TV episode review
US airdate 30 October - 2 November 2009 (SyFy)

The unwilling crew of the Destiny continue to overcome problems as they come to terms with their exile from Earth. The most pressing issue they encounter is in ‘Water’ when they discover that the vital liquid of the episode title is not just running out but disappearing.

Their search for a new source and the reason for the disappearance are both life threatening, as is the water itself in ‘Time’ once they retrieve it. The search for natural food sources also proves dangerous as they become trapped in a time loop visiting a forested planet with deadly aliens that might also be essential to survival.

In parallel, the people back on Earth continue to provide access via the stones, leading to a risky plan to dial home in ‘Earth’ and to further explore the characters’ personal issues and concerns in ‘Life’…

Although Stargate Universe has so far had a mixed reception from Stargate fans, there is no denying that it has already produced some cracking episodes in purely genre terms.

‘Time’, for example, is good old-fashioned hardcore science fiction. It has a staple telefantasy plot that just about every series has done before – you know the one, the one where they get stuck in a timeloop and keep repeating the same event over and over again. It’s never boring though, and certainly not unoriginal, providing a new skew on the formula in what is an edgy episode in both dramatic and narrative style.

Compared with the science fiction tone in the past few episodes, ‘Life’ takes on a much more personal, even melodramatic, edge (to say “soapy” would be to do the episode down). The characters in the series are panning out to be strong ones, flawed and complex. This is furthered here, and not just in predictable ways. There’s a fair bit of foreshadowing in some supporting characters, and added levels of poignancy and emotion for some major ones. Not to mention a brewing storm between Telford and Young. This not only promises some incendiary moments to come, it is compelling human drama in its own right. Brigid Cherry

VERDICT
Water: 8/10
Earth: 7/10
Time: 8/10
Life: 8/10

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