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- TV Series: Stargate Universe
- Episode: Water
- Starring: Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman, and Jamil Walker Smith
- Written By: Carl Binder
- Directed By: William Waring
- Network: Syfy
- Series:
Stargate Universe: Water Review
Drowning By
Rob Vaux
November 01, 2009
Stargate Universe Review
© Syfy/Bob Trate
The upswing in quality for Stargate Universe was fun while it lasted. This week, it's back to business as usual: a contrived threat prompting lifeless trudging across a dead planet while various crew members fling various jars of bile at each other. The struggle for survival has rarely been so dull.
As if aware of this, the producers add a slight wrinkle to the now-standard plot. This time, it's the ship's water supplies running dangerously low, prompting the Destiny to schedule another pit stop on another empty world. It has ice in abundance, but they need to find pure water untainted by ammonia or other chemicals. Young (Justin Louis) and Scott (Brian J. Smith) constitute the away team, geared up in the only operating space suits onboard. Meanwhile, those sentient dust devils from the pilot episode reappear--apparently causing of the water shortage on the ship--and the crew isn't sure whether they constitute friend or foe. The more gung-ho soldiers want to wipe them out following the evisceration of an unnamed redshirt, while Lt. Johansen (Alaina Huffman) believes a more subtle approach may work.
Any way you slice it, it remains terribly unimaginative. While Scott gets another chance to exercise his penchant for endangering himself and Young gets to agonize over losing another crewmember, "Water" does little but touch upon the same expected tropes that the remainder of the series has already worn thin. The alien cloud evokes neither wonder nor fear, while the search for a way to get it off the ship contains no hint of inspiration. Indeed, the final solution depends on a staggering bit of nonsense, the equivalent of encouraging a recalcitrant kitten to get into its carrier for a trip to the vet's. Giving the cloud a second appearance implies future plans for a third--as does its mysterious link to Scott--but its presence here is so dangerously free of substance that any further weight on it may snap the whole thing like a rubber band.
The dangers of the planet's surface hold little in the way of respite. Young possesses a nice steely demeanor, but his fretting over Scott's dilemma holds neither drama nor insight. The dilemma itself arrives seemingly at random, as does the possible source of salvation (constituting yet another appearance of the god in the machine). It further indulges in the series' ominous willingness to stick the Catholic martyr label on Scott at the drop of a hat.
To top it all off, the various pieces of dramatic interaction onboard the Destiny utterly fail to catch fire. Rush (Robert Carlyle) barks at Eli (David Blue), Johansen barks at Sgt. Greer (Jamil Walker Smith), civilians grumble about fascist soldiers, and fascist soldiers grumble about civilians who don't understand just how bad things are. This appears to be the limits of dramatic conflict on the show (though they're apparently going to drag those god-awful communication stones out for another round next week). The arguments succeed only in reducing the characters' overall appeal, rendering their exploits merely unpleasant instead of gritty and compelling.
More importantly, "Water" reveals the paucity of thought which has gone into Universe's basic premise. They wish to show the dark underbelly of space--the desolation, the danger, the scientifically accurate bleakness of it all--but with a few exceptions have been unable to make it interesting. The planet's surface is about as exciting as an empty freezer box, shrouded in darkness and blowing snow without any sense of dramatic flair. I understand the need to keep the Goa'uld and similar bits of space opera away from Universe, but until they can establish equally compelling threats within the series' chosen parameters, it can't help but pale in comparison to its predecessors.
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I really don't understand the need to steer clear of previous elements of Stargate lore. OK, the Ori were pretty dull but the Gou'ald were entertaining antagonists for a decade and the Wratih had finally turned into a complex, layered villian species.
The only reason to eschew such proven plot elements is the desire to court a new audience of mundanes. They want to attract people that wouldn't be interested in such fantastic plot elements, people who want to see "drama". Don't get me wrong, drama is fine. If a show is going to be good, it has to master the ability to deliver the dramatic goods. And there have been plenty of scifi shows in the past that have relied on smoke and mirriors and silliness instead of delivering competent writing and acting.
On the other hand, the show is on the Scifi (excuse me, Syfy) Channel. And it takes place on a space ship. So nobody is going to mistake it for Masterpiece Theater. And if I wanted to watch "drama" I'd be watching reruns of ER on TNT. The reason I watch Stargae is to enjoy something that stretches my imagination.
Kara S