Stargate Universe

"Where will Destiny take you?"

- Tagline

Stargate Universe is the title of the third science fiction television series in the Stargate franchise. Produced by MGM, the show entered production in early 2009, and premiered on October 2, 2009 on Syfy. Sky1 will air the series in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the 6th of October 2009 with the first episode at 8pm and the second episode following straight after at 9pm. Stargate Universe is filmed and produced in Vancouver, Canada, as with the preceding series.

Development
thumb|right|200px|Stargate Universe trailer. According to show-runner Robert C. Cooper, the "series maintains the spirit of Stargate, but opens up a whole new 'universe'." It is currently being developed as "a completely separate, third entity" - as opposed to Stargate Atlantis, which was created as a spin-off from the first series Stargate SG-1.

Robert C. Cooper has revealed that the new series will revolve around the ninth chevron on the Stargate and will take place during the present time and not be in the distant future. It would be the first time that this topic is used in a series of the franchise. According to him, "It plays a major factor in the third series". The current plan for the series is to follow a single story arc per season, with 20 episodes per season. The show began production in early 2009 and principal photography began on February 18, 2009.

Plot
After unlocking the mystery of the Stargate's ninth chevron, a team of explorers travels to an unmanned starship called the Destiny, launched by The Ancients at the height of their civilization as a grand experiment set in motion, but never completed.

What starts as a simple reconnaissance turns into a never ending mission, as the Stargate Universe crew discovers the ship is unable to return to Earth, and they must now fend for themselves aboard the Destiny.

The crew will travel to the far reaches of the universe, connecting with each of the previously launched Stargates, thus fulfilling the Destiny's original mission. Challenges will arise though as the ship comes into range of Stargates placed centuries ahead of the Destiny and the crew is unable to control the ship's navigational schedule. If someone is left behind, there is no way to go back for them, adding to the drama of encountering new races, enemies and adventures.

According to an interview with Robert Carlyle, Universe will be the darkest from the other series'. It will be about a crew being ill-equipped on board the Destiny in the far reaches of the universe. It will do less with alien encounters and more to do with human survival, particularly from the first six or seven episodes. There will be three deaths in the series opening episodes, and a suicide by the sixth episode.

Main Characters

 * Robert Carlyle has been cast as Dr. Nicholas Rush, "the ship's brilliant Machiavellian scientist".
 * Louis Ferreira has been cast as Colonel Everett Young, "an experienced and married Stargate team leader". Early casting documents described the character as a former SG team leader who is the temporary commander of a secret, off-world base. He has been married just two years to his wife, Emily.
 * Brian J. Smith has been cast as Lt. Matthew Scott, a junior member of the Stargate team thrust into the role of leader well before he's ready.
 * Elyse Levesque has been cast as Chloe Armstrong, daughter and aide of a U.S. senator.
 * David Blue has been cast as Eli Wallace. The character is described as “a total slacker who just happens to be an utter genius with anything he puts his mind to — mathematics, computers, video games. A lack confidence has left him with an acerbic sense of humor.”
 * Jamil Walker Smith has been cast as Master Sergeant Ronald Greer. Sergeant Greer was named Ron “Psycho” Stasiak in early casting documents.
 * Lou Diamond Phillips has been cast as Colonel David Telford, a lifelong military man. Telford is the would-be commander of the Destiny expedition and is left behind when the base is attacked. He works from Earth to try to bring the crew home.
 * Ming-Na has been cast as Camile Wray, a human resources executive with the IOA.
 * Alaina Huffman has been cast as Lt. Tamara Johansen, a field medic assigned to treat the seriously wounded.

Secondary Characters

 * Julia Anderson as Vanessa James
 * Patrick Gilmore as Dale Volker

Episodes

 * Air, Part 1; the first part of the three-part premiere episode
 * Air, Part 2; the second part three-part premiere episode
 * Air, Part 3; the third part of the three-part premiere episode
 * Darkness; the fourth episode
 * Light; the fifth episode
 * Water; the sixth episode
 * Earth; the seventh episode
 * Life; the eighth episode
 * Time; the ninth episode
 * Justice; the tenth episode
 * Space; the eleventh episode
 * Divided; the twelfth episode
 * Faith; the thirteenth episode
 * Human; the fourteenth episode
 * Sabotage; the fifteenth episode
 * Lost; the sixteenth episode
 * Pain; the seventeenth episode
 * Subversion; the eighteenth episode
 * Incursion; the two-part finale episode