‘Stargate Universe’s’ resident geek hero, David Blue

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FIVE QUESTIONS: DAVID BLUE

David Blue is every guy you run into at your local comic book store: funny, usually smart and a bit nerdy. All of that could be why he identifies (as do those around him) so well with his character Eli Wallace on Syfy’s ‘Stargate Universe.’ With its darker tones and story lines, ‘Universe’ strays a bit from the action-y comedic base of past ‘Stargate’ endeavors, but it continues the franchise that started way back in 1994. Blue knows that he has stepped into a very well-known, well-chronicled sci-fi series, but he was giddy to do it.

JP: What kind of experience with sci-fi do you have?

David Blue: In general, I’ve loved movies and television my entire life. It’s one of the few things that Eli and I have in common. I watch almost everything. Sci-fi, in my mind, is always such a great genre because one, people don’t realize how many things are sci-fi. People don’t realize that things like ‘Lost’ are sci-fi. There’s just so much more freedom in that world to do what you want to do and explore more things. I love the way it informs the real world, too, and inspires people in the real world to try to make them true.

As far as the show itself, before I even got cast, I’d seen all of ‘SG-1’ and all of ‘Atlantis.’

JP: What did you think about the direction and tone that they going toward when you first read for the show?

DB: I loved it. I’m a huge fan of pushing the envelope and trying new things, and I feel like they really put themselves out there. They had this product that was working pretty well already, but they wanted to expand the audience even more -- keep the old one, of course, but try to bring others into this world. And more than that, they wanted to take some bigger risks.

As a fan of things that are a little bit more grounded in reality, like ‘Fringe,’ ‘Lost’ and ‘Battlestar,’ I liked the idea of making it more about these flawed characters. I liked the concept of people that weren’t supposed to be there suddenly getting sucked into this situation. And then just the idea that you don’t know everything about a character and you’re not sure who to trust.

By the end of me reading the first script, the main reason that I wanted to do the show was because I wanted to know what the heck Rush (Robert Carlyle) was up to. And this is before Robert Carlyle even got cast. I was enthralled by that, so I thought that the audience would be, too.

JP: Describe the fan base for the show.

DB: We knew going in that we were lucky and terrified at the same time because we had an incredibly passionate built-in fan base. There aren’t a lot of shows on the air these days knowing that X amount of people are going to watch the pilot. As cool as it is and as fun as it is, it’s a little frightening when you start to realize how many people are expecting something of it.

JP: Are you prepared for Comic-Con and the fans that come along with the already established base?

I’m curious about Comic-Con this year. Last year, I went a day early to look at all the comic books and the video games and stuff -- honestly, I wanted to get some ‘Harry Potter’ swag, but I missed out -- and nobody knew who I was except for ‘Ugly Betty’ or ‘Moonlight’ [fans]. Then, as soon as we did the panel, from that point on we needed to have escorts everywhere we went -- and that was last year after just the trailer!

JP: Did the aliens, which the show veered away from for the first half of the season, come out how you thought they would -- and are they going to be playing a heavier role in the near future?

DB: As far as looks, you imagine what it’s going to look like, but the special effects people, especially the ones they brought in for the aliens ... they look great! I hadn’t seen them [in a finished form], then they sent me the DVD to watch. As soon as I popped it in, I was literally on the edge of my couch, freaking out, going, ‘Oh my God! I’m in love with my own show!’ It was just so cool and it drew me in and I was excited about it.

As far as them as characters ... I feel like the second half of this first season will really catch people off guard. Now that you’re getting to know these people, there can be these outside influences that will really throw a wrench into things that weren’t working before, really heightening trust issues and making you have to work with people. because it’s not just about Rush trying to kill you -- now there’s this other thing ... You’ll definitely see some more outside influences screwing things up for an already terrible life.

But I want to meet one of them in real life.

-- Jevon Phillips

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