History Series / StargateUniverse

''SGU'' had a couple of fairly big name actors (Creator/RobertCarlyle, known for his role in the film ''Film/{{Trainspotting}},'' and Creator/MingNaWen, a Chinese-born actress with numerous cinematic credits, who was probably best known for her role as Dr. Chen in the medical drama ''Series/{{ER}}'' and would go on to play Melinda May in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', and as the voice of WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}).

* ItsQuietTooQuiet: Ronald Greer says this in the season two episode ''Resurgence'' [[spoiler: just before they are attacked by the unmanned robot drone ships. It makes no sense since they are actually on a destroyed alien ship in outer space, where the quiet would be normal atmosphere]].

* ItsQuietTooQuiet: Ronald Greer says this in the season two episode ''Resurgence'' [[spoiler: just before they are attacked by the unmanned robot drone ships. It makes no sense since they are actually on a destroyed alien ship in outer space, where ItsQuietTooQuiet would be the normal atmosphere]].

*** To boot in "Seizure", [[spoiler: the SGC attempts a subtle short term takeover of an allied planet by using the communication stones to hijack people much like displaced go'uld.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: Sadly for our heroes, it seems the Lucian Alliance, last seen in SG-1 has gone from being a loose alliance of criminals, to have become an equivalent of the IRA and are quite willing and capable of kicking Earth's ass.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: ''SGU'' is bad about this. The three trailers for season two not only defuse most of the suspense from the season 1 finale, but give away several of the big plot twists later on.

%%* HotScientist: Most of the scientists onboard fall into this category.

** [[ChekhovsGun Chehkov's Vlog]]: Eli uses the Kino to document ''everything''. It has come in handy many times.
** [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Limpet]]: The strange, clearly un-Ancient ship that detaches and flies away from the ''Destiny'' at the end of "Air".
** [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Celestial Object]]: Every planet/star they visit has a solution for a problem, because the ship is doing it on purpose. Since resources are dwindling and they have a time limit on their expeditions, exploration is understandably a low priority. [[spoiler:When Rush gains secret control of the bridge and is messing around with its systems, resulting in apparently random drops out of FTL, the rest of the crew gets frustrated trying to figure out what item Chekhov is hiding for them.]]
** [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Starship]]: Young maroons Rush on a deserted planet in walking distance of an ancient (but not ''Ancient'') starship. The alien race the ship originally belonged to later turns up with Rush in tow, and they're not exactly happy to see everyone.
** [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Hull Breach]]: The holes the aliens cut in ''Destiny'' in "Space" are brought up in "Divided" as a way for the military to get to the civilian side of the ship and again in "Incursion" to fix something on the hull.

** [[ChekhovsBoomerang Chehkov's Alien Spittle]]: The venom of the Squigglers has been useful in three different episodes: first being the cure for the water-based disease afflicting the characters, second as an anesthetic on Rush while removing the tracking device from his chest, and finally being used as an anesthetic on the alien ticks that attach themselves to the crew. Showed up and didn't help any in "Cloverdale" while dealing with an offworld infection.
** [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Sled]]: Eli's hover sled, which he invented in "Water", comes back in "Cloverdale" as a way to carry supplies and an injured Scott. Also makes an appearance in "Deliverance" in order to carry a drone on board. Same episode also gives it an official name: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin kino sled]]. Eli apparently also made multiples.
** [[ChekhovsGunman Chekhov's Iguana]]: Openly focusing on the there-for-no-apparent-reason alien reptile halfway through "Malice". [[spoiler:A herd of them are used by Rush to trample a wounded Simeon in the denouement.]]
** [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Robot]]: Averted in "Air" when they need some way to push a button to close a door sealing the button pusher inside. Despite Kinos featuring prominently in the episode, and we're shown they have lots, nobody considers of using one to push the button turning the whole episode into an IdiotPlot.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: The Stargates installed on the ''Destiny'' and on the planets seeded by the ships ahead of it all spin. That is to say ''the entire Stargate spins''.

* ShownTheirWork: The student's answer to Rush's question in "Human". They might as well have used some technobabble, but instead it was a completely accurate description of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shors_algorithm Shor's algorithm]] pulled straight from Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Armando Elsinor von Spelker III. Not named on the show, but on [[http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/june-13-2010-world-cup-round-up-mailbag/ Joseph Mallozzi's blog]].

* RealityEnsues: A small group of scientists with no survival training decide to stay behind on a planet believing that the advanced aliens that created it will benevolently take care of them. [[spoiler: They don't. We later learn that people started dying in accidents and an extremely harsh winter killed the rest. The aliens, for inscrutable reasons, sent temporary duplicates of the would-be colonists back to Destiny to close out their existences.]]

* IllGirl: Amanda Perry, a recurring character from Earth, who has been a quadriplegic since an accident when she was 9.
** Later taken further when her brain is uploaded into ''Destiny'', making her [[SpaceshipGirl part of the ship]], but completely intangible.

* BigDamnVillains: [[spoiler:The catfish aliens]] in "Deliverance". However, they were really more of a diversion than actual help.
* BigFun: Eli: Big (Nerdy) Fun.

* BoardingParty: The Lucian Alliance.
* BolivianArmyEnding: See NoEnding below.
** Which makes the reference in "Time" to this [[InvokedTrope very trope]] and the [[Film/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid film it derived from]], oddly [[HilariousInHindsight prescient]].

* {{Brainwashed}}: Telford.

* HotterAndSexier: Some of the promos for the show outright said it would be sexier than the other series. To prove the point, there's a sex scene in the ''first episode'', and several more spaced out over the episodes aired thus far. Of course, everybody forgets that ''SG-1'' kicked off with full frontal nudity in the first episode, though it should be noted that ''[=SG-1=]'' started on Showtime. This aspect of the show was downplayed not long into the series, instead playing up the interpersonal conflicts.

* DieHardOnAnX: The season 1 finale to season 2 premiere story-arc with the Lucian Alliance. It's a little more complicated than the basic version, since there's Scott and Greer climbing on the outside of the ship and running the classic [=McClane=], Eli and Chloe are out of contact but in position to help, Telford working as a {{Mole}}, and Rush trying to gain leverage by taking control of the ship's systems. And Rush honestly doesn't give a shit about the hostages, so while Young surrenders quickly, he doesn't. And then there's several splintering factions of the Lucian Alliance. [[UpToEleven And then there's a pulsar that will fry everyone on the ship into a pile of ash.]]

* DysfunctionJunction: [[UpToEleven Hoo boy]], so far we have Scott's parental/religious issues, Young's troubled marriage, TJ's shattered hopes of going to medical school, Young and TJ being stuck on the ship after trying to break off their affair, Greer's anger issues which had him imprisoned for striking Telford on-duty, Chloe [[BreakTheCutie watching her father die]], and Dr. Rush's insufferable nature. It's almost funny how Eli was a misfit on Earth and yet here he's portrayed as the ''normal'' one along with the side and supporting cast.

* TemporalParadox: Like its predecessors, ''Stargate Universe'' uses this. First, there's the Kino(s) in "Time". "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Twin Destinies]]" takes this UpToEleven: [[spoiler:the crew salvages everything they can from a temporal duplicate of ''Destiny'', and even get its duplicate shuttle. ''Destiny'' is literally being repaired with itself. "[[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Choke on that, causality!]]"]]

* NoodleImplements: Some awful tasting fruit that the crew came across apparently found a use, but we don't learn it beofre the ship comes under attack.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Maybe. Franklin, the idiot who sat in the chair in "Justice" and fried his brain, regains just enough mobility to try it again in "Sabotage". This time, he seems to freeze the entire room, and by the time they come back to check on him, the man is gone. We can't be sure if he ascended, though. The machine might just have vaporized him. It's probably relevant that every time someone ascends in the previous two series, they leave their clothes behind. Not the case with Franklin.
** Nope. He was uploaded to ''Destiny'''s computer.
*** WordOfGod is that it wasn't even really him; the ship's AI absorbed him and used his brain patterns as a template for the AI and [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith used his form for interacting with the crew]].
* AttackDrone

* ChewingTheScenery: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWJcsruhJ7M&hd=1 THERE IS NO MORE POWER!!]]
** Semi-justified that everyone realises that Rush is clearly suffering a nervous breakdown.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Rush schemes to have Young removed from power, and for his trouble is marooned on an alien planet. Rush gets back, they make a truce, and by the end of the same episode is scheming with Wray to do it again. Something of a subversion in the second case; he did it to protect himself from Young, since there was a tracking device in his chest and he was (perhaps rightfully) afraid that Young would get him killed trying to deal with it.

%% Rhetorical questions. Do not answer.

* CoolGate: The whole Stargate spins on this show. There's something to be said for rotary, after all.

* CourtroomEpisode: "Justice".

* DeadpanSnarker: Greer.
** Volker too. "New friends. Yay."
*** Later Volker and Brody do a stereo "yay."
** Eli. "Holy crap, we dialed Pittsburgh"

* DrillSergeantNasty: Spencer
* DrivenToSuicide: Sgt. Spencer.

* FiveManBand: Though through characterization given to those outside the band, it's becoming less and less of a five man band. At this point, the list below includes practically everyone that's gotten a spoken line save for the ones that got killed off.
** TheHero: Col. Young
** TheLancer: Scott
** TheBigGuy: Greer
** TheSmartGuy: Eli
** TheChick: Chloe
** Standard additions:
*** TheMedic: TJ
*** CynicalMentor: Dr. Rush
*** NumberTwo: Camile
*** SixthRanger: Telford
*** CoolBigSis: Lt. James
*** ThoseTwoGuys: Brody and Volker
*** EmptyShell: Franklin
*** MauveShirt: Becker and Dr. Park

* {{Foreshadowing}}: in the pilot "Wow, that is a ''big'' gun..."

* HotScientist: Most of the scientists onboard fall into this category.

* LipstickLesbian: Camile and her girlfriend.

* LostColony: With TimeTravel for your confusion.

* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Rush.

* {{Fainting}}: An inverted Monster Faint. [[spoiler:When one of the aliens in "Awakening" runs into a human, it's the ''alien'' that faints. To make it even funnier, the alien faints in front of Volker, probably the least combative character on the show.]]

''SGU'' had a couple of fairly big name actors (Creator/RobertCarlyle, known for his role in the film ''Film/{{Trainspotting}},'' and Creator/MingNaWen, a Chinese-born actress with numerous cinematic credits, who was probably best known for her role as Dr. Chen in the medical drama ''Series/{{ER}}'', and as the voice of WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}).

** Greer started off looking like he would be the short-tempered LooseCannon. But thanks to character moments he has shown humor, loyalty, and insight as well.

* BreakTheCutie: Ongoing for Chloe, what with being trapped on ''Destiny'' with everybody else, her father dying, having no useful skills to help out right off the bat, kidnapped by aliens, stranded offworld twice in a row, getting shot in the season one finale, and then [[spoiler: being slowly transformed into an alien and being ostracized by all of her friends because of it]]. She also [[spoiler:died horribly ''twice'' in the episode "Time" in timelines that were subsequently written over]]. TJ, too, starting from "Faith" onwards. Park gets a major dose when [[spoiler:she's blinded]]. Even Wray has a few moments, though it's more of a BreakTheHaughty with her. Eli is starting to stack up emotional problems, too, especially after "Malice", what with [[spoiler:his new girlfriend having been StuffedIntoTheFridge]]. Finally, talking about BreakTheHaughty, Rush in the same episode.

* StuffedInTheFridge: As of "Malice", [[spoiler:Ginn and Amanda Perry]].

** This assuming [[spoiler:they aren't on a higher plane of existence, since TJ's and the baby's body was on-board for the whole time. It would be consistent with the ''Stargate'' canon.]]

** To be fair they got one of the top experts in ancient technology and another expert of warp drives to try and fix the ship. However unlike [[Series/StargateAtlantis the other show Rodney couldn't just fix the Ancient Ship in one episode.]] Also while Doctor Perry was able to make improvements she couldn't simply reverse engineer or take control of the engines. The technology was too complex and unknown. Going with the original mandate of the show of [[RealityEnsues realistic problems and no easy solutions.]]

* RealityEnsues:
** The civilian personnel try to take over the ship and coerce the military into surrendering. It works about as well as one would expect.
** A small group of people were left behind on a planet with an approaching winter, as they felt the aliens that created the planet would provide for them. [[spoiler:They all died horribly of hypothermia because they didn't have the skills to survive. Except Val, who got a tree dropped on her.]]
** Rush, a self-admitted habitual smoker and caffeine addict, at two separate points ends up in a brawl with Greer and Young, respectively, probably the two most experienced soldiers on the crew ''by far.'' [[CurbStompBattle Guess what happens.]]

* TimeAbyss: The ''Destiny'' is truly ancient in the sense of the word: [[spoiler: she was launched from Earth at least 50 million years ago. You read that right - '''million''' years ago.]] But even she pales in comparison to what she was sent to explore: [[spoiler: The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background cosmic microwave background radiation]] itself contains a repeating pattern even the ''Ancients'' couldn't understand - one that implies that there actually is a God - or maybe an extremely advanced civilization that is to the Ancients what the Ancients are to the Tau'ri - that existed some 13.8 billion years ago, at the very dawn of '''time ans existance itself'''.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Rush and Young.

* DidntSeeThatComing: Bet you didn't expect Young to strand you on a desert planet in retaliation did you, Rush?
* DidYouJustHaveSex: When Wray sees Eli's shirt on Ginn's bed.
** Made funnier by the fact that Ginn's guard ''clearly'' knows that they were having sex, and tries to stop Wray from bothering them. He also has to fight off a snigger at her claim she was "resting."
* DoubleEntendre: Rampant in the episode "Seizure" when discussing the applications of virtual interaction.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Spencer