30.Jun.07
Posted in News at 9:58 am by michelle
On Friday, Sci Fi Channel sent out a text message to subscribers with the following news:
Stargate Atlantis returns 9/28. All New Doctor Who premieres next Friday at 8/7c. Eureka Season 2 premieres July 10 at 9/8c. Happy Sci Fi July.
We’re sorry to hear that S4 won’t start until the end of September, since Joe M. has stated the renewal decision for S5 will be made soon after that. So the timing leaves little chance for S4 to prove its ratings power over the disappointing ratings for the back half of S3. But anyway at least now we know the date (although Sci Fi has been known to change dates before).
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27.Jun.07
Posted in News, Press Watch at 6:42 am by DeeKayP
Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi reported in his personal blog for June 26 about the recent Digital Media Tour on the standing set of Stargate Atlantis hosted by the Sci Fi Channel’s Mark Stern. Even though the production is in hiatus, Mallozzi, co-showrunner Paul Mullie, and actors Rachel Luttrell and David Hewlett (along with his movie star dog Mars) managed to return to the set to sit on the Stargate Atlantis Q&A panel. Brad Wright was in the offices that day, but he was busy editing his movie Stargate: Continuum and chose to watch from the sidelines.
Mallozzi wrote of the experience:
As we headed downstairs, the media began to file in. They were followed by the gang from Sci Fi: Bonnie Hammer, Mark Stern, David Howe, Lana Kim and many, many more. We made our way to Stage 6, the main Atlantis standing set, where the gate room had been magically transformed: media on one side, our foursome panel directly in front of the lit-up gate and flanked by event moderator Mark Stern.
The panel went very well, both Rachel and David offering up some very funny anecdotes – that I won’t go into here, instead allowing you to read all about them when the stories are filed. While Mars, David’s dog, ambled up and around (”Please, God, don’t let this dog sniff my crotch while the cameras are rolling?”), we fielded a bevy of Stargate-related questions.
Mallozzi listed some of the websites that had representatives there, so expect some reports from them in the coming days. After the Tour left Stage 6, they had lunch and then headed over to talk with the folks at Battlestar Galactica:
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26.Jun.07
Posted in News, Press Watch at 5:38 pm by DeeKayP
Press release from NBC Universal, owner of the Sci Fi Channel:
STARGATE SG-1′S SERIES FINALE TRIUMPHS
Published: June 26, 2007
2 Million+ Viewers Tune In To Say Farewell
SG-1 Delivers more P18-49 and P25-54 than ABC
NEW YORK — June 26, 2007 — America’s longest running sci-fi television series ended with a bang, delivering more viewers in key demos than even its broadcast competition. The series finale of Stargate SG-1 (Friday, June 22, 2007 @ 8pm) delivered a 1.7 HH rating, 1.2 million P25-54s, 1.1 million P18-49s and 2.2 million total viewers P2+.
This is the best performance on all measures for SG-1 since the September 22, 2006 mid-season finale.
The show drove SCI FI to the number 1 spot in the 8pm hour for both P18-49s and P25-54 cable viewers, and delivered more P18-49s and P25-54s in the hour than ABC.
Among M25-54 and M18-49 in the 8pm hour, SCI FI outdelivered all cable competitors, and surpassed Fox, CBS and ABC.
Overall, Stargate SG-1 was the number 3 cable program for the day for P25-54 viewers.
Also on Friday night, the season 3 finale of Stargate Atlantis at 9pm delivered a 1.5 HH rating, 1.1 million P25-54s, 986,000 P18-49s and nearly 2 million total viewers P2+.
This is the best performance in HH ratings and P2+ for Atlantis since the September 22, 2006 midseason finale, and the best performance in P18-49s and P25-54s since the April 13, 2007 midseason premiere.
In the 9pm hour, SCI FI ranked number 2 in cable for P25-54s, trailing only TBS.
Atlantis ranked number 5 in cable for the day for P25-54 viewers.
At 10pm, Painkiller Jane delivered a 1.0 HH rating, 668,000 P18-49s and 751,000 P25-54s — the best performances for the program in each demo since its April 13, 2007 series debut.
For the night, in 8pm-11pm prime, SCI FI was ranked number 3 for P25-54s and P18-49s.
SCI FI Channel is a television network where “what if” is what’s on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 89 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies.
Stargate Atlantis is currently in production on a fourth original season, with an eye toward a fall premiere.
# # #
Contact:
Lana Kim
(212) 664-4165
lana.kim@nbcuni.com
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25.Jun.07
Posted in News, Press Watch at 6:28 am by DeeKayP
SCI FI WIRE has an article on Stargate Atlantis’s David Hewlett’s independent movie being distributed by MGM, A Dog’s Breakfast:
Stargate Atlantis star David Hewlett’s black comedy film A Dog’s Breakfast, which marks his directorial debut, broke into the top 20 DVD sales on Amazon.com, where it went on sale last week. The site is now taking preorders for the straight-to-DVD film, which will be released on Sept. 18.
A Dog’s Breakfast also ranked in the top 10 on the retail site’s Movers and Shakers list.
Hewlett, who plays Atlantis‘ prickly genius Rodney McKay, wrote and directed A Dog’s Breakfast, which centers on squabbling siblings Patrick and Marilyn, who are driven over the edge when Marilyn brings home her new TV-star fiance from the space soap opera Starcrossed.
In addition to Hewlett, the movie features Atlantis co-stars Rachel Luttrell (Teyla) and Paul McGillion (Dr. Beckett), as well as Stargate SG-1 star Christopher Judge (Teal’c). The film’s crew includes Stargate producer John G. Lenic, cinematographer Jim Menard and an amalgamation of the Atlantis and SG-1 shooting crews. The cast also includes Amanda Byram. Hewlett is also working with his real-life partner, producer Jane Loughman, and his sister, actress Kate Hewlett.
To read more about the film, visit its official website at: A Dog’s Breakfast Movie Home Page.
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Posted in News, Press Watch, SG-1 at 6:11 am by DeeKayP
SCI FI WIRE talked with Michael Shanks about the end of the TV run for Stargate SG-1 and about the upcoming direct-to-DVD movies, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum, both of which are now scheduled for a 2008 release.
About shooting the last scene for the series finale “Unending”, Shanks said, “It was great, but it didn’t change things that much, because we were still at the end of a long season, and everyone was quite tired and emotional, and we knew it was still the end of something. But we were very happy knowing there wasn’t a wrecking ball waiting outside or four guys with crowbars waiting to tear our stuff down, or we might have been far more emotional about it.”
[About the SG-1 sets, executive producer Joseph Mallozzi stated in his June 24 blog entry, "If Atlantis does get that fifth season pick-up, a decision will have to be made on the SG-1 standing sets. We won't be able to keep all of them."]
Concerning the movies, Shanks offered, “We knew [we] were going to come back and see each other. We knew we’d get a chance to play these characters, and that did take the curse off the last moment of walking through the gate.” But still, the end of the series was significant for them and Shanks added, “It was the end of an era for us, and we didn’t really know 100 percent what the movies would be or how it would all pan out.”
Read the interview at SCI FI WIRE.
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Posted in News at 5:32 am by DeeKayP
Sci Fi Wire publishes the ratings for the Sci Fi Channel’s top ten performers each Monday. They’re about two weeks behind in the reporting. The ratings for SG-1’s “Family Ties” and Atlantis’s “Submersion”, which premiered on June 8, have been added to the lists:
Stargate SG-1
April 13 – 10.11 – The Quest Part 2 – 1.5
April 20 – 10.12 – Line in the Sand – 1.1
April 27 – 10.13 – The Road Not Taken – 1.1
May 4 – 10.14 – The Shroud – 1.2
May 11 – 10.15 – Bounty – 1.2
May 18 – 10.16 – Bad Guys – 1.2
June 1 – 10.17 – Talion – 1.1
June 8 – 10.18 – Family Ties – 1.2
Stargate Atlantis
April 13 – 3. 11 – The Return Part 2 – 1.4
April 20 – 3.12 – Echoes – 1.2
April 27 – 3.13 – Irresponsible – 1.3
May 4 – 3.14 – Tao of Rodney – 1.1
May 11 – 3.15 – The Game – 1.2
May 18 – 3.16 – The Ark – 1.2
June 1 – 3.17 – Sunday – 1.1
June 8 – 3.18 – Submersion – 1.2
Second-half season averages for first-run airings (8pm and 9pm) are 1.20 for SG-1 and 1.21 for Atlantis. The current season’s ratings averages are 1.39 for SG-1 and 1.42 for Atlantis.
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24.Jun.07
Posted in Press Watch at 12:51 pm by michelle
Leading up to the series finale of Stargate SG-1, the production held a press day at Bridge Studios. There were many press stories late this week about the end of the show as a weekly series. Here’s a big sample of what was published:
MultiChannel News (Mary McNamara)
Chicago Tribune (Maureen Ryan)
Access Hollywood
TV Guide
New York City Daily News
The City Paper (Nashville)
Detroit Free Press
Albuquerque Tribune
AZ Central
Of particular interest is Robert C. Cooper’s take on what made fans love the show, from his interview with Mary McNamara:
“The fans have always responded to the interpersonal aspects of the team. There’s almost a soap-opera way in which people cling to the camaraderie, the team/family dynamic among the four leads and their chemistry. [Tapping, Shanks, Judge and Anderson] It just feels there’s a magical quality that regardless of the story is that week that makes you want to spend an hour with those people. We work very hard coming up with interesting stories, moral dilemmas, metaphors for important issues. Then it comes down to ‘did you see the way Teal’c looked at Carter in this scene?’ or ‘Did you see how O’Neill patted Daniel on the back?’ That’s something that makes you a fan of the show. I think people will tune out eventually to plot-driven shows that reset to zero at the end of every episode. But when you have a show with characters that you love, that you want to spend time with that evolve and change, that makes you fan. Not every fan has been happy with the changes over the years. But the creative people do pay attention to what came before.”
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Posted in Atlantis, News, SG-1 at 8:05 am by DeeKayP
SG-1 Movies
Gateworld is reporting that the two direct-to-DVD movies will be released in 2008 instead of the previously announced fall of 2007 date. This word is said to have come directly from Twentieth Century Fox, MGM’s partner in the production of the films. Gateworld had no reason for the delay, but stated that Stargate: The Ark of Truth was “visual effects heavy”, implying that this might be a factor as to why the DVD won’t be released until “the first half of 2008.” Stargate: Continuum’s release is expected to follow the first movie’s sometime in 2008.
Atlantis S3 and SG-1 S10 DVD Sets (R1)
Amazon.com now has Season Three of Stargate Atlantis for pre-order with a September 18 release date. You can also pre-order Season Ten of Stargate SG-1, scheduled to be released July 24.
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Posted in Atlantis, News at 7:04 am by DeeKayP
The filming cast and crew are taking their annual “shooting hiatus” from June 25 through July 15, according to James “BamBam” Bamford, the Stunt Coordinator for Stargate Atlantis. One of the reasons why it is called the “shooting hiatus” is because the writers don’t usually end up taking a break from writing, as Joseph Mallozzi demonstrates in his recent blog entry, “Hiatus is upon me. And it couldn’t have come soon enough. Finally, a much-needed break from being cooped up in my Bridge Studio office, stuck behind a desk, agonizing over dialogue and plot developments while the world outside passed me by. And so today, I took advantage of my newfound freedom by remaining cooped up in my home office, stuck behind a desk, agonizing over dialogue and plot developments while the world outside passed me by.”
What do the actors and crew do on the hiatus? For the most part, they spend their time off like anyone would — with family and friends. But, some of them might find work, such as Bamford. “I will be working, to start off with, a mini-series entitled “Tin Man” as a stunt performer myself. I may do a day or [two] on Battlestar Galactica or whatever else comes my way…” These jobs usually are small since Bamford added, “Sticking to Atlantis except for the hiatus [...] I remain loyal to the show I am currently working on until it wraps for the season, or has a break…..otherwise I tend not to moonlight.”
Before the start of the hiatus, the cast and crew worked on twelve episodes of Season Four. As often is the case, these episodes were shot out of order to accommodate the availability of actors, directors, and locations. An example of when actor availability affected shooting order was when SG-1 Season Seven’s “Lost City” was filmed before “Resurrection”, which was the last episode to be filmed for that season because it didn’t include Richard Dean Anderson. Sometimes, however, if an actor is not available, his or her scenes will be deleted or changed to accommodate someone else, as script coordinator Alex Levine reported in his blog concerning Amanda Tapping’s scenes in Season Four’s “Be All My Sins Remember’d”. Also for Season Four of Atlantis, director Robert C. Cooper’s “Doppelganger” was the first episode to go before cameras, but is slated to be the fourth episode to air, because Cooper then went straight to the production of Stargate: The Ark of Truth. Director Andy Mikita stepped in to film scenes for Season Four’s “Adrift” and “Lifeline” when the episodes’ director Martin Wood was filming scenes for Stargate: Continuum in late March. And finally, it’s not unusual for one location to be used for two different episodes that are meant to be aired a few episodes apart, such as is the case with Season Four episodes “The Seer” (episode eight) and “This Mortal Coil” (episode ten).
Mallozzi also said that some of the Atlantis crew will be going on a “long weekend” to the Comic Con in San Diego, scheduled for July 25-29. If they resume filming between the hiatus and the convention, they’ll have just enough time to film one episode, which takes about seven days to shoot. As Mallozzi indicated, the writers will be working on scripts over the hiatus, and then he said that they “still have three scripts to break when we get back to the offices in mid-July.” In his Production Diary, Mallozzi explained the breaking process: “In order to write an outline, you must first “break” the story. Breaking a story is pretty much what it sounds like. You break the story down into a tease and five acts, breaking those six sections down into individual scenes (an average of 4-5 per act) covering all of the major dramatic beats.”
Season Four is scheduled to premiere in September on the Sci Fi Channel just as filming will be wrapping up (they’re scheduled to be done on September 28). Mallozzi was pleased that Atlantis will have a few more episodes aired to possibly play into the ratings portion of the decision as to whether or not there will be a Season Five, but indicated that they’ll have already written Season Four’s episodes “as planned” before they’ll receive the renewal notice.
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22.Jun.07
Posted in Atlantis, News at 4:41 pm by DeeKayP
During the finales of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis shown tonight, the Sci Fi Channel announced that new episodes of Atlantis will return in September for its first season (Season Four) without its sister show. No specific date was given, however.
Because of the Sci Fi Channel’s new original programming schedule, the ratings for the second half of Season Three will play a large part in whether or not there will be a Season Five of the show. Filming of Season Four is due to wrap on September 28, far too late in the production process for Season Four’s ratings to have an impact and for them to modify the season finale, if necessary, that Paul Mullie has proposed. According to co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, Season Four’s “Finale” episode will be “ending the season as planned.”
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