Fans holding out hope for an SGU movie to wrap-up the series will be disappointed to hear what producer Brad Wright told this weekend’s Official Stargate Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia. Fans of the franchise will also be disheartened as well.
Looks like the series finale of SGU will be the last Stargate we’ll see for a while.
“We just recently found out that the SGU movie is not going to happen,” Wright said over the weekend (and reported by Gateworld). “It took too long. We just couldn’t get it together in time, and the window has closed. It’s actually sad for me, because after 17 years, I’m cleaning out my desk tomorrow morning.”
“It was a great ride and I felt really good about [SGU] and about Stargate in general,” Wright continued. “When something’s been a part of your life for 15 years, it kind of takes you over.”
“There are moments I’m so proud of and remember with fondness. I really enjoyed the last day of shooting ‘Unending’ [SG-1′s series finale]. And I enjoyed every day on the set of Stargate Continuum. I’m very paternal and I love watching people become great at their jobs. I’m so proud of the pier scene [in Atlantis’ Season Five episode ‘The Shrine’]. Joe [Flanigan] was so powerful in those scenes.”
Wright went on to say that the potential direct to DVD movies for SG1 and SGA are also off the table at this time, as is a movie that would have united the casts of all three Stargate shows.
And while things are bleak now, Wright says that Stargate isn’t dead.
“It’s a franchise. Stargate is not over,” he said. “Somebody smart from MGM is going to figure it out, and something will happen.” Wright said.
Sounds like it may be time to mobilize the SGU fans and petition Syfy or someone to produce a mini-series wrap-up to SGU like we got for Farscape.
VyseN1 says
Damn you to hell SyFy.
Sam says
No…Damn you to hell MGM.
John from Jersey says
Sam is right. A lot of this falls on MGM and their ongoing financial issues.
Joe from CT says
Damn MGM, SYFY, and the so called stargate “fans” who refused to watch because of what happened to Atlantis. I was sad to see Atlantis go as well, but I didn’t take it out on the franchise. This news completely broke my heart.
Mitch from Omaha says
Joe, I’m guessing most people didn’t refuse to watch because of Atlantis. We refused to watch because the writing was terrible in the first 10 episodes. Most series, we can forgive the early episodes, but we’re talking about a core group of writers that have been doing this for 15 years. They have a track record behind them of going downhill, and the first 10 episodes were just further proof of this. It started out bad and never recovered. It also didn’t help that they took the spoof from “200,” mixed it with the dark grittiness of BSG, and puked it up all over our screens.
k9 says
SOrry to hear you feel that way. Yes, they did spend too much time developing the characters but that is what made it great. I also not saying this applies to you personally but the hate for SGU was out there even beofer the show aired. They were not given a chance by many people before being criticized. Each show needs to stand on it’s own and SG1 had ran its course and I am one of the few that tired of SG-A very fast. I found the wraiths dull after awhile and most of the chracters on that show did not work for me. I “hated” it and would not even watch it as filler. That does not make it a bad show nor give me the desire to ruin it for others that do enjoy it no matter how much I cannot stand it. I simply do not watch and let the ratings decide. At one point I have seen such vile come out that some people were intimidated to not even speak favorably of it and when you did you often felt like you were being shouted out of the conversation. The 2nd season was just getting really good when it was axed.
Arkle says
Mitch: You were not watching the same show I was. You just weren’t. I don’t know what you were watching, but it sounds terrible. I’m glad it wasn’t what SGU was really like.
Mitch from Omaha says
Yeah, Arkle, it was. And it was terrible. If they truly wanted to go somewhere after Atlantis, they needed to replace the entire writing staff wholesale, and get fresh blood in there. I understand they finally realized this and brought in one new writer for its second season, but by then it was too little, too late.
Too bad.
Justathought says
IT IS WHAT IT IS. The more networks pump and dump great series without good wrap-ups, the more TV viewers become cynical and reluctant to get “hooked”.
Stargate had a great run and we can all be grateful for many hours (and years) of enjoyment. That franchise helped make the Syfy channel. Too bad the industry is changing so much that it became possible to cancel this series and end ongoing movie possibilities. Perhaps there will be a resurrection?
The planned Syfy channel new series sound uninteresting and uninspired. With the last of Stargate gone, there is little or no reason for me to go there anymore…..
Skiznot says
My last hope is for books. Since SGU fans tend to be the type that like to read science fiction, hopefully someone can novelize their story outline. Still boggles my mind that something so cerebral and compelling ever made it to the Syfy network.
VyseN1 says
You guys are right. Damn MGM ans SyFy to hell. As soon as SGU is over, I am never watching SyFy again. What’s the point if they are going to cancel smart shows anyway.
For the record, I thought that the first 10 episodes were fantastic. I do admit that the show is an acquired taste. Those who like the popcorn entertainment of SG-1 and SGA ( myself included) may not have like the changes made in SGU.
deathby2 says
The Stargate franchise has been one of love and hate. There have been good and bad seasons of all three shows. The problem I have with SGU is that they went in a direction that I don’t like. When the show first started out, it was the first show that I watched, now I could give a ****. I’m glad SyFy cancelled it. There is better content on PBS that I would rather watch.
Jessica lin says
I for one am very disheartened by this. To cancel the show is bad enough but to not do a movie to at least wrap it up. I personally liked sgu the best, they threw out the cheesiness of the last 2. I can’t believe SyFy would rather put out vampire and demon shows!!! Apalling.
Brian says
i think that cancelling SGU was a big mistake! you can not determine a series quality in the first ten shows. it just cant happen, any good show almost always has a bad first season but then picks up! establishing a series plot does take a season to express itself spite popular belief. It is to bad that society has gotten so fast paced that a show is decided before it has a chance to get its feet wet!!!! Long live The Stargate franchise…..
Mitch from Omaha says
Brian, you would be right, if you were talking about something new. This isn’t. StarGate has a long history. SG1 had 214 episodes (plus two movies); Atlantis had 100 episodes.
Based on the well over THREE HUNDRED episodes this production team had already done, it’s actually very easy to determine a “series quality in the first ten episodes” … Or are you just not paying attention?
Anon says
Stargate Universe Season 1 seems generally hated from what I hear, however Season 2 was a lot better. Whereas Star Trek TNG is generally considered so bad season 1 and 2 that some fans just refuse to watch it. And stargate like star trek had previous experience in the movie industry (TOS) and star trek which seems like a much more recognized series took two seasons to get generally positive reviews while stargate took a little over 1 season. In addition the argument that stargate needs new writers seems stupid, because star trek had relatively new writers and performed poorly in the beginning but when the writers experiment and figure out what the audience wants and adapts the show to fit their it will work better. (Bring back SGU/Atlantis!) (Just my two cents)
Skiznot says
It was a series of high quality and better than any that had gone before in the first 4 episodes. From the start it was a deep exploration of space and ancient technology. They just decided to go more mature with a franchise that was traditionally a more family show. They traded the archetypes for compelling realistic characters. They traded the episodic wrap up problems neatly in the end and hit the reset button for a more sophisticated chapter style. It’ s not that people took time for the show to get better, the show was good from the start, it just took them time to get used to the new approach. Unfortunately the people that were won over were already watching. Many of them changed from watching and disliking to watching and enjoying but the show didn’t generate enough new viewers.
Mike From Des Moines says
The cancellation of SG:U and most of Jack Black’s career is total justification for “Global Warming”!
Brian says
Mitch, you cant judge a series by the previous series before they all have to be judge on there own merits and not what was done in the past. just because most of society has to have a fast paced series to match there lives does not mean that when a series is slower paced than what is “normal” it is immediately bad. personal i like a series were i have to think about the multi sub-plots behind the main plot and it allows me to sit back and breath from life and realize that life does not have to whip by! the whole SGU series plot was to take place over 5 years so having the whole plot be shown in the first couple episode would mean that we could have a new series every month or so b/c the whole series is explained 10 episode!
Mike says
I’m disappointed that they are ending a show, that was in my opinion, as good as SG-1. I never got into Atlantis, but SG-U snagged my attention so quickly that I was hooked.
SG-U had a great cast of actors/actresses; they made their characters compelling, and the character development itself was in greater scope then that of both SG-1 and Atlantis, in my opinion.
There was a great deal of possibilities for the show, and its quite pathetic that SyFy has cast the off SG-U and franchise aside, considering it was what made the network great, outside of Mystery Science Theater 3000. There is nothing left of significant interest on that network, and the direction they are taking will make it as pathetic as the CW… full of emo vampires shows.
After the series is over, I will likely never watch SyFy again; along with a lot of others. Hopefully terrible things happen to the network, because it has tossed aside its principle (core) viewers aside via terrible business decisions.
Dave says
SGU was by far the best sci fi out there, the fact that they canceled it due to syfys poor choice of time slots has no bearing on the quality or potential of the show.
SGU was the best written and acted out of all 3 of the Star Gates, MGM should really have another look at it before jumping the gun and perhaps look at another channel or web viewing for the show because I would gladly pay per episode to continue watching this show as I am sure a lot of other people would as well.
Also for all those people who stated the show was to slow, watch these last few episodes and tell me that, it has just began with all the great action packed episodes and so much more to be told, but i guess we will never know now.
Hayden says
I was shattered to hear of the demise of SG.U.
the first season was great at building the characters and the second season just got better and better, i really wish networks would stop axing good shows and replacing them with utter crap that only mindless 10 yr old’s find entertaining.
brian says
i so agree but who are we!
the viewers that pay their bills
Trisha says
Dammit all to hell. 🙁 That is a disappointment.