What reputation is that? Atlantis and SG1 both got good ratinigs on Sci-Fi and lastest a combined 15 years and Atlantis just one the People's Choice Award, SG1's 200 was nominated for a Hugo. And they've had woman writers in the past nobody notices who writes the eps. anyway so I don't see what the big deal is in the first place.
And that there is the only thing of relevance in that post. You've got to have context. Saying Stargate gets good ratings on Sci-Fi is like saying "I got all A's in special ed". As for the oft lauded PCA thing, you've got to remember that while, yes, the SG fandom was clearly very active, they only make up an infinitesimally small percentage of the overall viewing audience. Same thing with the Hugo. Yes they were nominated, but it's not exactly a massive pool to draw from. There are only so many genre shows.
I'm not trying to poop on SG. If I didn't enjoy it (at some point, anyway) I wouldn't be posting this. But in the real-world, a show like SG, from a writers perspective, has all the appeal of a brick wall. A writer can spot a show like that or, say, Enterprise from several light years away. When certain names keep popping up as credits for bad episodes, that gets noticed too.
You're looking at this from the perspective of a fan. But a professional writer has to look at it from the perspective of a person looking for a sweet gig, where, if they have any creative integrity (too many don't) and have a good reputation in the biz, they'll have to think "self-preservation". Stargate screams "I'll only be able to go as far as the suits will allow, which won't be very far".
And let's not forget about the Hollywood angle. Writers (or shows) who skip off to Canada are not well regarded when they decide to come back, unless they were
real good.
That's what the
big deal is.
New writers are what's best for SG. Besides, what if they did get these huge writers from Hollywood and they brought their huge egos with them. Would that really be better? SG needs new blood like a crackhead needs a hit.
I would like to see a girl on the writing team.
One of the things wrong with SGA is that they did not know what to do with the female charters.
That's an understatement.
Samantha Carter is, IMO, one of the weakest portrayals of a "woman in charge" I've ever seen. It's as if she was written as the most non-threatening, buddy-buddy, "soldier girl" they could come up with. Even actual teens, like Claire from Heroes, manage to come off with a more genuine femininity and "grit" than Sam.
Could you imagine her facing off with Laura Roslin? She'd get trounced. And don't even get me started on Vala "all our ultimate juvenile fantasies realized" Mal Doran.
I honestly think that some people who produce sci-fi series really do believe that their target audience (primarily young males) is afraid of "real women", so they come up with these caricatures. Maybe they're right, judging from some of the stuff I've read on this board over the years.
But I'm not one of them and I know I'm not alone. A woman writer is not absolutely necessary to get an honest portrayal of a female character (anymore than a black writer is to write black characters, and so on), but it sure helps a lot. But remember, "girl" writers can write some awesomely terrible female characters themselves.
Like they'd take a job working on a dopey sci fi show. Even BSG writers would probably have enough sense to steer clear and shoot for jobs on shows where their talents wouldn't be wasted.
