Larger involvement from secondary characters

[Alder]

used to annoy me on yoyager, with such a small crew that they never had more secondary characters show up and those who did it was like hang on a minute (chell for example - hard to not spot a bolian in the background!)

Same here! It increases the depth of the show, I feel. And gets rid of the 'redshirt' phenomenon, when you know for sure that someone who is mildly interesting, but you've never seen before, is just marked for death...

[Jonzey]

Screw fandom. No one has a fit when someone dies in Heroes or Lost or any other show, I don't see why killing off characters in Stargate is such a crime.

I think some people just get far too involved with particular characters, so the killing off of any character who is liked will resilt in ''Save X campaigns'' and people refusing to watch the show cos their favourite character got killed off. And it's never that they were killed off for drama or character/plot development. It's cos the writers are big meanies who hate us.

[PG15]

I will be a bit angry and sad when they will kill them randomly, because they want SG:U be more realistic. The fandom won't like it if a Grodin or Beckett type character dies again.

Well, they're just gonna have to suck it up this time, because the huge number of secondary characters in this series is pretty much asking for impactful deaths.

Where impactful = not a red shirt death.

[Colonel Mitchell]

Yeah, I don't see them bringing anyone back from the dead in this series.

[amconway]

I was thinking about this tonight, in terms of shows that I like, and their structure, and I realized that all the shows that I really like are either about team, or individuals.

Using examples of shows that I'm currently watching, 'Chuck' and 'Burn Notice' have very strong united teams. The team isn't as strong in 'Sanctuary', but the show is still finding it's footing, and is clearly going to get there.

'Eureka' isn't so much a team show as one man dealing with his world. He has strong allies, and people that he loves, but he's the problem solver.

I can't actually think of a ensemble show that has managed to keep me watching for more than a season or two. I was trying figure out why, and I think it's because I get frustrated spending a lot of time with characters that I either don't like or find less appealing than others. It's also because so many of the side plots delve into personal dramas that I find less interesting that the main plotline, generally.There are probably other reasons that I would be able to think of if it weren't 2 AM, but since it is, and I can't, I'll leave it at that.

[jenks]

Because in Heroes it is very easy to bring people back from the dead & usually in Lost its the non popular characters that die & in Lost always a chance to come back later in one way or another as a small cameo. When Stargate kills someone it is because the writers does not like that person & in regards to Lost no one has forgiven the writers for killing Charlie though

Eh? Why do you think that?

[TheRandomOne]

Eh? Why do you think that?

Looking at those they killed off Weir, Carson, Ford & wrote off in SG-1 Jonas never to be heard of or mentioned again yeah thats why I think that. They kill the characters with the big fan bases instead of trying to write them good. If anyone in Universe becomes likeable & not a main character they are pretty much dead within good time. Only one that is probably 100 % safe in Universe will be the Video Game Nerd that will more then likely be the easiest to write for aka Rodney Junior

[Jonzey]

Looking at those they killed off Weir, Carson, Ford & wrote off in SG-1 Jonas never to be heard of or mentioned again yeah thats why I think that. They kill the characters with the big fan bases instead of trying to write them good. If anyone in Universe becomes likeable & not a main character they are pretty much dead within good time. Only one that is probably 100 % safe in Universe will be the Video Game Nerd that will more then likely be the easiest to write for aka Rodney Junior

1. They didn't want to kill of Weir. They wanted her to come back.
2. They brought back Carson to appease the whining fans.
3. Ford may or may not be dead.
4. Jonas didn't die, and was mentioned a few times.

And I still don't understand what you're saying. They kill off popular characters because they don't want to write for them anymore?

[terr]

1. I agree. They didn't really kill off Weir and intended to bring her back as a recurring half-nanite character. However, in Season 5 Torri Higginson became unavailable and they had to switch to Michelle Morgan. She's still frozen, orbiting a planet, and could be brough back any time. Without Torri, I think they probably decided to drop any return after Ghost, though.

2. Technically, they didn't bring back Beckett, but brought in a clone. (Yeah, I know I'm nit-picking.) I don't think the fans forced that, though. They got a LOT more whining when they killed off Janet Fraiser, but they only brought back a alternate reality Janet for one ep. I think they brought back Carson because they thought of a nifty way to do it, and it fit in with their plans for Michael.

3. Ford may not be dead, but as I understood it, they had no plans to bring him back.

4. The last I heard relating to Jonas, Kelowna fell to the Ori and was out of contact. He could easily pop up in a movie now that the Ori were defeated.

[amconway]

When Stargate kills someone it is because the writers does not like that person

Writers don't have that much control, not that I think that is a motivation to begin with. A character gets killed because they need to show that any of the characters can be killed to increase the danger (and that character's death will be emotionally effective), or because they want to shake up the interpersonal dynamic. Personal feelings aren't an issue. Look at Teryl Rothery! She was universally adored. If there is any connection between fanbase and which charaters die, it is that the death will have a strong impact when people like a character.
Personally, I would prefer that they pick characters that fulfill all the necessary writing functions from the outset, then leave the group intact, but that can't always happen, and I believe that PG15 is correct. In a group this size, there will be some deaths.

[terr]

I can think of three background reasons to kill off a major character. One would be that the character is just not developing as expected. (Example: Ford - I think) Another would be that they are losing the actor and don't feel substitution of another actor in the same role will work. (Example: Daniel Jackson) The other (stated often in the DVD commentaries) is to maintain believability in the true sense of danger. (Example: Just about everyone else) Unfortunately, with Stargate Atlantis, they seem to have gone to a slash-n-burn policy, and I think that was a mistake. The cast practically changed every season. The audience often relates to the show vicariaously through one or more of the regular characters, and it is risky killing off the regulars, as it will alienate a portion of your audience. With Universe, I think they would be wise reduce the kill-off rate, and when they do kill off a regular, only do it to a character that's just not working.

[crowmagnumman]

I can think of three background reasons to kill off a major character. One would be that the character is just not developing as expected. (Example: Ford - I think) Another would be that they are losing the actor and don't feel substitution of another actor in the same role will work. (Example: Daniel Jackson) The other (stated often in the DVD commentaries) is to maintain believability in the true sense of danger. (Example: Just about everyone else) Unfortunately, with Stargate Atlantis, they seem to have gone to a slash-n-burn policy, and I think that was a mistake. The cast practically changed every season. The audience often relates to the show vicariaously through one or more of the regular characters, and it is risky killing off the regulars, as it will alienate a portion of your audience. With Universe, I think they would be wise reduce the kill-off rate, and when they do kill off a regular, only do it to a character that's just not working.

I've never really been a fan of character deaths unless it was important to the story and the impact is felt throughout the show. I think SG-1 handled the deaths pretty well overall. But isn't Universe supposed to darker and more violent? I get the impression from this that the death of major characters is a lot more likely.

[amconway]

But isn't Universe supposed to darker and more violent?

I'm really not sure what to expect in terms of tone. Most of the 'darker and edgier' stuff came from Scifi guy who has been proven pretty much wrong in what he said about casting, so I'm not sure how much creedence can be put on anything he said. There was no mention of it being more violent, as far as I know. They have said that there is still going to be humor, so I'm going to figure that most of what we have heard is spin from marketing guys, and not necessarily meaningful.

[crowmagnumman]

I'm really not sure what to expect in terms of tone. Most of the 'darker and edgier' stuff came from Scifi guy who has been proven pretty much wrong in what he said about casting, so I'm not sure how much creedence can be put on anything he said. There was no mention of it being more violent, as far as I know. They have said that there is still going to be humor, so I'm going to figure that most of what we have heard is spin from marketing guys, and not necessarily meaningful.

I see. I hadn't really heard that before. So what can we be sure of about the show's tone then? The writers did say something about it having more character development, right? I don't know how that translates into tone, but it does give us something to think about.

[terr]

... I get the impression from this that the death of major characters is a lot more likely.

I don't know that it won't be. I just said that I personally think it would smart to turn it down a notch.


I'm not sure that they intentionally wanted to write-out everyone that they did in Atlantis. It may have been unavoidable. We know AT left to do Sanctuary. Perhaps Torri wanted out. I don't know the back-story there.