Author: DeeKayP

Ratings for First Half of Season Nine

SG-1 held fairly steady in the ratings

Stargate SG-1

Stargate SG-1 ended its summer season on the SciFi Channel on September 16 and held impressive ratings for a show in its ninth season and with major cast changes, as well as a permanent move to the 8PM Eastern timeslot. The show kicks off SciFi Channel’s highly competitive “SciFi Friday” line-up which includes spin-off Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica, both programs of which are in their second seasons.

Joseph Mallozzi, executive producer and writer, has stated that ratings are a major factor in considering renewals, “When we moved to SciFi Channel, we were hoping for 1.5 – 1.7 average and ended up with slightly higher. After the SciFi Channel expanded its viewer base, we expected those numbers to drop slightly but, instead, they inched higher. Last year, we were hitting 2.0’s, 2.1’s, 2.2’s consistently. If that keeps up, I would think chances are good – but who knows. There are other variables that go into making that sort of decision – [chiefest] of which is the economic viability of continuing to produce the show. In the end, if it becomes a money-losing proposition, then the plug will be pulled. However, if DVD sales are any indication, the show seems to be doing alright in that respect.”

The following are the ratings for the 8PM Eastern first-run airings of each episode in the first half of Season Nine:

9.01 “Avalon Part 1” 2.1
9.02 “Avalon Part 2” 2.1
9.03 “Origin Part 3” 2.0
9.04 “The Ties That Bind” 2.0
9.05 “The Powers That Be” 2.0
9.06 “Beachhead” 1.9
9.07 “Ex Deus Machina” 1.9
9.08 “Babylon” 2.0
9.09 “Prototype” and
9.10 “The Fourth Horseman Part 1”   1.8

As of September 17, the producers are still awaiting news whether or not SG-1 will see a record-breaking tenth season.

Season Nine Episode Guides
SciFi.com’s Stargate SG-1 Page

[Ratings information obtained through the SciFi Channel and Gateworld.]

S9 Spoilers: "Crusade" Casting

9.19 CRUSADE: Casting

Daniella EvangelistaDaniella Evangelista has been cast in the role of DENYA in the upcoming episode, “Crusade”, written, directed, and produced by Robert C. Cooper, according to her official website. “Crusade” is the first part of the Season Nine two-part season finale (to be followed by “Camelot”).

When casting the part of Denya, producers were looking for an actress in the age range of 22-25 who was also beautiful. Evangelista was born 20 September 1982, according to her biography in the Internet Movie Database site, and started her career at the age of four. Her first acting job was at the age of five in the film Lies from Lotus Land, playing opposite Michael J. Fox, while most of her early work was done as a model and in commercials.

The episode’s character Denya is a prostitute who works as a barmaid in a village on the planet to which Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black) was sent when her matter stream was captured during the Ori’s attempt to establish a foothold in the Milky Way Galaxy (9.06 “Beachhead”). Vala and Denya become friends who are able to talk to each other woman-to-woman, and Denya is instrumental in getting Vala involved with the Anti-Ori cause which aims to destroy a fleet of spaceships carrying tens of thousands of soldiers to the Milky Way.

“Crusade” is scheduled to be before the cameras through September 27th.

IMDB for Evangelista
Daniella Evangelista’s Website
9.19 “Crusade” Episode Guide

S9 Spoilers: "Crusade"

Working real life into story arcs

Alex Levine, script coordinator, has revealed in his blog on SciFi.com that Claudia Black is expecting a baby! Her pregnancy was worked into the Stargate SG-1 story arc for her character Vala Mal Doran in the episode “Crusade” because the producers and SciFi wanted Vala to return this season!

In “Crusade”, written by Robert C. Cooper, Vala is stranded in the Ori’s home galaxy and is pregnant without having had sexual intercourse. She believes that the Ori have something to do with it, but puts her condition aside in order to warn Earth about the fleet of ten Ori spaceships which will be sent to the Milky Way Galaxy in order to convert humanity to Origin or destroy them for their refusal.

No word on when Black’s baby is due, but Levine says that the nature of Vala’s pregnancy will not be explored until Season Ten, “if there is a Season 10.”

See the full blog entry at SciFi.com
9.19 “Crusade Part 1” Episode Guide

[Thanks to ShardsGlass for the tip — DeeKayP]

SciFi Unofficially Announces Renewals

‘Battlestar Galactica,’ ‘Atlantis’ To See Third Seasons

Author: Wayne Hall
Date: 09-11-2005
Source: SyFy Portal

How much confidence does SciFi Channel have in two of its three top shows? Enough to pretty much give them a go-ahead for a third season.

Sources at SciFi Channel are reporting that SciFi has unofficially decided to award both “Battlestar Galactica” and “Stargate: Atlantis” third-season pickups. The news was shared by SyFy Portal’s Michael Hinman during a guest appearance on Sci-Fi Saturday Night on New Hampshire’s 610 WGIR.

During the show, Hinman — who appeared by telephone in the show’s final hour — said he had received unconfirmed reports that the third-season pickups have been decided. SciFi normally does not announce fate of shows during the first half of the seasons, which end this month. No word has been received on the fate of “Stargate: SG-1,” but many industry insiders feel that the SciFi stalwart will see an unprecedented 10th season next summer.

“Battlestar Galactica” aired for the first time on SciFi in January for an extended half-season run, quickly earning a second season after strong ratings that beat out even new episodes of “Star Trek: Enterprise” on UPN. The show is in the middle of its second season, still enjoying strong ratings despite some audience erosion seen across the board. It stars Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, and has been critically-acclaimed in the mainstream media.

“Atlantis” is a spinoff of “SG-1,” and also has enjoyed strong ratings since its debut in Summer 2004. It airs at 9 p.m. ET, just before “Galactica,” on SciFi.

Both series will end their first-half season run this month, and will return for new episodes in January.

SyFy Portal News Item

[Thanks to morjana for the tip — DeeKayP]

SciFi: Mini Season Nine Marathon Sep 6

Catch up on Season Nine and get ready to pick it up with new episodes on Friday

Viewers who have missed the start of Season Nine on the SciFi Channel will get another shot to pick up the series as it continues to air new episodes on Friday, September 9.

A marathon of all of the Season Nine episodes shown to-date will be aired on Tuesday, September 6, starting at 7PM Eastern. This follows the regular 6PM showing of an episode from Seasons One through Six.

All times are Eastern:

  • 07:00 PM – 9.01 Avalon – Pt 1
  • 08:00 PM – 9.02 Avalon – Pt 2
  • 09:00 PM – 9.03 Origin
  • 10:00 PM – 9.04 The Ties That Bind
  • 11:00 PM – 9.05 The Powers That Be
  • 12:00 AM – 9.06 Beachhead
  • 01:00 AM – 9.07 Ex Deus Machina

Solutions Season Nine Episode Guides

New Opening Credits Debut in January

The return of the full opening credits is announced

Joseph Mallozzi was one of the first to admit that the new shortened opening credit sequences for both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis were not a good idea. Fan reaction on the various forums indicate that many see the opening credits adding to the shows and building the excitement. Today, in his Q&A thread at GateWorld, Mallozzi announced this exciting news: “Good news. Brand new (long version) opening credit sequences for both shows will be airing with the back half of both series in January. Watch for ’em.”

The decision to cut the opening credits to 10 seconds each was made by the SciFi Channel in order to add more time for advertising. The actual length of each episode did not change. Ironically, right after the announcement was made that the opening credits had been reduced, it was announced that Joel Goldsmith’s sweeping theme for Stargate Atlantis was nominated for an Emmy!

[Thanks to Aurora for the tip — DeeKayP]

S9 SPOILERS: "Arthur's Mantle"

9.18 ARTHUR’S MANTLE

Summary

Mitchell and Carter are sent into another dimension after activating a personal cloaking device. While Daniel leads an investigation to find his missing teammates, Mitchell and Carter decide to use the technology to their advantage by pursuing a similarly cloaked assassin on the Sodan homeworld. It just so happens that Teal’c is trapped on the same planet after the assassin’s attack and has also decided to pursue the assassin with his own personal cloak.

Details

Mitchell and Carter disappear! The security cameras at the base recorded their last location, then, suddenly, they were gone.

Teal’c and Major Hadden’s team, SG-9, have gone to the Sodan homeworld and encountered a massacre at the Stargate. They transport to the Sodan’s hideaway using the codes given to Col. Mitchell after he gained their trust (“Babylon”). When they arrive, they are shocked and stunned to find that someone has burnt the village to the ground and killed several Jaffa there. Someone who knew the codes to the transporter had to have done this.

Teal’c examines some of the dead Jaffa and realizes that whoever did the deed knew the best way to kill a Jaffa — targeting the symbiote. They discover Haikon still alive, but his symbiote is dead. Quickly, they decide to administer tretonin to save his life.

Back at the SGC, Mitchell and Carter realize that they are phased out similar to the way that Daniel was several years ago after the process of looking into the Crystal Skull was interrupted (“Crystal Skull”). While Mitchell tries to get over the shock of what has happened to him, Daniel leads the investigation to find them.

Maj. Hadden and Teal’c realize that they have become stranded on Sodan because the obelisk housing the transporter has been damaged. Unable to get back to the Stargate, Hadden becomes uneasy and grows fatalistic. They’ve discovered that it was Volnek (“Babylon”) who attacked the village. Teal’c decides to use one of the Sodan personal cloaking devices to track down Volnek, who is also using one. They will be able to see each other when their cloaks are activated.

Mitchell and Carter watch as Daniel makes progress in his investigation and soon they learn about what Volnek has done. Convinced that they are invincible, Mitchell decides to go after Volnek while still invisible…

Guest Characters

SGC: Major Hadden of SG-9; SG-9 members Lt. McKenzie, Conway, Stevens; Dr. Bill Lee.
Sodan: Volnek, Haikon.

Production

Written by: Alan McCullough
Directed by: Peter DeLuise
Before Cameras: September 15-23

Spoilers are subject to change as the episode is still in production.

“Arthur’s Mantle” Episode Guide

S9 SPOILERS: "Crusade" and "Camelot"

“That Character” Returns

BeachheadExecutive Producer Joseph Mallozzi has been teasing fans on his Q&A thread and blog at GateWorld that Robert C. Cooper’s “Crusade” will see the return of “THAT CHARACTER”. Speculation ran high that this character was Vala Mal Doran. Those attending the convention in Chicago this past weekend said that Michael Shanks said that Vala would return in the nineteenth episode. Now, Matt Roush, TV critic at TV Guide, has done the rest of the investigation for us and, based on all of this information, we may expect that Vala will appear in the two-part cliffhanger, “Crusade” and “Camelot”:

Question: I love your column! Is the character of Vala on Stargate SG-1 now a permanent cast member? I think she is a great addition to the cast, and I hope she isn’t gone forever (after last week’s episode). I think she adds more fun to SG-1 and would love to see her again. — Niki

Matt Roush: As I asked around about this, I dug up a little scoop that Claudia Black, who plays Vala, will return for two episodes in the back half of SG-1’s season, to air in the winter. I agree that she’s a blast, even if some of the show’s longtime fans seem disgruntled that other characters were marginalized during the Vala-Daniel Jackson arc, including new cast member Ben Browder. (For all those Farscape fans who’ve been writing in to grouse that Browder has been underutilized, I’ve been assured that he’ll be more prominent in upcoming episodes.) As for Vala’s becoming a permanent fixture, that would have to wait for next season, if then, and there’s not even a deal in place yet for a 10th season (although I have no reason to doubt there will be one).

Filming for Season Nine will end October 17. Producers are hoping that they’ll be announcing a record-breaking tenth season soon since they’ll be leaving their audience with a cliffhanger at the end of this season.

Ask Matt at TV Guide
Solutions Season Nine Episode Guides
[Thanks to Eliza Cat for the tip — DeeKayP]

Cinescape Grades "Beachhead"

“No such thing as too big…”

BeachheadColumnist Jason Davis gave "Beachhead" a grade of "B". He praised the building up of the Ori story over the first few episodes: “Surely, the display of power offered in this installment presented some idea of the scope that things will take as the series continues. The Ori are clearly a formidable opponent for Stargate Command and their existence creates many unanswered questions to explore as the series progresses.”

Davis enjoyed the character moments given to Vala, Mitchell, Landry, and Nerus, and made special mention of the music of Joel Goldsmith: “Though Vala’s innuendo-laden humor is gone, the growing power of the Ori seems fit to take the season into darker territory and the score for "Beachhead," particularly the teaser, proves that the composer is up for the challenge.”

Davis, however, erroneously concludes that the reduced opening credits are meant to give the program more time to tell the story (Joseph Mallozzi has stated that the episodes are not longer with the reduction of the opening credits to 10 seconds): “Speaking of music, now might be a good moment to consider the abbreviation of the opening titles. A bold alteration of format, it suggests that the show is a well-known commodity no longer needing a weekly introduction while simultaneously salvaging a few extra minutes in which to tell the week’s story.”

Read the whole review at Cinescape.com
Solutions Episode Guide for “Beachhead”

[Thanks to SueB45 for the tip — DeeKayP]