Stargate Universe After 6 episodes of the Stargate franchise's new series, one thing is clear. It is nothing like the previous two shows! Darker, grittier, more "adult" in a way, Stargate: Universe also has a very different format. Yes, the Stargate is still there to explore new planets; yes, just like in Atlantis, there is a wealth of Ancient technology handy to discover. But Atlantis and SG-1 were about exploration, the discovery of new things (whether in the galaxy or in the City) and about fending off a newfound enemy (Goa'uld, Wraith, Replicators, Ori). In both cases, there also was an established command structure which, even when challenged, seemed safe in its ground.

So far, Stargate: Universe goes against all these principles. There is a wealth of technology but it is used as little as possible. Survival, not curiosity, drives the people onboard the Destiny. Exploration of planets is, because of the show's format, useless: twelve hours later, any contacts found on the planet would be lost. That is, unless Rush and Ely find a way around the twelve hour thingy. And most importantly, whilst Young is technically in command, his condition in the first three-parter weakens his position and leaders are only begrudgingly obeyed throughout the six episodes. Rush is an equally strong figurehead, which throws off the balance of the chain of command.
Finally, Universe does relationship full throttle. Where Carter/O'Neill and Sheppard/Weir romances were little more than suggested, Scott goes at it on screen. It is an obvious attempt at making the show more adult, in the same way that Torchwood was the adult Doctor Who. Sadly, at the moment, it is gratuitous but fortunately it is not the only thing that makes Universe a grown-ups' show.
The radical difference between Universe and its sister series is both the show's strength and its weakness. As it comes to Syfy when there is no sign of any new season for either SG-1 or Atlantis, fans are looking for a replacement, which Universe fails to provide. Yet the show needed a clean slate: if either of the other shows had still been running, the temptation to cross over might have been too big, whereas the premise of Universe is that they are cut off from home, with no hope of returning there (not even a mention of an equivalent to Atlantis's ZPM).
This dramatic change allows for bold new moves in terms of story-telling and direction. Universe steps out of well-trodden paths, which means anything can happen. When the main characters get in deadly danger, it becomes, simply, believable that they will die. As for the photography, hand-held shaky cameras seem to be in, which is consistent with the unstable position of the crew. So it's fine for now, even though slightly annoying - but it cannot go on forever.
Because there's only so many times that you can run out of a vital resource aboard a ship and need to find a way to replenish it (so far accomplished once by the ship alone and twice by going to a planet miraculously nearby): air (3 episodes), power (2 episodes) and now water (1 episode), what's next? Food? Ammunition? Medicine? Fortunately, judging from the next episodes' titles, it looks as though this section is over. Which brings us to one last point:
Universe is told differently. It is not a mesh of individual stories that intertwine one way or another (like SG-1 or Atlantis), it is not one big story with various storylines told together (like Babylon 5): it looks like it is a coherent whole with successive acts. In that respect, and in many others, it follows the lead of the new Battlestar Galactica. A shame it cannot boast as strong characters.
Let us hope it will keep on being different in that it does not feature any enemy but the enemy inside. This truly is the strength of Universe and what will keep me watching for at least a little while.