Image via Wikipedia

Scifi Wire published a short interview with Robert Carlyle (here) who will play Dr Nicholas Rush in the new spin off Stargate Universe.

In the preamble to the very short interview, they include one of the clearest descriptions of the new series I have ever seen:

Stargate Universe follows the adventures of explorers who start off on a reconnaissance mission to the Destiny, a ship built by the Ancients, only to wind up on a never-ending mission when the crew learns the ship can't return to Earth. The Destiny, her crew in tow but not actually in control of the ship, then traverses the universe, bringing them in contact with new worlds and various races, as well as potential allies and enemies (SCI FI Wire).

Many have compared Stargate Universe to Star Trek Voyager, but I am not so sure.  I am actually getting a strong Farscape vibe from it.  Why?

The Destiny

According to Robert Carlyle:

I think this one, while it's retaining the features that made the other ones successful, hopefully, it's slightly different in the respect that this is about a struggle for survival. The guys, everyone's been transferred onto this massive spaceship, the Destiny. They think it's actually a planet, because it's so big (SCI FI Wire).

Let's add up the pieces here.  The Destiny was:

• Built by the ancients for an unknown reason

• Traveling the Universe according to its own will

• It is the size of a planet

• It is called, The Destiny

This sounds to me like a Death Star sized Moya built by the ancients to either:

• defeat an enemy as strong as or stronger than the Ori

• provide a future for the ancients or their allies either as:
  

  • an alternative to ascension

  • a sentry to protest the galaxy in their absence.

Who is Nicholas Rush?

Robert Carlyle describes his character as:

He's a scientist. He's kind of the head of this project. They have discovered the address of the Ninth Chevron, and the Ninth Chevron is like the Holy Grail. So you're never sure with Rush whether he's doing it for the right reasons, whether he's doing it for the Stargate team or for himself (SCI FI Wire).

This strikes me as a cross between Daniel Jackson, Rodney McKay, and Dr Zachary Smith from the Lost in Space movie.  I am more concerned about the character of Rush and how they handle him.

The Perceived High Concept behind Stargate Universe

Farscape meets the 1998 Lost in Space movie in a Stargate setting...

hmmm, not sure how I feel about that.