Col Everett Young and his crew of soldiers, civilians and scientists - including the volatile Dr Nicholas Rush - are stranded on-board alien ship The Destiny as it follows a predestined course through the universe. Supplies on board are running dangerously low, tensions are rising and Destiny’s ultimate mission remains unknown. Facing uncharted space and enemies who would take the ship by force, the crew must learn to trust each other and the Destiny itself in order to survive, and to keep hopes of returning to earth alive...

Stargate Universe finally finds its stride and the network pull the plug. Sadly this would be the final season of the show, but thankfully this second season sees a vast improvement on the show's storylines.

I was a little concerned at the beginning of the season that the video montages set to pop tracks were going to continue being a regular feature. This was something that I found rather annoying during Season One. Thankfully they only appear in a couple of early episodes before being scrapped.

The first few episode in season two seemed to falter slightly as they were attempting to wrap up plot threads from the previous season - some of which I had to rewatch earlier episodes to remind myself what on earth was going on. But, once the season started to move forward on its own momentum the results were very satisfying.

So, without spoiling anything, the crew discover Destiny's main bridge; unearth what the ship was most likely built for; and they come in to contact with a new alien race as well as a serious threat to their mission.

From about the halfway mark this season just kept on getting progressively interesting. The second season is built up by having plot thread follow plot thread to build up more tension and drama than if we'd have had problem/planet of the week style episodes. So what we have is an ongoing story arc that builds to a satisfying season cliff-hanger - sadly one which won't be resolved. Even the much rumoured movie, which was going to tie up all the loose threads, has been scrapped due to scheduling conflicts.

Extras include audio commentaries for every episode; Robert Carlyle Directs (4 min, 06); Andy Mikita Directs (2 min, 01 sec); Eli's Mum Comes on Board (3 min, 04 sec); Brian J Smith's First Fight (2 min, 20 sec); Crashing a Shuttle (3 min, 58 sec look at the decision to film the shuttle crash sequence using a model rather than CGI); The Seed Ship with Joe Mallozzi (3 min, 12 sec look at the cramped set for the Seed Ship); Saying Goodbye to Sgt. Riley (2 min, 52 sec behind the scenes on the episode Aftermath); Lou Diamond Phillips on Guest Stars (1 min, 58 sec featurette which has an interesting spoof alien out take); Lt Scott Gets hit by a Car (2 min, 54 sec look at the car stunt for the Cloverdale episode); Inside Cloverdale with Brad Wright (3 min, 27 sec); How to Get Sucked into Space (Smith's stunt for the episode Trial and Error); SG-U Welcomes you to New Mexico's Bista Badlands (18 min, 54 sec interesting look at the filming location for Malice); Deconstructing Destiny (26 min, 19 sec collection of featurettes on various aspects of Destiny); A Day in the Life of Jamil Walker Smith (5 min, 40 sec); Transplant Day (4 min, 56 sec look behind the scenes on Hope); Sitting Down with Mike Dopud (3 min, 28 sec interview with the actor who plays Varro); Bringing the Bridge to Life (3 min, 39 sec look at the set of the bridge); Louis Ferreira Vs Colonel Young (3 min, 50 sec collection of behind the scenes footage showing Ferreira fooling around); Pitches: A Journey of Friendship and Discovery (24 min, 39 sec spoof documentary as Patrick Gilmore and Peter Kelamis, who play Dale Volker and Adam Brody on the show, attempt to pitch an episode idea to the powers that be. This is by far and away the best extra included); and Behind the Season 2 Finale - Gauntlet (9 min, 11 sec behind the scenes on the final episode with the cast and crew).

Thankfully, the season ends on a quite satisfying and rather moving beat. While it's a shame that we'll probably never find out what happens to the crew of The Destiny, the conclusion could have been far, far worse. There does seem appear to be a natural conclusion here too as it neatly mirrors events in the show's pilot episode; without spoiling too much Eli comes into his own and the powering up of Destiny's various sections is neatly played out in reverse.

While the show only lasted two seasons, the ride was well worth it.

9

Darren Rea