Report re Season 7

[Anni]

Update on Season 7

Well I wonder if N John Smith is getting his knuckles rapped round about now! See report below. Thanks to UK-SG1 list for the report:

• 'Stargate' Rumors Are Premature, Says MGM

Mon, Oct 28, 2002 07:15 PM PDT

by Kate O'Hare
Zap2it

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - In September, "Farscape" producer David Kemper and series star Ben Browder went into a fan chat room and announced the show's cancellation, prior to official word from Sci Fi Channel, which airs the show, or the companies that produce it.

Apparently, something like that has happened again.

At a science-fiction convention in the U.K. last week, "Stargate SG-1" producer N. John Smith announced to fans in Blackpool that the series -- which came to Sci Fi Channel this past summer after five seasons on Showtime -- is being renewed for a seventh season, and that negotiations on a working schedule had been completed with star Richard Dean Anderson.

Both Sci Fi and MGM, the company that produces "Stargate SG-1" in Vancouver, Canada, refute that. In a statement issued Oct. 28, Hank Cohen, the president of MGM Television Entertainment, said: "Regretfully at an event in the U.K., there were unauthorized voices that prematurely indicated that 'Stargate SG-1' would return for a 7th season. Both MGM and Sci Fi have been in discussions regarding such a possibility, however, nothing is firm and discussions are still ongoing."

"It is unfortunate and a disservice to our loyal fans to prematurely make an announcement that is not based on fact. We suggest that fans disregard the current hearsay and respectfully ask for their patience. We understand how important the future of this show is to the millions of loyal viewers.
When the time is appropriate, MGM and Sci Fi will issue an announcement regarding the future of 'Stargate SG-1' season 7."

Starting last June, the sixth season of "Stargate SG-1" aired on Friday nights on Sci Fi, scoring some of the channel's best ratings ever (and far outpacing "Farscape," in its fourth season). With the show currently on broadcast hiatus, the remaining season-six episodes begin airing on Friday, Jan. 10. Earlier seasons of the show continue to air on Sci Fi, currently including four-episode blocks on Monday night.

"Stargate SG-1" also airs in syndication on local stations.

End of article.

Well personally guys, I think your beloved show is in the hands of people who couldn't find their own a*sshole with BOTH of their hands!

I kinda feel sorry for N John Smith, because I highly doubt he would have said such a thing without there being some accuracy behind it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, and each time I have been hammered down by Stargate fans telling me I don't know what I'm talking about. But consider this folks, I worked for the industry both in London, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. My boss, nice guy though he could be, was as sharp as they come and not above a little ruthless re-organising, and these are the kind of people who do these jobs in Los Angeles. They are not your regular nice guys and gals. They operate in a cut throat business and therefore, even if they start out as nice clean people, they often have no choice but to do what everyone else does, just in order to survive.

These guys will tell you any-bloody-thing.....most of them would sell their own mother if they thought it would make them money or bring them success. I wouldn't trust MGM, Sci Fi or Hank Cohen as far as I could throw them........and I couldn't even lift them off the floor!

Better be patient people! Looks like they might do a 'Farscape' on 'Stargate'!

 

[skydiver]

I feel for mr smith. I've never really met the man but he doesn't seem to be anything but nice. IMHO, he told us exactly what he was told. NOw, it isn't official. There are still points to hammer out between sci-fi and MGM. It isn't official until all the signitures are on the right lines.

And that is exactly what he said. 98.5% certain to quote him.

If he happens to lurk here or if anyone else does, tell him we say thanks for giving folks a straight answer.

 

[Sphinx]

I was at Wolf SG-5 so can confirm a couple of things. On Saturday N.John Smith said he would see what he could find out about S7 and report on Sunday.

On Sunday he still had no official statement so he said what he was "thinking". I guess he'll regret doing that because minutes after saying it the news spread like wildfire on the net. He was only trying to appease the audience to the possibility that Season Seven talks were going well - nothing more and certainly nothing official. He did indeed say 98.5% confirmation but it was in his opinion and not that of anyone official.

Quoting directly what N.John Smith said is slightly unfair without asking his permission to use that information. I run a website but treated the information as hearsay instead of factual. After the story broke I received tons of emails so sent a list email out explaining the situation.

The guys at WolfSG5 thought it might be fun to announce (via a graphical display board) that MS had confirmed that he was returning for all Season 7 epsiodes - followed shortly by the word "....NOT" maybe this is what people failed to see. Although MS might return, no negotiations have taken place yet.

I really hope that N.John Smith doesn't get into any trouble as all he was trying to do was give us a glimpse of what was coming over the next few weeks - something I for one really appreciated. How easy would it have been to say "I don't know", or I have "no official comments".

 

[Anni]

Perhaps he wasn't aware of the avid attention this show gets, but how that would be true I don't know. And at the end of the day, he did say that it wasn't 100% and I said that I was 'assuming' it was an accurate reporting or at least that the man knew what he was talking about.

The producers etc of Stargate KNOW what the cons are like and they know what the fans are like, I find it hard to believe that someone didn't brief this guy as to what he could and couldn't say at Wolf SG5. I also doubt that he would put his job in jeopardy by talking out of turn.

As for reporting things.......official website or not, people can only report what was actually said and all the con reports I have read from folk who were there said the same thing. Once someone announces something publicly then it's in the public domain, but given the flippant way MGM and Sci Fi seem to deal with their shows, perhaps N John Smith should have put many caveats on his announcement.

This Season 7 thing 'smells' to me. I'm not quite sure why I feel that way, but there have been too many comings and goings, denials and counter statements. MGM may have just made that blanket statement about nothing being confirmed because N John Smith pushed them into a corner. They won't make any statements their lawyers don't want them to make.

 

[Hatshepsut]

Your accounts are accurate, Anni.

N. John Smith was a little cagey about what he said as they hadn't hammered out all the details yet.

Yes, he did say that MS would be returning in some unspecified context for some of the time.

He also said that RDA would be working shorter hours over three and a half days so that he could spend more time with his daughter. He will also finish filming early (sometime in mid-August) so the finale will be shot out of sequence before that time in order for him to be in the last episode.

This kind of suggested to me that the whole thing was pretty close to completion although, of course, there's always a chance of it failing until the ink has dried.

I suspect that this 'leak' has offical backing, being designed to:

a) test the water, as it were, and
b) stir up a little (a lot of?) publicity.

Best wishes,
Hatshepsut, who was there too. :wave:
--

 

[Sphinx]

Originally posted by Hatshepsut
I suspect that this 'leak' has offical backing, being designed to:

a) test the water, as it were, and
b) stir up a little (a lot of?) publicity.

Ohh now that's what I call a conspiracy !

or maybe just good business ...