Feelings about the cancellation of Atlantis

[Morrolan]

If the production team was in on the decision, there was no need for them to have the series finale be a cliffhanger. For that matter, why introduce new enemies halfway through the last season when it would be better used wrapping up existing plotlines?

I'm not saying that the production necessarily agrees with the decision, but when it came down to dollars and cents, they felt it would be better to end Atlantis to focus on new projects. I'll bet they were hoping for one more year, but ready to move on.

[DaMulta]

Just when last week they add new gate addresses to other high tech people hiding from the wraith. I could soooo see this show sticking around for 10
Sesasons but damn it's not.

IMO I think they should do another year along side with SGU. Just like they did when SGA came out, SG1 was on the same night.

[TheHomegaMan]

They brought this on themselves through bad decisions. And through ignoring the fans. As JM said "We don't write this for the fans". They actually thought that the anti people were just a small group of troublemakers online.

Alyssa, I've agreed with much of what you've said in the past. Here, though, we split. The fans are just people who watch and/or write about the show. They have no say. Zero. None. The general fan opinion is incredibly hard to divine anyway, given the fact that most of them are content to enjoy the show.

By most reasonable methods to gauge fan opinion, the show was fine. It wasn't on the best of legs, but it sure as heck wasn't in cancellation territory. You seem like you have your head on straight, so don't fall into the "self-important fan" trap. You're smarter than that.

[Browncoat1984]

I need some answers.

- when is stargate universe supposed to premier ?
- is there/when is there supposed to be a 3rd sg1 film?
- if sga end in january then sgu wont be out or the sga movies wont be out for atleats late 2009 early 2010?

We don't have those answers.

[joeynox]

so since sga is done in Jan theres definitely going to be a big time frame of no StarGate ? Oh the pain

[amconway]

Just when last week they add new gate addresses to other high tech people hiding from the wraith.

I sure wish they'd done that a few years ago! It was sorely needed and would have been very interesting. Ah, well - some great plots for movies, there!

[amconway]

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so since sga is done in Jan theres definitely going to be a big time frame of no StarGate ? Oh the pain

There wouldn't have any episodes until the summer anyway. If (and I emphasize 'if') the 3rd SG-1 movie does film this winter as hinted at, and if you add 6 months for marketing to that, you end up with the possibility that a movie could be released next summer.

[chris777]

Indeed. That is the frustrating thing - the fact that it could have been so great.

Oh come on now people. Now sci fi can finally fund that critters the series, like they did when they canceled farscape so they could bring us tremors the series, a true classic. And plus it will be a boatload of cash to be redirected on those Sci Fi Pictures original films. Now those were obviously money well spent, and if they did that well with those classics, just imagine what they could do with a few extra cents. ILM and pixar had better up their game and quick. You act like Atlantis was a missed opportunity, and yet sci fi has really pulled out all the stops with their new line up of repeats of network series like lost.

I mean come one why would anyone want to watch first run episodes when they could be watching 4 year or older repeats who are just fermenting into their prime. I may yet get to see those episodes of sg1 that havent been repeated 47 times. Oh and lets not forget X-files, look at how the new movie drew in the masses a good 10 years past its prime.

Its not like the writers seemed to be throwing darts at cliched and overdone solo stories on specific characters, last season, or like the whole overall arc seemed to be drifting where the current took them. I for one really don't believe the writers just phoned in the scripts. But now Sci fi can focus on whats it does best Reality television. Oh wait, maybe the need to cancel their name, too if the fiction part is now out.

[sinfuldraconis]

From Joe Mallozzi's Blog:

By now, I assume you’ve all heard the news. This will be Stargate Atlantis’s fifth and final season. I’m disappointed but not surprised. We came into this year knowing that renewal would be a longshot. With 100 episodes under our belts, rising production costs, and the US dollar’s steep decline, the odds were stacked against us. Still, we’d heard no definite word either way and if SG-1’s surprising 10-year run taught us one thing, it’s that anything is possible. The circumstances that contributed to SG-1’s longevity were very different but, back then, we hadn’t expected it to get a sixth season pick-up either. Furthermore, with our strong premiere numbers and the equally impressive showing of the ensuing episodes, some of us were, if not exactly upbeat, then cautiously optimistic. We watched. We waited. And, finally, received word the other day.

We told the cast first, then headed down to set and broke the news to the crew. These are people who have given so much of themselves over the show’s five-year run and we felt it only right that they hear it from us rather than finding out about it elsewhere.

It’s been a bittersweet couple of days. On the one hand, I’m sorry to see the series end but, on the other hand, I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. 100 episodes is pretty damn impressive feat and, as evidenced by the quality of recent stories and the uptick in the ratings, we’ll be going out on a high. Even though I see a lot of anger directed at both MGM and Sci Fi, the fact is we couldn’t have done it without their support. And we’re going to count on that support as Atlantis continues its adventures as a movie franchise.

Episode 20, Enemy at the Gate, will mark our 100th episode and, contrary to online speculation, we will not be ending things with a cliffhanger. Regardless of whether we got the pick-up or not, we had always planned a clean conclusion to our 100th episode, one that would hopefully leave fans satisfied yet eager for more. And that “more” will come in the form of the Stargate Atlantis movie…

About a month ago, with so much uncertainty about the future of the series, Rob Cooper pitched out the idea of shooting the SGA movie at the end of this season. His thinking was that if the series did end, we would have a movie in hand. If, however, the series was picked up, the “SGA movie” (codenamed Project Twilight) would simply become the opening two episodes of the show’s sixth season. Alas, this notion never got past the consideration stage and, as a result, we won’t be rolling right into it as planned. On the bright side, however, the network has greenlit the movie and we do have a terrific idea in mind. Obviously, I can’t say much about it at this point but suffice it to say that it should include the entire cast in addition to a certain gaunt and pallid flowing-locked guest star. And, if it proves anywhere as successful as the first two SG-1 direct-to-video features, you can be assured that this will be the first in a long, long line of Stargate Atlantis movies.

Like my grandmother used to say: Whenever a gate closes, a hyperspace window opens…

[Arturis]

They cancelled SG-1... fine, it had a great run.

They put professional wrestling on... whatever, another plop in the toilet.

They put a YEAR midseason hiatus in the middle of BSG Season 4... not fine.

They cancelled SGA... the last straw.

Now all they have is their STUPID reality shows, reruns of the WORST Star Trek show ever (Enterprise), that steaming turd of a show Eureka, the godawful Flash Gordon remake, ALL of the unbelievably BAD movies they make, and Sanctuary will FAIL and fail hard (I wager they'll cancel it after 4 episodes).

If Stargate Universe is to be made it should be somewhere besides SciFi. SpikeTV would be good and so would G4, so would many other great networks, but not SciFi. SciFi and NBC Universal shouldn't be allowed to make another dime off of Stargate. Here's to next year when they kill the network and do nothing but their crappy reality shows (just like CourtTV did this year) and give it some utterly stupid name like Scareality. Then we can all dance on its grave.

Feel free to flame me or agree with me. I've had it with them. I'll be catching the rest of SGA and BSG by "other means" ;-).

[hedwig]

/off topic

Have to disagree with you on that, even though this isn't really the place. I find Eureka to be original, charming, and to have surprising depth and well rounded characterization. Quirkily wonderful.
/end off topic

I have to agree with your disagreement. "Eureka" is funny and charming and sometimes serious. No, it isn't Stargate or anything like Stargate, but that doesn't make it any less a good series. I happen to like it, and I like the characters on it, too. I hope it continues for a few more years.

[Daedalus-304]

After Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar are over, I won't have any reason to watch SciFi anymore either.

I'm actually starting to give up on TV all together.

[Arturis]

Amen to that friend. All I really have left is the last season of The Shield and Heroes.

[Alteran of Atlantis]

Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: SG-1 are the only things I watch on SciFi. I'm never tuning into that channel again. But I may watch Universe, if the show actually sounds good. But replacing Atlantis with Universe? BAD IDEA!!!!!!

[amconway]

By S8 of Sg1 all the goa'uld system lords had been wiped out except Ba'al. The replicators were wiped out and Jack and Carter began dating. In 9 and 10 we're shown the goa'uld have become more like insurgents, acting on a small scale than their once masterful empirers that they had. Do you think you can wipe out a WHOLE species?

We're shown what happened to the power vaccuum left by the goa'uld - The Lucian Alliance.

What more do you want?

I agree with you entirely, except for the Jack/Sam thing. Folks may have chosen to read that in, but it's fanon, not canon. Apart from that, excellent summary!