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this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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Im watching Stargate for the first time at the moment and im really surprised by how good it is. on season 7 at the minute and cant wait to see whats coming.
Are Atlantis and SGU just as good or is there a dip in quality?
If you like SG1, you will like Atlantis. They're both the same level of fun sci-fi.
I personally loved SGU. It was spiritual kin to the first two shows with the same thoughtful sci-fi world building, but it dialed the whimsy down to 1 and the drama up to 7. But it was still a Stargate show in every way. It respected established canon while building it's own lore independent of the other shows. I was legit mad when it was canceled.
SGU is a BSG knockoff wearing Stargate lore like a skin-suit. Even if you forget about that, I personally found it boring af.
SGU had a shakey first season and was hitting its stride in the second when they cancelled it. apparently there is an official comic that wraps the story up, but tbh where they left it... it kinda works...
SG-1 is one of my all time favorite shows! It changes so much over the years but everything works IMO, even 9 and 10 which are typically lower rated than the rest.
Atlantis is watchable but nowhere near as good IMO. Characters aren't nearly as memorable, there's a lot of plot threads that go nowhere, the cast turnover is quick, things like that. To be fair I heard there were a lot of production issues and unexpected issues, and it's a miracle SG-1 was as good as it was given all of their numerous issues.
Fuck everything about Universe, I couldn't stand that show. YMMV
I liked each series in a different way. Universe felt to me like the first few episodes of Atlantis but an ongoing damage control situation. SG1 is definitely the best out of the three.
Depends on your expectations... I personally liked Atlantis but SGU somehow failed to captivate me. Both shows somehow fizzled out without really leading anywhere (you could say the same about SG1 but at least they closed up the main plot lines before opening a bunch of new ones which didn't really have clear purpose).
I'll provide a counterpoint. I never loved Atlantis but I really liked SGU. especially the second season when it really hit its stride. I don't think either of them were nearly as memorable as SG1 though.
Whilst I respect the entire show and all the work it did as far as I'm concerned season 8 episode 20 I think ith the fishing pond is the place you should genuinely end. The follow up series are ok but don't add anything,
SGU is very different but I enjoyed it for that, some interesting home/away comparisons andmore in the SG universe (pun not intended) is welcome.
Atlantis is great, Christopher Heyerdahl in multiple roles too.
How does this show compare to Babylon 5 or BSG?
It's really an entirely different animal than either of them, but ranks right up there with them in terms of quality.
SG1 is a 50/50 serious/fun ratio, with long running plot threads mixed in with adventure- of-the-week episodes. It's a bunch of friends saving the galaxy and having fun doing it. It's got a real sense of Earth's slow progression from the mostly forgotten backwater homeworld of humanity all the way to being a major power in two galaxies.
B5 is like a 90% serious novel about war and politics.
BSG is 100% grim, and it becomes really obvious in later seasons that while the Cylons might've had a plan, the writers sure as shit didn't know what it was supposed to be. This unfortunately makes it overall the weakest of the three IMHO.
I thought the Cylons' plan was to eliminate humanity and replace it with a "better" version, which was the human cylons? It was interesting that their religion ended up getting in the way of that. But I didn't hate BSG's ending, which I realize puts me in the minority.
Anyway, thanks for sharing the detailed opinion, I appreciate it. I think I'll give SG a shot later tonight. Other than the Expanse, high quality sci-fi has been hard to come by for a while now, so it'll be cool to try something new.
If you missed SG1, I am guessing you missed Farscape too. It really makes aliens actually Alien, it's universe is so weird and fantastic. And the characters and their interactions are great.
Definitely worth adding to the list.