Well, it looks like the producers of yet another sci-fi show have screwed their product up by trying to tailor it to the young male demographic without regard for their _current_ demographic. The latest victim: Stargate SG-1.
There are spoilers in here for next season (in the US -- if you're in England, you've probably seen all this already) , so if you're a fan who wants to wait to get a nasty surprise, don't keep reading. :) Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2002/02/13/stargate_rebellion/index.html (not a premium article... everyone can access it) Excerpt: Fan rebellion threatens "Stargate" With its most beloved character dead, its adult female fans up in arms and its ratings in ruins, the once-hot sci-fi series "Stargate SG-1" may be doomed. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Mary McNamara Feb. 13, 2002 �|� At one time -- actually, just two years ago -- the syndicated science-fiction series "Stargate SG-1" seemed to have it all: a fervent core audience and hot, hot ratings. The series, which airs on Showtime as well as on most Fox stations across the United States, appeared to many industry observers as if it might be building into a bazillion-dollar "Star Trek"-like franchise. In May 2000, at the end of its second season in syndication (each new season of episodes airs on Fox a year after it premieres on Showtime), "Stargate SG-1" was the top-rated show in the "syndicated action hour" category. Based on the 1994 hit movie "Stargate," which starred Kurt Russell and James Spader, the show had developed an intensely loyal following of fans who loved its Trekkian premise: interplanetary adventure in which a team of four explorers dials a set of symbols embedded in a gate, allowing them to pass through and set foot in other worlds. What's more, in a category largely aimed at males in their teens and 20s, "Stargate" appealed to a broad audience that included many adult women. Viewers loved the chemistry among the four leading cast members, a dynamic that some felt rivaled the camaraderie of the original "Star Trek" series. They were enthusiastic about Sam (Amanda Tapping), a strong female officer physicist, and they fell for the alien Teal'c (Christopher Judge), a paragon of dignity and strength. In particular, they attached themselves to the relationship between Jack, a crusty Air Force colonel (Richard Dean Anderson), and the learned archeologist and linguist Dr. Daniel Jackson, played by Michael Shanks. Indeed it was Shanks' character, with his Spock-like appeal to female fans, whom many viewers saw as the pivotal figure in the "Stargate" universe. At least 40 distinct fan-produced Web sites are devoted to Shanks alone, about the same number as are devoted to Matt Damon or Brad Pitt. All this for an actor on an off-network show who employs no personal publicist. Over the last year or so, however, the wheels have fallen off the "Stargate" chariot. MGM, which produces the series, reshaped its premise and focus, introducing conspiracy-theory plot lines and a latex-clad babe in an evident effort to appeal to a younger male demographic. Ratings plunged and Shanks, after publicly expressing his displeasure with the show's new direction, decided to leave the cast in October. In the months since then, grieving female fans have launched an open rebellion, a wave of cyber-outrage reaching from California to Australia to England to Pakistan. They have deluged MGM with phone calls and have raised thousands of dollars to establish a Web site and buy protest ads, including a full page in the Jan. 29 Hollywood Reporter. Many say they will abandon the sixth and final TV season of "Stargate," and MGM's plans to send the characters back to the big screen for a lucrative film series now hang in the balance. The fan insurrection began in earnest when the episode "Meridian" was seen by British viewers on Jan. 30. (It has yet to air in the U.S.) With little advance warning, viewers saw their beloved Daniel Jackson receive a lethal dose of radiation and ascend to a higher plane. (No one ever exactly dies on "Stargate SG-1.") It was this episode that triggered the initial cascade of phone calls to MGM president Hank Cohen. The "Daniel debacle" comes at a sensitive time for MGM; the company is preening in preparation for its expected multibillion-dollar sale (although no buyer has yet come forward and some observers speculate that the asking price is too high). So far MGM has sought to downplay the extent of the "Stargate" fan revolt. Paul Gendreau, the Los Angeles publicist hired by the studio to field calls from fans, will only say that there has been "some groundswell of support" for Shanks. Others at MGM have said that by mid-afternoon on the day after "Meridian" was broadcast in the U.K., more than 1,000 protests had been phoned into Cohen's office. Jon [EMAIL PROTECTED] ( I want a Tok'ra Barbie :-) )
