review…
THE OFFICIAL STARGATE MAGAZINE
Premiere Issue
Newsstand Price: $6.99 + tax
Subscription: $37.75 ($6.29) 10% savings
Comes out every two months
The magazine is 68 pages in total, counting the front and back covers, as the magazine itself page numbers itself in that style. You lose 17 pages to the cover & back pages, requisite ads, table of contents, subscription info, a 2-page survey, and ‘coming attractions’ for issue 2, leaving you with 51 pages of actual content.
This is a glossy stock magazine, so it should withstand multiple viewings. However, this is a magazine designed for Stargate fans who don’t visit the internet. I say that because the first page of real content had news of Richard Dean Anderson’s Air Force award, which made me think, geez, that’s old news. (BTW, for more detailed info on that event, http://www.rdanderson.com/ has some incredible coverage.) Ditto with the the timeliness of the Claudia Black news.
The photo quality is inconsistent. Overall, the photos are pretty sharp (which is the primary reason why I bought the magazine) but the shot of Kinsey (Ronny Cox) on page 10 is as green as Jack’s OD uniform. Similarly, a shot of the Atlantis gang at the bottom of page 25 suffers from that blue ‘washed-out’ effect you see in posters that have been out in the sunlight in a store window a tad too long. Okay, and on a totally catty comment (sorry, I’m allowed one), they could have found a better shot of ‘Oma’ on page 39. She looks like a school teacher about to lecture some truant. And lastly, the shot of Jack with the alien armband on page 64 isn’t very sharp. But overall, photo quality is quite good, but they need to spiff it up across the board as photo content is going to be a major part of the magazine. Since the magazine is official, they certainly must have access to high quality digital photos. If not, they should just pluck a few off fan sites!
The layout is pretty good. Text is readable, although aging fans may need to break out the bifocals, and they do a decent job of combining stories/interviews with little boxed blurbs so that the reader doesn’t get bored. On the other end, it’s not too ‘busy’ to the point you get confused what the heck you’re trying to read. It’s similar to other scifi-oriented magazines out of the UK.
Okay, onward to content, the make-or-break of any product:
Original content (as in interviews you won’t find on the net – at least not yet until some fan scans them like some are prone to do with articles on actors, and put them up in the Files section of Yahoo groups…) are:
Ronny Cox (Kinsey)
Michael Greenbury (producer)
Chris Wren (artist –SGA)
Douglas Thar (USAF advisor – and no, the military isn’t advising on SGA and for those who wonder, so far Sam/Jack may have pushed the envelope, but they haven’t crossed the line)
Christinna McQuarrie – costume designer
Jacques Lamontagne – breakdown artist
Todd Masters – FX
James Robbins – art director
Michelle Comens – visual effects supervisor
Bridget McGuire – production designer
Doug Yellin –Stargate SG-3000 ride producer (yes, a ride)
There are some interesting tidbits in those accounts, as I like reading what folks behind the scenes do. However, it’s yet to be determined what the general readership wants. That’s what the survey is all about (See below)
I didn’t include the actor bits (Amanda, Chris, Michael or Atlantis folk) under that same ‘original content’ context as much of what I read I went, oh yeah, read that someone else. It’s just that these actors get interviewed a lot, talk a lot at conventions, so they can repeat information. The perils of the web! There were a few new tidbits on Altantis info but overall, it was an overview with nothing particularly new. I was surprised that they left out some key background elements on Teyla that actress Rachel Lutrell had mentioned in several other interviews.
There was also “Daniel’s Notebook” - containing mini episode guides of episodes featuring the Ancients, then Daniel’s ‘journal entries’ on his thoughts on the Ancients. That was perhaps the most fannish thing within the pages, bordering in some respects on fanfic in his ‘entries.’ Apparently Daniel’s Notebook is planned as an ongoing feature judging from the back page, and next issue will be about the Replicators.
SPOILERS: For fans who avoid spoilers at all costs, it’s probably not the magazine to pick up. Sorry, folks, but there are ‘spoiler alerts’ within its pages. Fortunately, they put it at the top of the article, so if you can resist reading the first thing your eyes see, you can (as a spoilerphobe) avoid the information. But on the other hand, the Claudia Black info, in some respects, constitutes a spoiler. In the Amanda Tapping article, she talks about Sam making a discovery in the forthcoming episode “Gemini.” That’s a spoiler to spoilerphobes. So it all depends upon your level of how much spoilage you can tolerate…
Overall, it’s not a bad magazine, but it’s not great either. The first issue is afflicted with the same problem that affects others of its genre: its content is easily outstripped and by the pace and glut of information on the internet. The news, for anybody on the internet, isn’t news anymore. It’s what is now buried several pages back on a web page, or dozens of posts down on a mailing list.
In essence, the magazine faces some battles in its quest to obtain and keep an internet-savvy audience. First, the timeliness of news (see above). Issue #2, due out in late December, promises news on season 9. How many folks want to bet that virtually every SG1 fan on the net (plus Google’s news search engine) will know the yes or no on that scenario before that issue even hits the press? Second, more interesting content. While the interviews with crew are fascinating, will that hold the base audience, or will readers want more interviews with the cast? Much of the magazine’s generic content (consisting of episode guides, Daniel’s Notebook) is basically a rehash of what’s out there on the net. But most importantly, what will occur if Stargate SG-1 does not see a season 9? Will the magazine live on in the past eight seasons of SG1 and potential movies, or will it push more content toward SGA, which is newer and fresher?
The survey inside the magazine – which is actually part of a contest and no doubt being culled for marketing purposes – does ask what you’d like to see in future issues, how much time you spend on the net, what you buy, if you’ll sub to the magazine, if the ads are relevant, your favorite character. You can find the rules and regulations online at www.titanmagazines.com/rules/stargate. They do let you make photocopies, so if a friend buys a copy and you don’t, you can still send in a survey.
You can send in letters of comment to [email protected]. These can be letters of comment you’d just like published, or you can just write them and tell them what you think of the magazine and what you like (or dislike) about it.
This review is speaking from the viewpoint of a fan who follows the show, but not obsessively to the point of knowing how many times Jack has called Daniel “Danny” though! (uh, six? I don’t really know). For a fan who doesn’t read SG1 info on the net, it’s a basically decent primer. Readers won’t realize the news is a couple months old. For the more astute net SG1 fan, the magazine is good if you want to read about behind-the-scenes information. Or clip photos. The mini posters are neat, but you need to choose which side you want to put up, as SGA is on one side, SG1 on the other.
ISSUE #2 promises
Richard Dean Anderson interview
The top SG-1 battles
Robert Cooper interview
Season Nine News
Don S Davis discusses returning to SG1
Daniel’s Notebook: The replicators
Double-sided poster
Exclusive excerpt from the next SG-1 novel (the UK ones)
In tiny print below, content subject to change
The credits***********************
EDITOR
Sharon Gosling
Editor of Stargate SG-1: the Essential Scripts
+ a variety of interviews in UK scifi magazines such as Dreamwatch, SFX, etc.
NEWS EDITOR
Darren Sumner
http://thesumners.com/darren/
Owner of Gateworld
CONTRIBUTORS:
Kristy Bratton
??
K. Stoddard Hayes
Author of Xena Warrior Princess: Complete Illustrated Companion
Sally Reeve
Fanfic author
http://uk.geocities.com/mystories_uk/
Will I subscribe to the magazine? Probably not. It’s easier to survey it in the bookstore and determine if I really want it. That way if the magazine also radically alters, I’m not stuck with a subscription to something I don’t want (and that has happened).
If anybody else has purchased it, what's your opinion?
THE OFFICIAL STARGATE MAGAZINE
Premiere Issue
Newsstand Price: $6.99 + tax
Subscription: $37.75 ($6.29) 10% savings
Comes out every two months
The magazine is 68 pages in total, counting the front and back covers, as the magazine itself page numbers itself in that style. You lose 17 pages to the cover & back pages, requisite ads, table of contents, subscription info, a 2-page survey, and ‘coming attractions’ for issue 2, leaving you with 51 pages of actual content.
This is a glossy stock magazine, so it should withstand multiple viewings. However, this is a magazine designed for Stargate fans who don’t visit the internet. I say that because the first page of real content had news of Richard Dean Anderson’s Air Force award, which made me think, geez, that’s old news. (BTW, for more detailed info on that event, http://www.rdanderson.com/ has some incredible coverage.) Ditto with the the timeliness of the Claudia Black news.
The photo quality is inconsistent. Overall, the photos are pretty sharp (which is the primary reason why I bought the magazine) but the shot of Kinsey (Ronny Cox) on page 10 is as green as Jack’s OD uniform. Similarly, a shot of the Atlantis gang at the bottom of page 25 suffers from that blue ‘washed-out’ effect you see in posters that have been out in the sunlight in a store window a tad too long. Okay, and on a totally catty comment (sorry, I’m allowed one), they could have found a better shot of ‘Oma’ on page 39. She looks like a school teacher about to lecture some truant. And lastly, the shot of Jack with the alien armband on page 64 isn’t very sharp. But overall, photo quality is quite good, but they need to spiff it up across the board as photo content is going to be a major part of the magazine. Since the magazine is official, they certainly must have access to high quality digital photos. If not, they should just pluck a few off fan sites!
The layout is pretty good. Text is readable, although aging fans may need to break out the bifocals, and they do a decent job of combining stories/interviews with little boxed blurbs so that the reader doesn’t get bored. On the other end, it’s not too ‘busy’ to the point you get confused what the heck you’re trying to read. It’s similar to other scifi-oriented magazines out of the UK.
Okay, onward to content, the make-or-break of any product:
Original content (as in interviews you won’t find on the net – at least not yet until some fan scans them like some are prone to do with articles on actors, and put them up in the Files section of Yahoo groups…) are:
Ronny Cox (Kinsey)
Michael Greenbury (producer)
Chris Wren (artist –SGA)
Douglas Thar (USAF advisor – and no, the military isn’t advising on SGA and for those who wonder, so far Sam/Jack may have pushed the envelope, but they haven’t crossed the line)
Christinna McQuarrie – costume designer
Jacques Lamontagne – breakdown artist
Todd Masters – FX
James Robbins – art director
Michelle Comens – visual effects supervisor
Bridget McGuire – production designer
Doug Yellin –Stargate SG-3000 ride producer (yes, a ride)
There are some interesting tidbits in those accounts, as I like reading what folks behind the scenes do. However, it’s yet to be determined what the general readership wants. That’s what the survey is all about (See below)
I didn’t include the actor bits (Amanda, Chris, Michael or Atlantis folk) under that same ‘original content’ context as much of what I read I went, oh yeah, read that someone else. It’s just that these actors get interviewed a lot, talk a lot at conventions, so they can repeat information. The perils of the web! There were a few new tidbits on Altantis info but overall, it was an overview with nothing particularly new. I was surprised that they left out some key background elements on Teyla that actress Rachel Lutrell had mentioned in several other interviews.
There was also “Daniel’s Notebook” - containing mini episode guides of episodes featuring the Ancients, then Daniel’s ‘journal entries’ on his thoughts on the Ancients. That was perhaps the most fannish thing within the pages, bordering in some respects on fanfic in his ‘entries.’ Apparently Daniel’s Notebook is planned as an ongoing feature judging from the back page, and next issue will be about the Replicators.
SPOILERS: For fans who avoid spoilers at all costs, it’s probably not the magazine to pick up. Sorry, folks, but there are ‘spoiler alerts’ within its pages. Fortunately, they put it at the top of the article, so if you can resist reading the first thing your eyes see, you can (as a spoilerphobe) avoid the information. But on the other hand, the Claudia Black info, in some respects, constitutes a spoiler. In the Amanda Tapping article, she talks about Sam making a discovery in the forthcoming episode “Gemini.” That’s a spoiler to spoilerphobes. So it all depends upon your level of how much spoilage you can tolerate…
Overall, it’s not a bad magazine, but it’s not great either. The first issue is afflicted with the same problem that affects others of its genre: its content is easily outstripped and by the pace and glut of information on the internet. The news, for anybody on the internet, isn’t news anymore. It’s what is now buried several pages back on a web page, or dozens of posts down on a mailing list.
In essence, the magazine faces some battles in its quest to obtain and keep an internet-savvy audience. First, the timeliness of news (see above). Issue #2, due out in late December, promises news on season 9. How many folks want to bet that virtually every SG1 fan on the net (plus Google’s news search engine) will know the yes or no on that scenario before that issue even hits the press? Second, more interesting content. While the interviews with crew are fascinating, will that hold the base audience, or will readers want more interviews with the cast? Much of the magazine’s generic content (consisting of episode guides, Daniel’s Notebook) is basically a rehash of what’s out there on the net. But most importantly, what will occur if Stargate SG-1 does not see a season 9? Will the magazine live on in the past eight seasons of SG1 and potential movies, or will it push more content toward SGA, which is newer and fresher?
The survey inside the magazine – which is actually part of a contest and no doubt being culled for marketing purposes – does ask what you’d like to see in future issues, how much time you spend on the net, what you buy, if you’ll sub to the magazine, if the ads are relevant, your favorite character. You can find the rules and regulations online at www.titanmagazines.com/rules/stargate. They do let you make photocopies, so if a friend buys a copy and you don’t, you can still send in a survey.
You can send in letters of comment to [email protected]. These can be letters of comment you’d just like published, or you can just write them and tell them what you think of the magazine and what you like (or dislike) about it.
This review is speaking from the viewpoint of a fan who follows the show, but not obsessively to the point of knowing how many times Jack has called Daniel “Danny” though! (uh, six? I don’t really know). For a fan who doesn’t read SG1 info on the net, it’s a basically decent primer. Readers won’t realize the news is a couple months old. For the more astute net SG1 fan, the magazine is good if you want to read about behind-the-scenes information. Or clip photos. The mini posters are neat, but you need to choose which side you want to put up, as SGA is on one side, SG1 on the other.
ISSUE #2 promises
Richard Dean Anderson interview
The top SG-1 battles
Robert Cooper interview
Season Nine News
Don S Davis discusses returning to SG1
Daniel’s Notebook: The replicators
Double-sided poster
Exclusive excerpt from the next SG-1 novel (the UK ones)
In tiny print below, content subject to change
The credits***********************
EDITOR
Sharon Gosling
Editor of Stargate SG-1: the Essential Scripts
+ a variety of interviews in UK scifi magazines such as Dreamwatch, SFX, etc.
NEWS EDITOR
Darren Sumner
http://thesumners.com/darren/
Owner of Gateworld
CONTRIBUTORS:
Kristy Bratton
??
K. Stoddard Hayes
Author of Xena Warrior Princess: Complete Illustrated Companion
Sally Reeve
Fanfic author
http://uk.geocities.com/mystories_uk/
Will I subscribe to the magazine? Probably not. It’s easier to survey it in the bookstore and determine if I really want it. That way if the magazine also radically alters, I’m not stuck with a subscription to something I don’t want (and that has happened).
If anybody else has purchased it, what's your opinion?
Cain't wait for the next one.
Comment