"The Shroud" & "The Road Not Taken" really UPSET me!

[Ripple in Space]

From "The Quest" part 1, the show has gotten progressively & profoundly better with each episode. "The Road Not Taken" & "The Shroud" are on par with the quality of SG1 Seasons 1-8. So if the writers could write well, why'd they have to wait 1.5 seasons and after the show's cancellation?

Although overall I enjoyed seasons 9-10.0, a good many of the eps were of a much poorer quality than we had come to expect from the past 8 years. And now we get quality in anticipation of losing the show. And I'll take bets that when these great eps air in the US the ratings will still be poor, because the lax in the writing over the past year and a half has lost a big chunk of the fan base.

I'm sorry, but I don't blame SciFi, I blame the writers. If it can be this good now, why couldn't it before? Sure, the 10.5 eps aren't on par with "Lost City," but at least they're in the same ballpark. And they're as good as many s1.5-7 eps (the show's prime).

[PG15]

Of course, quality is all subjective...

[the fifth man]

Of course, quality is all subjective...

Exactly! Personally, I've thoroughly enjoyed all of Season 9 and what we've seen of Season 10.

[g.o.d]

SG-1 is better and better.The whole Ori thing is one the best plots in the sci-fi universe.I'm really dissapointed with SG-1 cancellation.Sci-fi should cancel SGA instead of SG-1.For me, SGA si worse and worse.Boring a stupids plost, new boring enemy(Asurans).I hope the third series would be much better than SGA

[Avenger]

Exactly! Personally, I've thoroughly enjoyed all of Season 9 and what we've seen of Season 10.

As have I. Season 9 was handled as well as possible given the circumstances at the start, and season 10 has been great from the start. If we're going to talk about weak seasons, I say that would go to season 8.

[Dromag67]

At least the show is going out with some pretty awesome episodes, instead of slow decline of tired and worn out episodes.

[sg1adam]

At least the show is going out with some pretty awesome episodes, instead of slow decline of tired and worn out episodes.

I agree, while I enjoy the series very much, there are some episodes that over the past 10 years when they've been repeated, I didn't want to watch because for me they weren't that great.

Spoiler:

For those who have read the various spoilers on this and other web sites, during the show last night, I knew that Daniel's plan wouldn't come to fruition, and that things would get from bad to worse for the galaxy. But lets face it things aren't going to get better until the film gets released. Until then, as last night I shall be on the edge of me seat.

As for the third film,

Spoiler:

From what I've read on this website, Baal's new story line along with the rest of SG1, looks pretty bad to me. Maybe, as spoilers get released over the next few months, this will look better.

[J_B]

I wouldn't say that TS & TRNT are on a par with Seasons 1-8. That implies that 1 to 8 were fairly good. Which isn't the case, each season has a few dingers in it. Fillers that not only haven't got a plot to advance the seasons arc, but also aren't simply very good. Personally I usually never watch around 20%/25% (4 or 5) of eps again in the chosen season when I get the box sets delivered.

Many others say S1 to 5 were the best & it lost stuff from that point on etc. Everybody has their own opinions on the show, how it lost something, how it's still great after all these years. People say because RDA left, that's what cost the show it's future. Others don't see nothing wrong & blame Sci-Fi for axing it long before it's time was up.

There are 2 sides to every arguement (that being the pro & con)!

I understand that those making the show are restricted by budgeting constraints. So can't obviously do big effects ridden stories for every episode. However I'm sure they could come up with better stories instead of some of those that they ended up choosing.

For the past few years, I haven't liked the road they are going down with the show in general. However still have bought the DVD boxsets when they came out, as well as watching the eps when they air, simply because it's Stargate.

To me I blame not only Sci-Fi for being too hasty in their decision. They could have at least been fair & told them S10 would be the last, thus allowing a full season to wrap things up in. Then letting the contract go & allowing it to be taken to another network in the US. Falling ratings were a problem, but that is also affecting their BSG baby, whom they have bent over backwords for & advertised the crap out of worldwide. They shouldn't be moaning about rising productions costs because all they had to do when bringing in the new guys for S9 was to sign all the cast up on a few seasons contract. So that way the budget stays the same for the next few seasons rather than having to re-negotiate it every single year. So they deserve a good swift kick for all that!

However I also blame those at Bridge Studios who make the show for MGM. If they had written better stories over the years, as well as more consistent ones. Then Skiffy wouldn't have had any reason to act up. Mainly because they would have kept their audience & ratings wouldn't be falling. Production costs would still have risen. That would have been offset with the continued quality of the show, keeping the existing audience as well as attracting new viewers as the show went along. These same people are responsible for Atlantis & that's heading the exact same way as SG-1 & I can't see it getting past the next 2 seasons before that also gets axed.

Lastly I also blame MGM, they say Stargate is their most important franchise after 'James Bond'. They came out with the statements about them looking at all avenues to continue the show through. They could have done a deal with Skiffy, to shorten the eps per season (10-13), something like that of Eureka/The Shield etc. Perhaps split into 3/4 different full length arcs for the team to do. Maybe even a mini-series every year. This way there are just around half of a full seasons production costs to content with. Making the licensing fees for Sci-Fi half of what they were currently paying. Allowing it to be something too good for them to turn down.

Even they, they could have done a deal over the contract, then taken it to another network.

Done half a seasons eps & released them digitally, done worldwide at the exact same time. At a cost of $0.99/$1.99 per episode to view. They could also include ads throughout the ep to maximise advertising revenue. Because everybody is getting them at the same time, there is much less cause to be pirating them on the internet (that would still happen, but will also happen with the DVD's just as much, perhaps more because digital costs would be much cheaper for those who can't afford the DVD prices). Especially when people know what's at stake for the shows continued future is how good they do on Amazon or iTunes or wherever they are distributed from. If they proved to be economically viable, then they could do the next 10 & so on.

However the easiest option was for MGM to put money where their mouth was. Do a S11 themselves, release the whole season worldwide at the same time entirely on DVD. That's 20 eps worth for people to get.

Yet they have chosen to do 2 movies per year. A budget of 4 eps (something like $6m for both). That's 3/4 hours of SG-1 every year at a cost of something like $20/$30 per DVD. That's a huge drop from 20 eps to an equivelant of 4 eps worth of screen time. Yet prices could potentially be higher that that of an entire boxset!

For me, that's totally not acceptable. It's not reasonable to shorten the entire season by around 80% of normal. Yet expect fans to pay around the same than they have been doing for past seasons boxsets. To me it's utterly ridiculous. However it will probably make MGM a ton of money, much, much more than they would be getting if an entire season was to be broadcast on cable tv. They have cut the eps down to 3/4 hours per year. Yet expect fans to pay the same money as they would for 15+ which they get now.

So I won't be buying any of the DVD's once S10 ends for 2 reasons. 1 is Bridge Studios killed the show by turning viewers off from watching. 2 is it's only going to line MGM's pockets with gold.

Hence neither should be rewarded with the fans hard earned money! Frankly neither deserve it!

[SylvreWolfe]

I have a friend who quit watching after season 5 because, according to him, that is when things went downhill and never got better.

Personally, I think the show has gotten better than it has ever been.

[Iguana775]

I've liked the last 2 years too but I will say this. The 2nd half episodes have been great. maybe it's due to the fact that I know it's gone but they have been really good.

[Mitchell82]

Of course, quality is all subjective...

Indeed it is. I too have really enjoyed seasons 9 and 10 as well as 1-3 of SGA. Everyone has their ow opinion of quality. I have a friend who hasnt seen an ep since JM an PM joined as writers stating they are the worst thing to happen to SG. I disagree as I love their eps.

[Cameron Mitchel]

From "The Quest" part 1, the show has gotten progressively & profoundly better with each episode. "The Road Not Taken" & "The Shroud" are on par with the quality of SG1 Seasons 1-8. So if the writers could write well, why'd they have to wait 1.5 seasons and after the show's cancellation?

Although overall I enjoyed seasons 9-10.0, a good many of the eps were of a much poorer quality than we had come to expect from the past 8 years. And now we get quality in anticipation of losing the show. And I'll take bets that when these great eps air in the US the ratings will still be poor, because the lax in the writing over the past year and a half has lost a big chunk of the fan base.

I'm sorry, but I don't blame SciFi, I blame the writers. If it can be this good now, why couldn't it before? Sure, the 10.5 eps aren't on par with "Lost City," but at least they're in the same ballpark. And they're as good as many s1.5-7 eps (the show's prime).

Good, atleast you didn't mention S8. But, I do wonder that too. Quest II was okay, but Line in the Sand and Shroud were good (haven't seen Road Not Take yet, still waiting for it to download as I'm in America). Why couldn't the rest of the season have been like that?

[Mitchell82]

Good, atleast you didn't mention S8. But, I do wonder that too. Quest II was okay, but Line in the Sand and Shroud were good (haven't seen Road Not Take yet, still waiting for it to download as I'm in America). Why couldn't the rest of the season have been like that?

Well it has for some of us which is why we are even more pissed the show has been axed.

[sailfindragon]

I wouldn't say that TS & TRNT are on a par with Seasons 1-8. That implies that 1 to 8 were fairly good. Which isn't the case, each season has a few dingers in it. Fillers that not only haven't got a plot to advance the seasons arc, but also aren't simply very good. Personally I usually never watch around 20%/25% (4 or 5) of eps again in the chosen season when I get the box sets delivered.

Many others say S1 to 5 were the best & it lost stuff from that point on etc. Everybody has their own opinions on the show, how it lost something, how it's still great after all these years. People say because RDA left, that's what cost the show it's future. Others don't see nothing wrong & blame Sci-Fi for axing it long before it's time was up.

There are 2 sides to every arguement (that being the pro & con)!

I understand that those making the show are restricted by budgeting constraints. So can't obviously do big effects ridden stories for every episode. However I'm sure they could come up with better stories instead of some of those that they ended up choosing.

For the past few years, I haven't liked the road they are going down with the show in general. However still have bought the DVD boxsets when they came out, as well as watching the eps when they air, simply because it's Stargate.

To me I blame not only Sci-Fi for being too hasty in their decision. They could have at least been fair & told them S10 would be the last, thus allowing a full season to wrap things up in. Then letting the contract go & allowing it to be taken to another network in the US. Falling ratings were a problem, but that is also affecting their BSG baby, whom they have bent over backwords for & advertised the crap out of worldwide. They shouldn't be moaning about rising productions costs because all they had to do when bringing in the new guys for S9 was to sign all the cast up on a few seasons contract. So that way the budget stays the same for the next few seasons rather than having to re-negotiate it every single year. So they deserve a good swift kick for all that!

However I also blame those at Bridge Studios who make the show for MGM. If they had written better stories over the years, as well as more consistent ones. Then Skiffy wouldn't have had any reason to act up. Mainly because they would have kept their audience & ratings wouldn't be falling. Production costs would still have risen. That would have been offset with the continued quality of the show, keeping the existing audience as well as attracting new viewers as the show went along. These same people are responsible for Atlantis & that's heading the exact same way as SG-1 & I can't see it getting past the next 2 seasons before that also gets axed.

Lastly I also blame MGM, they say Stargate is their most important franchise after 'James Bond'. They came out with the statements about them looking at all avenues to continue the show through. They could have done a deal with Skiffy, to shorten the eps per season (10-13), something like that of Eureka/The Shield etc. Perhaps split into 3/4 different full length arcs for the team to do. Maybe even a mini-series every year. This way there are just around half of a full seasons production costs to content with. Making the licensing fees for Sci-Fi half of what they were currently paying. Allowing it to be something too good for them to turn down.

Even they, they could have done a deal over the contract, then taken it to another network.

Done half a seasons eps & released them digitally, done worldwide at the exact same time. At a cost of $0.99/$1.99 per episode to view. They could also include ads throughout the ep to maximise advertising revenue. Because everybody is getting them at the same time, there is much less cause to be pirating them on the internet (that would still happen, but will also happen with the DVD's just as much, perhaps more because digital costs would be much cheaper for those who can't afford the DVD prices). Especially when people know what's at stake for the shows continued future is how good they do on Amazon or iTunes or wherever they are distributed from. If they proved to be economically viable, then they could do the next 10 & so on.

However the easiest option was for MGM to put money where their mouth was. Do a S11 themselves, release the whole season worldwide at the same time entirely on DVD. That's 20 eps worth for people to get.

Yet they have chosen to do 2 movies per year. A budget of 4 eps (something like $6m for both). That's 3/4 hours of SG-1 every year at a cost of something like $20/$30 per DVD. That's a huge drop from 20 eps to an equivelant of 4 eps worth of screen time. Yet prices could potentially be higher that that of an entire boxset!

For me, that's totally not acceptable. It's not reasonable to shorten the entire season by around 80% of normal. Yet expect fans to pay around the same than they have been doing for past seasons boxsets. To me it's utterly ridiculous. However it will probably make MGM a ton of money, much, much more than they would be getting if an entire season was to be broadcast on cable tv. They have cut the eps down to 3/4 hours per year. Yet expect fans to pay the same money as they would for 15+ which they get now.

So I won't be buying any of the DVD's once S10 ends for 2 reasons. 1 is Bridge Studios killed the show by turning viewers off from watching. 2 is it's only going to line MGM's pockets with gold.

Hence neither should be rewarded with the fans hard earned money! Frankly neither deserve it!

I agree with some of the comments you have made. But why blame Bridge Studio's? They are just the studio the show is filmed in NOT the makers/writers of the show.

Yes, Stargate SG1 has ended. But i have no problem with them bringing out 2 movies per year, after all it is better than nothing at all. I don't have a problem with paying $20-$30 (£10-£15) per 2 hour movie. I don't think that is unreasonably priced, especially when they are charging £15 ($30) per season volume, which is four episodes and roughly £50/£60 for a boxset.

[Pitry]

I agree with some of the comments you have made. But why blame Bridge Studio's? They are just the studio the show is filmed in NOT the makers/writers of the show.

Yes, Stargate SG1 has ended. But i have no problem with them bringing out 2 movies per year, after all it is better than nothing at all. I don't have a problem with paying $20-$30 (£10-£15) per 2 hour movie. I don't think that is unreasonably priced, especially when they are charging £15 ($30) per season volume, which is four episodes and roughly £50/£60 for a boxset.

Er, I'm afraid you're buying in the wrong places! the Catalogue price for a slimcase season box set is 50USD, most places sell it for less....