Darkness (Stargate Universe)
Encyclopedia
"Darkness" is the fourth episode of military science fiction
television series Stargate Universe
, and is the first part of a two part story. The episode originally aired on October 16, 2009 on Syfy
in the United States
, followed by being aired in the United Kingdom
and Ireland
on October 20. The episode was directed by Peter DeLuise
who previous has directed both Stargate SG-1
and Stargate Atlantis
, however has not worked on the show for two years prior to returning for "Darkness". The episode was written by Brad Wright
who co-wrote the pilot episode.
In the episode, the crew have to deal with a loss of power, which deactivates every system except for life support and basic emergency lighting in a few sections. The episode was watched by nearly 2.1 million viewers. Most of the episode was shot on-set at the The Bridge Studios
, with a few scenes shot off-set for Young's visit with his wife.
(Louis Ferreira) begins arranging meetings with the crew to work on various supply issues, and to give everyone something to do. Interspersed throughout the episode, Eli Wallace
(David Blue
) uses a Kino to record short video messages from the crew in case they don't survive.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Rush
(Robert Carlyle
) is busy trying to keep the ship running, while sleep deprivation
combined with nicotine
and caffeine
withdrawal make him increasingly short-tempered. Young tries to have someone assist Rush to get an idea of what Rush is doing, but Rush angrily dismisses help. As Young comes in to check himself, Destiny shuts down, leaving only life support systems active. An increasingly frantic Rush explains that Young's attempt to dial back to Earth in "Air
" and the crew's haphazard attempts to access the ship's systems drained most of the ship's already low power reserves, and that power cannot be restored. He eventually suffers a nervous breakdown
and collapses.
Young uses the communication stones to contact Earth while everyone else works on the problem. David Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips
) switches places with him, and is dismayed at Young's apparent mishandling of the situation, seeking to have him replaced. Young returns after speaking with his wife, cutting Telford off in the middle of an attempt to relieve Young of duty.
The crew then learn that the ship dropped out of faster-than-light travel
just outside of a system with several potentially habitable planets, and has plotted a course that will use a nearby gas giant to slingshot itself deeper into the system. The episode ends with Lieutenant Scott
's (Brian J. Smith
) realization that the Destiny is on course to fly into the star.
on stages 2 and 4 (Destiny set), whilst the Earth
scenes were shot out of studio and feature Ona Grauer
as Emily Young, Everett Young
's wife.
, behind Ghost Hunters
. The episode dropped 14% from previous episode, "Air (Part 3)
". On Sky1 in the United Kingdom
the episode was watched by 635 thousand viewers in total.
Rob Vaux of Mania.com reacted negatively towards the episode, saying "Universe emphasizes the struggle to survive out in the depths of space, but ship breakdowns and unexpected course corrections into the heart of a sun are already wearing out their welcome". Carl England of Den of Geek was far more positive, praising the visual effects and writing his desire to see the conclusion; "I am highly impressed with this week's installment, and am impatiently awaiting the arrival of episode five, which should, hopefully, prove to be as remarkable as this week's, if not more so". IGN
's Ramsey Isler said the series started to feel like "crisis of the week show that oftentimes lacks any real sense of urgency". Negative towards writing of the episode, Isler said "This could have possibly been a chance to inject a little horror-style storytelling into the series, but instead we get nothing more than constant bickering mixed with some very depressed characters and slow pacing". The episode was given 7.4 out of 10. Jane Boursaw from TV Squad was positive towards the episode, saying it reminded her of the now canceled American science fiction
series, Firefly
.
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
television series Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
, and is the first part of a two part story. The episode originally aired on October 16, 2009 on Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, followed by being aired in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on October 20. The episode was directed by Peter DeLuise
Peter DeLuise
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
who previous has directed both Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
and Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
, however has not worked on the show for two years prior to returning for "Darkness". The episode was written by Brad Wright
Brad Wright
Brad Wright is a Canadian television producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known as the creator or co-creator of the television series Stargate SG-1 , Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe...
who co-wrote the pilot episode.
In the episode, the crew have to deal with a loss of power, which deactivates every system except for life support and basic emergency lighting in a few sections. The episode was watched by nearly 2.1 million viewers. Most of the episode was shot on-set at the The Bridge Studios
The Bridge Studios
The Bridge Studios is a Canadian film studio in Burnaby, British Columbia. It operates the largest effects stage in North America. Its eight studios, ranging in size from to , are located on a lot at 2400 Boundary Road, in Burnaby....
, with a few scenes shot off-set for Young's visit with his wife.
Plot
As everyone settles in aboard the Destiny, Colonel YoungEverett Young
Colonel Everett Young is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the...
(Louis Ferreira) begins arranging meetings with the crew to work on various supply issues, and to give everyone something to do. Interspersed throughout the episode, Eli Wallace
Eli Wallace
Eli Wallace is a fictional character in the Canadian-American television series Stargate Universe, a science fiction drama centering on the adventures of a present-day, multinational scientific team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, which is traveling...
(David Blue
David Blue (actor)
David Blue is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Cliff St. Paul on Ugly Betty and Eli Wallace on the Syfy series Stargate Universe.-Early life:...
) uses a Kino to record short video messages from the crew in case they don't survive.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Rush
Nicholas Rush
Dr. Nicholas Rush is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the...
(Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
) is busy trying to keep the ship running, while sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
combined with nicotine
Nicotine
Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...
and caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
withdrawal make him increasingly short-tempered. Young tries to have someone assist Rush to get an idea of what Rush is doing, but Rush angrily dismisses help. As Young comes in to check himself, Destiny shuts down, leaving only life support systems active. An increasingly frantic Rush explains that Young's attempt to dial back to Earth in "Air
Air (Stargate Universe)
"Air" is the three-part opening episode of the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe. The first two parts aired on Syfy in the United States on October 2, 2009, while the third part aired on October 9. In Canada, SPACE aired the first two in tandem with Syfy...
" and the crew's haphazard attempts to access the ship's systems drained most of the ship's already low power reserves, and that power cannot be restored. He eventually suffers a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
and collapses.
Young uses the communication stones to contact Earth while everyone else works on the problem. David Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...
) switches places with him, and is dismayed at Young's apparent mishandling of the situation, seeking to have him replaced. Young returns after speaking with his wife, cutting Telford off in the middle of an attempt to relieve Young of duty.
The crew then learn that the ship dropped out of faster-than-light travel
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
just outside of a system with several potentially habitable planets, and has plotted a course that will use a nearby gas giant to slingshot itself deeper into the system. The episode ends with Lieutenant Scott
Matthew Scott (Stargate)
First Lieutenant Matthew Scott is a fictional character from the science fiction television series, Stargate Universe, the third live-action series in the Stargate franchise, which centers on a group of soldiers and civilians trapped on the Ancient vessel Destiny. He is portrayed by Brian J. Smith...
's (Brian J. Smith
Brian J. Smith
Brian J. Smith is an American actor who is known for his role as Trey in the 2006 independent film Hate Crime and as series regular Lt. Matthew Scott in the military science fiction television series, Stargate Universe....
) realization that the Destiny is on course to fly into the star.
Production
The episode was originally titled "Fire" and was a single stand alone episode, however producers decided to make it into a two-part episode as the original story took it 20 minutes over the episodes time frame. The episode was shot at both The Bridge StudiosThe Bridge Studios
The Bridge Studios is a Canadian film studio in Burnaby, British Columbia. It operates the largest effects stage in North America. Its eight studios, ranging in size from to , are located on a lot at 2400 Boundary Road, in Burnaby....
on stages 2 and 4 (Destiny set), whilst the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
scenes were shot out of studio and feature Ona Grauer
Ona Grauer
Ona Grauer is a Mexican–Canadian actress, best known for her portrayal of the Ancient Ayiana and later Emily Young in the science fiction television franchise Stargate.-Life and career:...
as Emily Young, Everett Young
Everett Young
Colonel Everett Young is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the...
's wife.
Reception
"Darkness" gathered a total of 2.099 million live viewers, making it the second most-watched program on SyfySyfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
, behind Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
. The episode dropped 14% from previous episode, "Air (Part 3)
Air (Stargate Universe)
"Air" is the three-part opening episode of the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe. The first two parts aired on Syfy in the United States on October 2, 2009, while the third part aired on October 9. In Canada, SPACE aired the first two in tandem with Syfy...
". On Sky1 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the episode was watched by 635 thousand viewers in total.
Rob Vaux of Mania.com reacted negatively towards the episode, saying "Universe emphasizes the struggle to survive out in the depths of space, but ship breakdowns and unexpected course corrections into the heart of a sun are already wearing out their welcome". Carl England of Den of Geek was far more positive, praising the visual effects and writing his desire to see the conclusion; "I am highly impressed with this week's installment, and am impatiently awaiting the arrival of episode five, which should, hopefully, prove to be as remarkable as this week's, if not more so". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Ramsey Isler said the series started to feel like "crisis of the week show that oftentimes lacks any real sense of urgency". Negative towards writing of the episode, Isler said "This could have possibly been a chance to inject a little horror-style storytelling into the series, but instead we get nothing more than constant bickering mixed with some very depressed characters and slow pacing". The episode was given 7.4 out of 10. Jane Boursaw from TV Squad was positive towards the episode, saying it reminded her of the now canceled American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series, Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
.
External links
- Darkness at mgm.com
- "Darkness" at Stargate wikia