Epic Default Productions

Allow me to qualify this article; Stargate: Universe is good. Quite good. Season 1 of the new BSG good. So why the negative title?

The major problem with sci-fi television of the modern era is this; Star Trek: The Next Generation is over. It came out, it concluded, and almost every space-based series since has tried to be it, generally to their detriment. Consider:

- Deep Space 9 fell flat whenever it attempted planet exploration – it was strongest when dealing with political struggle and interpersonal conflict (the very reasons some hated it, but I digress).

- Voyager had the potential to be a gritty survival story – instead, it was a poor TNG clone (and this is speaking as someone who has great affection for Voyager).

- Enterprise was just awful, mostly because it tried to be a Voyager clone, which was in itself a poor TNG clone.

- Stargate: Atlantis strove to be an SG:1 clone – I’ll address the original later, but it’s easily compared to the above.

- Andromeda. I won’t go any further on that.

There are exceptions, naturally – Stargate: SG1 got by with a good setting and sometimes humorous tone. Farscape was overt parody of a fair quantity of sci-fi, making use of numerous pop-culture references. Battlestar Galactica (the new one) was gritty and political, something like DS9 (for good reason) but with a real-world feel.

However, this is not about those exceptions.

Universe is off to a running start – wonderfully gritty, with strong inter-character drama, and plenty of apparent hopelessness. The characters currently grapple with entrapment in a massive ship, one with dwindling resources and limited (mostly nonexistent) control over the vessel. Where one would expect the traditional science fiction TV “deus ex machina” to end the episode, they receive further obstacles. The creators have absolutely nailed the first season BSG feel, but in spite of it all, one can observe warning signs – signs that suggest the attempted TNG cloning will happen again.

On-board Stargate for planetary exploration? Check. Apparently-armed shuttles? Check. Shielding and weapons technology? Check and check. Major enemy race alluded to? Check. While the show at present is very, very good, all the pieces are falling into place, with the end result being just another awful Next Generation wannabe.

My only hope is that it stays this good for the first season – that would be wonderful.