So how much was left to tell ?

[Republibot 3.0]

This is a speculative topic, so please forgive me if elements of it were discussed elsewhere on other threads. Something I've been wondering about is "How much of the story was left?"

We assume they wanted the standard six years/110 episodes Syfy optimum package that everyone shoots for, but no one seems to get. I think that's a reasonable assumption, frankly, *but* I remember when the first chatter about SGU started, Wright and Mallozi had said something about 'Needing at least three years.' The impression I got then was that it was maybe intended as a relatively short series.

In retrospect, they were probably just haggling for as big a commitment as they could get ahead of time: Ask for three seasons, get two. Given the glacial pace of the early episodes, it seems to me they *wanted* the long haul.

But, then, how much of the show was left? How long would it have taken to wrap it up? COULD they have resolved it in a third season, had there been one? Or was the story simply too intense to do compress without destroying it? How much of the (Presumed) 70 or so remaining episodes would have been filler, and how much was important stuff?

[Quizziard]

Safe to say there's been bits of this in several other threads.

They may have said that because they had season-arc outlines for the first three seasons and had specific plans for each. But, like all the other threads, unless one of them speaks, we'll just be guessing.

[Naonak]

Given the glacial pace of the early episodes

But, then, how much of the show was left? How long would it have taken to wrap it up? COULD they have resolved it in a third season, had there been one? Or was the story simply too intense to do compress without destroying it? How much of the (Presumed) 70 or so remaining episodes would have been filler, and how much was important stuff?

Based on comments just before and around the time of the cancellation, they wanted five seasons to tell the story properly, but could have condensed it enough to wrap it up with season three if necessary.

[Browncoat1984]

Sometime last fall they said that Stargate Universe was a five-year story (like Babylon 5) but that if they had to they could finish the story in one season. SyFy obviously didn't respect them or one of the franchises that put them on the map enough to give them that final season. I would have been perfectly happy with one finale season to wrap things up instead SyFy just pisses the fans off like they always do. Its obviously they have absolutely no respect for their series, even ones like Stargate, Farscape and Eureka that help put them on the map. I hope in 3 years after Warehouse 13 and Alphas go off and they've pissed off yet more people that when they file for bankruptcy, they look back on the past decade and say "man, we went about things wrongly."

What do we get instead? More reality crap like Total Blackout, a new reality series set *drumroll* in a completely black room.

[Republibot 3.0]

Sometime last fall they said that Stargate Universe was a five-year story (like Babylon 5) but that if they had to they could finish the story in one season. SyFy obviously didn't respect them or one of the franchises that put them on the map enough to give them that final season. I would have been perfectly happy with one finale season to wrap things up instead SyFy just pisses the fans off like they always do. Its obviously they have absolutely no respect for their series, even ones like Stargate, Farscape and Eureka that help put them on the map. I hope in 3 years after Warehouse 13 and Alphas go off and they've pissed off yet more people that when they file for bankruptcy, they look back on the past decade and say "man, we went about things wrongly."

What do we get instead? More reality crap like Total Blackout, a new reality series set *drumroll* in a completely black room.

Yeah, they're dopes.

I like to point out that The Science Fiction Channel, who's mission was to run Science Fiction, actually ran less Science Fiction than ABC, who's mission was *NOT* to run Science Fiction. Ditto BBC America.

[Republibot 3.0]

Based on comments just before and around the time of the cancellation, they wanted five seasons to tell the story properly, but could have condensed it enough to wrap it up with season three if necessary.

Gah, that's frustrating. I hadn't heard that, but it re-opens the wound.

[Republibot 3.0]

I wonder if MGM hadn't been in bankruptcy at the time, and if Syfy hadn't just flushed $60 million down the toilet on Caprica, might they have been willing to give SGU a third season?

They did that with Galactica. Its ratings were boiling away quick as the morning dew, RDM kept begging for 40 more episodes. They gave him 20 and told him to get cracking. (They shoulda' only given him 10).

[anaberration]

Yeah and Caprica sucked donkey balls...Shame they blew that money on Caprica, sure coulda used it for SGU. They saw the bankruptcy coming, maybe they thought they could back something else to make more money ?

[Snowman37]

SyFy committed to five seasons of SG-1 and Atlantis, so I think Brad Wright and friends just assumed SGU would get a five-year run so long as the ratings were strong. What killed the show was low ratings, a high budget, MGM's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and SyFy being cancel-happy. The show never had a chance unless it was going to be more successful than SG-1 in it's first season.

[KEK]

They had a five year arc loosely planned out, and the final episode planned out from very early on. Joe said they could have finished the story in a year however, if they had really needed to. I'm guessing that would have meant losing a lot of character arcs and reducing the show to pure plot for the most part though.

[Lythisrose]

Yeah, they're dopes.

I like to point out that The Science Fiction Channel, who's mission was to run Science Fiction, actually ran less Science Fiction than ABC, who's mission was *NOT* to run Science Fiction. Ditto BBC America.

And very unfortunately, they are going to continue doing what they are doing. Evidently this past summer was "#Syfy's most-watched in its 19-year history" according to Mark Stern's tweet from this morning.

(Mark Stern is "President, Original Content at Syfy")

[g.o.d]

bye bye scifi shows on syfy

[Briangate78]

SyFy committed to five seasons of SG-1 and Atlantis, so I think Brad Wright and friends just assumed SGU would get a five-year run so long as the ratings were strong. What killed the show was low ratings, a high budget, MGM's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and SyFy being cancel-happy. The show never had a chance unless it was going to be more successful than SG-1 in it's first season.

Syfy being cancel-happy? That does not make sense to me. It is not in their best interest to be cancel-happy. If shows don't perform in ratings to their allocated budget, then they get canceled, simple as that.

It's not like they have a dart board on the wall containing a list of all the shows, and determine cancellation by throwing a dart while wearing a blind-fold. lol.

Just wanted to add, we live in a world of relaity TV like Jersey Shore and Amercian Idol. People who want to see imagination, adventure, science fiction, and action on their TV screen just don't make up the numbers as they used to.

[g.o.d]

Syfy being cancel-happy? That does not make sense to me. It is not in their best interest to be cancel-happy. If shows don't perform in ratings to their allocated budget, then they get canceled, simple as that.

It's not like they have a dart board on the wall containing a list of all the shows, and determine cancellation by throwing a dart while wearing a blind-fold. lol.

Just wanted to add, we live in a world of relaity TV like Jersey Shore and Amercian Idol. People who want to see imagination, adventure, science fiction, and action on their TV screen just don't make up the numbers as they used to.

or they don't want to see it on syfy

[Quizziard]

or they don't want to see it on syfy

At the times that SyFy were showing it? Does the US ratings system, which is used for judging audiences sizes (and thus advert revenues) include DVR rewatches?