Yu (Stargate)
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| Stargate character
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: smaller;"> | |
| Yu-huang Shang Ti | |
|---|---|
| Race | Goa'uld |
| Gender | Male
<tr><th align="left">Rank</th><td>System Lord</td></tr><tr><th align="left">Television portrayer</th><td>Vince Crestejo</td></tr> |
| Key episodes | "Fair Game" (first appearance) |
Yu is a Goa'uld System Lord on the sci-fi television show, Stargate SG-1 played by actor Vince Crestejo. Yu's full name, which was rarely used except in formal introductions, was The Jade Emperor Yu-huang Shang Ti The Great. The mythological figures he patterned himself after were Yu Huang Shangdi (the supreme Taoist god during the Song Dynasty. See the Jade Emperor) and Yu the Great (founder of the mythical Xia dynasty in 2000 B.C.).
A powerful and intelligent Goa'uld, Yu was a leader among the System Lords, and was the oldest Goa'uld to hold that rank. His first encounter with the Tau'ri was when he, along with fellow System Lords Cronus and Nirrti, represented the Goa'uld at an Asgard-mediated peace summit on Earth. Yu was the group's key spokesman, and eventually supported the non-aggression treaty when it was discovered that Nirrti had attempted to kill Cronus and sabotage the negotiations. A contributing factor to this decision was that Yu's own interests did not lie in Earth's area ("Fair Game").
When the System Lords met in a summit of their own to discuss a mysterious new threat to them all, Yu attended with a person whom he believed to be his personal slave (or Lo'tar), Jariol (this turned out to be Daniel Jackson in disguise) ("Summit"). Yu was outraged to learn that the threat was none other than Anubis, his old enemy whom he believed to have been killed a thousand years ago. The other System Lords voted to reinstate Anubis as a System Lord; Yu was the only dissenting vote ("Last Stand (Stargate SG-1)").
After surviving an attack by Osiris, Yu began a battle campaign against Anubis. Despite the latter's superior technology, Yu's forces managed to hold their own. He eventually convinced the other System Lords to oppose Anubis, and led their combined forces into a battle over the planet Abydos -- where Anubis used his advanced new weapon to annihilate their fleet ("Full Circle").
When SG-1 offered Yu a chance to destroy Anubis once and for all, he inexplicably betrayed them and withdrew his forces from the battle. His First Prime, Oshu, expressed to Teal'c his concern over Yu's failing health. The sarcophagus no longer sustained the very old Goa'uld as it once did, and Yu had begun to exhibit poor memory and judgment. In addition, Oshu revealed that Yu could not take a new host because his Goa'uld was simply too weak ("Homecoming").
Yu remained a leader among the System Lords for approximately another year, before he was presumably killed by RepliCarter ("Reckoning").
Historically, on Earth, Yu likely did not impersonate a god per se, but may have been one of China's earliest emperors. He also founded the first dynasty. Legend says that Yu sprang forth into the world from a dragon's body, and possessed great mythic powers.
Yu proved to be popular with fans as a recurring character, because unlike most of the other System Lords (who were often arrogant, egotistical, and hell bent on total galactic domination), Yu was actually a very pragmatic villain, trying to protect and expand his own interests but not maniacly obssesed with conquering everyone else.
[edit] Trivia
Because of his name, Yu has been the source of several jokes
- Daniel: Uh, the second Goa'uld representative we're expecting is Yu.
O'Neill: Me?
Daniel: "Yu" is the name of the Goa'uld.
O'Neill: Sorry.
- Jacob Carter: [to Jackson] Yu will be among the System Lords attending the meeting.
Samantha Carter: I thought you said he'd be going in as a slave?
Jacob: The System Lord Yu.
Sam: Little joke there.
- Daniel: I was just going over some research material on the delegates they're sending. Camulus was the one who sent the original message. Then there's Amaterasu, Japanese Sun Goddess, and the last one is Lord Yu.
Elizabeth Weir: Yu?
Daniel: Don't. Every joke, every pun, done to death, seriously.
If Yu's name does actually follow the way "Yuhuang Shangdi" is pronounced in Mandarin Chinese, then Yu should not be pronounced "yoo", like the English word "you". Instead, the "u" is to be pronounced like the French "u" or the German "ΓΌ" (IPA: [y]).
[edit] External link
| Recurring characters on Stargate SG-1 | Edit | |
| Tau'ri | Malcolm Barrett | Jacob Carter | Chekov | Adrian Conrad | Paul Davis | Paul Emerson | Louis Ferretti | Janet Fraiser Walter Harriman | Charles Kawalsky | Robert Kinsey | Carolyn Lam | Catherine Langford | Bill Lee Harry Maybourne | Lionel Pendergast | Robert Rothman | Frank Simmons | Pete Shanahan | Siler | Richard Woolsey | |
| Other Humans | Kasuf | Linea | Ma'chello | Martin Lloyd | Sha're | Shifu | Skaara | |
| Goa'uld | Amaterasu | Amonet | Anubis | Apophis | Ba'al | Camulus | Cronus | Hathor | Heru-ur Nerus | Osiris | Ra | Sokar | Tanith | Yu | Zipacna | |
| Jaffa | Bra'tac | Gerak | Ishta | Rya'c | |
| Other | Adria | Chaka | Fifth | Harlan | Lotan | Oma Desala | Reese | Replicator Carter | Thor | |
| Lists by race | All | Tau'ri | Ancient, Aschen, Asgard, Goa'uld, Jaffa, Langaran, Lucian Alliance Ori, Replicator, Tok'ra, Tollan, System Lord | |
