Universe

MGM has released an impressive new promo for the return of Stargate Universe on Syfy on Friday, April 2. The following promo is embedded from YouTube, but you should visit MGM for the additional episodic images (that not only include “Space”, but “Divided”, “Faith”, and “Human” as well).

Oh, if you’re avoiding spoilers, DO NOT CLICK PLAY!

Here’s the promo for the second half of Season One of Stargate Universe put out by Syfy for April 2! Since the promo is made up of clips from unaired episodes, it should be watched with caution by those who are trying to stay away from spoilers!

Stargate Universe executive producer Joseph Mallozzi introduced two new writers/producers in his weblog recently. They are Remi Aubuchon and Linda McGibney. They’re joining Carl Binder, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, and Brad Wright in the writers’ room.

In his introductions, Mallozzi gave some of the credentials each new writer/producer carries. Aubuchon has worked on projects for Caprica, 24, Persons Unknown, Summerland, and The Lyon’s Den; McGibney, Homicide: Life on the Streets, Family Law, and Chicago Hope.

Currently, we have information on the first 12 episodes of Season Two. Based on Mallozzi’s entries, Aubuchon is writing the script for the ninth episode, while McGibney is working with Mallozzi to bring in the mid-season two-parter. The titles of these episodes aren’t currently known, but it’s pretty much guaranteed that they’ll be single-worded to keep the trend going.

The writers returned to the offices this week to prepare for the start of principal photography next week. The scripts for the first five episodes have been written and the episodes given titles, all of which you can see in our Season Two Episode Guide in the Stargate Wiki. Carl Binder’s “Pathogen” is the fourth episode, but it will be filmed first. Although not confirmed, there is the possibility that this out-of-order filming schedule was to accommodate the availability of the “special guest director” whom fans have speculated just might be lead actor Robert Carlyle who has expressed the desire to direct in the past (thanks to marsel_sfg for this link to the possible evidence).

Stargate Universe returns to Syfy on April 2 with the second half of Season One. Season Two will most likely premiere in the fall 2010.

Stargate Universe creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper talked with Matthew Hays of the Canadian Screenwriter magazine, and their interview is published in the article “Across the Universe,” which is to appear in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue.

In the interview, excerpted on the magazine’s website, Wright explains the demise of Stargate Atlantis and the beginnings of Stargate Universe:

Robert and I have been making Stargate for… I co-created Stargate SG-1, and I hired him on that show. So he and I have been working together coming up on 13 years. We’re breaking season 17 of shows called Stargate.

When it seemed like we were done with Stargate, MGM approached us and said, ‘how about another Stargate series?’ And we said we really wanted to do something else. Their response was, ‘okay, let’s do something else–but let’s do it with Stargate.’

Of course, all TV writers want to write feature films and all feature film writers want to write TV shows. We figured we’d parlay what clout we had with MGM and do it as a film–maybe even as a backdoor pilot.

Cooper is quoted:

What I really wanted to do was to shake up the approach to the show. I wanted us to move stylistically in a very different direction. We had made a plot-driven, action adventure show previously.

The characters were fun and interesting, and one of the key reasons people liked the shows was because of the characters, but when people tuned in they knew what to expect: the crew would get into some trouble, go through the gate, have an adventure and then come home after saving the world. I don’t mean it in a derogatory sense, but it was a comic-book adventure, with larger-than-life bad guys, all about bad vs. good– very broad, primary colours. I felt like we had done as much of that as we could possibly do.

I pitched the idea of doing something slightly more real as a character drama. It’s a sci-fi show: you’re still dealing with space ships. But I wanted the characters to feel real. One of the things some people have said is that you can’t make a serious drama that has far-out science in it.

You’ll need to pick up the magazine (Cooper and Wright and Stargate Universe are featured on the cover) to read the rest of the revealing interview.

Additionally, the current issue of the Official Stargate Magazine, issue #32, has an interview with Brad Wright in which he covers a bit more about the beginnings of Stargate Universe as a movie that got turned into a television series. You can read an excerpt of that interview at MGM’s Official Stargate Website.

[Image from our Destiny Gallery.]

As with its predecessors, Stargate Universe has been picked up for syndication in three major cities in the United States for their Fall 2010 schedules. Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis both had full runs in syndication, which started after the first season of episodes aired on the original channels Showtime (SG-1, Seasons One through Five) and Sci Fi/Syfy (SG-1, Seasons Six through Ten; SGA, all five seasons).

Thus far, stations in three major cities have picked up the new show: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Stations in other cities are most likely not far behind.

Here’s the announcement from WCIU in Chicago from their The Dog Blog:

Meanwhile, WCIU has also picked up weekly science fiction drama Stargate: Universe from MGM, with the clearance rate for the off-cable weekly drama currently at 65 percent, with WPIX-TV in New York and KCAL-TV in Los Angeles also on board for airing this fall.

New episodes of Stargate: Universe are currently running on SyFy. Stargate: Universe is the fourth television series in the Stargate franchise, often rivaling arch nemesis Star Trek for most spin-offs, films, and sequels from a science fiction program. The other three television series are Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Infinity, a short-lived animated version of the series (which ironically, isn’t connected with the live-action series or the films of the Stargate franchise.)

So, viewers will be seeing Season One of Stargate Universe in syndication at around the same time that Season Two premieres on Syfy this fall.

A reminder: SGU will return to Syfy with the second half of Season One on April 2.

According to Stargate Universe executive producer Joseph Mallozzi in his weblog, filming for Season Two will begin with the fourth episode “Pathogen” “a week from Wednesday” (March 10).

“Pathogen” is written by Carl Binder and will be directed by a “special guest director.”

Casting for the episode has most likely already started, since we’ve seen the audition sides for Ginn and Simeon (spoilers at this link), which have been recently released. At least one of these characters will have a multi-episode arc at the start of the new season.

The second half of Season One has yet to air, so it’s difficult to talk about returning cast members without going into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, there is a high probability that we’ll be seeing all of the members of the main cast return to the Vancouver sets for filming.

And speaking of the sets, the set tour usually scheduled by Creation Entertainment for their yearly Vancouver convention has been cancelled. The reason: the Atlantis and SG-1 standing sets have been altered to make room for Universe. Fans have taken this move to mean that this spells the end of hope of ever filming the Stargate Extinction and Stargate Revolution movies that have already been scripted, but not given the green light to begin filming. To this Mallozzi responded, “Many have weighed in with their assumptions on if and when the movies will be made and, at this point, given that we’ve received no official word either way, all I could add to debate is more conjecture. Suffice it to say I’d love to see both go into production, especially Stargate: Extinction since Paul and I have already written the script and are slated to produced it. As for the sets – the SG-1 set was struck to make room for Icarus Base while other stage space has been freed up in order to create more Destiny sets (as our heroes will eventually discover cool new sections of the ship).”

It should be slightly encouraging to the fans that the Stargate franchise still has these sets to use. Mallozzi has pointed out in the past, “Just because the SGC isn’t there now doesn’t mean it can’t be for the movie.” This probably goes for the Atlantis set and movie as well.

In the meantime, the countdown is getting closer to zero as the second half of Season One will begin on Syfy with “Space” on April 2.