HouseTV: Stargate: Universe Episode 17 "Pain"

I have to admit that I was shocked to find that this episode was not about the strange pang of regret I feel at the end of almost every episode of SG:U.

No, this episode revolved around the crew falling victim to a new strange phenomenon. After a gate mission, several members of the away party begin to fall victim to hallucinations. These all revolve around images of an intense nature for each of the concerned parties. Fears, insecurities, even regrets involving loved ones are exposed as members of the crew face the demons inside their own souls. The whole thing ends up being an infection of sorts, with the cure not as easy to come by as taking a few pills. But of course, in true Universe fashion, this concept seems to fall flat just in time to wrap things up cozily.

Don't get me wrong, there are some solid moments in the episode. The opening volley of Lt. McChesty... er, James and her um, intense but bizarre encounter with Scott certainly set the odd bar up there. And Chloe realizing that she was ill but refusing to seek immediate help because she was too attached to the image of her dead father was a novel twist to things. Eli once again breaks a confidence in the best interests of others (namely Chloe) and shows that he'll stand true to form when it comes to certain things.

So really, I don't ahev huge faults with the episode aside form the usual. The pacing gets a bit slow at times, and the resolutions seem a bit conveniently contrived in places. This is nothing new for anyone that's heard me ramble about the show before. But, at least this episode manages to do what the time warp episode didn't do, which is manage to expound on some of the thoughts and fears of the crew and actually leave those impressions with the crew to chew on.

Although ironically, of all of the characters that we get more insight into, it is James' vision that is the most telling. For someone whose greatest character trait displayed so far has been "used to bang the action lead", it was at least an interesting introspection to see that she clearly thought that it was more than a simple fling.

But then, any diversion related to Scott that keeps us from actually having to see or hear him do anything is welcome to me. Maybe one day they'll finally make me care about him. Or half of the other characters on board. We'll see.

So I trudge on and keep on trudging, taking the good with the bad and hoping that things will pick up. And just in case I was thinking about giving up on the show, they decide to give me the promise of not one but two SG-1 cameos next episode. Here's hoping it's not some lame dream sequence like last time.

Rating: 6/10 (Yeah, yeah, I know...)

HouseTV: Stargate Universe: Episode 16 "Sabotage"

Do the writers of Stargate: Universe take their plot point resolutions from old 50's film serials?

After setting up a small handful of situations and obstacles for the Destiny crew to overcome, this episode pretty much walks all over them and finds the quick and dirty solutions to everything.

Take, for example, the primary point from the past few episodes. The crew has still been reeling from the fact that they've had to permanently abandon Scott, Chloe, and Eli on a planet, since they were left behind and the ship is now jumping between galaxies. They've just started to accept this fact when a new problem presents itself. Destiny apparently won't have the power to make it across the void between galaxies. Then, of course, is the titular sabotgaging of the FTL drive, leading the crew to procure the help of an engineer whose intellect rivals Rush's, but that provides its own set of challenges and difficulties.

I want to say primarily that while the sabotage itself was a novel idea, it would help if the act didn't magically solve every other problem the crew was having. The ship conveniently drops out of FTL just close enough to the planet Eli and company were stopped on, allowing them to gate back to Destiny. On top of that, the one engine that blows up just happens to be the least efficient one in the drive, meaning that if they bypass it, the drive will actually become more power effective and be able to make it to the next galaxy. The latter I'll excuse as it made for the foundation of the episode, but the former was cheap writing at best. Don't make a big deal out of an issue at the end of an episode only to completely gloss it over in the next one.

That said, there were a few bright spots to the episode. The notion that bringing in the tech specialist required a member of Destiny to sacrifice time on Earth in her crippled body was an interesting twist. Interesting also was the fact that Camille would volunteer to take all of the time just so that she could spend time with her significant other. These led to a handful of well crafted scenes that taught us a little bit about all of he characters involved.

But still, despite the high points, the story feels like a drag at points. And much like it always does, yet another convenient plot twist swoops in at the end and saves us from dealing with a two-part episode. If the folks at SGU learn anything, I hope that it will be this: pacing, pacing, pacing. Stop dragging your heels in the interest of "dramatic exposition." The drama will find itself even if you speed the plots up a little.

Rating: 6/10 (Good character development, but the show should be doing better at this point.)