Author: DeeKayP

Producers talk about Season Nine and how it will end

With all the excitement going on right now concerning Stargate SG-1‘s placement in the ratings, it comes as no surprise that talk has started concerning whether or not the show will be renewed for a record-breaking tenth season.

SG-1‘s first two episodes, “Avalon Part 1” and “Avalon Part 2”, both rated at 2.1. Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi stated recently in his GateWorld Blog that they are pleased with the show’s standings. Mallozzi has consistently insisted that it will be the fans who will determine if the show is renewed, based on the ratings. “There is no way of knowing whether we’ll be doing another season until the ratings are in. The audience has the final say on that one.”

When asked how high the ratings need to be in order to get renewed, Mallozzi said, “That really depends. 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.”

It may or may not be too early to tell if the show will be renewed based on two weeks’ worth of ratings, but executive producer and show-runner Robert C. Cooper has emphatically stated that they are finished with writing “The End” as if thinking that the current season will be the last season, something that they’ve been doing since Season Five.

Currently, they are producing and prepping episodes which will air in the second half of the season. Through Mallozzi’s Q&A thread and Blog at GateWorld, fans have been kept informed at where things stand as far as episodes go. Currently, we’re aware of 18 of the 20 episodes to air this season. That leaves two episodes which might be reserved for a two-part season finale.

So, how are they going to approach the end of this season? Will it all be wrapped up in a neat package and ended once again like Season Eight?

Attendees at the recent Comic Con held in San Diego (July 14-17) have reported that executive producers Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright say that Season Nine will end in a cliffhanger. When asked to confirm these reports, Joseph Mallozzi stated in his Q&A thread at GateWorld, “We won’t get definite word about a renewal until well after the season finale has been written. Cliffhanger it is.”

Stargate SG-1 Solutions Season Nine Episode Guides
GateWorld

9.14 “Stronghold”

Summary

Members of the Jaffa High Council are showing unusual behavior and an old enemy, thought dead, is revealed to be behind it. Meanwhile, one of Mitchell’s old friends is about to die after having saved Mitchell’s life and wishes to know about the top-secret work that Mitchell is doing in order to make his death easier to face.

Details

It was thought that Ba’al was dead (most likely after the events of 9.07 “Ex Deus Machina”), but he is secretly subverting the members of the Jaffa High Council through a program of torture and brainwashing. An elderly member of the Jaffa High Council, Maz’rai, a strong proponent of democracy, uncharacteristically betrays Bra’tac by voting against Bra’tac’s cause. Once Maz’rai realizes that he has been brainwashed, he tries to undo it through the Rite of M’al Sharran which results in his own death.

Gerak is gone, some believing him to be a martyr, after sacrificing himself to save many lives as he stood in defiance of the Ori who killed him. Some believe he had ascended and doubt Bra’tac’s words as he was the only witness to Gerak’s death. (His story arc ended in 9.10-9.11 “The Fourth Horseman”.) Yat’yir, Gerak’s lieutenant, is now pushing his own agenda, leaning toward support of the Ori.

And now, after the brainwashing is revealed, Teal’c has gone missing. Daniel and Carter investigate.

Meanwhile, an old “top gun” pilot friend of Mitchell’s, Maj. Bryce Ferguson, is dying from a wound he suffered four years ago in North Korea saving Mitchell’s life. Knowing that he is about to die, he asks Mitchell to breach his security clearances and tell him about his top-secret work, feeling that knowing about it will make his death easier to face. Mitchell’s cover story about his injuries from the Antarctic battle were that he went down in a test flight, but Ferguson doesn’t buy it. His investigations have led him to the conclusion that Mitchell was flying a human-built alien-hybrid fighter against an alien armada in Antarctica. Ferguson doesn’t buy the story about the bomb that went off in an office building in Seattle (“Ex Deus Machina”), nor the one about the influenza outbreak that swept the globe (“The Fourth Horseman”).

Carter and Mitchell discuss the possibility of disclosure. She tells him about her father and Pete Shanahan. Mitchell tells Ferguson about the Stargate Program, feeling that it would have been Ferguson who would have made it to the F-302 Program and not him if Ferguson had not taken the shrapnel that will eventually kill him (inoperable brain aneurism). Afterwards, Mitchell joins his team to search for Teal’c.

Locations: Dakara, Ba’al’s mothership, Colorado Springs VA Hospital, U’kin’s homeworld

Characters

Guest/mentioned characters include: Maj. Bryce Ferguson, Maz’rai, Ba’al, Bra’tac, Kal’el (Ka’lel), Til’vak, U’kin, Yat’yir, Dr. Kelly

Production Credits

Written by Alan McCullough
Directed by Peter DeLuise
Before cameras 8/5 – 8/15

Note that all spoilers are subject to change before the finished episode is produced.

9.14 “Stronghold” Episode Guide

Ba’al’ll Be Back!

Cliff Simon keeps in touch with his fans on his Galaxy of Stars Message Board. Recently, he wrote, “Thanks for the compliments and I hope my role gets even bigger.”

Ba’al has become one of the last of the System Lords left alive after their major defeat at the end of Season Eight. In “Ex Deus Machina”, he has hidden himself away on Earth, but his method of hiding is definitely different: he becomes a big-time corporate head! And, he’s got a bomb! It’s a race to find him to not only keep his bomb from going off, but to keep the relations between the Free Jaffa and Tau’ri friendly.

So, how does it end? We’re not sure, but one interesting bit of information was provided by Simon, “Anyway, we have some exciting season 9 eps ahead which I start working on soon, so keep watching.” It sounds like Ba’al makes another successful break for it and remains a thorn in the galaxy’s side.

Simon concludes his note, “It’s up to the fans to keep my character alive…so keep those forum discussions going.”

Discussions can be found on our SG1Solutions Forum
9.07 “Ex Deus Machina” Episode Guide

Script Coordinator Alex Levine shares his trade secrets in SciFi.com blog

Fire! In an upcoming scene in Avalon Pt. 2, our fearless SG-1 Stunt Coordinator Dan Shea caught on fire! Yep, it’s true. A wider shot selection forced him out of his fire-retardant garb so he could be in the shot and near the ‘burn’ (the fire-stunt). When Dan went to put the ‘bridge’ down over the flames to let the actress out of the ring of fire, the fire was accidentally blown toward him and he caught on fire. Stop, drop and roll! Thankfully he wasn’t hurt.

Factoid: the village from Avalon Pt. 2 is entirely within our Effects stage — it’s not outside at all. There will be a behind the scenes featurette called ‘It Takes a Crew to Raise a Village’ on the DVD’s for season 9, which, among other interesting things, shows the village being built via time-lapse photography.

Oh, speaking of dirt. If you’re thinking the Stargate powers that be don’t pay enough attention to detail, you’ll be amazed to learn that the network took issue with the color of the dirt in the village set. Thankfully, the matter was resolved. The producers and the network settled on brown. Now that’s keeping it real.

Alex Levine’s July 20th Blog Entry: “Keeping it real…” (Atlantis spoilers present as well)