View Full Version : Stargate Universe
The Previously unknown purpose of the "Ninth Cheveron" is revealed, and ends up taking a team to an Ancient ship "Destiny", a ship built millions of years ago by the Ancients, used to seed Distant galaxies with Stargates. This team, led by Dr. David Rush and Colonel Everet Young, are trapped on the ship, unable to change its programmed mission, and encounter new races, new technology and new enemies, as the runaway ship takes them to the far ends of the Universe.
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Premieres October 2nd.
Richard Dean Anderson got fat. Robert Carlyle looks really frail and thin. It's supposed to be darker and different than the usual Stargate shows and kind of has a BSG feel to it from watching the trailer. I hope it's good though because it would feel weird without having SG around. I'm still going through withdrawal from Hercules and Xena being gone.
El Vaquero de Infierno
09-14-2009, 08:47 AM
RDA has chunked out since we last saw him.
Hopefully this series will deliver the goods.
Sting Fan
09-14-2009, 09:01 AM
Looks interesting, is this a reboot? Or same universe or whats the go?
Kind of strange to see so much talk of them not knowing where the SG is going to take them.
El Vaquero de Infierno
09-14-2009, 09:06 AM
Its not a reboot. But it is supposed to separate from SG1 and Atlantis.
Didn't O'Neil once use the ninth Chevron to go to the Asgard home-world when he had all that knowledge of the ancients in his head?
El Vaquero de Infierno
09-14-2009, 01:45 PM
Na. That was the 8th chevron.
Ok I couldn't remember exactly.
The Destroyer
09-14-2009, 02:37 PM
I've seen the trailer before, but I hadn't even realised that was Richard Dean Anderson. :(
Kind of looking forward to it. I was never big on Atlantis so hopefully this'll be a bit better.
El Vaquero de Infierno
09-14-2009, 03:28 PM
I'd love to see RDA guest on NCIS, portraying a Jack O'Neill-esque character. Would love to see the interaction between him and Gibbs.
I found that Atlantis came off as lacking by the time it finished. So hopefully the Stargate producers will step it up for this series.
The next few months are looking good, with SG-Universe and Caprica appearing.
El Vaquero de Infierno
09-14-2009, 03:33 PM
Is it me or do The Go'uld seem to be back. Saw some Pyramid ships and the like, unless the Jaffas have turned against Earth. [/sad sci-fi geek]
I didn't see a pyramid ship. I did see an open golden triangle but that looks to be a small part of the ship maybe underneath the ship that they are on.
Shadow
09-14-2009, 07:04 PM
Yeah this isn't really part of SG-1 or Atlantis. More or less a new show set in the same universe. Heard Lou Diamond Phillips will be in it so....
Saw the premiere. Just introduced a lot of the characters and premise and just took a step forward into the storyline but that's pretty much it. Don't really know what to make of it so far.
Downunder
10-04-2009, 07:34 AM
I've never really watched any of the Stargate's, so if I watch this will it make sense?
The Destroyer
10-04-2009, 08:03 AM
From what I've read there's seemingly little bits in it designed to "clue up" people who're not familiar with the previous series. So it might make some sense - not seen it myself yet though.
I've never really watched any of the Stargate's, so if I watch this will it make sense?
If they reference a lot of stuff from past Stargate missions then yeah you probably need to watch those to get what they are talking about but since this show is supposed to be different and I'm assuming you've already seen the original Stargate movie to know what the hell a Stargate is then I think you can just jump right in.
Shadow
10-04-2009, 05:01 PM
Saw a little bit of it on Hulu the other night. Was no impressed at all.
Have to take a pass on this.
LoDownM
10-04-2009, 05:31 PM
Still pissed they canceled Atlantis for this.
The Destroyer
10-06-2009, 05:05 PM
Hmm, based on the first two episodes, seems fairly good so far. I'll give it a few more weeks before I make my mind up for definite though.
Downunder
10-07-2009, 01:00 AM
If they reference a lot of stuff from past Stargate missions then yeah you probably need to watch those to get what they are talking about but since this show is supposed to be different and I'm assuming you've already seen the original Stargate movie to know what the hell a Stargate is then I think you can just jump right in.
Yeah I've seen the movie so i know what it's all about - I'll give it a shot and see.
Danny Electric
10-07-2009, 03:38 AM
Can someone tell me what happened at the end of the second episode.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-07-2009, 07:01 AM
Can someone tell me what happened at the end of the second episode, I fell asleep just after the Senator sacrificed himself.
WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! Spoiler this shit, muthafungla!
Can someone tell me what happened at the end of the second episode, I fell asleep just after the Senator sacrificed himself.
The Colonel or whatever wanted to dial to Earth but Dr. Rush said they cant and the ship dialed the stargate like it was programmed to and they decide to check out the world it dialed and get supplies if they can. Then I'm guessing the next episode is them exploring that planet and getting into some kind of trouble. Also they got like 12 or 15 hours until the Stargate closes and the ship goes to the next place.
LoDownM
10-07-2009, 08:28 PM
Finally watched the pilot, looks like it might be decent, gonna give it a couple episodes.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-08-2009, 02:15 PM
I finally watched the pilot on youtube. It seems okay. I'm on the fence at the moment, and will need to see more. I do think they have some potentially more interesting characters than the previous series', especially the Dr. Rush character.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-08-2009, 02:54 PM
They also need to get some decent music.
Swiss Ultimate
10-10-2009, 03:05 PM
This has a Battlestar feel to it...
I have enjoyed what's been done so far.
O/T: I'm still waiting for NCIS:LA to get good.
Watched the third episode and it's kind of slow to me. Different than the other Stargates but I hope there's some cool characters equivalent to Shepard and Ronon.
LoDownM
10-10-2009, 03:57 PM
Completely forgot this came on last night.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-18-2009, 06:36 PM
So I watched episodes 3 and 4 on youtube, and I think i'm starting to get into it now. They still need some decent music, but overall, things seem to be improving.
Swiss Ultimate
10-18-2009, 06:41 PM
So I watched episodes 3 and 4 on youtube, and I think i'm starting to get into it now. They still need some decent music, but overall, things seem to be improving.
Yeah, they definitely are getting better. Now they just need to fix the pacing issues...
It feels like they really really really want to be Battlestar Galactica with their tone, camera style and set design.
Also, it's pretty much the exact premise used for Star Trek Voyager.
So I watched episodes 3 and 4 on youtube, and I think i'm starting to get into it now. They still need some decent music, but overall, things seem to be improving.
Thought the music at the end of episode 3 was pretty good. The part where they had to make it into the stargate and back into the ship before it closed and left.
Episode 4 had the girl in the shower plus the top heavy soldier girl in her underwear. :$
LoDownM
10-18-2009, 09:08 PM
Elyse Levesque, the chick in the shower, is hot.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-19-2009, 07:24 AM
Good lord. Epi 4 was my favourite just for that airforce chick with the ridic-sized breasts, and the cute senator's daughter. They should have obviously given us at least some side-boobage when she was in the "shower."
Anyways. Robert Carlysle is owning the show right now (especially in episode 4). The other actors (and the writers) need to up their game in order to match him.
The music has its moments, but overall, the composer is no Bear McCreary.
I was like damn they had a lot of good looking women in past Stargates but never really did this kind of stuff with them plus I don't think any of the extras or guest stars in the past had porn star bodies.
I agree Dr. Rush is pretty good. I don't really like anybody else except the women and Eli. I hope they go on more adventures in the future and possibly pick up a few more people or at least one really cool person that gets stuck with them or decides to travel with them.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-19-2009, 10:31 AM
I think it is just a case that they haven't had the chance yet to develop the other characters. But it is something they need to rectify quickly in order to make the show more interesting to watch.
I like how they brought back Ona Grauer and Anna Galvin. Ona played the ancient woman frozen in Antarctica on SG-1 and is now the ex-wife of that military guy. Anna played the dream woman of Woolsey on SG Atlantis and is now the Senator's wife.
I did a little research and the soldier girl is Julia Anderson. I also happened to find this:
http://weblogimages.com/static/nuN532717PS3.jpg
Swiss Ultimate
10-19-2009, 11:50 AM
Just wait til it turns out that the good doctor is a windigu and his entire plan is to eat them all.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-19-2009, 01:34 PM
Those boobs are ridiculous.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-25-2009, 09:04 AM
So just watched episode 5. The outcome was obvious, but blah. Is it me or has this relationship between the Lt. and the senator's daughter seem to have sprung out of nowhere? Seemed rather random to me, seen as the Lt. had been banging the chick with the ridiculous boobs.
Didn't they have a prior relationship or am I just making things up? I have all the episodes but I don't want to go back and watch it all. If that's not the case then I guess she has been confiding and seeking comfort in the Lt. but they didn't show all that.
LoDownM
10-25-2009, 02:12 PM
When the Lt. got back from the desert planet Chloe came to see him, but that's all I remember hearing/seeing about a relationship. Poor Eli, after the last episode, I thought he'd get the girl.
Kane Knight
10-25-2009, 06:28 PM
I appreciate the pacing and the slow build, though it seems like a bad idea if you want to keep the average viewer watching. Especially with how action oriented Stargate has been. I also hope to Hell it pays off.
There's a lot of good potential in the series, potential in the characters, and just all around potential. But then, most shows that build on the promise of payoff do not, in fact, do so. Just being realistic.
Swiss Ultimate
10-26-2009, 01:47 PM
spoiler: It's all just a holodeck program.
The Destroyer
10-28-2009, 04:16 PM
I'm just glad it hasn't settled down into a "planet of the week" format. Yet.
Yeah but it's so slow that you kind of wished it did.
El Vaquero de Infierno
10-28-2009, 04:53 PM
Should be exploring the ship already.
Swiss Ultimate
10-28-2009, 05:28 PM
It is pretty slow. I still like it enough to watch it though. I'm just wondering when Dr. Rush is going to stop being such a douche-bag. It seems like they're really trying to make him into this show's version of Dr. Gaius Baltar.
Kane Knight
11-05-2009, 06:19 PM
Should be exploring the ship already.
Really. It's like they don't know how to tell a story without detailing every moment. I mean, it's not a bad show, but you really hope this pays off somewhere down the line...
It's getting dirty with all the different relationships. I have feeling that one guy is going to sleep with Young's ex-wife and pretend its him.
Swiss Ultimate
11-07-2009, 09:35 AM
I think Eli is going to use that flying video recorder to scrounge up good masturbation material.
El Vaquero de Infierno
11-07-2009, 04:54 PM
Telford is a skeezy bastard.
That must be something to wake up mid-orgasm back in your own body with a beautiful naked woman riding you.
loopydate
11-07-2009, 05:44 PM
My girlfriend has watched all the other SG shows, and so she was excited when this started. I didn't really have any interest, but I am absolutely hooked now. Really anxious to see where this business with Telford impersonating Young is going to wind up.
El Vaquero de Infierno
11-14-2009, 06:01 PM
Episode 8 "Time" was pretty tasty.
XCaliber
11-14-2009, 06:17 PM
TJ is easily my favorite character in this show so far.
El Vaquero de Infierno
11-15-2009, 09:15 AM
TJ is easily my favorite character in this show so far.
Is that because she is an attractive blonde?
[/stupid question]
XCaliber
11-15-2009, 11:12 AM
Is that because she is an attractive blonde?
[/stupid question]
It certainly helps but I despite her being in the military she comes accross as being very humane compared to some of the others.
Kane Knight
11-15-2009, 11:45 AM
Episode 8 "Time" was pretty tasty.
Time was easily the best episode so far.
I'm not normally a fan of the Blair Witch/Cloverfield "shaky cam" deal, but the style supplemented the story of the episode. As opposed to being a gimmick set up to disguise a shitty story.
It certainly helps but I despite her being in the military she comes accross as being very humane compared to some of the others.
Well she is the medic and I guess it's her nature as well to be like that. Then there's the fact that she was leaving the military so she was really close to becoming just a civilian again.
Kane Knight
11-15-2009, 10:05 PM
She's still too vanilla for my taste. I get the character, but there's nothing that really distinguishes her in any meaningful sense.
Boards on IMDB have a lot of people thinking Time was a letdown and Life being a much better episode. I disagree. I think it's the other way around especially since I thought there was going to be a conclusion in the most recent episode but there was like no mention of the previous episode at all. This episode was more for character development and drama but would be nice if they threw in something too to.
El Vaquero de Infierno
11-22-2009, 04:07 PM
I dare say the whole thing from "Time" will come back for the season finale or whatever mid-season break you have on the other side of the pond.
It was good to see Telford getting his arse handed to him at the end of the episode.
I can see that bald airforce man going psycho and taking out a number of the people on Destiny before blowing himself away.
I'd do the same thing. A man that tried to take over your position that is now making buddies with your ex-wife and you're billions of light years away on a spaceship that may never come back you would feel really helpless. Telford made a lot of dick moves lately.
Kane Knight
11-24-2009, 10:45 AM
Boards on IMDB have a lot of people thinking Time was a letdown and Life being a much better episode. I disagree. I think it's the other way around especially since I thought there was going to be a conclusion in the most recent episode but there was like no mention of the previous episode at all. This episode was more for character development and drama but would be nice if they threw in something too to.
And most of the season's been character development.
I'd do the same thing. A man that tried to take over your position that is now making buddies with your ex-wife and you're billions of light years away on a spaceship that may never come back you would feel really helpless. Telford made a lot of dick moves lately.
I'd gank the fucker. And this is one of the things that gave the episode some payoff, at least. Something came to a head, and is going somewhere. They've spent a fuckton of time setting the stage.
I also think they need to move the Destiny into a more active role quick, because they've painted much of the structure of the show into a corner. It's a Space Action Franchise, and right now we've got space, but minimum action. Time had action and storytelling. We learned as much about the characters in Time without the deliberate and forced introduction of these elements.
El Vaquero de Infierno
11-28-2009, 03:09 PM
Its pissing me off having to wait another week for the next episode. I was hoping to put off doing some assignment work, but US tv has thwarted my attempts at laziness.
Swiss Ultimate
11-28-2009, 05:16 PM
Yeah, the show has really increased in quality.
El Vaquero de Infierno
12-05-2009, 02:34 PM
Holy shit with Rush and Young at the end. I dare say Rush will return at the end of the series in that alien space ship.
Another good episode. They've definitely hit their stride now.
El Vaquero de Infierno
12-05-2009, 02:36 PM
Crap. They ain't showing any more until next year. Come on!
It will be interesting to see what Rush does. I think everyone at least on the military side trusts Young and like Rush said, I don't believe he's the right guy to lead them. I never liked him from the beginning. I didn't like Greer either but I don't know. I think I'm okay with him now.
Swiss Ultimate
12-06-2009, 10:07 AM
I think Rush is going to come back as a super-villain type now. :/
Talk about cliff-hanger season finales.
El Vaquero de Infierno
12-06-2009, 10:17 AM
I dunno. if they do that to Rush then i think it will spoil the character.
The ambiguity of Rush's character is probably the strongest element of the series.
Swiss Ultimate
12-06-2009, 11:07 AM
Very true. Robert Carlyle is one of my favorite actors too.
Won't be back until April :( I wanna see what happens with Rush.
El Vaquero de Infierno
04-01-2010, 05:31 PM
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Looks like things are going to pick up this second half. And a Daniel Jackson appearance. All goodness.
Really interesting past 2 episodes.
http://www.plunderguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Elyse-Levesque-8.jpg
El Vaquero de Infierno
06-12-2010, 04:22 PM
So, what are people's thoughts at the end of the first season? They definitely got their shit together for the second half of the season, and they ended on a strong note. Looking forward to the next season.
But...DAMN CLIFFHANGERS!
I didn't like the whole Lucian alliance thing. Trying to take over the ship by force, things get dramatic blah blah blah.
Kane Knight
06-13-2010, 10:16 PM
I didn't like the whole Lucian alliance thing. Trying to take over the ship by force, things get dramatic blah blah blah.
Yeah, I'd much rather see another ten episodes of "We're alone in space, nothing happens."
They might even build up to five minutes of action next season.
The whole blue alien thing was interesting. I preferred them to do something with that instead of this. I didn't like how it's almost suddenly just happens that we find out the Lucian alliance has Telford as a spy and they are coming to take over the ship although I like what it has done for the Telford character. You go from hating his guts to cheering for him.
Plus Carter's first appearance on SGU was insignificant. Why have her just for that small part that could have went to anyone else. At least Jackson's appearance in Rush's dream thing was good.
Actually they should have done the Lucian Alliance stuff first then the blue aliens trying to take over for the season finale.
El Vaquero de Infierno
06-14-2010, 06:52 AM
They might even build up to five minutes of action next season.
WHOA! Lets not get crazy now.
El Vaquero de Infierno
06-14-2010, 06:54 AM
Maybe they will keep that Lucian alliance chick, and kill off Ming Na's character, next season. The characterisation in the series is still bland.
Kane Knight
06-18-2010, 05:37 PM
Maybe they will keep that Lucian alliance chick, and kill off Ming Na's character, next season. The characterisation in the series is still bland.
Yeah, be nice if they ramped that up.
Or ramped something up.
Been trying to figure it out for an hour and I finally got it. One of the members of the Lucian Alliance is the main villain from Heroes season 4.
SGU gives me a feeling like its a CW show.
El Vaquero de Infierno
09-30-2010, 02:41 PM
The music still bothers me, but the first epi was good.
El Vaquero de Infierno
12-07-2010, 06:34 AM
So last week we came to the end of the first half of the second season, and I was wondering how people have found this second season so far?
AKin3D
12-07-2010, 07:06 AM
Even though I'm not really watching it. I have to say that's due to it being to "meh" for my liking. I can sit down with my Fiancée and watch the first 5 minutes, go off do something, come back about the halfway point, get a simple over view, go back to whatever, and come back to watch like the last 10 minutes and I'm good to go.
My Fiancée's feeling the same way about the show. He's liking the story and everything with the characters, but he says it's been a bit slow moving.
One thing that bugs me is I think Eli has got fatter over the season. idk maybe it's just me that thinks that. Oh and I really hate the make-up artist. Everything make-up wise looks kind of Power Ranger level done.
LoDownM
12-07-2010, 11:32 AM
Hate mid-season finales with a passion.
I like the second season a little better so far.
LoDownM
12-07-2010, 06:42 PM
The whole thing with Chloe better be going somewhere amazing and not be a let down, like Greer just killing her.
It's a little weird watching the show knowing it has been canceled while there are new episodes coming out still. The most recent one is really interesting. I wish another season was still possible.
El Vaquero de Infierno
04-20-2011, 01:44 PM
I hope the staff at SyFy get flesh-eating STD's. It really picked up this second season.
Next Big Thing
04-20-2011, 05:36 PM
I would rather have Atlantis over SGU. Other than Sergeant Greer and Colonel Young, the characters on SGU annoy me more than they intrigue me. It sucks that the Stargate franchise ends like this.
Then again, who knows what time will bring. Maybe they'll bring it back at some point in the future. Most t.v. shows don't run for 14 years in some form or another.
LoDownM
05-03-2011, 03:08 PM
Only one episode left, and it's going to end with a cliffhanger with no conclusion due to the dvd movie being canceled 2 weeks ago...
El Vaquero de Infierno
05-03-2011, 03:45 PM
I hope the staff of SyFy choke on donkey dicks.
Has a show ever been brought back because of the fans? Maybe Futurama and Family Guy but I would like to know about live action series.
El Vaquero de Infierno
05-04-2011, 02:08 PM
Didn't Enterprise return for a fourth season due to fans calling for it to have one last season, or something?
The Destroyer
05-04-2011, 02:18 PM
Enterprise was only at risk of cancellation, it wasn't actually canceled until after the fourth season.
Next Big Thing
05-05-2011, 09:24 AM
How does this show stack up with Atlantis and SG-1 in your opinions?
It had a much bigger budget than Atlantis and I'm assuming SG-1 as well but did much less with it visually in my opinion. I believe financial constraints at MGM are one of the big reasons for the show's cancellation.
El Vaquero de Infierno
05-05-2011, 10:26 AM
It started off kinda iffy, but by the end of the first season it was starting to get good, and now coming to the end of the second season I quite enjoy it. There still needs to be some more interesting character development (which it won't get now). But I found it vastly improved over time.
Next Big Thing
05-11-2011, 10:02 AM
Yeah. Overall, SGU was the worst of the franchise. It got good towards the last few episodes, but for the most part it was stale. Like I've said before, I think the fan base is still there, but the finances aren't.
I don't think they did a good job of fleshing out the characters or making them compelling though. Other than Greer and Young, everyone else's backstory was dry. I couldn't bring myself to care about the lesbian administrator, fat smart video game nerd or brilliant scientist who seemed to wallow in his own misery and make everyone else around him miserable as well.
I think the show also would have benefitted from a primary antagonist too. SG1 had the Goa'Ulds, Replicators and Ori. Atlantis had the Wraith. SGU had... some random drones, blue aliens for a couple of episodes and the Lucian Alliance for a bit. It seemed like every episode was a filler episode revolving around needing to get supplies before they all die or something Rush has done or not told anyone he's done that gets them all in trouble.
El Vaquero de Infierno
05-11-2011, 12:56 PM
Rush was the best character out of all of them. I think they dropped the ball with him though.
LoDownM
05-12-2011, 12:58 PM
Not the kind of "cliffhanger" I thought it was going to be, but still annoying. Guess I'd be less frustrated at "SyFy" had the SGU movie not been cancelled. But way to go SyFy, renew Sanctuary for another season even tho it only got 700,000 viewers Monday compared to SGU's 1.134 million viewers.
I like Sanctuary though but I guess it's supposed to be really cheap to produce. It's kind of annoying though that every time they are out in the city it's some alley or industrial area that looks very similar to the last place.
El Vaquero de Infierno
05-12-2011, 03:05 PM
I hope MGM find somebody else to broadcast SG:Universe. It can't just end like that. I have got quite into this second season.
Next Big Thing
05-20-2011, 03:34 PM
From the Editor: With the end of Stargate Universe on Syfy this week, fans of the show are understandably upset. Why was the show cancelled? Did the move from Friday nights do it more harm than good? Today we welcome a guest post from Craig Engler, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Syfy Digital. Our thanks to Craig for taking the time to respond to some of the concerns coming from Stargate fans, and to explain the network’s decision-making process.
An Open Letter to Stargate Fans From Syfy
There’s been a lot written about Stargate Universe and Syfy in the weeks leading up to SGU‘s recent finale, and a lot of questions and concerns directed at Syfy about how we handled the series. I wanted to take some time to address the issues that have come up and thought GateWorld, which has been a huge supporter of the entire Stargate franchise, would be a good place to do it. So thanks to them for giving me the space here, and thanks to you for taking the time to read this.
When MGM and Syfy mutually decided to bring Stargate Atlantis to an end after five seasons, they did so knowing they’d transition to a new show in the franchise, Stargate Universe. SGU was a bold new take on Stargate that Brad Wright and Robert Cooper had had in mind for a long time, and one that we’d discussed with them off and on. It first came to us as a pitch many years ago.
Because Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis had performed so well for us in the past, we felt confident about SGU and committed to a two-season deal for it, as long as the show met certain milestones along the way. Two-season deals are rare in the TV world because they tie up a huge amount of investment (both time and money), but our great track record with MGM and Stargate made this seem like as much of a sure thing as you’ll get in the TV business. That means before any footage was shot or any actors were hired, we knew there’d be 40 episodes.
The show quickly moved forward and officially launched on October 2, 2009. The debut was watched by a good if not spectacular 2,779,000 viewers. To give that some perspective, Stargate Atlantis debuted with over 4 million viewers, so SGU was more than 25% below that. On the plus side, SGU actually grew in week 2 to just about 3 million viewers before falling into the 2.6 million range where it seemed like it was going to settle. That’s a fairly typical pattern for a new series, and at this point the show was doing okay.
In week six viewers dropped to 2.3 million, or 20% off the season high. It’s not unusual for a show to fluctuate a bit, so as long as it bounced back this wouldn’t be too much of a concern. There was indeed a bit of a recovery the next week, but that was followed by another small drop. Then viewership took a further dip to 1,961,000, or 33% down from the season high. Obviously there was concern at this point, but we were headed into the hiatus and shows often see a bump after a break (contrary to popular belief).
Coming back from hiatus the show in fact grew modestly to 2,088,000 viewers and then added more viewers the next week, hitting 2,153,000. It looked like we were regaining momentum. Unfortunately things stalled there and for the next two months SGU hovered between 2,116,000 and a low of 1,708,000 viewers, below where we could sustain it. So despite the brief post-hiatus bump, after two episodes it settled in at a lower number and we ended up averaging 1,982,000 viewers for season 1.5.
With untenably low numbers and no sign of growth on Fridays where it had now lost 1/3 of its initial audience, we decided to move SGU for its second season. We’d had tremendous success on Tuesday’s with our breakout hit Warehouse 13, so we paired SGU with Caprica and moved them to Tuesdays, hoping to introduce both shows to a new audience. As you probably know by now the downward trend continued and ultimately we weren’t able to continue either series.
We moved the final 10 episodes of SGU to Monday nights where we’d just had success with a new show called Being Human, but the ratings remained flat. SGU did finish out its run with a nice spike for the finale, which is something else you also typically see with TV shows (it’s called the “terminal spike” in ratings parlance).
Click to enlarge
What you see above is simply Syfy and MGM trying to make a great new Stargate series, seeing some initial success, then when it began to struggle, seeing attempts to find a way to keep it going. You’ve probably read numerous rumors to the contrary. I’ll look at the most prevalent:
The erratic scheduling killed SGU:
We started the show on Fridays where we’ve had the most success and where it initially did well, and we left it there until it started struggling. When it was clear the show had fallen to unsustainable levels and would not survive on Fridays, only then did we move it to the night where our highest rated show of all time had recently aired.
The hiatus killed SGU:
As you can see from the ratings above, the biggest drop in viewers came before the hiatus, not after. In fact, SGU actually grew around 10% after the hiatus between season 1.0 and 1.5 in its first two episodes back.
If you’d left it on Friday nights, it would have done well:
When left on Friday nights SGU lost 1/3 of its audience and dropped to consistently unsustainable ratings levels. The only hope of keeping it was to move it to another night where new viewers could find it.
You canceled SGU because you hate science fiction:
If we didn’t like science fiction we simply wouldn’t have made SGU. It’s because we like science fiction that we tried it. Even though SGU was ultimately unsuccessful, we don’t regret trying it. Science fiction shows are the backbone and lifeblood of our network, and we have many in development. Later this year we’ll be debuting Alphas, the Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome pilot is being worked on as you read this, the movie Red Faction starring Stargate Universe‘s Brian Jacob Smith will air next month, 5 of our original dramas will return with new seasons or new episodes this year, and we’re working on many more behind the scenes.
You never supported SGU:
There is literally no one other than MGM who supported it more than we did. We were the only network who gave the show a try and the only ones who committed to making and airing 40 episodes before a script had been written. We invested tens of millions of dollars and thousands of hours of work over many years making and supporting the show.
You canceled SGU in order to make wrestling:
We would have happily kept making SGU regardless of anything else on our schedule if the ratings were sustainable. We don’t discontinue successful shows to make room for other shows … no network does because no network has a full roster of successful series. SGU was judged solely on its own ratings.
You don’t like Stargate:
We love Stargate. Combined we’ve made 12 seasons of 3 separate series and helped support two SG-1 films. It’s been an amazing ride and we’re incredibly proud of the cast and crew of all the shows, and thankful to all the viewers who watched.
Note: The ratings I used above are Live +7 numbers, or the total number of viewers who watched the show live and during the following 7 days via DVR. Although advertisers buy based on just the 18-49 segment of these numbers and thus the 18-49 ratings would be much smaller, I’m using L7 numbers here for convenience as they represent the total audience. The % drops and lows of the 18-49 numbers would be even more significant (i.e. worse) than what the L7s show, but not so much that it’s worth doing all the math for.
http://www.gateworld.net/news/2011/05/an-open-letter-to-stargate-fans-from-syfy/
Pretty interesting read. My personal take from that is MGM/SyFy got greedy and decided to hit it out of the park with SGU instead of sticking with the consistency of Atlantis and it came back to bite em in the ass.
El Vaquero de Infierno
05-20-2011, 05:24 PM
They can still atleast give it a proper ending.
Next Big Thing
05-21-2011, 01:13 PM
Finally caught the final episode in full. I must say I didn't mind the ending. It did give some closure to the show. Definitely not the best ending, but better than I expected.
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