info on Stargate: Universe characters

Darksider · Post by **Darksider** » 2008-09-18 12:39am

gateworld link here

first thing i'm going to say is

This character list does not give me hope for a quality show.

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2008-09-18 12:55am

I don't know about anybody else, but I couldn't even read all the way through those descriptions.

They however seem to be really really rough. I mean, I don't know how its done in the TV business, but do they start with a pretty generic character description, and before anything even is filmed it will evolve with who they choose to hire? Could the SG-1 and Atlantis teams be effectlively describe in a similar manner(other than them ALL being 20 somethings), which were then refined after they have the person that will play them?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-09-18 01:11am

Sounds like a really bad clone of old SG-1 characters so far. Ick.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2008-09-18 01:28am

Why would Chloe Carpenter be on a spaceship to begin with? And Ron "Psycho" Stasiak's description sounds nothing like Hoot from Black Hawk Down.

These are so so generic. I mean their hacker is a social hacker who has never been recognized for his genius? Really? I've never seen that before.

Post by **Steve** » 2008-09-18 01:40am

My sense of forboding for this show has certainly been increased, but those descriptions are just vague enough that I'll wait to pass judgement. The actors and actresses might "save" their characters, after all.

It is interesting if you think of how aged the starting cast of Atlantis came off as. Teyla and Ford were the only ones who seemed to still be in their 20s (and Teyla very well could've gone past 30), with Carson, Sheppard, and McKay pretty clearly in their 30s at least and Weir as high as lower-40s.

FuncoWilkerbean · Post by **FuncoWilkerbean** » 2008-09-18 01:54am

I bet you in the first season an "outsider" will join the crew, like Teyla and Teal'c.

Marcus Aurelius · Post by **Marcus Aurelius** » 2008-09-18 05:32am

Steve wrote: It is interesting if you think of how aged the starting cast of Atlantis came off as. Teyla and Ford were the only ones who seemed to still be in their 20s (and Teyla very well could've gone past 30), with Carson, Sheppard, and McKay pretty clearly in their 30s at least and Weir as high as lower-40s.

People in such important specops positions are typically older than 25 in real life, with average age over 30. A 25-year-old would be the "Kid" in those circles. The main reason is that specops personnel typically need to have considerable prior experience and even if you start at 18, you probably will not have sufficient experience until you're at least 25. You really REALLY don't want a 20-year-old unstable personality in your team.

The remark about Michael Shanks being in his 20's in 1997; yeah, he was 26, and his character (Daniel) could have been anything from 26 to 35 judging from his demeanor. There were no kids in the original SG-1 team.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2008-09-18 06:53am

Have you guys not seen a casting call before?

These are extremely, extremely, rough outline for the type of character they want to give the actors an idea.

By no means are these even close to the final product.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-09-18 10:02am

I'll wait until they at least flesh out the characters a bit more before I pass judgement. It does seem like an odd mix though, even as a research crew turned into an expedition.

PREDATOR490 · Post by **PREDATOR490** » 2008-09-18 03:00pm

The cast call sounds similar to Firefly / Lost in Space but if thats where they are taking inspiration from then it sounds like a really bad idea. Most of the descriptions are copies of previous series notable characters from Atlantis and SG-1 which seems pointless.
If your that desperate to copy characters then just put the original characters into the show but the situation with the O'Neil substitues is getting extremely old. This will be the THIRD person they have fielded in an attempt to simulate O'Neil and it simply dosent work properly. The only benefit of Shepard was being able to play off against McKay like O'Neil and Jackson. I have my doubts about how much decent dialogue your going to get between a 40 year old O'Neil and a bunch of 20 year old misfits.

Strider · Post by **Strider** » 2008-09-18 04:10pm

For some reason, when thinking about Everett interacting with the cast it evokes images of Tommy Lee Jones in commercials for "Man of the House" (that movie where he was protecting all the teenage girls). This is not a good thing.

Also, does this means they aren't going to recast a character they already have, or is that character not mentioned just because this is a casting call? Incidentally, lame hacker kid pretty much rules out McKay, Asian doc rules out all the various doctors, and Everett rules out Shep and Cam; Carter and Jack won't be avalible for the show; and Teal'c, Ronin, and Teyla all have ties to their respective regions and peoples. The only character left, one with his role of Archaeologist/Culture type completely unfilled, is the man who won't stay dead, Daniel Jackson himself.

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2008-09-18 08:21pm

It's like they reached into the Box of Cliches (tm) when writing up those characters. You've got the Jack-of-all-Trades Supergenius (tm), the Hard-Bitten Veteran (tm), The Damsel in Distress Who Happens to be the Tits-and-Ass (tm), the Dark, Brooding Outsider (tm), the Pretty-Boy(tm), and The Tough, but Sensitive Woman (tm) and that's how far I managed to get before my brain shut itself off and tried to crawl out my ears.

Thanatos · Post by **Thanatos** » 2008-09-18 08:50pm

20, all ethnicities. Marine. Big, strong, silent. You want him on your side. You don't want him mad at you. Lacks control over his temper in non combat situations. His past is a mystery but it's clear something dark formed the hard shell around him. Yet, there must also be some moral center because otherwise he'd kill everyone around him.

Good lord...

PREDATOR490 · Post by **PREDATOR490** » 2008-09-18 09:57pm

Thanatos wrote:
20, all ethnicities. Marine. Big, strong, silent. You want him on your side. You don't want him mad at you. Lacks control over his temper in non combat situations. His past is a mystery but it's clear something dark formed the hard shell around him. Yet, there must also be some moral center because otherwise he'd kill everyone around him.
Good lord...

Behold... Ronan mkII.

I would have hoped the producers would have realised how completely shit Ronan is as a character let alone how much worse it will be when this is meant to be a 20 year old human.
If it wasnt for the 'moral center' I would peg this character as a potential Jayne from Firefly but it has already been mentioned this show is being aimed for younger audiences so I doubt they would use a dark character like that.

Overall, the cast call is cliched and the combined ensemble makes Universe seem very much like a Lost-In-Space routine. It really brings up reservations about how they intend to pull this off for a pilot. All these people sound like misfits that you dont want around yet they are going to find themselves in a position to be onboard a intergalactic ship ?
Because it makes sense that Stargate Command would send these people onboard a ship rather than experienced SG Teams that have worked with Ancient tech before.
I can see no reasonable way for these characters to get into this situation that wont require awful amounts of writer's fiat and warping to work.

Darksider · Post by **Darksider** » 2008-09-18 10:07pm

Predator's post gave me a chilling thought.

He's right, the SGC isn't stupid enough to send this cliche-ridden team of rejects onto a newly discovered ancient ship.

What if they go with the tired cliche of "rookies get trapped on board ship, have to find way to make shit work?"

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-09-18 10:12pm

Actually, it seems more like a mix between Ronan and Teal'c. Ronan doesn't always seem like the silent type. Teal'c on the other hand (especially in the first few seasons) barely says a word without being asked a question first.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2008-09-19 02:33am

I'd just like to point out, the O'neill of Ten years ago is more than likely O'neil season 1/Season 2.

A much more serious character than he eventually became. He had some levity, but no where near as much as he had by season 4.

xerex · Post by **xerex** » 2008-09-19 08:01am

Marcus Aurelius wrote: The remark about Michael Shanks being in his 20's in 1997; yeah, he was 26, and his character (Daniel) could have been anything from 26 to 35 judging from his demeanor. There were no kids in the original SG-1 team.

I'd had pegged as being early 30's. He definately didnt act like a kid.

also he was the non military expert. the military was adamant Carter (the miltary expert) also being part of the team. it also seems to me that if O'neil (and Kowalski) hadnt been so comfortable with Jackson, Jackson might have been sidelined like the old lady.

one advantage of the original Stargate Movie was that it gave a backstory to the series. O' Neil and Jackson come in a with a pre formed relationship and Carter and Tealc have to attach themselves to that relationship.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2008-09-19 11:47am

Those look like the vague general-call casting outlines. They'll be refined as auditions go on and they start to get actors cast, and the characters should develop over the course of the show (Ronan is the one exception I can think of

)

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » 2008-09-19 12:32pm

I'm guessing this ill-fated bunch takes a mission to a backwater "safe" world to investigate something, with the Senator's daughter in tow, as some sort of PR mission. They activate a ship which takes off with them

Also, is it me or does the social outcast/genius sound like a /b/tard to anyone else?

Post by **Vympel** » 2008-09-19 12:44pm

A character called "Psycho".

Jeezus.

Dooey Jo · Post by **Dooey Jo** » 2008-09-19 12:59pm

Kodiak wrote:Also, is it me or does the social outcast/genius sound like a /b/tard to anyone else?

Yes, if you remove the "utter genius, etc.", "Jack Black" and "comes from broken home" parts, and replace "acerbic sense of humour" with "lame anti-humour with a focus on pop-culture references, or just references in general".

So, no.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-09-19 01:37pm

I remember when this was going down with Atlantis, all that they had for Colonel Sheppard was 'An ace pilot with down to earth common sense and a secret passion for math'.

Don't worry, these people know what they're doing.

As for Chloe, I'm betting they were touring the ship when they got a distress call or got asgarded away or something.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2008-09-19 02:54pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:I remember when this was going down with Atlantis, all that they had for Colonel Sheppard was 'An ace pilot with down to earth common sense and a secret passion for math'.

Don't worry, these people know what they're doing.

Yeah, but then what would we have to bitch about? The financial crisis?

As for Chloe, I'm betting they were touring the ship when they got a distress call or got asgarded away or something.

Most likely, but it seems kind of lame to have her there just to create some drama and eye candy.

DesertFly · Post by **DesertFly** » 2008-09-19 03:12pm

I'm very cautiously optimistic about these. Sure, they seem generic now, but I would bet that any show's list would look like this at such an early stage of the game. The biggest hope of mine is that they manage to get decent actors, who can't take these rough basics and turn them into memorable (or at least decent) characters.