Did anyone else get a chance to see this? The new series on ABC. I just finished watching it and I gotta say I wasn't too disappointed. The only thing that hurt this was it being limited to 46 minutes. ABC should have really pushed for a 2 hour season premiere.

The most surprising thing to me is the scale of effects that we're starting to see on television. Show's like Battlestar, Fringe and now V (and soon to air, Caprica) are making great strides towards this (obviously Battlestar takes the cake).

The one thing I cannot stand, that seems to be the new common thing throughout series, is the whole "Air 4 episodes and then take a break for a few weeks". I hate that. And it seems they're going to be doing the same thing with this show. With a new series like this, I can only see it hurting the viewership.

I watch most of my stuff online through the networks websites or hulu. But I hate when I look for the next episode in a series only to find out "Oh, they stopped it for a while... It'll be back on in a few weeks or a months..." Because I usually end up forgetting about them until the series is already 2-3 more episodes in..

I just wonder if that tactic really works for viewership. If not, then why the hell do they do it? I'm fine with a mid season break but the constant breaks are beyond annoying. Apparently I'm hearing with V that they're to air 4 episodes, break and then resume in the spring.

I got to see it, it was great. I'll definitely tune in next week. The fx were very good for a TV show. Can't wait to see how the story unfolds.

The acting at some points wasn't convincing enough, and the tone wasn't appropriate. It just didn't feel tense enough when the V's arrived. There were no eerieness and creepyness involved, and the fact that 3 weeks went by didn't help.

But like I said, it's still pretty good; better than what I've seen of the old version (slow paced 80's editing that makes me wanna stop watching TV).

This is the second ABC show I'll be watching. V and Flashforward. Flashforward beats every other new show out there, but I won't go into that.

Watched the Pilot last night and was pretty impressed. The "arrival" scene was executed very well, as you said, the effects were great. I think some the writing was a little iffy, didn't really buy the whole "My mom is never around so I vandalize property" angle. Maybe that will get filled out later.

Oh and while the effects were good all around, it bothered me how many obvious digital sets they used. All I could see when Bailey Salinger from Party of Five was on the spaceship was "greenscreen".

Overall though, good premiere, and I hope it improves, because it's got a lot of potential.

Anybody else watching Stargate Universe? I've never really liked the previous Stargates, which always seemed a bit too cheap and cheerful for me, but Universe is fantastic. The reason I mention it specifically is the VFX, which are largely extremely impressive - in the pilot there's a couple of shots which you couldn't ever imagine seeing on TV just a couple of years ago.

Looking forward to seeing V at some point.

Nice, I gotta check that out, Tarn. I could never get into the past Stargate's because of exactly what you mentioned. Though I'll definitely give Universe a go if it's different.

Yeah, I'd recommend it, especially as you're a Battlestar fan. They've definitely been inspired by BSG's style. Make sure you watch it from the start, though.

I've been watching SGU since the pilot, I really like the pace and character development even though it sometimes seems a little predictable. Plus it's really cool that every episode is based on the one beforehand... What?... Someone's actually telling a... story?
Sorry if there are other shows that do this as well... I rarely watch television.

A lot of other shows do that spydurhank. But like you said, you don't watch much Tv

I've been watching Stargate Universe, even though I haven't seen any of the previous incarnations. I think it's pretty good so far... the characters (Robert Carlyle!) and the visuals are outstanding. My only complaint is that so far the use of the ancient "communication stones" has been really lame so far. I hope they don't keep using them to visit their loved ones all the time... it's really boring and takes you out of the normal flow of the episode. For the most part though, it's a great show.

i saw v too i enjoyed it

Well, the second episode ruined it for me. If it doesn't take a turn for the better in the next episode, I'm not going to watch anymore.

This show should have more closely followed the original series in terms of plot progression. While I never saw the original, I know that they took their time putting the aliens in a position of democracy before they were revealed to be hostile. The first episode of this series should have been the finale of the first season. If they had introduced the characters, and taken their time to build a mystery about the hostile alien presence on earth, it would have been much more of a mind f**k when the ships arrive and claim they're of peace.

I believe they did it the way they did because they were afraid that building up the suspense wouldn't be enough to hold viewers for an entire season. So they essentially made the 46 minute premiere an abbreviated version of what could have been an entire season's worth of plot. It's like a synopsis of what's already happened. "Aliens show up, turns out they were already here, and they're hostile" we knew all of this before the credits rolled, and to me, it killed any tension that could have come up later.

Add to that the fact that the writing is just awful, and characters don't seem to have any real motives for anything they do, and this show falls flat on it's face. I don't care to know what happens next, because the biggest reveals of the season have already happened, and the rest are just going to be "WHO ARE THE CYLONS!?!?!" It feels forced, and it's just a network drama wrapped in a sci-fi package, when it should be the other way around.

Color me disappointed, but not surprised that yet another promising sci-fi show got it wrong (FlashForward being another. What an awful show that turned out to be...)

Last edited by Aculag on Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:30 am; edited 1 time in total

Yep. Stopped watching after three episodes. Incredibly boring.

Saw the pilot. 18 plot points in the final 10 minutes? Yikes!

Don't think I'll be watching, at least not avidly. Maybe a Hulu here and there, but the story progressed too easily and predictably far far too quickly. Alan Tudyk dies in the first episode? Was he meant to be important? Guess not.

Show seems hasty as hell.

It isn't very good so far. But Tudyk does come back in the second ep. He's easily the best actor on the show, it's a shame he has such a small role.

So far, that could be said for a lot of Tudyk's career.

He should be in more stuff, with more screen time. Bit like his Firefly co-star Nathan Fillion.