8803 replies to this topic

[Wyldemusick]

Stargate: Universe gets the go-ahead.

Basically: someone figures out what the ninth chevron is all about, and the usual motley assortment end up on an Ancient/Alteran starship. According to information posted in various places, Destiny is a follow-up craft sent out by the Ancients, who had previously launched a ship to seed stargates. Exactly what the premise is now, beyond the ship, is unknown, given that details often change wildly before production actually begins.

The current plan is for a two-hour pilot movie sometime in the spring (presumably after the Atlantis movie), with a series starting in the summer.

[buttersister]

So they're cut off from Earth (sound familiar?) but appearances by former cast members from SG-1 and Atlantis are very possible. Bite me, Skiffy.

[HauntedBathroom]

Oh hooray. After SG1 limped on for three years too long, and Atlantis never really got started, Sci Fi are foisting another spin off on the world. I'd hope this one will benefit from having the producers absolute attention, but this:

So they're cut off from Earth (sound familiar?) but appearances by former cast members from SG-1 and Atlantis are very possible.

does not bode well. After they've finished biting buttersister, it's my turn.

[Bruinsfan]

So the cast members from Stargate SG-1 and SGA will be able to get back to Earth or Atlantis after their guest starring episodes—repeatedly—but each time there will be a new contrived reason for the new show's cast to be left behind? Is this thing going to star Robert Beltran and Jeri Ryan?

Edited by Bruinsfan, Aug 22, 2008 @ 10:01 AM.

[cutecouple]

Great, a traveling Gilligan's Island.

[Cynthia187]

I think I'm gonna pass on this one.

[pennyq]

I'm guessing they mean that former cast members will show up in the initial pilot before they're not able to return to Earth or Atlantis. Yes, kind of like the beginning of Voyager when they were at Deep Space Nine. Or maybe they can't get back but can still communicate?

While the striking similarities don't bode well, Voyager's premise wasn't really the problem. It was the execution that had issues.

[cutecouple]

Or lack thereof.

[ShirleyFeeney]

My brother says that the speculation is that Hailey is going to be in charge of the motley assortment.
But he is my brother and it is his duty to make my life as unpleasant as possible so there is a good chance he is making that up.

[cutecouple]

Who's Hailey?

[pennyq]

Hailey was that annoying cadet from Prodigy and Proving Ground that Sam brought into the Stargate program because she was really really smart.

More information about the show

The series was pitched to SCI FI Channel last fall, just before the writer's strike -- which put a hold on the project. "The pitch was received very well," Wright said. "[But] we pitched an expensive series -- the idea we have is not cheap. I think we've proven ourselves, so ... 'Can we please have enough money to do it right this time?' And, if not, then honestly I don't want to do it. Why do it wrong?"

When the show does begin, Wright believes that it has to both move the franchise forward to attract new viewers, and remain true to the established formula. "It has to feel like Stargate, and it has to feel new. That's the tight rope, that's the balance you have to maintain, and that's the challenge.

"To put it in its simplest terms, if we had ever just done SG-2as a series it would never have worked. It's not the C.S.I. model."

I'm kind of an optimist, but it really does sound like they want to do this right and aren't just putting out a new series for the hell of it.

Edited by pennyq, Aug 22, 2008 @ 10:37 AM.

[Aurelian]

I said it in the Stargate Atlantis thread, but I think if they're going to have a "legacy" character the same way SGA had Weir and McKay, I think Lorne would be the perfect choice. Kavan Smith seems to enjoy working on the shows and Lorne has been a great character that fans like that definitely has room to be fleshed out more.

Edited by Aurelian, Aug 22, 2008 @ 10:51 AM.

[Jenazz]

Add me to the Bite Me line.

I have a little more faith in BW than some of the other PTB, but combine that with a complete & utter lack of faith in Skiffy. Who's running them these days, Fox?

Will wait & see...

[Senator X]

So far it sounds like a traveling Atlantis. I'd love a truly lost from Earth premise because it can explore how our Heroes lose their humanity as they fend from themselves. Of course, judging from Atlantis, they'll figure out the 9th Chevron by the end of season 1 and we'll be seeing Walter and Dr. Lee guest appearances by mid S2.

[Zengar]

Aurelian that's exactly what I came here to say. I would be very happy if they bring Lorne over.

For me it looks like the writers know that SGA has stagnated, ie not bringing new viewers, but they still believe in the SG brand so they make a new sequel but bring in whoever they think will attract viewers.

I think fleshing out new series of the same franchise every few years might just be the solution Sci-Fi needs. Show like SG1 that lasts 10 years is thing in the past. Are they going to hire the same writers from SGA?

[beckyg]

So they're cut off from Earth (sound familiar?) but appearances by former cast members from SG-1 and Atlantis are very possible.

Which means we'll get one Very Special Episode with guest star Dr. Rodney McKay, an alternate universe/timeline episode with Dr. Rodney McKay, and in Episode 11, someone will mention Jack O'Neill and "the time a very similar thing happened to SG-1."

*sigh*

I want to be optimistic, but I just ain't feeling it.

[Aurelian]

One problem with the whole being cut off thing is that if it's simply a starship flying around is that at this point Earth has its battlecruisers which have the ability to travel to other galaxies fairly quickly, so they'll need to deal with how they simply don't fly the Daedalus over and beam people in and out.

Or will that be how they bring in the crossovers?

[Senator X]

More from Gateworld

The producers are reportedly looking to cast a known actor for one of the leading roles, and fresh faces to round out the cast. This would follow the pattern of SG-1, which earned a lot of marketability from leading man Richard Dean Anderson when it premiered in 1997, rather than the largely unknown cast of Atlantis.

The new series will also be aimed at a slightly younger audience, SCI FI president Dave Howe said.

"This is an opportunity to reinvent this franchise and make it relevant to a new generation," he said. "We really don't want to be more of the same. It's going to build clearly off the existing franchise but with a cast that gives it a younger vibe."

"In Universe, we plan to keep those elements that have made the franchise a success, such as adventure and humor, while breaking new ground in the relationships between mostly young and desperate explorers, thrust together and far from home,"

Younger eh? My first thoughts went to the young version of SG-1 in "200."

TEAL'C: Yo Wonderbread, you dial that gate yet?!

Let the casting speculation begin. For a known actor I was going to say Michael Beach's Col. Ellis would be a choice. But if they're going younger. I'd like to see a minority in the lead, like a Poor Man's Will Smith or Tyrese.

Good news is the article said it'll be more space-based action. Yay! Space ships. Let's face it, the production team excels better at CGI space effects and spaceship set design than they do at dressing up the BC woods and building Shakespeare in the park villages.

[comfortablynumb]

Now, now, now. Let's not jump to any erroneous conclusions without thinking about this through especially if this becomes true...

the speculation is that Hailey is going to be in charge of the motley assortment.

because Hailey on a ship that never returns to Earth or possibly this galaxy and may never be seen again has potential. Now if we could put Felger on the same ship we could have what could potentially be the highest rated episode of Stargate. You know, when the ship is finally destroyed at the end of the movie in a blaze of glory by the aliens they have ultimately offended. The series would be short but satisfying.

Or I could just be projecting my wishes onto the to writing staff.

Yeah, unless that's the scenario, I don't know if I'll be watching this. It doesn't fill me with enthusiasm right now.

[ChelseaMcQ]

Wish List:
New writers
Good casting
No special appearances after the Pilot.
Don't be Voyager

[Cynthia187]

but with a cast that gives it a younger vibe."

Why do I keep thinking of '90210/Gossip Girl' in space?

[cutecouple]

If the writers/showrunners are the same as SG-1/SG-A, the show's doomed.

Edited by cutecouple, Aug 22, 2008 @ 11:45 AM.

[Aurelian]

Wait....younger? Familiar face?

I'm calling it now: Jewel Staite's Dr. Keller is the lead.

Which....now, I'm not as negative about the character as most people here are, but I definitely agree that Keller isn't quite so much a character right now as simply a chance for the writers to play around and exalt in the fact that they were able to cast JS.

[ShirleyFeeney]

but with a cast that gives it a younger vibe."

Why do I keep thinking of '90210/Gossip Girl' in space?

Awesome. I would totally watch that.

because Hailey on a ship that never returns to Earth or possibly this galaxy and may never be seen again has potential. Now if we could put Felger on the same ship we could have what could potentially be the highest rated episode of Stargate. You know, when the ship is finally destroyed at the end of the movie in a blaze of glory by the aliens they have ultimately offended. The series would be short but satisfying.

And Pete was a stowaway. Jonas was Chief Engineer. Gary Jones was the galley technician. And Freya was on board just because I want her blown to bits. Excellent. I like the show already.

[Senator X]

Gateworld has yet another article from Scifi.com

Universe will attempt to appeal to a broader audience, drawing new viewers into the Stargate world. The show will be "a little more character-based, a little less rooted in a sci-fi mythology," co-creator Brad Wright told GateWorld. "It really does come down to characters and stories that are engaging, and that people want to see -- that they feel like they haven't seen before."

Am I reading this right? Less technobabble more character-based. This isn't Star Trek: Voyager, it's Enterprise. That was Bermaga's promise back in 2001.

Wright & Cooper will be the showrunners, not Mallozzi and Mullie.

[beckyg]

And Pete was a stowaway. Jonas was Chief Engineer. Gary Jones was the galley technician. And Freya was on board just because I want her blown to bits. Excellent. I like the show already.

SF, that would be the best show ever! I'd even record it, just so I could watch it over and over again.

[kzoogal]

The new series will also be aimed at a slightly younger audience, SCI FI president Dave Howe said.

Younger eh?

Bite me, Skiffy.

What they said. I never thought I'd become a gray panther quite so early in life, but Skiffy is just being so obnoxious in their drive to, um, drive away anyone in their loyal fanbase over the age of 15.

[Jenazz]

TEAL'C: Yo Wonderbread, you dial that gate yet?!

Why do I keep thinking of '90210/Gossip Girl' in space?

And add in One Tree Hill. Yeah, I'm pretty sure our minds all went to the same place. And I'm pretty sure I'm not their target audience (don't care what my friends insist, 40 is not young!).

"a little more character-based, a little less rooted in a sci-fi mythology,"

More and more like 200 all the time! Er, what exactly makes this sci-fi? Oh that's right, they'll be talking about their feelings on a spaceship!

All right, I shouldn't be so negative so early. Just would have been nice to have something to look forward to. OTOH, that's more money I can spend on TSCC dvds! Hey, there's a bright side already!

Edited by Jenazz, Aug 22, 2008 @ 12:45 PM.

[Ranee]

I'm calling it now: Jewel Staite's Dr. Keller is the lead.

Wouldn't surprise me & I'd welcome it - particularly since it will give me the perfect excuse not to watch the show (can't stand Keller) & possibly also put a canon end to the whole McKeller nonsense.

[stillshimpy]

When I first read this --

According to information posted in various places, Destiny is a follow-up craft sent out by the Ancients, who had previously launched a ship to seed stargates.

I thought it meant that it would be a ship with Alterans on it, so ages ago. Considering that Alterans/Ancients were arrogant jackasses when full grown, I was ready to recoil in horror from the thought of the younger versions that hadn't had a chance to mellow with age. I take that isn't going to be the case, thank goodness.

I'll check it out when it airs, I have a hard time imagining Cooper and Wright creating a younger, hipper set of characters. It is interesting that they want to create a show for people completely unlike themselves.