you should take your own advice and stop smearing people who dislike SGU as being 'out to get SGU from the start.' To paraphrase you - there's no need to be nasty to those that don't [like it]

I am not liking SGU, it sucks! There is NO FUN in watching this show!!!! SG-1 and Atlantis didnt need SEX scenes to get ratings......

It is unfair to say Ms. Ryan is wrong. She is right in what she said. SGU was touted as darker version of Stargate, with character development at its core. Logically, a man who once wanted to devote his life to God, and who left his pursuit of the cloth because he fell truly and deeply in love with a girl, would not have sex with random women in broom closets. Instead of capitalizing on this conflicted character, and making him question his beliefs in God while being stranded on the other side of the universe, and portraying his internal conflicts over sexual contact and his religion, instead the producers lost all credibility with the character of Scott, and instead tried to get the actor as naked as possible as many times as possible.
The Chloe/Scott sexmance also makes no sense. The actors portraying them have no chemistry in their scenes, which draws the viewer out of the program. The writers and producers did little to set up this romance, and in fact, have done more to set up a romance between Chloe and Eli, which they completely shut out. Eli has been the only plausible character in the entire situation, as he looks out and wonders what the heck happened.
The female characters have been utterly wasted. Chloe had the brains and guts to suggest using a video game to unlock the secret of the ninth chevron. She is clearly an intelligent, strong, and beautiful woman. And yet she is consistently written as a crybaby who needs men to help her survive. Camille Wray is the first openly lesbian character in science fiction and a major television series, let alone science fiction program. But according to SGU writers, that means she has PMS all of the time and is one of the most unlikeable characters on their series. But as an IOA agent and a strong capable woman at Icarus base, she had the potential to be the leader of the expedition and guide the characters. Johannson, aka the medic, is the one female character who doesn’t seem to need men in order to save her. Yet it appears producers and writers of SGU want her to have a relationship with Colonel Young, despite the lack of chemistry between the actors (see Chloe/Scott relationship above).
Rush is boring and predictable, and a great episode to fix this would be to shoot him in the head. There is no way possible to like this character. Greer I can’t say much about well, because, who is he anyway? Greer seems to be the token african american character in yet another scifi show whose sole purpose is to hold a gun and shout orders. How evolved these writers are (*drips with sarcasm). Young, as a Colonel, should be a strong leader, and yet, seems to have no backbone. Telford, meanwhile, who was supposed to lead the expedition, is back on Earth throwing a temper tantrum like a two year old.
While SGU has great concepts and great potential, they seem to be consistently wasted on writers who are more interested in seeing Scott shirtless (or more) than writing good drama, which is what they promised. If anyone, by the by, knows the point of Greer getting naked in front of a star, please tell me. It was completely gratuitous and pointless. And while the Destiny being solar powered was a great concept, as was the aero-braking maneuver in the same story, it is lost among the inconsistent character development the show is based on.

As for V, it’s a pretty good show. The actors mesh well together, but like SGU, it isn’t realistic. People would not immediately accept an alien race that comes to Earth, even if they did say they came in peace. Why would we? And typical of network television, there are no openly gay or lesbian characters. So props to Brad Wright for trying. SGU could be a great show, Mr. Wright. Unfortunately, Ms. Ryan is also right. At the moment, SGU is definitely lacking.

SGU is a character drama and a fairly decent one. She's apparently expecting more or less nothing but action stories like the other two stargate series. Her loss. Wright's mistake is canceling Atlantis. Then people who like both types of stories would have been satisfied.

Havent seen V and when I do I wont have anything to compare it to cos I have no intention of seeing the old show, so I completly agree with Ms. Ryan when she says she had high hopes for SGU and it disapointed.
Samething is happening to me and I've seen all the eps.
It tries t be something different from the other Stargates but guess what, they took what made Stargate good (at least SG1 cos I want a big Atlantis fan either) and fail at whatever they are trying to do with SGU.

Gotta love divisive sci-fi shows...I thought after the furor that was BSG that we would all just get along. Thankfully FlashForward and SGU came along to squash that idea. I'm an SGU fan. It's different, but I like it. I give a more detailed breakdown here: http://tinyurl.com/ylh2u2b

@snooz:
"SGU is a character drama"

It's more correct to say that SGU is TRYING to be a character drama but it's missing two important ingrediants: character and drama. What it has is cardboard cliches and petty bickering.

In many ways it reminds me of the types of stories freshmen would turn into their writing class after losing points on their first assignment. Their first assignment was always a mess with way too much exposition, all the characters getting along, everyone loving the hero, no villian to speak of and a situation that magically resolves itself with the hero not actually doing anything. Then the professor goes off on a tirade about "nothing moves the story along except conflict" and "a hero makes choices and takes actions, don't be passive!" The next story turn in is littered with contrived sitations cooked up to promote bitering among the cast, one-dimensional characters with superficial (over)reactions to those situations and no underlying "truth" to engage the reder or make the story worth-while.

SGU has that second assignment writen all over it.

Stargate Universe is a good show?

WOW! That's news to me!

SG:1 = Star Trek: TOS and Next Gen
SGA = Deep Space Nine and wishes it was as good as Babylon 5
SGU = Star Trek Voyager

Sexist?

Of course it's sexist. Go back two weeks. That's the way they're promoting the show even

Sorry, but SG:U can not even hold a candle to "Lost" and the mysteries that series offered-up in only it's first season.

As for the original Stargate TV Series, the one that started on showtime with Richard Dean Anderson on Showtime -- Now, THAT was a good TV series. That took risks, that went places. That explored themes that SG:U can't even fathom. The creativity of that series is lost. I am not sure where the creators and writers are gone, but they are obviously not writing SG:U.

And yes, I am tired of the whimpering females, and the whiny kid, and insubordinate soldiers of SG:U...

It's all been done before... and much, much, better.

PLEASE DO something new.

I also had high hopes for SGU but, lost interest. It started out good and quickly turned to formulaic schlock. Episode titles include Air, Light and Water what will will they run out of next? Will the ship FTL jump to the next planet that has the resources they need and who will 'almost' die?

It seems from what I'm reading here that opinion is pretty much split on whether the show is sexist or not. The fact that the show has more sex than the other two series isn't the main issue. The show is stuck in a rut, literally a character spent an entire episode stuck in a rut. With 95% of the people on that ship having nothing to do, what else are they going to do besides sleep with each other, say prayers, or play poker (what were the stakes in that game anyway?)? As with all first seasons, it's going to take a while to work out kinks. Unfortunately for me the biggest one how boring the show is and how unlikeable the characters are. However, I remain optimistic the writing will improve so I will continue to watch for now. Hang in there SG fans.

So what I'm getting from all these comments is that we hate SGU/V/Flash Forward because it's not what SG1/SGA/Lost/BSG/Babylon 5/etc. was. Shouldn't we be looking at the show on its own merits instead of making comparisons to others?

The first episodes of any TV series have to set up the conflicts and mysteries that will be resolved over the course of the season/series. Right now the writers are setting up a conflict between the people on the ship and earth, the risk of the ship falling apart, and internal crew issues. This will all sort out in time and I will continue to watch as they do so.

i am UTTERLY baffled how so many seem to actually think that the overly slick and horribly written V is actually good TV! it's been a while since I've seen such wooden characters and such a terribly thrown-together pilot as I did with V! Honestly, it seems a bad script and some flashy effects are all that's needed these days! Now, in comparison to the richly woven and darkly told story of the original, I'd be shocked if this show garners any actual fan base (and to think, the network demoted it's head writer and show runner because they considered the following episodes to be actually WORSE than the pilot!!!).

I suppose it's really geared toward the tweenie crowd who's diet consists of your typical network fair... sorry, but i'd rather invest a little more time in SGU- it at least holds out some promise of developing into something a little more adult.

Get bent Maureen Ryan.....SGU rules!!!!

What's shocking reading all the comments are the complaints about SGU and sex...you folks do know most normal people have sex right? I don't think there has been anything out of line on there. Nor do I see any signs of sexism beyond what you'd see in any military organization. How many higher ups frowned on Samantha Carter's abilities?

@IronOre:
"So what I'm getting from all these comments is that we hate SGU/V/Flash Forward because it's not what SG1/SGA/Lost/BSG/Babylon 5/etc. was. Shouldn't we be looking at the show on its own merits instead of making comparisons to others?"

No, what the bulk of these comments are saying isn't that we dislike it because it isn't what we expected, it's that, taken on it's own merits, for both what it is and what it's trying to be, it is lacking across the board. It's being comapred to other shows because it's giving us stuff we've seen before (sometimes better, sometimes worse). If you paint with a broad enough strokes you could say that H.G. Wells and Jules Verne already wrote stories about all the science fiction topics there are so why bother having anything new. The point isn't that its been done before, the point is that it adds nothing new and that it isn't being done well.

It's "borrowing" things that _worked_ in other shows while completely missing the point of _why_ things worked in those other shows.

I'd be perfectly happy to watch a show about characters I cared about trapped on a ship zipping through the universe with little to no chance of making it home - great, it's pheonix story, born of tragedy, a struggle to survive, human spirit goes on to become one with the universe, etc, etc. The trouble is, taking the show it own merits, it's flat, contrived, sexist and an insult to every man and woman in unifiorm. As a show, its not entertaining, as a member of the SG franchise, its an embarrassment. From a writing standpoint, if those characters _were_ representative of REAL people, I'd say let them fly away, the human race is better off without them (there are exceptions of course) but let's face facts, there was more dimension and empathy with the nameless red shirt who got killed in the opening sequence of an original Trek episode than this is with half the cast of SGU.

It's easy to say that this show is no BSG or Babylon5 or to say it pales by comparison to SG1 or Atlantis. It's also easy to leap to its defence with lines like: It's different; it's not what we were expecting - we should give it time. Still, sooner or later, we have to admit to ourselves that being different is no excuse for being bad, and this show really needs an overhaul.

I really tried to like this show (I know how rough a first seaon sci-fi show can look around the edges) but the stuff aired so far is making Earth2 and Space:Above and Beyond look good.

The bottom line to me is SyFy needs to stay within the realm of what they are good at. They havent exactly been known for the outstanding character development of their original shows. So by introducing us to a show that shows way LESS action than bitching and moaning, they are doing us a disservice.
I have faithfully watched every episode of SGU so far and while i admit to being intrigued to a point, i stop short of saying that i actually like the show. I stick around with some hope that the show will get better than it currently is and because ive invested enough time in watching it up to this point.

That said, how CAN you even compare FF to SGU? FF is a cerebral at its core... its MEANT to be. No one (should) expects SGU to be something humanly plausible...

Is SGU Sexist? - is it sexist to portray men and women in the situation this group is in a realistic manner? Let's see - most of these people were bureaucrats, lawyers, secretaries, scientists and technicians. Most have no leadership or management experience, most are scared, hurt, in shock and completely out of their comfort zone. You can't compare these women - or men - to Carter, Teyla, Sheppard or Ronon. Better compare them to McKay, Beckett or Keller - although these were all professional people with some abilities besides shuffling paper. And, as we saw in later episodes, even these non-military people grew into valued team members. Give these folks a chance - they are still in shock.

I do have a number of beefs with SGU too. The most glaring is the military allowing the changed-consciousness' visitors free access off a military base. yes, It is good for morale to let people visit their family. Are they going to do this for everyone? I doubt the military would put up with this situation - especially after the first break in communication between the devices caused the consciousness to jump.

The similarities between ST:V and SG:U have been brought up before. When they start padding the crew with aliens (Neelix, 7 of 9), the show will have truly jumped the shark.

SGU is alright. It seems to have borrowed a lot from BSG in terms of sets, cinematography and technical terminology but has managed to avoid the obvious pitfalls of Star Trek Voyager. So far the show has kept me coming back but the way things are going I might elect to stop watching if it doesn't pick up.

I have watched all the episodes so far (except "Earth" which was so boring I could not finish.) The plots are insipid, the characters are unlikable---and the cinematography seems to be a parody of Alien. As for the characters acting human: Only if all humans are dysfunctional idiots. In short, it has all the sins that infect the majority of made-for-TV Sci-Fi productions. Give me a good rousing space-opera any day.

Why can't we have/enjoy more than one Syfy show? I enjoy all types of Syfi. Yes the writing doesn't compare to Outer Limits, but I can and do watch more than one Syfi show. What happened to the intellegent conversations of a show. Why are we bashing the shows and each other? There is enough hate and negitives in this world. " Can't we all just get along."
(I HATE YOUR CAPTCHA) have a nice day :)

I am not an eloquent writer but I do have opinions as to what I like and don't like. I am afraid I take offense that Brad Wright doesn't think anyone else's opinion matters or should be spoken not only as to V but to other Stargate series as well. I have tried to like SG:U but so far it turns me off. I will watch a few more episodes but I don't have high hopes. He says I don't get it. Well I liked SG:1 and SG:Atlantis very much. In fact I rarely missed a first run esisode and have watch many reruns (DVDs). In fact I am still waiting for the promised Atlantis movie and will support it 110%. Again all of this is my opinion but I AM entitled to it. It does't mean much except what I watch and what sponsors I support. I am only one viewer with an opinion. I also have the ability to watch what I want and buy from those sponsers.

"Real life is often sexist... perhaps we should organise a boycott."

Congratulations, you win the stupidest argument in the thread award! That's no small feat considering some of the completely moronic arguments that have been used to defend SGU! The fanboys are full to the brim with logical fallacies.

V is a very bad remake. SGU for me has to much love and feelings involved. damn, it is scifi and its supposed to be military style, not relationship stuff. don´t wanna see that. i really begin to hate this relationsships and i m just watching for the science and tech and i want to know how it ends.

"...you folks do know most normal people have sex right?"

Just to clarify, I for one do know normal people have sex. As an artist, I believe nudity and sex can be artistic in the way it is portrayed. In other words, I ask the question “is it done out of gratuity or out of artistic representation to further the story or the artistic work?” As someone who watched four years of BSG (as well as The L Word, Rome, Queer as Folk, Six Feet Under, ect…), I am very much accustomed to nudity and sex on television. The difference is the portrayal of these things. In BSG for instance, from the miniseries on we knew how closely connected Starbuck and Apollo were. Starbuck almost married Apollo's brother. We knew there was sexual tension between them. For three seasons that tension built, and then spilled over. By the time it did we were left with a situation of unrequited love and a fantastic storyline. In contrast on SGU, Scott, a man who should be religiously conflicted because of the storyline the producers and writers gave him, instead has sex with subordinates in broom closets and subsequently jumps into bed with a woman without setup (lets face it, while there are people who would, most of us would not fall completely in love with someone we've known for only a few days, no matter what the scenario). Besides that, the actors who portray Scott and Chloe, as I stated before, have no chemistry with each other. All of these factors combine to make the series less enjoyable to the average viewer.

I think the point that I've picked up from most of the posts is that SGU has the potential to be a great show. That said, it is being run and written by people who do not have the ability to write dark, entertaining stories, and who worked best with the light, action-oriented predecessors of SGU.

I've watched every episode of SGU except for "Earth." I couldn't bring myself to watch it. As an artist, it bothers me that the characters are as unlikeable as they are. Not to bring up BSG too many times, but Number 3 (cylon D'Anna Biers aka Lucy Lawless) was not extremely likable, and yet viewers could still identify with her beliefs, goals, survival instinct, ect. I cannot identify with any character on SGU. Even on previous series characters were identifiable with the viewer.

I think someone hit the nail on the head with something else as well. I don't totally agree with Ms. Ryan's review. But for Mr. Wright the lambast anyone who disagrees with him shows further poor judgement. When producers stop listening their shows get cancelled, often because complaints are made when their work shows poor quality. If Mr. Wright does not begin to listen to these criticisms, SGU is very likely to crash and burn.

Other than the fact that "V's" premier was too short, I enjoyed it, particularly for the nostalgia of the original, and comparing what they changed in the new series. It's aired only once, so I am reserving my judgment.

As for SGU, I made a comment on here months ago before it aired, that it was looking like it was going to be a cross between BSG and Grey's Anatomy in space. I hate to be right about an SG show, but I was thinking about it as I watched the episode "Earth." I applaud SGU for going where no SG show has gone in regards to character development, but c'mon already. Where are the villains? Where are the G'oauld or the Wraith, or humanoid Replicator-like threats to the crew? SGU lacks a solid threat like these. Or are we supposed to swallow the fact that the greatest threat to the crew of the Destiny is themselves? I think that is a little high minded concept for an SG show, don't you? I am going to continue to watch and give it a chance as I did Dollhouse, when it totally shocked me with episode 6 "Man on the street" ("There are 3 flowers in a vase..."). But after 5 episodes of SGU, I am enjoying reading Star Trek novels to get my SciFi fix more than I am enjoying this show.

I have to agree with Maureen 100%. We were very hyped up over SGU and it's pretty much crap. I gave it sometime, but I cannot bother to watch it now. The whole premise of the show is a ripoff of Voyager with some SG twists thrown in. The premiere was such a snoozefest I almost stopped watching it from the get go. What a waste of money to have put that out and then give it tons of PR. Maybe Wright will finally see that what he is doing isn't bringing in the fans and work on trying to salvage the series. If not I will watch V and Legend of the Seeker. Tried Flashforward and gave up on it, too. Just not very well scripted.

How in the hell is v a bad remake it has Laura Vandervoort Morena Baccarin and Wash from Firefly come on man!

plus it had some good action so far.

Are you kidding me? Now scfiwire posts a review of the Chicago tribune because it was negative about SGU. Not very classy.

It seems like Mr. Wright is not the only one who can't candle negative reviews. I can understand that he doesn't like them but everybody has a different opinion and if Mr. Wright has trouble accepting this, he might consider to stop reading reviews.

For the record, Mo ryan is an awesome woman who writes very well argumented reviews about many great shows. The quote you used did nothing more than combine her opinion about recent sci-fi shows and SGU is not among her great sci-fi shows for very well argumented reasons. So why is it so funny that she responded to Mr. Wright's pretty douchy comment.?

Not a V fan after that pilot. The Firefly cast is the ony reason to keep watching it. SGU will only get better and it's Stargate so it wins by definition.

Lost is an awesome show, can't wait for the finally.

When SG Atlantis came out by the second or third episode I was sold, I really liked that show. Here it is the 6th episode I think of SGU and I am still not sure if it is worth it to continue watching. Now at the end of last weeks show "Earth" Col. Telford shows up at Young's ex wives place. If this turns out to be something where he is going to try and have a relationship with her or let her think he is Young, then I am done with the show. At that point it will cross the line of being a soap opera. I quit watching BSG when the colonels wife was sleeping with a cylon to save him when they were in the cylon run camp or whatever.... That was the last episode I watched and never looked back.

After what Wright said about SGU being on the air longer than V, I'm now actively rooting for SGU to be canceled asap. I didn't love the show and I didn't hate it, I was kinda meh on it but still watching cause theres not a lot going on on Friday night tv (usually watch the following day on the DVR). But after that pompous ass said that, I think I'll pass on his show and just stick to the much better written (as well as plotted, and a better premise) V. He can take his BSG clone that will never quite measure up and stick it...

BTW V had the best ratings since LOST. What's SGU done ratings wise? Yeah, thats what I thought.

SGU needs a fresh scripts, new writers! I agree that the show is boring, slow but I do believe it will get better! V was good (Anna=Morena Baccarin) makes it good :) but definitely rushed. Flashforward FANTASTIC!

Someone should inform this ignorant person (Brad Wright) that just because a show is on the air for a long time doesn't mean it's a good show.

Some of the best shows ever were only on the air for 2 - 5 years. Other shows should have been cut much shorter than they were.

I'd rather have a Soprano's or a Lost (or even V) that lasts for 6 seasons, than an X-files that lasts for nearly 10, 5 of which are a convoluted mess. Or a Simpson's that has been on the air for 20, but hasn't been funny for 15. (Or even his own stale, boring, dry, cheesefest SG1 which should have ended after showtime canceled it). Familiarity breads contempt. Perhaps he should stop shooting for being on the air longer than any other scifi franchise and start shooting for producing a decent, entertaining show that does more than stroke the ego of it's creator and the nerd gene of the scifi geek with low standards.. Then he will rise above the genre and produce something truly remarkable and worth talking about outside fan circles...,kinda like Ron Moore and other scifi greats have done. Right now he's still in the B class.. /nerdrage

All these posts about how boring SGU is are amusing me. Apparently the average sci-fi viewer now has the attention span of a 2 year old. It's 6 episodes in and people are ready to give up on it. No wonder shows are getting canceled one season in now.

I wonder how quickly MASH would get canceled now. Or how about TNG? The first couple seasons if it were horrid. Same with Deep Space Nine. Babylon 5 wasn't very good in the first season. I tried watching it on Hulu and couldn't make it past episode 2, yet I know it gets better. I personally find SGU entertaining and am interested in knowing how it pans out. Yet if it was up to you guys, it would be canceled already and SyFy would be showing more crappy made-for-TV movies, wrestling, and ghost hunter shows.

The people on here bashing SGU and V and FlashForward need only look at themselves when they complain about how TSCC, Pushing Daisies, Firefly, or whatever their favorite show was gets canceled. Your lack of patience and attention-span and demands for instant gratification are what is destroying television.

Here Here IronOre - some shows take longer to develop then others. Lets all wait a season before we all start crying about this. Frankly IMO critics should not be able to post any formal reviews of shows until after at least 10-12 episodes. Posting a bad review after seeing just 3 or 4 episodes is like walking out of a football game because your team is down by 7 after the first quarter.

I have a host of issues with SGU, (lets end the natural resource and power issues already) but I will make a decision to stick with the show after a season, not after the first few episodes. It has potential and I will give it some time.

"...Syfy's "Stargate Universe," is a boring, poorly plotted, lamentably sexist mess... "

What can I say. She is absolutely right.

Go Brad Wright! I think he's 100% right, "Darkness" and "Light" really started to set the show into motion--if she didn't even see those, she hardly gave it a chance. SGU is great. :]

okay children, repeat after me.

"Just becuase I don't like something doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that *I* didn't like it."

okay children, repeat after me. ;D

"Just because I like something doesn't mean it's good. It means that *I* liked it"

Hey I'm all for giving a show a chance to catch fire. I stuck it out through the early (going no where) episodes of Invasion and it turned out to be one of the best series ABC has produced this decade, however short lived it was.

But when the creator of a show goes out of his way to bash a superior show, by saying that his show which so far is boring, terribly paced etc, will be on the air long after said superior show, well that just leaves a bad after-taste for a show that hasn't built the equity yet to warrant that kind of pompous attitude.

According to the writer of this piece...Lost is some great Sci-Fi show? When did this happen? For the life of me I will never understand why people feel that any Sci-Fi show must be non stop action, with 'splosions! Syfy explained what SGU was going to be. To say that the remake of V is some great show after only one episode, you are surely setting yourself up for disappointment. If you cannot invest the time to watch a show, why bother?

The argument is already gone when people have to re-work an old theme such as V. Looks like we have just run out of ideas.

I leaned a long time ago that the only opinion that matters is mine, everyone else is just noise. I like both shows and will continue to watch.

If the show is going to be about character development, then they should have interesting characters. The only character that is interesting in SGU is Eli.

The Cornel played by Lou Diamond Phillips should go. He does nothing but complain every episode. I like the actor, hate the character in SGU.

Also if the show is going to be about the ship, then the ship has to interesting. The ship does not compare to any of the ships of the previous series. There does not seem to be anything special about the ship except that it is traveling far away.

The last episode was the worst of the SGU episodes. How long do they expect us to wait for the series to get interesting?

A big ^5 to IronOre.

Thank you for stating so simply what I tried to get across in any earlier post.

Some of the best sci-fi shows (or at least the most famous and best received) took a full season (or season) to really get the wind in their sails.

Look at the examples:

ST:TNG - It had some decent episodes but didn't really have a good run till sometime in the middle of the 3-4 'th seasons.

ST:DS9 Pretty much the same as above, although too many ppl thought THIS show was too dark because it was about a war.

Babylon 5 - Season 1 was a mess but for all of 4-6 episodes. Season 2 got interesting only after about the 8'th episode.

Farscape - It wasn't untill about the 14'th episode of season 1 that the show really came on. Before that... well... I was actually thinking of not watching anymore episodes. Boy I'm glad I hung in there.

The Point: Love or or hate it, V/FF/SGU - If we are all talking about it, people are watching it. That's all ANY of the networks care about.

I had a lot of gripes with how BSG went after the 'NEW CAPRICA' story from season 3, but I still watched it. And while I was disappointed in the end with how they chose to close off the story and to this day moan and groan about it, guess what? At least I got an ending, even if it's one I didn't care for.

A lot of other shows don't even get that much.

First off I am not going near V the remake that they could not decide if it is a remake or not !!!
I am thru with remakes/reboots.
SGU is an original scifi show and I enjoy it.It is new and has not quite got its space legs yet but it is interesting and different from the other gate shows.I have watched all the shows/movies and legally bought the DVD's.
I will be supporting this new show.I do not find it sexist nor do I care about sex much in scifis.I am there for other reasons.This is a dark scifi show and people react in dark type ways.
Other shows on TV are a lot more sexist.Try sitting thru Dollhouse.I did for most of the 1st season and will never go near that show again.Now thast show is sexist and should be called Whorehouse.
People or some say they are not interested or that this show has no interest but I say it does or does for me.
Most Tv shows take some time to get up to speed.This one is going to get better and better.I will be there till it ends.

"Babylon 5 - Season 1 was a mess but for all of 4-6 episodes. Season 2 got interesting only after about the 8'th episode."

This is all a matter of opinion of course, but I do not agree with you at all. I loved Season 1 of B5 and in fact, all the seasons. It was an amazing show. SGU is new, that is true and to be fair, we should *try* and give it a full season, but to many, what has been seen to date is anything, but good.

Ok. Let's be honest about SGU. People trapped on a ship far from home (Star Trek: DS9 or Farscape). It could become a planet of the week show (StarTrek or SG1). Characters act like real people including inappropriate sex and drinking (Battlestar). A doctor on the ship that you can't trust (Lost in Space). Shadowy alien race appears in several episodes to help and hurt (Babylon 5). Can we say rip off of better Sci-Fi shows? I can't claim to be a talented writer, but I am losing patience with SGU. Will it meet the same fate as the animated Stargate?

I saw every episode of SG1 and SGA, and unlike many of the people here who seem to be disappointed in SGU because it's not like the other two shows, I am actually liking SGU more than SG1 or SGA. Thank God they've dropped all the campiness of those first two shows and gone for a more gritty realistic atmosphere. It sucked me in right from the start and has been getting better every week.

To those of you who are criticizing the show for being sexist, why can't you just enjoy the show without overanalyzing it like you are the president of NOW or something? Lighten up - its entertainment.

Criminy! Ryan can go suck vacuum. While SGU hasn't quite yet delivered as a StarGate series, the characters are all well drawn, they interact realistically, and it's not their fault they're stuck in a situation they're in (or was, perhaps, a poor choice for the foundation of the series.) That said, I still have hopes this will become much more enjoyable. "V", on the other hand, is fundamentally the same damned story. WHY should I watch it? For upgraded special effects, hotter alien babes, greater threats to humanity than mere storage as food supply for the journey home? Feh! I can get that from any number of SF series. SGU is, at least, quite fresh in its approach compared to what else we have to choose from.

I like sgu for the most part and I continue to watch it from week to week. I gave up on V half way through, so sick of the single mom bs trying to raise an annoying kid "Drama". For those attacking SGU, come on grow up, don't like it fine, it still better then half the crap on tv (imo).

That persons review is an other major reason I hate critics, they don't even try to support their reasoning or like of at all.

bizzle:

I could give you a breakdown of season 1 and why, in my opinion, certain episodes were a mess and more often than not, just not very good. However, neither the topic is about this and I admit that I am sometimes a bit hard on season 1 of B5 because of all the abuse I used to take as a B5 fan from the ST fans (which I am one of too.)

My point was, you can't get to the MEAT of a story without starting at some lower level. I think the real question the fans of SG:U need to ask is: is there an arc? is there a story that has some clearly defined parameters that will be dispensed with over time? or is it a standalone episode series that only has loose tie-ins from time to time?

As for the people with V: what did you expect? If they are resurrecting/redoing the series/mini-series, did you REALLY expect them to somehow come up with a completely different story? Why would they? So people can chastise them for messing with it? It's almost a lose-lose scenario from the way people on this board at least, seem to be reacting.

I just think people need to be more open minded... and that really goes both ways, in many respects.

I know I myself don't like Fringe, or Dollhouse, or X-Files or a lot of other shows, but that's me. And that doesn't give me the right to say negative things about any of those shows. Just not my cup of tea is all. (and in complete honest, I can't even really say I don't like them, because I've never given them a chance. But I do know what usually gets me hooked and what doesn't.)

Frogger: If you go back far enough you could say the same about TNG and DS9 and all the others of their time being rip-off's of something from the 50's. It's the nature of the beast to re-tread stories.

It's just never been soooo blatant before, nor so quick of a turnaround.

I think most people don't like SGU, because there are actual emotions from the show's characters. Unlike past Stargate shows that were more or less action shows devoid of much emotion except for the one elicited from impending doom. SGU is more of a drama/BG mold and folks use to more action heavy Stargate shows can't handle this.
The show's creators have put mostly civilian characters on SGU, so you are not going to get the usual robot reaction of military folks. There hasn't been much time for character exposition as each episode has dealt with avoiding their demise. These are seriously flawed characters as opposed to SG1 and Atlantis's characters who would never become involved romantically with each other. To me SGU's characters are more based in reality, even if the show's premise is not.

think most people don't like SGU, because there are actual emotions from the show's characters. Unlike past Stargate shows that were more or less action shows devoid of much emotion except for the one elicited from impending doom. SGU is more of a drama/BG mold and folks use to more action heavy Stargate shows can't handle this.
The show's creators have put mostly civilian characters on SGU, so you are not going to get the usual robot reaction of military folks. There hasn't been much time for character exposition as each episode has dealt with avoiding their demise. These are seriously flawed characters as opposed to SG1 and Atlantis's characters who would never become involved romantically with each other. To me SGU's characters are more based in reality, even if the show's premise is not.

Opinions are like @ssholes. Everyone has one. Unfortunately, some people like to show theirs more than others.

SGU views, just wait until we see some sort of follow up to that small ship that detached from the Destiny at the end of the first episode. What was that all about? We haven't even seen any kind of nemisis on SGU, but we will.

Stargate Universe is a terrible tv show!!!

Bring back Defying Gravity!

SGU BOOOORRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!
I've bee a sf fan for 55 years and have been willing to give anything a chance but so far everything that's happened could have taken place in 1 episode. No aliens, no excitement, no unique ideas-- Jeeze I never thought I'd say this but even the gawdawful Voyager generated more interest than this. Being a sucker I'll still keep giving it a chance just like I'll slog through a dull book hoping it will get better. But for God's Sake lose the visiting stones-- the plot slams to a halt (from dead slow) whenever they trot them out and go gallivanting back home.

SGU BOOOORRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!
I've bee a sf fan for 55 years and have been willing to give anything a chance but so far everything that's happened could have taken place in 1 episode. No aliens, no excitement, no unique ideas-- Jeeze I never thought I'd say this but even the gawdawful Voyager generated more interest than this. Being a sucker I'll still keep giving it a chance just like I'll slog through a dull book hoping it will get better. But for God's Sake lose the visiting stones-- the plot slams to a halt (from dead slow) whenever they trot them out and go gallivanting back home.

And so those who dislike SGU to an unnatural level of angst come out in droves, with pitchforks, etc.

But can they actually change the still-decent ratings numbers? No, no they can't. So they'll accomplish little.

" You can't have seen a finished version of "Darkness" or "Light" because the weren't even closed to being finished at the time of your review. "

Someone needs an editor.

I have seen every SGanything. I will come out and say that SGU really is subpar. Maybe me expectation were too high, maybe BSG has raised the Bar so high that everything sucks in comparison. The Castings on the show is really bad, so many of them are awful. I would really like to go in to some depth of what is wrong with the show, but I really don't have to time. I will sum it up like this. There is so much more that is wrong with the show than there is right.

Visiting stones = Holodeck = Gimmick = crutch = lame.

I have tried to like SGU, but it is not living up to *my* standards.

1) The characters must be engaging.
2) The writing better be stellar.
3) The situations should be believable within the context of the story.
4) It has to have somewhere interesting to go.
5) It has to be entertaining (be that dramatic, comedic, or action-packed).

Somewhere in the pilot episode, I need to see a glimmer of interest in any of the above for me to continue to watch. I enjoy all kinds of sci-fi, so I'm not picky on the style or setting.

With SGU's pilot, I have to admit that I was bored to tears and not caring about any of the characters enough to be engaged. Sadly, the only glimmer I could see was the promo for the second episode:
They're going to visit a planet -- maybe this won't be all "woe is me" x 40 trapped on a ship after all!

I was rewarded with a smidgen of character development (liking Eli and TJ more - although disliking most others even more too) along with that brief bit of action, plus some cool, unexpected alien interaction.

Unfortunately, that's about as interesting as the series became before it reverted back to unlikeable people acting badly. I get that there should be those you dislike, but you should understand WHY they are that way. You also shouldn't dislike 95% of the characters from the get-go, and then only develop those characters to become even less likable. Why aren't I being surprised by discovering my perceptions of those I dislike are wrong?

Additionally, the cast is just too big to have us check up on everyone in each episode. Here's an idea, have someone/thing gravely injure Rush, so other characters actually have to step up, interact, or die to solve the crisis du jour. No Rush, at all for like 2-3 episodes. Have Eli unconscious for 1-2 eps at the same time too. Ramp up the stakes so the audience actually cares if someone/everyone dies.

You've got specialists and military personal who have supposedly been connected to the Stargate program (along with the media & guests). These must be intelligent people who can think out of the box, right? If not, that's just proves that the writers aren't thinking creatively. Right now, the crises are too easily solved by 2 characters all of the time. Everyone else just seems to cower in fear waiting for the end to come. Someone throw a nod to MacGyver and fix something using their skills/brains no matter that they are not a scientist or computer whiz. Another writing flaw ... why aren't the SGU folk linking up with SGC scientists via the comm-stones instead of Agro-Telford & his minions? The crises have been scientific problems, not military. Either the existing crew should have skill-sets that can contribute or they should be getting help from the experts via the stones. WTF are the Daniel, Carter, McKay, Zelenka, Sheppard, et. al. counterparts at SGC? I can't imagine that furloughs are more important than fixing the problems of air, water, food, and flying into a sun. This just doesn't make sense. Neither does the gratuitous sex and nudity. Sex with total strangers is gratuitous (and plain creepy via comm-stone swapping). I'm fine with nudity & sex if the characters have existing relationships or develop connections over time, but so far that's lacking in SGU.

I can get on board with wacky space puppets, CGI aliens, robots, cyborgs, space westerns, space operas, dark dramas, etc., but I'd better believe that the characters are 100% in on that belief too. I don't know if it is poor acting or poor writing, but I don't believe that these characters have any depth to make them seem real (and I mean 3-dimensional vs. caricatures within their own world).

As for all of those who say, it's only been 7 episodes, give it a chance ... I should have had something by now from at least *one* of those five points to make me go, "Hey, I see where this is going, and I want to see more. " Unfortunately, we are 1/3 of the way into the season, and I'm still uninterested in these people.

To be honest, I was really hoping that Destiny would go into that sun, and we would be left following the small group on the shuttle -- maybe then I would learn who these people are and start to care about them.

I will probably stick it out because I want to see Sanctuary, and there's nothing else of interest at 11:00 pm while I'm waiting, but I doubt I'd miss the show if it was canceled.

I liked SG1, but find SGU to suffer from the same fatal flaw of SGA: the plots require the characters to be incredibly stupid in order to get into a problematic situation, and then to immediately become geniuses to get out of it.

And using the communication "stones" to go clubbing and get drunk is a lot like Heroes' cheerleader using her skills to get the head cheerleader thrown out, so she can get on the squad and sneak out to see flying boy. That was when I quit Heroes, and SGU is headed in the same direction. It's almost like these writers have taken a dare: "let's do Star Trek Voyager, with similar constraints, but in the Stargate Universe--and let's see if we can't make it DUMBER."

To all the people screaming about sexism keep in mind its only the 7th episode and the chars are still developing The current female leads were not very strong women to begin with. You got daddys little girl"Chloe" (who through developments will probably become a strong female role). Then you got the mistress and unprepared and unsupplied medic "T.J. but shes already starting to show strengthening in her development.. So for now just sit down watch the first season then complain about it cause 7 episodes is nothing but a few chapters into a great book.

I was one who didn't like the pilot episode, but I have found that over a short period of time that I have become interested in the characters, even though the concept of the ship lost in the distant reaches of the universe does seem like Voyager. The interesting twist is that they cannot yet control the ship and are prisoners to the ship and the ancients.

I find it amusing that this article seems to be complaining about exactly what this site does to Dollhouse on a regular basis. Sadly, I have to agree with Ryan: SGU has been a serious disappointment. The writing is subpar, drawing dull, unlikable, unmemorable characters and creating a whole series of truly boring episodes. It's really, really hard to believe that these guys came from the SG worls, because this show has no charm, no heart, and none of the SG patented relatable characters. And dear God, stop with the awkward, unappealing, disjunct sex scenes. Ugh. I really want to like SGU, but it needs to get massively better soon.

I love everything Sci-Fi, liked SG1, Loved Atlantis and so far not thrilled with Universe, however, willing to keep watching in hopes of something good to come.

Boy to I miss Farscape & Babylon 5!

Heck Ya. I miss Farscape too. :(

The biggest offense in Stargate Universe aside from the complete miscast of Robert Carlysle
(what is he on in this show, is his career tanking?) is the apparent need to have an adenoidal geek on a cell phone integral to the plot. They took this shot in the first episodfe. I turned it off. I did sample another ep. but the same dog faced kid was delivering the same ineptly written trayf and that was it.

it isn't funny.

It isn't serious.

It isn't any good.

Any questions?

I have a question loninappleton; are you always condescending and insulting or just when you're sitting in your mother's basement surfing the internet?

Yes, just the one. So, having apparently turned off ten minutes into episode 1 and then grudgingly done the same on episode 2, you feel the need to comment on the series as a whole? Is it cellphones or adenoids you have a problem with?

Truth stings, huh? It is most definitely boring and poorly plotted. It's hardly sexist though, just kind of lame. Every episode is the same, it all blends together.

I liked the V pilot. Jury is still out on that one, however.

Simple sexism test:

Are there any unattractive/unsexy women on SGU?

And then ask yourself:

Are there any unattractive/unsexy men on SGU?

The answers are:

No

and

Yes!

It's a classic case like Vincent D'Onofrio in L aw and Order--dude put on so much weight, he really just let himself go. If the woman in the show had done the same thing, they'd have fired her.

David Blue (Eli) I think is actually a pretty cute guy, but he's overweight. Would they cast the same body type for a female character? Hell no. Therefore, sexist. I don't see why this is difficult for anyone to comprehend.

Well yes, there are very attractive women on the show, at least in many peoples eyes. As for Eli, which everyone is likely talking about being unattractive, he is quite attractive to me and many people. Just because someone is not good looking to you, does not mean everyone thinks the same.

Camile, is a lesbian women but there are no gay guys. It is commonly accepted to have a lesbian just because the person is female.

Tell me about any show that has a character on the main cast that is unattractive? If not every show to this point has characters that are quite beautiful. Where is the Fat Jack O'neal? Where is the lopsided Samantha Carter? Hell, Daniel Jackson was extremely good looking, even when he looked and acted like a complete nerd!

So don't talk about Sexism unless you want to analyze almost every movie or show ever created.

This is funny. Each side calling the other "fan boys." Detractors attacking supporters of the show as "stupid" for not agreeing with them, even if the criticism is against some SG fans trashing SG:U even before they bothered to see the first episode.

Do you not realize that this is what almost killed the Trek franchise? Rabid Trek fans destroyed Enterprise before the first episode because it violated the all-important "Trek Canon", even though EVERY other Trek show since TOS did the same. In doing so, they ensured there will quite possibly never be another Trek series on TV. Abrams came along with something new and different, and they tried to do the same thing BEFORE even seeing the movie.

Sci Fi fans like to believe they are more intelligent, more sophisticated than other genre fans, but then posts like this prove the opposite. I'm a sci fi reader/watcher, have been for years, will continue to be, but rabid fans like some of these are simply embarrassing.

I guess some people will only be happy when the Star Gate franchise is completely driven off air. Then they can sit around and complain while watching old dvd's of the original shows.

Now let the mud-slinging continue...

Stargate Infinity was way better than Stargate Universe, & it was a cartoon!!! And it was way more stupid (it didn't even follow the storyline). Which is probably why the producers of SG1, Atlantis & SGU don't consider it "canon".

How is Stargate Universe sexist !!..lol anyway she is right about the rest Mr Brad wright. You seriously need to inject a dose of energy into SU as it is mostly pretty boring for theost part. Even the pilot was the worse of the s/gate pilots. Robert carlyle is the only interesting thing about it. I know the intention was to deliver something different but at the moment its coming off like a poor Galactica rip off ! Id rathe have Atlantis back to be honest.

I have to admit that I misjudged the creative and producing powers behind the Stargate franchise. I thought the suits at Syfy were likely behind the very radical destruction that SG:U will be to the franchise. The truth may very well be the massive ego(s) of those that put the show together and not the network that airs it.

To the show lovers all I can say is enjoy it while you can because the new audience they have been writing for is not yet viewing in large enough numbers while those of us (like me) that have followed the franchise from the days on Showtime and the fifteen years till now are going to eventually fade away leaving the audience too small to warrant another season.

Unfortunately, the eventual failure of SG:U will bring an end to science fiction shows on the new re branded Syfy Network. With Friday nights being the only time they air the genre now. The drastic drop in ratings has already began?

i feel nothing for the characters in SGU. they have no screen presence what so ever. the store line and camera work is trying to hard to be like BSG . just AWEFUL ......

Here is a little advice for SG:U, more alien stories...less human stories.

"Stargate: Universe" has to pick up the pace (drastically), add some aliens threats, and bring forward the science-fiction.

After falling a sleep by watching episode 1 through seven, I'm most liekly not going to tune in next episode.

Every time I sit through a "Stargate: Universe" episode, I feel like I'm 'slowly pulling a knife out of my chest'.

I rather get hit by a truck and watch my wounds heal.

"Stargate: Universe" has to pick up the pace (drastically), add some aliens threats, and bring forward the science-fiction.

After falling a sleep by watching episodes one through seven, I'm not going to tune in to watch the next several episodes.

Every time I sit through a "Stargate: Universe" episode, I feel like I'm 'slowly pulling a knife out of my chest'.

I would rather get hit by a truck and watch my wounds heal.

I actually wrote to SciFi and complained about SGU. It's like a remake of the crappy Battlestar Galatica remake which we watched way too long hoping for something better and were let down in the end. We SciFi geeks don't want human interaction, romance and (forgive me) SEX. We want SciFi Adventure which is what SG1, Lost, Star Trek, Star Wars etc have. If I want Romance I'll watch a chick flick, If I want sex I'll watch porn. For SciFi I'll watch SyFy. Get it????

omg
this show bores the crap out of me
and i want to watch a soap ill watch the bolt and the beautifull not this crappy writing script of yours

what we need is
1 more action and fighting scene's
2 better sense of exsitement i almoost fall asleep
3 NO MORE GHEY LOOK BACKS INTO PAST OF EACH CHARRACTER
4 ALIENS ALIENS OMFG AND NOT SOME STUPID ASSED SAND FLOATING WATER DRINKING BS!!

and ull be having another viewer

Critics can't earn a paycheck if they loved everything. Right? SGU has excellent actors and a very realistic portrayal showing human beings in an extreme situation. I am very interested in where they show may go from here. V is simply a surface level re-imaging that seemed to rush through an entire mini series in one hour. It is entertaining but certainly not in the same league as BSG, Being Human, Fringe or SGU. Does it have to be?

@Susan Did you even read my post? Look at the women in SGU. They are all skinny, sexy things, scantily clad--or, if covered up, they're always in skintight outfits or at least really flattering outfits.

I also said I find David Blue to be pretty cute, but come on, he is overweight. They would *never* cast an overweight woman. Period. That is called sexism.

As for whether there are unsexy characters on other SGs, sure there are. Just not the big 4-5 main ones. And I already said SG1 and SGA did a good job with having strong female characters.

It seems like people don't quite understand what makes a female character a victim of sexism. Any female character defined by her relationships to men is poorly conceived. Just as any male character defined by his relationship to a woman is poorly conceived. Rush apparently has some issues with his dead wife, or whatever. But is that the main gist of his character? No--his intelligence/coldness is.

In "Earth" when Chloe goes home and gets violently upset about her boyfriend cheating on her--that's an example of her being defined by her relationships to men, either to her father or to her boyfriend, or to Eli, or to whoever else she's sleeping with. She was supposed to be smart. What happened?

If you're talking eye candy than V wins Stargate Universe hands down.

That said I never watched any of the Stargate series for eye candy. That was one of the things that proved to me that Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis were great shows. I couldn't wait for the next episode despite the lack of eye candy. I like Amanda Tapping as an actress but I did not look at her as eye candy. I am not saying that the women of Stargate are ugly. They just aren’t eye candy. It would be nice if Stargate Universe added some eye candy but it isn't necessary if they improve the story, film quality, action and characters. They need to get rid of the documentary / soap opera / gray style they are doing now.

That said I think Brad Wright should wasting energy defending the mistakes being made in Stargate Universe and spend it more wisely fixing the show before it's too late.

I sort of mean eye candy. I'm not saying I WANT every character to be sexy, all the men included. What I mean is. Well, I found an article online that says it best--don't think I can post links, but if you Google "Did SGU's Women Get Lost In The Wrong Universe?" you will find it.

Before anyone complains about people calling SGU sexist again, just read the freaking article.

Sounds like Maureen may be a Gouauld or Wraith sleeper ... or something that SGU hasn't introduced to us yet. Who will the big bad alien menace be? Toxic critics?

By the way, if you think it's sexist now, wait until Rhona Motra begins her run as Commander Kiva. It just SOUNDS like the evil alien tempress that always seems to be injected into shows. Who knows I could be wrong, but some of you are bashing a show for being sexist before it really has even DONE anything sexist.

@ emilymargrit remarked that they never would have cast an overweight woman in a role such as David Blue's.

She's right. Casting an overweight woman in a role that is not comedy just doesn't happen often. So far, all the women on SGU are beautiful, really. Size 2s or whatever. They're on a ship for weeks now and nobody's hair is looking ratty and I guess the makeup was tattooed on cuz it ain't coming off.

Well, we'll find out this week in "Time" (?) whereupon they end up on a planet and get to go skinnydipping, or something like that.

SGU is boring...it's a carbon copy of BSG with less characters and poor characters which no one routes for and likes. They really must fire all the producers and writers and hire all new people. Get rid of Brad Wright already. SGU is like enterprise....the tail end death of an imagination that is exhausted and needs to rest so new talent can come in and kick start it.

@scifi fan - The numbers for SGU really aren't that bad. While there has been a decline from the initial 2+ million that tuned in, the current 1.7 million keeps it in line (if not higher) than previous Stargate audiences. If the audience continues to fall, then, sure, the show may not be long for this world. Should this number stabilize, however, I hardly doubt SGU will the death knell for all scifi programming for all time.

I'm a HUGE fun of SG1 and SGA and no one in the world have watched the 15 seasons three times like I did. so don't you try to tell me you're more expert.
SGU is a big disaster !!! IT SUCKS BIG TIME !!! face it people !!! they think by using a gate, a couple of minutes with Dean Anderson and some sex scenes, they are going to make some money? Well sorry Wright, but you got it all wrong dude!
Maurine is wright, and has all my support, I find the show sexist, boring and meaningless. they sent the creativity and the imagination out, and welcomed stupid writers and money craving bureaucrats !
I'm sorry for SG that it will end like they did with ST in the enterprise! and I'm sure it will not last 4 seasons like enterprise did !
I don't watch SGU any more since ep 5, but here is some great shows airing nowadays:
- V ****
- Sanctuary ****
- Heroes ****
- Starwars ****
- flashforward ***

cheers

The critic Maureen Ryan's response was carelessly written. For example:

"If I seem passionate in my disappointment in "Stargate Universe," that's only because, in my experience, people are more intensely disappointed by things they had high hopes for."
logically contradicts
"I just wanted "SGU's" characters and stories to emotionally or intellectually engage me. That's all I ask of any show."
Both quotes are from the same paragraph. One cannot have both high and simple expectations of something. If the intent of this was inflammatory rhetoric, then that was accomplished.

Or:
"Online discussions about "Stargate Universe" have been getting pretty heated, and this is my chance to set things straight on where I stand."
Use of passive tense in the first clause, which clouds the relevance of the subject in the second clause. This writing does not communicate who was responsible for what. But as readers, we know exactly what happened. Ms. Ryan's line in her review of V triggered the firestorm in the first place*. Nowhere in the 1800 word long blog post does Ms. Ryan concede to this.

I wandered into this mess after seeing "Time" tonight, via the Syfy forums. All that *I* ask for is clarity and insight in a piece of writing. Maybe this is why I don't rely on print media much anymore.

But to be fair, Mr. Wright should not have written anything there. At all.

Sheesh,
Mj

* Furthermore, contrast how the other series FlashForward/Lost are described. Mr. Wright was accurate in saying SGU was being slammed in the review of "V". Also note that the "V" review is a whole month after the SGU review--a URL would have been useful in justifying the somewhat harsh opinions of "boring" and "lamentably sexist mess".

I'm a long, long time fan of the franchise. I'm trying very hard to like SGU. In fact, I like it more than I dislike it. I just don't want soap opera, I want science fiction. I intellectually understand the need to show how people would really react in that circumstance. I just don't want to watch week after week of it. Let's put some action into it. Let's have more people perform something heroic. Let's cut out the story line with the wife at home - really, who needs that in the show. In fact, cut out all the people at home stuff. It changes the whole dynamic.

SGU is a scifi soap opera attempting to badly copy Battlestar in Stargate Universe. Make it not so..i beg of you !!

SGU is supposed to be a scifi show and yet it has more soap opera in it than science fiction content. I'm a big SG fan. I followed the SG movies, SG1 tv series, as well as the SG Atlantis series but I'm terribly disappointed with SGU. They forgot what made SG1 last 10 seasons --- story lines that focused more on science fiction content (new civilizations, technology, etc.) and not with soap opera drama and purely character and relationship driven plots and perpetual subplots. If they wanted a soap opera show they should not have called it "Stargate", I think that's a bit of a misnomer. Maybe "Shipmates" would be more appropriate, sort of a modern "Love Boat" type of series with a bit more angst. Hehehe, just kidding :)

This show shouldn't even share the same name as the other Stargates . The should have called it Battlestar lost in space with the OC students . This show is a major disappointment . What cant the writers even come up with any original ideas but just pick and match parts out of other TV shows . Stargate Universe has lost the whole feel to the stargate series theme . I mean that put all this drama crap on a spaceship and call it SCIFI . Please ... Then they do more to insult fans with these studip sex scenes just to try and draw in ratings . Im mean if i wanted to watch soft porn there are a lot of other better shows to watch that stuff on This was a good fun scifi family show that ever one could watch now its just a piece of CR*P with lame story's , bad acting , forgettable characters and really argent producers who think there SH*T doesn't stink . Please can this show and bring back something decent

I'm also very dissappointed of SGU... I am a great fan of SG1 (in particular) and SGA. Thou now... I mean I watched all 9 available EPS with my hopes high that there might be some action and unpredictable events. But so far its utterly boring. Just how much can you kill off a great concept for a show like this?? They are on a freakin' spaceship from the ancients where they should find tons of awesome things! But instead 7 of 9 EPS are entirely about those soap-like characters being depressed cuz of their situation. OkOk i admit that SG1 and SGA where very disney-like and a little "darkness" and being depressed over being stuck on that ship could do no harm. But as some people said before: It's a scifi TV show and it should goddamn entertain the viewers.
One thing I disagree with is that argument of SGU being sexist since the male chars are just as flawed and "ugly" as the females which is actually not a bad thing for itself, so i think Ryan goes over the top of political correctness^^
Well, I sincerely hope that all those lame EPs were just the long prelude to a great show and that my patience was not in vain.
PS: Pls don't mind my bad English since its not my native language, thx