Incursion - Part 1

 DVD, Stargate Universe S1 (Incursion - Part 1)

Strong start, no question of that, but it does tail off a bit afterwards and I almost wish it had been one long finale instead of being broken down into two parts, though I suppose it's a good sign that I really want to see what happens next! I'm certainly not finding it dull at this point and I have to credit them with consistently closing out the season with a string of good episodes. I didn't quite warm to this one on original viewing, but now I found it exciting and a continuation of the dramatic qualities the series has achieved compared to the more patchy majority of the season. I'd forgotten Carter and O'Neill were involved (with a very tiny cameo from Dr. Jackson explaining the Lucian Alliance in a video Eli plays, though we don't really see or hear much of it - still, it's nice to have him, and really it's only Teal'c that's missing to make this a proper SG-1 reunion, of a sort!), and especially the horrible situation she's put in as Commander of whatever ship it was (they really should have made that clear, I like those kind of details), having to leave a couple of F-302s behind to save her ship when the naquadriah planet the Alliance used to connect to Destiny blows up. It made me think of that 'TNG' episode where either Crusher or Troi has to send 'Geordi' to his death (albeit in a simulation), to demonstrate the needs of the ship can sometimes outweigh individuals, as tough as it is condemning personnel to death, it can be essential and they know what they signed up for, though it doesn't make it any easier to see.

There were some difficult, hard decisions to be made early on, not least when Young refuses to return air to the compartment Telford's been locked in, while both Camille and Scott are getting frantic that he's dying. As I said in the last review, Young is capable of some very unheroic courses of action on occasion, but he doesn't really want Telford (and by extension, Rush, whose body it is), to die. I did think the brush with death should have severed the connection sending Telford back to his own body, but apparently not, Rush just goes into some kind of seizure himself on the Alliance's pyramid base, and it's only when being pushed through the 'gate to Destiny that the connection is cut at last. Not sure why, other than story, but I suppose we can give it the benefit of the doubt since the communication stones can be affected even by dropping out of FTL. There's a thrilling sequence where the Alliance charge aboard and Young's plan to vent the atmosphere again has to be aborted since Telford, or what he thinks is Rush, is brought along (and he certainly owes him a chance at life after leaving him to die earlier in the season!). I liked that they recreated the circumstances of the pilot where people were flung willy-nilly through the Stargate instead of stepping neatly in, and this time even dead bodies and rubble follow them through as their base explodes behind them (not sure why that guy was just standing in the steam jet screaming his head off when his natural reaction should have been to leap out of the way!).

Things settle down to a bit of a stalemate after that, interspersed with scenes of Eli and Chloe who, against orders to stay in Quarters, go on the run, end up in some lift that shoots them off somewhere into the ship they'd never been, and Chloe's losing blood from a gunshot wound. That side of the story was the least interesting, as much fun as it might have been for Eli to be the knight in shining armour, caring for his injured friend, even carrying her when she can't walk, though you can tell he wishes it were happening under better circumstances. Elsewhere the team all work together, Telford, now back in his body, not revealing himself to be a double agent (or should that be triple - they thought he was working for them, but he was actually for the Alliance, but now he's come around to Young's way of thinking... so that would have made him a quadruple agent if he then switched back to the Alliance... I think...). Instead he leads a small group of the enemy into a trap, but they come up against a break in the shield that fries a guy (again, he just stands there screaming as his hand disintegrates when the natural reaction would be to pull back!), so has to return to his 'master' (or mistress, technically), even while the ship itself is experiencing problems caused by neither of the factions. Could it be those aliens have found a way to catch up? Anyway, Camille does her part, pretending she's the real boss and trying to negotiate for hostages, Rush is stunned when Young agrees something must be done, and there's generally good use of the characters, down to Greer backing Young when Scott tries to free Telford in the torture scene, and best of all, Brody knowing the Colonel's wish to return oxygen to the room simply by hearing his name. I liked the subtlety there, that he was straining against every fibre, but trusted Young to know when to order the reverse of atmosphere.

We find out Mike Dopud's character is called Lieutenant Varo, Kiva's second-in-command, with TJ as prisoner ordered to heal him, though she's only a field medic and once again is put in an impossible position where people assume she can cure anything when she's not even a fully qualified doctor. I always wonder why they don't they get someone in via comms stones (as they had done before), but in this case it was the enemy so they don't have access. Still, our people do and you'd have thought they might have swelled their fighting numbers by swapping a few of the fitter civilian bodies for more highly trained soldiers from home, but then I suppose there is the issue that they'd have to get consent for those people's bodies to be put in the line of fire, and even with such experts in control there's no guarantee of survival on the battlefield. It could also be the case that there are only a few stones so it might not have made an appreciable difference, but the notion came to me in the midst of the fracas. The Alliance did make our Stargate military look a bit poor when they have all the preparation, they're on what is now home ground, and have what you'd perceive as every advantage, yet the Alliance I suppose are desperadoes who have nothing to return to and they had excellent intel from Telford, including the technology that can unlock Ancient doors - how they had this isn't explained, but again, story reasons.

The furore of the battle and the eventual tension of the stalemate were well played, and though it was good to see O'Neill again when Young briefly returns to Earth to report, and I assume seek some advice (though I still feel aggrieved that it's the Pentagon rather than the SGC we always go back to, as if it was too much trouble to recreate the old sets), he was entirely unhelpful, just telling him to get back to the ship and retake it. Gee, thanks General, a big help there! (I wish he had gone with him and taken charge, but then that would be taking away from our series' lead, so I suppose it'd be a bit of a no-no, like Kirk taking the Bridge of the Enterprise-B when Captain Harriman's floundering around). But seriously, Young does a good job amid changing circumstances even if it's really Telford that saves his ex-girlfriend (and her baby)'s life when he points out the futility of Kiva killing her, especially as she's a medic. But Young changes tactics on the fly, uses Camille well and is resolute in his ultimate goal to save all the hostages and retake the ship, and whether he's accurate or not, you totally believe him, and that's what you need in a leader. Roll on Part 2!

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