Posted by Joshua Tyler | Published
The 1990s were the golden age of science fiction, but even with a decade of endless beauty, no one in 1994 thought that the big movie of the year 15 would become the basis of sci-fi shows for decades. But that’s exactly what happened The Stargate.
For a time, Stargate appeared to be on the verge of challenging Star Trek and Star Wars for geek franchise supremacy, until it was torn apart by Hollywood executives determined to turn it into something else. When the fans rebelled, it ended everything, and now, after 15 years, this famous sci-fi franchise may finally be back.
That’s why Stargate Atlantis failed.
The Perfect Spinoff
Set during and after the events of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis following an international expedition that discovers the lost city of Atlantis. The legend is true, but the city is not on Earth. Instead, it is a place built and abandoned long ago by powerful Ancients in the distant Pegasus Galaxy.
Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and scientist Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Tori Higginson) leads the team to explore the city and restore it to working order. Along with the group there is Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and the main cast, which will be in season 2, even included Jason Momoa before fame.
Rodney McKay Is One Of The Best Sci-Fi Actors
We have to stop here to talk about how great David Hewlett’s performance as Rodney is. Without a doubt, he is the best character in Stargate, but he is also one of the best characters in science fiction. If Stargate Atlantis given the respect they deserve, it will be mentioned alongside the best science fiction characters like The Doctor, Garak, Data, and maybe even Spock.
Rodney McKay is arrogant, impatient, and openly dismissive of anyone he deems less intelligent, but he’s also someone everyone can count on when things go wrong, which they always do. Despite his brutal personality, he develops over the course of the series, showing honesty, courage, and flashes of true humility. The core of the character is a contradiction: self-centered but reliable, cowardly but repeatedly heroic, and deeply insecure beneath his arrogance.
Every second of Rodney on screen in the show is instantly entertaining. If every episode was David Hewlett on screen for 41 minutes, that would work, but the cast is a great ensemble.
Stagate Atlantis Was Killed While Succeeding
The Stargate franchise was firing on all cylinders, doing everything it could to make it feel like a cohesive, interconnected universe. It worked, and the fans loved it.
Stargate Atlantis was a favorite of The Sci-Fi Channel, back in the days before it changed its name to the lowercase “SYFY” with two Ys. It was receiving significant recognition as well, in the form of four Emmy nominations.
Stargate’s flagship series, Stargate SG-1at this point, it was off the air, but the franchise seemed to be in good hands Stargate Atlantis. Then, out of nowhere, it was canceled at the end of season 5.
Surprisingly, for the cable sci-fi series, the crew was allowed to end the show on their own terms, providing a satisfying ending. It’s important that Atlantis has a clear ending, so for any new viewers worried about another classic sci-fi cliffhanger, don’t worry about it. However, ending it after five seasons was not the original plan for the show, nor was it what the producers really wanted.
Blame for Show Cancellation
The premature end of the show is partly my fault, and partly the fault of people like me. It’s only in the past few years that I’ve returned to the world of Stargate. I watched SG-1 religiously when it plays, but to my shame, when Stargate Atlantis it was there first, I didn’t pay attention to it; I was busy with Battlestar Galactica. In the days before easy streaming, catching everything on TV was difficult, and sometimes viewing habits were shaped by where you were available to watch it. Many choose Battlestar Galactica.
The people in charge noticed. The people at SyFy Channel and Stargate’s production company, MGM, are apparently doing the same thing. They choose Battlestar Galacticaagain. In fact, they are very impressed BSG that they decided to turn the Stargate into.
Never mind that Stargate had almost nothing to do with it Battlestar Galacticathe superiors decided that was their direction. So, in 2009, SyFy and MGM were canceled Stargate Atlantis after five seasons.
Turning Stargate into Battlestar Galactica
The show’s ratings were still strong, and so was the response. But network administrators don’t want to Stargate Atlantis and, so the series was closed, and all those resources were transferred to the development of a new program called The Stargate Universe.
The Stargate Universe it would essentially abandon all the Stargate shows it had spent decades creating. It was installed on a lost alien ship, without contact with the main world of the Stargate.
It didn’t work. Stargate fans were outraged when their favorite show was canceled when it first premiered and even more outraged when it was replaced with what appeared to be exactly what it was: a cheap attempt to cash in on the success of an entirely different science fiction venture.
While talking about a Stargate Atlantis a straight-to-DVD movie, like the one it was produced for Stargate SG-1it never happened. Those plans were canceled when MGM went bankrupt in 2010, killing off funding for other productions.
Why Stargate Fans Quit
These many broken promises and tonal changes have made Stargate fans lose hope in Stargate as a franchise. Many have refused to offer a new plan, The Stargate Universeopportunity. Although it improved over time, the series never got enough support from the classics Stargate Atlantis viewers to match the ratings of that show. I Stargate Atlantis the audience felt they had been stabbed in the back, and, understandably, did not show support.
Stargate Universe lasted two seasons before it was canceled as well. The Stargate TV franchise, which had been going strong for decades and for a long time seemed on the verge of taking over Star Trek as the biggest geek franchise, died too. All because greedy Hollywood executives refuse to accept the success of Stargate Atlantis.
Stargate Rises from the Ashes of Atlantis
Now, fifteen years later, work has begun to bring Stargate back, with a new broadcast series. It is not a restart, but a continuation. Joseph Mallozzi, and many other originals Stargate Atlantis creative team, is involved.
That’s Hollywood’s tacit admission Stargate Atlantis it should never have been canceled in the first place. Maybe it’s not too late to right that wrong. At a time when scripted sci-fi television is on the wane, it may be Stargate that saves us all.
