Stargate Universe is a Five Year Story

[bullethead]

From the twenty-one episodes I have seen of STARGATE UNIVERSE (I bailed on season two after the premiere; for once it is a show that I have all the patience in the world for when it comes to waiting for the DVD) a five-year plan seems hilariously unlikely. It does, however, make a reasonably good pitch for a series that is on the bubble between cancellation and renewal. If it does manage a third season, Mallozzi and the rest would be wise to condense their alleged plans for the next three years into one and thank their lucky stars that STARGATE UNIVERSE was on the SyFy Channel and not a major network.

I doubt Mallozzi and company will be on the writing staff next season if there is a season 3. The new heads of MGM won't be pleased by the fact that they've driven Stargate into the ground and will probably replace them with people who they think can make SGU a more profitable show.

 

[Harvey]

I doubt MGM will take such an active interest in the series at this point. But once STARGATE UNIVERSE is over, unless it has a colossal turnaround in ratings and other sales (DVD, syndication), I expect the franchise will either be temporarily put to rest, or be put in the hands of completely different writers/producers (perhaps a return to Emmerich and Devlin, who knows?).

 

[JarodRussell]

Haha. They tried to tell us on Lost that they had a masterplan, they tried to tell us the same on nuBSG, and now they are doing it again on SGU.

And everytime it turned out that they didn't have a plan at all, that they were just pulling the shit out of their ass as they went along.

 

[bigdaddy]

Battlestar Galactica told me at the start of every episode that they "Have a Plan", they did not.

To be fair, Sci-fi Channel did that, not the writers.

I never heard a thing about SGU being a DVD movie, it was a third series from start to finish.

No it really wasn't.

I love how Stargate fans think they know these things, ID4 was not ever the Stargate sequel.

The plan was for a DVD movie dealing with the 9th chevron, they then thought it would make a great idea for a series, they were wrong.

 

[Harvey]

Battlestar Galactica told me at the start of every episode that they "Have a Plan", they did not.

To be fair, Sci-fi Channel did that, not the writers.

Actually it was David Eick, executive producer (he would later being to receive writing credit). For whatever reason (maybe Moore did agree with him--it is, after all, a cool and catchy line) Moore didn't fight it.

 

[The Wormhole]

I never heard a thing about SGU being a DVD movie, it was a third series from start to finish.

No it really wasn't.

I love how Stargate fans think they know these things, ID4 was not ever the Stargate sequel.

The plan was for a DVD movie dealing with the 9th chevron, they then thought it would make a great idea for a series, they were wrong.

As I understand it, they did come up with a storyline involving the ninth chevron being dialled and connection to a Stargate aboard an Ancient starship for an SG-1 DVD movie, but as they developed the storyline, felt it would work better as its own series.

 

[startrekwatcher]

"We have a five year story planned out" seems to be yet another thing tv shows recite thanks to LOST. Fringe says they have 5 years worth of story, SGU now does etc.

The funny thing is they sure don't act like it when half the seasons are full of pointless stale filler. If they had that much story and are constantly under the cancellation sword you'd think they'd cover ground like there was no tomorrow and every episode, like LOST, would be arc-related--constantly advancing the larger story, dropping important revelations, having all the threads be tied to the mythology.

Face it, pretty much all the great standalone stories have been told by now and there really isn't any new ground to cover. You can go back and revisit them on older shows where they were done so much better. Arc-based mythologies force the writers to think outside the box and not just pull out an old chestnut and plug in their show's characters.

 

[bigdaddy]

Actually it was David Eick, executive producer (he would later being to receive writing credit). For whatever reason (maybe Moore did agree with him--it is, after all, a cool and catchy line) Moore didn't fight it.

I thought they came out and said that Sci-fi had come up with that little intro and they just agreed with it.

TBH I wonder if SYFY could ever go down the mini-series route to end SGU like they did with Farscape.

The Farscape movie was made and then sold to Sci-fi.

As I understand it, they did come up with a storyline involving the ninth chevron being dialled and connection to a Stargate aboard an Ancient starship for an SG-1 DVD movie, but as they developed the storyline, felt it would work better as its own series.

I think it would more be a Stargate Command movie than an SG-1 movie, the SG-1 third movie was supposed to be the one with O'Niel and for it to tie up the storyline.

Still it is obvious that it was a supid idea for a long run TV hsow. I still think it would have been best if they did a 13 episode miniseries type show.

 

[Harvey]

Actually it was David Eick, executive producer (he would later being to receive writing credit). For whatever reason (maybe Moore did agree with him--it is, after all, a cool and catchy line) Moore didn't fight it.

I thought they came out and said that Sci-fi had come up with that little intro and they just agreed with it.

Here's one of several interviews where Ron Moore has commented on the line:

SD: "And they have a plan..." Did you feel you painted yourself into a corner with that line in the precap?

RM: David Eick painted me into a corner. When we were coming up with the precap to define the large mythos of the show, we were coming up with succinct pieces of information the audience needed to know, and David said, "and it ends with, 'and they have a plan.'" "What does that mean?" "I don't know, but it's great!" And so I got talked into leaving it in. And it became one of the hallmarks of the show, the Cylons have a plan. And I kept getting pestered with it for the rest of the show. "What's the plan?"

LINK.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Part of the episodic nature of those series is that the characters don't change much, episode to episode....
With SGU, they've tried to have more nuanced and complex characters without really knowing how to pull it off.

Exactly so. It comes off as imitative and without any depth or psychological grounding. The only way to make a fair attempt to do the kind of show that the producers apparently aspire to here would have been to bring in new, better writers and really get out of the way. I don't think there's much more chance of that happening to this "franchise" than to That Other One late in its television arc.

People compare this show to "Voyager" - it's really "Enterprise:" an attempt to refresh an aging property, yet left in the hands of the same folks who've guided that property for too long to really break free of the past.

 

[bigdaddy]

Actually it was David Eick, executive producer (he would later being to receive writing credit). For whatever reason (maybe Moore did agree with him--it is, after all, a cool and catchy line) Moore didn't fight it.

I thought they came out and said that Sci-fi had come up with that little intro and they just agreed with it.

Here's one of several interviews where Ron Moore has commented on the line:

SD: "And they have a plan..." Did you feel you painted yourself into a corner with that line in the precap?

RM: David Eick painted me into a corner. When we were coming up with the precap to define the large mythos of the show, we were coming up with succinct pieces of information the audience needed to know, and David said, "and it ends with, 'and they have a plan.'" "What does that mean?" "I don't know, but it's great!" And so I got talked into leaving it in. And it became one of the hallmarks of the show, the Cylons have a plan. And I kept getting pestered with it for the rest of the show. "What's the plan?"

LINK.

That's awesome. Thank you.

 

[DWF]

Part of the episodic nature of those series is that the characters don't change much, episode to episode....
With SGU, they've tried to have more nuanced and complex characters without really knowing how to pull it off.

Exactly so. It comes off as imitative and without any depth or psychological grounding. The only way to make a fair attempt to do the kind of show that the producers apparently aspire to here would have been to bring in new, better writers and really get out of the way. I don't think there's much more chance of that happening to this "franchise" than to That Other One late in its television arc.

People compare this show to "Voyager" - it's really "Enterprise:" an attempt to refresh an aging property, yet left in the hands of the same folks who've guided that property for too long to really break free of the past.

Enterprise had a revolving door of writers and it showed.

 

[scnj]

I doubt MGM will take such an active interest in the series at this point. But once STARGATE UNIVERSE is over, unless it has a colossal turnaround in ratings and other sales (DVD, syndication), I expect the franchise will either be temporarily put to rest, or be put in the hands of completely different writers/producers (perhaps a return to Emmerich and Devlin, who knows?).

Abramsgate?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I don't get Enterprise from SG-U at all. That was a failed attempt at what the Abrams movie did to try to return to original form with a modern look and sensibility. Despite being lost in space like Voyager, I think the most apt analogy is Deep Space Nine where they told a new kind of story from the ashes of the old.

DS9 like SG-U took a freewheeling show and planted it in one location, added darker characters and motifs and a mystical spiritual angle and had an overarching storyline. I know that's simplifying things and you could make a similar statement about others by choosing what to include and omit but I do think that really is the essence of it. I don't think this is anything like what Enterprise attempted to do with the Trek franchise.

 

[The Wormhole]

I doubt MGM will take such an active interest in the series at this point. But once STARGATE UNIVERSE is over, unless it has a colossal turnaround in ratings and other sales (DVD, syndication), I expect the franchise will either be temporarily put to rest, or be put in the hands of completely different writers/producers (perhaps a return to Emmerich and Devlin, who knows?).

Abramsgate?

Awesome idea. The adventures of SG-01 as they travel to other worlds through a giant lens flare.

 

[Mr Awe]

Yeaaah, but they don't have 5 years of stories. They're not even filling the current season with story. Lots of imaginary crud that doesn't advance things, just there for a diversion. Halucinogenic lives, computer simulations, and the undead that don't really do anything. There is a grand mission which they could focus on. But, they don't. Come on guys, kick into gear. Stop beating around the bush. Sure, not every episode has to deal with the big mission. But, get the frick started and let the adventure begin.

At the current pace, the show will just fizzle out.

Oh, and the truth comes out. They say they have 5 years of stories but, in actuality, it's just one year.
"if it came down to it, we could pay it off over the course of a single season.”

So, if it went for 5 years, they'd be milking it big time.

Mr Awe

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, the whole "we have a 5-year story but we can do it in 1" just indicates they have enough padding to get through 5 years, not that the story itself needs 5 years.

But this is TV and it's still a job. Who would be stupid enough to say, "we're only going to do this for a year"? They'd be putting themselves out of a job! Five years is a nice run for a TV show.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I don't get Enterprise from SG-U at all.

That's because you're literally comparing the internal details of the show. I'm talking about the mentality that goes into creating the shows.

Enterprise was an attempt by the Same Old Gang to do something different with the Franchise, and the Same Old Gang couldn't really do it.

The same thing is true of SG-U.

Next to that, whether the shows resemble one another in the details of their premises is trivial.

 

[Mr Awe]

Yeah, the whole "we have a 5-year story but we can do it in 1" just indicates they have enough padding to get through 5 years, not that the story itself needs 5 years.

But this is TV and it's still a job. Who would be stupid enough to say, "we're only going to do this for a year"? They'd be putting themselves out of a job! Five years is a nice run for a TV show.

They should just develop a story that truly needs 5 years then. They did it for Lost. At this point, I don't the writers are up for the task.

Mr Awe

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, the whole "we have a 5-year story but we can do it in 1" just indicates they have enough padding to get through 5 years, not that the story itself needs 5 years.

But this is TV and it's still a job. Who would be stupid enough to say, "we're only going to do this for a year"? They'd be putting themselves out of a job! Five years is a nice run for a TV show.

They should just develop a story that truly needs 5 years then. They did it for Lost. At this point, I don't the writers are up for the task.

Mr Awe

Let's not pretend Lost didn't do its share of wheel-spinning, they just made it very entertaining.

Very, very few shows start off with anything like a "master plan" for so many years. Babylon 5 is pretty much the only modern example, where all details were planned out before the first episode was shot.

Serialized shows by their very nature have to take a more flexible approach. You don't know up front how many seasons you're going to get. This is just the reality of TV.

If I had to take on such a task, I'd probably do it like JMS did in terms of having "escape hatches" for all main characters. Then I'd figure out the ideal number of seasons required to tell the story, episode by episode. Then, I would start paring that down to account for early cancellation: if there won't be a second season, what would make a good finale? Do that for each season to the extent that it's possible. Maybe leave enough room for a follow-up TV movie assuming such a thing would ever happen.

But it's a lot of work to come up with all these contingency plans you may never have to use, or five years' worth of scripts you may never get to shoot, so I'm not surprised people go into these things without a detailed master plan. Writing for TV is a job, and like most jobs, you aren't going to do any more work than you have to if you can get away with it.

It doesn't excuse the sometimes shoddy quality of SGU's scripts but I think it helps explain why the show seems so uneven.