Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

An episode worthy of being ‘classic’

A combination of clever story-telling, quality acting and imaginative direction takes Stargate Universe to the next level and delivers a quality episode worthy of the title classic. Time definitely demonstrates just what this new Stargate show is capable of achieving.

The story is complex, intelligent and challenging. The A plot focuses on the first timeline and what appears to be at first glance a classic horror tale of alien bugs. It segues into a B plot which focuses on the second timeline and a classic plague tale of an incurable and fatal virus. All is wrapped up in this overarching arc of time-travel which uses the existing Stargate mythology to great effect. It is not a story for the faint-hearted or for those not paying attention. The shock decision to end the episode with the ending of the second timeline which offers hope to a third was original, risky and brilliant.

I personally love time travel stories: 1969, 2010, Before I Sleep are among my favourites from the franchise’s history. Here the story is intriguing. With Rush and presumably Scott from the first timeline going back to the past of the planet, did they introduce the virus into the planet’s ecology and enabled the evolution of a cure with the alien that they could find in the future? And what role does Destiny play in this – did the ship realise there was a contagion and set about finding a planet that could help them? Is the ship intelligent and aware? It’s great stuff.

However, if the broad brush strokes of the story are about alien creatures, alien viruses and time-travel, the detailed strokes are all about the characters and how they face the situations both in the first timeline and in the second. My main complaint about Earth was so many of the character moments had nothing to do with the main story being told in the episode and here I’m relieved to say that we do not have the same issue at all: all the character moments are linked with the story and are so much more powerful as a result. From Eli’s confession about his mother, TJ’s family history, Rush’s thoughts on Ascension and his suicidal attempt to reach the Destiny, Greer’s attack on the aliens and teaching Eli to shoot, Scott’s own actions in finding himself the sole survivor – the first timeline reveals glimpses of the characters that reveal them to the audience and make them so much more likeable – and dare I say, heroic.

Moreover, the second timeline simply builds on these moments beautifully; Eli’s speech to Chloe, TJ’s private emotional breakdown in the face of losing her patients, Young’s comfort to Greer when Greer’s feelings of guilt and inadequacy in seeing how his previous timeline persona lost so many under his care gets too much, Scott’s reaction on the planet on hearing about Chloe’s death and his eventual plan to send the kino back through time with all the relevant information so they can save themselves. Again, these moments add to the characters, wonderfully revealing who they are and what is important to them. Even Rush’s exposition lines on the virus and time-travel simply help embed him as the lead scientist – the man with the knowledge.

There are some nice touches of humour throughout too in what is quite a dark tale: Eli’s movie list, Rush’s quoting of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Eli’s comment that Rush is crazy in both timelines. Even if the humour doesn’t quite match the dry wit that SG1 delivered so well, it delivers just enough to lighten the tone and keep it from being completely morose.

The quality of the acting is just fantastic. Alaina Huffman’s TJ is fast becoming a favourite of mine and her reaction shots during Eli’s speech – those are what brought tears to my eyes, as did the following shot of her crouched in the corridor crying brokenly. Jamil Walker Smith’s Greer continues to be a revelation; he just jumps out of the screen as a believable character. Both quietly stole the show from David Blue who did an outstanding job too anchoring the episode as Eli.

I have to give Robert Cooper credit. When he combines his writing and direction, he definitely produces strong episodes which deliver something new creatively. Here the Kino vision used to tell a large part of the story provides an almost documentary-style view for the audience, and although the flickering film and shakiness at times detracts (and it isn’t really great for those of us who suffer with migraines), it is unique.

I have to also give kudos for the set design: it really did look like a sticky jungle environment. The rain looked believable; the foliage looked real. I also applaud whoever came up with the aliens. What is fabulous is that we don’t really see them and they are so much scarier because of that. The scene where Chloe gets killed by one, it’s brutal attack and burrowing through her body is just horrific and definitely makes an impact. If I’m pushed to nitpick…possibly the timing of watching the first kino and where they are on the second timeline, the progression of the disease in the timelines, doesn’t quite match up but this is very minor.

In conclusion

Overall, Time delivered a very enjoyable Stargate episode packed full of the show’s own mythology, fantastic character moments and an original tale. This is character driven story-telling; this is what I was looking forward to with the new show. The production continues to excel at every level and the whole package is very well done. If Earth provided the best and worst of this new Stargate, Time provides only the best, moreover, this feels like Stargate and I’m happy to add Time to my list of favourite time travel episodes. I thoroughly enjoyed it: more of the same, please.