Stargate: Every Series And Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Stargate Universe hit the screens in 2009 and certainly looked the part, with brand new spangly visuals a darker, edgier take on the Stargate franchise. This was one of it's critical failings, of course. Stargate Universe had taken a lot of pages out of the Battlestar Galactica playbook with it's muted sound effects, complicated characters and focus on arcing storytelling, rather than the episodic nature of the shows that had come before it.

Given that both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis were shows crafted firmly with their tongues in their cheeks and had relied on a bright, colourful palette of joyfully cheesy villains and gentle jokes, Universe sat apart from both of its predecessors in an uncomfortable position. The only bad guys that made it through to Universe were the Lucian Alliance, who didn't seem to be thieves and mercenaries anymore.

Universe followed the similar success of Atlantis in beginning with stranding it's core people a long way away with no hope of getting home, but was bold enough to strike out in different directions afterwards. Robert Carlyle's Dr. Nicholas Rush was doubtless the best part of the show (closely followed by some of the song choices).