Stargate: Atlantis - why was it cancelled?

[TiberiusMaximus]

Yea, SGU, didn't start well outta the gate for me. I watched both halves of S1, waiting for something to tell me I wasn't wasting my time. I woulda cancelled it there, if I was spending the money on Producing it. But, it had a 2 Seasons guaranteed deal, and S2 first half, finally gave me something to appreciate for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the 10 episodes. S2 second half, I enjoyed about every second of screen time, and was crushed to learn it was too little too late

That's exactly how I felt about SGU.

 

[46379.1]

But, it had a 2 Seasons guaranteed deal(

I don't think that's true

 

[AJ86]

They never had a guaranteed two seasons, they had a deal whereby if the show met certain ratings benchmarks then renewal would be automatic.

 

[Sindatur]

They never had a guaranteed two seasons, they had a deal whereby if the show met certain ratings benchmarks then renewal would be automatic.

I'm guessing it must've been some pretty low benchmarks, because it seemed from the beginning, it was pretty well known that it would go at least 2 seasons.

 

[46379.1]

I'm guessing it must've been some pretty low benchmarks, because it seemed from the beginning, it was pretty well known that it would go at least 2 seasons.

What? Where do you get this from?

 

[Sindatur]

I'm guessing it must've been some pretty low benchmarks, because it seemed from the beginning, it was pretty well known that it would go at least 2 seasons.

What? Where do you get this from?

From watching the show and discussing it online. S1, they were obviously in no hurry to get anywhere with the arc or characters, and definitely not worried about tying anything up. Also, posting on others boards, it was "common knowledge" that it was getting 2 seasons for sure, before it even premiered. Now, I admit fandom can latch onto things that aren't true, so maybe someone misinterpretted that "benchmark" guarantee and it became Internet misinformation, but, the writers certainly weren't pacing the show in a manner that showed a belief that it was possible to only run for a single season.

 

[AJ86]

They never had a guaranteed two seasons, they had a deal whereby if the show met certain ratings benchmarks then renewal would be automatic.

I'm guessing it must've been some pretty low benchmarks, because it seemed from the beginning, it was pretty well known that it would go at least 2 seasons.

It was renewed based on the numbers from the first half of season one I believe.