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I have to say that I am in a tough spot.

First of all, I have admired and respected Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune for many years, back from the beginning of "Battlestar Galactica." She has always been a columnist in-tune with fans, and not afraid to tell it like it is. We have had some great e-mail conversations in the past, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for her.

At the same time, I have always found Brad Wright, the executive producer of "Stargate: Universe" as well as other properties in the Stargate franchise, to be someone who really takes his art seriously, and is interested in trying to bring fans what they're looking for week after week, even if he doesn't always succeed. We don't interact very much, but I did have the honor of sitting with him for a lunch outside the studios where "Universe" is filmed last month, and enjoyed talking to him in-depth about the Stargate franchise as a whole.

Over the weekend, Wright took Ryan to task over comments she made in a review about "V." (story) It's not that Wright necessarily disagreed with Ryan about her stance on "V." instead, it was more about the fact that she decided to once again mention her opinion of SGU in the context of comparing "V" with other premieres, adding that the Syfy series was "boring, poorly plotted [and a] lamentably sexist mess."

I do disagree with Ryan's assessment of SGU. I happened to find the series engaging, interesting and a definite departure from previous versions of Stargate (not that there was anything wrong with "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate: Atlantis," more that you can't keep making the same show over and over again). But at the same time, I don't disagree with Ryan's right to say it, and say it as often as she wants.

Wright implied that Ryan's additional knock on SGU was gratuitous, more explicitly, describing it as "petty." As a journalist, anyone making such an accusation of me would get a serious response, usually with me reviewing the context of me making such statements, and if I indeed felt that mentioning it again was gratuitous. So I decided to do the same thing with Ryan's "V" review.

Here is what she said:

"So, is 'V' any good? That's a question I've gotten frequently in the past few months. There's a slight edge of fear to the queries, as if people were almost prepared to accept the idea that those who've remade the 1980s TV series got it all wrong.

"(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.)"

Yes, this is very subjective (but isn't criticism in general subjective?), but in reading that, I don't personally find Ryan was being gratuitous or even petty. She is a critic, and part of her job is to look at the body of someone's work, not just in context of itself, but in context of everything around it. In this case, she made a specific reference to how genre fans are a "frequently disappointed lot" and followed that up with specific examples.

Unfortunately, her example includes SGU, and she doesn't paint a flattering picture. But then again, that's her job.

At the same time, Wright has a right to disagree with the content of Ryan's criticism, but I do think he may be a little off-base disagreeing with Ryan's right to continue with such criticism. He might feel that fans will either love SGU or hate it, and that Ryan is in the "latter," but that doesn't mean Ryan should feel compelled to stop sharing her opinion.

I am not sure where Wright said that people who don't like the show simply don't understand it. He didn't say that specifically in the post where he knocked Ryan's "V" comments, but maybe he has said it elsewhere.

However, I am part of the clan that likes SGU, and has been enjoying it so far. Sure, the characters have yet to become developed, but we're what, five episodes in? If that? I don't think it's fair to start judging development of story and characters this early in the game, but that's just me.

But I also don't feel that people who disagree with me "don't get it." I think they do, probably even better than me. I think they simply don't like something, which is just human. You can't please everyone, and even the most popular projects have their detractors.

Does Ryan influence a lot of television viewers? You bet. And I can understand why Wright would prefer to have Ryan on his side. But creating a pissing match isn't going to accomplish much except to create the impression that you don't respect dissenting opinions, and I know that's not true of Wright.

However, his reaction to Ryan's opinion creates the mindset -- and probably rightfully so -- that Wright doesn't care what other people think, and will continue to chug along the way he wants to chug along.

It's rather unfortunate, really. No one is perfect, but both Ryan and Wright are highly intelligent people who also are very strong-minded. It's sad that we even have to spend the time on this. But to be honest, Wright's comments really backfired, because people who may not have even been aware of Ryan's opinion on SGU certainly know it now as this spat becomes publicized. So no matter who is right, Ryan will automatically win.

And maybe what Ryan's sharing is worth listening to. I am not sure what elements of SGU are sexist -- I'm not as sensitive to that as I should be. But Ryan knows, and if she (and others) believe there is some unnecessary sexism involved with the show, maybe it's worth exploring. Or at the very least, consider it.

Maybe you have a rational approach to why there is sexism involved (possibly to try and make it more gritty?), or maybe you were more like me and didn't even realize it?

Either way, I don't think there's a need to dismiss Ryan or others critical of SGU as people being petty. Instead, it's worth bending an ear, because sometimes viewers do know what they are talking about.