Why does Stargate SG-1 seem low budget, rushed and not as popular as it should be?

[Guest]

This is true for some episodes, but certainly not always. Sometimes they talk about how certain episodes actually run short and they have to make it longer somehow. 'Window of Opportunity' is one example.

I remember that. But they said it was unusual to run short. That was because they were refilming each repeated time line one scene after another just adding props to make it look like another loop.

[petzke_42]

I liked Season 7, just like any season, some eps I liked more than others.

[USS Thunderchild]

I don't agree with a lot of the post, including the idea that many of the episodes feel rushed (since there's only a certain ammount you can cram into an hour of programming), but the same freakin Canadian outdoor scene is killing me! Enough with the spruces, and pebbles! Dammit!

Oh, and heroes, Part. 2 had a really good huge troop sequence that was pretty badass.

Phil

[Elwe Singollo]

Oh, and heroes, Part. 2 had a really good huge troop sequence that was pretty badass.

Yah it did! I liked that scene.

[MartoufMarty]

All the planets except Abydos look like canada.

There is alot of different enviroments in canada , Why not visit the Tundra.
Why not go to California and film a episode there so you can have a tropical enviroment.

I am sick and tired of seeing every world as the same enviroment I see out my window in canada.

they have the desert looking places in BC. around Penticton it's basically a desert. not all just forest. grasslands, coastal, tundra. that's why BC is a good place to film things. it's cheaper than going to California. alot cheaper i believe. that's why Vancouver is (i believe) called the New Hollywood

[hail_jack]

Probably because it IS low budget, rushed and despite the show's excellent storylines/cool ass effects it doesn't seem to be that popular...I think Sci Fi/Sky should seriously put some money behind the show as it is at least one of their most popular shows...I also think a bit more exposure (spelling?) would help.. SG1 should be at least as popular or as highly regarded as Star Trek...well..Star Trek...highly regarded? popular? I don't know but it seems to be quite popular over here so some ads would help

[Torley]

Actually, I don't have the numbers, but I think Stargate SG-1 currently has some serious budget backing compared to other sci-fi shows still airing. Can someone please confirm this? ($1.9 million/ep, littlemigueljr?) Even when the show was beginning, I think they did a lot with what they had -- certainly their matte backdrops of grandeur and elegance stood out to me more than any of the Star Trek series (although some of Enterprise's visual FX are looking very nice, to its credit). I couldn't believe how well the Replicators were done, even in the early seasons.

I think people new to the show feel differently about Season 7 than, say, those who have been watching since Day 1. I'm relatively new to SG-1 and have sucked it all in. I have fave eps from each season but the ultimate thing for me would be the series finale.

[Indiana]

Some episodes do feel rushed. there have been many a time when I've stopped and said, "Well, is that it?" that kinda ended very rushed like. Early on in the series nothing seemed rushed. In fact I don't think it felt rushed until possibly season 4. We probably started to have a more episodes that ended with that "Is that it?" feeling. I remember watching the early season one finale/season two opener. There was nothing rushed about that. There was nothing rushed about watching SG-1 walk off into the Stargate many atimes.

Low budgeted. All movies are low budgeted. Even Lord of The Rings was low budget. I mean, I bet Pete Jackson would have loved another 300 mill to make the movies. All movies producers have to shrink their budgets to try and get their thing made.

As for popularity. I'm surprised at how many people I find out like Stargate. they're not the hardcore fan like me who goes online and researches it or goes to web forums and buys the DVDs, but i know a lot of people who casually tune in. I was sitting in my work staff room eating lunch and one guy started complaining that he forgot to tape the last Stargate. Then another women said she saw it. There was only three of us in the room, but I would never have thought they would watch it. There are two guys on my basketball team who watch it. There's some more peeps in my work who I believe also watch it. Then there was people in my college course who I knew watched it. It surprises me how many people like it, but a lot of people don't know about it.

I can understand why ShadowMatt might not enoy Stargate anymore. it doesnt have that same mystery about it. Or the same atmosphere it had in s1-3. As time went on the Visual effects have improved, wheras the stories have not. Sometimes you get the odd episode, which is really powerful, but mainly they're not as they once were.

[prion]

Yup, Sg1 is low budget, compared to say, network shows. We're always going to see coniferous trees because that's what Vancouver has, and the budget doesn't allow for htem to travel to better places. They actually did more traveling (from the looks of it) when the show as on Showtime. And the producers recently said in an article out in one of those scifi magazines that yes, they've hit up against a budget wall, so expect to see more episodes on base. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see another 'clip' episode in season 8.

I thought the show had better quality throughout while on Showtime, although I am one of the people who didn't like the change of writers in season 4. Or Sam's awful hairstyle.

I think the original Trek has much more going for it as it tackled more issues; SG1 is tackling Goa'uld. Another plus for the original Trek (sorry, Enterprise bores me to tears even though I like the cast) is that they had tags at the end where you resolved the episode, at least to some degree. They rarely do that on TV anymore, and just leaving you hanging. There have also been times in SG1 when the characters just seemed to be at odds with each other, and you wondered, heck, if they don't care about each, why should I care?

[Indiana]

I also did not like the change of writers in Season Four. I think when Johnathan Glassner left it contributed to somehow the stories decrease of quality. Also as an executive producer he could have more power over what other writers would write about.

The reason we had a clip episode in season seven was to save money for the big climax. They had a clip show and shot it on a set that would also be used in The lost City so they saved a lot of money in that sesne. If it seemed a lot of episodes were earth based this season then perhaps it's because they were cutting the budget to save up for the big climax.

[Beckmen]

Yeah, it is pretty anoyying how the show is handled. My cheif complaints:

-Using the same actors for differant roles, which they are doing now in Atlantis with Garwin whatshisname...
-All of the Goa'uld sets and costumes look horrible. The sets are obviously wood and plastic, hallways are re-used like crazy, and the "metal" jaffa and Goa'uld costumes are obviously rubber! It's got the production values of a Star Wars Fanfilm!
-The constant wrapping up of on-going plots. This has happened since the begining really (killing off Apophis 50 times, only to bring him back), but since Season 5 it's been even worse. They are always preparing for the end of the series, but then--whoops--we got re-newed, better get working on some new plots! These renewal decisions need to be made earlier...studios and stations need to commit to a whole season BEFORE the writing of the last season is done...or at least have some finale stipulation where if the series gets canned, they will permit a 2-hour movie to be produced as a quickie tie-up for the series.

[Ugly Pig]

-All of the Goa'uld sets and costumes look horrible. The sets are obviously wood and plastic, hallways are re-used like crazy, and the "metal" jaffa and Goa'uld costumes are obviously rubber! It's got the production values of a Star Wars Fanfilm!

What are you talking about?? SG-1 has excellent production values for a TV show. When I see comments like this, I just have to wonder what the #$¤!! some people are expecting.

[Indiana]

I'd say SG-1 have some fairly good production values, but thats where they fail. Because some aspects are really good, the weaker ones (yes they can have weak aspects, they're not all perfect) show up a lot easier.

Are the sets obviously plastic to you because you've watched the behind the scenes and saw that on construction they're made of wood?

[ShadowMaat]

Even high production values and dazzling SFX don't make up for deficiencies in plotting.

[Ugly Pig]

Even high production values and dazzling SFX don't make up for deficiencies in plotting.

A true statement, but what does it have to do with Stargate SG-1?