S10: Critique & Contemplation

[Skydiver]

the ratings and money are entwined

basically, scifi and mgm both paid to make and air the show. when the ratings were high, scifi was willing to pay more, let's say 70/30. because they could recoup that money with ad revenue

but as ratings fell, the advertisors wouldn't pay as much, so their profit margin shrank

when discussions about s11 came up, skiffy said 'umm, you know, we can't afford to pay 70% anymore, you want us to keep airing this show, we're paying 40%, you're paying 60% (just making up numbers here)

mgm responds with 'are ya nuts? heck no we're not paying that much...ok, how about 50/50?

skiffy held thier ground, mgm held thiers, an impasse was reached and the show died as a result

---

so, if they had been able to keep making a show that pulled the ratings, skiffy woulda likely been wililng to foot more of the bill since they woulda made more money. but the ratings tanked and so did the show

[suse]

I thought it was the magnets.

No silly. It was the solar flares.

Too bad we can't use said flares to go back in time and change the direction of S9/S10.

suse

[dipsofjazz]

they seemed to have forgotten that part of the equation. KEEPING viewers wasn't as important as attracting new viewers. Unfortunately, there are only so many folks in the world interested in scifi at all who are willing to try out a show because of names. The solid writing that was there for years and should have kept them coming back for more (and kept the original viewers) was sadly lacking.

They also seemed to forget that many Farscape fans were already Stargate viewers already.

[scifithinker]

No silly. It was the solar flares.

Too bad we can't use said flares to go back in time and change the direction of S9/S10.

suse

That would require attention to science and to events that have happened on previous episodes. [/snark]

[Mandysg1]

No silly. It was the solar flares.

Too bad we can't use said flares to go back in time and change the direction of S9/S10.

suse

Oh I thought that was the premise of the movie Contuum

[Jackie]

Hence TPTB's efforts before the beginning of Season Ten to encourage fans to watch live and boost the ratings?

Ratings and money are connected; the better the ratings, the more attractive a prospect the ad time during the show is, the more money the Sci-Fi Channel makes. I doubt that the show would have been cancelled if the ratings had been along the lines of Season Eight's.

They wanted the record, yes, but if the show had still been doing well enough to earn them a decent profit, why cancel it?

I'm well aware that ratings and money are connected. I just reminded you all what Mark Stern said. "We would have picked up another season if they (mgm) came for us for less.)

Begs the question--less of what?

[suse]

Oh I thought that was the premise of the movie Contuum

In your/my dreams.

suse

[astrogeologist]

I still do *not* understand why they had to shortshrift - or outright piss on - the 8 seasons of history and characters that were the foundation of Season 9.

Grrrr... that's what it comes across to me as - that they didn't honor that which came before... that which put them in the position to have 'Stargate Command'.

Why did characters have to be shoved aside?

I don't think that they *had* to be.

Why were characters changed (e.g., Jackson)?

I don't think that was necessary either.


Additions needed to be made to compensate for RDA's departure - but why did the revisions have to be so wide-sweeping as to appear callous and arrogant?

As a veteran fan, I was (and am) insulted.

...because their changes give me the message that what I liked about SG-1 wasn't good enough... that what I liked about SG-1 needed to be changed, ignored or written out.

And bringing the two stars from Farscape - maybe it is possible to pull that off. Personally, I don't see how, and they didn't accomplish it on SG-1. Although they appear to be hell-bent to simply believe that they did.

Has anyone seen that financial commercial where a group of investment folks are in a tram and it starts sliding down out of control... so several of them start talking about 'just thinking positive' to get things back under control. In the meantime, one of the group is grounded in reality and he reads the instructions for what to do in that type of emergency and he pulls the right lever to get things back under control. Their freefall stops. The realist saves the day.... Of course, the 'positive thinkers' believe that they caused the tram to come back under control.

That's what SG-1's PTB remind me of... folks with an agreed-upon self-delusion of greatness.

[Rogue]

I still do *not* understand why they had to shortshrift - or outright piss on - the 8 seasons of history and characters that were the foundation of Season 9.

Grrrr... that's what it comes across to me as - that they didn't honor that which came before... that which put them in the position to have 'Stargate Command'.

Why did characters have to be shoved aside?

I don't think that they *had* to be.

Why were characters changed (e.g., Jackson)?

I don't think that was necessary either.


Additions needed to be made to compensate for RDA's departure - but why did the revisions have to be so wide-sweeping as to appear callous and arrogant?

As a veteran fan, I was (and am) insulted.

...because their changes give me the message that what I liked about SG-1 wasn't good enough... that what I liked about SG-1 needed to be changed, ignored or written out.

And bringing the two stars from Farscape - maybe it is possible to pull that off. Personally, I don't see how, and they didn't accomplish it on SG-1. Although they appear to be hell-bent to simply believe that they did.

Has anyone seen that financial commercial where a group of investment folks are in a tram and it starts sliding down out of control... so several of them start talking about 'just thinking positive' to get things back under control. In the meantime, one of the group is grounded in reality and he reads the instructions for what to do in that type of emergency and he pulls the right lever to get things back under control. Their freefall stops. The realist saves the day.... Of course, the 'positive thinkers' believe that they caused the tram to come back under control.

That's what SG-1's PTB remind me of... folks with an agreed-upon self-delusion of greatness.

It seems once Gekko pulled out, the quality control was gone. One bad decision after another was made, but it seems no one has the guts to stand up and admit, we screwed up.

[Jackie]

And it sounds like SGA is headed down the same path...just read DH interview. "It's just like season one." Oh, boy! Where have I heard that before!

[suse]

And it sounds like SGA is headed down the same path...just read DH interview. "It's just like season one." Oh, boy! Where have I heard that before!

He also said that the EPs have honored the show's history. That might make enough of a difference right there.

"For Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie," the writers and executive producers who're Atlantis' new showrunners this year, "this is kind of like their season one," says the actor. "This is when they get to really spread their wings and they're being very smart about it. Joe and Paul are eager to make their mark, but they also are very respectful of what's been established.

That's very different than what happened on SG-1. Very. I hope.

suse

[Skydiver]

and add to what astro said....add to that the powers that be calling people names that criticize them (we all have issues you know) haveing members of the cast telling us those that don't liek it must be stupid and other things like this

dude, when the 'save stargate' campaign came about i had no desire at all to 'save' it. not after i'd basially been told to stuff off by members of the cast and crew. (a few members, certainly not all).I wholly supported anyone that did want to play, but i wasnt' going to waste my time. after all, i was jsut some stupid person with issues

their arrogance seems to know no bounds. and arrogance like that will NEVER accept responsibility for thier actions. coop deserves what he's got. he deserves to lose his position as show runner. and, imho, before he gets antoher similar position again, he needs to either take a class in public speaking or hire someone to do it for him. There area few show runners that can treat their fanbase like crud...beause they have the talent to compensate for it. He's not one of them. He's good when someone is calling the shots, but lacks the wisdom to look beyond his own ego to be an effective show runner

[Rogue]

and add to what astro said....add to that the powers that be calling people names that criticize them (we all have issues you know) haveing members of the cast telling us those that don't liek it must be stupid and other things like this

dude, when the 'save stargate' campaign came about i had no desire at all to 'save' it. not after i'd basially been told to stuff off by members of the cast and crew. (a few members, certainly not all).I wholly supported anyone that did want to play, but i wasnt' going to waste my time. after all, i was jsut some stupid person with issues

their arrogance seems to know no bounds. and arrogance like that will NEVER accept responsibility for thier actions. coop deserves what he's got. he deserves to lose his position as show runner. and, imho, before he gets antoher similar position again, he needs to either take a class in public speaking or hire someone to do it for him. There area few show runners that can treat their fanbase like crud...beause they have the talent to compensate for it. He's not one of them. He's good when someone is calling the shots, but lacks the wisdom to look beyond his own ego to be an effective show runner

Yeah I passed on the Save Sg-1 campaign too. It became some other show 2 years ago, this one wasn't worth saving.

[Mandysg1]

Yeah I passed on the Save Sg-1 campaign too. It became some other show 2 years ago, this one wasn't worth saving.

Yea same here, when I saw the campaign I just shook my head and thought...save what, the drivel that show had become

[Skydiver]

the show became an oxymoron

an long running brand new show with class and respect and sexually charged slapstick

it was unsustainable by its very nature. tptb couldn't figure out what they were making, thus we couldn't figure out what we were watching...and neither could all the casual viewers that were so enamoured with coop's creative output that they turned off the set in record numbers

the show became a mess of contradictions

the fresh faced and inexperienced commander that was put into a place of honor and experience

the tricky and untrustworthy thief that was given free run of the base

the moralistic and passionate archaeologist that gladly commits genocide

the experienced leader who's told to hush and 'mind her place'

ALL the characters were forced into roles that didn't fit who they were. they were forced to become something they weren't for the sake of quickly and sloppily written stories to crank out as much as they could as fast as they could while tptb lobbed SFX and skimpy costumes to distract fans from the mishmash of contradictions that the show now was

the thing is, fans are smarter than that, we saw through the smoke and mirrors and figured otu that the 'wizard' was just some guy pulling folks' strings