By Kate Blake- Admin, MV
The SCI-FI Channel and MGM announced today that when SGA ends its fifth season run in January they will be moving the series to movies like the original series SG-1 has done. This is not a decision being made by SCIFI, but one being made by the producers of SGA and MGM. The plan is for a BSG like program where the new SGA movies will be broadcast on SCIFI then released to DVD immediately.
SGA has undergone some major casting changes in the last couple of years and some current cast members have said they are about ready to wrap the show up. The producers are still behind the franchise and had this to say in a press release “We’re excited to tell Atlantis stories on a bigger canvas. The successes of the two original Stargate DTV movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers. We have plans for both SG-1 and Atlantis to remain vital as we expand the franchise, ” said Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and who both currently serve as executive producers on Atlantis.
Personally- I have really enjoyed the new Stargate SG-1 movies. The Ark of Truth played like a really good movie and Continuum felt like a good SG-1 two parter- with a bigger FX budget. One of the problems with weekly science fiction series is getting the storytelling right and making sure that there is sufficient budget to do what you want to do within the restrictions you have based upon the episode length and budget. With the two hour movies, the producers can tell bigger stories and really flex the tech muscles. I really enjoyed the episode this season The Daedelus Variations that had the core team of Sheppard, Rodney, Teyla and Ronin stuck on a ship that was hopping through alternate universes. The episode was stripped down to the core cast and spent the budget on big FX and it worked. I am sure the producers are looking forward to being able to use this team in the Pegasus Galaxy and do bigger budget two hour productions a few times a year instead of struggling to put on a solid show every week. So far SGA has not resorted to any clip review episodes like SG-1 did several times in the last 3 years of the series. Too many shows go on way too long. Now the producers have the challenge of making sure they set up an arc that has us ready to pay out our $26 for a new SGA adventure instead of watching it at home on Friday nights.
