this was posted on one of the lists. it has spoilers for season 5 so read on at your own risk
This was in the Chicago Tribune today.
Waiting at the gate
`Stargate SG-1' opens the door to a fifth season on note of
uncertainty
By Allan Johnson
Tribune television reporter
June 29, 2001
The underappreciated sci-fi action series "Stargate SG-1" kicks off
its fifth season Friday with a snappy resolution to last season's
cliffhanger.
But whether the fifth season finale will end with a cliffhanger is
still, well, a cliffhanger.
The series, which has deepened what was introduced in the hit 1994
Kurt Russell movie, is at 9 p.m. Fridays on Showtime. It also is in
rerun syndication around the country, mostly on affiliates belonging
to the Fox television network (in Chicago, it is on Saturdays at 4
p.m. on WFLD-Ch. 32). The Sci-Fi Channel will air reruns sometime
next year, according to a spokeswoman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which
produces the series with Showtime.
According to star Richard Dean Anderson, it would be nice if someone
could figure out the series' fate sometime soon.
"To be quite honest, we're just waiting to hear from MGM to see
whether we're going to go another [sixth] year," says Anderson, who
plays the SG-1's wisecracking leader, Air Force Col. Jack O'Neill,
the role Russell originally created but now has Anderson's indelible
imprint.
"We either need to find a way of bringing all the characters and
their story lines and their arcs to an end, or bridge them for
another season, which totally changes the end of the year and how we
finish things off this season," adds Anderson, an executive producer
with Michael Greenburg and Brad Wright.
It is still too early to know whether Showtime will want another
season of "Stargate," which follows a group of explorers who make
contact with denizens of far-off worlds with help from an ancient,
cosmos-spanning "gate." They enlist those inhabitants to help fend
off an advanced race of domineering aliens called the Goa'uld, who
have ties to ancient Egypt and who aren't above enslaving a planet or
two.
Syndication is key
One factor that undoubtedly will influence the final decision is that
the lucrative syndication market generates much of the money that a
production company or a studio makes on a series. Producing original
episodes of a show already in syndication could be considered an
unnecessary expense, especially one like "Stargate," which makes
effective use of expensive special effects.
It is those effects, as well as the rich storytelling and intricate
history, that has kept fans loyal to the series since its 1997
premiere, according to an MGM spokeswoman, another factor that will
help determine "Stargate's" fate. Those elements have also
allowed "Stargate" to maintain a consistency of quality, even if
being on cable hasn't brought it the notice of a "Star Trek" series.
Friday's premiere backs up Anderson's assertions that the juices
for "Stargate" are still flowing after all these years. The SG-1
team -- O'Neill; archeologist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks),
another character from the movie; and astrophysicist Major Samantha
Carter (Amanda Tapping), a character created for the series -- are in
a crippled starship that has hyper-driven to the far side of the
galaxy.
The team escaped the explosion of a sun they helped to blow up in an
attempt to defeat Goa'uld marauders. But one vessel escaped
destruction, carrying the Goa'uld leader Apophis (Peter Williams),
who captured the fourth member of SG-1, Teal'c (Christopher Judge),
an alien who at one time served Apophis, but renounced the murderous
leader to join his SG-1 companions.
Action and humor
The episode is rife with action and a smart story line, as an old
enemy makes an unexpected appearance, and an interesting twist
entangles a member of the team.
It also features neat humor from Anderson, whose O'Neill rattles off
so many one-liners and smart-aleck remarks it feels like he's in
another kind of series.
"I'm enjoying their style," O'Neill says of an alien vessel that
suddenly appears to take on Apophis' ship. "Shoot first, send flowers
later. It works."
A number of things could work for Anderson. "Brad Wright's primed and
ready to go to work writing [a feature movie] if we can get a go-
ahead from MGM," says Anderson, 51. "I mean, talk about coming full
circle: from feature to series and back to basically a franchise
potential of features."
Anderson notes the cast and crew are currently in what he
calls "adventure alley," where the action is dictating the stories,
as opposed to tales of any meaningful character development . . .
which suits Anderson just fine:
"We're in the rhythm the show right now has us going on, and not the
course of any characters' history being changed too much."
Although Anderson is having fun, he isn't basing his career on
whether "Stargate" goes another season or calls it a series after
this one. He's working on producing a series of documentaries on the
rivers of the world. They will be "cultural examinations and issue
pieces based on issues like hydro-electrical damming or logging or
pollution, whatever they may be," he explains.
"I'm not worried about whether the show goes or not," he adds. "It
would be nice and I'd be willing to go ahead and do it. But I'm ready
to move on."
This was in the Chicago Tribune today.
Waiting at the gate
`Stargate SG-1' opens the door to a fifth season on note of
uncertainty
By Allan Johnson
Tribune television reporter
June 29, 2001
The underappreciated sci-fi action series "Stargate SG-1" kicks off
its fifth season Friday with a snappy resolution to last season's
cliffhanger.
But whether the fifth season finale will end with a cliffhanger is
still, well, a cliffhanger.
The series, which has deepened what was introduced in the hit 1994
Kurt Russell movie, is at 9 p.m. Fridays on Showtime. It also is in
rerun syndication around the country, mostly on affiliates belonging
to the Fox television network (in Chicago, it is on Saturdays at 4
p.m. on WFLD-Ch. 32). The Sci-Fi Channel will air reruns sometime
next year, according to a spokeswoman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which
produces the series with Showtime.
According to star Richard Dean Anderson, it would be nice if someone
could figure out the series' fate sometime soon.
"To be quite honest, we're just waiting to hear from MGM to see
whether we're going to go another [sixth] year," says Anderson, who
plays the SG-1's wisecracking leader, Air Force Col. Jack O'Neill,
the role Russell originally created but now has Anderson's indelible
imprint.
"We either need to find a way of bringing all the characters and
their story lines and their arcs to an end, or bridge them for
another season, which totally changes the end of the year and how we
finish things off this season," adds Anderson, an executive producer
with Michael Greenburg and Brad Wright.
It is still too early to know whether Showtime will want another
season of "Stargate," which follows a group of explorers who make
contact with denizens of far-off worlds with help from an ancient,
cosmos-spanning "gate." They enlist those inhabitants to help fend
off an advanced race of domineering aliens called the Goa'uld, who
have ties to ancient Egypt and who aren't above enslaving a planet or
two.
Syndication is key
One factor that undoubtedly will influence the final decision is that
the lucrative syndication market generates much of the money that a
production company or a studio makes on a series. Producing original
episodes of a show already in syndication could be considered an
unnecessary expense, especially one like "Stargate," which makes
effective use of expensive special effects.
It is those effects, as well as the rich storytelling and intricate
history, that has kept fans loyal to the series since its 1997
premiere, according to an MGM spokeswoman, another factor that will
help determine "Stargate's" fate. Those elements have also
allowed "Stargate" to maintain a consistency of quality, even if
being on cable hasn't brought it the notice of a "Star Trek" series.
Friday's premiere backs up Anderson's assertions that the juices
for "Stargate" are still flowing after all these years. The SG-1
team -- O'Neill; archeologist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks),
another character from the movie; and astrophysicist Major Samantha
Carter (Amanda Tapping), a character created for the series -- are in
a crippled starship that has hyper-driven to the far side of the
galaxy.
The team escaped the explosion of a sun they helped to blow up in an
attempt to defeat Goa'uld marauders. But one vessel escaped
destruction, carrying the Goa'uld leader Apophis (Peter Williams),
who captured the fourth member of SG-1, Teal'c (Christopher Judge),
an alien who at one time served Apophis, but renounced the murderous
leader to join his SG-1 companions.
Action and humor
The episode is rife with action and a smart story line, as an old
enemy makes an unexpected appearance, and an interesting twist
entangles a member of the team.
It also features neat humor from Anderson, whose O'Neill rattles off
so many one-liners and smart-aleck remarks it feels like he's in
another kind of series.
"I'm enjoying their style," O'Neill says of an alien vessel that
suddenly appears to take on Apophis' ship. "Shoot first, send flowers
later. It works."
A number of things could work for Anderson. "Brad Wright's primed and
ready to go to work writing [a feature movie] if we can get a go-
ahead from MGM," says Anderson, 51. "I mean, talk about coming full
circle: from feature to series and back to basically a franchise
potential of features."
Anderson notes the cast and crew are currently in what he
calls "adventure alley," where the action is dictating the stories,
as opposed to tales of any meaningful character development . . .
which suits Anderson just fine:
"We're in the rhythm the show right now has us going on, and not the
course of any characters' history being changed too much."
Although Anderson is having fun, he isn't basing his career on
whether "Stargate" goes another season or calls it a series after
this one. He's working on producing a series of documentaries on the
rivers of the world. They will be "cultural examinations and issue
pieces based on issues like hydro-electrical damming or logging or
pollution, whatever they may be," he explains.
"I'm not worried about whether the show goes or not," he adds. "It
would be nice and I'd be willing to go ahead and do it. But I'm ready
to move on."
