Stargate Atlantis: That’s a Wrap, Sort Of
August 21, 2008 by Cynthia
I’m sure you’ve already seen the news posted all over the Internet. Such a crushing blow, it’s taken me this long to be able to put my thoughts into words. Stargate Atlantis is ending its weekly run with the CURRENT season.
I admit that Atlantis isn’t what it used to be. The episodes have become hit and miss and more and more I feel the sense of ‘haven’t we been here before,’ but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to see it end. . . sort of. That’s the second point of annoyance.
The announcement from SCI FI came in the form of a positive message:
Building upon the successful Stargate franchise, SCI FI Channel today announced it has greenlit a two-hour movie based on the hit science fiction adventure series Stargate Atlantis. SCI FI will have the exclusive worldwide television premiere of the yet to be titled Stargate Atlantis film, which will then be released on DVD by MGM. The movie will be written by Stargate Atlantis’ executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who also serve as series showrunners. The movie is set to follow the fifth and final season of Stargate Atlantis, as it draws to its thrilling conclusion in January 2009.
Notice how they slipped that last line in. “Thrilling conclusion” in January 09. Did we know this? Did I miss the memo? I know that picking an end date is all the rage these days and five is a happy number because it gives you the coveted 100th episode in your run, still. . . when I talked to Kavan Smith just last week we were talking about another season. We were talking about how SG-1 ran forever and a day. Either he didn’t know or he’s got one heck of a poker voice (cause I couldn’t see his face.)
On the upside, the promise of Atlantis on a “bigger canvas” is a nice idea. I like the way the SG-1 movies are coming out and maybe the expanded scope will let them do something really different. What? I don’t know but I’m hopeful.
Yes, I know all good things must come to an end, and yes it’s better to pick an air date than to jump the shark, but it’s like watching your best friend moves 3,000 miles away. You know you’ll still see her, but probably only once or twice a year and that’s sad.
So as I go off and wallow about yet another one of my favorite shows calling it quits, I leave you with positive words from the creators, Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper:
“The successes of the two original Stargate DTV movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers. We have plans for both SG-1 and Atlantis to remain vital as we expand the franchise.”
SCI FI Channel Photo: F. Scott Schafer
I will miss my weekly fix of SGA after January ‘09.
But, I look forward to the SGA movie (and hopefully movieS), more SG1 movies, and the next Stargate project.
A big thank, thank you to everyone who worked on/with Stargate over these many years. Thanks also to Showtime, SciFi Channel and MGM.
Morjana
Tell me they can get at least O’ Neill back for the end – I know Amanda Tapping’s doing Sanctuary.
Will you still give us the 3 answers from Kavan Smith coming Tuesday as promised??
LP, of course I will. And I’ll even give you a hint. The thing he did before and there’s no way he’ll ever do that again –revolves around something he did when he was new in the biz and it turned out to be one of his most embarrassing moments!