SGA Renewed for Fifth Season

Big Orange · Post by **Big Orange** » 2007-10-26 09:05am

I can't get enough of the early seasons of Stargate SG-1 - I really enjoyed re-watching Seasons Three & Four on DVD recently that featured many episodes that are much better than I remembered, but when Atlantis was on Five a couple of year back, I just couldn't get into it.

PREDATOR490 · Post by **PREDATOR490** » 2007-10-26 10:10am

I have been watching SG-1 quite a bit lately. I find myself skipping alot of the fillers and jumping to the more interesting episodes which seems to become less frequent the further along you go. The earlier seasons of SG-1 had a much more realistic feel to them and the stories were fairly innovative and new. I'm starting to think the Stargate genre went down hill from season 7. Season 1 - 7 has a complete and decent arc followed by an awsome ending.

It is obvious from season 7 it was written to be the finale while also being the spring board for Atlantis. SG-1 should really have died at that point I think. As much as I like watching the SG team it strikes me that having both shows running at the same time was not the best of ideas. Atlantis would have been able to continue the idea of exploration in their new galaxy while also having references and episodes related to the aftermath of Anubis's defeat.

Instead they have written themselves into a wall by introducing a new enemy like the Wraith and Asurans. The Wraith never really managed to portray a decent threat to begin with due to the inability to reach Earth. It becomes fairly obvious that the SGA team would destroy the base before allowing the Wraith to get the required technology which renders the Wraith inert at being a intergalactic bad guy. Nevermind the Wraith kicked the Ancient's ass and never once managed to salvage technology like the intergalactic drives or the dozen other ruins left behind. They dont even have shields to stop machine guns shooting down their ships...

Then Atlantis manages to kick the Wraith ass on a regular basis resulting in the need for a new bad guy. Cue the Asurans. One of the bigger mistakes so far since they are essentially introducing a race of robots created by a race known for their technological awesomeness and putting Earth against them. Essentially its becoming a similar situation to Voyager and the Borg. The more Atlantis beats the Wraith and Asurans the worse the reflection on the Ancients since one wiped them out and the latter was created by them and uses technology similar to them.

Big Orange · Post by **Big Orange** » 2007-10-26 03:54pm

I watched SG-1 almost religiously for five seasons straight, but I was begining to lose interest in Stargate in general perhaps halfway through Season Six and most of Season Seven, only coming back just in time for the "Lost City" two parter - I thought Season Eight was arguably the best season in the second half of SG-1's decade long run and I'm not alone in that opinion, but I still think SG-1's undisputed golden period was from the second half of Season One to the first half of Season Five. I don't think Channel 4 will air Seasons Nine & Ten, plus considering the savaging those seasons have received by Gaters I've perhaps not missed much...

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2007-10-26 04:17pm

Personally I thought SG-1 didn't really hit its stride until Season Three, taking that long to really nail it in terms of setting, tone, feel, characters, and rules. Seasons Four through Seven are probably the show's high point for me, though that's not to say that I consider the seasons after that to be any lower in terms of quality: SG-1 throughout has always been a particularly caliber show.

Big Orange wrote:I don't think Channel 4 will air Seasons Nine & Ten, plus considering the savaging those seasons have received by Gaters I've perhaps not missed much...

Ironically, Utsanomiko, who likes but has always been pretty critical of SG-1, considers Season Ten his favourite and the best.

PREDATOR490 · Post by **PREDATOR490** » 2007-10-27 07:27am

I have yet to see Atlantis make an episode that would have the dramatic equivelent of Heroes or Meridian. I just watched the latter a few minutes ago and I still find that season (5) highly watchable.

Taking pot shots at Season 1 of Atlantis isnt really fair considering that most series always end up being weak on the 1st season but Atlantis struck me as getting weaker after season 1.
Siege was a very good episode and had some truely brilliant effects going on which made the Wraith look interesting. Then the writers randomly rap it up in one of the most cheap ways imaginable that makes the Wraith look like retards on an epic scale.

Then its more filler crap with the Wraith suddenly dying to a whimper while we get introduced to Ronin the barbarian and the Ford story. Another thing that died on a weak cliffhanger then its fucking Micheal...
That whole mess started out fine and I could even have bought the alliance deal but turning him into a rehash of the situation with Ford was a joke.

Incidentally, we havent seen or heard any reference to that bio weapon since then despite its proved effectiveness. Instead it was back to more fillers and the continued ass raping of the Wraith as anything beyond a joke.

Since Stargate SG-1 is now finished the writers shouldnt have to be so limited in their scope so as to prevent overlap that would cause problems. That should let them expand out quite a bit and break the mold on showing new technologies coming to the front. That is unless the decide to be assholes over the supposed movie.
As much as I appreciate the ideal of wanting to keep what happens a secret, enforcing the hush hush into Atlantis will get more and more stupid the more time that goes by. Some information on what the fuck happened to Adria and the Ori would be nice...

Starglider · Post by **Starglider** » 2007-10-27 08:24am

PREDATOR490 wrote:I have yet to see Atlantis make an episode that would have the dramatic equivelent of Heroes or Meridian.

If you mean 'Atlantis isn't padded to three times its actual the length with vast blocks of so-called character development where nothing interesting happens', then yes, I'd agree. Even BSG's third season, a huge filler sandwidth, isn't as bad as Heroes (or Lost). Atlantis has had plenty of weak episodes (though very few /awful/ episodes) but at least it doesn't bore you to death.

Incidentally, we havent seen or heard any reference to that bio weapon since then despite its proved effectiveness.

It didn't work. The wraith reverted. You'd have to kill them all in human form for it to work - morally unacceptable to them and frankly nerve gas would probably do that job just as well (but is equally hard to deliver to an enemy ship). They're never going to get another wraith ship help them out in deploying it.

Some information on what the fuck happened to Adria and the Ori would be nice...

That's what the DVD movies are for. Obviously they're not going to spoil the plot of those.

Big Orange · Post by **Big Orange** » 2007-10-27 08:44am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Personally I thought SG-1 didn't really hit its stride until Season Three, taking that long to really nail it in terms of setting, tone, feel, characters, and rules.

I agree that SG-1 had reached it's prime by Season Three, but Season Two was stronger than Season Six and I far preferred "Within the Serpent's Lair" to "Lost City", even though the later seasons were very flashy and throwing more money about (which is no substitute for fresher writing, stories and characters).

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2007-10-27 02:38pm

Though I got into it late, I still think SG-1 should have ended its run with Season 8; "Reckoning" and "Threads" were the perfect way to go out IMHO.

amackie · Post by **amackie** » 2007-10-30 07:37am

I think the biggest mistake for Atlantis has been solving the power problem, and building the gate bridge.
Now they're getting to the stage where the solution can almost always be "call the other guys" and with their current enemies, the resources of both the SGC, and the Lantean city, means there's rarely a situation where they're going to lose.

Meest · Post by **Meest** » 2007-10-30 11:23am

Biggest problem for me with SG:A is not the rehashing of stories so much but the speed of the problem solving and laziness of writing them. They literally started doing the 5-10sec problem brainbug that has no impact whatsoever. The last episode was good example of this, they just extended the bait and switch of problem/solved cycle for a full 60 minutes.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2007-10-30 12:28pm

amackie wrote:I think the biggest mistake for Atlantis has been solving the power problem, and building the gate bridge.
Now they're getting to the stage where the solution can almost always be "call the other guys" and with their current enemies, the resources of both the SGC, and the Lantean city, means there's rarely a situation where they're going to lose.

According to Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi, the McKay-Carter Intergalactic Gate Bridge may not survive the season.