Entertainment
Amazon Cancels New Stargate Series For The One Reason No Sci-Fi Fan Wants To Hear
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Last Fall, long-suffering Stargate fans were finally able to celebrate with the grand announcement that the franchise’s long-time writer and director Martin Gero was going to be spearheading a new revival series on Amazon Prime. On June 2, barely 10 months later, Amazon pulled the plug and canceled the entire series. Nothing has been said publicly, but various news outlets including Variety and Deadline, have been putting together the pieces of the puzzle and as of now, it looks like Amazon decided to axe a show for hardcore sci-fi fans because it was being built to appeal to…hardcore sci-fi fans.
By The Fans, For The Fans
The details of Gero’s plan for the series, where it would be set, how far into the future of the franchise, and how it would tie into the three other Stargate shows, have never been made public. What fans know now is that allegedly the vision for the show wasn’t a good fit for Amazon. That news came after the series was written. It’s rare for a show so far along to be canceled instead of redesigned to fit better with the network, which means the differences had to be considered insurmountable.
On the face of it, this sounds like the new Stargate was being designed for fans of Stargate SG-1. The same die-hard fanbase who has kept the franchise alive for over 30 years, filling multiple conventions each year, buying spin-off novels, binging Atlantis and Universe, and they think “Wormhole X-Treme” is one of the best episodes of any sci-fi series. That should be the target audience and not a reason to cancel a series.
Sci-fi fans will never outnumber the people watching Reacher, but keep in mind that Amazon also produces Fallout and Invincible, two niche genre shows. This is the same company that saved The Expanse, one of the greatest sci-fi shows of the last 15 years, from cancellation. Yet, early reporting is that’s exactly why Amazon decided to again disappoint Stargate fans with another revival tease.
Stargate Fans Are Used To Disappointment
Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis never pulled the same numbers as Star Trek, but they were good enough to remain on the air long enough for 15 seasons and over 300 episodes between the two of them. Stargate Universe, the most recent series from 2009, only lasted two seasons due to network interference. It’s since been reclaimed by Stargate fans as a hidden gem. Fans want the crew of the Destiny back, not the behind the scenes production drama.
Once again, Stargate fans will go to bed disappointed. It’s something we’ve become used to over the last decade. Maybe someday Amazon will realize the potential in developing a show for fans, which it did with again, both Fallout and Invincible. Then again, since the revival announcement took place, Amazon’s revolving C-suite door has led to the departure of multiple executives who greenlit Martin Gero’s vision in the first place. Stargate Command’s greatest foe isn’t the Goa’uld, it’s entertainment executives unwilling to give sci-fi a chance.
For those that haven’t given Stargate SG-1 a chance, it’s a great time to see why it’s a classic, with the entire series now streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
Amazon Cancels New Stargate Series For The One Reason No Sci-Fi Fan Wants To Hear
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Last Fall, long-suffering Stargate fans were finally able to celebrate with the grand announcement that the franchise’s long-time writer and director Martin Gero was going to be spearheading a new revival series on Amazon Prime. On June 2, barely 10 months later, Amazon pulled the plug and canceled the entire series. Nothing has been said publicly, but various news outlets including Variety and Deadline, have been putting together the pieces of the puzzle and as of now, it looks like Amazon decided to axe a show for hardcore sci-fi fans because it was being built to appeal to…hardcore sci-fi fans.
By The Fans, For The Fans
The details of Gero’s plan for the series, where it would be set, how far into the future of the franchise, and how it would tie into the three other Stargate shows, have never been made public. What fans know now is that allegedly the vision for the show wasn’t a good fit for Amazon. That news came after the series was written. It’s rare for a show so far along to be canceled instead of redesigned to fit better with the network, which means the differences had to be considered insurmountable.
On the face of it, this sounds like the new Stargate was being designed for fans of Stargate SG-1. The same die-hard fanbase who has kept the franchise alive for over 30 years, filling multiple conventions each year, buying spin-off novels, binging Atlantis and Universe, and they think “Wormhole X-Treme” is one of the best episodes of any sci-fi series. That should be the target audience and not a reason to cancel a series.
Sci-fi fans will never outnumber the people watching Reacher, but keep in mind that Amazon also produces Fallout and Invincible, two niche genre shows. This is the same company that saved The Expanse, one of the greatest sci-fi shows of the last 15 years, from cancellation. Yet, early reporting is that’s exactly why Amazon decided to again disappoint Stargate fans with another revival tease.
Stargate Fans Are Used To Disappointment
Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis never pulled the same numbers as Star Trek, but they were good enough to remain on the air long enough for 15 seasons and over 300 episodes between the two of them. Stargate Universe, the most recent series from 2009, only lasted two seasons due to network interference. It’s since been reclaimed by Stargate fans as a hidden gem. Fans want the crew of the Destiny back, not the behind the scenes production drama.
Once again, Stargate fans will go to bed disappointed. It’s something we’ve become used to over the last decade. Maybe someday Amazon will realize the potential in developing a show for fans, which it did with again, both Fallout and Invincible. Then again, since the revival announcement took place, Amazon’s revolving C-suite door has led to the departure of multiple executives who greenlit Martin Gero’s vision in the first place. Stargate Command’s greatest foe isn’t the Goa’uld, it’s entertainment executives unwilling to give sci-fi a chance.
For those that haven’t given Stargate SG-1 a chance, it’s a great time to see why it’s a classic, with the entire series now streaming on Netflix.
Leave a Reply