['Stargate Universe' – 'Common Descent']

This week's episode of 'Stargate Universe' offered a gripping and mind-bending sci-fi tale that thrilled and depressed me all at once.

I was thrilled to see the show -- and the franchise -- return to its science-fiction roots with epic space battles, plenty of Gate usage and a plot that hinged on time travel. This episode even offered our heroes a rare peek at a dramatic and perplexing "What if?" scenario.

It was shocking and exciting to learn that alternate versions of Destiny's crewmembers had traveled back in time some 2,000 years and founded an entire civilization. But I was depressed two seconds after the episode ended when I remembered that 'SGU,' despite its recent creative winning streak, would be ending soon.


The show has been canceled; that we already knew. The twist of the knife came over the weekend when the news broke that the show's creators would not be allowed to bring 'Stargate Universe' to a proper end with a TV movie or miniseries. (But perhaps a comic book continuation or a novel series isn't out of the question?)

'SGU,' like 'Fringe,' is becoming more daring, interesting and engaging as the story progresses. 'Common Descent' wasn't without it flaws, but the episode hinted at what could have been for 'SGU.' This was fun, captivating, high-concept sci-fi that was firmly rooted in emotion and character. I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's sad to see this show get cut down right when it's starting to take off creatively.

This ep had a wonderful bait-and-switch quality to it. The night started out with Destiny trying to outrun a drone control ship by traveling in FTL as long as possible, a situation that could have irreparably damaged the ship and led to a whole slew of problems. Outrunning the baddies and trying to stay afloat -- that could have been the entire episode. Luckily, there was more. A lot more.

Expertly exploiting the show's serial nature, this ep was a surprising follow-up to March's 'Twin Destinies,' one of my favorite episodes of the season.

In 'Twin Destinies,' we learned that the crew vanished and was presumed dead while attempting a risky Gate trip back to Earth. The only ones who survived were Telford, who made it through the Gate and back to Earth, and Rush, who remained on the ship and was zapped back in time. Time-traveling Rush caught up with our heroes in the past before their unsuccessful Gate trip and was able to prevent what we assumed was their deaths.

But here's what we didn't know: The alternate versions of Destiny's crew actually survived. They were sent back in time and they started a new civilization. They landed on a sustainable planet they dubbed "Novus," Latin (or Ancient) for "new," and started having kids and laying the groundwork for what would eventually become a thriving, technologically advanced society.

We also learned that the society eventually split into two groups -- Young followers and Rush worshippers, a story point that was both hilarious and sublimely appropriate. Also hilarious: Brody apparently joined the Rush worshipers and named their domain after a font, Futura! (At least he didn't go with Comic Sans.)

I liked that Rush and Young's conflicting agendas and ideologies reached epic proportions with this newly discovered society. It seems right that Young would inspire a sect of people to make the best out of their difficult situation and to face their challenges head-on with grit and hard work. And how perfect was it that some people worshipped Rush as a savior and others feared him like a demon! So good!

As our crew learned more about their alt-lives through surprisingly resilient Kino footage -- Camille delivered TJ and Young's baby, Eli had kids, Young got old and gray -- the drone ships reappeared to attack Destiny and the colony.

Destiny was forced to retreat and leave its people on the ground, but Eli and Matt managed to send a Morse code message through space to the ship (which was awesome), delivering the "all clear" and persuading Destiny to turn around and pick them up.

And now, after the decision was made that allowing the colonists on the ship would be a major drain on resources, Destiny is jam-packed with hundreds of people with no place to go.

Finally, the ship reached Novus to determine if the planet could sustain the colonists. But sadly, the planet looked lifeless and gray.

The sight of the abandoned city on Novus, frozen in the middle of a volcanic winter, was awesome with its steampunk skyscrapers and ice-covered streets. Like the show, Novus was seemingly full of beauty and potential, but its growth was halted by the things that it couldn't control.

The fate of 'SGU' might already be sealed, but I have hope for Novus. Maybe there is life somewhere below those frozen streets. Perhaps we'll find out next week when the story continues.

Other thoughts:

• When resources are scarce, the ladies apparently reach for the purple space fruit!

• Rush was very disinterested in exploring the newfound civilization. I wonder if their historical archives will start poking holes in the story his doppelganger told in 'Twin Destinies.'

• The drone attack on the planet reminded me of the Wraith Dart strikes on 'Stargate Atlantis.'

• The captured drone was ejected and destroyed, but was that how the control ship was able to track Destiny? Or did it follow the Gate signals or use some other sort of tracking device?

• "Actually, this is more like SimEarth!"


'Stargate Universe' airs Mondays at 9PM ET on Syfy

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