Why no novels?

[QuantumIguana]

They don't need to invest a cent for there to be a novel. All they have to do is to license the rights to write a novel. The publishing company can pay the costs. It might not be a best-seller, but it would be sure of getting some sales, and not every new book can say that.

If I wanted to write my own ending, I would have written my own beginning. They muse have written scripts for the next season, or at the very least, wrote notes on the general ideas they had in mind for the future. As SGU sits in a limbo that it won't ever come out of, it has a potential value, as long as you don't actualize it, it can be whatever value you want it to be. They probably wouldn't make a lot of money on SGU books, but it would be more than nothing. But the potential value would be lost. That potential value might well be a phantom, but I can see how they might be reluctant to give up on a phantom potential for the future just for a relatively small gain now. It's like the person whose house is cluttered with things because he can't bear to get rid of them in case they become collector's items someday.

[Snowman37]

They probably wouldn't make a lot of money on SGU books, but it would be more than nothing.

That's why it won't happen. Publishers are out for books that will probably be successful, not books that probably won't be successful.

[KEK]

I actually think SGU novels (assuming they were canon) would make a decent wedge, perhaps more than the pseudo-fanfic SG-1 books. The thing is, I don't think publishers realise quite how much the canon status of a novel would matter to fans. I bet a canon continuation of SGU or SG-1 or SGA would sell many times as well the existing lot.

[EasyThereGenius]

I actually think SGU novels (assuming they were canon) would make a decent wedge, perhaps more than the pseudo-fanfic SG-1 books. The thing is, I don't think publishers realise quite how much the canon status of a novel would matter to fans. I bet a canon continuation of SGU or SG-1 or SGA would sell many times as well the existing lot.

Seconded. The limbo status of the series gives it a great deal of potential. Hell, I could write as many continuations out of my own brain as I liked, but the canon stamp would mean a lot more.

However, money being the great driver in all these franchises, I sadly doubt we will ever see any SGU novels because the "potential" dollar tends not to be given creedance - only the "practically-guaranteed" dollar.

[lmoroney]

Seconded. The limbo status of the series gives it a great deal of potential. Hell, I could write as many continuations out of my own brain as I liked, but the canon stamp would mean a lot more.

However, money being the great driver in all these franchises, I sadly doubt we will ever see any SGU novels because the "potential" dollar tends not to be given creedance - only the "practically-guaranteed" dollar.

I tried negotiating with MGM's brand managers to license the rights to SGU novels, spurred by the success of my virtual third season (now over 300,000 downloads).

I submitted a plan that I believe would have been lucrative for all parties, but, they are set in their ways about how licensing should be done, and it isn't friendly to modern media.

Ultimately, it went nowhere, frustratingly slowly. I have since given up.

If e-Sales of my novels (The Fourth World, The Million Year Journey, The Legend of the Locust) are anything to go by, it could have been a very lucrative deal for MGM, and a nice canonical closure for fans.

But, it looks like it is not meant to be.

[JMSwallow]

I'm guessing it's because the first one sold really poorly. It's a stupid indicator really though, as it was only a novelization of the pilot. Hardly indicative of the sort of number they could expect if they made a genuine canon continuation in novel form.

Actually, as I understand it, the Air novelization sold fairly well...

[KEK]

How do you know that?

[JMSwallow]

How do you know that?

Because I wrote it.

[KEK]

Fair enough

[Akai]

I dreamed that another company bought up the rights and started up a season 3 of SGU. None of the actors came back except for David Blue. Eli was either a hologram or an android of some sort, but he looked the same. The rest of the crew, they just showed brief shots of them, very very old. They were temporarily being put into robotic exoskeletons (at least I assume it was a temporary measure), you didn't really get to see their faces except for brief clips that could've been CG'd to make them look like the original actors.

Destiny looked like it had been drifting for a long long time. Unfortunately, at THAT point, I woke up. I know, it sounds weird. But it was SOMETHING, darnit.

[EasyThereGenius]

I dreamed that another company bought up the rights and started up a season 3 of SGU. None of the actors came back except for David Blue. Eli was either a hologram or an android of some sort, but he looked the same. The rest of the crew, they just showed brief shots of them, very very old. They were temporarily being put into robotic exoskeletons (at least I assume it was a temporary measure), you didn't really get to see their faces except for brief clips that could've been CG'd to make them look like the original actors.

Destiny looked like it had been drifting for a long long time. Unfortunately, at THAT point, I woke up. I know, it sounds weird. But it was SOMETHING, darnit.

Your dreams, sir or madam, are excellent.

[QuantumIguana]

That's why it won't happen. Publishers are out for books that will probably be successful, not books that probably won't be successful.

I was referring to MGM's perspective, not the publisher's perspective. From MGM's perspective, the amount of money the book would make, even if successful is small. That's different from a publisher's perspective. A TV show has to have many millions of viewers to be successful. A book only has to have thousands. If MGM wanted to authorize an SGU book, they would have no problem finding a publisher willing to publish it. It would be a sure thing, virtually guaranteed of at least modest sales. Many books totally bomb.

[Daveed]

Because I wrote it.

If you were given the chance by MGM or the right owners, would you write a closure to Destiny's journey, or do you have anything in mind regarding how you would continue this story?

[JMSwallow]

If you were given the chance by MGM or the right owners, would you write a closure to Destiny's journey, or do you have anything in mind regarding how you would continue this story?

Excellent question.

It'd be cool to hear what thoughts the producers on the show had about how they wanted the series to conclude.

I'd have Destiny find its...well, destiny. Go back to the original idea about the ship being sent out to find the first civilization in the universe, have the crew do that and give them some closure - a chance to go home for some, a chance to find something greater for others...

[QuantumIguana]

Excellent question.

It'd be cool to hear what thoughts the producers on the show had about how they wanted the series to conclude.

I'd have Destiny find its...well, destiny. Go back to the original idea about the ship being sent out to find the first civilization in the universe, have the crew do that and give them some closure - a chance to go home for some, a chance to find something greater for others...

Their notes on where they wanted the show to go - at least for the resolution to the cliffhanger - have to be sitting in a drawer somewhere gathering dust. I think Destiny was an "escape pod" for the Ancients. If they needed to flee, they could gate to Destiny. But they never wound up needing it, choosing to learn ascension instead so it drifted. Of course that may have been only one aspect to Destiny's purpose.