Dig at Sci-Fi (E18 - Family Ties) - Spoilers

[jenks]

Ofcourse advertising is a huge factor, and not just when a show is starting out. How are people going to know to watch it if they don't know when it's on?

[Kales]

Speaking of buzz kill... isn't this thread for appreciating a joke?

Which was actually pretty smart and funny?

Not rehashing for the twenty millionth time what can be said on the 'Why Did This Happen' thread??

Red away.

Oh and on topic, I laughed my head off.

kay x

[the dancer of spaz]

If this had appeared in a Farscape or Firefly episode I would have laughed and said good on ya. Stargate wasn't let down by the network though, that's just not true. If anything Sci-fi let them coast for years on their past achievments, well after the show had peaked.

SG1 finally got cancelled because the writing had been getting progessively lazier for years, the rehashes just came to be too many, and the costs were no longer justified by the ratings or the quality of the current (not past) program, not because of any nefarious betrayal on Sci-fi's part.

I agree that the series didn't reach my expectations of it after S8. In fact, that's putting it mildly. I seriously think that S9 was the physical manifestation of an abysmal, glaring oversight and a lack of originality. But I think SciFi really did set them up to fail. They used the Stargate franchise until they were big enough to make their own "quality" programming, and as soon as that happened, they screwed them over.

I mean, for crying out loud, they were talking about "The Dresden Files" and "Painkiller Jane" nearly three years ago, but for some reason didn't find it necessary to develop those series at that time. Their habit of finding something newer and better to fawn over is evidenced by their treatment of Farscape when Stargate came along, and later their treatment of Stargate when BSG came along. So, as a result, rather than having solid programming throughout the week for a nine-month period, they're going for intermittent, less-than-stellar programming on Friday or Sunday for the whole year.

I'm not a huge conspiracy theorist, but I do believe that SciFi had cancellation in mind for at least a year before they announced it last August. And I agree with those who believe that SG-1 was only renewed for a 10th season so that the network (and, of course the studio) could claim those bragging rights.

[Avenger]

I didn't catch it when I watched, but now that I see it in front of me, I think it's hilarious. Also, at the beginning of the episode there was a line along the lines of "I didn't even know the new season had started" which I believe was another jab at SciFi for not marketing the show at all.

Sure it did. Quality affects ratings, ratings/profits contrasted with costs are what made it impractical to keep paying to make more of it.

What's certainly true is nothing about the circumstances should have lead to this sort of whining about how they made sci-fi and sci-fi didn't support them. Boo hoo hoo.

Did they think it was going to run forever? It certainly didn't seem like they were ever going to commit to just getting together to say "ok guys, we've had some great times but it's time to wrap things up now, this will be our last season".

They should have done that several years ago, when it became fairly obvious they were pretty much out of new ideas. Instead they decided to keep milking the cashcow to the eventual unceremonious forced ending by cancellation they got here... and now evidently they're going to whine about that.

SciFi has done nothing to market SG-1 the last two years except for 200. There was a marketing campaign for the episode and it drew 33% higher ratings than any other episode of the season.

SciFi broke up a very successful Friday night line up of SG-1, Atlantis and BSG. BSG's ratings haven't been any better than SG-1's ratings all season. While there are somethings on the SG-1 end that had an effect, like RDA leaving the show, SciFi bears just as much, if not more responsibility for the show's ratings drop.

Quality of writing is a matter of opinion, and frankly, season ten has had some outstanding episodes, and season nine and ten have been far better than season eight in the sense that season eight didn't feel like Stargate SG-1 because Jack was sitting at a desk.

Sorry, but SciFi did pretty much turn their back on the show. SciFi tried, and failed, to carry the network with BSG and the expense of the show that really put their network on the map. When SG-1 came to SciFi, reruns of the SG-1 drew higher ratings than any original programing SciFi had ever aired, allowing the network to stay in business.

To merely blame the fall in ratings on quality of writing is ignorant.

[ToasterOnFire]

So TPTB are taking jabs at skiffy while their spinoff show is still airing on that network. Hope that doesn't come back to bite you, guys.

[jenks]

So TPTB are taking jabs at skiffy while their spinoff show is still airing on that network. Hope that doesn't come back to bite you, guys.

How do you know that?

[ToasterOnFire]

Um, how do I know that Atlantis is airing on skiffy?

Also I'll be shocked if the third spinoff series airs anywhere other than skiffy as well. If it actually gets produced, that is.

[jenks]

Um, how do I know that Atlantis is airing on skiffy?

Also I'll be shocked if the third spinoff series airs anywhere other than skiffy as well. If it actually gets produced, that is.

My mistake, I thought you were talking about the third series.

[Hubble]

Bull. What makes or breaks a show is how much and how well it's being advertised. It all comes down to the hype. Why do you think so many utter crap Hollywood movies become successful?

I totally disagree. A one time TV special can be hyped and people will tune in, giving it high ratings. Geraldo Rivera's two-hour special about Al Capone's vault achieved the highest ratings for a syndicated special in television history. As it turned out, it was a huge disappointment, revealing nothing.

But weekly TV shows are a different thing. They can be advertised and hyped to the max and people will tune in....the first time and maybe the second time or third time. But if the shows don't keep their interest, all the advertising in the world isn't going to keep viewers coming back. Word of mouth also factors in. Ya know...you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

And: The "lack of quality" in seasons 9 and 10 is not a fact. It is your opinion, one that far from all fans share.

The lack of quality in S9 and S10 has been THE factor for some people; it's what has caused them to stop watching the show or to be very unhappy with it. It's more than just one person's opinion and shouldn't be negated as valid. Other people see the writing as better than ever. One mans' ceiling is another man's floor and all of that.

[Kales]

Maybe we're taking this a bit seriously? I mean, how many times have SG made in jokes about skiffy and the scifi industry in general? Like the 200 one about Farscape being obscure?

kay x

[the dancer of spaz]

So TPTB are taking jabs at skiffy while their spinoff show is still airing on that network. Hope that doesn't come back to bite you, guys.

I thought the same thing. It was kinda risky and petty, whether I agree with the sentiment or not.

[Avenger]

If there was a show on SciFi called "The Bash SciFi Hour" and it got good ratings, the show would stay on the air.

[the fifth man]

If there was a show on SciFi called "The Bash SciFi Hour" and it got good ratings, the show would stay on the air.

I'd probably give that show a try.

[ussrelativity]

If there was a show on SciFi called "The Bash SciFi Hour" and it got good ratings, the show would stay on the air.

I'd love to see a fan site form over that!

[the fifth man]

I'd love to see a fan site form over that!

Watch what you wish for.