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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

STARGATE UNIVERSE the Complete Second Season

DVD review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:  880 minutes (20 episodes on five discs), audio commentaries, multiple featurettes

VIDEO:  1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO:  English 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles:  English SDH, French, Spanish

 

STUDIO:  MGM/ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE:  5-31-2011

 

DISC 1-  INTERVENTION/ AFTERMATH/ AWAKENING/ PATHOGEN

DISC 2-  CLOVERDALE/ TRIAL AND ERROR/ THE GREATER GOOD/ MALICE

DISC 3-  VISTITATION/ RESURGENCE/ DELIVERANCE/ TWIN DESTINIES

DISC 4-  ALLIANCES/ HOPE/ SEIZURE/ THE HUNT

DISC 5- COMMON DESCENT/ EPILOGUE/ BLOCKADE/ GAUNTLET

STARGATE UNIVERSE was my favorite of the STARGATE series.   It grounded itself more in the science and the human side of science fiction that the other STARGATE shows.   The storylines would continue and nothing was forgotten as events in the lives of the Destiny crew would have benefits or consequences in future episodes.  Sadly SyFy cancelled the show after two seasons.   The show does have some type of ending.   I wish it went on as I want to see what would happen in season 3.   Season 2 had love, technology destroying drones, time travel, and timelines among other elements.


Season 2 picks up where season 1 left off as most of the crew of the Ancient starship called Destiny are held prisoner by the Lucien Alliance.   They fight back and are able to seize control of the ship which sets the stage for some new conflicts and new characters.  Rush continues to question trusting Colonel Young and keeps everyone in the dark about the bridge of the Destiny (and that he hacked the ship's master code).    The actions in season 2 send Young into a downward spiral while Eli finds love.   Chloe finds herself changing and has new science knowledge (along with missing time from when she black outs).


Being STARGATE UNIVERSE, love is usually fraught with tragedy.   They are only connected to Earth through the communication stones.   The end of season 2 leaves the show hanging on a thread that may never be resolved since it was cancelled and MGM looks like they may not do any follow up movie to this show or the other STARGATE shows.   Fans of the other two STARGATE shows, SG-1 and ATLANTIS, unfairly lashed out at STARGATE UNIVERSE which was a refreshingly different show which happened to be it's undoing among other things.   The show did continue to deliver some great episodes and develop the interesting characters which some viewers found unlikable at first.   The series did have some episodes that are like cousins to episodes in the first two STARGATE series.   Still I thought the show was the best of the STARGATE shows for it's character development, serial story lines that never dropped story threads from previous episodes, and bad guys that were mostly different from came before.   The show was about survival on the other end of the universe with little chances of getting home while many hang onto the hope to get home one day.   Rush discovers the true mission of the Destiny which sets the show up for a new direction.     STARGATE UNIVERSE will be missed and I hope it will be back on TV or DVD one of these days in the future.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

DISC 1 featurettes:

ROBERT CARYLE DIRECTS

ANDY MIKITA DIRECTS

ELI'S MOM COME SON BOARD

BRIAN J. SMITH'S FIRST FIGHT-

CRASHING A SHUTTLE-    a look at how the shuttle crash was created combining a simple model and CGI.

THE SEED SHIP WITH JOE MALLOZZI

SAYING GOODBYE TO SGT. RILEY-

LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS ON GUEST STARS- it also shows Lou playing around between takes and they even animated an alien for a gag scene.

 

DISC 2 featurttes-

LT SCOTT GETS HIT BY A CAR

INSIDE CLOVERDALE WITH BRAD WRIGHT

HOW TO GET SUCKED INTO SPACE-  a fun look at filming that scene

SG-U WELCOMES YOU TO NEW MEXICO'S BISTI BADLANDS- on location as SGU films the episode MALICE in a unique alien setting

 

DECONSTRUCTING DESTINY (disc 3)-  a multi-part featurette focusing on various elements that make up Destiny: POWER, WEAPONS, SHIELDS, FTL DRIVE, THE ANCIENT CHAIR, COMMUNICATION STONES, THE BRIDGE

 

DISC 4 extras:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JAMIL WALKER SMITH

TRANSPLANT DAY

SITTING DOWN WITH MIKE DOPUD- a featurette on the actor who plays Varro

BRINGING THE BRIDGE TO LIFE- production design of the Destiny and the Destiny's bridge

LOUIS FERRERIA VS. COLONEL YOUNG- comparing the not-so serious Louis vs. the serious (and sometimes down trodden) Colonel Young.  Using behind-the-scenes clips showing the not-so serious side versus clips from the show.

 

DISC 5 extras:

PITCHES: A JOURNEY OF FRIENDSHIP AND DSICOVERY- actors Patrick Gilmore and Peter Kelamis attempt to present a comedic look at writing and pitching a Stargate Universe script

BEHIND THE SEASON 2 FINALE: GAUNLET-  the cast reflect on the filming of the last episode

 

FINAL ANLYSIS:   Sad to see what I consider to be the best of the STAGE shows to end after two seasons because STARGATE UNIVERSE season 2 is a show that strived to make a gritty sci-fi drama.  This set has plenty of behind-the-scenes extras and you should check the show out (both seasons)- I will miss this series and hope it can come back someday and somehow.

 

this DVD review is (c)6-25-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com