Sometimes, it's good to be wrong: Stargate: Universe

A while back, when the Sci-Fi Channel went through a revenue-based identity crisis and became the Syfy Channel (still looks like an abbreviation for syphilis), their flagship show was a new addition to the Stargate family. I was quite alarmed by the promotional materials for the show, what with it using words like "sexy" and "adventure" in the same sentence, and going on about how it's been specially made for people who don't like sci-fi, blah blah blah. As such, I made the skittish assumption that it was going to be Defying Gravity with a Stargate label, and resolved to stay away. Well, now we have Space, SyFy's Canadian equivalent, and now Space airs Stargate: Universe, and I all I can say is, I should have known better. The Stargate series happens to be quite fond of its good name, and not even the mighty SyFy channel can do anything to change that.

Stargate: Universe comes to us three years after the conclusion of SG-1 and on the tail end of Stargate: Atlantis's run; story-wise, that's also where it sits chronologically. Its premise is that the Stargate project - a military black op centering around the usage of wormhole technology created by a long-gone race known only as the Ancients - has finally found a nine-chevron address and the means to dial it, nine being the maximum number Stargates have. If seven chevrons gets you to another planet, and eight gets you to another galaxy, where the heck do nine get you? When the big day comes, and various troops, scientists, and dignitaries assemble at an off-world outpost to witness the first attempt to dial the mysterious new address, a surprise enemy attack throws a pretty big monkey in the wrench...and instead of getting everyone back to Earth, the project's lead scientist forces the new dialing sequence to completion, and everyone who survives the attack winds up on the Destiny, an unmanned, half-dead Ancient spacecraft with nothing but the clothes (and weapons) on their backs, and whatever they had the presence of mind to grab before running through the gate. Included in this group are a good but reluctant commander, an army medic who was coming to the deliberate end of her service, a solid young officer for whom the army was his only place to turn after a series of personal crises, and a large group of civilians including an MIT dropout who solved the equation that made the trip to Destiny possible, assorted Stargate Project scientists, a U.S. senator and his adult daughter, a ranking official from the IOA (the international body that oversees the Stargate Project), and the afore-mentioned lead scientist, Dr. Rush.

Hmm. Put like that, I can't help but hear the Gilligan's Island song in my head, but rest assured: the similarities between these two shows end at being stranded with a brilliant scientist and a beautiful but seemingly useless civilian.

The show's conflict stems from three primary plots: survival, the tension between cilivians and soldiers (particularly as pertaining to who's in charge), and the independent, hard to monitor actions of Rush, an extraordinarily talented pathological liar whose intellect is matched only by his disdain for others and his ruthless ambition and obsession to see the project through at all costs, a point of view not held by the mission's accidental military commander. As anyone familiar with the Stargate series would expect, the human interaction is of the highest quality and very interesting, as are the characters doing the interacting. Which is a good thing, because that's what SG:U is really about. Where SG-1 was driven by exploration and mythology, and Atlantis was primarily a military sci-fi, Universe is character-driven, which I suppose is where it becomes more accessible for those outside the sci-fi loop. With the regular, long-term Stargate script-writing collective behind it, this brand-new show has already put most everything else on the air to shame. It's even already put out a time-travel episode, Stargate's specialty, which fused everything good about Aliens and the original Predator with everything good about Stargate, and included the following sure-to-be-classic (at least in my house) dialogue exchange: "Well, this couldn't be any worse!" "I'm afraid that's a failure of imagination."

The only place I can see SG:U getting irritating soon unless handled in a very particular way is in the plotline involving Col. Young's visceral rivalry with Col. Telford, a pilot who was supposed to be the mission commander but was in the middle of a dogfight when everyone went through the gate. Young's crew has an Ancient communication system that allows them to contact Earth, even over a distance of several billion light-years, and involves trading bodies with someone at the other end, and Telford does his best to make sure he's almost always that person so that he can be involved with what's happening on Destiny. The way he sees it, Young stole his rightful position as mission commander. That's right, he'd rather be stranded aboard Destiny, because it's his mission, and he does his best to erode the crew's confidence in Young while insinuating his command agenda into their affairs. On top of that, with a lot of long-term bad blood existing between the two, Telford's got some heavy personal blackmail on Young and isn't afraid to use it without bothering to threaten first, hoping to do enough emotional damage to render Young incapable of command. While not an unrealistic character, as Young's opposite Telford is very intense, and I find that has a tendency to get tiresome fast on a series. But, Stargate is far superior to the average series, so we'll see.

Stargate: Universe isn't on at the moment, doing that irritating mid-winter hiatus thing that's now become a TV staple, but I'm looking forward to its return. As an added, bonus, the Stargate name should guarantee that this excellent new sci-fi won't go the way of the usual excellent new sci-fi (rest in peace, Sarah Connor Chronicles), that is to say it's not likely to be suddenly axed in two seasons or less whilst in the middle of a gripping story arc, and odds are it will be played out to its natural conclusion.