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Stargate Universe: SGU - The Complete Final Season
R1 - America - MGM Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (26th June 2011). |
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The Show
 What a difference a year and a half makes. When “Stargate Universe” premiered in fall of 2009 the series looked, at least to me, like a promising new direction in which an otherwise aging, often boring, and horribly cyclical sci-fi franchise could go. More an uncharacteristically serious and dark serial drama than ever before, with hints of a long-form science fiction narrative and exceptional theatre-grade lead actors, in many ways “SGU” had more in common with (while being obviously inferior to) Ron Moore’s “Battlestar Galactica” (2004-2009) than the other “Stargate” series. “Universe” had its issues in the first days, mostly in the form of repetitive, sometimes too-melodramatic storylines, but by the end of the first season “SGU” blossomed into a proper adventure with purpose. Unfortunately, the show took a while to get going – and in some cases was radically different than what the fanbase expected – so many turned their backs. A bumpy first season – stupidly split in half by the network and home video department – full of un-Stargate-like (but not bad) plot threads, themes and characters made it inevitable that some of the fanbase would shy away. (Funnily enough, it’s exactly because the show was so unlike “Stargate” that I actually started to like it.) The loss of audience proved too great for the network execs that wanted any excuse they could use to replace “SGU” with more ghost hunting shows and wrestling, and soon enough those who loyally watched “Universe” were left with the news that SyFy had cancelled their beloved series. Even sadder news for those franchise followers who skipped “SGU” in protest because they wanted more episodes and direct-to-video movies with the casts of “Atlantis” or “SG-1”: the cancellation of “SGU”, it turns out, is the death knell for the entire franchise… at least for the foreseeable future. No DTV films, no more seasons on cable, or even the possibility of a reboot in some new form. Let me make one thing clear: it’s unfortunate that “Stargate Universe” never had the chance to evolve into a full realized series, with a proper beginning (which it had; that Pilot was good), middle, and solidly satisfying end. But the cancellation of “SGU” isn’t the worst crime against a group of fans in modern television history. (That honor goes to “Arrested Development” (2003-2006) and its loyal). I say this because, as improved as this season was over the first, it still proved to have plenty of faults. And other than the brilliantly acted and well written conflict between the two constantly warring characters featured on the DVD cover – Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) and Colonel Everett Young (Louis Ferreira) – “SGU” isn’t much to write home about. On the same token, there are few truly bad episodes in the series’ second iteration. I really only found two episodes in the entire season to be outright awful… but boy are those two outliers bad. The first episode, “Cloverdale”, comes early in the season and is just flat-out terrible. Not only is it a gimmicky, pointless, unusual episode that feels out of place against the otherwise more dramatic tone of the series; a later episode, “Seizure”, explores many of the same ideas – dream states and mind games – and does so properly. Basically, “Seizure” works where “Cloverdale” doesn’t because unlike the latter, the former doesn’t feel like a 90's sitcom. The second episode that I just wasn’t keen on – called “The Hunt” – is a “Predator” rip-off that is shoehorned between a longer, season-arching storyline. It stops the series in its tracks. The common thread between those two low-rated episodes is that they both focus – not on the journey of the spaceship “Destiny” and her crew as a whole, or the excellent and always entertaining dynamic between the two leading madmen – on Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith). Scott is a character that’s played well by a competent actor but is criminally underwritten and, plainly, just uninteresting most of the time. The flaw in the Scott character is that he never developed beyond the action-hero foot solider archetype like I thought he would. Perhaps it’s my fault and I expected too much. But… no. Underdevelopment is a claim that could be levied upon most of the supporting characters that fail to move from their generic shell. This is even true of characters that get major, attitude changing storylines and are put through life altering events this season. Females fill many of the other underwritten roles, and perhaps because the writing staff was predominately male, they could only create flat and one-dimensional parts. Even if that’s the case, it’s still a major problem; the women really shouldn’t be as dull as they are. I wanted the weaker characters to develop, and waited through season one for this transformation to happen. It never did and now it never will. But, sadly, I still think the writers might have been mending their ways. Given some of the plot developments toward the end of the series, had SyFy not cancelled the show before its time, the flawed roles might have been suitably reshaped. The three bright stars in the “SGU” cast really do shine through. The series’ gruesome twosome, Rush and Young, carry more than enough of the dramatic weight themselves. I could watch Carlyle play the enigmatic Dr. Rush forever because he channels this sinister spirit that makes you completely uncertain of his motives. Set against the stoic Colonel Young – played almost defiantly serious by comedian Louis Ferreira – Rush becomes complex and a strange combination of villain and hero. Ferreira’s Young is less coded; he’s always the good guy, but he has a dangerous temper that makes him a force to be reckoned with too. If for nothing else “SGU” is watchable because of the two polarizing characters and actors playing them, especially when the two face off on an issue. The third strong character (and to a lesser extent, actor) is Eli (David Blue) – a nerdy audience stand-in, complete with a t-shirt that says, “You are here.” Because the character calls for a less powerful performance and less drama than the other two – Eli is more the lighter, comedic side of the show – he’s not nearly as strong. But of all the other characters not named Rush or Young, he gets the most well written arc and he too begins to take on a new role that would have been interesting to see. In the evolving narrative of the series, had season three been made, Eli might have been as interesting or even more interesting than Young and Rush. His arc is built on acts of complete self-sacrifice to save the ship and those around him, not just in the finale, but repeatedly over both seasons. “Stargate Universe” was a decent show and season two was better than the first. I’d even go as far to say that “SGU” was a great series in bursts, especially when the occasional arc bled over two or three episodes, creating little mini-series-within-a-series moments. In terms of production value the show is unlike anything that came earlier in the franchise. Truly epic in scope, unhindered by the limitations of 90's-era computer tech (unlike “SG-1”) and actually cinematic due to the high-resolution HD visuals and cinematography (unlike the sometimes cheap and dated “Atlantis”), “SGU” delivers on the technical front in spades. In terms of narrative and characterization, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The fact that the series was cut short certainly hurts it too. Probably more than I really care to admit. “Gauntlet”, the finale, is admittedly better than I was expecting. But that’s only because the episode was meant to work as an enticing cliffhanger, leaving fans salivating for season three, and not a proper send off. That it works at all as a series wrap up is a miracle. But, even with a sort-of-acceptable finale, the tale of “Destiny” and her crew still feels unfinished. “SGU” is unresolved in most regards with the closing credits on “Gauntlet” feeling less like a proper send off, and more a like the sad whimper of a franchise as it lets out its last dying breath. All 20 episodes from the second and final season are spread across five discs. The include: "Intervention" - Control of the “Destiny” hangs in the balance as the battle continues between the crew and the Lucian Alliance. Colonel Young and most of his personnel are prisoners, leaving the B-team – Dr. Rush, Lt. Scott, Sgt. Greer (Jamil Walker Smith), Eli (David Blue) and Chloe (Elyse Leveseque) – to find a way to get control of the ship. Rush hatches a plan that will likely end the lives of both the Lucian and military teams aboard ship. Meanwhile, an unconscious Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman) awakes on a perfect alien world where she and her newborn are joined by crewmembers from the past. - "Aftermath" - Young has regained control of the ship and the remaining members of the Lucian Alliance are in custody, proving to be very uncooperative. Tamara mysteriously returns to “Destiny” without her child to find that no one noticed her absence. Rush, uncovering more of the ship’s secrets every minute, brings “Destiny” out of hyperspace. With food and water supplies running dangerously low tempers flare. A shuttle expedition to the surface of an unstable planet with an inoperable Stargate ends in tragedy and the death of a crewman. - "Awakening" - The crew encounters a ship – similar in Ancient design to “Destiny” – that could provide a means to return home. Scott and Greer board the seemingly empty “Seed Ship” only to discover a cargo hold containing a series of ‘gates. While exploring, they soon realize that they are not alone. Eli and the scientific team try to use the Stargate array and twin-ship power to dial Earth. Meanwhile, Col. Young continues to clash with the Lucian prisoners. Also, TJ is still dealing with her emotions over the lost of her baby. And “Destiny” loses another crewmember. - "Pathogen" - In an episode directed by the brilliant Robert Carlyle, Eli learns that his mother (Glynis Davies) has taken ill, and rushes back to Earth using the communication stones to be by her side. Also returning home via the stones, Camile Wray (Ming-Na) visits her partner Sharon (Reiko Aylesworth) but finds that the long-distance separation has put a strain on their relationship. Meanwhile, aboard “Destiny”, Chloe has been sleepwalking and acting strange. A concerned Lt. Scott finds something startling in her diary, prompting intervention from Dr. Rush. Members of the science team – Drs. Brody (Peter Kelamis) and Park (Jennifer Spence) – and Colonel Young begin to distrust Rush again when his experiments with the ship and Chloe take a radical turn. And the colonel decides to release the Alliance prisoners from the brig, but the one named Simeon (Robert Knepper) has trouble fitting in. - "Cloverdale" - “Cloverdale” is a stupefying and totally weak episode. While leading an away team and surveying an unknown planet, Lt. Scott falls victim to a potent plant-like creature. As he suffers hallucinations from a fungal infection, falling in and out of consciousness, Tamara tries to find a way to treat him. Meanwhile, in his dreams and nightmares Scott imagines himself back on Earth, returning to his hometown of Cloverdale, where he’s about to marry Chloe. Roles and parts are swapped, rewritten and odd: Sgt. Greer is Scott’s best friend and best man and Col. Young is his father. Eli is Chloe’s brother. And Dr. Rush is the Minister who will marry the bride-and-groom-to-be. This whole episode is a poor attempt at painfully unfunny role reversal comedy. It doesn’t work, and feels way too 90's sitcom-y. - "Trial and Error" - Traveling to Earth via the communication stones, Young visits his wife who almost immediately asks for a divorce. When he returns to “Destiny” the colonel starts drinking heavily and begins having a recurring dream where the ship is attacked by aliens. The dream-creatures demand Chloe and his refusal to turn her over continually leads to the “Destiny's” destruction. He is convinced that his dreams are a premonition, but Dr. Rush has a different interpretation. Meanwhile, Rush still hasn't told anyone that he now has complete control of the ship and Eli may have found his soul-mate when a Lucian named Ginn (Julie McNiven) shows an interest in his work. - "The Greater Good" - “Destiny” drops out of FTL and the crew find themselves facing an abandoned spacecraft. Young and Rush go aboard and manage to start basic systems, but a sudden ignition from the derelict pushes them too far from the “Destiny” to safely return. Meanwhile, Ginn and one of Dr. Rush’s closest colleagues use the communication stones to swap consciousnesses. Ginn is asked to share Lucian Alliance Intel with the military, while Dr. Amanda Perry (Kathleen Munroe) aids the stranded Rush from the control room of “Destiny”. Rush secretly tells his old fiend about his ability to control all of the ships systems; word of the revelation soon spreads, leading to yet another confrontation between the colonel and the doctor. Meanwhile, Simeon is concerned that Ginn is giving away their secrets to the enemy and intends to do something about it. - "Malice" - Simeon has killed Ginn – whose body contained Amanda Perry's consciousness – and taken Dr. Park prisoner before using the Stargate to get to a nearby planet. An outraged Dr. Rush sets off on his own to find Simeon and exact revenge for the death of the only person he cared about. Lt. Scott and Sgt. Greer soon join him on the planet surface. Their Lucian enemy is quite happy to lead them all on a chase and taunts Rush at every opportunity, eventually pushing Dr. Rush too far. Meanwhile, on board “Destiny”, a distraught Eli does his best to slow the jump clock and give those on the planet more time. - "Visitation" - “Destiny” comes out of hyperspace only to find one of the ships long lost shuttles asking for permission to dock. Granting the request, the crew discovers Dr. Caine (Tygh Runyan) and the others who had opted to re-settle on a planet sometime last season. When questioned about their sudden reappearance they collectively claim ignorance and state that the last thing they remember is going to bed the previous evening. TJ hopes that her baby will be with them but Cain has no memory of her visiting them. Most of the returnees seem to have few memories of their time on the planet and Camile thinks that someone may have wiped their memories. She suggests hypnosis as a means of unlocking their minds, which uncovers a dark secret. Meanwhile, Eli is worried about Chloe, as is Lt. Scott, as her transformation into a super-smart alien hybrid continues. Young, also bothered by her advancing changes and the possible threat she may be to the crew, has Chloe put in the brig. - "Resurgence" - After identifying an energy pattern that may signify the existence of intelligent life, “Destiny” is rerouted to the signal site only to find the aftermath of what must have been an epic battle. Debris is strewn everywhere and Col. Young dispatches Lt. Scott, Sgt. Greer and Dr. Adam Brody in the shuttle to investigate one of the ships. Eerily, the vessel is near identical to the one Col. Young and Dr. Rush only recently explored. Attack drones are lying in wait and a firefight ensues. With the “Destiny’s” engines offline their shields are weakened by an endless assault from the Drones. At the last moment, in a ridiculous bit of Deus ex Machina, Colonel Telford (Lou Diamond Philips) returns from the depth of deep space and rescues “Destiny” and her crew. Aboard the earlier encountered Seed Ship, with the help of the Ursini – an alien race thought hostile, but apparently not – Telford and Young team up to send both alien and human home. Meanwhile, Chloe’s transformation is advancing rapidly and she easily manipulates a worried Eli into freeing her from custody, which could have disastrous results. - "Deliverance" - The battle continues with a badly damaged “Destiny” awaiting further attack from a second wave of Drones. A hyper intelligent Chloe has taken over the ship’s systems and hails her alien abductors… for help? While the crew fights the remaining Drones via shuttlecraft, Young offers Chloe as bait. Eli infiltrates the alien computer network, creating disarray among the enemy fighters, while Chloe and Rush work together to restore power to the “Destiny”. Things look up just before they take a terrible turn for the worse, and the Ursini sacrifice themselves for the greater good, thus destroying an enemy Mothership and most of the Drones. - "Twin Destinies" - What would a sci-fi show be without the occasional time travel episode? The ship is badly damaged following the recent battle and has virtually no back up systems remaining, causing the crew to worry about their very survival aboard “Destiny”. Meanwhile, Eli may have found a way home, but Rush believes the plan could go catastrophically wrong. After experts on Earth decide in favor of Eli’s plan, Rush announces his intention to remain on the ship and calls for volunteers to stay with him. As Eli is about to dial Earth, he and the passengers receive a message – from a second Dr. Rush. Rush II claims to have traveled back in time 12 hours and relates the story of happened to everyone. Coincidentally the time shift may also present a solution to their need for redundant power, safety and life support systems. - "Alliances" - Camile and Sgt. Greer use the communications stones to return to Earth, only arriving in time to find Command is a high state of alert and anticipating an attack from the Lucian Alliance. The two have barely arrived when an explosion traps them in the building, exposed to high levels of radiation – and where, they are told, a large bomb is still waiting to go off. Meanwhile, the consciousnesses of Senator Michaels (Kathleen Quinlan) and Dr. Andrew Covel (French Stewart) arrive onboard the ship in the bodies of Wray and Greer, to assess the viability of the Stargate missions and determine whether the government should invest in a new Icarus base. - "Hope" - It’s been six days since “Destiny” lost contact with Washington DC; Young and the crew are unsure if the capital still even stands. The ship’s crew has constantly been trying to reconnect with Earth via the communication stones, basically around the clock, but to no avail. When Chloe’s turn comes up, something goes wrong and Ginn – whom everyone thought dead – resurfaces in Chloe, creating a dilemma for Eli and a problem for Dr. Rush to solve. Meanwhile, Greer becomes a kidney donor after Tamara diagnoses Dr. Volker (Patrick Gilmore) with end-stage renal disease – aka. Kidney Failure. - "Seizure" - Dr. Rush slips into a coma in the neural interface chair, where Amanda Perry connects with him via the ship’s computer matrix. The doctor experiences great pleasure in his dream world, but soon realizes: all is not what it seems. Meanwhile, on Earth, Homeworld Command is trying to negotiate a deal with the Langarans, an alien race whose planet has a powerful core that could be used as a source for ‘gate travel. Langaran Ambassador Ovirda (Victor Garber) refuses the request, leading to concerns that they may have already made a deal with the Lucian Alliance. With the help of Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo), Command devises another plan to dial the ninth chevron. - "The Hunt" - A survey team goes to a nearby planet and are pleased to find that wild game may be available. However, they soon find themselves the hunted object of a highly intelligent foe. The group is tracked and attacked; TJ and another are taken into the creature's lair. Greer ties to locate the lost crewmembers. Aboard “Destiny” Rush, Eli and Brody find a section of the ship containing stasis pods. Rush seems unmoved by the find and tells Eli and Brody to just continue with their work, but the inquisitive man-children ignore Rush and face the consequences. - "Common Descent" - Dropping out of FTL to recharge in a star “Destiny” suddenly, once again, comes under fire of the attack drones they encountered earlier. How and why do the Mothership and Drones find them so quickly? A more intriguing mystery awaits the crew when Eli proposes using the Stargate to travel to a nearby planet for safety. They are surprised to find a nearly abandoned city and, even stranger, a small group of people who claim to be the descendents of the “Destiny” crew who supposedly founded their civilization nearly 2000 years ago. Trouble arises for both parties when the planet suddenly becomes unstable. - "Epilogue" - “Destiny” continues the evacuation of an abandoned modern civilization from a planet in the throes of seismic destruction. While the crew retrieves valuable data from computer archives stored 30-stories underground in a vast complex, Dr. Rush discovers a possible way to help the planet’s survivors. The planet is clearly not stable and earthquakes are getting more severe forcing an immediate departure, but will the crew uncover the truth behind the mystery of their connection to these people in time? - "Blockade" - The alien drones return, creating a blockade around viable power sources, forcing “Destiny” to recharge in a Blue Super Giant– a star that is so hot it could destroy the ship and crew instantly. Taking a barrage of constant fire, in a rash decision, Col. Young evacuates the passengers to a nearby planet for safe keeping, leaving a skeleton crew – Eli, Rush and Dr. Park – aboard ship. On the planet surface the colonel and his people encounter more drones. - "Gauntlet" - Eli and Rush have developed a program that will identify the location of drone Motherships using long-range sensors. Unfortunately, a scan reveals Attack Drones to be waiting for them at every possible fuel stop along “Destiny's” path – straight on, to the edge of the galaxy. Eli suggests that they make one final FTL jump to the next Galaxy and use the ship’s stasis pods for the crew. Bad news: the trip will take three years and the ship is so badly damaged it might not make the jump safely anyway. With the crew squared away, and the FTL spooling up, Young, Rush and Eli prepare for the impossible. A malfunction at the last minute leaves one of the three final pods unusable, but repairable, and the men must decide which two go into stasis and who gets left behind.
Video
On its own terms the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of “Stargate Universe: The Final Season” is quite strong. But, shot natively in HD on high definition video and notable for being the first – and likely only – “Stargate” entity to have its effects rendered in 1080p from day-one, it seems downright idiotic that MGM and Fox have overlooked a Blu-ray release for the second and final season of “SGU”. The decision to release this season as DVD-only is especially confusing and irritating because MGM previously released “SGU” not once, or even twice, but three times in separate sets (volume 1.0, volume 1.5, and the complete first season) on the superior high def format, and as I can attest with my earlier review, 1.0 looked brilliant when spread over a couple of roomy BD-50 discs. The series is highly stylized – and very similar to “Battlestar Galactica” visually – with intentionally, occasionally heavy, artificial grain, blown out highlights, crushed blacks, and sometimes desaturated, other times oversaturated colors. It isn’t particularly pretty – at least conventionally. Nevertheless, “SGU” still translated to Blu-ray brilliantly. “SGU 1.0” wasn’t typical eye candy, but it was a faithfully represented and impressive looking series in 1080p. The standard definition DVD release of season two, although good looking, is by comparison then, quite a disappointment. The stylization remains, but without the increased resolution, detail suffers in both shadows and hot, contrasty daylight. Compression, hindered by the limiting MPEG-2 codec and tight DVD-9 confines, is mediocre with noticeable artifacts, frequent banding, and occasional moiré. Edge enhancement isn’t an issue, and DNR – or really softness from diffusion filters and digital airbrushing – is only sporadically present and always looks like an intentional creative decision. Thankfully, the black level is deep which is just about the most important thing for a series set in outer space and with a less critical eye, many of the faults inherent to the DVD format become less oblivious. The series looks fine for 480p SD and upconverts rather well, but as I watched this season I was constantly reminded that “Universe” can – and has – looked so, so much better on my system.
Audio
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 (48kHz/448kbps) surround mix is less of a disappointment, and in fact quite comparable with the DTS-HD Master Audio track on the earlier season’s Blu-ray release. While the lossless mix was crisper, with finer detailing, richer bass, and generally just more refined, the Dolby-equipped DVD offers an occasionally rousing, persistently punchy, fine listening experience. “SGU” still suffers, as the Blu-ray did, for a surprising amount of docile dullness aboard the Destiny and isn’t nearly as action oriented as one might expect, but to say the show is sonically lifeless would be wrong. Dialogue is clear and always intelligible. Franchise composer Joel Goldsmith (son of the late, great Jerry Goldsmith) continues to add an atmospheric, LFE-friendly score. Many of the expansive alien landscapes – particularly the desert planet featured in episode 8 “Malice” – have excellent ambient effects encoded in the surrounds. “Malice”, shot on location in the Bisti Badlands, offers a nice balance of deafening silence and extremely subtle, almost irritating wind in the rears, heightening the tension and translating the isolation of the Badlands perfectly. Optional subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Ask yourself, “Do I like extras?” If the answer is yes and you’re also an “SGU” fan – which, presumably, anyone interested in this DVD set is – then prepare to be more than satisfied. Every episode has an optional audio commentary with the cast and/or crew. On top of the over thirteen hours of commentary, viewers will be greeted by a number of featurettes, some of them quite lengthy. Best of all, the “Destiny SML” ridiculousness that made menu navigation a nightmare last season? Gone. In its place is a simple series of easily selectable bullet points and options. All video based material is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen unless otherwise noted. DISC ONE: The real highlight of the supplements has to be the fact that every episode of the second and final season includes audio commentary with the cast and crew. Fans with take delight in these tracks, running roughly thirteen-and-a-half hours in all, which are a mix of joke-y, jibbing comedy from the cast and proper production insight from producers, directors and members of the crew. The one downside to these commentaries is that usually the discussions are one or the other; rarely do crew collaborate with cast and vice-versa. Also, Robert Carlyle doesn’t appear on “Pathogen”, an episode that he directed, or any of the other episodes either. The lack of Carlyle is a shame really. Disc one includes: - Audio commentary on “Intervention” with actors Louis Ferreira, Alaina Huffman and David Blue. - Audio commentary on “Aftermath” with actors Brian J. Smith and Jennifer Spence - Audio commentary on “Awakening” with director Andy Mikita, actor Patrick Gilmore, and special effects supervisor Mark Savela. - Audio commentary on “Pathogen” with actors David Blue and Ming-Na. The first featurette titled “Robert Carlyle Directs” (4 minutes 17 seconds) starts things of well. The actor and first-time director discusses how he handled his episode of the season –“Pathogen” – and the decidedly different spheres of acting and directing, while the producers talk about Carlyle’s unique approach to capturing performances from his co-stars. “Andy Mikita Directs” (2 minutes 6 seconds) is a featurette in the same vein as the first. Paul Mullie and “SGU” executive producer/director Mikita talk about filming the season premiere, “Intervention”. They dissect a few of the key sequences from behind-the-scenes and talk about the prospects of season two. Executive producer Carl Binder headlines a featurette called “Eli’s Mom Comes on Board” (3 minutes 12 seconds), where he talks about how the writers and crew handled bringing a civilian character from Earth onto Destiny for the first time in the series. He also focuses on the unique chemistry David Blue and his fictional mother have on screen and how that played into shaping much of Eli’s story arc for season two. “Brian J. Smith’s First Fight” (2 minutes 26 seconds) is a fairly straightforward featurette focusing entirely on Smith’s first major fight sequence in the series. A sequence that was also known to the crew, as the actor so eloquently states, as “Scott’s first kick-butt moment”. “Crashing A Shuttle” (4 minutes 9 seconds) is a featurette that looks at the production of the big crash in “Aftermath”. The special effects crew persuaded the producers to let them use a four-foot model to enhance the realism of the key sequence; the construction, shooting, and compositing of this model with additional CG tweaks is pretty interesting. Executive producer Joe Mallozzi gives fans a tour of the Seed Ship featured in “Awakening” via an aptly titled featurette called “The Seed Ship with Joe Mallozzi” (3 minutes 20 seconds). Haig Sutherland talks about learning of his character’s death, his last day on set, and shares thoughts on his death scene in a featurette called “Saying Goodbye to Sgt. Riley” (2 minutes 59 seconds). Guh! Actor Lou Diamond Philips makes a couple of really bad jokes and horribly plays up the working-with-aliens-like-they’re-real shtick in “Lou Diamond Philips on Guest Stars” (2 minutes 2 seconds). He also offers a couple of less cringe worthy comments about working with CG and green screen in the series in the featurette. A number of surprisingly dated bonus trailers for other “Stargate” home video releases appear before the menu. Spots for the complete series collections of “Stargate: SG-1 on DVD” (1.33:1, 1 minute) and “Stargate: Atlantis on DVD” (non-anamorphic 1.78:1, 48 seconds) are fine, but I have to laugh a bit… if only because MGM is prepping the complete “Atlantis” for Blu-ray this summer and that isn’t mentioned anywhere. Requisite trailers for “Stargate: Continuum on DVD and Blu-ray” (non-anamorphic 1.78:1, 40 seconds) and the “Stargate: The Ark of Truth” (non-anamorphic 1.78:1, 1 minute) are also included. DISC TWO: The audio commentaries on disc two are strictly with the actors – no producers, writers, directors, or VFX guys. Fans with still take delight in these tracks, which are a nice mix of joke-y, jibbing comedy and the occasional insight. Disc two includes: - Audio commentary on “Cloverdale” with actors Brian J. Smith and Elyse Levesque. - Audio commentary on “Trial and Error” with actors David Blue and Patrick Gilmore. - Audio commentary on “The Greater Good” with actors Louis Ferreira and Alaina Huffman. - Audio commentary on “Malice” with actors Jennifer Spence and Brian J. Smith. A Ford Mustang hits Brian J. Smith’s Lt. Scott as he walks across the street during a hallucination in the episode “Cloverdale”. The stunt – unsurprisingly – is the focus of a featurette with the obvious title “Lt. Scott Gets Hit By A Car” (3 minutes 1 second). “Inside Cloverdale with Brad Wright” (3 minutes 37 seconds) is a featurette in which, while on set, the series creator/writer/executive producer talks about writing and filming the episode. “How to Get Sucked Into Space” (3 minutes 7 seconds) is a stunt-centric featurette with Brian J. Smith. Smith and the stunt coordinator’s talk about the key action scene from “Trial and Error” in which Lt. Scott gets, you guessed it, sucked into the vast emptiness that is space. Part travelogue, part making of, “SGU Welcomes You to New Mexico’s Bisti Badlands” (19 minutes 42 seconds) is a comprehensive featurette that looks at shooting episode eight “Malice” on location in the decidedly otherworldly landscape of the New Mexican desert. DISC THREE: More audio commentaries with the cast on disc three. Disc three includes: - Audio commentary on “Visitation” with actors Louis Ferreira and Alaina Huffman. - Audio commentary on “Resurgence” with actors David Blue and Patrick Gilmore. - Audio commentary on “Deliverance” with actors Jennifer Spence and Patrick Gilmore. - Audio commentary on “Twin Destinies” with actors Jennifer Spence, Patrick Gilmore, and Peter Kelamis. At the center of disc three is “Deconstructing Destiny” (27 minutes 26 seconds), a 7-part featurette with the writers and producers of the series where they discuss the show’s ship and its most guided secrets. “Hosted” by Patrick Gilmore, this lengthy piece is broken into matter-of-fact fragments with simple and telling headings: “Power”, “Weapons”, “Shields”, “FTL Drive”, “The Ancient Chair”, “Communication Stones”, and “The Bridge”. Certainly some of this is basic stuff covered in the first episodes of the first season, and the over-reliance on clips from the series is annoying, but when the interviewees start talking about the origins of these concepts and how they formed in the writing room, “Deconstructing” can actually be pretty interesting. DISC FOUR: The technical, production-heavy discussions return briefly with the one of the audio commentaries on disc four, which features three tracks by the cast, and another by crew. Disc three includes: - Audio commentary on “Alliances” with actors Ming-Na and Jamil Walker Smith. - Audio commentary on “Hope” with actors Jennifer Spence, Patrick Gilmore, and Peter Kelamis. - Audio commentary on “Seizure” with actors Elyse Levesque and Brian J. Smith. - Audio commentary on “The Hunt” with director Andy Mikita and special effects supervisor Mark Savela. “A Day in the Life of Jamil Walker Smith” (5 minutes 55 seconds) should really be called “Six Monotonous Minutes with…” The featurette is a quick, forgettable piece in which a camera crew follows the actor on set for a few hours and then edited whatever footage they shot down to mostly mealtime and jokes with the cast and crew. Much better is “Transplant Day” (5 minutes 9 seconds), a featurette that focuses on shooting a graphic kidney transplant sequence. The actors talk about working with prosthetics and make awkward jokes about having their hands deep inside each other. Ew. The next featurette, called “Sitting Down with Mike Dopud” (3 minutes 37 seconds), gives the actor a chance to talk about his character, Varro, and offers the writers, producers and other cast members a moment to talk about working with him. In “Bringing the Bridge to Life” (3 minutes 48 seconds) creator Brad Wright and set decorator Mark Davidson talks about designing and constructing what they hoped would be a memorable bridge. Destiny’s command center isn’t that of the Enterprise or Galactica… but I’m still glad that the bridge was given this brief featurette. “Louis Ferreira Vs. Colonel Young” (4 minutes) is an amusing joke featurette that amounts to a mash-up of an out-of-character Ferreira clowning around on set – doing impersonations, including a spot on Larry King – with clips from the series of his violent, volatile Colonel beating the crap out of people and being an angry guy. Great? No. But I appreciate the juxtaposition and this is funnier than most proper gag reels. DISC FIVE: The final four audio commentaries are an even 2-2 spit of fun actor talk and worthwhile crew info. Disc five includes: - Audio commentary on “Common Descent” with Jennifer Spence and Patrick Gilmore. - Audio commentary on “Epilogue” with Jennifer Spence, Patrick Gilmore, and Mike Dopud. - Audio commentary on “Blockade” with director Andy Mikita and producer John Lenic. - Audio commentary on “Gantlet” with director Andy Mikita, producer John Lenic, and script coordinator Lawren Bancroft-Wilson. Imagine a Funny or Die sketch starring supporting actors from “Stargate Universe”, with cameos by most of the main players, and stretched out to almost half-an-hour. That’s, basically, “Pitches: A Journey in Friendship and Discovery” (25 minutes 43 seconds) in a nutshell. In this mock featurette Patrick Gilmore and Peter Kelamis team up to write an episode of the series; what happens next is the result of a disastrous brainstorming session that culminates in a script that alienates the two actors from creator Brad Wright, actors Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Jennifer Spence, and a pants-less Lou Diamond Philips, producers Carl Binder and Joe Mallozzi, and even the faux-documentary cameraman. Most definitely funny; just sort of needlessly long too. “Behind the Season 2 Finale: Gauntlet” (9 minutes 36 seconds) is a bit sad right from the get-go with the fact that the DVD producers failed to properly re-title this featurette “Behind the Series Finale” and instead kept the hopeful “Season 2” in place. The sense that no one really knew that the show was over – i.e. cancelled – until sometime after this featurette was shot makes this would-be-jovial send off a somber affair. Everyone is so bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and optimistic about the next season that it’s really quite a downer when you remember that “Stargate” is, essentially, dead – not just as a show but as an entire franchise.
Packaging
“SGU: The Complete Final Season” comes to home video as a DVD only release from MGM Home Entertainment and their current distributor 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The five-disc set includes all 20 episodes from the second and final season, packaged inside a standard-width Amaray keepcase. Each DVD-9 is mounted on a flip tray and spindle. As of this writing MGM hasn’t revealed plans for either a complete series release or a much-needed Blu-ray edition of season two.
Overall
MGM’s DVD-only release of the second and final season of “Stargate Universe” – by the very nature of being DVD only – is a bit of a let down, even if the A/V is solid and extras are surprisingly plentiful. The season itself is pretty strong too, but not without faults. Unfortunately, the show just sort of ends, and the season finale – which works well as intended – doesn’t work perfectly as a series finale. Even worse, the death of the franchise means a DTV movie that might wrap up the storyline appropriately isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. Recommended for fans, although I can only assume that a complete series Blu-ray is an inevitability (and if one isn’t planned, it really ought to be) so act accordingly.
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