Stargate Universe: First Look!
Stargate Universe Cast:(l to r back row) Ming-Na, Justin Louis, Jamil Walker Smith, Brian J. Smith, Lou Diamond-Phillips, (4 in front l to r) Alaina Huffman, Robert Carlyle, David Blue, Elyse Levesque (Click pic for larger).
The first cast shot of the Stargate Universe cast popped up on AICN recently. It’s a group pic of them in ‘civvies’, not full SG uniforms, but it does give you a chance to put faces to some of the names that have been mentioned in the casting.
Here’s a rundown of the characters:
Camile Wray (Ming-Na) – A human resources executive with the international oversight committee that governs the Stargate program. Now the highest ranking member of that division left stranded on the ship, she carries herself with a misguided sense of superiority over the other military and civilian survivors.
Colonel Everett Young (Justin Louis) – An experienced Stargate team leader. Married, with years of tough decisions under his belt, life has taught him never to take anything for granted. He stays on top of his team so they stay alive.
MSGT. Ronald Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) – A Marine with a temper you don’t want to mess with. His past is mysterious but it’s clear something dark formed the hard shell around him.
Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) – A junior member of the Stargate team. Green and rough around the edges, he is thrust into the role of leader well before he’s ready for the responsibility and must learn to command, earn respect through action, and manage the diverse personalities aboard the ship.
Colonel Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) – A proud lifelong military man, who puts his faith in the chain of command. Stubbornly confident, he’s highly regarded by his superiors. He is the chosen leader of the ill-fated expedition.
Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) – One of the most brilliant scientific minds, whose motives are not what they appear to be.
Eli Wallace (David Blue) – A total slacker, who just happens to be an utter genius with anything he puts his mind to – mathematics, computers, video games. A lack of confidence has left him with an acerbic sense of humor.
Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque) – The daughter and aid of a U.S. Senator. Politically savvy, but with a wild side, she is considering following in her father’s footsteps, until she finds herself trapped on the ship. As tensions rise, her character will be tested and her place among the group revealed.
So, we have a whole bunch of military guys, a few scientists, the obligatory geek, and a politicians daughter… There seems to be a lot of people in that group who are listed as ‘leaders’, or ‘command’, which rather makes me think not all of them are going to make it past the 2hr pilot episode (anyone else think Mr. Diamond Phillips might end up doing a Robert Patrick?). 
It’s certainly looking a lot darker/gritter than previous Stargate series judging by the teaser trailer (below). I’m rather hoping they’re not attempting to copy the truly excellent Battlestar Galactica but in a Stargate universe, because i really can’t see that working. Much as i loved BSG, Stargate has always been lighter than that, and i’d hate to see it lose it’s way by them trying to force a Stargate shaped peg into a BSG shaped hole… However, darker sequels to original shows have worked in the past. Here’s hoping SGU turns out to be Angel to SG1/Atlantis’s Buffy.
Don S. Davis RIP (1942-2008)
Don S. Davis who played Major General George Hammond on Stargate passed away yesterday from a heart attack.
Don played General Hammond for 7 years before departing the show in 2003 due to a medical condition. He did however make a number of guest appearances in SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis over the following years, most recently reprising the role for the Stargate: Continuum movie.
Gateworld.net has a touching obituary.
Don’s family are asking for people to make a donation to the American Heart Association if they wish to do something in in Don’s memory.
Thank you Don for your wonderful years of bringing one of our favourite Stargate characters to the screen.
Rest in Peace.
Stargate Universe – Where No Stargate Has Gone Before
Gateworld recently caught up with Stargate Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright and got a bit more info on the planned 3rd live action Stargate show, Stargate Universe.
“The idea of Stargate Universe is that it is set on a ship that was part of an Ancient experiment that was set in motion probably millions of years ago — one that they never saw to fruition, but that we can,” Wright told GateWorld exclusively. “They got busy with the whole ascension thing.”
The experiment is “to send a ship across the universe, and to send one ahead of it to seed the galaxies with Stargates, and that they would one day use the ninth chevron to get there [to the ship]. And that’s what Stargate Universe is.”
The story also goes on to explain why we might not see Stargate Universe until after Stargate: Atlantis finishes, although he is sounding like they’d like to do more Stargate movies which would be very cool.
Check out the full interview over at Gateworld.net!
Stargate SG:1 Master Replicas Watch!
As you might have noticed, the nice people at Forbidden Planet have been helping sponsor the site a bit over the last month, however, when i stumbled over this on their site, i really felt it deserved it’s own post due to it’s awesomeness!
The Stargate SG-1 10th Anniversary Commemoritive Watch!
Just look at it! How cool is that! It even has an iris that closes over the top of the watch’s face! One of the coolest geekiest watches i’ve seen in a long time… WANT!
It’s made by Master Replicas (the FX Lightsaber people) and it’s limited edition with only 1,000 watched made. The watches were designed and produced to be given to the show’s cast and production crew to celebrate 10 years of Stargate SG1.
Seriously geeky cool, in the best way possible!
Hop on over to Forbidden Planet for more info on the Stargate Watch.
More Stargate SG-1 Replicas!
They also have a bunch of other cool Stargate Replicas over there, such as SG-1 Replica Zat Guns, Replica Jaffa Staff Weapons, and the Eye of Ra Pendant given to Daniel Jackson. Click here to view all their Stargate Replicas!
Geektown’s Top Six Most Anticipated MMORPGs!
6. The Bioware MMO
Okay, so no one actually knows what the hell this is… We’ve talked on the site a number of times about this possibly being a Knights of the Old Republic MMO. The other thought is it could be a Star Wars MMO set around the Clone Wars , which would make sense as well, given there is a new cartoon series launching later this year based in that timeframe. Or, of course, it may not be a Star Wars MMO at all. Maybe a Mass Effect MMO? A Neverwinter Nights MMO? Who knows! The fact remains, it’s an MMORPG, and it’s from Bioware, and that alone get’s it onto the list!
5. Firefly MMORPG
Dave: This is at 5 for 2 reasons. One, we basically know nothing about it… And two, the license is via Fox (the network that canned the show!), not direct from Joss Whedon’s Mutant Enemy which fills me with a sense of foreboding… However, anything with Firefly and MMO in the same sentence is on my WANT list!
On the plus side, Joss is now back at Fox working on Dollhouse, and I can’t see him being overly happy if they trash the memory of Firefly with a bad game, so it’s possible he might be able to get involved… The Firefly universe has the potential to make a great game. However, without Joss’s guidance, I do worry about where it’ll end up… Really too early to tell which way this will go.
Daryl: Both of us would really love to see this MMO happen, the Firefly universe is a diverse one, which has barely been touched upon in the series and movie, leaving huge creative license. I’m a huge fan, a Browncoat if you will, if this MMO happens, I guarantee to be on that beta test and be a subscriber.
Forbidden Planet has some awesome Serenity prop replicas which are worth checking out!
4. Star Trek Online
Dave: Obviously being a geek, i’m a big fan of Star Trek, so a Star Trek MMO is always going to make the list. However, since it’s now in the hands of an unknown (or at least unconfirmed) developer, and possibly back the drawing board, it’s hard to place it on the list. Really it’s here because of the massive potential a Star Trek game has (and it get’s to be one place higher than Firefly for not having Fox involved).
Daryl: Well, I enjoy Star Trek like most, I’m not quite a Trekky, but I do appreciate the shows. My main problem with this MMO is that its mere existence is in constant question lately.
(I’d add a link to the developer’s website if we knew who they were!)
3. Age of Conan
Dave: Halfway through the list, and our first tangable MMO! I don’t know Conan’s world very well, so it was hard for me to get excited by the story. However this is potentially the first of the ‘next-gen’ MMOs. One that tries to do something different than being a ‘WoW clone’. It’s aimed firmly at a older playerbase, and has some very interesting work going on with the combat system, and that does grab my attention.
Daryl: Conan, a much loved character of mine, and when I first saw the videos and images from this game I was instantly hooked. A brutally violent combat system and adult content means this game is not aimed towards the “after school” MMO crowd and will carry with it a more stable, even mature gaming community. Trying to distance itself from WOW is admirable, and I hope it works. I just hope 6 months down the line they don’t decide to alter it to the favourable WOW system of control like some MMO’s have in the past.
2. Warhammer Online
Dave: I’m an old school Warhammer Fantasy Battle and RPG player, and i love the Warhammer world. Again, it’s an MMO trying to advance on WoW’s play style. Things like not being able to run though other player characters like they are ghosts like you can in most MMOs… This may not sound like much, but what it means is, in battle, if a bunch of Orc Warriors stand in a line to protect their Mages who are throwning fireballs at you, you’re gonna have to punch through the Warriors to stop yourself dying of 3rd degree burns. All the combat in Warhammer Online is designed up the ante in PvP Battles. Oh, and there are also SQUIGS!.. Any games with squigs gets my vote! 
(Oh, and if your from EA Mythic reading this, approve my beta request will ya!)
Daryl: Ok, I’ll be straight with this. I don’t have alot of knowledge in regards to the entire Warhammer range… I’ve not played any of the games, and have only ever half painted some of the little metal figures before getting bored and doing something else hehe. I know Dave is very excited about this MMO, and usually our tastes in these matters are similar, so if he says its gonna be good, I’ll believe him… (mostly) lol.
1. Stargate Worlds
Dave: We both love Stargate. Lots. So this really is the most anticipated MMO coming out in the next few years for us. And that universe has so much scope for expansion. The T.V. show only covered SG1 and Atlantis. What were all the other SG teams upto? What were their stories? The Stargate system is a perfect vehicle for an MMO. Gating to new worlds. Squad based combat. Good mix of races and character classes. Plus they’re the possiblity of a space combat system too (even if it’s added in later).
Daryl: Finally, this is the one I want most! I am a huge Stargate fan, I mean HUGE! Rumours are all over the place with this, and I hope all of them are right! With several playable species, classes and even good and bad factions. Set in a time period were all the major action happened in the Stargate universe, during the war with Anubis, it allows major baddies to be in it, G’ould, Replicators and now dead good guys like the Tolan and the Asgard. I’m watching this MMO closely, and will keep track of it on the site as much as possible.
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So that’s our list! What are your most anticipated MMOs? Let us know what you think in the comments!
