Amph Our Mission Was the Journey Itself: Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe


The working title of the third Stargate television series has been unveiled! The series currently exists in the form of a one-page treatment of the story and characters, with the title Stargate Universe, executive producer Robert C. Cooper told GateWorld exclusively.

The new series has been conceived to be "a completely separate, third entity," Cooper said in an interview -- "much more so than Atlantis was. Atlantis was much more of a spin-off seires of SG-1 and was sort of born out of SG-1."

Like many of the producers ideas, Cooper said, the idea for Stargate Universe was originally conceived as a stand-alone movie. "When we originally were sitting around talking about this we were trying to come up with ideas for a Stargate feature -- not an SG-1 feature or an Atlantis feature, but a feature that would fit into the Stargate franchise that we feel we have created," Cooper said. "We were thinking, 'How do we create a third arm to the franchise that is very connective and that fans will feel is born out of the material that has come before, but at the same time is very much something that stands alone?'

"When it became clear that a third series was a more realistic possibility at this point from the studio's standpoint, we figured out how to tweak that idea and give it a little more legs than it would have had as a one-off story. We always, in the back of our minds even in coming up with that concept, felt that it could launch a third series. ... But now that idea has become the core idea for the new show."

Stargate Universe will not be set in a different era, Cooper confirmed, neither as a prequel nor in the far future of the Stargate program.

"I'm not a big fan of prequels," he said. "I don't think that really works, and I don't really understand people who do think that works. One of the things that we love about Stargate is that is us -- it's our military, it's our scientists, it's our people -- and we're going out into the galaxy and the universe to discover all the wonders that are out there, and dealing with our own limitations versus things that are far more advanced than us.

"That's identifiable. It's what we deal with every day, in terms of medicine and science and astrophysics. We're just babies in all that. And we would always want to maintain that in anything that is Stargate-related."

In spite of being quite distinct in identity from SG-1 and Atlantis, the new series will be unmistakably Stargate. "It certainly plays into the mythology that has been pre-established," Cooper said. "But it doesn't directly relate to anything that has been in either series."

Cooper and executive producer Brad Wright plan to turn more attention to the new show's pilot script after wrapping principal photography on the two Stargate SG-1 movies, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum this June.


Talk here about the third Stargate series coming in 2008.

 

Wow! I read the news on GateWorld this morning, I think is shaping up to be really awesome!

 

Hopefully it'll be a good followup from SG-1, and hopefully they'll do some crossover with Atlantis.

 

I'm excited for this, it sounds really interesting. They talk about how they want to stick with the current idea of the military operating the gate in the current day, so I'm curious if this show will be run out of Cheyenne Mountain(opening up the possibility of Beau Bridges and others from SG-1 showing up occasionally) or if it'll be somewhere else.

 

As much of a Stargate fan I am, I think this is over kill. Don't you think it should stop when it is on top? Stargate SG-1 had ten strong years, and without it on Friday Night Sci-Fi as support, I can only see Atlantis going two more years at max. With this third series, I hope the producers know what they are doing.

 

This osunds cool. I'm looking foreward to it.

 

I think that Atlantis has a good three or four years left in it. Hell, Stargate probably shouldn't have lasted the ten that it did, and it's largely been ten good seasons.

 

What I meant was that SG-1 could have easily been ended at several times throughout the series, such as 5, 7 and 8. With the new storyline, they could have gone on for another year or two.

 

I doubt we'll see anything until Fall 2009. It's too bad though, I've always rather liked the Stargate franchise.

 

So, they go to new universes now? ...where all the aliens look remarkably humanoid in appearance and speak perfect modern english and live on planets that look astonishingly like the Pacific Northwest?

But really, if they do a third series they really need to get some new locations.

 

If it takes a darker tone like DS9 did with Star Trek, I'll be happy.

 

Maybe if we are lucky they will cast a bunch of actors who have already played major roles in other scif-fi franchises, that would be a good idea =P

 

though you seemed to have missed it, my post was ALL sarcasm....

or perhaps you got it and were simply being realistic =)

 

I'm wondering if MGM doesn't hold out until Continuum hits shelves and Atlantis finishes another season.

I think they are monitoring "Stargate Over-saturation" right now.

they don't want to be Star Trek...and we've had persistent Stargate for over a decade now.

Personally, I'm expecting, and wouldn't be surprised to see, they will hold off on Universe until Atlantis wraps entirely...perhaps even leave a year "without gate", just to wet the appetite.

Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

And then they can use all the Atlantis sets & props for Universe.

I think you can stick a fork in SG-1. AOT came a went with barely a murmur to the outside world. I wasn't expecting more even before AOT...but definitely now. The only reason they make a new SG-1 now, is to offset a "no" on Universe.

 

By whose estimate? I know it was top 10 in sales...but it's up against nothing in a very SLOW season...it would've been egregiously disastrous if it didn't show at least that well.

I personally got my copy as an Easter gift...and I would wager I'm not alone in that...so that's a benefit.

They released just before a holiday in a dirt slow season...and it came in 9th in sales.

Do you really feel energized?

will a 70% sales decline be acceptable for week 2? Cause that's typical even for blue chip releases.

And you're wrong...hype is everything in this business...because hype and moving product are like 2 butt cheeks wiggling together. If they don't get press on G4 or Sci-fi or the news channels...even online outside the gate sites...who is gonna buy it except the fans who have bought the series religiously (but was not sufficient to keep the show going regularly).

Trust me...they are monitoring fan interest and "buzz" because they are waivering on the investment...it's not a "lets see if the investment makes a marked returned"...that's a given right now...it's "if we do this 2 more times...4 more times...will we see the same or slightly less return...more?"

They aren't going to green light 3 or 4 and watch for the profit margin to shrink...ergo...it is about "buzz"...it is hype.

 

Actually, it's the 4th series. Don't forget the animated cartoon.

Heh, it was bad, but better than Highlander: The Animated Series, so don't gripe too much.

SG1 had 9 strong years. There was one (7 I Think) that was pretty weak.

 

That's not canon though. We are SUPPOSED to forget about that show because apparently it was terrible.