"Stargate has never found a large audience" article

[prion]

In an article on BSG at

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertai...jan05,1,111853.
story?track=rss

Indeed, for fans of science fiction of the space variety, there has been
little aside from reruns on the horizon since Star Trek: Enterprise signed off.
The networks rolled out a bumper crop of sinister-alien shows this past fall:
Threshold (since canceled), Invasion and Surface, but these hybrids are equal
parts science fiction and horror -- a giant leap for many space-adventure fans.
And Sci-Fi's Stargate series (about humans co-opting alien technology to go
galaxy-hopping) has never found a large audience.

*Click on link above full text*

(obviously the writer of the article doesn't realize that if SG wasn't so successful, there would be no BSG on SCiFI!)

[MediaSavant]

(obviously the writer of the article doesn't realize that if SG wasn't so successful, there would be no BSG on SCiFI!)

Maybe he doesn't realize it because what you just said isn't true.

The development of the new BSG had nothing to do with Stargate.

[prion]

Maybe he doesn't realize it because what you just said isn't true.

The development of the new BSG had nothing to do with Stargate.

I tend to disagree. SciFi Channel basically showed, to be blunt, crap, until they latched onto Stargate SG1. They had repeats of old shows, repeats of movies, etc. It was Stargate making Friday night successful that gave them a place to put BSG. Stargate has been running for nearly a decade, on Showtime, then Scifi, and now syndicated all over the place.

Would studios have been willing to put money into BSG if Stargate wasn't so plentiful and doing so well for SciFi?

[Darren]

I saw that comment today and have a hearty guffaw. Audience size is, of course, relative. Stargate is peanuts compared to Lost -- and birds go "tweet." It's significantly smaller than non-niche cable shows like Monk, but again, that shouldn't surprise anybody.

When you add cable, syndication, and especially when you consider international distribution, Stargate has certainly found a good-sized audience. It's large for where it airs. Nobody expects 20 million viewers for SCI FI.

[MediaSavant]

Besides the facts that (1) SciFi had active new program development since before 1999, and (2) Farscape was a hit before Stargate came along, BSG in particular was in development by the channel before Stargate ever debuted.

Stargate debuted on SciFi in June 2002. As this article indicates, BSG was in development before then:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
May 10, 2002 Friday SOONER EDITION
SECTION: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Pg.43 TELEVISION NOTES
LENGTH: 1219 words

HEADLINE: GET REAL: FOX READIES SUMMER PROGRAMMING

BODY:
The title of ABC's "The Bachelor" only hinted at what the show was about -- a guy looking for love and possibly marriage among 25 women presumably seeking the same thing.

<snipping to relevant stuff>

Sci Fi looks ahead

Cable's Sci Fi Channel is moving ahead with a wide-ranging list of projects, with a goal of producing four major event movies or miniseries and up to 24 original films annually in the coming years.

In addition to the 20-hour miniseries "Taken," executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and a sequel to its 2000 mini "Dune," Sci Fi has a dozen other works in development, including a reworking of "Battlestar Galactica" and a four-hour miniseries based on the video game "Myst."

Other projects falling under the event-movie umbrella include "The Illustrated Man," an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel; the seven-hour "limited series" "On the Seventh Day," about a future where overpopulation forces humans to remain in cryogenic suspended animation for six days of the week; and a science fiction take on Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities."

The channel also announced that it's planning a series based on its recent movie "Firestarter: Rekindled," and may use upcoming projects as back-door pilots for future shows.

Sci Fi is also ramping up its production of male-oriented action movies, turning out eight this year and up to 24 per year by 2004. Movies on the slate for 2002 include sequels to the Sci Fi originals "Interceptor Force" and "Epoch," as well as a combination of two cult film series in "Puppetmaster vs. Demonic Toys."

On top of all that, Sci Fi has ordered 13 episodes of an animated series called "Tripping the Rift," set to debut early next year, and is looking to create a block of what it calls "alternative reality" programming, also for 2003.

Unscripted shows in development are "Scare Tactics," a hidden-camera show that plays on people's fears; "Dream Team with Annabelle and Michael," in which audience members have dreams analyzed by hosts Annabelle Gurwitch (TBS's "Dinner and a Movie") and dream expert Michael Lennox; "Starport Authority," a parody of "Cops" about security guards at an interstellar airport terminal; and "The Belzer Connection," in which "Law & Order: SVU" star and noted conspiracy hound Richard Belzer looks into infamous conspiracy theories.

This summer Sci Fi will add reruns of the canceled Fox anthology series "Night Visions" to its Friday lineup beginning June 14. (Zap2it.com)

<snipping non-relevant material>

As you can tell from the mention of several projects that never made it, the channel, as I said, was always developing stuff. Some of it gets on air and scores huge ratings--like BSG. Others never get out of script stage.

They didn't need Stargate to start doing so.

[uknesvuinng]

Besides the facts that (1) SciFi had active new program development since before 1999, and (2) Farscape was a hit before Stargate came along, BSG in particular was in development by the channel before Stargate ever debuted.

Stargate debuted on SciFi in June 2002. As this article indicates, BSG was in development before then:



As you can tell from the mention of several projects that never made it, the channel, as I said, was always developing stuff. Some of it gets on air and scores huge ratings--like BSG. Others never get out of script stage.

They didn't need Stargate to start doing so.

"Starport Authority" and "The Belzer Connection" sounded rather interesting...

[mentalmichael]

How many people actually watch stargate?

[PG15]

Pfft, it's big enough to sustain it for 10 years.

And a spinoff.

[Lord Zedd]

I wish to say that there aren't much series that have 10 seasons and deliver a superb quality of the show and than also create a spin-off. There are some examples like Buffy the vampire slayer and Angel. My point is that Stargate has found a large audience. I don't get the SciFi channel but I watch it here in Belgium and have to wait untill it airs in here. With some luck they air it or the DVD's come out and then I buy them. So Stargate has found a large audience. Screw the person who said that.

[prion]

Besides the facts that (1) SciFi had active new program development since before 1999, and (2) Farscape was a hit before Stargate came along, BSG in particular was in development by the channel before Stargate ever debuted.

Stargate debuted on SciFi in June 2002. As this article indicates, BSG was in development before then:



As you can tell from the mention of several projects that never made it, the channel, as I said, was always developing stuff. Some of it gets on air and scores huge ratings--like BSG. Others never get out of script stage.

They didn't need Stargate to start doing so.

Perhaps not, but Farscape is the ONLY show of any decent quality that Scifi has produced. Well, they had a couple short-lived ones which they ruined with meddling (Invisible Man, for one).

As for BSG, a number of people seemed to have tried to develop it (Richard Hatch for a while). I've honestly tried the show, but it's doesn't click. Might be all the soap opera aspects....

[the fifth man]

Pfft, it's big enough to sustain it for 10 years.

And a spinoff.

Exactly! And as long as those numbers stay up there, so we can enjoy more excellent Stargate fun, I'll be a happy camper. Who cares if the show doesn't have the size audience of some other shows. They just don't know what they're missing.

[MediaSavant]

Stargate lasted this long because the venues it ran on didn't demand the size of audience that the major networks do. Showtime is in less than 20% of U.S. homes, for instance. Syndications doesn't demand a huge audience to keep a show on air.

Had Stargate tried to make it on, say, ABC, NBC, or CBS, it probably wouldn't have gotten past season one.

That's not a criticism. I actually like the fact that niche shows have venues to run on that don't demand huge audiences to survive.

[prion]

Stargate lasted this long because the venues it ran on didn't demand the size of audience that the major networks do. Showtime is in less than 20% of U.S. homes, for instance. Syndications doesn't demand a huge audience to keep a show on air.

Had Stargate tried to make it on, say, ABC, NBC, or CBS, it probably wouldn't have gotten past season one.

That's not a criticism. I actually like the fact that niche shows have venues to run on that don't demand huge audiences to survive.

On NBC or one of the big networks? Probably dead after 6 episodes. They're ruthless in ratings. Stargate survived becuase Showtime (and SciFi) bought it in full seasons. The big neworks dole out pitiful "give us 3 episodes and we'll call you if we want more" type attitude. Sigh.

[prion]

Stargate lasted this long because the venues it ran on didn't demand the size of audience that the major networks do. Showtime is in less than 20% of U.S. homes, for instance. Syndications doesn't demand a huge audience to keep a show on air.

Had Stargate tried to make it on, say, ABC, NBC, or CBS, it probably wouldn't have gotten past season one.

That's not a criticism. I actually like the fact that niche shows have venues to run on that don't demand huge audiences to survive.

On NBC or one of the big networks? Probably dead after 6 episodes. They're ruthless in ratings. Stargate survived becuase Showtime (and SciFi) bought it in full seasons. The big neworks dole out pitiful "give us 3 episodes and we'll call you if we want more" type attitude. Sigh.

[MediaSavant]

On NBC or one of the big networks? Probably dead after 6 episodes. They're ruthless in ratings. Stargate survived becuase Showtime (and SciFi) bought it in full seasons. The big neworks dole out pitiful "give us 3 episodes and we'll call you if we want more" type attitude. Sigh.

Farscape was first pitched to Fox and wasn't selected. They picked "Space:Above and Beyond" instead and that only lasted one season.

Farscape eventually landed on SciFi and lasted four seasons plus a mini-series. In a way, it's good it never got picked by Fox.