MGM Open To More Stargate Depending on Success of Stargate Origins and SGC

[Janus]

Stargate: Time to make a move....

...and go old school ?

Hello World,

So, it's been a while. Which is because I've been enjoying a much needed vacation on the lovely island of Crete. Good weather, lovely nature and wonderful people. Alas, that is now all over and the time has come to get the gears of work going again. Including my blog. So here goes...

Stargate

One of the things I have been pondering is the Stargate (Franchise) and it's future. In case you haven't read my previous posts: It's looking pretty bleak. And how MGM has been interacting with the fan base. It hasn't. And - of course - what the fans have done to try to get MGM to make a statement...ANY statement about said future.

And the simple fact is that the fans have tried everything. Well....except for a letter writing campaign. But...isn't that really old fashioned ? I mean, even Joseph Mallozzi said that ' the time of letter writing campaigns has past'. The thing is......that is probably true. But what is there to lose ? Some stamps ? Some paper ? Things can't really get worse, can they ? So...

Le Plan

Write a letter, write a postcard, write on a napkin....who cares ? Just tell MGM you like Stargate and want more. And send it to:

Mark Burnett
MGM Studios Inc.
245 North Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
United States of America

[Platschu]

I am sure they tried something similar in the past, but such fan campaigns don't really work. And if the twitter campaign was not godd enough for an official statement, then why would you think the leadership of MGM would change his mind about the SG franchise? We have to wait patiently, that is the only thing what we can do if something happens at all.

[Falcon Horus]

Then why do they not write an article about how James Cameron or Steven Spielberg could write and direct the next SG show? Or what about Tricia Helfer or Lucy Lawless to join the next SG spinoff?

Because even fantasy has its limits.

James Cameron and/or Steven Spielberg could do great things with a stargate script, I think. In the right circumstances they could seriously break box offices with it. James Cameron, especially, would make good use of 3D technology and use what he learned with Avatar (I love that film so much) and Titanic, to make Stargate spectacular.

Steven would loose himself in the action, and I think sometimes he forgets all about the story.
And films need more than explosions and shooting up the place to make an impact on its audience.

I loved Black Panther, but its story could have used a little more attention. Nevertheless, I loved it.

Tricia Helfer could work in a new Stargate show, but Lucy -- I don't know. Isn't she more active as a Greenpeace activist these days then on any television screen?

Stargate: Time to make a move....

...and go old school ?

Hello World,

[snip]

Le Plan

Write a letter, write a postcard, write on a napkin....who cares ? Just tell MGM you like Stargate and want more. And send it to:

Mark Burnett
MGM Studios Inc.
245 North Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
United States of America

I actually like this idea and I think old school isn't necessarily a bad thing. If we can rally the StargateNow troops -- if all those tweeters wrote at least one letter (or more) to MGM, from all over the world -- that would certainly leave a mark on MGM's mailbox. Emails and social media messages can easily be ignored and filtered to not appear in the right mailboxes (filters and spam and the like), but an actual letter written on paper with real life ink or printed... that's gotta be harder to ignore. Cannot just be deleted with one click or a touch of a key.

I say, one last effort... I'm in (as soon as I'm home from my vacation next week).

[Chaka-Z0]

I think we just have to be patient. With this new announcement of the acquisition of EPIX, the streaming / netflixish platform, we might just have something in the next few years.

[thekillman]

I think we just have to be patient. With this new announcement of the acquisition of EPIX, the streaming / netflixish platform, we might just have something in the next few years.

I think the issue is simply that MGM is looking for a Wright/Cooper combo, or something that can replace the old Stargate engine. It's fairly clear from their attempts (e.g. the movie reboot and Origins) that they haven't found a working approach to the series. They need someone with vision to lead the series into the modern era.

[Chaka-Z0]

I think the issue is simply that MGM is looking for a Wright/Cooper combo, or something that can replace the old Stargate engine. It's fairly clear from their attempts (e.g. the movie reboot and Origins) that they haven't found a working approach to the series. They need someone with vision to lead the series into the modern era.

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the article posted on GateWorld News section that mentions Wright would be 100% in if MGM would contact him.

Perhaps there's some beef between MGM and W&C ?

[Platschu]

SG-1 and Atlantis were slightly too light show, then Universe was way too dark and heavy drama show. They should find the right balance between adventure and character driven stories, so they could grab more viewers. As I am rewatching the Universe in the last few days, I have to tell you, it is much better what I remembered. Maybe my English has improved a lot in the last few years or I can simply enjoy more the little interactions between the characters. The filming style is still a bit weird, like the cameraman is always hiding behind the wall or somebody's back, but I could get used to it.


But honestly the Universe ship has gone. They sold the set and the props, the actors moved to other shows. So many fans don't understand that you can't call back suddenly everyone. Even if the Once upon a time series has been finished and Robert Carlyle would be free, he would't be enough alone. And that is the reason I am disappointed that MGM was not willing to invest into a closing film to this show while they had the whole crew and the sets in 2011. It is sad.

If you watched the Stargate : Origins, they show the DHD on the Abydos side (is it still spoiler?). And the DHD prop is the original from the SG-1. And simply I couldn't deny the huge quality difference between the DHD prop and everything else, especially the stargate.

I can understand that even if we would get something in the SG franchise then they have to invest a huge amount of money while it is not necessarily worth of it for a standalone SG movie or a little mini-series. So I can perfectly see the financial part of starting a new SG show, just I don't understand why they can't make an official statement :

1. "Thanks for the support blablabla, but we don't plan to start a new SG series in the near future."
or
2. "Thanks for the support blablabla, we are planning the next SG project, please wait for the announcement for more news blablabla."

By the way there are so many talented actor and actresses in Vancouver. Money is money, so even a bigger name or shall I say more famous actor won't say no to a new SG show as long as he or she can see the paycheck for it. And SG has got still a good reputation, so I believe lots of people would go to the audition to have a well-paid job for a few years again.

How I would reform the Stargate? Maybe they should slightly change the style of the next show. All 3 SG shows are based on army and how we defeat the bad guys. What if there would be a more civil aspect of SG? For example :

1. To make a "fake" documentary series, where we would follow a survivor type character in different scenarios and on different planets.
2. Or to follow an interplanatery tourist agency, who wouild bring different groups to different planets.
3. Or to follow a school, where teachers and students / cadets would visit different worlds to learn about nature, animals, alien communications.
But these ideas could be presented in a new SG show as character or story arcs. We don't have to fight the big hostile armies all the time. Not just space battles could sell an SG shows. Lost in space, Star Trek : Discovery and the Orville are alreay as spaceship based scifis. So I would like to see that the next SG show returns to explorations, to save local folks, to discover some secrets from the past and to develop a bit deeper and more complex characters. I believe the technology reached that level where they could make alien forests and animals, because we have to impress the new audience.

Or I have mentioned it in my own idea thread what if they would go for a bit educational scifi? Fans would be educated about different subjects (like chemistry, physics, biology, history) while they would provide more background informations for every episodes. I know it doesn't sound like a "real" SG show, but it would depend on the writing. Or if we could get a new SG shows and there is some technoblablabla part then they could bombard the people with extra informations.

But anyway... If I would be MGM, I would order a new cheap TV movie at first like the Origin was, and then they could see if the enthusiasm and the hype could be maintained or not. They could shoot it at autumn for a premiere in 2019. Then they could see how many people would pay for the renewal of SG:C. And after that maybe they can plan something bigger in the second half of 2019 or 2020.

[Janus]

I actually like this idea and I think old school isn't necessarily a bad thing. If we can rally the StargateNow troops -- if all those tweeters wrote at least one letter (or more) to MGM, from all over the world -- that would certainly leave a mark on MGM's mailbox. Emails and social media messages can easily be ignored and filtered to not appear in the right mailboxes (filters and spam and the like), but an actual letter written on paper with real life ink or printed... that's gotta be harder to ignore. Cannot just be deleted with one click or a touch of a key.

--- @Falcon Horus: I've tried to get the attention of the StargateNow folks on Twitter, but to no avail. And help in that department would be very welcome.

[Falcon Horus]

I think we just have to be patient. With this new announcement of the acquisition of EPIX, the streaming / netflixish platform, we might just have something in the next few years.

MGM already owned a piece of EPIX -- was one of its founders in 2009.
They just bought everyone else out of it, and are launching it on Comcast from June onward.

"Starting June 13, Comcast’s Xfinity platforms will offer live and on-demand programming from Epix, including original series and more than 2,000 feature films. In addition to linear TV, the network will be available on devices in and out of home via the Xfinity Stream app and web portal."

Source: Epix To Launch On Comcast In June, Expanding Reach To 70 Million Homes

More on the Comcast's Xfinity platform which is basically digital TV (internet/phone -- any Belgians or Dutch folks around: it's the same as Telenet or Belgacom Skynet).

If you watched the Stargate : Origins, they show the DHD on the Abydos side (is it still spoiler?).

Unfortunately yes, that is still a spoiler --- especially since Origins is technically speaking not legally viewable by anyone outside of the 6 countries.

All 3 SG shows are based on army and how we defeat the bad guys.

Atlantis wasn't originally based on the military contingent. It was a civilian expedition with a military presence.

If I would be MGM, I would order a new cheap TV movie at first like the Origin was, and then they could see if the enthusiasm and the hype could be maintained or not.

They made Stargate Origins. Hyped it among the fans, dangled it in front of every international fans, failed to maintain the hype so no... they've already shown that they can't go that way.

Then they could see how many people would pay for the renewal of SG:C. And after that maybe they can plan something bigger in the second half of 2019 or 2020.

Congratulations, you believe that they should continue to ignore the international fans in favor of the gaters in those 6 countries. Remember, 6 countries -- everyone else is still blocked.

No thanks -- if that's where anyone wants the stargate to go, then I'd rather it stays dead and buried.

Sidenote: I'm not paying 20 dollars or euros for that Origins digital download either if that's all I'm getting, a digital download. I'll happily download it illegally and watch it first.... Then I might -- and I stress the "might" consider paying half that amount of money, or half that amount of money.

--- @Falcon Horus: I've tried to get the attention of the StargateNow folks on Twitter, but to no avail. And help in that department would be very welcome.

I'll see what I can do.

[thekillman]

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the article posted on GateWorld News section that mentions Wright would be 100% in if MGM would contact him.

Perhaps there's some beef between MGM and W&C ?

Or they're looking for someone who can take it in a new direction.

[WraithTech]

Please provide "real news" when you have got confirmed informations, not just what a fan in position would imagine....

The fan post could have its own section separate from news in a for-fun/entertainment section. I didn't see Michael Bay's name on that list-- maybe Sam and Rodney blew up enough stuff for the time being. (I'm not a fan of Bay's stuff, just saying.)

They need someone with vision to lead the series into the modern era.

Yes, someone with know-how for both story writing and distribution.

Perhaps there's some beef between MGM and W&C ?

Post #534 in the AM comics thread might be of interest to this theory. MGM seemed pretty jumpy there, punishing the writer for helping a fan production and letting fans down by cancelling an SGU comic series that had been officially announced on various comic book sites.

Remember, 6 countries -- everyone else is still blocked. No thanks -- if that's where anyone wants the stargate to go, then I'd rather it stays dead and buried.

This calls for a meme: https://i.imgflip.com/2ax1tf.jpg

Sidenote: I'm not paying 20 dollars or euros for that Origins digital download either if that's all I'm getting, a digital download. I'll happily download it illegally and watch it first.... Then I might -- and I stress the "might" consider paying half that amount of money, or half that amount of money.

Agree. I've limited my time at the SGC site as it is because the site has been too disappointing.

[NickEast]

Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis weren't too light, it was perfect (well, relatively speaking). It's that reason the shows (mainly SG-1) became well-known and not the reason it didn't attract enough viewers. Whenever anyone talks about the good things, they always mention the humor, adventure and action. SG-1 in particular is one of the few shows that have a perfect balance between campy humor (as it takes place in the present, with the characters having knowledge of other sci-fi) and action-adventure. Save a few scenes, it never went too far. It did get 10 seasons.

Universe was too dark. Not bad per se, but they effectively removed the biggest selling point. At least season 1 (as I haven't seen 2) featured much less action-adventure and humor. There were a few quips and some action, but it had way more drama than its predecessors.

Comparing this, it shows that what SG-1, and by extension Atlantis, had was the right way to go, and Universe showed that doing it differently wasn't. All three shows were made by the same core crew. Despite the fact that Atlantis repeated a lot of SG-1 (similar roles, similar stories), it was still more popular than Universe and reached 5 seasons.

Comparing it to the darker 1994 film, the shows are once again much more popular. Despite the fact that the film was supposedly a blockbuster when it came out, it quickly faded away. Then came SG-1 and its popularity skyrocketed (again, relatively speaking). Though there are people who prefer the film over the shows, that group has to be vastly outnumbered by those that prefer the shows. If you ask around about Stargate, chances are greater that people remember at least SG-1 as opposed to the movie. Despite the fact that I'm only one of two fans that I know, almost everyone I've met knows about at least SG-1 (and Richard Dean "MacGyver" Anderson).

[thekillman]

Universe was too dark. Not bad per se, but they effectively removed the biggest selling point. At least season 1 (as I haven't seen 2) featured much less action-adventure and humor. There were a few quips and some action, but it had way more drama than its predecessors.

Comparing this, it shows that what SG-1, and by extension Atlantis, had was the right way to go, and Universe showed that doing it differently wasn't. All three shows were made by the same core crew. Despite the fact that Atlantis repeated a lot of SG-1 (similar roles, similar stories), it was still more popular than Universe and reached 5 seasons.

I don't think it was really the tone or level of seriousness that was the matter. SG1 had episodes where Jack begged Daniel to kill him. It's rather that the SGU change was rather abrupt, and fans going in to see Stargate were probably very surprised to see such a big difference. It doesn't help that the DVD market crashed and that SGU got a ton of executive meddling (i think it changed time slots 3 times or so).

[Platschu]

FH: I am still upset about the 6 countries. It is unacceptable and completly unlogical. So I don't defend them it is pretty bad in the XXI. century... Maybe they will add more countries as nobody can predict their motives or moves.

I was thinking what if we would start a "like this post" campaign on SG:C. Since everybody has got only one vote, I am just stimply intereted if we could reach 500 or 1000. So instead of a twitter storm, maybe a like storm for one particular post would be more convincing. I believe we have talked about the number of registered fans, because I could never see a post on the "forum" which has reached 100+ likes. So how would we expect a new tv show / tv movie if the fans are quiet or if they have abadonned the site? Because even if we could get 50000+ likes for one post, that wouldn't be enough for a new SG show. I believe the number of viewers were around 1-1,2 million on SyFy, but we should not forget that the real money comes not only from advertisments, but also from the international selling of the show. I am pretty sure that SG was sold to more than 100+ countries.

So imagine that you are MGM. You have this SG franchise. What would you do then? Reboot for possible new viewers and also losing maybe the old fans? Or shall they call back the old creators? It is not a simple decisison. Then shall it be Earth based, ship based, new location based? Milky way or new galaxy ( new gate system)? What should be the style of it? etc. It is not easy at all, but they had 7 years now to decide if they want to invest or not. There was no signs that suddenly they will order the Stargate : Origins and then it has happened suddenly.

By the way. I love all 3 SG shows. Universe was more mature as it had the best actors and character related storylines. It really feels like reading a nice book, where all 20 episodes are a big story. On the other hand, SG-1 and Atlantis had more individiual stories, so everybody could find their favorites. I don't know why in spite of the the sets looked nice in the Universe, the lighting on the corridors was so depressive. I could get used to the filming style, but the whole show was a bit too dark and desperate for my taste. You know the average viewers wants to cheer up after a long day when they watch an SG episode and not to be more depressed or sad. I won't say we don't need good characters and much deeper subjects, just they should find the right balance betwen SG-1 and the Universe.

Here I talked more about how I would continue the SG franchise as a direct continuation of the earlier tv shows:
https://forum.gateworld.net/threads/...galaxy-in-2020

Honestly I should rewatch the whole SG-1 series, because I don't remember so many things correctly.

It is hard to establish a new spinoff in the Milky Way, because
- you have to explain what happened to Earth (and SGC), and also explain what they have done in the last few years, what happened to our SG-1 heroes
- you have to maintain the connection to Earth because of the viewers and if you want to introduce new Earth based characters
- if they create a new base somewhere, they have to explain why is that place unique in the system, why is it important for the heroes, why is it important to the status quo
- if you start a new base then why the heroes would not go back to Earth day by day at the end of the missions
- if the new base can be a target from space, can it be visited and attacked by spaceships or not
- if the new base had a mystery, so you can start new storylines

So a new base could be anything. I am just a fan, I just try to brainstorm a few scenarios. A new base could be a Jaffa Parliament (not necesseraily on Dakara), a newly revealed Ancient or any other alien outpost, or maybe a spaceship what is landed on a planet. But we still have to explain why is it important to Earth, our heroes and obviously for the galaxy.

....

The future of the SG world can be answered only be the writers. I am just a fan and I just wanted to share a few ideas here. I can assume if the galaxy is full of human worlds, then soon it or later they will be targets of aliens who would try to contact / conquer / modify them. We don't know where the future of the SG world is aheading. Since they cancelled the SG:U, I would like to believe that Earth is saving the galaxy a few more times and we have established a nice diplomatic alliance with everyone who would like to join. The writers raised the level of villains and even our own technological skills in the last few seasons so they must find a really good scenario and event where the adventures could continue... Hopefully they will return to the more active use of gate system and they don't want to change SG into SW or ST. I like ships and big space battles, but I prefer gate related adventures. So that is the reason I tried to brainstorm a few new technological upgrades. I strongly believe the gate system is the essence of Stargate and there are so many things what they could still show us.

"Good things come to those who wait." - Teal'c in Unending

[NickEast]

I received the mail from SGC about GDPR yesterday evening.

Funny thing though, as I expected, I read about other American companies deliberately blocking access to their services because they don't want to adhere to the law. In my opinion, that kind of behavior suggests I shouldn't trust them.