Stargate Universe (often abbreviated as SGU) is a
Canadian and American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The series, created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, premiered with the first two parts of a three-part episode, "Air" on Syfy on October 2, 2009. The series features an ensemble cast and is primarily filmed in and around Vancouver, Canada.Stargate Universe follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational, exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the
Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is traveling in a distant corner of the universe.Stargate Universe is set on the Ancient ship Destiny, which was launched nearly a million years ago. Several ships were sent ahead of it to seed the universe with Stargates. The Ancients had planned on using the Stargate to board Destiny when it was far out enough into the universe, but learned how to ascend before that time. In order to reach this ship, an address would have to be dialed consisting of nine chevrons, a possibility that had been unknown in the previous Stargate series.
The series begins when a team of soldiers and scientists from present-day Earth step through the Stargate to find the Destiny after their base is attacked. Many of its primary systems are damaged or failing, and they are unable to maneuver the ship or even return to Earth. However, the Destiny periodically stops to dial the Stargate to planets with necessary supplies to repair the ship.[3][4] The writers have discussed the possibility that each season represents a voyage of the Destiny through a different galaxy.
Stargate Universe is intended to appeal to both veteran fans and newcomers. It is planned to be firmly entrenched in established Stargate mythology without relying on it too often. Although it is planned to still have the familiar Stargate themes of adventure and exploration, the show will focus mostly on the people aboard the ship. SGU is intended to be more serialized than its predecessors, but the writers attempt to resolve each character story within the episode. There is a conscious effort to avoid making SGU too serialized, and the serialization should mainly stem from character development. The industry describes the show with the buzzwords "dark and edgy". According to Robert C. Cooper, the essence of the story is "that sort of fear and terror of a tragedy combined with the sense that there is hope for us in the basic ways in which human beings survive". The planned increased levels of drama are intended to be balanced with humor to avoid pretentiousness. The differences between good and evil are planned to be less apparent, as the ship is populated with flawed and unprepared characters who were not supposed to go there. According to Brad Wright, the show will "hopefully explor[e] the truly alien, and [avoid] the rubber faced English-speaking one". There will be aliens, but not a single dominant villain race like SG-1's Goa'uld and Atlantis' Wraith.
