An Open Letter to Stargate Fans From Syfy

[donutsweeper]

As written by Craig Engler (Senior Vice President and General Manager of Syfy Digital)

(the whole thing is here)

Even having trimmed down a lot it's a bit long, so behind a cut.

An Open Letter to Stargate Fans From Syfy

There’s been a lot written about Stargate Universe and Syfy in the weeks leading up to SGU‘s recent finale, and a lot of questions and concerns directed at Syfy about how we handled the series. I wanted to take some time to address the issues that have come up and thought GateWorld, which has been a huge supporter of the entire Stargate franchise, would be a good place to do it. So thanks to them for giving me the space here, and thanks to you for taking the time to read this.

When MGM decided to bring Stargate Atlantis to an end after five seasons, they did so knowing they’d transition to a new show in the franchise, Stargate Universe. SGU was a bold new take on Stargate that Brad Wright and Robert Cooper had had in mind for a long time, and one that we’d discussed with them off and on. It first came to us as a pitch many years ago....

blah, blah, blah... he continues by talk about the 2 year commitment Syfy gave SGU and how SGU's ratings weren't up to expectations (aka they sucked) and how after hiatus there was a bit of a bump but then they sank to new lows so they moved it to Tuesday and then Monday in hopes of finding a audience... Then he details the following:

What you see above is simply Syfy and MGM trying to make a great new Stargate series, seeing some initial success, then when it began to struggle, seeing attempts to find a way to keep it going. You’ve probably read numerous rumors to the contrary. I’ll look at the most prevalent:

The erratic scheduling killed SGU:
We started the show on Fridays where we’ve had the most success and where it initially did well, and we left it there until it started struggling. When it was clear the show had fallen to unsustainable levels and would not survive on Fridays, only then did we move it to the night where our highest rated show of all time had recently aired.

The hiatus killed SGU:
As you can see from the ratings above, the biggest drop in viewers came before the hiatus, not after. In fact, SGU actually grew around 10% after the hiatus between season 1.0 and 1.5 in its first two episodes back.

If you’d left it on Friday nights, it would have done well:
When left on Friday nights SGU lost 1/3 of its audience and dropped to consistently unsustainable ratings levels. The only hope of keeping it was to move it to another night where new viewers could find it.

You canceled SGU because you hate science fiction:
If we didn’t like science fiction we simply wouldn’t have made SGU. It’s because we like science fiction that we tried it. Even though SGU was ultimately unsuccessful, we don’t regret trying it. Science fiction shows are the backbone and lifeblood of our network, and we have many in development. Later this year we’ll be debuting Alphas, the Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome pilot is being worked on as you read this, the movie Red Faction starring Stargate Universe‘s Brian Jacob Smith will air next month, 5 of our original dramas will return with new seasons or new episodes this year, and we’re working on many more behind the scenes.

You never supported SGU:
There is literally no one other than MGM who supported it more than we did. We were the only network who gave the show a try and the only ones who committed to making and airing 40 episodes before a script had been written. We invested tens of millions of dollars and thousands of hours of work over many years making and supporting the show.

You canceled SGU in order to make wrestling:
We would have happily kept making SGU regardless of anything else on our schedule if the ratings were sustainable. We don’t discontinue successful shows to make room for other shows … no network does because no network has a full roster of successful series. SGU was judged solely on its own ratings.

You don’t like Stargate:
We love Stargate. Combined we’ve made 12 seasons of 3 separate series and helped support two SG-1 films. It’s been an amazing ride and we’re incredibly proud of the cast and crew of all the shows, and thankful to all the viewers who watched.

No mention of the crappy writing, inconsistent characterization or bad acting. Odd that.

Goodbye SGU, farewell, and don't let the door hit you on your way out...

Comments

[sid]

Sad, sad, sad.

The only thing that killed SGU was SGU. Did it improve somewhat? Yes, but too little, too late. Too late to give a crap about the characters.

[donutsweeper]

The only thing that killed SGU was SGU.

Absolutely. And it really is too bad.

[ivorygates]

yeah well, the syphilis channel isn't know for its sweeping truthiness at the best of times....

the show sucked. period. it was the self-indulgent work of racist, bigoted, chauvinistic, semiliterate whorefuckers who had grown to loathe the franchise that fed them [although the majority of the showrunners were originally employed not for their talent, but for their nationality] and to possess and exhibit a truly stunning level of contempt for their fanbase. i don't believe showrunners should cater to the fans, but going out of their way to say the fans are stupid for liking their show seems a little excessive.

you don't workshop and develop your show and fine-tune your premise after airing begins. you hit the ground running, because if what you're selling doesn't grab its audience within the first ten minutes of the first episode, hasta la fucking vista, baby, see you on the breadlines.

buh-bye, sgu. you really sucked.

[archersangel]

i don't believe showrunners should cater to the fans, but going out of their way to say the fans are stupid for liking their show seems a little excessive.

i agree.

[sid]

It's actually not conducive to anything much to have people spit in your face. Asses. <--- Which the initial product sucked thereof.

[ivorygates]

i was bewildered at the ongoing thread - much fostered by tailgunner joe and his asslicking cretin brigade - of the notion that anybody who didn't like SGU was too stupid to recognize genius. this strikes me as a somewhat unique response overall. i don't recall signing up in blood to worship joe mallozzi until the end of time, you know....

[sid]

I faint at the sight of blood, so I'm positive I didn't sign up.

[ivorygates]

well there you are, then