Were the producers themselves HAPPY with SGA?

[Republibot 3.0]

I've been wondering about this for a while. 'Gate has always had an amazing ability to self-correct when it gets a bit off track, or go off in new directions when the old ones get stale. It's far better than any other series in that regard, and it was one of their strengths.

But were the producers themselves happy with SGA? It seems to have been fiddled with more than either other series, significant cast changes, significant premise changes, lots more fiddling about than SG1 ever went through (Mostly, as I understand it, because of Syfy meddling), and it ended a year early with no solid conclusion, and a dozen dangling threads.

I don't know the backroom deals, but word on the street is that Wright and/or Mallozi basically jumped at the chance to do SGU even if it meant killing off SGA, which suggests they weren't entirely thrilled with it. (I admit total ignorance on this, just curious).

Anyone know?

[LtColCarter]

I don't have any idea, but you do provide some interesting theories.

[Republibot 3.0]

I don't have any idea, but you do provide some interesting theories.

Thankee!

[hedwig]

It's anybody's guess as to how Brad Wright/Rob Cooper/Joe Mallozzi felt about SGA. But Brad Wright and Rob Cooper really wanted to do a series that was darker and grittier than either SG1 or SGA, and which allowed them to explore more human emotional issues and relationships than either of the other two series did. My own opinion is that however the cancellation of SGA came about, neither BW or RC was the least bit sorry to see it go, since BW (especially) specifically said he did not want to do two series again at the same time (like with SG1/SGA for three years).

I personally think there were too many producers/TPTB involved in SGA during it's run and everybody was trying to make it the way they wanted it, and it suffered because of that.

And SGU was already in the works at the time SGA got cancelled, so they were working on pre-production and gathering actors and so forth.

I'm also of the opinion that TPTB knew it was going to be cancelled, even if they won't admit it.

[anaberration]

I believe they changed so much in it to bring in more and more viewers and they just threw everything including fury little ewok like critters AND the kitchen sink at it, trying to prevent it from failing ( its the viewers that watch commercials that drive television shows anyway )...

Edit: I just remember'd which TV show SGA reminded me of, regarding whats been said: Lost in Space. Even back when it was in B&W ( yes kiddies at one time TV shows were filmed and transmitted in B&W ), as I was saying even back in the day, it at 1st had a reasonable straight forward goal. It was like driving at night with the headlights on, you could see the road, the road signs, the other vehicles and then the show became known as "the monster of the week scifi TV show ", heck they had actors walking around with paper mache dragon heads ( you kiddies can Google paper mache also ). That was done to draw in new viewers and boy was it a mess...

[Gatefan1976]

I have no doubt TPTB were *Proud* or *happy* with SGA, but I do think they DID get bored of it at some point, which was a shame.

[Quizziard]

Major changes in SGA? Wraith were in the final episode (as well as the first); Sheppard/McKay/Teyla were constant - apart from Ford being replaced by Conan^WRonon and the magical musical round that was the leader's office, what changes were there?

[KEK]

It's difficult to tell. I think Joe and Paul definitely were, I'm not sure Brad and especially Rob were.

[Ouroboros]

It always felt to me like they were just going through the motions. Basically assembly lining out the show on cruise control without really putting too much thought or effort into how to really get the most out of the concept they had.

It really shows up in the later seasons with the rehashing that went on or the various cast shuffles. It's like they don't really know what to do or where to take it anymore but they just keep going anyway.

I think the poster above nailed it. It was like they were bored with their own franchise.

[Republibot 3.0]

It's anybody's guess as to how Brad Wright/Rob Cooper/Joe Mallozzi felt about SGA. But Brad Wright and Rob Cooper really wanted to do a series that was darker and grittier than either SG1 or SGA, and which allowed them to explore more human emotional issues and relationships than either of the other two series did. My own opinion is that however the cancellation of SGA came about, neither BW or RC was the least bit sorry to see it go, since BW (especially) specifically said he did not want to do two series again at the same time (like with SG1/SGA for three years).

I personally think there were too many producers/TPTB involved in SGA during it's run and everybody was trying to make it the way they wanted it, and it suffered because of that.

And SGU was already in the works at the time SGA got cancelled, so they were working on pre-production and gathering actors and so forth.

I'm also of the opinion that TPTB knew it was going to be cancelled, even if they won't admit it.

Not sure about that. SGA was getting great ratings (2nd highest on the network) and they had another year left on their contract. My understanding was that SGA was specifically killed to make room for SGU, free up resources, etc.

[Republibot 3.0]

I believe they changed so much in it to bring in more and more viewers and they just threw everything including fury little ewok like critters AND the kitchen sink at it, trying to prevent it from failing ( its the viewers that watch commercials that drive television shows anyway )...

Edit: I just remember'd which TV show SGA reminded me of, regarding whats been said: Lost in Space.

Heh. I *HATED* SGA the first season. I described it as "A combination of the worst elements of DS9 and Voyager, with none of the good elements, not that there were any good elements in either show, really." 2nd season was much better, and I grew to really like the show, but that first year, gah.

[Republibot 3.0]

Major changes in SGA? Wraith were in the final episode (as well as the first); Sheppard/McKay/Teyla were constant - apart from Ford being replaced by Conan^WRonon and the magical musical round that was the leader's office, what changes were there?

Oh, gosh, lots!

- No longer cut off, they were in regular easy contact with earth
- They were on their third commander
- They had abandoned the Pegasus galaxy (Which was probably temporary, but we'll never know)
- Scrounging for power and supplies was no longer a plot element
- Teyla's people had more-or-less ceased to be a factor in the show
- Atlantis moved planets
- Major cast changes
- Atlantis was now the head of an emerging galaxy-wide government
- Replicators and Evil Asgard had been added as villains
- The Wraith were no longer monolithically evil.

Lots of changes.

[Republibot 3.0]

I think the poster above nailed it. It was like they were bored with their own franchise.

That's what I keep coming back to. It appears like they sacrificed a year of their show to make another show, which implies they didn't value it very much in the first place. Likewise, their reaction to the unexpected resentment of the SGA fans suggest they were surprised anyone else valued it.

[DigiFluid]

The changing cast of the show really is not reflective of any feelings they had about the show in general. All of the changes are readily explainable and reasonably well-known amongst the fandom.

As to the bullet points two posts above, most of those are just evolution in storytelling. Nothing sinister to see there, folks.


The only evidence that they were unhappy and/or bored with it is its ending--that they were clearly not interested in doing any more of the show, and decided to end it and start on something else.

[Republibot 3.0]

The changing cast of the show really is not reflective of any feelings they had about the show in general. All of the changes are readily explainable and reasonably well-known amongst the fandom.

As to the bullet points two posts above, most of those are just evolution in storytelling. Nothing sinister to see there, folks.


The only evidence that they were unhappy and/or bored with it is its ending--that they were clearly not interested in doing any more of the show, and decided to end it and start on something else.

Who said anything sinister? But anyway, we seem to agree: they'd lost interest. Which implies they weren't entirely happy with the way it turned out.