Stargate Universe took the Stargate franchise in a different direction and was cut short by a network that was itself going through major changes.
What Is It?
The third live-action television series in the Stargate franchise focused on a group of military and civilian personnel that find themselves trapped aboard an ancient spaceship, known as the Destiny, hurtling beyond their control billions of light-years from Earth. They must find a way to return home, but they also use this opportunity to explore this new section of the universe.
Aired: Syfy, 2009-11, 2 Seasons Totaling 40 Episodes
Created By: Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, Ming-Na Wen
Why Was It Cancelled?
This series was meant to carry on the popular Stargate franchise and seemed like a sure thing going into its first season. But it ended up falling victim to miscalculations by the show’s producers as well as poor timing. SGU creators Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper wanted to make it “a completely separate” entry in the franchise (as opposed to Stargate: Atlantis which was a spin-off of Stargate: SG-1). They gave the show a darker, grittier feel with a heavier story-arc approach, but that apparently did not sit well with long-time fans of that franchise who were reluctant to jump onboard (calling it Stargate meets Battlestar: Galactica). And the series didn’t bring in enough new viewers to make up for the existing fans that avoided it, maybe because they felt they would be lost by not knowing the backstory of the previous two shows.
In any case, SGU just did not draw a large enough audience as it debuted with only mediocre numbers and never managed to improve much throughout its two-season run. In addition to this, the Sci Fi Channel had just gone through a rebranding in 2009 to Syfy and had switched much of its focus on scripted shows to more budget-friendly, “sci fi Lite” entries like Warehouse 13, Haven, and Being Human which allegedly appealed to a broader audience (but which ultimately drove away much of the sci fi community from the network). Thus, SGU’s disappointing ratings plus the fact that it did not fit in well with the new direction worked against it and Syfy cancelled it after its second season, leaving the show on a major cliffhanger
Can It Be Revived?
There were plans to do a movie that would provide some resolution, and it would have brought in characters from SG-1 and Atlantis, but that was eventually scrapped. There were also rumors that the series might continue apart from the Syfy channel (as the network didn’t hold the license for the Stargate franchise), and the producers actually lobbied the fans, telling them that letters in support of the show would be nice, but DVD sales and downloads would be much better. But despite a push to keep the show going, it remained cancelled after two seasons.
The series did receive a fair amount criticism early on, but it has since been looked upon by many as a decent science fiction entry and one that was axed just as it was starting to demonstrate its full potential. But now that Amazon has bought MGM Studios, there are talks of a revival of the franchise which could open up the opportunity for SGU to get some sort of resolution. The movie that Brad Wright had planned is possibly the most likely option, and that could also be used as a jumping-off point for a new series. It could bring together as many characters as possible from the three Stargate shows and resolve multiple loose threads while also pointing to a new direction for the franchise. It has been twelve years since SGU last aired, though, so the aging of the actors would have to be explained. But sci fi shows are generally up to that challenge, so that shouldn’t be a stopping point.
Former producers of the show previously polled fans and a continuation of the franchise, as opposed to a reboot, was overwhelmingly the preferred direction. That could start with the SGU movie that wraps up that series and brings together characters from the other shows. But at this point, it would probably take a major Call to Action from fans to make that happen. This is certainly the right time, though, as MGM and Amazon are mulling how to go forward with the Stargate property. Fans should take to social media and lobby for the movie or maybe even a mini-series, and it is possible that the powers-that-be could take notice and give the series the conclusion that it deserves.
Where Can You Watch It?
Both seasons have been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and those are widely available. The show is also available for streaming with Prime Video and it is included on the Stargate channel on Pluto TV.
Did you watch Stargate Universe, and would you support fan efforts for a resolution or revival of the show?
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I was a huge fan of the original Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis series and started watching SGU. And I was definitely one of those who noticed that SGU was darker. But more than that, it was hard for me to follow. Maybe it was because of the full week between episodes. Maybe it was because of the weird use of the stones that gave characters the chance to plant their mind in the body of somebody else. By the middle of the first season I had given up on it.
Over a decade later I have watched the whole SGU series on PlutoTV, streaming about three episodes per day, in a little over a week. It makes a lot more sense to me now and I was able to follow the various story arcs a lot better with less time between episodes.
I would like to see a movie showing what happens after coming out of stasis. The aging of the actors can easily be written into the storyline. Dr. Weir went back in time thousands of years in Atlantis and put into stasis by an Ancient. When she came out of statis she had aged even though she had been in stasis, and seemed plausible, so it can be done. It may be as simple as explaining that Destiny had older stasis tech that, while keeping the person alive, was not as efficient at retarding the signs of aging in humans.
So I’m totally on board with a movie, with or without SG-1 and Atlantis characters, as long as we can get a significant number of the original SGU cast on board.
I just watched Stargate Universe for the first time, and I loved it. I esp loved the characters Rush, Eli,Chloe, and the “doctor.” The idea about a ship’s mission and supernatural events along with a creation story were intriguing. Some very strong scripts here and I loved Eli’s references to things like Star Wars and Star Trek. I’d really like to see where this was supposed to end. ❤️