How Come Stargate goes on but Star Trek died?
- Thread starter Infern0
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LOL Stargate never has "Beat" TNG the ratings are not even in the same league. TNG was one of the highest rated syndicated shows of all time.
Balderdash. Are we scared of associating with university students because a few dress in bedsheet togas and get drunk till they throw up?
Are we scared of football fans who paint their faces in team colours?
Are we scared of boy scouts who have hand signals, and dorky uniforms?
3 + 1.5 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 4 years worth of episodes and you're saying it doesn't survive?
ST never gets past seven years per series because it's much cheaper to start again with a whole new cast (signed to a five-year contract) than renegotiate actor salaries for an eighth season.
Actually,yes.I can't tell you how many people look at my old school (SIU Carbondale) as a 'party school'and many parents react accordingly by sending their kids elsewhere.
In this selfish,mine-is-trendier-than-yours culture Star Trek is more uncool than a night in jail.
Sad,but true.Hopefully Abrams can kill that stigma with the next Trek,but we'll see.
Short answer: good characters, it's pretty much the only TV show MGM has done in ten years (and a strong money maker for them), stronger inter-episode continuity than Star Trek yet accessible to new viewers
Longer reasons:
SG-1 got its start on Showtime. Was fairly obscure for its beginning seasons (though more popular abroad, especially in the UK). Also aired in US syndication, where it also got ok ratings.
Moved over to Sci-Fi, where it got a new lease on life. How many other shows reach their ratings peak in the 6th or 7th season? Instead of making way for Atlantis, Sci-Fi wants both. Only after over-staying its welcome creativly and cast changes does SG-1 finally exit the stage.
Unlike SG-1, Atlantis starts off strong both creativly and ratings wise but declines more sharply thereafter.
Sci-Fi has, well, little original SF programing. Still wants a Stargate, but wants to appeal to newer and younger viewers so cancels Atlantis and rolls the dice on Universe.
Stargate found its niche on pay cable as a companion to The Outer Limits then becomes a tent poll on a basic cable network.
Star Trek on the other hand was strongest in first run syndication. Post-TOS ST and first run syndication were both at their strongest in the late 80s and early to mid 90s. The US media universe has become far more fractured. And then UPN came along, Rick Berman stayed way too long, and slowly the franchise bled to death in slow motion over the span of 8 years. First Contact was probably where ST's popularity jumped the shark, and was followed by INS and Nemesis. The creative rebound in ENT season 4 wasn't enough to overcome what had happened the past few years.
In a book written by the UPN and WB executives on why both networks went bust, they mentioned that ST was disproportionally watched by young, educated, white males, which didn't link up with the network's other programming. Eventually as casual fans left, ENT just wasn't drawing enough ratings to survive on UPN.
Now where would TV Star Trek go? Probably wouldn't get enough ratings on CBS. The CW wouldn't work. Sci-Fi is owned by NBC. Spike or Showtime probably couldn't afford a ST series. The market that made ST such a success in the early 90s just doesn't exist anymore.
Now a successful ST XI could change this. But it would probably spark a couple film sequels before ST returned to its home on the TV screen.
Longer reasons:
SG-1 got its start on Showtime. Was fairly obscure for its beginning seasons (though more popular abroad, especially in the UK). Also aired in US syndication, where it also got ok ratings.
Moved over to Sci-Fi, where it got a new lease on life. How many other shows reach their ratings peak in the 6th or 7th season? Instead of making way for Atlantis, Sci-Fi wants both. Only after over-staying its welcome creativly and cast changes does SG-1 finally exit the stage.
Unlike SG-1, Atlantis starts off strong both creativly and ratings wise but declines more sharply thereafter.
Sci-Fi has, well, little original SF programing. Still wants a Stargate, but wants to appeal to newer and younger viewers so cancels Atlantis and rolls the dice on Universe.
Stargate found its niche on pay cable as a companion to The Outer Limits then becomes a tent poll on a basic cable network.
Star Trek on the other hand was strongest in first run syndication. Post-TOS ST and first run syndication were both at their strongest in the late 80s and early to mid 90s. The US media universe has become far more fractured. And then UPN came along, Rick Berman stayed way too long, and slowly the franchise bled to death in slow motion over the span of 8 years. First Contact was probably where ST's popularity jumped the shark, and was followed by INS and Nemesis. The creative rebound in ENT season 4 wasn't enough to overcome what had happened the past few years.
In a book written by the UPN and WB executives on why both networks went bust, they mentioned that ST was disproportionally watched by young, educated, white males, which didn't link up with the network's other programming. Eventually as casual fans left, ENT just wasn't drawing enough ratings to survive on UPN.
Now where would TV Star Trek go? Probably wouldn't get enough ratings on CBS. The CW wouldn't work. Sci-Fi is owned by NBC. Spike or Showtime probably couldn't afford a ST series. The market that made ST such a success in the early 90s just doesn't exist anymore.
Now a successful ST XI could change this. But it would probably spark a couple film sequels before ST returned to its home on the TV screen.
Some other reasons:
Stargate is set in the present. Jack O'Neill was there to bring the casual viewer back down to earth whenever the plot went SF in depth. Only at the end of SG-1 did parody overtake the show and the balance of the beginning years was lost.
Star Trek on the other hand was very conservative and took itself very seriously, in set design/filming/music, plot, and formula. ENT had the same look and feel as TNG, despite airing 8 years later.
Stargate is set in the present. Jack O'Neill was there to bring the casual viewer back down to earth whenever the plot went SF in depth. Only at the end of SG-1 did parody overtake the show and the balance of the beginning years was lost.
Star Trek on the other hand was very conservative and took itself very seriously, in set design/filming/music, plot, and formula. ENT had the same look and feel as TNG, despite airing 8 years later.
How do you know this? Are you an insider?
ask this question after stargate has survived for forty years. trek has survived. simple thing is that after 20 years of being on TV every week, there had to be a break. to allow time for people to miss it, and want it back enough. also gives the writers and studio people chance to come up with fresh ideas and ways of keeping star trek worth watching. Answer this: if a form of star trek had survived and was still bringing out new episodes on TV every week, would it still be popular, and would this new movie has recieved all the financial backing and attention its recieving???
TV is so fickle, at times good show with good content get cancelled for no apparent reson. I loved Freaks and Geeks, it got cancelled after only 18 episodes. I lost count of how many lousy show go on and on, I wish Enterprise had a chance for it's 7 season also. I just another reason why I don't watch much TV anymore. Thank God for DVD's...
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