Stargate Universe: Cloverdale

Welcome Stargate Universe fans.

As with all my reviews, this will contain complete spoilers.

This week we were treated to a differently paced SGU episode with Brad Wright’s script. I am just going to say it: It was not my favorite SGU episode. Before you throw communication stones at me, it was a mere difference of having 1-1/2 teaspoons of sugar in your tea instead of 2. It was a mixture of a “Wizard of Oz” homage, combined with a Robert C. Cooper’s “Time” like story, combined with classic elements of SG-1 storytelling. It also reminded me of the Farscape episode, “Dog With Two Bones.” Alex Chapple makes a return appearance as director, having last directed “Subversion” and “Life.”

Highlights of this episode for me (in no particular order)

1. The episode gave the entire cast a different location and different personalities to showcase their talents based on the point of view of Matthew Scott’s perception.

At the heart of this week’s episode was a broader canvas for Brian Jacob Smith to strut his acting stuff, delving into the psychological makeup of Lt. Matthew Scott. Some of the people in his dream state were obvious: For example, Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira) being his father, Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) being his best man, Eli (David Blue) being Chloe’s (Elyse Levesque) brother, Adam Brody (Peter Kelamis) having a bar, Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) being law enforcement, Tamara (Alaina Huffman) being the paramedic–

Lt James (Julia Benson) being the Brody’s Bar version of the Hooter’s girl.

Some were odd: Dale Volker (Patrick Gilmore) as his pharmacist? What is Dr. Volker, astrophysicist, cooking up in the hydroponics lab that we do not know about? Rush (Robert Carlyle) as the justice of the peace. I did not think his title was significant but rather the honesty at which he posed questions to Scott. On Destiny, Dr. Rush says the things that others are afraid to say.

2. Brody hitting Matt with the car. I liked it because it was something totally unexpected.

3. It put the cast in the sunlight for a change on a set different from the Destiny.

4. Our secondary characters got more lines of dialogue which is always enjoyable. It was great to see Dr. Lisa Park (Jennifer Spence) have a bigger part on the Destiny. Dr. Park is brilliant but does not want to be responsible for hurting anyone or having her decisions result in hurting anyone.

Pvt. Becker (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) got some dialogue lines, too. We have not seen much of Becker in Season 2.

Dr. Dale Volker got to be socially awkward and quirky.

5. Dr. Rush participated as a caring member of the away team, not just trying to save his own skin.

6. Chloe looked absolutely stunning in her wedding dress.

7. Having Telford back. Not only was he back, but the person characterized in Scott’s dreams was still haunted by his brainwashing. Lou Diamond Phillips is an amazing actor, conveying subtle nuances of his face that expand the words written on the page. You believe he is a haunted and repenting man.

8. Greer having just too much fun with the flamethrowers.

9. Chloe’s commitment to Matt and the symbolism between her giving him her blood to heal him and Matt’s commitment to marry her finally at the end (before he sees her half-alien face).

10. The picture of what looks like a younger Brian Jacob Smith at the house.  Great attention to detail.

11. The visual and special effects. The best one was at the end where the wormhole cuts off the head of the alien. The Kino flyover was awesome as well.

12. The movie within the movie reminded me of Wormhole Extreme from SG-1.

13. Greer dancing.

14. The Clova theater is a real place in Cloverdale, British Columbia.

15. Eli saying his goodbyes to Matt on the planet. It reminded me of the Chloe scene in “Time.”

The best lines (in no particular order)

1. Young to Scott in the bar: “You are a lot of work.” We haven’t heard that phrase since season 1.

2. Matt to Chloe: “I really, really have to pee.”

3. Telford in the car: “But I’m sorry to tell you that when you wake up, you’re going to feel guilty for things you’ve done or said. Some you won’t even remember. It will just be a blur. And you’re gonna wonder if you’re ever gonna feel like the person you used to be again.”

4. Matt to Rush: “Hi, I’m Matt Scott. You’re marrying me tonight?”

5 Conversation between Matt and Eli: Matt: “What, you think you know me?” Eli: “You’re not that deep. Nobody who knows you at all thinks of you as a one-girl guy. It’s not a criticism. It’s who you are.” Matt looks very hurt from hearing this from Eli, but remember, this is Matt’s only alter-ego taking personification in the form of Eli. In essence, Matt is saying this to Matt. It’s an interesting form of self-reflection and that is why I liked it. It also serves that Matt is not shallow because a shallow individual would not be having that level of introspection.

6. Eli to Chloe: “Bye.” It was not the line, but how it was delivered. I think it was this precise moment that Eli let go of Chloe and the hope they would be together some day. I think this is the moment that frees him up to open his heart to Ginn (Julie McNiven).

7.  Young to Matt:  “Wake up!  Wake up!”  A double entendre.  Those of us having bad dreams know that sometimes within our dream we will verbally tell ourselves to wake up from the nightmare we are having.  In this case, I think it also to tell Matt that he needs to change his ways.

8.  Brody to the crowd at the wedding:  “It’s true, I nearly killed him yesterday.  I ran right over him.”

9.  Rush to Scott when Scott says his dad just wants him he just wants Scott to be happy:  “The sage advice of great men.”

What I did not like:

1.  You aren’t 100% sure at the end of the episode if Matt has come to some sort of revelation or not from his dream state. He realizes that his whole life has been made up of doing things that others expect him to do, never making any choices of his own. You think that at the end, with the smile on his face, he is freely making the choice to marry Chloe, but once he sees her face turning into the blueberry alien, it appears he is not 100% committed there. Perhaps the growth of the character from the introspection will pay off in a future episode. There are hints of this in the scenes from next week.

2.  Not seeing Mike Dopud (Varro) anywhere in the episode or MingNa (Camile Wray) although someone said she was in the wedding scene.

3.  At the end of the episode, Young’s anger is misdirected at Scott. Scott had no idea what has happened to him, and instead of his commanding officer explaining the situation to him, he quarantines him and Chloe, and tells him Chloe will explain things to him.

As I said, it was just a matter of a few sprinkles of sugar between the other episodes of season 2 versus this one. After crying so much in previous episodes, it was nice to have an episode that was not to dark and dreary. I look forward to next week when our favorite blueberry aliens are back and Chloe begins her transformation. I wonder if Chloe will start looking like Zhaan from Farscape soon.

This was not my typical post, but this was far from a typical episode.  I hope you enjoyed the post nonetheless.

Thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency and for taking the time to read it.

Looking forward to next week’s “Trial and Error.”

Take care!

Hilda (PBMom)