In 2009, the emergency evacuation of the Tau’ri operated Icarus Base resulted in about 80
Earth personnel becoming stranded on the Ancient vessel “Destiny” -- billions of light years from home.
With limited power, failing life support, and no help from Earth, the disoriented passengers
found themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.
Their only hope of survival -- much less returning home -- rested in the planets Destiny would
encounter on her pre-programed journey.
But this presented a problem:
How do they know what’s on the other side of the Stargate?
Every time the ship reaches a new planet does someone have to risk their lives and go through
the Stargate to radio back …
OR, could the damaged sections of Destiny itself hold the solution to getting home -- sections
just out of reach?
Thankfully, the Ancients had a solution: THE KINO.
First discovered on the ship by Eli Wallace in “Air, Part 2,” the kino made its debut
appearance just hours after Icarus personnel arrived on Destiny.
The “kino” itself is a floating orb, roughly the size of a softball, that relays audio,
video, and environmental telemetry back to whomever’s in possession of its remote.
The kino’s industrial and steampunk stylings make it feel at home in the corridors of the
Destiny, and it became one of the few safe devices passengers could use for both recreation
and convenience.
While the kino is not intelligent, nor sentient, it quickly became a charming character in
its own right -- both practical and adorable -- like Destiny’s equivalent of a Rumba.
The term “kino” finds its roots in early Russian cinema.
And while the word has recently taken on a variety of connotations, Eli is mostly likely
referring to the kino-pravda newsreels of the 1920s -- voyersitic video clips of
everyday Russian life edited together in an attempt to achieve a deeper meaning or “truth.”
In fact, kino-pravda literally translates into English as “film truth.”
As the show progressed, the kino’s various abilities would save the lives of those onboard
Destiny countless times.
It was an invaluable off-world probe, automated sentry, and digital pet of Eli Wallace --
who used it to extensively document life on Destiny ... much to the chagrin of literally everyone else.
But that “nuisance” came in handy in the Season One episode “Time,” where our heroes
discover a kino from the future -- loaded with recordings that document their demise
at the hands of contaminated water and parasitic aliens.
Thankfully, our Lieutenant Scott was able to use the kino to send a message back in
time -- through the malfunctioning Stargate -- to warn the Destiny (from the next time
loop) about the contaminated water and the parasite’s life-saving anti-venom.
“Time” is also worth noting because it’s largely told through first-person kino footage
-- a stylistic departure from the show’s status quo, and one of the only times Stargate
did a “found footage” episode.
In another Season One episode, titled “Water,” Eli used over a dozen kinos to create an improvised
hovercraft that would function as a floating sled -- enabling Colonel Young and Lt. Scott
to transports massive amounts of ice (cut from frozen tundras) back to the Stargate.
The kino’s functionality and charm must have caught the eye of the studio executives,
because in the summer of 2009 -- before Stargate Universe even premiered -- MGM announced they
were producing over 30 kino “webisodes” that would be released in conjunction with
Season One of Stargate Universe.
These webisodes -- much like the kino-pravda newsreels themselves -- provided fascinating
(and often comical) insights into daily life on the Destiny: candid vignettes that showcase
character and story beats that might not fit in the dark and gritty, operatic tone of a
regular episodes.
The kino would continue to have a valuable place on board Destiny throughout her two
season journey on the Syfy Channel.
It became an omniscient crew member -- and a go-to problem solving device.
It helped capture the emotion and scope of Destiny’s mystical, cosmic journey through
the outer realms of the universe.
But most importantly, it helped us empathize with characters -- showing us their vulnerability
and humanity through ongoing character journals.
It made these people seem real, and further immersed the audience in their epic tale of survival.
The kino ultimately found it legacy not through it’s novel design or inherent cuteness,
but through its unique storytelling perspective -- one that made the journey onboard Destiny
all the more rich, compelling, and resonant.