I don't have time to post the whole thing, but here's the link to today's post
http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/...r-your-starga/
Of note:
BoltBait writes: “Any comment on this? http://www.gateworld.net/news/2011/0...m-syfy/“
Answer: Back in the last few years of Stargate, I took to giving the network notes on their notes. Essentially, I would go through the notes, address the concerns I could, then specifically respond to ones I couldn’t do or felt I shouldn’t do. As I read this article, I felt like responding in similar fashion. A lot of good points are raised. On the other hand, a lot of baffling points are made as well. For starters, I don’t think an official explanation on the part of SyFy is necessary. While I can empathize with fans who object to the abruptness of the cancellation after ten years on the network, one has to understand that television is a business. If SyFy has alternate scripted programming that performs better on Mondays or Tuesdays in the fall, then it’s understandable why they would choose those shows over a third season of SGU. That said, certain statements in the article had me scratching my head…
“When MGM decided to bring Stargate Atlantis to an end after five seasons…â€
Hmmmm. Not to belabor the point (because I have discussed this in past entries) but, at the time, when we asked the studio whether or not there was any interest on their part in producing a sixth season of Atlantis, I was told that, while the increased budget made a season six less attractive for them, there were other reasons to do it (ie. as a lead-in to the new series). I wasn’t privy to the final decision-making process so it’s possible that the studio had an 11th hour change of heart – but I’m not sure why they would have.
“Because Stargate SG-1 and had performed so well for us in the past, we felt confident about SGU and committed to a two-season deal for it, as long as the show met certain milestones along the way. Two-season deals are rare in the TV world because they tie up a huge amount of investment (both time and money), but our great track record with MGM and Stargate made this seem like as much of a sure thing as you’ll get in the TV business. That means before any footage was shot or any actors were hired, we knew there’d be 40 episodes.â€
Craig rightly points out that the second year pick-up was contingent on the show’s first season meeting “certain milestonesâ€. Which makes the last sentence: “That means before any footage was shot or any actors were hired, we knew there’d be 40 episodes.†somewhat debatable – unless he’s suggesting that the network was insanely optimistic at the time. If the first season had not met the milestones set forth in the original deal, there would have been no guarantee of a second season pick-up.
“The show quickly moved forward and officially launched on October 2, 2009. The debut was watched by a good if not spectacular 2,779,000 viewers. To give that some perspective, Stargate Atlantis debuted with over 4 million viewers, so SGU was more than 25% below that.â€
File this one under baffling. Comparing the SGA premiere to the SGU premiere overlooks is grossly unfair. First – Atlantis premiered during the summer while Universe – originally slated for a fall premiere – premiered in the much more competitive fall. Second the time between the two premiere has seen a significant increase in DVR usage and internet downloads, and a simultaneous erosion in live viewership. Coincidence? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Simply put, back when Atlantis aired, fewer viewers were recording or downloading television and many more were watching television live.
“With untenably low numbers and no sign of growth on Fridays where it had now lost 1/3 of its initial audience, we decided to move SGU for its second season. We’d had tremendous success on Tuesday’s with our breakout hit Warehouse 13, so we paired SGU with Caprica and moved them to Tuesdays, hoping to introduce both shows to a new audience.â€
Sigh. Okay, look – while I understood (and supported) the move to Tuesday night and the pairing with Caprica, I nevertheless take exception to the assertion that the network had enjoyed “tremendous success on Tuesday’s with [their] breakout hit Warehouse 13″. While Warehouse 13 certainly aired on Tuesdays, it did so in the summer (where, I’d like to reiterate, SGU was originally scheduled to air).
“We moved the final 10 episodes of SGU to Monday nights where we’d just had success with a new show called Being Human, but the ratings remained flat.â€
Okay but, realistically, the series had already been canceled so I’m not sure how much reasonable audience growth could be expected at that point.
Like I said – television is a business and decisions are driven by the bottom line. All the same, we were on the network for ten years. When my last relationship ended after 10+ years, we enjoyed a nice post break-up wrap-up dinner. Just saying.
http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/...r-your-starga/
Of note:
BoltBait writes: “Any comment on this? http://www.gateworld.net/news/2011/0...m-syfy/“
Answer: Back in the last few years of Stargate, I took to giving the network notes on their notes. Essentially, I would go through the notes, address the concerns I could, then specifically respond to ones I couldn’t do or felt I shouldn’t do. As I read this article, I felt like responding in similar fashion. A lot of good points are raised. On the other hand, a lot of baffling points are made as well. For starters, I don’t think an official explanation on the part of SyFy is necessary. While I can empathize with fans who object to the abruptness of the cancellation after ten years on the network, one has to understand that television is a business. If SyFy has alternate scripted programming that performs better on Mondays or Tuesdays in the fall, then it’s understandable why they would choose those shows over a third season of SGU. That said, certain statements in the article had me scratching my head…
“When MGM decided to bring Stargate Atlantis to an end after five seasons…â€
Hmmmm. Not to belabor the point (because I have discussed this in past entries) but, at the time, when we asked the studio whether or not there was any interest on their part in producing a sixth season of Atlantis, I was told that, while the increased budget made a season six less attractive for them, there were other reasons to do it (ie. as a lead-in to the new series). I wasn’t privy to the final decision-making process so it’s possible that the studio had an 11th hour change of heart – but I’m not sure why they would have.
“Because Stargate SG-1 and had performed so well for us in the past, we felt confident about SGU and committed to a two-season deal for it, as long as the show met certain milestones along the way. Two-season deals are rare in the TV world because they tie up a huge amount of investment (both time and money), but our great track record with MGM and Stargate made this seem like as much of a sure thing as you’ll get in the TV business. That means before any footage was shot or any actors were hired, we knew there’d be 40 episodes.â€
Craig rightly points out that the second year pick-up was contingent on the show’s first season meeting “certain milestonesâ€. Which makes the last sentence: “That means before any footage was shot or any actors were hired, we knew there’d be 40 episodes.†somewhat debatable – unless he’s suggesting that the network was insanely optimistic at the time. If the first season had not met the milestones set forth in the original deal, there would have been no guarantee of a second season pick-up.
“The show quickly moved forward and officially launched on October 2, 2009. The debut was watched by a good if not spectacular 2,779,000 viewers. To give that some perspective, Stargate Atlantis debuted with over 4 million viewers, so SGU was more than 25% below that.â€
File this one under baffling. Comparing the SGA premiere to the SGU premiere overlooks is grossly unfair. First – Atlantis premiered during the summer while Universe – originally slated for a fall premiere – premiered in the much more competitive fall. Second the time between the two premiere has seen a significant increase in DVR usage and internet downloads, and a simultaneous erosion in live viewership. Coincidence? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Simply put, back when Atlantis aired, fewer viewers were recording or downloading television and many more were watching television live.
“With untenably low numbers and no sign of growth on Fridays where it had now lost 1/3 of its initial audience, we decided to move SGU for its second season. We’d had tremendous success on Tuesday’s with our breakout hit Warehouse 13, so we paired SGU with Caprica and moved them to Tuesdays, hoping to introduce both shows to a new audience.â€
Sigh. Okay, look – while I understood (and supported) the move to Tuesday night and the pairing with Caprica, I nevertheless take exception to the assertion that the network had enjoyed “tremendous success on Tuesday’s with [their] breakout hit Warehouse 13″. While Warehouse 13 certainly aired on Tuesdays, it did so in the summer (where, I’d like to reiterate, SGU was originally scheduled to air).
“We moved the final 10 episodes of SGU to Monday nights where we’d just had success with a new show called Being Human, but the ratings remained flat.â€
Okay but, realistically, the series had already been canceled so I’m not sure how much reasonable audience growth could be expected at that point.
Like I said – television is a business and decisions are driven by the bottom line. All the same, we were on the network for ten years. When my last relationship ended after 10+ years, we enjoyed a nice post break-up wrap-up dinner. Just saying.
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