I was never drawn in to watch Stargate: SG1 on a regular basis. It was one of those shows I would watch once in a while when I happened to catch it. I was a Farscape fan, and SG1 really didn’t cut the mustard compared to Farscape. Bringing on Ben Browder and Claudia Black did not convert me to SG1 – it actually kept me away. Why ruin my good Farscape memories just to see Ben and Claudia in an inferior show?

I caught Stargate Atlantis a few times and found it entertaining, but not so much that I wanted to include it on my regular TV schedule. It was always one of those “well, I’ll watch this series at some point on DVD when nothing else is good on TV” type of shows.

So I wasn’t waiting for the premiere of Stargate Universe with baited breath. Since the SciFi channel turned into the watered down SyFy I haven’t really paid much attention. But I just happened to see SGU was available on Hulu and decided to give it a go.

Not being attached to the previous Stargate shows, I was able to watch SGU with fresh eyes. I liked that it was a little less shiny and plastic than previous Stargate incarnations. The quality of the filming seemed to be more cinematic. (Notably, some of the desert cinematography was particularly well-done for a TV show in the last installment of the opener.)

While some of the plot elements were a little canned (such as – SPOILER ALERT – the ridiculous sacrifice on behalf of the politician with his daughter stupidly freaking out and trying to stop what obviously could not be stopped), I liked the idea of a group of refugees being stuck on a mysterious ship way out in the middle of nowhere.

The characters on SGU are a mixed bag. Geeky Eli who is a fish out of water is my favorite (loved his comments on the desert planet about finding a half-buried Statue of Liberty). The military guys are pretty good, and the amoral scientist with the requisite accent is also an intriguing character. The women I am not so fond of. Chloe, the daughter of a senator, is whiny, moody, and very unappealing personality-wise. She’s not even that attractive so I have to wonder why on earth she was cast. (As I noted on Twitter, there seems to be this bizarre trend lately towards girls with really huge foreheads.) We also have a female medic who one Internet fan called a “7 of 9″ clone, and Ming Na, who has not really done much so far, so I can’t really judge.

If I have one minor nitpick, I hate the fact that when they use their “communication stones” to talk to people on earth, they make it look like the people have switched bodies when they haven’t. I understand this is a device to make the audience understand a new personality is taking over the body on earth, but it would make a lot more sense to me if the actors simply mimicked being the character that is inhabiting the body. It really takes me out of the story when they use a device like that. (Kind of like the silly body switch they’ve been doing lately on Ghost Whisperer.)

Stargate Universe does have problems sometimes with pacing – the show can drag a bit at times, and it has yet to find a good rhythm and rapport with all the diverse characters. I am intrigued, however, and Hulu gives me an easy way to watch the show at my convenience. So I’ll be tuning in for more…for as long as SyFy keeps the show alive.

Now if SyFy would get it together and actually offer a Farscape spin-off…ahhh, a girl can dream…

I finally got caught up on Warehouse 13 via the magic of Hulu. (Side note to Hulu and TV execs: Why not leave all the episodes and seasons up there?) After seeing the first episode, I was pleasantly surprised. After all, Warehouse 13 is not an original premise by any stretch of the imagination. We have:

1. A warehouse taken from Indiana Jones.
2. The “collect the cursed object” theme, ala Friday the 13th: The Series (which I’d love to rewatch at some point, actually).
3. Secret agents Mully and Sculder in comedy format, who are actually more reminiscent of…
4. Bones…with a lead guy who actually looks like David Boreanaz’s brother.
5. Somewhat insane gruff, anti-social scientist ala Fringe.

The show manages to pull all these already done ideas together in a way that is surprisingly fresh and entertaining. A few things make this work: First, the casting is excellent. The characters are likeable and the rapport between the main characters terrific. But more than that, we have the Warehouse and its fun steampunk gadgets.

“Steampunk” is a term I’ve only heard recently via discussions of Warehouse 13. It refers to a combination of modern technology and retro styling, with a heavy emphasis on an ornate Victorian feel.

I’ve always loved steampunk without knowing exactly what it was. The first steampunk movie that got my notice was Brazil (from way back in the 80s) with its strangely retro but cyberpunk typewriters and futuristic regression. I just loved the gadgets in Brazil – it was part of what made the movie a classic for me.

Anyone remember The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne? This was a steampunk fantasy show that was on SciFi back in 2000. It included a dirigible and all sorts of anachronistic, futuristic gadgets. (It’s a shame that show went bye-bye…I would love to see it again!)

Even Farscape, I felt, had a slightly steampunk feel to it…not that the gadgets were Victorian or overly ornate, but we had gotten away from that sterile cold look that had dominated the new Star Trek shows. The videophone on Farscape was a golden clamshell, and all the instruments on Moya were a rusty copper instead of the slick modern look of Voyager.

I also loved Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow…more Art Deco steampunk than Victorian…but a delicious visual feast. And the Golden Compass was similarly underrated – the design in that film was absolutely beautiful!

So Warehouse 13 brings us a show that would mostly be mind candy were it not for its scrumptious steampunk aesthetic. The secret agents do have cellphones, but they are more likely to use a two-way video phone that was made in the 1920s. Artie, the mad scientist of the lot, types away at a Victorian-style keyboard. (This keyboard was designed by a steampunk artist called Datamancer who sells custom-built computers and accessories in lush steampunk style.) The gun of choice for our heroes is a retro raygun built by Tesla (who is often brought into steampunk-inspired fantasies…if you recall, he played a big part in the film The Prestige).

Warehouse 13 also demonstrates some knowledge of the steampunk fashion currently hitting the underground by donning young Claudia, computer genius, with her own pair of steampunk goggles. (I wasn’t sure if I was too crazy about Claudia at first, but I do feel she’s a better foil for Artie than boring Aura Girl.)

Of course, a few steampunk gadgets will not keep the show afloat on its own. While I do feel a lot of the show’s plots are a bit banal and could have easily been written for Friday the 13th, the saving grace here is that Warehouse 13 is simply enjoyable. A lot of that has to do with the humor, and both the leads have an excellent delivery that sets this show apart from the much drearier Fringe.

We’ll see how the show evolves…and if SyFy will keep it around for more than their usual 13 episodes.