Recently The SciFi Channel underwent some elective surgery- it had LASIK so it could lose the glasses, had it's acne lasered off and got Da Vinci veneers for it's bucked teeth. In short, it had a geek-ectomy. Since it came on the air on September 24, 1992 the channel has had a bit of a 'nerd' stigma. Early on, during the channel's awkward adolescent years, most of the programming was reruns of The Incredible Hulk, Lost In Space and Battlestar Galactica (the original series, not the slick revamp). Eventually SciFi was able to seek original programming, eventually acquiring the rebroadcast rights to ShowTime's Stargate: SG-1, a one hour action drama spun off from the Stargate movie starring Kurt Russell. The show began as an instant success and Sci Fi soon gained rights to produce new episodes of it. SG-1 lasted for five years on Showtime followed by five more on the Sci Fi Channel where it spawned a spin off of it's own, Stargate: Atlantis. Since the channel has lost it's nerdy exterior, it now goes by SyFy, a phonetically identical name that attempts to put some distance between the channel's cool present and it's dorky past. The new Syfy shows will still focus on scientific themes, but now the character drama of a show will be the focus. This has been the channel's trend for a while now. Shows like the new BattleStar Galactica don't use the science fiction aspect to drive the plot. Really, the show is a military drama that could as easily be set in space as in the Pacific Theatre of WWII or during those pioneering days of wagon trains to the west. The fact that it is set in space does not take away from the effective character drama.
The newest entry in the Stargate franchise, Stargate Universe hopes to marry themes from many contemporary science fiction series, including Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Star Trek and, of course Stargate. First, a primer on the Stargate universe. Stargates are round structures build by an ancient space fairing race. These gates are teleportation devices between worlds in other star systems. Humans discovered the one on Earth at an Egyptian dig site. SG-1 was the first team the Air Force sent through the gate, which at the time could only 'dial' to one planet. The story of that first off-world visit is told in the movie Stargate. One year after the events of the movie, the television series Stargate: SG-1 picks up the thread. Humans have finally figured out how to 'dial' all the planets in the gate system, so SG-1 was reassembled to explore them, make alliances and secure technology for the Earth's defense, which they did for ten years. Two years later Stargate Universe picks up the story. Mankind has discovered an ancient secret: a gate that can dial not just to planets in this galaxy, but to any galaxy. Of course, we they only know how to dial to one address. In a split second decision while their research base is under attack, everyone is evacuated through the Stargate to this mystery address. The escaping military and civilians end up on an ancient and vast space ship, crewless and badly damaged. They discover they are traveling the outskirts of the universe, near the outer galaxies, and that the ship had been sent on it's solo mission millions of years ago by the ancient creators of the Stargate system.
For the most part, the cast is a bunch of newcomers (read: nobodies). Ming-Na (ER, Disney's Mulan) and Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bomba) are the biggest stars in the ensemble cast, but don't let that deter you. What drives shows like this and Battlestar Galactica is how the cast interacts. Big names don't necessarily yield better interactions. With SGU the drama revolves around how each character reacts differently to their common misfortunes. The first episodes, a two part pilot titled “Air” examines how each stranded character handles their sudden change of situation, being thrown from an orderly research station through the Stargate to a cold, dark alien ship. The refugees soon learn that the ship's life support isn't working and that there are probably large section of missing hull. Due to the nature of their hasty egress some of them have severe injuries. So they have to seal the damaged ship sections, repair the life support system and treat the wounded. Unfortunately, none of them know anything about the alien ship, let alone how to use any of it's control panels. Again, the drama could be unfolding on a battleship in the Pacific just as well as a wagon train on the prairie. The specific circumstance is completely science fiction, but the way the characters deal with these problems is the show's focus. In such a stressed environment, many of the survivors lash out. Tempers are volatile as the command structure is overtly and covertly challenged. Hysteria and panic take hold. Paranoia spreads. Distrust grows. Taut psychological dramas unfold between the characters. But eventually the tension resides as solutions are found. The injured begin to recover. The scientists begin to figure out the aliens controls. The survivors make peace with their situation and finally focus on surviving. All this occurs in the first two episodes. In episode three, the ship's power fails. Imagine the opportunity for panic as the still-addled survivors must confront a new fear. Like Lost, the survivors are facing the unknown each episode, learning more about their strange situation as they explore and solve the problems thrown at them. And like Star Trek, they are likely to use their situation to explore new planets, to seek out new life and new civilizations. They have to, because without supplies or means to fix the ship they have no hope of ever seeing Earth again.
New episodes air on Syfy Fridays at 9 and are available at hulu.com and syfy.com
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