SGU Cancelled

Tar.Aldarion

hope this happppens

Anita Blow

As far as I know, no. They have people from the Air Force review the military continuity and then NASA I think for the sci-fi stuff.
SGU Costs over 2 million an episode. Over 1 million of that comes from Syfy, I'd imagine around 700,000 comes from Canada and UK between them and then 300,000 from DVD sales/iTunes downloads etc.

They're all guesstimates but I'd say the general breakdown of who contributes what is decent enough

RolandIRL

you're getting my hopes up with this. please let it be true

ixoy

Right - new forum rule. We now do shoot the messenger, so if this doesn't happen Anita Blow is in a lot of trouble

Here's a relevant section about financing from the article linked above:

It’s become increasingly obvious over the last five years that fans of television don’t watch television any more. What in the world does that mean?! Sci-fi fans tend to be younger and technologically savvy, and so among the earliest adopters of new technology. We got DVRs first and stopped watching our favorite shows live. We were the first users of Hulu and iTunes, and sci-fi fans were torrenting new episodes illegally before most people even knew such a thing existed.

Destiny brought its crew -- and viewers -- to stunning new vistas. From ''Light''

Nielsen Media Research and the networks have tried to keep up with the times, revamping the TV ratings system to include some time-shifted, DVR viewing in separate ratings reports. “Live + Same Day” counts those who recorded the show and watched it by 3 a.m. that night. “C3″ numbers count those who watch recorded commercials within three days of broadcast. And “Live + 7 Days” measure viewers who recorded the episode and watched it at any time the following week. (Stargate typically adds 40 to 50 percent to its Friday night viewer numbers here.)

But those in the Nielsen sample group who took longer to catch up, or who watched online instead (legally or illegally), currently don’t get counted. And that’s to say nothing of the millions in other countries who watch on their own networks (or online).

Is it fair for Syfy to cancel the show when execs know that they can’t count all of its true viewers? Sure it is. Syfy’s bottom line is determined by how much it can charge advertisers for 30 seconds of air time during SGU. Can it make more money than it pays for the show? MGM owns Stargate and licenses it to Syfy — so Syfy doesn’t see a nickel from iTunes or Amazon or Hulu, or from DVDs or international distribution. As much as we talk about ratings on this site, we all need to remember that the renewal decision is not based on a show’s viewership — it’s based on how much money the network can make from the show. That means it’s based on Syfy Channel’s viewership, and heavily weighted toward those viewers most likely to not fast-forward through ads (“Live + Same Day” and “C3″ ratings).

Simply put: DVR time-shifting and online availability are directly opposed to the current system of ad-supported television. New technologies are great for putting the viewer in control; but the broadcaster’s profitability is still tied to the network being in control (i.e., making us watch commercials).

Anita Blow

Yea I'm gonna feel personally responsible now if SGU doesn't get renewed :P

If we don't get news by end of January at the very latest, then it's not happening. That's when production would need to start for SGU S3 to return on time for Autumn 2011

Johnmb

Anita Blow wrote: »

I'd imagine it's quite difficult considering the scenes have already been shot and would be very specific to what their intended story for the season finale was.

Do you honestly think they stop the shooting at the point of the cliffhanger? They usually will have enough outtakes to either change the hanger, or even the resolution. How often has a cliffhanger been resolved with a one minute long piece slotted in at the start of an episode which then goes on to tell a new story (and often that resolution is a complete let down!). They filmed a lot more than they needed to, and will have enough to play with now that they know they're finished, once they have a bit of skill.

Antar Bolaeisk

Anita Blow wrote: »

Yea I'm gonna feel personally responsible now if SGU doesn't get renewed :P

If we don't get news by end of January at the very latest, then it's not happening. That's when production would need to start for SGU S3 to return on time for Autumn 2011

I keep thinking you're me. Change your name! :mad::p

No reason why negotiations couldn't take longer. Later is always better than never.

Anita Blow

Also, that article is very true
But at the same time, the more money MGM makes from iTunes and Amazon sales and Hulu, the less it has to charge the channels for the show and the more incentive it has to work to get it renewed. Using my example above, if the money they get from DVDs/downloads grows to 600,000 lets say, then the money it charges Syfy can fall to below 1 million, meaning they make more of a profit from the show.
MGM have 500 million of a credit line now to finance projects and SGU is their only reliable income stream (and the only thing they have in production) as they get the 40 million up-front to finance production so I'd imagine they're working hard to get it onto another network

don ramo

2 million an epsiode seems a bit much, i honestly dont see where that bill would come from, id love to see some sort of breakdown of the costs, like actors wages, stunt people, CGI people,

if they change network id say the actors might have to take a pay cut, carlyle is the only one id say would have any leverage, i read somewhere that a leading role in a show by any SAG actor is at least 25K, but this is a canadian developed show, so i dunno if it counts or what,

it would be great maybe if they at the very least made a film to round it off, im still pi$$ed off that they havent nor do the seem to intend on making the atlantis film,

Anita Blow

Carlyle was the one who said it costs over 2 million per episode. Brad Wright confirmed it and said Stargate budgets never go down as the seasons continue. Always up. I'd say majority is spent on CGI.
I'm pretty sure what happens is they don't always spend the 2 million budgeted per episode but would cut back a bit on each episode and then use the money saved for big CGI sequences in the mid-season and season finales.
Actors like Carlyle, Louis Ferriera, Ming-Na and Lou Diamond Philips would all command a high wage I'd say.

Conor108

So from reading the gateworld forum there it seems the most likely way it could be saved is some kind of sharing of production costs between Sky and CTV's Space channel.

aidan_walsh

Anita Blow wrote: »

Yea I'm gonna feel personally responsible now if SGU doesn't get renewed :P

We'll have L31mr0d take you to Canada to explain to Chloe why she doesn't have a job any more

somuj

I'm so happy My midichlorians are telling me theres going to be a third season (at the minimum).

I'm gonna go on a pre celebratory piss up today.

Antar Bolaeisk

don ramo wrote: »

2 million an epsiode seems a bit much, i honestly dont see where that bill would come from, id love to see some sort of breakdown of the costs, like actors wages, stunt people, CGI people,

That sounds about right considering they are trying to keep costs down. If I remember correctly Star Trek: Enterprise was costing about 3-4 million dollars an episode and that was over five years ago.

Richard Dower

somuj wrote: »

I'm so happy My midichlorians are telling me theres going to be a third season (at the minimum).

I'm gonna go on a pre celebratory piss up today.

It won't happen, please accept this.

somuj

Richard Dower wrote: »

It won't happen, please accept this.

IT WILL have faith. There is a disturbance in the force and it needs to be re-aligned.

ixoy

Richard Dower wrote: »

It won't happen, please accept this.

It happened for "Southland". Let's have some faith - it's Christmas! Denial is welcome at the moment.

Memnoch

FutureGuy wrote: »

My brother (huge SGU fan) made a good point this morning that Sci-Fi is facing a massive threat to it's survival on TV. Casual fans are simply not watching intelligent sci-fi, and hardened fans are becoming sick of having good shows cancelled halfway through their lifespan without any proper ensings and emotional payoff.

Best case scenario is another channel sees the show for what it is (a great character driven show) and pick it up or perhaps a TV film to wrap up things as best possible.

Fringe will be next for the chop imo, and that's pretty much the best sci-fi out these right now.

I'm sure it will be replaced by garbage suce as Warehouse 14: The spinoff to Warehouse 13.

The problem is that SGU wasn't intelligent. It was dumbed down, over emotional, over the top soap opera.

I kind of agree about the problems faced by SCI-FI on TV and am also distressed by the idea that it might very well be on its last legs. But this situation isn't helped by rubbish shoes like SGU and to a lesser extent, Caprica.

The other issues can be worked around, but if a show doesn't have quality then there is no remedy.

Antar Bolaeisk

Richard Dower wrote: »

It won't happen, please accept this.

You are overly pessimistic, please accept that

Anita Blow

I feel sorry for the likes of Brian J.Smith, Alaina, Brad and Elyse because they were doing a promotional trip on an Aircraft Carrier so had no communication with anyone. They only found out about the cancellation yesterday by checking their Twitter on the plane back!

ixoy

Anita Blow wrote: »

I feel sorry for the likes of Brian J.Smith, Alaina, Brad and Elyse because they were doing a promotional trip on an Aircraft Carrier so had no communication with anyone. They only found out about the cancellation yesterday by checking their Twitter on the plane back!

That's really poor form on SyFy's part. I seem to recall that the SG1 crew found out about their cancellation during the party to celebrate their 200th episode. Charming.

pegasus1

SyFy......you're FIRED !!!:mad:

LoGiE

God damn it! Hopefully someone will pick it up.

I really hope Fringe doesn't get cancelled. If it does, I'll have nothing else to watch anymore. What we could possibly do is put pressure on them to make a movie - it worked for Firefly.

Fisher Calhoun

Deleted User wrote: »

I really hope Fringe doesn't get cancelled. If it does, I'll have nothing else to watch anymore. What we could possibly do is put pressure on them to make a movie - it worked for Firefly.

SGU movie would be good. As much as I am enjoying the series (yes, it is different to SG's of old), I wouldn't miss all the time they spend moping around on Destiny feeling sorry for themselves...

conor.hogan.2

warehouse 13 looks terrible - how is that getting better ratings?

Plus just finished watching walking dead (EPIC) but season 2 doesnt start till october 2011 ****.....

Tar.Aldarion

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

warehouse 13 looks terrible - how is that getting better ratings?

Plus just finished watching walking dead (EPIC) but season 2 doesnt start till october 2011 ****.....

i looked that up last night, grrrr


anita blow is dead if this isnt bought

daithi2011

This show never really got going. I think the network was right to put it out of its misery. I used to watch hoping for it to take off, but it didnt.

I used to enjoy terminator tv series and after a few really rubbish episodes in season 2 I stopped watching as I knew it would get cancelled then. Im sure most people know what these episodes were. SGU was/is one crap episode away from me quitting too.

ixoy

For all of those then who don't like it - stop watching now! No point! I'm going to enjoy watching what I have left because I enjoy watching the show.

Myrddin

ixoy wrote: »

For all of those then who don't like it - stop watching now! No point! I'm going to enjoy watching what I have left because I enjoy watching the show.

Couldn't agree more. Top Gear is the same, funny how all the people who moan about it also watch it religiously. If it aint for you, it aint for you

-Trek-

daithi2011 wrote: »

This show never really got going. I think the network was right to put it out of its misery. I used to watch hoping for it to take off, but it didnt.

I don't know about that, I was always happy with the pace of show. Maybe it was just me but i actually enjoyed the show for what it was, the stresses and strains the characters had to endure under survival conditions. It never really bothered me that they were so slow introducing any alien characters, I think I was enjoying it more for not trying to be SG1 or SGA, but again each to their own.

Please, please bring it back for a third

Wrexis

I think perhaps it was a case of bad timing, five years ago the show would have done well.

Yes, the show attempted to be more "real", but is that what people really want these days? Shows like Eureka and Warehouse 13 are much more upbeat and offer a very different kind of escapism.

BigDuffman

How is that tripe warehouse 13 still in the running and SGU is being pulled!

Kiith

Just turn Matt and Chloe into a vampire, and Greer into a Warewolf, and let the public vote off people every week. Then it will do well...

ixoy

BigDuffman wrote: »

How is that tripe warehouse 13 still in the running and SGU is being pulled!

Ah I enjoy "Warehouse 13" ... but I'd sacrifice it without a thought if it meant SGU survived.
The reason it did survive instead is probably multifiold:
It's cheerier for one. People don't always want to risk being depressed as they might do with grittier shows.
It's easy to miss an episode. There's not much in the way of story arcs or character development.
It's cheap. Or at least it certainly looks it! Cheaper than the SFX heavy SGU.

hightower1

Look at the demographic they are trying to pander to... 18 - 30 year old nerdy males... if any demographic is going to download a tv show to bypass ads its us.

Secondly the show was soooo ssssllllooooowwwww.....
They doled out good episodes every 4 bad episodes along just to tease you along. No audience would stand for it and I felt very patronised by that. It had the same mentality of the delicious strawberry sweets in a pack being the least ones in there!!! ffs talk about skimping on the bits everyone likes!!!

I dont blame the concept or the actors I blame the writers for artificially trying to drag out the show with FILLER

liamtech

I think we, as Sci Fi Fans have to look at whats happening and put it into a wider perspective -

There are currently very few space teamed series around at the moment - The only one that springs to mind is "V". I remember a time when i could sit down in one week and watch, DS9, Voyager, Babylon 5, SG1, earth final conflict, the xfiles, crusade, Andromeda, farscape and then the obligatory repeats of TNG and some of the above - PARADISE

But alas those days are over...

If your looking for someone or something to blame, i do have an idea -

First i have to mention Battlestar Galactica:
Billed as the rebirth of a science fiction classic, BSG was anything but.. This is my opnion and your welcome to disagree. The main difference between BSG and previous Sci Fi shows was as far as im concerned the following -

• Serious character driven plots focusing on relationships and philosophical debate on existance - how this is classed as Sci Fi i really dont know - Perhaps you BSG Fanatics could fill me in
• Mystery and suspense - Generally things not being explained and questions left to drag out for season after season - I would again point out that many of these questions were apparently answered in the finale - Apparently the answers included GOD and Angels - very original Sci fi i have to say
• A very un-scientific feel generally to the show - again reported by my BSG FAN Friends
• Soap opera, suspense related stories - One friend termed it to be like "the west wing in space" - HUM

So BSG was a critical success and did very well - Im happy for it, and for those that enjoyed it - for me i hated it, and would love those few hours i spent watching it back - I could have used them for something more constructive like polishing shoes, or reading the RTE Guide.

SO along came Universe fast on the heels of this new genre of SCI FI - now termed Sy-Fy

They said it would be darker, edgier, and full of suspense! WHat did it turn into.... Battlestargate Universica

THey literally turned STargate into a similar slow, character driven, show with sod all sci fi like plot, tonnes of inter connecting relationships, lesbians (I have absolutely nothing against lesbians by the way, nor am i homophobic!!), and mysteries never quite answered - In the last few episodes there was even the sniff of god or a devine power -

SO its cancelled - Game over - As i said in an earlier post i will treasure my SG1, SGA dvd collection, but as for a future for the franchise- to be frank i dont see one... SyFy is clearly turning toward a more supernatural fan base of vampire related shows, and of course their greatest fictional show that gets their highest ratings.... WWE Smackdown

I feel its only a matter of time before the change their name to the Fantasy channel etc

Stargate fans shouldn feel to bad - other franchise's have been similarly ruined - Terminator, star trek (replaced by yet another reboot by that guy who thinks people trapped on an island is an original idea)..

Hell even caprica was cancelled (i celebrated that nuget of news with a few pints i must say!)

I dont know what other sci fi entusiests are doing, but i for one have been reading loads of really decent Sci Fi Novels, and watching re-runs of SG1, and DS9...

Apparently there is another prequel to BSG in the making, for you BSG nuts to get excited about - But remeber - any questions or mysteries brought up in the show - the answer is .... SPOILER ALERT GOD

Venom

While I agree it sucks SGU getting canned just as it was starting to get into it's stride, honestly I'm not surprised. Moving from the established and liked format of SG1 and SGA to a badly implemented copy of BSG was always going to cost the show viewers but the amount of dull filler episodes and then the viewer having to wait a season and a half to find out about Destiny's mission was just woeful writing.

BSG had great characters you cared about, fantastic story arc and spot on pacing unlike SGU which failed on pretty much all of the above and in all fairness only got interesting around the lead up to the crew discovering the truth about the ship. Maybe a reboot in a few years time will be best for the franchise.

GSPfan

Wasn't SG-1 and SGA both cancelled for poor ratings? This franchise has been bleeding fans for a long time. I lost all interest in Stargate with Atlantis. That show is a cartoon with real actors. Roger Rabbit could join Shephards team and fit in with the tone of the show.
Then I cringed at the thought of a new Stargate when I heard about SGU and hesitated to watch it. But after the first 3 hours I was hooked. It has become one of my favourite shows. Only SGU and Fringe remain as must watch shows for me.
I'm bleedin sick of tv now. I literally dont watch tv shows any more for fear of liking them and then having to find out this ****ty news. I'd rather stick to UFC, Football, and Films if this is the way tv is going to be with shows. Fook you SYFY. I hope you go out of business. Fook Vampires and Fook Smackdown.

GSPfan

Oh and fook Robert Knepper! T-bag is the devil. He cancels any show he is in. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr:mad:

Anita Blow

GSPfan wrote: »

Wasn't SG-1 and SGA both cancelled for poor ratings? This franchise has been bleeding fans for a long time. I lost all interest in Stargate with Atlantis. That show is a cartoon with real actors. Roger Rabbit could join Shephards team and fit in with the tone of the show.
Then I cringed at the thought of a new Stargate when I heard about SGU and hesitated to watch it. But after the first 3 hours I was hooked. It has become one of my favourite shows. Only SGU and Fringe remain as must watch shows for me.
I'm bleedin sick of tv now. I literally dont watch tv shows any more for fear of liking them and then having to find out this ****ty news. I'd rather stick to UFC, Football, and Films if this is the way tv is going to be with shows. Fook you SYFY. I hope you go out of business. Fook Vampires and Fook Smackdown.

SGA was cancelled to make room for SGU because they didn't want to run 2 shows at the same time. Syfy wanted more seasons of SGA but MGM said no

GSPfan

I'm glad we got two seasons of SGU rather than 7 of SGA. Thank god for MGM pulling the plug on that.

don ramo

GSPfan wrote: »

I'm glad we got two seasons of SGU rather than 7 of SGA. Thank god for MGM pulling the plug on that.

like it or not SGA was more successfull that SGU, and in my opinion deserves its recognition due mainly to having a better sci-fi element to it,

also atlantis started out a bit like universe in that it was more hardcore that SG-1, with this vicious new enemy, they kinda held onto the humour from SG-1, but i think the show changed direction after season 1, and i put it down to BSG,

i think syfy thought BSG would make a better hardcore show than the traditional fun stargate, so atlantis went down the fun path and BSG went onto to form a very successfull reboot of a classic (that has resulted in no less than 4 reboots in the last 3 years, most which have failed,) and a new form of sci-fi, which every tom d!ck and harry are now trying to replicate,

and TBH if they get a season 3 i wouldnt be surprised if SGU became more campy, the show was just kicking into gear with a string of solid eps, which just happened to coencided with a hourmour element finally being added to the show, it may not go as campy as SGA but these element will be added to appeal to the traditional viewer that the creators will want to draw back so they can get there 5 seasons that they want,

also BSG while being a critical success wasnt really a great ratings show, well it was, at the start, the same as SGA, but in season 4 they made a big deal of it returning to 2.1 million viewers (at one point it and both stargates were getting an average of 2.9-3.0 million viewers, during the glourious sci-fi fridays), yet currently shows like eureka, haven, and W-13 get better ratings, so BSG wasnt a powerhouse like most people are lead to believe (nears its end anyway), it averaged the roughly the same viewership in season 4 as SGA did in season 5, then both shows got canned to make way for there succesors,

i stand open to any corrections in the ratings, was only able to find odd episodes of both series, and interpreted the big or small deals they made about the numbers,

Memnoch

There is one aspect of the discussion that has irked me a little.

It this idea that those of us sci-fi fans who didn't enjoy SGU and are not sorry to see it go have some sort of problem with the TYPE of show rather than the quality.

It seems like there's an argument being made between levity/humour/SG1 and gritty/serious/BSG.

This is a false and flawed argument and only serves to mask the real issues at play.

For the record, I LOVED BSG, and it was one of my favourite shows in ages. I loved the gritty and hardcore aspect of it. And yes, while the quirky humour was the trademark of SG1 and it would have been nice to see it continue, it wasn't what MADE the show.

Ultimately, what makes ANY show is that it should be interesting and fun to watch, it should be paced well, the characters should be interesting, the PLOT should be riveting, the sci-fi (in sci-fi shows) should be awe inspiring. Or to put it simply, it should be well written.

SGU failed in the vast majority of these aspects. The fact that the characters are boring, melodramatic children who spend half the episodes moaning about how terrible their life is has nothing to do with realism/grittiness and everything to do with piss poor writing. The plot seems to be an after thought, like a coat around the soapy melodrama rather than being the SPINE of the program.

And for those of you who are annoyed at those of us who dislike SGU and are still watching and complaining. Well, it is because sci-fi fans like us have switched off and refuse to put up with this rubbish despite the absolute dearth of decent space based sci-fi on tv that the show is getting cancelled.

Richard Dower

I think SGU fans need to move on.....embrace The Cape!

ixoy

[quote=MemnocUltimately, what makes ANY show is that it should be interesting and fun to watch, it should be paced well, the characters should be interesting, the PLOT should be riveting, the sci-fi (in sci-fi shows) should be awe inspiring. Or to put it simply, it should be well written.[/quote]
The sci-fi in BSG was actually quite light in that it didn't explore many themes that you'd often find in a sci-fi show. In fact it was even worse in that it didn't even try to explain many of them in terms of science but instead went down a mystical, fantastical route. I enjoyed it - but I don't think it was necessarily good science fiction.

The fact that the characters are boring, melodramatic children who spend half the episodes moaning about how terrible their life is has nothing to do with realism/grittiness and everything to do with piss poor writing.

I'd definitely level the same accusation at the younger members of the BSG crew who were drinking, fighting, etc. due to their own soap opera issues. It grew tiresome by the third season with yawn-inducing love triangles, etc.
The senior crew were generally excellent though!

And for those of you who are annoyed at those of us who dislike SGU and are still watching and complaining. Well, it is because sci-fi fans like us have switched off and refuse to put up with this rubbish despite the absolute dearth of decent space based sci-fi on tv that the show is getting cancelled.

Have you switched off or not? I'm confused I don't think there's been a strong science fiction show (not tinged with space and soap opera elements) since SG1/SGA. I don't count BSG in that regard.
For me, proper science fiction, is going to have to come from novels. The medium of TV and film (for the most part) is failing me.

Richard Dower wrote: »

I think SGU fans need to move on.....embrace The Cape!

Not yet we don't. You're free to move on though if you wish!

hightower1

Just thinking how great would sgu have been if the pacing was better but hypothetically if the cast of sg1 and obviously others (to make up numbers) were on destiny instead of the current crew? It'd be nice to see them having to adapt and be worn down by the isolation from earth like the last ep of sg1 "timeless" I think it was called.

Seems in retrospect that most of the cast of SGU hated their lives back home already anyways in comparison to SG1.

Safe to start calling SGU the emo cousin of sg1!?

GSPfan

Why is everyone blaming a MAJORLY SUCCESSFUL Battlestar Galactica remake on why Stargate Universe is not to your liking????? If you don't like it, you don't like it, simples. Why does it have to be blamed on Battlestar Galactica.

I love BSG and I love SGU. I also loved SG-1 and I liked Atlantis. Same way I love The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, but only liked Voyager. My mind allows me to like a variety of different ways of telling a story. Get over the whole BSG comparison and just decide you don't like the show because its not what you like!

I don't like Desperate Housewives. I'm not blaming that on Sex in the City. Its cause I think its Schit!

conor.hogan.2

carter and teal'c loved their lives before/during the time away from SGC - o'neill and jackson not so much.

I never watched BSG and idc if it was like SGU because nothing is original ffs.

ixoy

GSPfan wrote: »

Why is everyone blaming a MAJORLY SUCCESSFUL Battlestar Galactica remake on why Stargate Universe is not to your liking????? If you don't like it, you don't like it, simples. Why does it have to be blamed on Battlestar Galactica.

I think people are seeing more similarities then there are and are now trying to point out where they believe one was better than the other.
FWIW, BSG was not majorly successful. It did critically well, and got some cultural recognition, but it wasn't a major success in the same ratings system used to determine SGU's fate.

My mind allows me to like a variety of different ways of telling a story. Get over the whole BSG comparison and just decide you don't like the show because its not what you like!

Agreed! It's also why I can watch, and enjoy, sci-fi lite candy such as "Eureka" and "Warehouse 13". There's lots of flavours in the genre out there. Shouldn't be too snobby about other shows. Let's stop the hate.