Yours truly is inclined to believe that Stargate Universe hasn't yet found its footing. And I understand that seven episodes into the series, that's a problem. On the other hand, Brad Wright and Robert Cooper have given us some excellent science fiction over the years with both SG-1 and Atlantis, and spent a lot of time and energy trying to entertain us. In our estimation, they deserve a little break for 10+ years of toil.

So constructive criticism is one thing. But an all out slag is something else. Chicago Tribune columnist Maureen Ryan is clearly entitled to her opinion (she's earned the same right to it as Wright and Cooper have earned to entertain us), but recently, while reviewing ABC's V, she segued into a blistering dig at Stargate Universe. Here's what she said:

(And let's face it, we sci-fi fans are a frequently disappointed lot. ABC hasn't quite managed to quite recapture the magic of Lost with any of its subsequent genre-flavored offerings. FlashForward still seems like a show that is more about its concept than its characters. And the other notable fall genre offering, Syfy's Stargate Universe, is a boring, poorly plotted, lamentably sexist mess.)

You can probably guess how that went down with Brad Wright, who left a comment defending his series:

Maureen, I find people who write "I have no axe to grind" are often the ones most likely to grind axes. Taking the time to slam SGU in your review for V is not politically tinged, it's just petty. I really wish you hadn't given up on our show so quickly. I was surprised, considering your past (occasional) support of the franchise. You can't have seen a finished version of "Darkness" or "Light" because the weren't even closed to being finished at the time of your review. I don't know what the network sent you. SGU seems to be a love it or hate it sort of show. You obviously fall in the latter camp, but fortunately there are enough viewers and reviewers who think SGU is neither boring, poorly plotted, or sexist to keep us on the air long after V is just a letter in the alphabet again.

"A letter in the alphabet"? At least Wright didn't completely relinquish his sense of humor while rebuking Ryan's attack.

Ryan, for her part, wrote a lengthy rebuttal to Wright's rebuke (yep, it's one of those escalating things we love to watch, like a train wreck in slow motion), arguing all her issues with the series, and summing up as follows:

In any case, I think I've given Stargate Universe a fair shot. Don't worry about me mentioning the show anymore. Unless I hear that it's taken a big step forward in quality, I think I am, like many other potential viewers, pretty much done giving it a chance.

Ouch.

And where do we stand on all of this? While I cannot speak for other writers here at CinemaSpy, as I said at the outset, my own view of Stargate Universe is that it has yet to find its footing and determine exactly what sort of show it wants to be: dark, gritty space opera...or science fiction exploration show. Right now it isn't really either one...which means I don't quite know what it is.

I'm hoping that Brad and Robert do, and that as I keep watching, they will reveal that in time.