The Stargate Franchise - A First Timer's Watchthrough

[Farscape One]

I don't remember ever reading that Farscape got canceled because of Stargate. Sliders got canceled because of SG-1 moving to Sci-fi. Farscape got screwed for a few reasons.

Romulan Spy, I completely agree with you on The Ancients. It's why I disliked Atlantis the further it went on.

SLIDERS was gone in January or February of 2000... over 2 years before SG-1 moved to SciFi. That dhow had other issues that led to its cancellation.

FARSCAPE did tend to go overbudget at times, which was a factor in it getting the axe. The problem a lot of us fans had... and many, including myself, wrote in to SciFi to get a resolution, and we thankfully got THE PEACEKEEPER WARS due to other financial backings outside SciFi Channel... was that FARSCAPE got the green light guarantee of a season 4 AND 5 at the same time. So when Bonnie Hammer gave the news about the cancellation in the middle of season 4, it felt like a MASSIVE betrayal. So much so that when TREMORS: THE SERIES was being pimped by her at a press conference, no one bothered to let her continue about that show and were flooding her with FARSCAPE questions.

(Frankly, TREMORS: THE SERIES was not good, and I've been known to be VERY forgiving about genre shows.)

Regarding the lack of audience... of course it never gained ground because they didn't seem to try to gain new viewers. When you have a midseason break, and don't even bother to show even repeats at other times for 8 MONTHS, how do you expect new people to come aboard? SciFi did the same thing with CAPRICA, and it was cancelled for much the same reasons... lack of new viewers.

What I found additionally infuriating was that FARSCAPE was treated as the network's flagship series... until they acquired SG-1. Then they became the flagship, and as soon as they got their 200th episode... cancellation. BSG became their flagship show at that time.

During that time of no FARSCAPE, they only ran SG-1 episodes. I get that they were trying to pimp their new toy, but they couldn't pepper in an episode or two a week of FARSCAPE when they run 20 episodes of SG-1 during the week, not counting new ones?

Believe me, I still have resentment over what they did to FARSCAPE, but I never let it destroy my enjoyment of SG-1. But I know a LOT of people did, which is probably why there is a divide between fans of the two eras.

(If memory serves me, Ben Browder was actually a contender for John Sheppard. But due to THE PEACEKEEPER WARS, he became Mitchell.)

 

[David cgc]

During that time of no FARSCAPE, they only ran SG-1 episodes. I get that they were trying to pump their new toy, but they couldn't pepper in an episode or two a week of FARSCAPE when they run 20 episodes of SG-1 during the week, not counting new ones?

I actually had to stop and count to remember if "20 episodes a week" was hyperbole or not. I think it was "only" eight (one every weekday, plus three on Monday night), not counting the new one, or any reruns of those episodes at other times of day (I'm assuming if there was, like, a 2 AM SG-1 showing, it was on the same cycle as the 6 PM episode).

 

[Farscape One]

Oh, no. They aired 4 hour blocks, Monday-Friday. I'm pretty certain of this because I was able to watch pretty much all of SG-1 before new episodes happened.

 

[Jayson1]

Nathan Fillion was also offered the role of Shepherd but I don't think he wanted to do similar role to what he had just done on Firefly.

Jason

 

[David cgc]

Oh, no. They aired 4 hour blocks, Monday-Friday. I'm pretty certain of this because I was able to watch pretty much all of SG-1 before new episodes happened.

Could be, I only got cable and started watching a couple months before season 8, by which point that was the schedule I described. It's hard to imagine SG-1 could've been even more pervasive on the network.

 

[cylkoth]

In the US, Stargate Mondays, a 4 hour block ran weekly for years, but there was never a weeknight block. Other recent shows got block marathons Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a movie on Thursdays. Sci Fi Fridays, and original movie on Saturday night rounded out the week. Afternoon showings of SG1 were a staple, with SGA joining after there were enough episodes.

Then the scheduling tactic of running a single show during daytime thru afternoon was introduced. SG1 of course, was among those in rotation. Which kinda sucked no matter how much you may have liked an individual series...you couldn't just sit there all day long, I missed the variety of a more conventional schedule.

 

[The Wormhole]

Hell, even up in Canada we had quite a bit of Stargate on TV in the mid 2000s. In spring 2005 alone SG-1 syndicated reruns were on twice daily Monday to Friday, new episodes Thursday nights, and a rerun of that Friday afternoons on the Space channel (now known as CTV Sci-Fi). ASN (now known as CTV2) would have reruns of the new episode on Thursday evenings (a week after it aired on Space) plus a seventh season episode on Saturday evenings and Global would air a sixth season episode on Sunday afternoons. TMN had Atlantis episodes on at some point in the week, but I didn't have TMN back then so I don't exactly remember when.

Spring 2006 was essentially the same setup, only now Space had Atlantis season 1 reruns on Sunday nights and again Monday afternoons, and ASN had them Friday nights.

 

[Samurai8472]

I was watching clips of SG-1's 200th recently. It got me thinking about what Stargate Atlantis 200th episode might have looked like.

Would they have gone the parody route? I keep imaging them poking fun at the grittiness of BattleStar Galactica. McKay as Baltar

Or a parody of Star Wars since Sheppard kept comparing Ronan to Chewbacca. Actually I can see that parody already

*Wraith tie-fighters are closing on the Millennium Puddle Jumper*

Mckay3PO is complaining about the engines failing

Sheppard Solo is trying to outrun them

Ronanbacca gives out a loud yell.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Overall though 6 episodes into Atlantis Season 3, I'm liking this season more than Season 2.

Yeah, I like season 3 quite a bit.

Some of my favorite season 3 episodes include:
Progeny
McKay & Mrs Miller
The Return Part 1 & 2
Tao of Rodney
The Game
First Strike

 

[David cgc]

I was watching clips of SG-1's 200th recently. It got me thinking about what Stargate Atlantis 200th episode might have looked like.

Would they have gone the parody route?

Probably not. 20 episodes a season means that it'd be a season finale, just like the 100th was.

 

[tomalak301]

Yeah, I like season 3 quite a bit.

Some of my favorite season 3 episodes include:
Progeny
McKay & Mrs Miller
The Return Part 1 & 2
Tao of Rodney
The Game
First Strike

When all is said and Done, I don't think Progeny will be in my top 5. I thought Real World was the better of both parts. We'll see how the rest of the season turns out though.

 

[tomalak301]

SLIDERS was gone in January or February of 2000... over 2 years before SG-1 moved to SciFi. That dhow had other issues that led to its cancellation.

FARSCAPE did tend to go overbudget at times, which was a factor in it getting the axe. The problem a lot of us fans had... and many, including myself, wrote in to SciFi to get a resolution, and we thankfully got THE PEACEKEEPER WARS due to other financial backings outside SciFi Channel... was that FARSCAPE got the green light guarantee of a season 4 AND 5 at the same time. So when Bonnie Hammer gave the news about the cancellation in the middle of season 4, it felt like a MASSIVE betrayal. So much so that when TREMORS: THE SERIES was being pimped by her at a press conference, no one bothered to let her continue about that show and were flooding her with FARSCAPE questions.

(Frankly, TREMORS: THE SERIES was not good, and I've been known to be VERY forgiving about genre shows.)

Regarding the lack of audience... of course it never gained ground because they didn't seem to try to gain new viewers. When you have a midseason break, and don't even bother to show even repeats at other times for 8 MONTHS, how do you expect new people to come aboard? SciFi did the same thing with CAPRICA, and it was cancelled for much the same reasons... lack of new viewers.

What I found additionally infuriating was that FARSCAPE was treated as the network's flagship series... until they acquired SG-1. Then they became the flagship, and as soon as they got their 200th episode... cancellation. BSG became their flagship show at that time.

During that time of no FARSCAPE, they only ran SG-1 episodes. I get that they were trying to pimp their new toy, but they couldn't pepper in an episode or two a week of FARSCAPE when they run 20 episodes of SG-1 during the week, not counting new ones?

Believe me, I still have resentment over what they did to FARSCAPE, but I never let it destroy my enjoyment of SG-1. But I know a LOT of people did, which is probably why there is a divide between fans of the two eras.

(If memory serves me, Ben Browder was actually a contender for John Sheppard. But due to THE PEACEKEEPER WARS, he became Mitchell.)

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during any Sci Fi meetings that Bonnie Hammer was a part of. Her reign at the network would be a good documentary one day, the rise and fall of the Sci-Fi Channel and the ridiculous name change that came after. Also, I remember Farscape Season 4, BSG Season 4, and Caprica how you would have these long close to a year hiatus's and it really did break the flow of the series. Heck, I learned to appreciate Farscape Season 4 more on DVD because when it aired, it was so broken up I was confused by what was happening.

 

[JD]

I have not mixed them up. First two seasons aired on BBC 3 while season 3 aired on BBC1.

Oh, I didn't realize it switched networks before Children of Earth.

Broader audience who never watched Torchwood before, and COE originally was written as a general sci-fi story. Fans were so pissed with the result that there were death threats to producers and writers at the time, which is taking it way too far.

Really? I don't think I've ever seen anyone say anything bad about Children of Earth

 

[Farscape One]

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during any Sci Fi meetings that Bonnie Hammer was a part of. Her reign at the network would be a good documentary one day, the rise and fall of the Sci-Fi Channel and the ridiculous name change that came after. Also, I remember Farscape Season 4, BSG Season 4, and Caprica how you would have these long close to a year hiatus's and it really did break the flow of the series. Heck, I learned to appreciate Farscape Season 4 more on DVD because when it aired, it was so broken up I was confused by what was happening.

I would love to have seen what went on in those meetings, myself.

I will say that the BSG season 4 mid-hiatus was not SciFi's fault. That was the WGA strike.

The rest, though, totally on them.

 

[tomalak301]

Common Ground (SG: A)

I loved this episode a lot. I wish it was a Season 2 episode though, as we learn so much more about the Wraith and did we just see a Wraith religion form with the gift of life? This episode was long overdue in terms of getting into the mind of the Wraith and what makes him/her tick. Granted most of the interactions have been torture by the queen or just the culling in general, but I almost look at the Wraith kind of like the Vidiians in Voyager now. The Vidiians harvested organs because they didn't have any choice. The Wraith feed because it's their natural instinct. I was really hoping we might learn more about their culture and what they do when they don't feed (I think the first episode said they basically sleep but it's been a few weeks). I wonder if this is another by product of why I was concerned about the whole Replicator storyline though. The Wraith are menacing villains, and they are unique to Atlantis. You could actually develop them some more rather than just being the vampires of the Galaxy. Heck, I was really hoping Michael could be the face of the Wraith and he still could but they took it in a direction where it was a tad repetitive. I still would like to get more on Wraith culture, and like the guy said, there is still much about them we don't know.

It was also great to see Kolya again, and we got the continuation of the Ladon rebellion storyline. This also was another strong episode for Weir, who has gotten a string of really strong episodes lately.

 

[tomalak301]

Company of Thieves (SG-1)

I'm not entirely sure why the Lucian Alliance is this thing this late in the series with the Ori destroying everything in it's path, but here we are and I had fun with this episode. Loved seeing Teal'c get angry about being tortured, and the death of Emerson was shocking. First Penderghast, and now Emersen. These Earth Ships are not doing so great with Captains. Anyway, it was interesting they brought back the chemical from the episode where Daniel had to go to a system lord summit. It worked pretty well here though.

 

[tomalak301]

McKay and Mrs. Miller (SG: A)

That episode was charming and after a day where I was kind of in a grumpy mood, it put a smile on my face. I loved they got Hewlett's real life Sister because the chemistry was so adorable. I love that Rodney's real first name was Meradeth. That just seems so Rodney. I wish they kept the other Rodney though, as he was so much better than ours. I guess the ending was pointing out why our Rodney was the better of the two, but Rod was less annoying. I also liked seeing the cameo from Tapping as Carter. Hopefully they find another ZPM since they depleted this one. Madison was really adorable, especially the scene where McKay first shows up at the door. Like Sateda, the team bonding in this episode was great. I don't really remember a single time they were bonding in season 2, but this series needed more of it.

Yeah, I think it's official. Season 3 is already better than Season 2. Now I wonder if it will be better than season 1. I think I've actually been enjoying Atlantis this season more than SG-1 Season 10, on a whole.

 

[The Wormhole]

I'm not entirely sure why the Lucian Alliance is this thing this late in the series with the Ori destroying everything in it's path, but here we are and I had fun with this episode.

That's just it. At least the Lucian Alliance are still kind of fun here on SG-1. When they come back later in the franchise and are trying to be sold as a legitimate threat, things turn decidedly pear shaped.

 

[Romulan_spy]

McKay and Mrs. Miller (SG: A)

That episode was charming and after a day where I was kind of in a grumpy mood, it put a smile on my face. I loved they got Hewlett's real life Sister because the chemistry was so adorable. I love that Rodney's real first name was Meradeth. That just seems so Rodney. I wish they kept the other Rodney though, as he was so much better than ours. I guess the ending was pointing out why our Rodney was the better of the two, but Rod was less annoying. I also liked seeing the cameo from Tapping as Carter. Hopefully they find another ZPM since they depleted this one. Madison was really adorable, especially the scene where McKay first shows up at the door. Like Sateda, the team bonding in this episode was great. I don't really remember a single time they were bonding in season 2, but this series needed more of it.

Yeah, I think it's official. Season 3 is already better than Season 2. Now I wonder if it will be better than season 1. I think I've actually been enjoying Atlantis this season more than SG-1 Season 10, on a whole.

You are really close now to the big SGA mid season two parter, "The Return Part 1 & 2" as well as the big SG1 two parter "The Quest Part 1 & 2".

 

[Romulan_spy]

Company of Thieves (SG-1)

I'm not entirely sure why the Lucian Alliance is this thing this late in the series with the Ori destroying everything in it's path, but here we are and I had fun with this episode. Loved seeing Teal'c get angry about being tortured, and the death of Emerson was shocking. First Penderghast, and now Emersen. These Earth Ships are not doing so great with Captains. Anyway, it was interesting they brought back the chemical from the episode where Daniel had to go to a system lord summit. It worked pretty well here though.

I thought the concept of a criminal organization rising up and filling the vacuum left after the fall of the Goauld System Lords, made sense. So it was interesting to see the aftermath of the fall of the System Lords. Plus, it was an opportunity to reuse the Goauld ships. It just doesn't really feel like Stargate without a Goauld pyramid mothership.