Author: michelle

SGU Ratings Beating Season 2 of SGA

Multichannel News published this (typo-impaired) analysis of the Stargate Universe ratings versus the 2005 ratings of Stargate Atlantis, which would have been for Season 2 of the latter:

The fall season of Stargate Universe was the most-watched Stargate franchise since 2005, according to officials at Syfy.

Stargate Universe soared past the first second season of Stargate Atlantis season four years ago, when measured on a live+7-day basis, according to Nielsen data. The rookie run of Stargate Universe, which spanned 10 Fridays from Oct. 2 through Dec. 4, averaged a 1.9 household rating and 2.57 million watchers, according to Nielsen DVR data. Included in the total were 1.63 million adults 25 to 54, 1.43 million adults 18 to 49 and 600,000 adults 18 to 34.

Compared to the 2008-09 Stargate Atlantis, Season 5, SGU, which will return for a second campaign in 2010, improved 51% among adults 18 to 34, 33% against the 18-to-49 set, 28% with adults 25 to 54 and 22% in total viewers, according to Syfy.

A 51% improvement is certainly significant, especially in the critical 18-34 demographic.

Robert Cooper Q&A On SGU, Criticisms

sgu-light-mgm-2

The Hollywood Reporter published a new Q&A with Stargate Universe co-creator Robert C. Cooper on Sunday. It’s the first interview we know of that either he or Brad Wright has done since SGU premiered in October. Cooper addressed some of the criticisms fans have made of SGU, in some cases admitting mistakes, but mostly defending the show the way it is. An excerpt:

THR: There’s been criticism about the female characters. Some of it seems to suggest that having characters who are at all sexual automatically makes a show sexist, that anything less than a neutered “Star Trek” ideal is somehow bad.

Cooper: I think our female actors are playing strong female characters and they are proud of the characters they’re playing. We didn’t do a good enough job establishing them early on, it took too long for those traits to come to the forefront, and I think people are recognizing that in the later episodes. But that’s the other big hot button — whether sex belongs in sci-fi. It’s a huge deal with our fan base and I think it’s bizarre to ignore sex as a part of translating the human condition to fiction. If we’re going to try and tell a more realistic character story we need to include those things.

Read the entire Q&A here. It’s of course impossible to know if Cooper is simplifying criticisms for the sake of easier communications, or whether he actually believes viewers are divided over showing sex on Stargate, as opposed to objecting to the particular portrayal.

Syfy Renews Stargate Universe, Sanctuary

Hot off the presses from SciFiWire:

Syfy announced it was renewing its new series Stargate Universe for a second season and it was also picking up Sanctuary for a third season. Both series were given orders for 20 episodes, which will begin airing in the fall.

Sanctuary is currently in the midst of airing its second season, while Stargate Universe is on hiatus between the first half of season one and the second half, which will air in April. Universe has been controversial with Stargate fans, who’ve shown a mixed reaction to the franchise’s new direction.

“We’re dealing with 15 seasons of expectations with a certain fanbase,” executive producer Robert Cooper told the Hollywood Reporter. “Hopefully, as the show goes on, people will appreciate Universe for being its own thing.”

He also revealed a new alien race will be added to the show. “There is a big story point coming up that does introduce an alien race,” Cooper said. “It’s more along the line of a District 9-type alien. Our interaction is handled in a very Universe way; they’re not the typical Stargate alien bad guys.”

It’s interesting to note Cooper’s oblique references to long-time Stargate fans not being happy with SGU because it’s not like the other Stargate shows.  Fan complaints have been far more nuanced than that. Regardless, we congratulate both productions on the go-ahead for another season!

SGU DVD Cover Art Revealed

SGUDVDCover1.0

TVShowsOnDVD and others have posted the cover art for the DVD and Blu-ray box sets for the upcoming SGU Region 1 release on February 9, 2009. These 3-disc sets will contain episodes 1-10 (out of 20 episodes) of Season 1 of Stargate Universe. At right is the DVD cover, while the Blu-ray has the typical blue bar across the top.

Amazon is offering pre-ordering of the DVD version for US$27.99, and the Blue-ray version for US$38.99. This is a significant discount off the retail prices of $48.98 and $69.99, respectively.  A preliminary list of extras is detailed here.

Joe Mallozzi: Writers Will Meet Week of 14 December

A couple of days ago, Stargate writer/producer Joe Mallozzi claimed we (as in Solutions) had started a rumor the writers would be meeting during the week of December 14 to break (lay out basic plots for) more episodes of Season 2 of Stargate Universe.  He claimed he planned to show up to work just because of our rumor. We think this was Joe being “humorous”. In fact, we started no such rumor and let Joe know!

Joe responded with this on 20 November:

Hey, Michelle – Yep, consider it a Solutions exclusive.  We’ll back the week of December 14th to discuss more stories.

One may wonder why this is newsworthy. After all, don’t the Stargate writers always break stories before the new year, to be ready for production to start in February or March? Is Joe actually hinting that they’re more sure there will be a Season 2 of SGU? We can only speculate! Ratings on Syfy are holding steady, with around 2.5 million total weekly viewers, including those who watch on their DVRs within 7 days. The numbers for the coveted young demographic (18-34 yrs old) are reportedly higher than they were for SGA. On the other hand, MGM is in dire financial straights and may be sold off in pieces early in 2010. So it’s not a slam dunk by any means.

Perhaps Joe just wants fans to know he’ll be in the office that week and thus able to pick up all the holiday gifts we’re encouraged to send his way. Regardless, you heard it here second!

Children of the Gods Final Cut Commentary

With grateful thanks to fan daniel4ever, we’re proud to present an illustrated transcript of the DVD commentary for the Children of the Gods Final Cut, released earlier this year (buy it here on Amazon). The commentary features Brad Wright and Richard Dean Anderson, who discuss the changes in the new version and reminisce about the original making of the pilot.

Please read the commentary transcript here, and let us know what you think!

If you haven’t yet, read our review of the new cut of the SG-1 pilot, too!

Shanks Shares On Hawkman, SGU, Letter “S”

SGAOT-MS-0009

We tweeted this already, but for those who don’t follow us there (shame on you!), Michael Shanks was interviewed this week about his playing superhero Hawkman on an upcoming two-parter of Smallville. In an attached blog post, the journalist, Jenna Busch, also spoke with Michael about his role on Sanctuary, and his views of Stargate Universe so far. Michael had very interesting things to say on all the topics! Here are a few excerpts, but we recommend you read the article and blog post too, since there is lots more to enjoy.

On the creation of Hawkman’s winged costume:

I have done five fittings. Yup! Yesterday was my fifth. I do believe there will be more. I have yet to shoot a frame of film on this episode. This is what I’ve been doing the most of, is going for fittings and you know, talking to the producers about the character and discussing the elements of the voices. But mostly it’s been focused on the costume and the logistics of the costume. Again, it’s a necessary thing. I really appreciate the reverence that these guys have. […] I said to James Marshall yesterday, ‘I want to take this home for the weekend. Just to get used to it.’ [laughs] Yeah, the character will fly and the logistics of that are pending. How we’re going to make that work without looking too silly.

Regarding his view of Stargate Universe so far:

It is different. I mean, it’s a completely different taste palate than the previous Stargate incarnations. It’s more realistic. The characters are much more dimensionalized. The visual of it is far more aesthetically pleasing and stunning. The camera work is more interesting. The visual effects are amazing. […] I just had a little…I just watched the first three episodes, and I just had a little issue with some of the drama. […] When I watch it, I’m really transported to the world that they’ve created. It’s really three-dimensionalized. I’m just not quite buying all of the mistrust elements and the tension elements just yet. But I think they’re one strong story from hooking me and turning the corner on that.

The strange thing about his career and the Letter “S”:

My speech therapist…we had a little sit down and he told me that, in order to get past my fear of the letter “S” I may only appear on shows that start with the letter “S” so I can build up my resistance to it. So yes. Smallville, Stargate, Sanctuary. I’m looking for some others. If you can reccomend any other shows that start with “S” that I could pitch myself out to that would be great.

On the likelihood of him joining “Twitter”:

Oh, uh, never. That’s that one. Let’s get that out of the way. Michael Shanks twittering is not going to happen. Let’s just go down that road. [Laughs] Although apparently I might. I made a bet with my wife and she had to choose what I would have to do if I lost the bet. She said, because she knows how much I don’t like the notion of twittering, if I lose, I have to twitter for a week. So that will be probably be the only way you will catch me twittering. I’m just not that guy.

Let’s hope Michael loses the bet with Lexa and has to tweet for a week! Read the article and blog.

Stargate Magazine Offers Free Download Issue

Stargate Magazine- Special Download Edition

The Official Stargate Magazine, produced by Titan Publishing in the UK, is offering a special edition of the magazine as a free download:

FREE! Stargate Magazine: Special Download Edition

Get a taste of the official Stargate Magazine with an exclusive free download edition. Check out our guide to the new show, go inside the writers’ room, read interviews with stars Robert Carlyle and Louis Ferriera, and much more! Either print it out or browse on screen.

To download this Stargate Magazine: Special Download Edition, visit:
http://www.titanmagazines.com/stargate

The special edition is 23 double-width pages long, PDF format, in full color, with many photographs from all three series. It includes interviews with Michael Shanks and Ben Browder, which are not new, and interviews with Robert Carlyle and Louis Ferreira.