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Aug. 21st, 2006
More on the cancellation of SG1
Aug. 21st, 2006 07:21 pmI 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.
More on the cancellation of SG1
Aug. 21st, 2006 07:21 pmI 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.