Originally posted by Rachel500
I've kind of been reading along with interest on the ratings discussion.
If the ratings have taken the drop that's reported in the article posted then I do feel incredibly sorry for everyone who works on the show even TPTB. As BW said in his article, generally they're trying to make the best show possible and work incredibly hard to do it. As a writer, I know how disheartening it can be to work on something and for you to feel its great but when its read it gets less than a 'OMG that was brilliant' reaction. However just because your intention is to produce a great a show doesn't mean it will be perceived as such by your audience when it gets to the screen.
For me, it all comes down to the fact that there is a schism between TPTB and the fans (especially veteran fans who've been with the show a long time and make up the bulk of the audience) on the new 'vision' for the show since Season 9. It's not that fans cannot accept change, (as another Trek fan I'm with Astro, I sat through a number of changes in the Trek universe without throwing my toys out of the pram) but when change happens its got to be handled well. As RC said in a trade article, you have to respect what has come before and I think a lot of fans didn't feel that the writing in Season 9 did respect what had come before; especially for the older characters such as Sam.
If we take Sam's character as an example; it was, IMO, badly written in Season 9; the storylines whipped away her leadership of SG1, didn't promote her character or seem to remember her characterisation beyond science-geek, they didn't provide her with much beyond technobabble which every other character got to roll their eyes at or scenes with 'male friends' (what was all that about FCOL??). While there was some improvement at the end of the Season (the Scourge, for instance), it was too little, too late to redeem the situation within that Season.
While there is always a balancing act with 'servicing' characters and trying to ensure all main characters get a good storyline, the servicing in Season 9 was completely imbalanced in favour of the new characters - one of whom, Vala, who was only meant originally at least to be a temporary stop-gap for AT's maternity leave. So what was meant to be Sam's return story becomes Vala Saves the Galaxy story.
It's things like this that irritate the majority of veteran fans who are heavily invested in the old characters and tuning in primarily to see good stories showcasing the characters. I'm not against Mitchell being written as a hero (or Vala) but not at the expense of the old characters. I don't think it's incredibly difficult to give everyone their turn in the spotlight and there are a couple of epis in Season 9 that I do think get the balance right. I'm still hopeful about S10 despite the ratings drop for the Season premiere. If they can the balance back, fans may return and the ratings go back up.
But I do think TPTB need to take on board still that for those veteran fans that make up the bulk of the audience, this isn't Season 2 of a new show that we're getting to know; this is Season 10 of a much loved series. I have sympathy with the business decisions TPTB have to deal with. I think they wanted to have a new show having effectively 'finished' SG1 at the end of Season 8. In some ways, I would have been happy to see SG1 end at S8 despite my love for the show and to welcome a new show last Season with a different cast (with maybe one of the originals moving forward).
But it didn't end and the reality TPTB have to face is they don't have a new show, they have a hybrid show of the old and new. And for the bulk of the audience while we may in time come to love the 'new' right now its the older part that we love and which keeps us watching - characters like Sam.
If the ratings have taken the drop that's reported in the article posted then I do feel incredibly sorry for everyone who works on the show even TPTB. As BW said in his article, generally they're trying to make the best show possible and work incredibly hard to do it. As a writer, I know how disheartening it can be to work on something and for you to feel its great but when its read it gets less than a 'OMG that was brilliant' reaction. However just because your intention is to produce a great a show doesn't mean it will be perceived as such by your audience when it gets to the screen.
For me, it all comes down to the fact that there is a schism between TPTB and the fans (especially veteran fans who've been with the show a long time and make up the bulk of the audience) on the new 'vision' for the show since Season 9. It's not that fans cannot accept change, (as another Trek fan I'm with Astro, I sat through a number of changes in the Trek universe without throwing my toys out of the pram) but when change happens its got to be handled well. As RC said in a trade article, you have to respect what has come before and I think a lot of fans didn't feel that the writing in Season 9 did respect what had come before; especially for the older characters such as Sam.
If we take Sam's character as an example; it was, IMO, badly written in Season 9; the storylines whipped away her leadership of SG1, didn't promote her character or seem to remember her characterisation beyond science-geek, they didn't provide her with much beyond technobabble which every other character got to roll their eyes at or scenes with 'male friends' (what was all that about FCOL??). While there was some improvement at the end of the Season (the Scourge, for instance), it was too little, too late to redeem the situation within that Season.
While there is always a balancing act with 'servicing' characters and trying to ensure all main characters get a good storyline, the servicing in Season 9 was completely imbalanced in favour of the new characters - one of whom, Vala, who was only meant originally at least to be a temporary stop-gap for AT's maternity leave. So what was meant to be Sam's return story becomes Vala Saves the Galaxy story.
It's things like this that irritate the majority of veteran fans who are heavily invested in the old characters and tuning in primarily to see good stories showcasing the characters. I'm not against Mitchell being written as a hero (or Vala) but not at the expense of the old characters. I don't think it's incredibly difficult to give everyone their turn in the spotlight and there are a couple of epis in Season 9 that I do think get the balance right. I'm still hopeful about S10 despite the ratings drop for the Season premiere. If they can the balance back, fans may return and the ratings go back up.
But I do think TPTB need to take on board still that for those veteran fans that make up the bulk of the audience, this isn't Season 2 of a new show that we're getting to know; this is Season 10 of a much loved series. I have sympathy with the business decisions TPTB have to deal with. I think they wanted to have a new show having effectively 'finished' SG1 at the end of Season 8. In some ways, I would have been happy to see SG1 end at S8 despite my love for the show and to welcome a new show last Season with a different cast (with maybe one of the originals moving forward).
But it didn't end and the reality TPTB have to face is they don't have a new show, they have a hybrid show of the old and new. And for the bulk of the audience while we may in time come to love the 'new' right now its the older part that we love and which keeps us watching - characters like Sam.
I can't actually lay claim to it. I might have been the first one on this thread to coin it (and I used it *gasp* first in the Vala/Claudia thread. Imagine the reaction there! 
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