Science Fiction Non-Fiction: Dave Howe (Stargate Universe)

"The ambition with Universe is to skew it younger than the previous two chapters and fill it with a fresh-faced cast, and storytelling that is more for the late 2000s than it is for the 1990s.  As a network, obviously we look at Battlestar Galactica - that's set the standard in terms of tense character drama.  Stargate does not have the intensity of a Battlestar Galactica, but it may well be somewhere in between.  Brad [Wright] and Robert [Cooper] are very eager to keep the action and adventure and the sense of humor [in Universe].  But I think there's an opportunity to maybe inject a bit more dramatic intensity into the series."

 

-Dave Howe, president of SyFy Channel, SciFiNow #20, p.9-

It's easy to see the inspiration and clearly there was an interest from the top to see a shift in tone resulting in Stargate Universe. Nevertheless, while SGU takes a page from the Battlestar Galactica playbook in terms of mood and atmosphere, SGU is entirely successful in its own right and in keeping with the Stargate universe, in general terms.



It's incredibly difficult to land a series on television period, and through SGU, as the creators can attest to, keep it going. Wright and Cooper succeeded marvelously in building their worlds. And given the push and pull of competing corporate interests coupled with creative interests, what SGU achieved following its previous two successful, adventure-based incarnations is nothing short of a small miracle.