So. What IS Stargate's identity anyway?

[Flyboy]

Now hear me out here:

Star Gate was a great/rubbish/depending on your view movie that was about gods, aliens and mythology. SG1 was all about exploring the galaxy, OUR militaries going out into the universe. It was still about mythology, and it was worked into nearly every episode (until S7). If it wasn't the goa'uld, it was the Asgard, or some Christian civilisation, or a Jewish civilisation, whatever. It was about culture taken from earth and thrown into the world of sci fi. Now as SG1 began to develop another kind of mythology, the origin of our species, pre mythology if you will, we got a new show to explore that - Atlantis. Sg1 then began to return to religion, gods, and aliens with S9 & 10, even though it got a tad more spacey.

Atlantis was a polar opposite to SG1, it was futuristic, spacey, not about religion but about battles and such. Ok, cool, Atlantis had it's own identity, an equally good but very different identity.

So now we're getting SGU. We all know the deal... it's straying further from Stargate's routes and more into the Sci Fi theme.

Is this what Stargate is really about? Space battles, drones, and such? Maybe Atlantis can pull that off, and can be good at that, but should the Gateverse be dominated by such material so that it becomes nothing more than another ST or BSG?

Stargate used to be different, but it appears to have evolved itself beyond what it originally was. I understand maybe religion can't be the central theme of SGU, and that's fine, but focus massively on space battles and future technology then it is just Atlantis again. Don't get me wrong, SGA was great, but do we need an identical twin for it?

[Jackie]

It's hard to draw a conclusion on premise along (though the primes is worrying to me).

I'm sure that since the show is based on going to other galaxies we would hope to find other species than human that all speak English.

The issue with the primes is the limited ability of the show. The show will only be able to do so much with human actors and a set language. They will be dealing with expensive sets and special effects as well.

Then the show is throwing in an aspect of more "space aliens" with big butt ships and big butt space battles. When in fact...when we go to another planet we are the space alien. (Early stargate dealt with that premise well)

Yes, a gate ship going to galaxy to galaxy seeding the universe with more gates is rather restarted in premise but rest assured tptb will do thier best to knock of star trek even more.

[VSS]

No, I don't think the main point of stargate is spaceships and aliens. I think the Tauri "grew up" too fast in terms of acquiring space technology. Everybody likes rooting for the underdog- especially if they win. SG-1 was more about real people going out into space and dealing with things using 21st century technology and a can-do attitude. It was all about the people and the ideas- not the things.

I really liked the "clash of cultures" themes of the early years of stargate, and struggling with what it means to acquire new technology, that humans had to "earn" it to be able to handle it well to prevent things like misuse and imbalance of power. I agree that in later seasons this changed dramatically and then there was SGA, which, IMHO was better suited to portray the spaceships and aliens theme, though the missed opportunity of exploring the city itself really is tragic.

So I do see this as a shift away from the roots of Stargate, and honestly don't see the connection at all except the name. It'll be a real test of the writer's abilities to make this something the SG-1 fan can relate to. Not that that is their goal, of course.

[Pitry]

I think the premise of the movie is the best to describe Stargate's identity - people from our world and our timeline who find themselves dealing with a universe where mythologies are real. The two best ways to see this from the movie - when we are firt introduced to Daniel Jackson, it doesn't say "1994" - it says "present day". Whenever you're watching it, this is happening right here right now. The second is the fact it takes more than half hte movie to see the big evil aliens - it's about the Egyptian culture on Abydos at least as much as it;s about killing evil aliens.

I can accept the original premise of SGA as part of Stargate's identity - it happens to people who are, for all intents and purposes, us- and it stayed in touch with SG1 enough for it to sort-off tick the "right here" box. However as SGA grew more and more it also became more and more your average science ficiton and less and less what drew me to Stargate in the first place.

...and the premise for SGU sounds as if it shed exactly these things in Stargate I always adored and is going to leave us with yet another science fiction show. So, from reading what was published so far, I don't feel it's in line with Stargate's identity.

Which might be arrogant of me to say - after all, one could argue the people in MGM and Bridge studios know better than me what Stargate is about. To this I can only sya that it's not in line with whatg Stargate is to me...

[Flyboy]

I agree, I personally feel that SGU is straying too far away (from what we know at the moment) from the true Stargate identity, it's becoming a generic sci fi series that is present day, that's its twist. Present Day. But with weaponry and ships of the future.

[Sealurk]

While it's unrealistic and unfair to expect any spin-off to be exactly like it's parent (an accusation I admit I have levelled at SGA more than once...sorry 'bout that), and thinking about it, SGA does have it's own stamp on things, the information we've been given about SGU sounds about as bad as it could to me.

More space action is exactly what Stargate doesn't need, in my opinion - and I know a great many people agree. This doesn't mean there shouldn't be any space action, far from it, but Stargate is supposed to be about, well...the Stargate, and what it means as a concept.

It might also be unfair to judge SGU based on what we've heard, but frankly, I was actually intrigued and excited when Atlantis was at this stage of development, and we had the same amount of information then as we do now regarding SGU. And I can honestly say that SGU as it is at the moment is not a programme I want to watch. It sounds awful, it sounds terrible, and it sounds like it's made up of all the things that detracted from SGA and even SG-1.

[VSS]

Let me put it this way- when BW said it was a chance to write more "mainstream" science fiction, I did not take that as a positive sign.

[Flyboy]

That's something I've noticed too, back when SGA was on the cards, everyone was excited. Hardly anyone is now.

[Madwelshboy]

Basically stargate identity = the ancients
Each show sets up & explores new things about the ancients

[Sealurk]

The thing that really, truly bugs me - and please, jump in, correct me, tell me I've got the wrong end of the stick if I have or if I'm being arrogant - is this 'younger vibe'. I actually feel offended by that!

I'm 27, I'm male, I've been watching Stargate since the film, both series, I have a great many DVD boxsets and other merchandise - I most likely represent a reasonable cross-section of the Stargate viewership (even if I'm not a US citizen) but instead of TPTB wanting to make show that appeals to me, and to the huge established fanbase of Stargate, they seem to want to make a show that alienates me and the fanbase, just to attract a younger audience.

Now, attracting a new audience is fine, a show or franchise sometimes has to - but at the expense of a huge, global fanbase?!?! Am I taking this the wrong way, or do others feel like I do?

[Flyboy]

The thing that really, truly bugs me - and please, jump in, correct me, tell me I've got the wrong end of the stick if I have or if I'm being arrogant - is this 'younger vibe'. I actually feel offended by that!

I'm 27, I'm male, I've been watching Stargate since the film, both series, I have a great many DVD boxsets and other merchandise - I most likely represent a reasonable cross-section of the Stargate viewership (even if I'm not a US citizen) but instead of TPTB wanting to make show that appeals to me, and to the huge established fanbase of Stargate, they seem to want to make a show that alienates me and the fanbase, just to attract a younger audience.

Now, attracting a new audience is fine, a show or franchise sometimes has to - but at the expense of a huge, global fanbase?!?! Am I taking this the wrong way, or do others feel like I do?

No, you've got a right to feel that way. I think that's another thing about SG's identity, Stargate is supposed to be intelligent, a lot more intelligent than some shows, it fails sometimes admittadly, but until recently it has never been about just blasting stuff out of the sky. Stargate is NOT Star Trek nor should it ever be. SGA had a nice balance but moved in that direction and that was fine, but there's no need for SGU to do that, if anything it should be a spin off from SG1 in the opposite direction to SGA if that makes sense, so as to retain the shows original sense of identity, not stray further from it.

[Rich]

You have a good point.

Throughout all of Star Trek's incarnations, it's identity stayed the same. Ultimately, that's what killed it. It got stale, complacent and boring in the face of newer shows like Farscape and Babylon 5.

Stargate is unique in that it's the only pulp Sci-Fi show doing the rounds. BSG is dark and edgy, in total contrast to Stargate's upbeat happy-endings serial. So if anything, this is what the new show ought to hold on to.

It's too early to speculate on what SGU will be like, but a 'slightly younger audience' could mean almost anything. Stargate: 90210 it won't be, I'm sure. But the ratings game being what it is will mean any part of Stargate's identity will be sacrificed in the name of entertainment.

Personally, I think the producers are either bored with the same old formula they've been churning out for the past 12 years or they've been told to buck up their ideas and produce something that will re-invent the genre. And as great as the Stargates are, they didn't do that.

[Flyboy]

I accept it wont be SG-90210, but I'm convinced it's gonna be SG-Code 9 which without traditional British darkness would suck beyond all comprehension, Spooks Code 9 only just gets away with it.

There's all sorts of problems coming up here with the identity of SG, both how spacey it should be and how mature it should be. Overall do we really want SG to be nothing more than humans getting a free ride off of Ancient tech? Doesn't anyone miss O'Neill pleading for big honking space guns?!

[Crazy Tom]

if anything it should be a spin off from SG1 in the opposite direction to SGA if that makes sense, so as to retain the shows original sense of identity, not stray further from it.

That's actualy a really nice idea. But what's SG-90210?

[VSS]

That's actualy a really nice idea. But what's SG-90210?

90210 is the zip code for Beverly Hills and the title of a TV series that focused on the angst of a bunch of teenagers living there.