Stargate Universe Season 2

Stargate Universe Season 2
It’s almost become a badge of honour for a sci-fi series to be cancelled, as if it is a guarantee of quality, originality and depth. Firefly immediately springs to mind, along with The Lone Gunmen, Millennium and others. Stargate Universe is now added to that roster, which has been terminated after two seasons. With most of the big US networks being run by major media corporations more interested in bottom lines and ratings than attracting or retaining “cult” audiences, it's hardly surprising. It does make you wonder if they actually understand their audiences at all. Having said that, the Stargate franchise has been a massive success over the years with SG1 and Atlantis, but these were much more accessible shows than its latest Universe incarnation, which is far more dark and dirty, with more ambiguous characters where the boundaries of goodies and baddies are never clearly defined.

Universe is much closer in tone, look and feel to Battlestar Galactica, with a mixed group of scientists and military stuck on an aging ship (The Destiny), not knowing where they are heading and being pursued by a hostile race. Unlike the other shows in the franchise you are never sure where Universe is going to go, which for my money makes much more gripping viewing than almost given certainty that the shows’ regular characters are going to survive from one episode to the next. A lot of Battlestar’s success was because of that; you never knew what was going to happen next and there was never a shortage of “FRAK!!!” moments that kept you enthralled - and SG-U has those. Of course, all this darkness and uncertainty may have been too much for the fans of the other series, but anyone who likes sci-fi and solid drama should watch this series.

It also helps that there is a solid cast to bring the show to life. Robert Carlyle is great, and there has been no attempt to disguise his natural accent (although it is toned down for US audiences). Carlyle also has a turn at directing in this season, and reveals his experiences behind the camera on one of the many special features included on the DVDs. Carlyle’s character may be the most enigmatic, but the rest of the cast is superb and their characters have plenty of light and shade to make them interesting.

Of course, the downside of a series being cancelled is the story never gets resolved, and this one is left on something of a cliffhanger. However, there is a campaign for the series to be renewed, or at least for a TV movie be made, so if you want to find out what happens then sign it today.

Stargate Universe is out on DVD now and is available from Play and all good retailers. A box set of Seasons 1 and 2 is also available.

We have three DVD box-sets of Season 2 to give away. Click on the link below to enter the competition.

Stargate Atlantis Seasons 1-5 will be released on Blu-ray on 19th September 2011. This is the first time all 100 episodes of this iconic series will be available in high-definition in the UK, and we will have a box set to give away, so keep a watch on the site.

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