Stargate - Past Present + Future

Our topic of discussion for the week is Stargate. I originally hoped to focus more on the recent success of the direct-to-DVD SG-1 film, "Stargate Continuum", yet more recent developments in the world of Stargate prompt me to take this blog in a somewhat different direction. I will certainly touch upon that film later but 1st... Sci-Fi recently announced the 5th + current season of Stargate Atlantis will be the shows last. On the heels of that they announced they green-lit a third Stargate series, Stargate Universe, with a premiere date set for summer 2009. Stargate Universe has been in the works for some time + will take a somewhat different approach (so were told) to the Stargate franchise. Of course, it would appear that essentially the Sci-Fi network is scrapping one Stargate series for another which... well, among other things it pisses me off.

Lets start with a little history... Stargate originated with the 1994 theatrical film starring Kurt Russel + James Spader simply titled Stargate. Three years later in 1997 the series Stargate SG-1 debuted on the Showtime network. After 5 seasons the show shifted networks to the Sci-Fi channel where it's popularity grew rapidly + spawned a spin-off series, Stargate Atlantis, which premiered alongside it's 8th season. SG-1 remained popular although ratings declined in the 9th + 10th seasons with the departure of Richard Dean Anderson + a shift in the shows direction + mythology. In it's 10 year run though it managed to become the longest running US science fiction series + totaled 214 episodes. While it's cancellation was met with displeasure from fans the quality of the show, in my own + correct opinion, had diminished severely in the shows final season. It of course would not be the last we would see of SG-1 as even before the final episode had aired filming had commenced on 2 direct-to-DVD films.

As for it's spin-off series, SGA, the show ran side by side SG-1 for it's 1st 3 seasons + it's ratings for the most part mirrored those of SG-1. It performed solid enough in it's 4th season + received a renewal for a 5th season. So far it has managed to perform fairly well + consistently in it's 5th season. Apparently, it wasn't good enough for Sci-Fi. What really gets me though is the quality of this current season of SGA has been great so far. I'm sure people can/will argue but so far season 5 is my favorite of SGA. SGA, despite having several stand-out episodes over the years, has always seemed to me to be a step below SG-1 in terms of overall quality. This is the 1st season where i feel every episode has been consistently entertaining + is actually breaking away from the shadow of it's parent show. I had been skeptical of the shows longevity but season 5 had brought renewed faith + interest in the series. It would seem though that doesn't matter now as the Sci-Fi network has opted to cancel the series.

In the works for SGA though is a direct-to-DVD film that will be making its debut on the Sci-Fi channel sometime next year. I, as well as many other fans, are really having a hard time understanding Sci-Fi's motives. Atlantis last episode will only be it's 100th + will have been on the air a full 5 years shorter than SG-1. With SG-1 there was a general feel that the show had run it's course after 10 seasons + it really was logical for the series to take its bow. Being successful as the franchise was MGM went forth + put into production 2 direct-to-DVD movies. Here, Sci-Fi has ordered a TV movie of SGA to air sometime after the series ends but if they still believe the show has an audience, why cancel it?

Now for Stargate Universe - a 3rd Stargate series has been in the rumor mill for quite sometime + it was only recently that it's title, along with several (if vague) plot details were released. The prospect of a 3rd Stargate series brought about a great number of questions however. With 214 episodes of Stargate SG-1 + another 100 of SGA - what new stories could be told? Many time with Stargate Atlantis it felt like as if they would recycle plots from earlier seasons of SG-1. Story lines involving alternate dimensions, time travel, + parallel universes have become particularly tiring (although the recent SG-1 film "Continuum" was fantastic). While a new series with new characters + a twist in approach is very interesting the show runners will have to be careful that what happened to the once mighty Star Trek franchise doesn't happen with Stargate.

The fact that Sci-Fi is choosing to cancel a Stargate series that has been running strong (enough) for 5 years in favor of a new series is also mystifying. First off - if they believe Stargate can be successful why not renew SGA in addition to picking up Stargate Universe. This would give the Sci-Fi network a 2-hour block of Stargate on Friday nights. Airing SG-1 + Stargate Atlantis back-to-back proved immensly successful for Sci-Fi so why not try it again with SGA + SGU? On the flip side, if Sci-Fi doesn't feel SGA is deserving of a renewal why are they so quick to pick up a 3rd Stargate series? Do they really think that a new Stargate series will prove that much more popular than Stargate Atlantis?

Unfortunately these questions really can't be answered. We, the fans, have been "assured" by several higher-ups @ Sci-Fi that they have nothing but great intentions + the Stargate franchise is in good hands but their vague explaination of how they want SGU to "replace" Battlestar Galactica (its current season is its last) + skew younger left people equally confused + pissed off. Is Stargate really in great hands at the network that has canceled 2 Stargate series + seems to want to morph a 3rd series to fill the void of, not Stargate, but that of Battlestar Galactica? Now we are guaranteed at least one SGA film with potentially more to follow but that certainly doesn't excite me as much as SGA as weekly series does. We have also been assured by Brad Wright that Stargate Atlantis is going to go out on top. This i do believe as so far season 5 has been very good. Of course, that will only make it that much worse when the series finally does take its bow in January 09.

Now being a huge Stargate fan i am definitely interested in what SGU will bring to the franchise. I am pissed though that Sci-Fi is canceling one series in favor of another. In better Stargate news both SG-1 movies released direct-to-DVD this year have performed very well. "Stargate: the Arc of Truth" has earned 8.8 million domestically + "Stargate Continuum" has earned 6.4 million in only it's first two weeks of release. More importantly - both films have been solid in quality. Of course, not everyone agrees on this but in my opinion both films, especially the more recent Continuum, have proven to be very good. While a 3rd movie hasn't been announced yet there is a very real possibility of one happening if all the pieces can be put in place. Also in the works is "Stargate Worlds", an online game interactive game set for release in 2009. So even with SGA biding farewell after its 100th episode the Stargate Franchise will be, arguably, as strong as ever. It is certainly unfortunate + the logic of the Sci-Fi network is definitely deserving of questioning, as it typically is. MGM has no plans to scrap Stargate however as it is their second most profitable franchise. Hopefully all works out in the end + SGA will continue on as SG-1 has in TV movie/direct-to-DVD format + SGU manages to impress us all upon its debut. It would seem though we'll just have to wait + see...