NEW!: SGU 1:6 - Earth

Overall: 6.3 - Meh. Rush continues to be an interesting potential sociopath, and Eli is still cute. Other than that, this episode is very ordinary.



Plot Synopsis:

The Dial Home Attempt: During a scheduled communication session, Young and Wray learn that a team back on Earth has been working on a plan to get the gate working on the Destiny. Young indicates that he is reluctant to cooperate with any gate-related experiment until he has spoken with everyone under his charge and does not budge from his position even when General O'Neill informs him privately that his orders come from the president himself. In the meantime, Strom urges Wray to use her influence with the crew to make the aforementioned experiment happen; it seems he and his associates are not confident that Rush will come home willingly.

Ultimately, the military decides to send Colonel Telford in exchange for Young via the communication stones. Once on the Destiny, Telford immediately takes charge, locking Greer up and ordering the others to proceed with the proposed plan to dial the gate. Rush stonewalls every step of the way, insisting that everything be checked and double-checked manually; this ultimately leads to the injury of a crewman when a coolant pipe ruptures during one of Rush's meticulous tests. Out of patience, Telford informs Rush that the experiment will go forward the next time they drop out of FTL.

At the moment of truth, the attempt to dial the gate using the power of another star seems to fail spectacularly. Telford retreats, turning off the communication stones, thereby returning command of the Destiny to Young. Rush triumphantly aborts the experiment, effortlessly stops the light show, and informs everyone that the ship "will not be exploding" today. Wray immediately catches on that Rush staged the whole thing to get rid of Telford and regain control and confronts him, but Rush, apparently confident that the experiment would've ended in disaster, seems disturbingly unconcerned about the growing distrust of the others.

At the end of the episode, Young orders Eli to examine the data collected during the experiment. He wants to know if Rush is hiding something.

Eli & Chloe: Eli and Chloe also return to Earth via the communication stones. Eli goes to check up on his mother, but assumes a false identity to avoid having to explain his current whereabouts or the body-switching. Around her friends, Chloe too assumes a different identity; she and her friends decide to go to a concert at a club, and she invites Eli to come with them. At the club, Eli enjoys the perks of having a suddenly svelte body, while Chloe discovers that her best friend has hooked up with her former boyfriend. The evening ends with Eli practically carrying a very drunk Chloe to the car. Chloe tells Eli he's a good friend, and my co-author slams his head against the wall about fifty times.

Other Miscellany: Young manages to wear down his estranged wife's walls, and they have sex. Hilariously, their love-making is interrupted at one point: when the Destiny drops out of FTL, the communication stones temporarily fail, returning Telford to his own body at the climactic moment. AWKWARD.

Writing: 7

What I did like: I swear the writers have been spying on my brother, because Eli is just like him. Granted, SABR Matt is a meteorologist, not a math boy, but every other personality detail is there: the innate solicitousness; the attachment to a chronically ill mother; the sense of wonder; and, of course, the frustration with his permanent mayor-ship of the friend zone. The parallels are downright scary, actually; if the writers deserve credit for nothing else, they at least deserve credit for accessing my brother's experience - and probably the experiences of many other geeks and nerds if the fan response is any indication - so absolutely perfectly in their characterization of Eli.

Then there's Rush. In this episode, we learn that Telford sought to remove Rush from the Icarus project, which indicates that Rush's social issues are long-standing - said issues stem, in my opinion, from a genuine personality disorder - and also gives Rush a motive to block any attempts to return to Earth. Quite interesting.

What left me cold: Eli's characterization aside, I find Chloe's personal drama way too Stargate 90210 in this episode. Sorry - I haven't tuned into this show because I want to watch a teen soap.

Acting: 7

Very little stands out to me. I do, however, really like the scene between David Blue and Glynis Davies, which strikes me as a very sweet and genuine moment between mother and son.

Message: 5

If there is a message in this episode, I can't think what it might be.

Highlights:

WALLACE: Tell me, this uh, work you're doing. I know you can't tell me much about it.
ELI: I can tell you that it's important. In fact, it could change the world as we know it.
WALLACE: Really? My Eli?
(She sounds surprised.)
WALLACE: Not that I'm surprised, don't get me wrong. He's my son. Of course I think he's special. He was always so bright, so different. But he just, uh…he never seemed to apply himself. Some of it was my fault.
ELI: Oh, no. He doesn't blame you at all for anything. - Aww.

WALLACE: You make sure you tell him I'm proud of him.
ELI:(emotional) I will.
WALLACE:(crying) I'm sorry. I-it's just, it all happened so suddenly. And I…I miss him.
ELI:(sadly) He misses you, too. - Nice scene.

MINDY: Hi.
ELI:(can't believe a girl is talking to him) Me?
MINDY: What's your name?
ELI:(hesitates) Phil. Can I buy you a drink?
MINDY:(holding up her drink) I have one.
ELI: Yes, you do. (awkward) Want to dance?
MINDY: Sure.
(Mindy finishes her drink and walks out onto the dance floor.)
ELI: (to himself) Oh my god. This is awesome! - LOL!

(After Eli takes Chloe out to the car, she starts crying.)
ELI: Just once I'd like to go out with a girl and not have it end with her crying. - Something Matt's probably said once or twice himself.

ELI: Do you know the last time a girl that hot told me I was cute? Never.
CHLOE: Doesn't it bother you that she wasn't really talking about you?
ELI: (hurt) Well, when you put it like that…
CHLOE: Uh…I didn't mean that. Come on. You're cute. The real you.
(Eli daydreams that Chloe kisses him - but then he snaps out of it.)
CHLOE: What?
ELI: Nothing. Go on. You were saying.
CHLOE: And…you're funny, too. And you're a genius.
ELI: Oh.
CHLOE: And…
ELI: Don't say it.
(Chloe takes his hand.)
CHLOE: You're a good friend.
ELI: (ruefully) Yes. That's me. I am a good friend. - That sound you just heard was Matt headdesking.

(After Rush deceives Telford.)
RUSH: If I can have everyone's attention, please. I'm sorry to have to tell you that uh, we will not be going home. Not yet, anyway. But you can all relax and return to your quarters. The ship will not be exploding. At least not today.
SCOTT: Normal power levels will be restored soon. Right?
RUSH: Yes. Thank you.
WRAY: (furious) You staged the whole thing.
TJ: So all of this was just to get rid of Telford?
RUSH: (shrugging) Had to be done.
GREER: So you're saying that the ship was never going to explode?
RUSH: Oh no, we would most definitely all be dead had I not put certain limits in place. I also arranged for the alarms and warnings to go off regardless. A bit of theater. Always nice. (noting peoples' discomfort and skeptical looks) Their plan was never going to work.
SCOTT: You could've warned us. You scared the crap out of everybody.
RUSH: Well, I didn't know who was on my side, did I? - Creepy. If Rush doesn't turn out to be a honest-to-God sociopath, I will be very surprised.

~*~

I apologize for the brevity of this post. To be honest, I'm starting to hate doing SGU reviews. Why? Because despite its few interesting elements, the show has yet to accomplish something that truly grabs me. To be blunt, I'm bored. I feel like I'm repeating myself, as said interesting elements have so far remained static from week to week. If something doesn't change soon, I don't know that I will be able to remain a regular SGU reviewer.