STARGATE ATLANTIS is Cancelled

Joe Flanigan as Lt. Col. John Sheppard, Jewel Staite as Dr. Jennifer Keller, Robert Picardo as Richard Woolsey, Jason Momoa as Ronan Dex, Rachel Luttrell as Teyla Emmagan, David Hewlett as Dr. Rodney McKay

Stargate Atlantis is officially canceled. It is with great regret that we have learned today that this will be the last season for Stargate Atlantis. After the season ends, the network plans to have a a two-hour Stargate Atlantis movie to wrap things up.

According to the show’s writer, Joseph Mallozzi, the reason behind the cancellation was, you guessed it, money. Here is what he had to say on his blog:

Ultimately, it comes down to the numbers – less the ratings and more the bottom line. The longer a show is on the air, the more expensive it is to produce. Throw in the resurgence of the Canadian dollar, once pegged at 63 cents to the U.S. greenback, it now hovers at par, an approximate 37 cent bump which adds a significant hit to the production budget.

I believe it is a shame that even successful SciFi shows like Stargate Atlantis get cancelled. It is not like we have a lot of shows out there that we can rely on to take over. I know there is some buzz that maybe there might be a completely new Stargate franchise with the rumored Stargate Universe but let’s be real here. If Stargate Atlantis got canceled because it became expensive to shoot, what is to say that the same wouldn’t happen to Stargate Universe.?

At the rate things are going, they might start shooting shows in China to save on costs…and I am not even kidding people.

What do you guys think of Stargate Atlantis being canceled?

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  • http://X Casper

    Thats a danm shame!

    The biggest mistake ever made!!!! :(

  • Elyse

    It. SUCKS!

    I truly can’t believe the lack of tact exhibited by both SciFi and MGM. First, they announce they’re killing SGA (okay, they’re going to make one two-hour instead of 20 hours of TV). Then, less than 24 hours later, they gleefully say that all the fans will be thrilled with the Stargate Atlantis. Yeah, the press release came out today. “Young and desperate explorers” lost in space.

    SciFi is gonna suddenly find a lot of people cancelling their subscriptions.

  • http://www.sgphilippines.tk Marge

    now there’s really nothing good friday nights! my friday nights were solid on moonlight and stargate. let’s hope for the best for the movies!

  • Daniel

    I can’t believe it, i wont! it cant happen this is possibly the best thing left on TV what with these people canceling everything good and replacing it with some crappy reality program! I blame all the sptupid people who think reality tv is somehow good! Idiots!

  • tim

    i wish that wouldn’t happen, stargate atlantis has been one of the things i enjoyed to watch because of the way it is showed, it has that story that gives you information, but leaves you hanging on wanting more. its a series that no one wants to see go. i will truly miss not seeing new seasons or episodes for atlantis.

  • http://www.sgphilippines.tk Marge

    i agree with Daniel, how many more, keeping up with the Kardashians, carters, bad girls club, “you are fired!” can we have on tv???

  • http://www.brokenwallfilms.com Nick Allain

    I’m a producer at an Indie film company. If Sci-Fi gave me half the budget of SG:A, I’d do the show for them. If it’s too expensive to shoot it in one place, then move it or shoot less on location and more on set. Honestly they could do 90% of that show on a set and cut down the CG without really having any issues. Or better yet, don’t waste the cash on shovelware like Stargate: Continuum.

  • http://www.sgphilippines.tk Marge

    “shovelware like Stargate: Continuum”…here we go…

  • Terapsina

    I have only one thing I can say and it is the same when SG1 ended…

    “This sucks!!!”

  • Schlib

    This makes me want to cry. Hopefully they end it well.

  • twiznatch

    BLAME CANADA!!!

    Anyway…somebody DID have a point. WHY is it that if the CANADIAN dollar is now so strong….why can’t they outsource it to the USA?

    It’s the same show….same people….hell…do it near the border, and at most, it’s a COMMUTE!

    OR…China? India? Pakistan (which would add to the we’re-all-gonna-die-realism)?

    YOU DONT MAKE CRACK ADDICTS OUT OF PEOPLE, AND THEN TAKE THEIR SUPPLY! GIMMAH MAH GD STARGATE, BITCHES!

  • Tim

    for a huge fan like my self that buys every season and movie of stargate sg1 or Atlantis. This is the worse thing that can happen to TV. Why Stop Making Something That people Really Love?

  • Zoltan

    It sucks. Where do we complain ? I dont want it canceled. Everyone I know loves the show. Its the last really good space scifi series out there.

  • http://www.sgphilippines.tk Marge

    am beginning to think the firefly girls jinxed sg! (happy thoughts, pls happy thoughts!)

  • Stephen

    NOOOOOOOO NOT THE ONLY GOOD SERIES LEFT ON TELEVISION. Sci-Fi I am seriously starting to hate you …..

  • http://www.sgphilippines.tk Marge

    you guys think they canned atlantis to make room for stargate universe? scifi gave the greenlight for it already

  • Chris Wattenberg

    So much for quality programming, Sci-Fi doesn’t seem to care.The almighty dollar rules the day. I understand that this is a busines but come on, really? OHhhh wait, I forgot, we live in the land of big oil and Halliburton.

  • Melissa

    A great show that I look forward to every time there is a new episode gets cancelled. Thanks sci-fi. I was addicted to SG1 & love Atlantis even more so I think the cancellation SUCKS!!!! Wrapping up with a tv movie is a small consolation to the ending of a great show with a great ensemble cast. So much stuff on sci-fi looks like fake crap & poor quality production, so take the one quality show you have & cancel it. Sounds like a dumb plan to me.

  • Elaine Briggs

    THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS ON TV. WHY WOULD YOU PUT ON ANOTHER STARGATE? SCI FI YOU JUST LOST SOME OF VIEWERS.

  • http://embarq Emily Lehmann

    SciFi-how dare you shut down Atlantis it is the only decent show left on TV. You ‘can’ charge the sponcers more and keep the show on the air. The cartoons you now show are stupid and so is the show about finding ghosts. Aren’t you embaressed that you will not have a show worth viewing. Shame on all of you for taking Atlantis off of the air. I feel sorry for the actors on the show, they are really good and it always felt like I was with them. Atlantis is like going on an exciting vacation on Friday nights……….

  • William Strube

    There is no doubt that many viewers will be disappointed as am I. Stargate and Stargate Atlantis are my favorite shows of all time. I am a Christian and it is difficult to find any scifi shows that are quality and family friendly without sexual immorality or abundant cussing. Yes, I wish they would take out all of the swearing from the show too. Anyway, I hope there is a way Stargate Atlantis can survive or a new series can be started. I don’t understand why costs go up the longer the show goes on. Can you explain please?

  • JoAnn Smith

    I can hardly believe that Stargate Atlantis has been cancelled & as I read through what other views have written I can see we are in agreement. TRUE scifi fans do not want to see shows like “scare tactic ” or so-call reality based ghost hunters, etc……. We want SCIENCE FICTION. We want to escape into other worlds and other possiblities. The cast of Stargate Atlantis let us do this. If the Scifi Channel is to continue to be the “Scifi Channel” it will need to stop cancelling its best shows. Maybe there is another network out there that’s more interested in what the scifi fans have to say!

  • mateojg

    we all know this day would come but why so soon, this season has been sooo good.

  • http://yahoo jim n

    isnt there SOMETHING we can do to save sg atlantis? they kept the original 60′s star trek on the air via a massive letter writing campaign. fans preserved garbage like roswell as well as jericho on air by bombardingnetwork execs with gimmicks like sending hoards of bottles of hot sauce bottles & containers of peanuts. so why the heck cant we,as fans of the greatest sci fi show of all time,find a way to persuade the network execs not to cancel our show? cmon people think, what can we do to simply blow their minds & CONVINCE THEM to keep our show on the air ? and remember we arent just being selfish in trying to save our show: if we keep it on the air then everyone involved with their show keeps their jobs & can keep a roof over their familes head

  • Gabe

    I really believe that SG Atlantis is the best show on TV now. The SciFi Network has really dissapointed me with this. I will watch to the bitter end but once SG Atlantis is over I will cancel my subscription to the Scifi network.

  • Chris

    Holy Moly…This is the worst news I have heard this year. I waited all summer for Season 5 to start and now I have been let down again knowing next summers wait will have been for nothing. Stargate Universe seems like it could take the reigns, but like most fans are saying why take a show off air when the people who will be watching the new Stargate are the same watching Atlantis now. Doesn’t make any sense. And how exactly can you determine the ratings for the rest of Season 5, while were barely on Episode 7…I am just baffled.

  • SHERI

    I AM SO VERY UPSET OVER THE SHOW BEING CANCELED
    WHO EVER MADE THE DECISION IS IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS THE DOPE THAT TURNED DOWN M&M’S FOR SKITTLES FOR THE ET CHARACTER OF THE MOVIE ET. WHO REMEMBERS WHAT’S HIS NAME BUT THEY REMEMBER THE DECISION…
    AND THE JOKES ABOUT IT… WHERE O WHERE IS THE COMMON SENSE ….IF THEY CAN’T HAVE MONEY FOR SGA HOW COME THEY CAN HAVE THE MONEY OF SGU….NOW THEY HAVE TO HAVE NEW LOCATIONS NEW SETS NEW COSTUMES NEW CONTRACTS FOR ACTORS AND CREWS…
    THEY HAD TO HAVE THIS PLANNED FOR A LONG TIME…AND I FOR ONE AM TIRED OF HAVING SHOWS JUST CANCELED WITHOUT REALLY GIVING THEM A CHANCE….THIS SHOW HAS POTENTIAL AND COMPARED TO WHAT IS OUT THERE TO LOOK AT IT IS A CRIME TO TAKE SGA OFF AIR…

  • Fred Ward

    It appears to me MGM and the SCI-FI channel have taken a huge step towards cancelling themselves with this series ending decision.

    I am disappointed with the demise of STARGATE ATLANTIS.

    It was the same with STARGATE SG-1 but we had this series to help us through our disappointment.

    I know that TV series don’t last forever but this cancellation seems premature.

    I miss the characters from SG-1 and will certainly miss them from STARGATE ATLANTIS too.

    My personal favorite from SG-1 was General Hammond and, as a result, I became a big Don S. Davis fan. I was truly saddened when he passed.

    A lot of folks are angry with MGM and the SCI-FI channel just as many were upset with the SHOWTIME channel when they dropped STARGATE SG-1.

    I would like to thank MGM, the SCI-FI channel and SHOWTIME for offering these programs.

    If there is a continuation of the STARGATE theme I will view it with the hopes that it will live up to the quality of its predecessors.

  • Brandon

    i know every one is thinking this but i dont thing anyone said it.

    FUCK YOU WHOEVER DECIDED THIS!!!!!

  • dan

    SCIFI are you retarded? Atlantis won the peoples choice award!!
    That means people LIKE it. This show has far to much potential for you to just cut it off. i know you have money problems but for god sakes cut all of that crap you show when atlantis is not on. Peoples CHOICE AWARD! god you make me so mad!!!

  • http://www.sgphilippines.tk Marge

    kudos to you Mr. [Fred] Ward, not only is your opinion very articulate it is rather well adjusted. the powers at be have greenlit the two hour special of stargate atlantis. i would just hope that the atlantis movie will be as well received as the sg1 movies.

  • Elyse

    If you’re annoyed/pissed off/livid, etc. there is a ‘SAve Our Show’ type campaign going.

    Addresses, etc. at http://wraithfodder.livejournal.com/229897.html

    Apparently SciFi’s e-mail servers are getting overflowed with fan mail. Let’s keep at it!

  • Doug

    NUTZ!!

  • Stargate Fan

    What The …
    Stargate and Dr. Who are the only two quality scifi shows left on television, and leave it up to the dumb …s at SciFi to cancel Stargate. Only thing that made me get cable. Guess I’ll cancel my subscription after the season ends. This is ridiculous.

  • fantastic!

    This is almost as bad as when Firefly got canned, (almost) and it’s a real disappointment to see quality shows dying off and absolutely wretched ones taking over. Oh well, I guess people’s taste just isn’ t as refined as it used to be.

  • http://www.huayingproducts.com Sci fi pete

    The fact of the matter the big companies that make these shows can all the old franchises to boot out the teams that want an increase in there payments every new season. Boot out the old ones. Get in a new set of younger, fresher, more hard workring newbies and your off again. Scifi channel may not want Stargate but they will find a new theme and it will take over, then it will get to expensive, then they will can it, then start a new one, then it will, well I think you get the idea.

    Wait a while it will all work out in the end.

  • Jason

    It’s a business, you all pretend like the movie and television industry actually cares what fans like, want and think!

  • Angus

    First off what happened to the old fashion budget cut? So costs are getting more expensive for a buisness as it grows, what shall we do? I know shut it down, somehow this poor excuse they’re labouring under makes no sense how can costs increase that much when you already have most sets built and previous effects surely changing exchange rates can’t effect it that much if so cutback in other areas who honestIy would care if the CGI wasn’t great whilst watching stargate i can’t remember thinking lucky that explosion was realistic or i would’nt watch the show some of the best sci-fi shows ever comparitivley have shocking effects you still watch them

    Theres alternative motive to this cancellation all i can think is they foresee making more money of the movies than the series as jason said they don’t care what the fans think otherwise they’d find a way i hope they lose alot of money because of this

  • http://kylecase.info Kyle

    I don’t know, this makes no sense. star trek, buck rogers, and many others did far less in there seasons. Soon they all became big box office movies. Yea the story to the 4 and 5 season is getting twisted with all the who’s in charge of atlantis, plus one has to wonder how many time you can kill the hero and bring him back. but the story line, myths, and history is what people love. I would be sorry to see this die as I think it could be one of those shows that is stamped in time. You know they had a pilot for aqua man and they canceled it too but people keep buying the pilot from itunes. The BIG shots at the top should take note, if you want people to show up and watch every night you have to make a good show with a good actors and a story line, star gate atlantis is this show.

  • S

    I think it has less to do with money or ratings and more to do with the social and political climate of the US at the moment. People in the TV industry are under a lot of pressure to tow a certain line, and sci-fi shows like SGA dont fit that line as they might actually encourage people to use their imagination and think for themselves.

  • http://kylecase.info kyle

    I feel sorry for the writers who create these great storys only to get canceled, I think I will give up tv this was one of the last best shows on. I remember being a kid and looking forward to watching my favorite shows every night, now shows are dumbed down and made so everyone is happy. Truth is you can’t make everyone happy if you want a good show.

  • Alex

    awwwww….. saddens me that the SGA will be cancelled… i watched the first movie when it was kurt russell as Jack O’Neil since i was a kid then followed all 10 seasons of SG1 then now SGA… awwww man…. i like this show very much…. Sci-Fi change ur mind pls…. dun cancel SGA… many sci-fi peepz love this show especially me ofcourse hehe…. c’mon pleassss! haiz… now there are now more good scifi shows now… dammit…

  • asdf

    grats concidering your constantly paying more for actors who are becomming increasingly famous, you decide to cut the show whereas the obvious answer is to pay them less. they wont mind not getting a raise when it means they can keep their jobs and yes sure some will look for other jobs but will be sorly dissapointed. cut their pay checks if they arnt stupid you wont pay any extra for the show. and this is ofc the obvious answer so you must have thought of this, which leads anyone with half a brain to the conclusion that its got nothing to do with money. so why cancel sta? or just keep lying to the fans but you have lost more money by canceling (we already determinined its not about the money).

  • Carola

    I think it’s a big mistake to cancell the show!

    so many fans, can’t they just sell it to more countries or something?

    I live in the Netherlands and i would really like it if it came on television here.

    I will really miss this show!

  • http://sgphilippines.tk Marge

    i agree, there’s even a group here in Manila, PHILIPPINES, that watch stargate as a group

  • Chrys

    SciFi seems to be laboring under the misconception that it doesn’t matter what they throw at us, if it’s Stargate, we’ll be happy.

    I have no interest in the “younger” show and I’m really tired of being written off as a demographic. I want MY show, not Stargate lite.

    I’m discouraged and disappointed.

  • Azure

    When I first heard of the cancellation, I assumed it was joke. Surely MGM could not be contemplating ending a show with such a large and loyal fanbase. After watching the last episode (The Shrine) I am even more mystified as to how anyone could want to cancel Stargate:Atlantis. The acting was superb even by the high standards of the show, and I am unashamed to admit I wept through most of the episode, and I have never been one to weep while watching a fictional program.

    Not only to we tune in to watch the show every week, but we also buy the DVDs and other merchandise, go to the cons to listen to the cast, we talk to each other about our favorite episodes, we log onto GateWorld to hear the latest, some even write fanfiction based on the show and it’s characters. I personally have stuck by the show through its many casting changes, and while I may not have always agreed with those changes I have kept an open mind and learned to enjoy the new characters to the show.

    I feel that ending the show so suddenly would be a vast disservice to both the cast and crew of the show as well as a disservice to the show’s many loyal fans. There is no way that a 2-hour movie could adequately tie up all the loose ends from the shows various story lines.

    It is my hope that they will reconsider their decision to cancel this fine show. I know I am not alone in feeling that Stargate:Atlantis has many more fine years ahead of it if only given the chance.

    MGM/Scifi should be aware that if the decision to cancel Stargate:Atlantis is not reversed, I will no longer watch any program on the SciFi Channel, and that includes Stargate:Universe

  • Sue

    I think it’s a shame, and I’m sad to see it go. I understand that it’s a business and all about the money. But they don’t get the money if they don’t get the viewers. Who do they think is going to watch Stargate: 90210 (oops, Universe) now that they have demonstrated a willingness to yank a show at the height of it’s popularity (good, consistent ratings, people choice award, etc.)? They are not deserving ot the trust that it takes to become a regular viewer.

  • Timespirt

    Well,

    They have put us through this one too many times. If they think that I will move on to BabyGate when it comes on, they are full of more crap than I thought. I won’t even watch Sanctuary because of this, both these shows have stollen our Stargate Atlantis. After all, where did they get the money to do 2 new shows, if they don’t have the money to do Atlantis??? They have finally pissed me off for good! I’m done with Sci-Fi after Atlantis is over, they have cancelled the last show I will ever watch with them.

  • Valika

    It’s really a huge shame to cancel this great sci-fi show. I’m so sorry to read this. I was very sorry and angry when SG-1 was cancelled, but at least we had Atlantis. Now the fans will have nothing, the third show, Stargate Universe seems to me like a Stargate Voyager on the basis of the spoilers. Actually I like Star Trek, but I do not wish to get one instead of Stargate.

    If this is all about money, why they do not find another financing source? There live a lot of fans all over the world, we’ll be more than happy if we could watch the show in local TVs and we could buy the DVDs with subtitles at least.

    Or they can reduce the producing costs besides, e.g. shooting in Middle Europe, cheaper CGI – there are a bunch of well-qualified people all over the world who are capable of doing this in the expected high quality, etc.

    At last, why MGM needs Sci-Fi at all? There are other big TV companies instead. At the beginning of SG-1, the show was owned by another company, as I remember.

    Anyway, fans can express their displeasure with this bad decision and maybe this could lead them to change their mind. Perhaps.

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