Stargate: Origins the name of the new TV show?

[aretood2]

It seems very small scale...They are probably testing the waters and see what happens. Hopefully something bigger comes out of this.

[jelgate]

So how much am I going have to pay? It may not be worth it if Origins is all they are offering

[Gatefan1976]

So how much am I going have to pay? It may not be worth it if Origins is all they are offering

That's the real question.

[jelgate]

It seems very small scale...They are probably testing the waters and see what happens. Hopefully something bigger comes out of this.

Of course. It wouldn't be the first time a web series was used to test the waters of popularity. Sanctuary being the most obvious example

[aretood2]

That's what worries me. It's Star Trek Discovery but even more iffy.
another issue is expanding the "fanbase". I wonder what they'll do to get "fresh blood"
into it on the audience side of things...maybe release the entire thing as a movie? Piggyback if off other media or shows? It looks like they are really going for a new approach and knowingly taking a risk and hoping it'll pay off...which isn't a bad thing. Netflix also took a risk and it paid off big time.

[Grinspoon]

At this stage to be honest, it seems to be a relatively pointless endeavor.

[jelgate]

That's what worries me. It's Star Trek Discovery but even more iffy.
another issue is expanding the "fanbase". I wonder what they'll do to get "fresh blood"
into it on the audience side of things...maybe release the entire thing as a movie? Piggyback if off other media or shows? It looks like they are really going for a new approach and knowingly taking a risk and hoping it'll pay off...which isn't a bad thing. Netflix also took a risk and it paid off big time.

Its a lot less than what Discovery was offering so the bar to be really low for me to pay for it

[Falcon Horus]

If it's region-free it might harness an audience, and if it's free to view.
If it's blocked for international viewers, I don't see it succeeding.

[DigiFluid]

That's what worries me. It's Star Trek Discovery but even more iffy.
another issue is expanding the "fanbase". I wonder what they'll do to get "fresh blood"
into it on the audience side of things...maybe release the entire thing as a movie? Piggyback if off other media or shows? It looks like they are really going for a new approach and knowingly taking a risk and hoping it'll pay off...which isn't a bad thing. Netflix also took a risk and it paid off big time.

I think that's the gargantuan elephant in the room here. Stargate has always had a very dedicated core audience, but us being vocal doesn't mean we're numerous. A webseries automatically limits your audience to us niche folks, and it limits it further still if the paywall becomes a factor.

Narrowing viewership is a dangerous play if you're trying to revive a franchise.

[DigiFluid]

Its a lot less than what Discovery was offering so the bar to be really low for me to pay for it

Star Trek also has the added bonuses of having an in-built gigantic fanbase that's been around for over 50 years, and that they're making a full-budget actual TV series.

[Falcon Horus]

Don't forget, region-free vs region-blocked (which can be circumvented, but if it's behind a pay-wall, that would become harder).

[DigiFluid]

If it's blocked for international viewers, I don't see it succeeding.

Eep, I didn't even think of that! I hope they're not stupid enough to geo-lock (or geo-delay) it--that would doom the whole venture before it even gets off the ground.

[aretood2]

I think that's the gargantuan elephant in the room here. Stargate has always had a very dedicated core audience, but us being vocal doesn't mean we're numerous. A webseries automatically limits your audience to us niche folks, and it limits it further still if the paywall becomes a factor.

Narrowing viewership is a dangerous play if you're trying to revive a franchise.

If you recall how big of a issue I think Star Trek Discovery is facing with it's paywall issue, you can understand how much I agree with this. The difference here is that Discovery actually has a workable solution and Netflix already did this sort of thing. The only barrier to CBS is well...getting people to pay for one network's worth of shows (CBS) as opposed to one streaming service plus other networks/movie studios/channel's shows (Hulu/Netflix etc). SG Origins is um...not even a network worth of shows nor is it known the way Star Trek is.

[Falcon Horus]

Geo-delay?

[Grinspoon]

That's what worries me. It's Star Trek Discovery but even more iffy.
another issue is expanding the "fanbase". I wonder what they'll do to get "fresh blood"
into it on the audience side of things...maybe release the entire thing as a movie? Piggyback if off other media or shows? It looks like they are really going for a new approach and knowingly taking a risk and hoping it'll pay off...which isn't a bad thing. Netflix also took a risk and it paid off big time.

I see no way this will expand the fan base or is designed to. MGM decided they could make money with their own Stargate subscription service. However as the only people who'd ever sign up for it already own the show on home media, they have thrown together a cheap web series to entice them to sign up.

They then came up with a concept in which they don't have to deal with any of the TV series plots or feature any of the actors from the franchise. As well as a concept that won't involve gate travel, other planets, alien races, spaceships or anything else expensive or what the franchise is known for.