Sam In Charge...but not really.

[Skydiver]

Skydiver do you have any numbers on how much each episode costs?

I believe it was $2.1M in S7. Has that number changed because of Atlantis? Do Atlantis and SG1 have the same amount of money?

that i don't know. what i do know is that every year, folks get raises. now, i'm TOTALLY pulling numbers out of the air here, i have no info and really don't need any, but let's say a member of the cast was making 45,000 at the beginning of the show. it's not unreasonable for them to now be makine 55,000 now.

the show has a crew of hundreds, along with actors who, i'm sure, make more money each year. The actors are getting (likely) residuals, which means every time an episode airs, they get a few dollars.

any show eventually becomes a victim of its own success. each year it costs more just to get the cast and crew to walk in the door every morning.

sooner or later, the show, no matter how successful, costs more to make than it pulls in

[Mar9645]

from the beginning, it was stated that there would be more earth based eps this season for budgetary reasons.

There's more wrong with Season 8 than just budgetary limitations.

We've now seen eight episodes, almost half the season, and the laments from Season 7 are getting louder: excuses for why stories are so bland and superficial with the most minimal movement of the primary Stargate SG-1 story arc - defeating the Goa'uld (lower budgets, RDA's reduced schedule); no exploring and discovering new cultures and technologies which is what this sci fi action/adventure show was all about for six seasons; changes that have been negative to characters' development (more out-of-place ship or everyone being oh-so-happy and well-adjusted) and totally pointless changes like Sam being promoted and commanding SG-1 that never goes anywhere anymore.

If you look at the descriptions of the remaining episodes for Season 8 there's very little to show that things will get any better. The 'wait til later in the season' is, IMO, a vain hope. There may be an episode or two that turn out well but overall I don't see any real story or character development for the rest of Season 8. Basically, they've taken the worst of Season 7 and expanded on it.

The story details for the last two episodes haven't been released yet. I cringe to think what they'll turn out to be given all the loose ends and plot landmines that have been ignored or created since the end of Season 6. I suspect what we'll wind up with will depend on whether or not there's a Season 9. And that's very scary.

If this was all simply a TV show, it really wouldn't matter in the end but Stargate is now a franchise, so all creative decisions will hinge on that - Season 9, films, spin-offs, who's staying, who's going.

I WISH WE COULD ALL GO BACK TO THAT VERY SPECIAL TIME WHEN ALL THAT MATTERED WAS TELLING GREAT STORIES ABOUT THE STARGATE!

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

If this was all simply a TV show, it really wouldn't matter in the end but Stargate is now a franchise, so all creative decisions will hinge on that - Season 9, films, spin-offs, who's staying, who's going.

I WISH WE COULD ALL GO BACK TO THAT VERY SPECIAL TIME WHEN ALL THAT MATTERED WAS TELLING GREAT STORIES ABOUT THE STARGATE!

With all due respect, this complaint has been repeated ad infinitum since at least season six. Since that time Stargate has gotten its best ratings ever - even for season six, and even for repeated broadcasts - and it's spawned a successful spin-off.

As to stories about the Stargate, I can only think of a few eps throughout the entire series: The Movie, Torment of Tantalus, Matter of Time, 48 Hours,... any others?

It seems to me that the Stargate has featured heavily in season eight; we just mainly saw the Stargate from the POV of the SGC. IIRC, Affinity is the only ep this season where there was no Stargate. One out of eight ain't bad....

The truth is, you can't please everybody; the Stargate story could have taken as many different directions as there are fans. The continued good ratings seem to imply that TPTB are doing a decent job of pleasing somebody. Personally, I think that, while some of the individual stories are so-so, the overall story is still a great one - great enough to keep me anticipating, debating, thinking on it all.

[jckfan55]

There's more wrong with Season 8 than just budgetary limitations....

If you look at the descriptions of the remaining episodes for Season 8 there's very little to show that things will get any better. The 'wait til later in the season' is, IMO, a vain hope. There may be an episode or two that turn out well but overall I don't see any real story or character development for the rest of Season 8. Basically, they've taken the worst of Season 7 and expanded on it.

Does anyone know if the main writers have changed over the last few years? Could that be part of the issue? Have our usual writers run out of creative steam? That can be a problem with a long running series...