The Cam and Vala discussion thread

[ReganX]

Yet wasn't it stated in some press release or article that Sci-Fi didn't want to pick SG-1 up for another season was because of production costs and not ratings?

The two are connected; if the Sci-Fi channel is paying for a show, they want to know that they'll be able to recoup their costs and make a profit. Since they don't seem to get a share of DVD sales or the like, they depend on advertising revenues and a show with more people watching it is a more tempting prospect for advertisers.

Costs would have been rising - as well as the fact that the regular cast went from four in Season Eight to six in Season Ten, in all likelihood, those involved with the show would all have been due yearly pay increases - so the ratings had to rise with them.

Had the first half of Season Ten averaged 1.9-2.0 or above, I'd say that it would have been a much stronger candidate for renewal.

[ReganX]

Technically couldn't you argue that perhaps the addition of Cam and Vala saved the show from losing many more viewers? Or even moreso that the increase in viewers of Atlantis led to a lowering interest in SG-1? I know I personally started becomming less concerned with SG-1 when Atlantis hit. And this was mostly because I had spent years following SG-1 and sometimes "new" and "change" is good. It wasn't until news of the cancellation that I started getting hardcore in love with sg-1 again. Perhaps due to a mixture of taking the show for granted and having some sort of realization that the show was going to end sometime in the next few seasons anyways.

Depends on why the viewers stopped watching. That's one of the questions on this thread; were Cam and/or Vala turning viewers away from the show? Maybe they brought new viewers to the show, but that's not much use if they cost it more viewers than it gained.

[Platschu]

SciFi lost lot of viewers this year. The rating of BSG is nowadays 0,9-1,2 which is much worse than SG-1. The Sunday evenings was a terrible decision. I hope SG-1 and Atlantis will be bigger at April on Fridays.

[ReganX]

SciFi lost lot of viewers this year. The rating of BSG is nowadays 0,9-1,2 which is much worse than SG-1. The Sunday evenings was a terrible decision. I hope SG-1 and Atlantis will be bigger at April on Fridays.

Since the episodes will already have been shown, I'd lay odds that quite a few people will have watched them online by then, or else read reviews. If they're not impressed by what they've seen or read, they may not bother with them.

[Skydiver]

i think the pov of many in this thread, even those oh so hated anti's isn't just that the addition of cam and vala killed the show, it's HOW cam and vala were brought in.

cameron, mister 'i've never seen the gate before' is given the lead of a team over the head of a more qualified officer. his incessant - but plot necessary 'what does this button do' attitude nearly got the team killed several times, and at no point in time does anyone sit him down and go 'dude, chill out before you get us killed'

vala could have been fantastic. an ex host, tortured soul who lost her life to teh goa'uld then was betrayed by the tok'ra and survived by her wits.

instead we get the leather clad sexpot whose repertoire seems limited to hitting on daniel and sexually harrassing every male she can get her hands on. Only once in her original 5 eps do we get a hint into the 'real' vala...the woman that would like to do good but just can't make it happen. the rest of the time she's a comedic foil and arm decoration for Daniel who happens to be overdosing on testosterone and flexes his muscles a lot.

the rich characters that we used to have have been replaced by trite cliches that turned a once popular drama into a fading spoof.

IMHO, the characters could have worked and been a welcome addition had some care been given to making them more than 'cliche of the week'

[ReganX]

i think the pov of many in this thread, even those oh so hated anti's isn't just that the addition of cam and vala killed the show, it's HOW cam and vala were brought in.

Absolutely.

I don't think that the show was doomed the second characters called Cam and Vala were thought up.

Major Mitchell, who led the team briefly before becoming Sam's 2IC and NonSexJokeVala could have been fantastic additions to a show which, in my opinion, would probably be preparing to make Season Eleven by now.

[flynn1959]

SCI-FI killed Stargate. It's as simple as that. Ratings for BSG are far worse than SG1 but that show is loved by SCI-FI and so has been renewed, all be it for a short season.

Vala and Cam had nothing at all to do with it. The show could have gone on for years, if it had had the proper promotion and support.

[flynn1959]

Since the episodes will already have been shown, I'd lay odds that quite a few people will have watched them online by then, or else read reviews. If they're not impressed by what they've seen or read, they may not bother with them.

I think that the number of people watching Stargate who take the time to go on-line and read about the show is very, very, very small. I watched for years before I did and then it was only when MS/Daniel left and I wanted to find out what the heck was going on. Of all the people I know who watch the show, I am the only one who has ever done anything Stargate related on-line.

[esoap524]

Heh...I'd forgotten this thread existed.

I've been watching the last half of season 10 and it seems like all the characters have really come into their own as a unit. Of course, the established ones are indeed that--established--but they've mixed the dynamics a bit more, so we've got Cam and Vala doing stuff with Teal'c and Daniel somewhere else (Bad Guys) or Sam and Cam (Line in the Sand) while Vala and Teal'c are elsewhere. There's very little Vaniel in the second half of the season and a LOT more Cam and Vala, which works very well, IMHO.

I've really enjoyed these last few--the performances, the characters, and the humor, silly as it can sometimes be. I'm frankly sorry that the show is ending.

As for ratings...I'm not sure what's going on because the much vaunted Battlestar Galactica is doing just as poorly as SG1 and Atlantis, in spite of all the press it gets. I still think that splitting up the three shows didn't do any of them any favors.

I'm sure that not having been a long time fan, I'm missing nuances and "screw ups" in continuity over the course of the show but I can say that I've been entertained by all these episodes and I'm sorry to see any of these characters go.

I don't see Battlestar going beyond the fourth season, to be honest. I'm sure it's very expensive and they're just not getting the rate of return. And the last half of their season has been a drag--I've pretty much lost interest. Nothing amusing, a lot of too soapy conflict over relationships in which I've never been invested, and lots of preachiness. Give me the Ori any day, to be honest. At least they're not so painstakingly philosphical.

[Mitchell82]

I too forgot about this thread. Havent seen it in a while. I am rewatching SG-1, started 2 days ago and am now on Politics. What I am seeing is the actors in general were all alittle rough in their roles at the start and by the ending trilogy of eps really fit in and were all well written. IMO the same can be said about Season 9 and 10. In season 9 at the start it was a little rough as the actors were getting comfortable in their roles, as well as developing chemistry between the new actors and the old. IMO they all seemed to fit in well by Origin and throughout season 9 grew even more as characters. Season 10 has been no exception as the characters have all fit in nicely and have been written well IMO. What hurt the show IMO was the butchering of the Friday night lineup, and the fact that late season 9 and early season 10 was against heavy competition. BSG lost many more viewers than SG-1 so my thought is the show being 10 years old killed it. In other words it got very costly. IMO the show should have cotinued far past season 10.

[Skydiver]

i will be very, very surprised if bsg goes on beyond s4. If it does...it'll be a mini-series to wrap it up and it's gone

it was doomed from the getgo for a short run simply...how long can you REALLY search for earth??? Seriously, how long can you search before folks go 'enough already' and change the channel???

[Mitchell82]

i will be very, very surprised if bsg goes on beyond s4. If it does...it'll be a mini-series to wrap it up and it's gone

it was doomed from the getgo for a short run simply...how long can you REALLY search for earth??? Seriously, how long can you search before folks go 'enough already' and change the channel???

Exactly. I liked it at first but IMO it's beoming nothing but a sex filled soap opera.

[Skydiver]

for me??? the only way for ron moore to get a bit more life out of it would be to start with planet of hte week every so often. let the crew have an adventure while...i dunno, hunting on some planet or something.

they need to encounter other planets of people

but right now, yes, it is all human drama. and if there's no cylons to mess with, well they only have so many characters and so much that can happen on the galactica

[Mitchell82]

for me??? the only way for ron moore to get a bit more life out of it would be to start with planet of hte week every so often. let the crew have an adventure while...i dunno, hunting on some planet or something.

they need to encounter other planets of people

but right now, yes, it is all human drama. and if there's no cylons to mess with, well they only have so many characters and so much that can happen on the galactica

Indeed. More people planets would make it more exciting but I think we've ventured a little OT.

[ReganX]

I think that the number of people watching Stargate who take the time to go on-line and read about the show is very, very, very small. I watched for years before I did and then it was only when MS/Daniel left and I wanted to find out what the heck was going on. Of all the people I know who watch the show, I am the only one who has ever done anything Stargate related on-line.

There's also the long wait between the first and second halves to consider. Six/seven months is a long time for a casual fan to find something new to watch.