Well, maybe. Possibly. Joe Mallozzi says he won't say it's dead until he can for sure say that it is dead. Brad Wright is fighting for the franchise as well from the reports that are making the rounds. So rather than considering Syfy's cancellation of Stargate Universe (and the horrible, horrible way it was announced to the public--if ever I needed further reason to dislike Twitter, this was it) as an early and rather unthoughtful Christmas present, I am instead accepting the hope granted to us 'Gaters from Mallozzi and Wright. It may be a slim hope, and it may be that nothing will pan out, but I'll take it nonetheless.
Already the internet is rife with gloating that such a supposedly awful show was finally canceled (just check the comment threads on any of Gateworld's stories regarding the matter). What a lot of Stargate Atlantis fans (those who oh so vocally detested poor SGU) either fail to understand or just flatly refuse to believe is that if SGU is really and truly dead, so is Stargate in all of the forms that have come before. That means SG-1. And Atlantis. Mallozzi has flat out said that all progress on the Atlantis movie (which was finally starting to gain a little bit of headway with MGM's recent resolution of its financial issues) has now been halted, specifically because of the cancellation of SGU. If there is a third Stargate movie at this point, it will be for SGU, not Atlantis or SG-1.
But why?!?! This is the collective cry going up wherever I look. But I have pieced together bits picked up here and there from Mallozzi, as well as from stories on Gateworld and other venues and think I have sussed out a reasonable answer to this question. Ah, reason. Something we fans seem to forget about completely when it comes to our franchise of choice. I digress. Right, answer. So. Here's the thing, or, things, I guess:
1. SG-1 has already been given closure in the form of The Ark of Truth. The story that the writers wanted to tell has been told.
2. Atlantis's storyline may not have official closure, but Fandemonium just recently released the first book in their new Legacy series, which picks up where season five of the show left off. It is a multi-novel arc intended to close out the story. While true that it is not considered canon by the show writers, it is still one avenue of closure. The first book, Homecoming, is available now. Also, and canonically, in the yet-to-air back half of season two of SGU, we do get some explanation of what is going on with Atlantis beyond season five with the episode that will feature McKay and Woolsey.
3. This is the most important one: Stargate Universe is the most recently aired series in the franchise. People are still grumbling that we didn't get closure to Atlantis, sure, but it has been a few years now. More people are screaming that they want to find out how SGU wraps up. Simple truth, whatever the internet would have you believe. More significantly, the writers have written the story of closure for Atlantis already. They haven't done so for SGU, so that's the story they are going to fight to get to tell. People may be pissed about that, but, well, if there's any chance we get a movie, it will be because the people who are going to make it want to make it hard enough to fight for it. So let's let them get on with that and keep our fingers crossed, shall we?
If we get an SGU movie (and Wright and Mallozzi seem to be first and foremost fighting to get a full third season before shooting for a movie), and if it does well, then we have a chance at the Atlantis movie, and possibly that SG-1 film as well. But. If we don't get that movie. If whatever Wright is working on fails, and this truly is the end of SGU, then we are not going to get any more SG-1, Atlantis, or SGU. MGM, while doing better, is just now starting to move forward. If they are going to invest in a new straight-to-DVD movie, they are going to do it for the one that is freshest in the consumers' minds. The more time that passes, the lower the chances get. MGM is going to be taking very few risks in the coming years, you can count on that. It sucks, but there it is.
Sigh. I could get on a soap box and rant for hours about this, I really could. I have already gone on at more length on the topic than I really intended to. Here's what it comes down to: If SGU is truly dead, then so is Stargate, at least in the terms that we know it today. There is always the possibility that down the road somebody, whether it is Wright and Cooper or someone new entirely, will come up with a new spin on the franchise and we'll get a new series or a reboot. But that will not be any time soon. No one currently working on Stargate has been working on a fourth series, there isn't one in any state of development, because they were hoping and planning for at least a five season run for Universe, and wanted to get that story told before they moved on to a new idea. Honestly, if Stargate does end here, I am okay with it. I will be really surprised to see anyone currently involved in it become part of any future iterations--because let's face it, seventeen years on one franchise is a long, long time, especially in the world of television.
I truly honestly and fervently hope that this is not the end of Stargate as we know it, but I am okay if it is. I have all of all three series on DVD to watch over and over at my leisure. I have many, many books from Fandemonium to read whenever I want. I probably won't ever have Stargate Worlds, but I've already come to terms with that. If I need more than what I already have, I also have fan fiction. There is a slew of it out there, beyond the ridiculously enormous amount I already have saved away for a rainy day. The fans aren't going to stop writing it just because the shows aren't on the air any more. So if this is the end, I will say a tearful goodbye and then move on with my life. But, God, I hope this isn't the end.
A few quick words of advice (from people who actually know about these things, not me), if you do want to get involved with a save our show campaign.
1. If you are going to write in to Syfy, be polite, be clear, make sure your spelling and grammar are exemplary. Give logical, and fiscal, reasons to keep the show alive, not emotional pleas.
2. Don't start your own campaign, join the biggest one you can find that already exists. Lots of small campaigns have a much slimmer chance of being heard or noticed by the right people than one massively huge one.
3. For Pete's sake, watch the rest of season two live when it airs!! Figure out who the advertisers are and go buy their products, then write in to those advertisers and let them know how much you love the show and appreciate their support (and that you are giving them money).
So that's all I've got. I will say that Stargate Wednesday will not be disappearing on this blog once SGU ends its run (be that this year or five years from now). It may move to another day of the week, but once season two has ended, I am going to start a rewatch of Atlantis for you guys. I'll probably then do a rewatch of SG-1 (starting with the movie). After that, heck, I may move on to the books. I am a Stargate fan. I always will be. So as long as I am blogging, I will be sharing that love with anyone who cares to read about it.
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