Common Descent

 DVD, Stargate Universe S2 (Common Descent)

It's Randolph from 'Free Willy'! Having August Schellenberg guest star is about the most exciting thing in this episode, especially as in the years since he's sadly deceased. If you want someone to play a noble elder type then why not get him? Not that he has all that much to do - he's the leader of a group of humans that had led an expedition to this planet Destiny visits, the planet they came from having been settled by the crew of Destiny two thousand years ago (the other Destiny, the one where they assumed everyone died except Telford and Rush). It's that old sci-fi chestnut of a ship going to a planet and finding their own descendants, done best in 'DS9' ('Children of Time'), but also seen in 'Enterprise' ('E2'), and probably at least one 'Stargate' episode along the way. This can't be the first time such a long-running franchise has tackled such a traditional story and I feel like I've written about this before, so maybe it was in 'Atlantis'? I don't know, but if they were trying to make the series more traditional 'Stargate' then the previous episode and this one would both fit the template of the familiar. We even get a forest planet where flying ships blast the fleeing humans below which calls to mind the Darts of The Wraith in 'Atlantis' or going back even further, the Death Gliders of the Goa'uld in 'SG-1.'

In that respect it's not as interesting as some of the recent episodes, since the series hasn't relied on the kind of imagery and storytelling that goes beyond familiar into derivative of itself in previous 'Stargate.' 'Universe' and its choices haven't always worked - obviously not with audiences if they weren't getting a big enough one to be renewed for Season 3, but I've broadly liked the series and would have loved to see where they took it. The old-style 'Stargate' episodes could be a bit simplistic action-adventure, and even as far back as 'SG-1' I always preferred the high concept sci-fi tales more than soldiers shooting armoured baddies. Something that didn't come through here was the age-old conflict between the scientists and the military, as you'd think if there were factions that's what the descendants would have broken into, but it was more along the lines of those that believed Rush would bring Destiny back to save them, and those that didn't. But the whole scenario is a bit hard to accept in a functioning way: the humans all talk as if they stepped off Destiny yesterday when in reality language would grow and change to reflect their own unique situation over hundreds of years. But the conventions of TV storytelling mean we need to get to the core of the story as quickly as possible.

Even though it's a two-part story (at least), ending with them finding the 'home' planet the expedition started off from years ago, and finding it's now uninhabitable after major volcanic activity, no signs of life, the episode rattled through quite a lot that could have been more interesting to explore. For example, we know Scott, Greer, Camille, Eli and the others left behind after a drone ship blasts a hole in the planet's Stargate (wouldn't that cause a major chain reaction that would blow up the 'gate and cause a massive and devastating explosion?), won't be stuck on a planet for the rest of their lives, we've seen too many instances where people were stuck with no chance of ever catching up to Destiny again and yet a way was found. So it's not that there was any great tension in that regard, only that it might have been better to have that hanging for a little while, especially if the story is continuing next episode. Instead we have an admittedly triumphant moment of a shuttle arriving to pick up the last survivors with that great music, then it's fast forward to having Destiny packed out with all the colonists, then they're at the home planet... It was all rather rushed. I liked the simple method of communicating that Eli uses: a 'gate signal which he can only turn on and off to send Morse Code, ingenious.

I don't buy that they'd leave the colonists behind in the first place, or the colonists would simply accept it without any animosity in return. I understand they have limited resources, air, food, etc, but why can't they simply pop along to other planets more regularly to keep replenishing? In this case the drones have caught up with them again, and it's theorised it was by tracking 'gate activations, but surely if they're travelling that fast, as long as they plot a haphazard course these pursuers would take much longer to catch up, wouldn't they? The point was moot when the colonists have to be evacuated at top speed, but what will become of them on Destiny? As it stood, the episode wasn't a bad one, but there weren't enough character moments (like we see Young and TJ become parents again when archive kino footage shows his affection for her as she gives birth), it was mostly plot, things happening, and all fairly conventional things for a series like this. I wouldn't say it felt like another wasted episode when we're so close to the end, it doesn't matter either way, but I'd have liked them to go out on more of a high, seeing as how they've managed a few runs of strong episodes. This held the interest, was a case of hitting the old 'Stargate' beats, and I'm interested to see how they solve the joint problem of too many people and the drones coming after them, but it also doesn't make me think there was great potential going further. Even so: it's Randolph!

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