Well, this, er, is not going to prove very fruitful. Apparently tired of all the “Stargate: Universe” bashers showing up at his blog and leaving, well, SGU bashing comments, SGU producer/writer Joseph Mallozzi has responded with a long statement on his blog.
Besides addressing the overall negativity of “Stargate” loyalists who haven’t seen the light, Mallozzi also addresses some of the more hostile reactions to the show. Unfortunately, I’m afraid he’s only going to keep the “conflict” going by addressing it, which is probably not the intent.
On the negativity towards his cast/crew:
Sadly, the negativity has also taken its toll on one-time regular Sherry, proud mother of actor Brian J. Smith, who, surprised and saddened by some of the hostility here, has elected to no longer read the blog. Also, after several months of connecting with fandom online, Brian is stepping away from his popular twitter account for much the same reason. Some of the very same fans who he was kind enough to open up a dialogue with in the run-up to the premiere started leaving him nasty comments as though he was responsible for the show’s creative direction. I imagine that if Robert Carlyle was on twitter, these same morons would be berating him for being mean to his fellow Destiny crew members.
About the sex in the show:
SGU is NOT SG-1 or Atlantis. It’s a different show in terms of tone and characters. If you’re expecting flawless people, square-jawed heroes, and stories that set up and deliver all the answers over the course of a forty-five minute episode, you WILL be disappointed. And DON’T expect that to change. If you don’t like the character interactions, romance, and open-ended story elements introduced to date, you’re in for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong haul because that’s our show.
Unlike the more kid-friendly SG-1 and Atlantis with its wholesale slaughters of enemy combatants, tortures, stabbings, and occasional live burnings, Universe will touch on the heinous topic of physically intimacy. These “sex scenes”, which amounted to approximately 1 whole minute of the 270 minutes aired to date, engendered a fair amount of controversy. And that’s fine. I don’t mind continuing to read and approve your comments on the subject so long as you don’t mind knowing that nothing will change in this respect and that if you were offended by that broom closet scene in Air I, I guarantee you’ll be clawing your eyes out of your skull given what we have in store later this season. Also, while I can understand why some may have had a problem with that broom-closet scene in the premiere given that it did come as a surprise to many, I can’t muster up much empathy or understanding for those complaining about the Scott-Chloe scene in Light. Again, if it’s a matter of not enjoying shows that focus on the occasional romance between characters, then that’s unfortunate – because that’s the type of show you’re watching. If, on the other hand, it’s an innate response to the very notion of intimacy no matter how modest the scene, then I’d suggest a deep-rooted personal issue that would be best dealt with somewhere other than this blog.
Anyone who complains about the Chloe-Scott scene are, let’s face it, infantile. The broom closet shagging in the pilot, on the other hand, was just grossly out of place, and Mallozzi would do well to admit it was a big mistake, pandering at its worst, and move on.
And finally, on “idiot commenters” on his blog:
Finally, some words of advice – words of advice not so much for those of you here but those leaving comments on other forums and websites (if you would be kind enough to pass the message along): STOP MAKING IDIOT COMMENTS. Note I didn’t say idiotic comments because that would imply that the lion’s share of the idiocy lies with the comment itself rather than the commentator. No, I mean: STOP MAKING IDIOT COMMENTS.
Let’s face it, Mallozzi has reasons to be angry, but I’m not sure if this is very helpful. He calls it a rant, and it most definitely is, but perhaps the better response might be to continue moderating all the comments on his blog (or pay one of his assistants to do it) and ignore the naysayers. But this rant does make him sound incredibly intractable (“If you don’t like the character interactions, romance, and open-ended story elements introduced to date, you’re in for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong haul because that’s our show.”), which is just going to make the other side dig in even more.
Oh well, I’ll keep watching “Universe”, mostly because it’s still watchable, but the aliens better show up soon, and I’m not talking about floating cloud dusts, Joseph. If I want a show set on a spaceship with people arguing and no aliens, I’d watch the “Battlestar Galactica” episodes I have on DVR.
Joseph Mallozzi in better, happier times with Amanda Tapping.
