28.Aug.06
Posted in News at 10:24 am by michelle
MIT Professor Henry Jenkins [website, wiki entry], media theorist and author of the famous book “Textual Poachers,” has taken note of Solutions and Savestargatesg1.com and the analyses and tactics provided on those sites by owner Alison Butler. From his blog entry on the campaign:
All told, both the tactics and the analysis behind it shows an extremely sophisticated understanding of the current media landscape and the various points by which grassroots communities may leverage their power to exert pressure on corporate stakeholders in the series. Activists of all ilk can learn a lot by dissecting how these guys are approaching their effort to save their favorite series. As a long time fan, I can’t help but contrast this with the now relatively primitive snail-mail efforts that kept Star Trek alive in the 1960s: new media has given fans a lot more resources to mobilize in a roughly similar situation.
Prof. Jenkins blog entry provides a very interesting analysis of the ad hoc ‘community’ that is springing up to save the show, noting the lightning fast response to news of the cancellation that is possible given modern on-line technology and a large dose of experience gained during the Save Daniel Jackson campaign.
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Posted in News at 7:19 am by DeeKayP
Eight SG-1 Episodes from seasons past
To celebrate the Labor Day weekend, the SciFi Channel will be broadcasting several marathons of science fiction favorites, including an eight-hour marathon of Stargate SG-1 episodes selected by fans from the show’s previous nine seasons, on Friday, September 1.
All times are Eastern:
New episodes from the show’s tenth season will resume with “Memento Mori” on Friday, September 8, at 9pm Eastern.
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27.Aug.06
Posted in Press Watch at 2:02 pm by michelle
Canada’s HypaSpace program on Space Channel aired a nice segment on the cast and crew’s reaction to SG-1 not being renewed by Sci Fi for an 11th season. Interviewed are Michael Shanks, Chris Judge, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and Peter DeLuise. Interspersed with the interviews are scenes from filming a Season 10 episode that are quite amusing. BenBrowderPortal.com has the video up for downloading (it’s 32MB) — download Hypaspace video here.
Here is a transcript of the interview portions, courtesy of Biblio on AlphaGate:
HypaSpace host:
And speaking of sucking, it really sucked this week for Stargate SG-1 fans when the SciFi Channel announced that there wouldn’t be an eleventh season, and that the episodes currently shooting in Vancouver would be the last. Our HypaSpace crew were on the set this week for the 10th Anniversary celebration and talked to the cast and crew about the decision to pull the plug.
Michael Shanks [Daniel Jackson]
We found out a little bit earlier than the public did, obviously, that the show had been cancelled, and it’s hard to be really terribly upset. You know, cancelled is a really weird word, it’s not – we haven’t been cancelled, that kinda means ‘pull the plug and go home’. This this means we’re not getting renewed and it’s been one of those things that’s been on everybody’s mind for years and years and it’s…the fact it’s reality is just something we have to deal with, and I think we’ve really had a wonderful run, so it’s hard to be terribly sad and upset about it.”
Chris Judge [Teal'c]
What recent announcement? Ohhh, that one? You mean the one that has the internet? You mean the announcement that has the internet all a-buzz. You know it. I believe that the ending of our relationship with the SciFi Network, I think is just that. It’s the ending of doing original episodes for SciFi. We are fortunate that we do have a person at the studio – Charlie Cohen – who is a very innovative thinker, a progressive thinker, so between he, Brad [Wright] and Rob [Cooper] I am confident that they have other machinations of SG-1 in the works, and the Stargate franchise as a whole. So just because our relationship has ended with SciFi, that’s not necessarily the end for SG-1 and I know it’s not the end of the Stargate franchise. So, you know, don’t fret, you may be forced to watch us for more years to come.
Claudia Black [Vala Mal Doran]
I’m not surprised, I think personally that ten years is an extraordinary achievement. I don’t know how the writers, apart from bringing in new characters, I don’t know how you can continue to tell new stories in the same environment with the same people. People’s lives don’t change unless you go through a massive sea change, so I think as a show it would have had to have undergone some kind of major change eventually, and maybe it was occurring with me and Ben and Beau arriving on the show. And it always comes down to economics. I understand. I’ve been down that road before. I was on another little show called Farscape and it’s, you know, 90% business, 10% show.
Ben Browder [Cameron Mitchell]
The immediate thing is, when a show is cancelled, is the disappointment, the fact that you’re not going to be seeing these people you’ve enjoyed being with for all those years. You’re not going to see them on a daily basis, and you have to go out and look for work and… But, you know, given the fact that SG-1 went for ten years and is record-setting in that regard, I think you have to walk away when you’ve been cancelled with great dignity and say “we had a great run”. All the people who did this had a great run. So with class, dignity and grace, you take your bow. All good things come to an end and… this is one of them.
Peter DeLuise [Writer, director, producer, actor]
I’ve directed about sixty episodes, or so… I think maybe even slightly more than that. I’ve kind of lost track. But, I’ve learned so much about directing and visual effects, and diplomacy, and writing and producing that I really do feel blessed. I feel like I’ve been paid to learn, and some of the people that have been on the show since the beginning, even more than me, they have this decade of memories and friendships that they’ve made. I’m pretty sure that all the people I hang on the weekends with are all of the people I hang out with week days, which is strange because I don’t really have a life outside Stargate, so now that it’s coming to a close, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. I sound really depressing.
Claudia Black [Vala Mal Doran]
I would like to say to the fans of the show that were it not for you the show would not have gone for ten years. And I know right now that you’re probably sad to hear that Season Ten will be, at this stage, the last season. You should be really proud that you’ve been part of it, and a major reason why you’ve had this show for so long.
Chris Judge [Teal'c]
I really would like to thank the fans for, in all sincerity, for ten years of a wonderful, outrageous, rabid support and with the announcement that I’m sure you all heard very recently, that outpouring of love and support continues, and it’s not taken for granted. It’s taken very seriously, it’s taken to heart, and we feed on it, and it strengthens us and I truly, truly, truly would like to say thank you.
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24.Aug.06
Posted in Press Watch at 8:48 pm by michelle
A new article in Multi-Channel news has a couple of interesting quotes:
Stern added that under terms of its contract, the network’s decision to cancel the series prohibits MGM from making any new episodes of the show to air on U.S. television.
He noted, “If MGM came to us for less,” Sci Fi would be interested in more Stargate SG-1 fare, whether in the form of episodes, movies or miniseries. He would not disclose the network’s license fee to MGM.
So it seems Sci Fi’s position is that new episodes of SG-1 can’t be shown on other US networks but that they’d be willing to keep hosting it for a lower license fee. It leads one to wonder whether this is hardball negotiating playing out in the media and behind closed doors.
The article had more positive statements from MGM:
“We don’t look at Stargate SG-1 as a TV show, but a franchise. It is our intention to vigorously find a find way to extend the franchise,” said spokesman Jeff Pryor, who noted that MGM was evaluating other potential distribution outlets. “We want to move forward, but no negotiations have taken place” at this time, he added.
Fans should be hopeful that the show will live on in some form… but don’t forget to make known your passion for the show — SaveStargateSG1.com.
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23.Aug.06
Posted in News at 2:33 pm by DeeKayP
In case you missed the “Sci Fi Inside: Stargate SG-1’s 200th Episode” special and “200″ last Friday, you’ll get another chance when these re-air at 5pm and 6pm Eastern, respectively, on Friday, August 25.
Later in the evening, Season Ten’s next episode, “Counterstrike”, will air at SG-1’s regular time of 9pm Eastern, with a repeat at 11pm.
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Posted in News at 8:58 am by michelle
More Reactions and News on SG-1 Cancellation
The press coverage of Sci Fi’s cancellation of SG-1 continues at a rapid pace. Some highlights follow.
Michael Shanks makes a brief statement
Via his publicist, Michael Shanks made a brief statement via his publicist. Read it here.
Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune comments
Maureen Ryan is a long-time SG-1 fan and commentator.
It’s surprising and shabby treatment for “Stargate SG-1,” which helped Sci Fi emerge from the margins of the basic-cable world and gave the network a steady rock on which to build the rest of its programming. One would have thought that the powers that be at Sci Fi Channel would let the show’s cast, crew and fans celebrate the much-lauded “200″ without pulling the plug on the program so abruptly and with such frankly terrible timing.
Read the whole article.
TV Guide Insider — Brad Wright responds
Looks like the on-line game will cost more than a season of a Stargate!
However, there are some signs of life in the show and it’s not just the MMO (massive multiplayer online) game that is due out in the fourth quarter of 2007 and that MGM, which owns the Stargate franchise, is sinking $40-50 million into. While executive producer Brad Wright tells TV Guide his “dream is to take SG-1 back to the feature it began as,” we are now hearing that MGM may produce a series of TV-movies based on the mother-ship series.
Pondering the idea of at least one movie, Wright says that the show’s finale — the last 10 episodes should begin unspooling around March — ”should be a very satisfying end to the season, but not necessarily an end to SG-1 by any means.”
Read the whole article.
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22.Aug.06
Posted in News at 1:31 pm by Alison
Stargate shown the door by Joe Ryan:
Jack O’Neill’s galactic team outlasted Mulder, Scully, Picard and Sisko. But it won’t fight on forever. At least not on Sci Fi Channel.
The cable network announced Monday it was decommissioning Stargate SG-1 after the conclusion of its 10th season sometime next year.
Some 2.5 million viewers observed the occasion [the airing of the 200th episode], per Nielsen Media Research, making it the second-most-watched Sci Fi show of the week after the E.T.-free Extreme Championship Wrestling (2.6 million).
In a statement long on plaudits (i.e., “worldwide phenomenon”) and short on specifics, Sci Fi said it was canceling SG-1 because, well, it just was.
“Having achieved so much over the course of the past 10 years, Sci Fi believes that the time is right to make this season [its] last on the channel,” the network said.
A call seeking comment from MGM, the studio behind SG-1, was not immediately returned Tuesday. In the Hollywood Reporter, an MGM rep said the company was “vigorously working to continue the franchise.”
The Sci Fi pink slip came on the same day MGM closed a long-awaited iTunes deal that makes episodes from the current seasons of SG-1 and Atlantis available for download purchase.
Read the rest of the article at E Online
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Posted in News at 1:24 pm by Alison
Matt Roush of TV Guide.com commented on the SciFi Channel’s cancellation of Stargate SG-1 on his blog today:
“Speaking purely objectively, because I’m not invested enough in the Stargate franchise to speak passionately or emotionally (which I did back when Farscape was canceled prematurely): In the world of TV, all things (good, bad and indifferent) eventually come to an end, and few things are made better by going on indefinitely.
That said, do the Sci Fi executives get special bonuses for bad timing when it comes to delivering the bad news to their shows?
If I’m to believe the trade-magazine report in Multichannel News that broke the story of Stargate SG-1’s cancellation (and I see no reason to doubt it), Sci Fi lowered the boom just as the series was celebrating its landmark 200th hour in high style with an affectionately entertaining parody/tribute episode. Way to take the wind out of a show’s sails, Sci Fi.”
Read the rest of this article at TV Guide.com
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Posted in News at 8:54 am by Alison
As many members of the Stargate SG-1 Solutions editorial team and staffers have vast experience of fan campaigns through SDJ (Save Daniel Jackson) we’ve created a companion campaign site to act as a ‘how to’ guide to tried and tested strategies which proved succesful. There’s also a Yahoo list open to anyone to join where campaigners can talk tactics and share ideas.
The success of the SDJ campaign lay in focusing fan efforts relentlessly on writing letters and postcards, and in reaching out beyond online fandom to offline fans and the wider television industry.
Please feel free to take these ideas out to your own lists, communities and campaign sites: the tactics *are* successful. And please do give your site urls in the comments below.
Click here to visit www.savestargatesg1.com
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Posted in News at 6:38 am by Alison
Variety.com reports today on the cancellation of Stargate SG-1, which is being pitched as “transitioning off the air.” John Dempsey and Ben Fritz report:
“Ratings for the series’ original runs had fallen off from 2.55 million total viewers (Jan. 21-March 25, 2005) to 1.95 million in the current cycle (July 14-Aug. 18) on the Sci Fi Channel. But the series was still racking up a solid 1.13 million adults 25-54 and 1.02 million adults 18-49 during the last eight weeks.
The cancellation “was not a ratings-driven decision,” said Mark Stern, exec VP of original programming for the Sci Fi Channel. “We’re actually going out on a high note,” he said, as the net has given the production staff enough time to usher the series to a conclusion tying up all the loose ends.
Stern said Sci Fi plans to use some of the cast members of “SG-1″ on the successful “Stargate: Atlantis” sequel, now in its third season and still going strong.
While it’s transitioning off the air, “Stargate” is moving into Internet downloads for the first time.
MGM made a deal with Apple to start selling episodes of both “Stargate: SG-1″ and “Stargate: Atlantis” on Monday. Studio put up several library episodes of each skein, and it will post new episodes for sale the day after they air on Sci Fi.
Deal for Internet downloads is the first MGM has made with its vast TV library.”
Read the full article at Variety.com (you need to register for a free trial)
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