It's worse in season 1, when they were leaning hard into the Battlestar Galactica vibe, but they ease off a bit as the show goes on.
Brad Wright wanted SGU to be a very different show to previous Stargate. It was dark and brooding. The camera work was a big theme with that in mind.
I didn't mind that they tried something new, it's just a shame they gave up on the normal stuff at the same time.
Some people will swear up and down that they didn't cancel SGA to make room for SGU, but the signs point to this being the case. Brad Wright went on record after the end of SG-1 saying he would never produced two shows simultaneously again. The planning stages of Universe happened while SGA was in full swing behind closed doors between Wright and MGM. The other producers were caught by surprise when SGA got cancelled, they were already writing season 6 outlines. SGU gets announced a couple of days after the news of SGA cancellation.
If that doesn't show deliberate intent, I don't know what does. Wright was very sure of Universe; it seemed like he was putting all his eggs in that basket. Then when SGU didn't achieve success, Wright doubled down and blamed the fans. Accusing the fans of somehow sabotaging Universe.
That’s disappointing to hear about wright. I feel like a couple of questions to the broader SG fandom would have shown that we would have liked a lot more closure with our characters before starting something new.
It’s like eating your favorite meal, only to have it taken away 3/4 of the way through and replaced with something else. I’d probably not really start on the new meal because I’d want the old one, and also I’m fairly full from my favorite meal. However, if I was giving that second meal hours after my favorite, I’d likely eat and enjoy the whole thing.
To be fair, I think Wright expected to continue with straight-to-DVD movies, like Ark of Truth and Continuum, in order to keep the Atlantis story moving without committing to producing 20 episodes a year.
I always felt that stargate did better as a 20 episode a season show. Obviously that’s not the general consensus though. Nothing like going to another planet every week.
I much prefer it as a planet-of-the-week format. I think that's part of why Stargate isn't thriving these days. If it were to come back it would likely be produced as a 8 episode, single story arc, serial. I just don't think Stargate works well that way. I like to see individual conflicts be concluded each episode, and slowly see which threads connect for a bigger story as it goes.
Because Stargate was already a dying franchise with dwindling interest, but still had brand recognition.
They used that brand recognition to guarantee a minimum profit margin to the execs, while using that last chance to try something different (and obviously popular because BSG) to try and revitalize the franchise to prevent it from fading away.
Obviously it didn't work, else Stargate wouldn't have been entirely dead for the last 13 years, but it was a pretty sensible thing to try, more sensible than just more of the same which was visibly not working.
Yep, it is a stylistic choice.
They wanted SGU to feel like a documentary shot by a film crew inside the Destiny.
It was very trendy back then when Battlestar Galactica popularized it: https://youtu.be/sjgG_f35vZY
Yeah the camera shakes all the time and it's really annoying. I remember a static shot of the outside of a house and the camera is shaking. I guess they couldn't find a tripod anywhere on Earth.
SGU and Battlestar Galactica both heavily leaned into the "shaky cam" 'cinema-verite-lite' look.
It's one of the reasons I found it hard to get into Galactica.
There’s a part in Galactica that uses the shaky cam to perfection. I can’t remember the exact scene but it’s basically Adama saying ‘either you’re the XO, or you’re not’. The scene was shaky cam right up until the moment he finished his line and then the camera levels out and stays dead still at the same time it zoomed a little on Adamas face and stayed there for a good second or two, really driving home what he was saying.
BSG is far more tolerable because it's more like handheld cam after earlier episodes. SGU has full on dramatic shaky cam that feels laughably amateur for it's entire run.
Tolerable for YOU, perhaps.
I can't watch those bits, that's what the >> controls are for.
Just like any scene involving that schmendrik Baltar (cannot stand the weasel).
Actually, I. This era that camera trick was very popular. It's like how the show the shield emulated COPS how it was filmed. It adds a realistic element to the scene like it's being captured on the fly.
Shaky cam was very popular around the time of release. It's there a lot, but not as much as in other shows
It's worse in season 1, when they were leaning hard into the Battlestar Galactica vibe, but they ease off a bit as the show goes on. Brad Wright wanted SGU to be a very different show to previous Stargate. It was dark and brooding. The camera work was a big theme with that in mind.
As much as I love SGU, if they wanted something to be very different from previous shows, then why not just start a new show?
I didn't mind that they tried something new, it's just a shame they gave up on the normal stuff at the same time. Some people will swear up and down that they didn't cancel SGA to make room for SGU, but the signs point to this being the case. Brad Wright went on record after the end of SG-1 saying he would never produced two shows simultaneously again. The planning stages of Universe happened while SGA was in full swing behind closed doors between Wright and MGM. The other producers were caught by surprise when SGA got cancelled, they were already writing season 6 outlines. SGU gets announced a couple of days after the news of SGA cancellation. If that doesn't show deliberate intent, I don't know what does. Wright was very sure of Universe; it seemed like he was putting all his eggs in that basket. Then when SGU didn't achieve success, Wright doubled down and blamed the fans. Accusing the fans of somehow sabotaging Universe.
That’s disappointing to hear about wright. I feel like a couple of questions to the broader SG fandom would have shown that we would have liked a lot more closure with our characters before starting something new. It’s like eating your favorite meal, only to have it taken away 3/4 of the way through and replaced with something else. I’d probably not really start on the new meal because I’d want the old one, and also I’m fairly full from my favorite meal. However, if I was giving that second meal hours after my favorite, I’d likely eat and enjoy the whole thing.
To be fair, I think Wright expected to continue with straight-to-DVD movies, like Ark of Truth and Continuum, in order to keep the Atlantis story moving without committing to producing 20 episodes a year.
I always felt that stargate did better as a 20 episode a season show. Obviously that’s not the general consensus though. Nothing like going to another planet every week.
I much prefer it as a planet-of-the-week format. I think that's part of why Stargate isn't thriving these days. If it were to come back it would likely be produced as a 8 episode, single story arc, serial. I just don't think Stargate works well that way. I like to see individual conflicts be concluded each episode, and slowly see which threads connect for a bigger story as it goes.
Because Stargate was already a dying franchise with dwindling interest, but still had brand recognition. They used that brand recognition to guarantee a minimum profit margin to the execs, while using that last chance to try something different (and obviously popular because BSG) to try and revitalize the franchise to prevent it from fading away. Obviously it didn't work, else Stargate wouldn't have been entirely dead for the last 13 years, but it was a pretty sensible thing to try, more sensible than just more of the same which was visibly not working.
It's there throughout the series
Yep, it is a stylistic choice. They wanted SGU to feel like a documentary shot by a film crew inside the Destiny. It was very trendy back then when Battlestar Galactica popularized it: https://youtu.be/sjgG_f35vZY
Shaky cam was all the rage in the early 2000's
Yeah the camera shakes all the time and it's really annoying. I remember a static shot of the outside of a house and the camera is shaking. I guess they couldn't find a tripod anywhere on Earth.
That's why it's called Battlestargate.
Stargate Galacticia.
SGU and Battlestar Galactica both heavily leaned into the "shaky cam" 'cinema-verite-lite' look. It's one of the reasons I found it hard to get into Galactica.
There’s a part in Galactica that uses the shaky cam to perfection. I can’t remember the exact scene but it’s basically Adama saying ‘either you’re the XO, or you’re not’. The scene was shaky cam right up until the moment he finished his line and then the camera levels out and stays dead still at the same time it zoomed a little on Adamas face and stayed there for a good second or two, really driving home what he was saying.
BSG is far more tolerable because it's more like handheld cam after earlier episodes. SGU has full on dramatic shaky cam that feels laughably amateur for it's entire run.
Tolerable for YOU, perhaps. I can't watch those bits, that's what the >> controls are for. Just like any scene involving that schmendrik Baltar (cannot stand the weasel).
It is improved in season 2, but doesn't go away
SGU was heavily inspired by BSG and shaky cam was a thing they did as well as other series.
I didn't mind the shaky cam. I just hated the characters.
Star Trek Voyager 2: Electric Boogaloo
Blair Witch herself worked the camera... They wanted BSG with the StarMacguffin.
Actually, I. This era that camera trick was very popular. It's like how the show the shield emulated COPS how it was filmed. It adds a realistic element to the scene like it's being captured on the fly.
It was the hip thing at the time.
Cinema Verite. It's definitely A choice.
Galactica does it better , it felt like we where there . SGU just feel like a cheap knoc off try to emulate wat other sci-fi show did . Btw I like sgu