My friends, the end of an era has come..

[Procutus]

IMO - the good years of te SG Franchise ended after Season 6 of Star Gate SG-1. (It was GREAT when it was on Showtime; and it's first season after Sci-Fi picked it up was okay, but it went downhill fast when the cast switched to Ben Brodwer and the rest of the former FarScape cast.

I would take it just a little bit past that, to the end of Season Eight, specifically the episode 'Threads'. Had they decided to end the show with that ep, I could've lived with it, as it had a nice feeling of closure to it, yet at the same time, you knew that their adventures would continue. But it brought to an end the eight years of their conflict with the G'oauld, and the last scene was of SG-1 at O'Neill's place.

It could've ended there nicely. To be honest, I would've preferred it as a resolution to the finale that we got in Season 10.

 

[KJbushway]

Cheers to SG. I will miss you and I await any future events.
Cheers to the fifth race.

 

[MacLeod]

You know I can't help but wonder, if SGU had been more like SGA and was still cancelled after 2 years. If we would instead of hearing about it failed because it was different, that we would instead hear cries that they should have done something different.

As the saying goes you can't please all of the people all of the time.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Stargate definitely needed to do something different after SG:A. They tried aping BSG but apparently that was beyond the abilities of the people producing and writing the series.

In hindsight, the correct solution was exactly what I posted: the entire franchise needed a reboot. Fire the people running it and hand it off to a crew that has a new vision and new ideas.

The moral of the story: Just doing something different isn't enough. Gotta do something different that's also good. We're so damn fussy! MGM, or whoever owns the franchise now, needed to step in and take drastic measures to rescue the franchise. Or maybe they were content to just let it get run into the ground, confident that they can resurrect it with an all-new team sometime in the future.

I'm confident that Stargate will be back (sooner or later, everything always is). This time, I hope the creative team behind it will be a lot sharper and more innovative, and not interested in coasting for years. There's plenty of good talent out there, people who worked on BSG, Firefly, Farscape, and various Star Trek series over the years. They haven't vanished. How about hiring a mix & match of those people?

I'm not talking about RDM and Joss Whedon, who might want to put too much of their own stamp on the show, but I also wouldn't rule them out. How about Rockne O'Bannon? If there's one thing Stargate needs, it's some of that chaotic Farscape creativity.

 

[AJ86]

If we're talking about an economic perspective then more of the same was probably what they should have done, if we're talking creatively then I think what they did was the right decision. SGU has been incredible in my opinion, I never expected them to created another show I would love as much as SG-1, but they did.

 

[Witterquick]

Stargate definitely needed to do something different after SG:A. They tried aping BSG but apparently that was beyond the abilities of the people producing and writing the series.

In hindsight, the correct solution was exactly what I posted: the entire franchise needed a reboot. Fire the people running it and hand it off to a crew that has a new vision and new ideas.

Yeah, why can't they see what we see? It's frustrating and incomprehensible why some corporate suits would be so "nice" to Stargate's team. Hire new people for godsake. I wasn't at all excited about SGU the moment I knew the same team was retained. We had seen their best. I felt it was doomed to mediocrity.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Have to disagree about rebooting the franchise. I don't want to see the exact same thing that I JUST saw over the last ten years. Even slightly different. What would be the point of that? If they do reboot the franchise then at least give it a rest for a few years.

Anyways I just realized that two Vancouver based shoots that have been staples of the city have shut down now. Stargate and Smallville. This is kind of sad in a way.

 

[MacLeod]

Perhaps in hindsight, what they should have done is after SG:A ended. Is take SG of the air for a couple of years. Thereby hopefully creating an audiance demand for more.

Just look at ST one could argue the reason why it failed was that there was so much of it, that in some respects franchise fatigue began to creep in.

And of course Sci-Fi has a core audiance to a certain extend that will watch a lot of different Sci-Fi shows. So naturall networks schedule them against each other. Splintering the core market to begin with. It's also expensive to produce, and if you don't actually own the rights per se, only the rights to air them. You fail to see any revenue from DVD sales.

Of course this next one also effects non Sci-Fi shows, is that International audiances are no longer prepared to wait months to see episodes after they have aired in their home market and resort to other means of seeing it. Possible reducing the price you can sell it to an International broadcaster. i.e Smallville S10 has yet to start to air in the UK and looks like it won't start until after it has been over in the states for a month.

Then there is the issue about actually getting an audiance to begin with, some people won't even bother tuning in. thinking what's the point in investing in this show when it'll be cancelled within the year. And of course because they believe that and don't tune in, it becomes true.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Have to disagree about rebooting the franchise. I don't want to see the exact same thing that I JUST saw over the last ten years. Even slightly different.

"Reboot" doesn't mean the same exact thing (that's the last thing I want!) I'm thinking, just keep the bare-bones premise. People find a gate that takes them to other worlds, as part of a network created by some ancient aliens. Maybe keep the Egypt connection and the idea that at least one alien was posing as a god way back when. Maybe keep the military angle. Keep or discard elements as they make sense for making a good story.

The important thing is to allow a new creative team to create something fresh and original. What if, rather than the military sending teams out to explore the network, they don't really know how to use it until the aliens walk through it one day? What if the Stargate is on display at the Smithsonian when that happens and it's all public? What if we're not talking about Goa'uld at all, and the aliens controlling the network are more like the Tok'ra (but not entirely benign)?

What if the Stargate is a permanently open portal to other worlds that cannot be shut off. It cannot be destroyed. Even burying it or dropping it in the ocean or a volcano won't stop aliens from blasting their way through and invading Earth. Their technology can get through water, stone, lava, anything. So the only defense is a good offense. The whole world is now aware that Earth is a big, fat target and the Stargate system is both the problem and the solution. All that should make a terrific story.

Just look at ST one could argue the reason why it failed was that there was so much of it, that in some respects franchise fatigue began to creep in.
[/QUOTE]

Star Trek had the same problem as Stargate: the people in creative control were out of ideas and just repeating themselves. But in Star Trek's case, it was definitely proven when Manny Coto took over for S4 of ENT and suddenly reinvigorated the series with a new approach - more serialized, and frankly more fannish (but not in a bad way). Sadly, the series had been de-facto cancelled by then. But then a whole new creative team came in led by JJ Abrams and really brought the franchise back to life.

If anything, Stargate needs an even more dramatic reboot. Star Trek was solid at its core so the challenge was to just come up with a fresh angle on the basic material. Stargate's characters and storyline aren't worth resurrecting like TOS' was. The elements to keep come from the original movie, and maybe the idea of the aliens being mind-control parasites. The basic idea of the Jaffa is good as well.

Waiting a few years for a new series won't make any difference. The real problem is the lack of a large enough audience for any space opera series, to offset the expense of doing one, so that even SyFy would rather invest in other projects. And if SyFy won't do it, what are the odds anyone else will? I expect sf/f shows to proliferate on cable, but they'll be more like The Walking Dead and Falling Skies - Earth/present-day based.

 

[MacLeod]

Perhaps the way to go then, is International co-produced to offset the cost for a single network.

However that may not solve the underlying issue is that Sci-Fi based shows are still largely considered to be a niche market, and to a certain extend people who watch these shows are viewed in a negative light. When compared to people who say watch Soap Operas. Yet those very same people will happily pay to watch films at the cinema that fall into the Sci-Fi(Fantasy) genre. Just look at the top films.

It's changing attitudes to accept these shows. Just rememer however in the early-mid 80's there wasn't much in the way of TV Sci-Fi. Then we had an explosion of it in the late 80's the success of TNG. Throughout the 90's and into the 200o's we were spoilt for choice. So perhaps we are entering a quite phase for this type of show, give it a few years and the demand will be back for it. Perhaps led once again by Star Trek.

Though to a ceratin extend the UK is having a resurregence in the demand for Sci-Fi shows led of course by the other big TV Sci-Fi show, Doctor Who.

 

[Noname Given]

Perhaps the way to go then, is International co-produced to offset the cost for a single network.

However that may not solve the underlying issue is that Sci-Fi based shows are still largely considered to be a niche market, and to a certain extend people who watch these shows are viewed in a negative light. When compared to people who say watch Soap Operas. Yet those very same people will happily pay to watch films at the cinema that fall into the Sci-Fi(Fantasy) genre. Just look at the top films.

It's changing attitudes to accept these shows. Just rememer however in the early-mid 80's there wasn't much in the way of TV Sci-Fi. Then we had an explosion of it in the late 80's the success of TNG. Throughout the 90's and into the 200o's we were spoilt for choice. So perhaps we are entering a quite phase for this type of show, give it a few years and the demand will be back for it. Perhaps led once again by Star Trek.

Though to a ceratin extend the UK is having a resurregence in the demand for Sci-Fi shows led of course by the other big TV Sci-Fi show, Doctor Who.

That's not really true:

In the 1980ies we had:

BSG (1978)
Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century (1979 - 1982)
Galactica 1980 (1980)
Quark (Sci-Fi Comedy series)
V Mini-Series (1983 and 1984) <- both HUGELY POPULAR in their day.
V TV series (1985)

Then in 1987 TNG came on the air, but honestly, it wasn't a 'hit'until late in it's 3rd season by most accounts. Also, the reason there was less Sci-Fi on TV wasn't because the genere was considered unpopular; more that it cost A LOT more to produce; and that cost went down as digital technology got better (and less expensive) so that you could create a look that was decent nd didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Star Wars had a HUGE impact in the late 1970ies/early 1980ies as to demostrating that science fiction was a popular genre; and had the tech been avaiilable then, you would have seen more Sci-Fi on TV in tat era, but it was just way more expensive then your standard Cop drama show.

 

[Harvey]

In the 1980ies we had:

BSG (1978)
Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century (1979 - 1982)
Galactica 1980 (1980)
Quark (Sci-Fi Comedy series)
V Mini-Series (1983 and 1984) <- both HUGELY POPULAR in their day.
V TV series (1985)

Battlestar Galactica lasted 1 season.
Buck Rogers lasted 1 1/2 seasons.
Galactica 1980 lasted just half a season.
Quark died after 8 episodes.
The two V miniseries did well, but the regular series fizzled after 19 episodes.

Sounds like slim pickings to me. Or am I misinterpreting your post?

 

[MacLeod]

Of course Doctor Who was also on in the early to mid 80's

 

[MacLeod]

Shall we begin the 90's onward list of Sci-Fi genre shows

Star Trek: Deep Space
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Doctor Who (uncancelled)
Babylon 5
SG-1
SG:A
The 4400
7 Days
Jake 2.0
Alien Nation
Dark Skies
Sliders
Space Precinct
Space Above and Beyond
Quantum Leap
The Outer Limits (remake)
BSG (remake)
Twilight Zone (remake)
Seaquest DSV
Firefly
Earth: Final Conflict

etc... I could go on but there where far more Sci-Fi genre shows in the last 2 decades are so than there was in the 80's

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

If I may quote everyone's favorite Jaffa...the end of an era, Indeed. I'm not sad, though. SGU's finale was fantastic. Like I said in the commentary thread, our resident Audience Analogue is unsure of what the future will hold but he's happy with what he had. So am I. "Gauntlet" was an awesome finale for the series, and for the franchise in general. Anything more just wouldn't be worth it, in my humble opinion.

 

[the_wildcard]

Agreed. I thought the way Gauntlet was shot was amazing. The ending sequence, combined with the music was terrific.

 

[KJbushway]

Yep a classic ending. I wonder how they would have contuined the story.

 

[Harvey]

I'd have a hard time calling Stargate Atlantis a failure. It may have been a critical failure, but still had a five year run, which is a great life for a series from a financial standpoint. And let's not forget that seven of ten seasons of Stargate SG-1 aired in the 2000s.

 

[AJ86]

Did they ever used this "Point-blank-guns" on the sides?

Nope. They don't work, they're wooden props IIRC.

 

[Harvey]

The Ori story was concluded in The Ark of Truth. Not my favorite period of that show, and this conclusion was about on par with the last two seasons of SG-1.

I'm not really bothered by the state of science fiction on television. These things come in cycles. The space opera is out right now, but it will come back. There's such a backlog of old shows that I haven't seen that television could cease producing sf altogether for five years and I still wouldn't be able to catch up!