Stargate's future

Television, Movies Games and Books Stargate Verse
#41

I skimmed through it because while I’m glad they decided to address the tragedy, I still believe they’re partially to blame for it and I’ve grown cynical to the point I take everything SyFy says with a grain of salt.

As was mentioned in the comments of the letter, the ratings system we use today is flawed and until we find another way to measure ratings, I’m afraid many good shows on television will get cancelled. What’s more, while the move from Fridays was explained well, the move to Tuesdays wasn’t addressed where it was competing directly with the number one show on television. The move from the off season to prime season was also not addressed.

Now, I also realize that SyFy isn’t solely to blame, as I’ve already mentioned in previous posts, there were many things done differently on MGM’s part that are just as responsible.

The letter could have said, “We made our decisions based on the only data we had and our priorities as an entertainment provider; if these results displeased you that is disappointing but we cannot please everyone. We hope you don’t hold the SyFy network solely responsible for handling of the show and the franchise as it was a joint effort.”

Instead the letter cites evidence they want us to consider in their defense, absolving them of all blame and sugarcoating the reasoning for cancellation. I don’t blame SyFy for making a business decision in their interest, but the name change from SciFi to SyFy isn’t insignificant.

#42

Well, that’s certainly a big problem now. Nobody can agree on how to rate things like second day viewing, etc. Nonetheless, there’s increasing interest in web series, podcasts, et. al. We’re just in a weird transitional period, and the **AAs aren’t making it any easier.

#43

I’ll never understand how the people who accept “37 Neilson families watched this show, so that means 28 million people watched” (or whatever) but won’t accept “20 million people streamed this in the first week, so 20 million people watched.”

#44

I know it’s a moot point, but did you make up that 20 million number, or have you seen that many view counts on an SGU episode???

#45

I all but literally pulled all 3 of those numbers out of my FEO*. I don’t know offhand how many people watched a particular episode of any show online or on TV, nor how many Neilsen** families did. I also don’t know how many actual viewers a single Neilsen** family represents.

I guess you could say it was not intended to be a factual statement. :slight_smile: The numbers don’t matter; it’s the methodology I don’t understand.

*Fecal Extraction Orifice
**Nor do I apparently know how to spell “Nielsen” as I misspelled it in the previous post

#46

I once read that Nielsen boxes actually had an input where punched in the number of people watching when you turned on the TV but I don’t know if it’s still that way or not. Obviously that doesn’t count online and DVR viewings either or the people who pirate because Hulu or some other online outlet doesn’t show it same day. It’s funny because they Hulu to supplement the live airing but if Hulu doesn’t air the most recent episode until after the next episode airs, it’s impossible to catch up. I realize that Hulu shows are dictated contracts with the studios who produced the show which isn’t always owned by the network and such, but that’s just another problem.

Personally I think releasing seasons in halves like they started doing with BSG is a bad idea but I don’t know the sales numbers on things like that so maybe it’s a better idea than I realize. I understand getting episodes to market while they’re still fresh probably has a better chance of selling more, but personally I’m not cool with shelling out $30-$40 twice a year, $40-$50 if I want Blu-Ray, just for a complete season. Then the complete season is released a month after the season ends for two-thirds the price of buying the two separate entities, plus more bonus content. With such a glut of product to buy, no wonder they’re losing money, they’re producing more product than they can sell. It probaby explains why I was able to get the last 4 seasons of Atlantis for $15 apiece.

#47

Atlantis was never released half & half. They did re-release with new thinner cases earlier this year or late last year though.

#48

As a renter I quite like it. Makes it a bit easier to catch up to a current show so I can watch the next season live.

I crammed in Season 3 of Chuck on DVD from Netflix so I could watch Season 4 “live” on Hulu. I watched them as quickly as I possibly could and still didn’t finish before Episode 1 of Season 4 had expired. If they’d released Season 3 in 2 halves, I’d have made it through no problem.

#49

Oh, yeah that was when their DVD distributor changed, I think they moved from Sony to Fox, I know Fox picked up the distribution. I was referring to Universe though with the half & half seasons, I bought the full seasons of Atlantis for $15 apiece.

Well there you have it, there is a market for that, it just ain’t me. lol

#50

Video interview: Producer talks movie sequels:

http://collider.com/dean-devlin-independence-day-sequel-stargate-sequels/98467/

#51

I have nothing but respect for Dean Devlin, and he has made some fine movies. But making more Stargate that is not related to the 17 seasons of TV that came in between that movie and now is a touch sell. I’m an open minded fan who loved the movie, and likes Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich films. And I am hesitant to see that movie if it gets made.
To be fair, it is pretty unlikely, they have been talking about this for a while.

#52

I reckon it’s time for a reboot

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#53

A reboot back to the original series? You know what, I’d probably watch it just for the uniqueness, but if the next Stargate movie doesn’t tell us what happens to Atlantis after the series finale, I’m not going to be a happy camper.

#54

When you think about it, the Stargate franchise is now in a place similar to where the Terminator franchise was just prior to TSCC. The latter made the decision to put out a new installment in the franchise that wasn’t necessarily in continuity with everything that came before (and was planned to come after). Now, that show didn’t last more than two seasons, but I don’t think anyone would argue that it’s the fault of establishing a separate continuity.

Obviously, with 17 seasons of Stargate between us and the original film, the situation is a bit more exaggerated, but it’s fundamentally no different. I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t do a film sequel that ignored the TV continuation. If we were talking about a new TV show, sure, I would be a bit more conflicted. But a single, self-contained movie (or possibly two) that continued the story of the original could be really, really interesting. After all, the two “worlds” are different enough that it could stand on its own. Different aliens, different explanation for where the gates came from & why they were built, different interpretation of the O’Neil(l) character…

Besides, I’d jump at the chance to see Spader’s Daniel Jackson again. It’s one of my favorite roles he’s ever done.

#55

The Spader of today is very different to his hey day when in many ways he was a bit a rebel actor choosing projects that were not always mainstream. A good stint on television worked to his advantage in respect to a more sedate character type and I honestly don’t think Daniel could have evolved physically in the same way James has;)

#56

Have you seen James Spader in Boston Legal? He physically looks like a totally different person from his character in Stargate.

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#57

If he grew his hair and exchanged the expensive suits for outer wear, he’d be half way their. Lose the weight, he’d be another quarter.

#58

Yep, I have – it’s one of my favorite non-sci-fi shows! And yeah, agreed, he looks different now. But remember, he wouldn’t be playing Daniel Jackson at the end of the original Stargate; he’d be playing Daniel Jackson 17+ years later. It wouldn’t really be that hard to buy that Daniel has significantly changed after spending nearly 2 decades living on another planet, would it?

#59

The kids alone would add another 10 years to him. d:

#60

They could do the show with puppets… TEAM AMERICA style! Or just do the Wormhole X Treme!