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What does the third series need to take Stargate to new heights? GateWorld has a few ideas, which we humbly present for your discussion and debate.
Certainly, many of these suggestions are subject to disagreement. Not every Stargate fan wants to see a ship-based show in our favorite sci-fi universe, for example. Is that idea too much like Star Trek? Or is it possible to do a ship-based series that bears little or no resemblance to the adventures of the Enterprise and Voyager?
Read the fine print, because we'd also like to share just why we think these things will make Stargate Universe awesome.
Have we left out anything? Or do you just disagree? Post a comment on the last page and tell us! While there is much to speculate on during the coming months, we do encourage Stargate fans to keep an open mind about what Stargate Universe is going to be. Give the new show a shot -- watch the premiere next summer.
NUMBER 1: MAKE IT SPACESHIP-BASED.
The common theme in these five reasons is that a third Stargate television series has to be different, while maintaining those elements that make Stargate what it is (its contemporary setting and relatable characters, its humor, etc.). After one show about an Earth-based team exploring planets on foot, and another show set on an advanced base in another galaxy, the third show needs a very unique setting for its stories.
Putting the new team on a ship -- and not the Earth ships we're already very familiar with -- in a new part of space, where our characters are somewhat out of control, is perfect. Stargate Universe will go not just to a new galaxy but to many new galaxies, increasing the story ideas exponentially.
Some fans hear "ship-based show" and immediately think "Star Trek rip-off." That ain't so. Putting a show on a ship doesn't make it Star Trek any more than investigating crimes makes C.S.I. derivative of Dragnet. From Firefly to Crusade, Andromeda to Battlestar Galactica, writers have shown that there are an infinite number of ways to tell stories on a space ship. It is as much a science fiction staple as looking toward the night sky itself.
NUMBER 2: REACH A NEW AUDIENCE.
Of course we love the casts of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis and the tremendous talent that they bring to the franchise. We don't ever want that to go away. But the franchise has been around for a long time, and TV viewers have already been exposed to Stargate and decided whether or not they are going to watch it. Making Stargate Universe different enough that it will appeal to a brand new set of viewers is exactly what the franchise needs.
Simply put: If the third series doesn't grab new viewers, the franchise's future will be limited and finite. Hold-over viewers from the first two series, loyal as we are, will simply continue to age and lose interest. Universe can reach a new set of viewers (and appeal to those who may have wandered away from Stargate) by appealing to a slightly younger demographic.
Now we're not talking about Stargate Squarepants or Stargate: The O.C. here. We don't want a live-action version of Stargate Infinity, and we don't want "who slept with who" teen angst while the new single from Time Warner's new up-and-comer croons in the background. But certainly that's not what Universe will be; that's not who the show's creators, Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, are.
Aiming for a "younger audience" probably means cast members in their 20s and 30s (rather than 30s and 40s), and trying to bring the average viewer age from around 47 (which is what Atlantis's average demo is believed to be) to perhaps the early 40s. That doesn't mean that the show will be written with teens in mind, or that the producers have no interest in viewers over 45 or under 20. Remember, we're talking about gross audience averages here.
It may not be everyone's cup of tea (Stargate's current audience does lean into the older demographics). But it is good for the future of Stargate.
NUMBER 3: WRITE MORE CHARACTER DRAMA.
Series co-creator Brad Wright recently told GateWorld that Stargate Universe may be "a little more character-based, [and] a little less rooted in a sci-fi mythology." We think that's a good move.
Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis fit squarely in the "action-adventure" style of show. This has made for great fun, but it often comes at the expense of dramatic moments between the characters. How many times has a nice, personal moment been two team members been left on the cutting room floor because the episode ran long? How many script ideas were shot down because they were too quiet?
Characters are why most people fall in love with a show. We won't watch LOST by the millions just because we want to see someone shoot a bad guy, build a raft, or open a hatch. We watch it because we want to find out more about Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the rest, and find out what happens to them. Likewise we don't tune in to see any pair of boots run through that Stargate; we love SG-1 and Atlantis because we have come to know and to care for Jack, Sam, Daniel, John, Rodney, Elizabeth, and the rest.
Stargate Universe will bring a new team, with new faces. Whoever is on that team -- a sardonic leader, a brainy scientist, a tough guy (or gal), a native guide -- they need to be not only well-cast, but well-written. Don't give up on the next Aiden Ford; don't write out the next Elizabeth Weir. The characters need time to find their voices, and the team needs time to jell. And they all need to have stories written for them from Day One -- stories where they can emote, relate to and conflict with others, and reveal aspects of who they are deep down.
Stargate Universe doesn't need to be a full-fledged "drama" in the vein of Boston Legal or Gray's Anatomy. It can still be an action-adventure show. But if it can tell the story of those adventures with more drama about and between the characters, with more development of who they are on the inside, it could be truly awesome. And if that drama is well-written, it will get people talking about Stargate again.
NUMBER 4: CREATE BAD GUYS WITH PERSONALITY.
As cool as the concept of the Wraith was when Stargate Atlantis premiered in 2004, it took a long time for them to start to develop any personality. Recurring characters like Michael and Todd certainly helped. But they have never been as compelling as the colorfully over-the-top Goa'uld.
The Goa'uld were terrific for a number of reasons. First, they had very distinct, individual personalities. Apophis and his motives were quite different from Nirrti and hers, and no one could mistake a Zipacna for a Baal. They had a shared history, physiology, and allegiances, but that variety made a story like "Rite of Passage" very different from "Double Jeopardy" or "Insiders." And it provided rich character layers for multi-Goa'uld episodes like "Fair Game" and "Summit."
The Wraith, on the other hand, have struggled as an entertaining villain because -- before characters like Michael and Todd -- they were not personalized. They are a force of nature, like a swarm of insects (with space ships) at the top of the food chain. The result is a year or two of interesting development of the Wraith as a species, followed by the sudden realization that we still don't know or care about any of them. We know and fear them only on a theoretical level.
And when we can take out their ships with our Asgard weapons and technology, and get in and out of their labs at will (and unscathed), even that fear begins to fade. Their fate is irrelevant to us as viewers; they are a plot device.
Stargate Universe needs a villain (or villains) who are as interesting as the Goa'uld, who the team can't handily beat every time by the end of Year 2, and who -- please! -- have names. Of course, with the Destiny traveling between different galaxies, it is entirely possible that the show will have many different recurring villains. Whoever they are, and whatever super-powers they possess, we need to get to know them personally, on an individual level.
The fact that the ship will be traveling to many galaxies also means that, friend or foe, the peoples we encounter ought not be human. Hopefully part of Universe's hefty budget is in the prosthetics department, because we'd really like to see some truly alien civilizations populating the vast reaches of the Stargate universe.
NUMBER 5: TAKE RISKS.
If the show's producers are willing to go outside the familiar and well-worn path of what Stargate looks and feels like, they'll have a winner on their hands. The new show ought to take risks -- and from what we have heard so far, it certainly looks like Wright and Cooper are planning on just this sort of shake-up. A darker tone. More focus on characters. More space-based adventures (hopefully, again, still making use of the Stargate). A somewhat younger cast and a younger vibe.
That's not to say that it shouldn't also feel familiar. The Stargate universe is a place we love to go each week, and certain elements are needed to remain true to the franchise. What those things are may be debatable, but we think they include a modern day setting, a team going through the gate on adventures, and humor. We hope the new show maintains these while taking a different approach to storytelling, writing stories that unfold in a more surprising and less predictable manner.
Stargate has to take risks, and this means thinking outside of the box with each and every episode. Surprise us. Shock us. Tell longer, fuller stories arced out over a full year or many years. Don't tell stories by-the-numbers, bend over backwards to avoid repeating stories from Stargate's past, and don't let us figure out what is coming next. That is the sort of storytelling that is driving this genre into the next decade.
One final note ... which ought to go without saying on a show with this title: Use the Stargate. As fun as spaceships are, the premise of this franchise is that we can travel to untold worlds in an instant by stepping through the Stargate. If the third series recovers what was lost in the later years of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, it will be awesome.
Fans all want our Stargate to be familiar -- that is, we want it to be faithful to and consistent with what has come before. But that doesn't mean it has to be the same. As much as we like the same, if that's all we ever got then the franchise would certainly run out of steam. A show that is set on a ship, with a younger vibe and a darker tone -- so long as it continues to rely on the Stargate -- can tell brand new kinds of stories.
Again, whatever you think of our suggestions, give the show a shot. Watch Stargate Universe when the show premieres in the summer of 2009, and judge it based on what it actually is (and not what you suspect it's going to be).
Now, it's time for your opinion: sound off in the comments below, at GateWorld Forum, or by calling our Podcast Hotline (616-712-1647).
All-in-all, we're very excited about the prospects that Stargate Universe brings. Roll on 2009!
Source : http://www.gateworld.net/
