Showtime's feb schedule

[skydiver]

and it is soooo not good news. there is no end in sight for the rest of season 5

Attention any/ all US Stargate fans. Are you tired of the seemingly ceaseless stream of re-re-re-re-re-runs?
And that's all we're getting if the recently posted February Schedule is anything to go by.
1/4 - The Fifth Man
1/11 - Red Sky
1/18 - Rite of Passage
1/25 - Beast of Burden
2/1 - Preempted
2/8 - The Tomb
2/15 - Between Two Fires
2/22 - 2001

If you are and would like to take the time Friday, why don't we let Showtime know Just how much we APPRECIATE their kindness in making sure we all have ample chances to see the first half of season 5 while they hold onto the last half like Scrooge clutching desperately to his last penny.

One suggestion…this Friday when you would normally be enjoying a nice new episode, take a moment to drop a line to Showtime and tell them just how you feel….ok, POLITELY tell them how you feel.

Here's the link to the web page where you can write an e-mail to Showtime: http://www.showtimeonline.com/util/contact.cfm

Or if you prefer, here's their snail mail address:
Showtime Networks Inc.
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

While we may be holding our hopes too high that it will actually change anything…at least we let the fine folks at MGM know JUST what we think of them.

Denise

 

[Nora]

New Season?!?!?!

You mean the new season won't start Jan. 11? It always started on the early days of January. Why the difference? You know, between Daniel's leaving and now this, I am beginning to lose all interest in Stargate. It means at least we will have to wait 6 months (minimum, if the new season starts in March) for new episodes. Are they trying to kill the series because it's leaving for the Sci-Fi channel?

 

[skydiver]

chances are it won't start until MARCH now. one rumor is that they want to use the new episodes of SG to draw viewers into a new show called jerimiah. this show is by JMS, the same guy that did babylon 5. from what i've heard it's set post apocalyptic earth. after sept 11 they delayed or had to delay making the show so it won't premeire when it was originally planned.

now i for one have ZERO plans to watch this new show, sounds waaaayyyy too depressing for me.

and i plan to tell showtime just that friday night when i e-mail the darling people and tell them just how much i adore their marketing practices

 

[hyacintheve]

Okay, it makes sense that they want to put it behind a new show so they can carry that audience into the 10:00 time slot. I understand. But that is absolutely insane! By the time it airs, who will be watching besides the faithful? This is sooooo why I am getting rid of my Showtime subscription when the show moves to the Sci-Fi Network! I planned to do so a while back but thought about keeping it instead. Now, it's outta here!!!
:angryfire

Anyone: Is there anything that MGM can do? At all? Oh to be in the UK! :crying:

If Showtime starts to wonder why the latest Friday primetime rankings have dwindled, I believe the correct answer would be something like this:

DUH!!!

 

[shiloh]

Showtime are felling idiots, that's all I can say. I figure since the show is in it's last season at Showtime, they simply don't care anymore.

But I'll be dropping them a polite note, anyway. Can't hurt. At this point, a March start-up would be good news. It could be later.

 

[skydiver]

it can't be too much later unless they get horrible adn wait until the very end of june to run them all in a marathon or something. chancesa are showtime is contractually obligated to air ALL 22 eps of stargate in a given length of time. that's how most contracts work. with, what is it, 12 more left or jsut 10? anyway unless they double up they have to start no later than 10 or 12 weeks before the second to the last friday in june since i'm guessing sci-fi's contract starts the last friday in june.

right now, to quote jack, showtime can bite me cause once i get my last of season 5 they can cease to exist for all i'll be watching them

 

[Texane]

And for a fan who is not too thrilled with Season 5, this is agony! :crying:

 

[skydiver]

here's what i sent em...i know results are unlikey but it does feel good just to vent

Dear Showtime,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for being so incredibly gracious as to give me ample, ample, ample opportunity to make sure that i have every chance in the world to keep viewing the same 12 episodes of Stargate over and over and over. Why did i waste time videotaping them when i now have the opportunity from you to keep watching the same things for the SIXTH month in a row while the eagerly awaited last 10 episodes are kept from me and thousands of other viewers? I understand your marketing strategy to use Stargate to give Jerimiah a boost but i have to be honest with you, JMS may be a fine storyteller but a post-apocalyptic story does not appeal to me in the slightest. In fact your holding back of Stargate has instead made me even more reluctant to watch the show out of sheer pique.
Working in the tv industry for over a decade i am fully aware that networks often don't care about shows they're losing, i just thought you were better than such petty childishness.
I was seriously thinking about keeping Showtime even after you stopped airing Stargte even though i really don't watch anything else on your network but this flagrant kick in the mouth from you in holding back the new episodes has instead made me decide that bright and early the morning after you have aired the season 5 finale i am cancelling showtime and will never subscribe to your service again.

sincerely

denise

 

[Jobeth]

You go girl!

I'm sure they'll rethink their strategy in order to keep your subscription <g>.

 

[skydiver]

oh i know my $20 a year or whatever it is will really ruin their bottom line.

i just wish...stargate is their only friday show to last beyond outer limits and they treat it like trash! they deserve to lose it. maybe sci-fil will know how to treat it and the fans

 

[mordy]

for Your FYI i posted somthing about this in the Season 5 Section

 

[skydiver]

i just got a response from showtime...and it's not thier normal 'date to be determined' form letter

Thank you for your comments. I am forwarding your email to the programming
department as they should be aware of the frustration of viewers to the
delay of the return of Stargate.

at least someone is reading them

 

[mordy]

Sky , i wouldn't be surprised if that was a Auto Responce or that was just to shut you up , i saw on the Scifiguide web site that showtime wherent intending to show the rest of Stargate season 5 till march this year . but who knows , Australia has only seen 2 Episodes out of the whole season 5 so you guys are luckyer than us

 

[skydiver]

ooh i know it might be an auto reply...but at least they changed it from the 'the dates of new episodes are still to be determined' one people have been getting for the last several weeks.

frankly i'll be surprised as all get out if they change anything. it just feels good to share the frustration

 

[mordy]

True True

 

[shiloh]

Everything I've read, too, is that Stargate's return is timed to Jerimiah.

Here is some info on Jeremiah:

http://startrek.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.isnnews.net/zocalo/jeremiah.shtml

Showtime has gotten squirrely because of a very very tenuous relationship to 9/11.

The problem is that Showtime has told JMS that Jeremiah will air in either March or *June*.

June would be terrible. Not only is that far too long to wait, but I read at another website that Showtime's contract to air Stargate will expire soon. If they don't get these on the air in time, what will happen???????

Even if it is an automatic reply that Skydiver got, (which I'm sure it was, I doubt someone's manually typing all the replys), it at least shows that *someone* is getting frustrated with reading the complaints about Stargate.

So I find the reply she got comforting, in a way. I'm reconciled to March. Depressed, but reconciled.

But I'm sure looking forward to cancelling Showtime.

 

[skydiver]

you and me both. from the cost and aggrivation it would almost be worth it to send a ntsc vcr to someone in the UK and have them tape the eps for me. heck the dvd's jsut might be out before showtime airs it for cryin out loud

 

[shiloh]

I SPOKE TO SHOWTIME!

Getting tired of no e-mail responses from them, I started working the phones.

Today, I actually spoke to a human!!!!!!!

Didn't get much satisfaction, of course. The rep just said "we haven't made a decision yet when it'll come back, we need to find a place for it where it won't disrupt programming since there's only 10 episodes left yadda yadda yadda. But he was very surprised to hear that the UK was seeing the new episodes. I pointed out how embarrassing that was and he said he'd "write this down" (I'm guessing on some "customer contact card") and pass it on.

SO, FOLKS: CALL THEM! 1-212-708-7302

(Monday through Friday 9-5 eastern time)

Please, be nice to whoever answers the phone. Remember the person answering this number is probably a minimum-wage foot-soldier, all they can do is write down why you're calling and pass that on. As anyone who's ever worked phones knows, be nice to the receptionist or your message will get round-filed.

Also, don't everyone call today. Spread out the calls. Maybe if they get enough calls they'll commit to it coming back in March.