Offbeat Geek

Things have been a little quite here recently.  I’ve not been slacking.  Honest!  I’ve been busy at work on the last map on my to do list at the moment.  There are a couple of changes to the site coming soon.  First up will be a portfolio of  the content I have released (both commercial and community projects).  Secondly, for all the folks checking out the Stargate portal, I’ll be updating the SG:U section more regularly along with a  fun little thing for SG1.  That is all I have time for at the moment. Will be back with more later!

Young, Rush and Wallace figure out what is going on

Spoiler Warning
This is a recap of SG·U Episode 5. Plot details revealed

This episode begins with Greer having his “kino snippet”.  He seems pretty calm considering the Destiny is about to fly directly into a star.   After the title screen Colonel Young addresses the crew.  There is no power.  The Destiny is flying directly into a star.  The crew “are having another bad day”.  Following the status report he announces that there will be a lottery for fifteen spots on the working shuttle.  In addition he will choose two more people who will pilot and have the necessary survival skills. He also announces that he will not be part of the lotery. The crew are understandably frustrated.  A montage shows us Sgt Becker downing some pills.  Matthew and Cloe hit the bedroom and the second sex scene in Universe.

Camile visits Col. Young and tries to weasel her way onto the shuttle.  Young, having none of it, threatens to remove her name from the lottery. She promptly retreats. Meanwhile, in his quarters, Eli has a flashback of his mother giving him grief about not attending  a job interview.  Meanwhile Cloe and Matthew were discussing who was going on the shuttle.  As per usual Cloe was being her pessimistic hopeless self. Yawn.

Eli continues his promotion of the “message-in-a-bottle” kino.  He is still trying to get everyone to talk into the kino to preserve a record of their presence. Cloe volunteers for  her “kino snippet”.  Elsewhere on the ship Young  approaches Rush to find out which of the three planets the lottery winners are bound for.  One of the three is on the other side of the star but being between the two planets which are too hot and too cold placed it in the “Goldilocks Zone“.  The Shuttle will be flying blind to the planet. (continue reading…)

Destiny passing through a gas giant

Spoiler Warning
This is a recap of SG·U Episode 4. Plot details revealed

Dr. Rush is trying to preserve as much power as possible at the cost of sleep deprivation.   He is still locked out of Destiny’s primary systems.  It is revealed that the water reserves are pretty low, approximately 90,000 liters remain.  Some of the crew discover an Ancient device  which they dub a “Recharging plate” which, after being tweeked, recharges various human devices.  In an effort to try and ease Rush’s mind, Colonel Young orders them to cease activating systems. The power reserves fail regardless.  When confronted about the blackout Rush finally succumbs to his extreme exhaustion and caffeine withdrawal and passes out.

Young ‘returns’ to Earth to inform the Pentagon of the situation.  After doing so travels to see his wife, Emily.  She’s understandably frustrated and slightly confused by his use of the Ancient communication stone.  His attempts to reassure her that he will return sometime fall on deaf ears.  Meanwhile Colonel Telford takes the opportunity to find out whats going on on the ship.  He is decidedly unhappy with what he finds.

Vanessa misleads Eli to an intervention of sorts.  The crew feel they’re being kept in the dark.  Eli tries to reassure them that there’s nothing being hidden from them.

It becomes apparent that the ship came out of FTL on purpose.  As the ship approached the system it skims the atmosphere of a gas giant on the outer edge of a system of planets.  The crew surmise that Destiny is trying to get within reach of one of the habitable planets.  They are disappointed.  Destiny is heading for the red dwarf.

Quicklinks: Stargate Portal |  Episode Recaps | Episode Movie Quotes

New Stargate, new glyphs.

The third and final part of the Stargate:Universe’s pilot aired this evening.  While “Universe” is indeed a Stargate show by virtue of actually having the aforementioned piece of ancient technology, it is a distinctly different show.  It’s not quite Stargate, not quite Battlestar Galactica, so where does SG:U fit? That is a topic for another day. For now let’s delve into the tonight’s episode.

“Air (3)” is a solid episode by itself.  I have to say that the music, while having the slightest hint of “Bladerunner”, was well merged to what was happening on screen.  The eight minute finale piece in particular sent a couple of tingles down the spine.  I look forward to seeing how the music continues for the season. If it keeps to this standard I’ll be one happy Stargate fan! For those looking, the song at the end of the episode is “Breathe” by Alexi Murdoch.  An appropriate song for the conclusion of the episode.

In this episode we find the crew of the Destiny exploring a desert planet for lime to replenish the life support system on the ship. We get treated to a little more of Lt. Scott’s past. There’s an amusing reference to “Planet of the Apes” courtesy of Eli which I’m inclined to believe will become a “thing” for SG:U.  At least one movie reference per episode by Mr Eli Wallace perhaps?  Time will tell.  The tension between Greer and Rush continues.  As the show is only three episodes in, it is unclear how the characters will develop.  Even though this is a more serious show than the previous two it has a lot of potential with it’s new direction.  The same humor is present but dialed down several notches.  The inclusion of several pieces of “tech” from Atlantis and SG1 is a welcome tip of the hat to loyal fans while still keeping it feeling different.  As a Stargate fan I’ll be glued to the television every Friday that SG:U airs. I can only hope that the future episodes will be as strong as “Air (3)”.