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More on the cancellation of SG1
I sincerely hope that I didn't offend any SG1 fans with my last post ... it was kind of a knee-jerk response, and after looking around at other people's reactions a little bit, I have some more thoughts on why I feel the way I do, and why I'm not joining in the rending of garments over the cancellation of SG1, even though I like the show and it was what got me into SGA in the first place.
This is probably a case of major fandom naivety on my part, but the thought had had actually not occurred to me that people would be that upset about the cancellation of SG1. It's partly the writer in me, and partly the reader, that makes me feel as if all good stories have a beginning, a middle and an END. One of the things that disappoints me about "Lost" (my other current fandom) is that apparently, the writers started off with a three-year plan for the plot, but threw it out the window when the show developed its runaway popularity. Personally, I'd rather have three tightly plotted powerhouse seasons, and be left with fond memories of the show, than a dozen seasons that wander through ups and downs but never really resolve anything.
I find that I look back much more fondly on shows that ended their run early than those that went on and on. Maybe it's just the "lure of the unfinished". However, it does seem to me like there's a general trend with long-running shows for the overall weakness of the later seasons to begin to eclipse the brilliance of the early ones. ("Buffy" comes to mind here.) I can't think of a single show, including SG1, that has maintained its quality throughout its entire run. For every good show cut down in its prime, I can think of another that should have been axed a season or two before the end; for every movie sequel that extended the mythos, I can think of a half-dozen that were so lousy they affected my enjoyment of the original film. Let's face it, you can only tell so many stories with one set of characters before you can't take them to new places anymore -- not without irrevocably changing them, anyway, and network television doesn't deal well with that.
I'm not saying SG1 hasn't been good. Once upon a time, I loved it to pieces. I grooved on Jack and Daniel like a regular obsessed fangirl. It was one of my first forays into Internet fandom. And I'm not even saying, necessarily, that the show is worse now than it was then. I don't enjoy it as much as I did back in '99, but I've changed too, and maybe a lot of it is just that I don't like the same things anymore. It definitely seemed to lose ... something ... around season 5 or 6 (something other than Daniel, I mean), and that's the point where I stopped feeling fannish about it -- but I think it's regained a lot of what it once had, and it's still a good show with good characters.
However, it's a show that's had a good long run. As a person who once loved SG1, I'd really like to see it retire gracefully, in style, rather than limping to a weak, long-overdue conclusion the way "Buffy" did. I feel as if a show should end while viewers still want more, not when they can't even be bothered to get up and switch on the TV.
I'm sure it makes a difference, maybe a bigger difference than I realize, that SG1 isn't "my show" anymore. I no longer have the deep investment with the characters that I do with the SGA cast. Still, I honestly can't see myself feeling differently about SGA -- assuming, through some Neilson ratings miracle, that SGA is still around in five or six years, I think I'd rather see that one, too, go out with a bang and leave its viewers wanting more, rather than hobbling into its twenty-fifth season, with Sheppard a five-star general, Rodney building ZPMs in his basement, and Elizabeth running the Pegasus Galaxy PLUS Earth.
Having said all that, I *do* expect to see SG1 continue in some form. Maybe it will be saved from the brink of cancellation for an 11th season; maybe it will go on to become a series of TV movies (I think the original Stargate people have the theatrical movie contract, so that isn't a possibility, unless I'm wrong); maybe the fabled "other" Stargate sequel will happen and bring a lot of the original SG1 cast on board; maybe some of them will guest star or even cross permanently over to SGA. It's just got too large of a fanbase to disappear.
This is probably a case of major fandom naivety on my part, but the thought had had actually not occurred to me that people would be that upset about the cancellation of SG1. It's partly the writer in me, and partly the reader, that makes me feel as if all good stories have a beginning, a middle and an END. One of the things that disappoints me about "Lost" (my other current fandom) is that apparently, the writers started off with a three-year plan for the plot, but threw it out the window when the show developed its runaway popularity. Personally, I'd rather have three tightly plotted powerhouse seasons, and be left with fond memories of the show, than a dozen seasons that wander through ups and downs but never really resolve anything.
I find that I look back much more fondly on shows that ended their run early than those that went on and on. Maybe it's just the "lure of the unfinished". However, it does seem to me like there's a general trend with long-running shows for the overall weakness of the later seasons to begin to eclipse the brilliance of the early ones. ("Buffy" comes to mind here.) I can't think of a single show, including SG1, that has maintained its quality throughout its entire run. For every good show cut down in its prime, I can think of another that should have been axed a season or two before the end; for every movie sequel that extended the mythos, I can think of a half-dozen that were so lousy they affected my enjoyment of the original film. Let's face it, you can only tell so many stories with one set of characters before you can't take them to new places anymore -- not without irrevocably changing them, anyway, and network television doesn't deal well with that.
I'm not saying SG1 hasn't been good. Once upon a time, I loved it to pieces. I grooved on Jack and Daniel like a regular obsessed fangirl. It was one of my first forays into Internet fandom. And I'm not even saying, necessarily, that the show is worse now than it was then. I don't enjoy it as much as I did back in '99, but I've changed too, and maybe a lot of it is just that I don't like the same things anymore. It definitely seemed to lose ... something ... around season 5 or 6 (something other than Daniel, I mean), and that's the point where I stopped feeling fannish about it -- but I think it's regained a lot of what it once had, and it's still a good show with good characters.
However, it's a show that's had a good long run. As a person who once loved SG1, I'd really like to see it retire gracefully, in style, rather than limping to a weak, long-overdue conclusion the way "Buffy" did. I feel as if a show should end while viewers still want more, not when they can't even be bothered to get up and switch on the TV.
I'm sure it makes a difference, maybe a bigger difference than I realize, that SG1 isn't "my show" anymore. I no longer have the deep investment with the characters that I do with the SGA cast. Still, I honestly can't see myself feeling differently about SGA -- assuming, through some Neilson ratings miracle, that SGA is still around in five or six years, I think I'd rather see that one, too, go out with a bang and leave its viewers wanting more, rather than hobbling into its twenty-fifth season, with Sheppard a five-star general, Rodney building ZPMs in his basement, and Elizabeth running the Pegasus Galaxy PLUS Earth.
Having said all that, I *do* expect to see SG1 continue in some form. Maybe it will be saved from the brink of cancellation for an 11th season; maybe it will go on to become a series of TV movies (I think the original Stargate people have the theatrical movie contract, so that isn't a possibility, unless I'm wrong); maybe the fabled "other" Stargate sequel will happen and bring a lot of the original SG1 cast on board; maybe some of them will guest star or even cross permanently over to SGA. It's just got too large of a fanbase to disappear.
no subject
I suppose there's no way to make everyone happy--if a show stays exactly the same for years, we grow bored; if it re-invents itself, we feel betrayed, because we don't want things to change... :)
I was fully prepared to hate SGA. I thought it would be SG1 redux, and I wasn't feeling for SG1 anymore, back then--it was during the Jonas days. Imagine my surprise when I fell in love with it... ut you're right; all good things must end. I hope SGA has a good, long run, but when it stops, I'm sure there'll be another show waiting in the wings.C'est la vie...
Still, it'll be weird not to see SG1 anymore. That show has been a part of our lives for so long...
no subject
I was fully prepared to hate SGA. I thought it would be SG1 redux, and I wasn't feeling for SG1 anymore
Ditto me! At that point, I hadn't watched SG1 in a year or two, and my reaction to the idea of SGA was "bleh". I had a friend tape the premiere -- at that point I didn't have cable -- and watched it, and it didn't really leave me with any interest at all in seeing more. It wasn't until this spring that I watched the first SGA season marathon-style and discovered all the fannish joy I'd been missing out on. If I'd only given the amazing second and third episodes a chance, it might've been a whole different story...
Similarly, I went all gloom'n'doom on the whole idea of Browder and Black on SG1 -- John and Aeryn had been my two least favorite characters on Farscape (yes, I'm a total heretic) and I hated the notion of having them on SG1. And look how that turned out -- Vala's a fantastic character, Mitchell has actually made me like Ben Browder (which I didn't think was possible), and overall, the introduction of the two has rearranged the team dynamic and revitalized the show. Obviously not revitalized it *enough* ... but -- ten seasons! Dang!
It *is* going to be weird not having SG1 around anymore, though. It's a little alarming to realize that it's been there throughout my entire adult life, if you count the movie too.
no subject
That, and the fact that the setting allowed for more recurrent guest stars (aside from the godawful Q, I mean), and the fact that it was and remained an ensemble show--as opposed to most Treks, where three characters got all the good stuff, and the rest of the cast didn't have much to do.
John and Aeryn had been my two least favorite characters on Farscape
*gasp*
I didn't mind them--in fact, I liked everyone on Farscape. I thought it would be weird seeing them both on SG1, but I like their characters better than I expected.
And now that you make me think about it, I was starting uni when the show started to air around here. Eeeeeps.
no subject
Yeah, it's somehow less affecting to just think "SG1 has been running for ten years" than to tie it to real-world events from the last ten years. I went off to college a year or two before the show began, and now I feel old. *grin*