*SPOILER ALERT*
...is that I'm obsessed with Stargate Universe. I've got up to the beginning of season two, which I'll start as soon as I've written this hasty note, and I have two questions. First, do they ever explain how Chloe and Eli and Scott got dialed back onto Destiny after they were stranded in the last galaxy? Surely they do. Surely they must address that at some point. Did I miss it? I have an idea the answer has something to do with the intelligence of the ship itself; Destiny often seems like a quiet goddess subtly directing the lives of those upon her with Dr. Rush as her priest and mouthpiece. I'm still awaiting confirmation, however, and judging from how far afield were my guesses about who killed Rosie Larsen, I may be whole solar systems away from being right about this.
My other question is why do all the sci-fi series I love get cancelled after only one or two seasons? Firefly. The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Even my beloved, original Star Trek only got three seasons, although I am the first to admit that I have very little use for that last one ("the Way to Eden", anyone?). OK, granted, I didn't do my part with SGU, only discovering it now, after the axe had fallen. But surely it had a passionate fan-base? It must have done. It's a great show. I have not one word to say against Battlestar Galactica, also a very fine show, but it never grabbed me like this one, even though it covers similar ground (civilians and military stuck together on a ship, unable to return home, having to scramble for their lives). I think I like this one better because Galactica had young people and middle-aged people, but nobody my own age, whereas this one has the likes of Robert Carlyle and Lou Diamond Phillips, and its writing is every bit as adventuresome as the other.
The end of season 1.5 (remember in the old days, when seasons only had whole numbers?) is a crazed-edged cliffhanger. I was cursing like a sailor because I didn't have the next disc already on its way. The Lucian Alliance (who I don't really know anything about, since I've never watched any other Stargate show) have taken over the ship. Colonel Telford and the alliance leader just shot each other and are both apparently down for the count. TJ has been shot and things look bleak, if not for her, at least for her unborn child. Chloe is shot and bleeding out alone in a passageway that has no life support, and Eli is currently running towards a console in order to save the day. Greer and Scott are stuck in spacesuits on the surface of the ship, having made the repair but finding no way back in, since the invaders won't drop the force-field to allow their re-entry, and Dr. Rush has them running back to the other end of the ship towards their only, albeit dubious, chance of ingress. The bad guys have just ordered that civilians and military be separated, implying that they're going to slaughter the military.
The best part is the final shot: Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira), although battered, is standing bravely as his soldiers are herded in around him, ostensibly to be shot. He is very still and the last shot is from the ceiling. He looks up towards it, knowing that if Scott and Greer have not made it back inside by the next time the lights flicker, they will be dead. We have just seen them running clumsily in their gravity boots, then heard Brody, looking down at his console, mutter, "They're not going to make it." Then back to Young, his eyes locked upwards on the lights, ignoring the violent activity around him; he is an island of stillness. Then the lights flicker. Then the credits come up.
It's kind of a cheat, bringing in the Lucian Alliance at this late date. OK, they were the MacGuffin whose initial attack set off the whole series, but we've seen and heard nothing of them since then. Still, cheat or no, that doesn't mean I'm not on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens. I'm not worried about Chloe; Chloe is teacher's pet; everybody loves Chloe, and she always comes through just fine. (Not my favorite character, Chloe.) But everyone else? Colonel Telford (Phillips) is a goner for sure, but his death warrant was as good as signed the first time he showed up at Mrs. Young's door. It's Hollywood's way of dealing out justice: after much badness, you make a u-turn to the good just in time to sacrifice your life while saving the bulk of the community. Rush (Carlyle), my favorite character, is like a cockroach; he'll make it through any calamity alive. I worry about TJ (Alaina Huffman) and Scott (Brian J. Smith) and especially the sensuous and conflicted Sgt. Greer (Jamil Walker Smith), an extraordinary character. If he goes, I go, and they may as well cancel the series.
Oh. Wait. Crap.
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