According to Robert Carlyle, the latest Stargate series Universe will have more character-driven drama and less alien interaction. Which, if you’re a Stargate fan, is like saying, “Yeah, we’re going to call it Stargate, but we’re not REALLY going to do a Stargate show.” Hopefully when Brad Wright and Robert Cooper convinced Carlyle to join the show, they had to lie to him, because a Stargate show without aliens is pretty damn stupid if you ask me.

But hey, don’t take my word for it, here’s what Carlyle told SciFiWire:

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. The Destiny is where the story then really takes off, and it’s how these guys survive. … Simple things like life support, air … The first three episodes are called “Air,” the struggle to breathe; “Water,” that’s another title; “Fire” is another; “Earth” is another. So there’s something quite basic about it. There’s not so much, maybe, alien interaction. It’s maybe a bit more drama this time, a bit more character-driven.

That’s like saying there’s no room for drama with the alien storylines, or that the two things are not compatible, because there were plenty of drama in both SG1 and Atlantis, and they both also had plenty of alien interaction in every episode.

Originally, I was afraid The Powers That Be were going too much in the Stargate 90210 route (i.e. younger, more selfish teens), but now I’m getting this bad feeling they’re veering more towards the Stargate Galactica route. If I start to hear the words “gritty” and “angst” being thrown around the show, I’m going to know we’re in trouble.

Oh yeah, Carlyle also talks about his two-faced character in the article. Read it and weep.

Below: “Pssst. Don’t worry, dude’s nuts. There’ll be plenty of cameos for you, buddy.”