There are some out there who would call this “weak 3″ of the show. This is definitely the slowest pacing of a Stargate series yet. The premiere was good, but mostly consisted of people freaking out (understandably) about the situation they were in. By the end of the premiere they at least had a plan to survive for a little while longer, with the help of the ship’s guidance and Rush’s ability to interpret what the ship is doing. Week 2 had them following up on the ship’s help by walking around a desert planet looking for better sand (to use in the air filter), while having some character moments. Now in week 3, we get to the exhaustion of the power reserves (the second huge survival issue introduced in the pilot), along with more character moments.
Let’s face it, at this point, almost any single episode of SG-1 or SGA had more action than these last three weeks combined.
This kind of slow pacing is a risk. A huge risk, I think. They can get away with it for maybe another week or two before the audience expecting the zat guns and space battles give up, but only because they’re into the franchise already and are hoping it starts to remind them of the SG-1 and SGA shows.
On the other hand, they’re setting up a starting point with a couple of basic premises:
- They’re alone. The universe is a big place and they can’t just stop at the local Qwiki-Mart for some roadside assistance. This is alluded to in the the other SGs, but it’s more palpable here.
- They’re in over their heads. Even the smartest guy in the room doesn’t get to miraculously intuit the solution to every problem. There is no Rodney/Sam super-smart quick-fix in the last 10 minutes.
I actually like that they’re setting the mood this way, and there really aren’t any shortcuts for this. They have to feel like they are really out of control and not a single one of them, even the brainiac, can do anything about it, and no one is going to swoop in to save them.
(FYI – minor spoilers ahead)
That said, they’re not doing quite enough character work in this “down time” – or maybe more accurately, they’re not doing it the way I’d like to see it. Take Young, for example. It was mildly interesting that he went back to his wife and they tried to touch on how his (and her) choices have ruined his marriage, but unless they’re really going to use that in the future, that time should have been spent on other characters or on more characters working the problem (and continuing to come up empty).
And that points out the biggest plot hole in this show thus far: the communication stones. Unlike some comments I’ve read, I really like that the communication stones give us some connection back to Earth and more dramatic potential. The problem is that during this moment of crisis, they’re using it for nothing more than reporting back and crying. Why are they not switching in some experts? Why not bring in a Sam, or a Rodney, or a team of smart people, and have them try to help? You could still have the crying parts where the regulars continue to go say goodbye to their friends on Earth while the useful people do some work on the ship. It’s just an extension of what Young says when he berates the engineers on the ship… they’ve just given up, leaving only Rush and Eli to “work the problem.”
After the pilot, I made some predictions. One of them came true this week (faster than I expected):
Somebody will use a Keno to spy on someone else in the shower or some other compromising location.
There you go. The most obvious childish situation. Glad we got it out of the way.
The other stupid thing? The group that wants to use Eli as a mole. Give me a break. Just get over yourselves and ask questions in the meetings.
Some people really have a problem with Rush. While he is annoying, I actually think he’s a really well written and acted character. He’s the guy who always knows the answer, and has prepared for this, but is STILL out of his depth. He’s scared and feels the responsibility to keep everyone safe, but knows he can’t – and he also can’t admit it, even to himself. Still, that leaves him as an annoying jerk, which can be grating to watch for an extended period. They’ll have to soften him up a bit over time.
The one who bothers me is Greer. Can’t stand that guy, or the way the actor is portraying him.
Now, my prediction for next week. And if nothing else was spoilerish enough for you, this gives away the ending to the Darkness episode, so be warned.
The ship is low on power, yes. It has skimmed a planet to slingshot it into the heart of the solar system, yes. Everyone thinks the ship has done that to give them some way to help themselves, and that the plan has failed because they ship screwed up the slingshot and it heading directly into the sun. So they’re all going to die… NO! The ship’s not that stupid. It’s deliberately heading directly for the sun because that’s how it recharges itself! The entire episode will consist of everyone freaking out and figuring out how to abandon ship, and in the end it’ll be impossible and they’ll be crying and screaming again – but then the ship will head right through the sun and be recharged, and everyone will be safe, thus proving that the puny humans know nothing. They are there as tools for the ship, not the other way around.
After they fix these first basic survival issues, they’ll begin to start encountering aliens with bodies (as opposed to the whirlwind alien they don’t realize they met last week). By the end of the season, the pace will have increased, and it will feel more important and dramatic because they’ve started at such a slow speed. I can’t say that Darkness stands out to me as a great episode, but I do think it contributes well to the series, which I still think will pay off in the end.
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