Ageism?

[Anda]

save SGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[katikatnik]

I personally look forward to it, much as I love stargate for me the formula was getting stale, Atlantis was basically following the same path as SG-1, it was time to shake things up, add something new to the franchise, a younger cast may be one factor that'll assist this.

What I always loved about Stargate was that it was one of the few shows left that didn't jump the "barely legal, hot and bothered" band wagon and I admired them for that. Being 28, I could easily relate to Sheppard or McKay. But now, with character descriptions saying "hot" and "every teenage girl's dream" in connection with barely legal adults with backgrounds more fit for the CW channel... I'm sorry but my enthusiasm for the new show hit rock bottom.

[thekillman]

so its younger people. would you send all the best people to a place they can never return from? no. send some tried and true, and a bunch of younger people.

[Fan-e-Gate]

Well I never really thought of myself as ageist ...

One of my main issues included that this is replacing a perfectly good show that could have had one more season to tie up loose ends.

But in regards to age: I have watched Stargate since I was like ten years of age. I have followed the show and I have become accustomed to Stargate travel, travel in teams of four (of varying roles), and sometimes unique ways of escaping what is certain death.

I don't know how much of this will stay but I just don't see what a pretty girl or a troubled young 20 year old could bring a scific show with roots in a scific franchise. It is pretty unbelieveable that they would have the needed experience.
I mean I would find it hard to believe that these people would be making scientific breakthroughs ala Carter/Rodney. Or commanding strike teams and making sure their team aren't the redshirts.

Its one of the reasons I did not like Mitchell-he had no experience to run a team especially when he had never even seen the gate when he was appointed to the "premier" team. But in this case he is the lesser of the evils

[Bytor]

Looking through alot of the threads in this part of the boards I've noticed alot of people making comments about SGU being lame and sucking because TPTB have opted for a younger cast. Now I may be wrong but does this not count as ageism? People are descriminating against the show because the actors/characters will be of a younger age, this does not mean they won't bring emotion, experience, intelligence to the show, that you won't be able to connect with the characters because of their age. I personally look forward to it, much as I love stargate for me the formula was getting stale, Atlantis was basically following the same path as SG-1, it was time to shake things up, add something new to the franchise, a younger cast may be one factor that'll assist this.

its ageism that they will only higher younger actors... its discrimination against 30/40 year olds

[Achiles]

I think it might be good but if its like the episode 200 I don't think I will like it.
I am in high school don't like a bunch of the tv shows of stuff that relates to younger kids, but that could be that I like things more intellectually stimulating.

[Mike1989]

The other factor folks and I've not seen it mentioned in this thread so far is the how much it costs to hire experienced actors. Younger actors will get less money than the older actors as generally they are more experienced. As for this ageism crap its not the case, they are picking a cast that suits what they want. As sure they can hire four people who are RDA's age when he started Stargate, but remember by Season 7 he had enough of the full time filming schedule. This is a problem with older characters, they might lose their drive, they might want to spend more time with their family. Could happen with younger actors, but generally the only reason they leave or want out is so they can go onto other projects eg Jason Momoa.

In reality the Atlantis cast would probably be in their 30s in most cases. So I suppose that is fine in both having youth and experience. So I suppose they could repeat that, but they needed something fresh and hopefully these younger actors and the experience actors bring this to the series. Age doesn't really matter.

[alta]

I don't think it's a case of ageism or anti-young actors, but more of being against a 90210 type of show. Stargate fans are looking for an intelligent show, not a soap opera.

[alta]

Also, I think that the casting sheet showed 5 out of 6 main characters being in the 20-25 age group. It does not seem balanced.

[Mike1989]

I don't think the whole show would compromise of 5 or 6 characters. I think they do need to maybe reconsider some characters, but in reality they did say that they can't stop the ship and if people are left behind then they are stuck there. So who knows how long each of those characters will last. Also I suppose it depends on who is available at what time to take on board. Would the risk a Rodney or a Sam on such a mission were they may never be able to come back?

Probably not. Who knows, but I suppose they have a young team because they want to attract young people. But just because they are young doesn't mean they can't be intelligent or produce an intelligent show. That is quite an ageist comment, as not all soap opera actors are young, and because they are young doesn't mean it will be a soap opera.

[Rosehawk]

I think part of that was the fact that the information they released prior to this indicated they were trying to target a younger audience and everyone imagined that one scene from "200".

For me, I didn't go back to the scene form "200" because I realize that that was a total joke which fit in nicely with that episode. I really can't see TPTB taking things that far in a new Stargate show.
I think alot of the "older" fans felt a slap in the face at how the information that was released gave the impression that they were no longer valued and that is what got alot of people in an uproar at first. And seeing as there is not a big mix in the ages of the characters on SGU, so far, it is a fair concern since Stargate has been pretty good about having that balance in the past.
It won't be until they start promoting SGU to really see where their target audiences are going to be that the fans in their late 30's 40's, 50's etc. are going to know if they have a show that interests them enough to watch.
So while some fans are concerned about the age of the actors/characters on SGU, other fans are concerned that the age of the fans is an issue as well.

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

I don't think it's a case of ageism or anti-young actors, but more of being against a 90210 type of show. Stargate fans are looking for an intelligent show, not a soap opera.

I don't think that TPTB will ever make a 90210 type show, it is gonna be Stargate after all, SG1 & SGA had character developing and some romantic elements in some episodes so in the end I don't think that it will be much different to that in terms of the character dynamic even though there may be younger actors.

[Lt.Col.Errandboy]

Indeed.... I'm 23 and these characters sound just..... diabolically awful. To be perfectly honest I find the fact that TPTB think that I ( a Bachelors of Science with Honours) would appreciate and relate to these jock/ socially inept genius/ spoiled rich b**** socialite cookie cutter characters utterly insulting!

And there we have it folks...straight from the mouth of the 'target audience'. Even they are incensed at the flawed, stereotypical and completely unrealistic-in-a-top-secret-military-operation characters. The true "ageism" in this line up is they obviously consider older actors/characters not good enough to use!!!

What on earth are TPTB thinking that a bunch of trashy bimbos will be realistic in a military-run, highly classified project like Stargate?

Come ON, boys & girls. Get with the program. I know it's science fiction, but at least lend it SOME credibility. Otherwise, start writing reality TV or soaps.

[VSS]

I've been wondering about this myself. I know a lot of younger viewers don't mind watching an older cast in a scifi show, I sure didn't when I was young, because you expect that's the way it would be. I grew up watching older casts in nearly every genre of TV, actually. When you get into TV shows that focus on some kind of skill set, whether it's science, law, medicine or crime solving, that's what's realistic. They are sacrificing realism with SGU, in order to focus on a younger crowd, and scifi has tenuous links with realism as it is.

It's a Catch-22 for the writers for SGU. If they make the cast act their age, they won't be competent. But, if they are written as being more mature or more skilled than they should be at that age, it's not believable. This is the very paradox that afflicted the Keller character, and she's older than this cast!

So, the writers have to fall back on the social interactions- they have no choice, that's the only thing that will ring true. But, they're emphasizing the fiction, not the science, of science fiction.

90210 might have been popular, but it wasn't about science, law, medicine or crime. It was about social interactions, and as Madeline W. said, that's not going to interest anyone who's been there and done that. Which is everyone over 30. But, I really don't know how else the writers can write it.

[LostCityGuardian]

Unfortunately, most of these discussions seem to be boiling down to trust. As in, if you have sufficient trust in TPTB carrying SGU out competently (or at least making it watchable), then you're willing to give the first season a chance and judge the characterisation after the pilot or first few episodes. If you don't trust TPTB, then you're prepared to attack the characters on the basis of a few brief character summaries and some vague statements about wanting to hit a younger target audience.

Please, correct me if you believe I'm wrong (and this is not meant as a personal attack against anyone - just a general observation). But are all the debates about the age of the characters or the plot of SGU really about that, or are they a front for trust issues that have deveolped from general anger at TPTB?