We’re #1! Well, we were anyway. The #1 pirated show on BitTorrent last week, beating out the likes of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, Psych, and Mad Men, and up from #6 the previous week. No actual hard numbers provided in the report, but one can’t help but wonder whether all those illegal downloads have been hurting the show’s ratings. The 30% bump Atlantis receives from the Live+7 numbers suggests that our viewers are tech-savvy (not all that surprising considering they are SF fans) and make use of alternate viewing resources such as Tivo, DVR, iTunes and BitTorrent. Exactly how this affected the show’s ratings is debatable and, at this point, of little consequence, but I just thought I’d mention it.
Meanwhile, we’ve still got a show to produce. Identity is shooting, Enemy at the Gate is prepping, and various cuts and mixes abound. Now, a lot of fans wonder whether I watch the show when it airs. My usual response is “Are you crazy?”. After spinning the story, reading its multiple outlines and script drafts, watching the dailies, watching the director’s cut, watching not one but two producer’s cuts, and then watching the various mixes, you can be pretty damn sure that when the show finally hits the small screen, I’ll probably be watching something else. By the time the final mix has been screened and the color correct completed, the episode is pretty much done anyway. Still, these various screenings are an important part of production process and it’s always great to have a fresh set of eyes on an episode. Of course, the relative freshness of those eyes is entirely dependent on timing. Morning screenings work best for everyone. Early afternoon screenings following a large pasta or turkey lunch, on the other hand, are frowned upon and generally to be avoided. Nothing scatters a gaggle of producers like a post-lunch viewing. The other day, I had to track everyone down for a Day 2 mix. Paul and Alan were holed-up in the bathroom. I found Carl hiding under his desk. Marty G. showed but “came prepared“, taking a page out of Homer Simpson’s playbook (see pic).
We were halfway through the mix when my cell phone rang. It was Statistics Canada calling me about some survey I’d just completed. They needed information related to my 2006 business year-end as opposed to the 2007 business year-end I’d provided. The Stats Can rep offered up her email address but, being in the midst of the screening, I suggested she call back later informing her I was driving. Big mistake. “Bee-beep!”sounded Paul from across the room. Then “Honk! Honk!” from Martin behind me. “Hey!”yelled Carl. “Get out of the way!”. Once the Stats Can rep clicked off and I’d pocketed my cell phone, Martin finished with: “Enjoy your audit!”said Martin. Uh, yeah. I never did get that return call.
Finally – I don’t usually comment on news events, preferring to focus on my insular little life, but I couldn’t believe that this –
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/26/BU3A12ILN1.DTL
wasn’t bigger news. I mean, seriously. This wasn’t a couple of two-bit con men pulling one over on some witless rube, this was Citibank! Citibank! This quote in particular stood out: “”Stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision,” the supervisor was quoted as saying.”
Hey, Stephen Dobyns, author of The Church of Dead Girls, contacted me yesterday. Apparently, he was away from his email all week, just got back, and is eager to answer your questions. So if you have questions for Stephen, let’s see ‘em. Antisocialbutteflie – I’ve got yours.
Today’s video: Carl Binder leads us on a tour through Stage 5. Part I.
1. Will Elizabeth ever return?
2. How many movies do you think you’ll do, if you do a series of them?
3. Will the Ronan and Keller almost-kiss come to play ever?
4. Are they just going to leave Elizabeth out there forever?
5. Is it true that the third Sg-1 movie will center on Jack?
6. Could Rainbow Sun Francks ever return?
7. Will the first SGA movie be stand alone?
8. When it says SGU 2-hour movie, does that mean pilot episode or an actual movie?
9. Will Jason Momoa return for the movies?
10. Will there be an SGA/SG1 movie?
11. Was the end of “Ghost in the Machine” meant to show possibility of Weir returning or show that it is the end of her?
12. Will there be any more episodes of just going to a planet and interacting with aliens?
13. Will shippers be getting anything this season?
14. What’s your favorite food?
15.Will Michael’s story arc be resolved by the series’ end?
16. What does it mean that SGU will be set for a younger audience?
17. Is there a point to fight for Elizabeth or is she already gone?
18. Will the series end with some closure?
19. Will things from “The Shrine” come to play in the latter half of the series?
20. Can we expect new storyline for the SGA movies (if there is a series of them)?
Please answer the ones that you can!!
Hey Joe,
I would like to come to the filming of SGA’s 100th episode if that’s okay.
Holy crap! Thanks for that link to that article about Citibank, Joe. I’m forwarding it to my parents. What they did was basically stolen from hacker technology too, so glad to see they’re learning from the too-smart-for-their-own-good crooks. Thankfully I’ve never banked with Citibank. Yeeeesh.
That was very disconcerting. It took me a good 10 seconds to realize where we were, even after you said ‘control room’ Atlantis isn’t really a galaxy away from SG-1. Sometimes I forget. It’s your guys fault anyway, for making me think things are real. That… and when I forget to take my pills.
Also, my cat could kick Ronon’s ass!
And by that, mean, she would run away until he sat down, then lay on his chest and lick his nose. And he would be defeated!!!
The Citibank ‘theft’ of $14 million is a piddling amount, alas, compared to the $400 million at least one hedge fund ‘lost’, and they keep busting more shady hedge fund operators every day. And then there’s the massive credit crisis, caused by lax financial regulations.
Oh, welcome to the US way of doing business 😉
“Stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision,”
WTF??????????
(sounds like the government – business as usual)
I’m delighted to see the Continuum and Ark of Truth soundtracks are out; mine arrived today. I’d love to see Mr. Goldsmith do an Atlantis cd along the lines of the SG-1 disk; with suites from various episodes. His music is such an instrumental part of the show, yet such a subtle part it’s only after watching a second or third time that you appreciate how much it contributes. Thanks for bringing his work to our attention once more.
Jason M.’s picture is hilarious, but the wig has really got to go. PLEASE let Ronon lose it in the movie at least? Please? Mr. G. looks at his best in the pic today. Perhaps you can help him out for Christmas by getting him some cards made up using that pic for the cards?
I’m continuing to watch your studio tour videos with a bittersweet joy. I’ve been a lifelong fan of sci fi and sci fi shows, but it’s been Atlantis that has claimed pride of place in my heart. So I appreciate every little glimpse I can get behind the magic that makes the show. And I can’t think of better tour guides than yourself and Mr. Binder.
For Mr. Dobyns. Which of your works would you recommend to someone not familiar with your works, as a first, second, and third choice? Which is more satisfying, teaching, writing poetry, or writing fictional prose? In Church of Dead Girls, we were presented with what I’d call a psychological horror thriller. Have you done any more “traditional” horror stories? What do you think of the genre in general? Finally, what aspect of getting a book published is the most rewarding, and the most frustrating? Thank you very much for your participation in this forum. While I was not a fan of “Church of Dead Girls”, I netherless appreciate the craftsmenship and imagination that went into writing it.
Mr. M. I hope you, or your cohorts, enjoy the rocks and seashells. I had hoped to enclose a few more books, but apparantly I have an undue fondness for books that are currently out of print. I do hope you enjoy at least some of the selections. Thank you again for all your work, for the show, and for the fans that you keep so ably entertained here.
Personally, I doubt that you’re seeing any effect on the ratings from downloads. My experience is that those who are tech-savvy enough to download are also clued in enough to realize how important ratings are; I would certainly hope that if the downloaders were part of the hallowed few with boxes, that they’d do their best to make sure their viewing is tracked, some how, some way.
There’s just not enough people with Neilsen boxes.
will the apollo or phoenix at all appear this season?
Ref. Viewing stats.
The industry uses an outdated methodology to gain it’s figures and really needs to address itself to the technology of the 21st century.
I, like most people I know download episodes, keep them for a few days then delete. When the dvd’s become available I buy them. This does not mean these downloads cannot be counted or tracked – they can and it’s quite simple to do. Even BBCi relies on torrents and the like for it’s service. BBCi’s system is simply based on this; once a show has left the schedule, it can be downloaded for viewing free of charge – the cool thing is that it cannot be easily copied and it deletes itself after 5 or 7 days.
But the funny thing is this, the first two episodes of SGA season 4 were available weeks before their first air dates (albeit it – without Foley) and again this season, the first episode was available quite a while before official airing.
Ark of Truth was available along time before release, yet Continuum became available only a few days before release. This means that someone either at Bridge, MGM or SCIFI is releasing them to the web!
The future of TV is going to be completely web based and it’s really about time viewing stats reflected the download capabilities of this medium.
No one wants to not pay money to those who have earned it. This is why I buy the dvd’s, which I’m sure the studio will make more from than me putting up with a load of TV commercials (if I owned a TV). Personally I prefer the web method.
If they did record these statistics, I’m sure you’d be shocked at the numbers globally.
Hell, I really wish they would count them and include the estimated viewing scope of the dvd releases.
But at the end of the day, you guys make a brilliant and wanted product. Never in TV history has there ever been the kind of interaction that SG has created between cast, crew, production and viewers. SGF is the first almost real time relationship of it’s type in history. And the basis that people pop through a gate, save the universe and are back home in time for dinner has been the subtle backbone of this. If SGU is to be ship based, then the essence has drastically changed. I would certainly dread the thought of the impact to the whole of the SGF if SGU were to flop – over saturation like in the Trek world, simply destroyed Trek.
If it ain’t broke – don’t even try to fix it.
My gut says that SGU should start out a TV movie and gauge reaction not from view stats – but the web after it has aired.
Loving these vids you’re posting of the sets – shame you can’t switch the lights on. It would be great if you could go and annoy the hell out of the cast in their trailers.
I watch the show when it airs and then download it so I can watch it again right away. … I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
I’ll have to agree with the others that those who care enough about the show and are tech-savvy enough to track down torrents also know and care about ratings. This is where this stupid Neilson box system is really inadequate. So, so many people don’t even watch TV on TV any more. I certainly don’t. I have my TV for playing video games and it hardly gets used. I often wait until a show’s out on DVD before watching any of it. If the studios (or whoever) would take into account things like DVD sales and downloads from iTunes/Amazon, they’d get a far better picture of how many people are really watching. As it is, it does no more good for the ratings for people to download from Amazon or even to watch it on a non-Neilson TV (which is the vast majority of people) than it does for people to download it illegally. Those who want to help out the show’s ratings can’t, and most people who don’t care much about the show probably aren’t going to worry about the hassle of finding out where to download it for free. The PTB need to stop trying to track down every single individual download from some random torrent, and start overhauling the system so that people who care about a show can actually support it, so they’d get a far more accurate count of who’s watching, and if that happens, I think, torrents won’t be as popular because if people know their voice is being heard they’ll be far more likely to speak. And by speak I mean download from any official channels which would actually count their votes, as a lot of people who download don’t watch TV on TV at all. (Sorry, that got totally rambly and incoherent, but I’m just not feeling very coherent today.)
As a warning to those who do use torrents, though, I would say this: last night the internet at my work got shut down for a while. Once it was back up, we found out that it was because someone had been downloading from bit torrent and HBO put a C&D on our IP address. I didn’t even know they could do that. So just FYI.
thanks for touring the sg1 set… kind of made me sad, though… i didn’t realize how much i missed sg1 until ‘continuum’. but the movie felt like old school sg1 anway, so i’ve ‘really’ been missing sg1… i’m babbling. 😛
is there any date for when brad’s going to answer the fans ‘continuum’ questions?
sally =)
Dear Mr Mallozzi,
I do not think that ‘illegal’ downloads affect the ratings that much. A lot of downloaders are probably people who do not have regular access to the SciFi channel – just think of the hundreds of thousands of SGA fans outside the US (like me) who would have to wait for half a decade before we can watch the episodes on our local tv channels, usually in a terribly bad translated version (I am currently watching my SG-1 DVDs with the Spanish language track to practise my Spanish, and it is even worse than the German version), before we can finally buy the DVDs another couple of years later. US customers can at least buy the episodes on iTunes, but as this service is not available outside the US, there is really not much of an alternative besides waiting for the DVDs – at which point it will no longer really matter in terms of ratings. If there was a legal and simple way to purchase/watch the new SGA episode every week, I (and many others) would certainly do so.
Also, you won’t find the real ‘tech-savvy’ fans using bittorrent, or any other file sharing client for that matter.
Most of those downloading the episodes, probably over 90%, don´t live in the United States and therefore can’t influence US ratings in any way, good or bad. If anything, downloading might help DVD sales abroad, in countries where the show airs with a delay of one, two, maybe even three years or not at all.
It seems that Jason has been quite the ham in front of your camera lately. Is he typically the most welcoming of all the cast members when the flash starts going off?
Eventually someone will figure out how to profit from all this new tech and shows that people around the world want to see will be made to accomodate this new reality.
I think SGA is one of these series, if you could have calculated worldwide interest somehow, and then found a way to make it worth somebodies’ while, it would have gone on for years.
Unfortunately, it is ahead of its’ time, and by the time someone does figure out a way to do this, SGA will be a fond memory.
So very very sad.
Ah, Citibank. The Lord of all Customer Service Centres. Yep, sarcasm. I’m sure the $14 million they have to pay back will be offset by a courteous letter arriving in my mailbox on Monday letting me know my interest rates have gone up on my Citibank mortgage again.
If Sci Fi showed the most recent Atlantis season in our country I’d be watching it with bells on. I’d love to make a night of it. But instead our Friday night on Sci Fi is SG1 – Season 10, SGA – Season 3 (which they laughably advertise as “Fresh Episodes”. Yeah, if you are into canned fruit. And then the night finishes off with SG1 “The early years”. At the moment they have just started Season 6.
I signed up with Sci Fi on Foxtel for shows such as Stargate and we get old seasons. I enjoy watching old episodes, but if it wasn’t for access to current episodes my passion for Stargate would have gone. So as much as I would love to say boo to all of us that do download, in some regions the choice is out of our hands.
It appears on the surface the Sci Fi community shows it’s loyalty by also going out and purchasing the DVD packs as soon as they become available. Doesn’t help you guys in the short term, but again we do all we can to support the franchise.
Amongst all of that babble what I was trying to say is that, if Sci Fi allowed me to contribute to your ratings I would.
I know not alot about Neilson boxes and other methods of recording viewing stats…i do know however that being a UK resident and not being able to afford the subscription for Sky television (the only channel to air SGA/SG-1 and many of the other favourite Sci-fi and US imported shows….not since the swipeage of BH 90210 from terrestrial have I been so annoyed with show hogging Sky TV ) I have little alternative than to turn to the internet to keep my sci-fi buds appeased….until funds allow the purchase of the boxset (which seems to take an absolute age to be released over here also)….seriously without the internet i’d have never been able to pass my recent University degree which regularly covered the most up to date TV series (incuding SGA!)
-laughs- Jason looks like such a dork, I love it! He reminds me of my cousin whenever we would run around on the playground at school playing Star Wars, my best friend Jackie and I would be Luke Skywalker and Han Solo(she was Luke, I was Han…we were cool like that ;)), and we would make him be C-3PO most of the time. Also, is that a copy of Stephanie Meyer’s The Host under the kitty toy? Just wondering, the colour and the bit of face that I can see look familiar. And yes, I can tell what copy of a book it is by the colour on occasion.
So, Joe, I was wondering something else, have you ever read Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World(first in the Wheel of Time series) or Terry Goodkind’s Wizard’s First Rule(first in the Sword of Truth series)? I’m reading them right now, my friend’s boyfriend lent them to me, so I have to read them both by Sunday, when I see him again. I’m enjoying them so far…well, Eye of the World, anyway…was wondering if you liked them, too.
Ok, everyone keeps mentioning ‘illegal’. Thankfully no one is quoting piracy and theft because these are two issues totally different, i.e. theft is a tangible thing, a studio could not say it is theft, if something has not been physically removed from them and certainly not on the grounds of speculation.
The laws are different in each country, what we have is an issue the is deeply embedded in the realms of what we pay ISP’s for and their own responsibility. After all, what we’re talking about is effectively paying someone money so we can break the law (or not, dependent on where you live).
Further to this; if I download a show – what is the financial implication of me doing so? literally, how much should I pay to view and delete something and what is it’s real value in comparison to watching on a TV?
The real difference is the duration we keep the download for and it’s comparison to the purchase and ownership of the dvd.
It’s a mine field and a very heavy subject. Oh and it’s totally different to the issues surrounding music downloads.
The only place in law that could possibly cover it is the laws regarding the use of a VCR or the like.
But nothing is stopping them producing a finished show with a self deleting codec.
But if the SGF sold the show in-house direct to web for lets say $5 that would delete itself after 5 days and put something similar to the ‘Dr Who Confidential’ show on the back of it – i’d pay it. It’d be a nice earner for the studio too.
I was watching a TV show called Jeremiah and there were some episodes that seemed to use some of SG-1’s sets (the hallway and the medical room with the windows). Have any other Shows used the Stargate sets?
I have a question. I’ve been out of the television business for some time…
However, if I remember correctly, ratings from say Australia, are not used in the overal Nielson ratings? I think we’re still on season 3 here in Australia. I do not have satellite sevice nor access to the Sci Fi Channel here, so I try to catch it on the free to air channels if it comes on.
Why are we two years behind the US in current episodes? I honestly, do not think I’d be a fan if I had to wait 2 years to see what everyone else on the web is talking about.
If I were in the USA, I would not miss a single episode live, and I’d be hunting down those Nielson boxes. I miss living in the USA. I did put in a request that my parents in the USA get me the Atlantis season 4 boxset awhile back. I have one DVD player that plays the USA region. 🙂
Sci Fi puts up some of the latest episodes of shows on its website after they air, like Ghost Hunters. I’ve tried to access them on there, but Sci Fi blocks international users from viewing it with a “sorry but you have to reside in the US to watch these”.
I guess Sci Fi does not like international viewers. *sigh*
So, I guess it’s either wait two years to see the episodes airing now, or not watch it at all. And they don’t even air most of the shows I used to love to watch in the US.
I did try at one time to get my parents to record the shows for me in the US, but it quickly became too expensive.
I honestly wish I could help out more. 🙁
Can I ask a huge favor? Can you speak to someone about getting SGU to air at the same time here in Australia as it does in the USA when it premieres? If I have to wait 2 years to see it, then I probably won’t bother watching it. Thanks 🙂
Waaaaaa!!! the nostalgia!!!! Waaaaaaaaaa!!!
Hey Ronon, pick on a pussy your own size 😉
As for downloading. I tell friends in America to watch it on sci fi for me… then I download the episode. Being in Australia and not being able to watch on foxtel, it’s the only way I can watch it.
I do however, buy the dvd sets , so there.
Ahhh, I love it when Jason has too much time on his hands! BTW, it finally came to me what that bad rug reminded me of! – must have been the stuffed cat that triggered the thought – I hate cats… Anyway – Shirley Temple having a Wraith drug bad hair day!!!
**PUL-LEEEEZZZE** let the man kill that thing in the last 2 eps!! Auction it off for charity or something. F**k, the damn cat on his head would look more believable!!
Hi Joe!
Thanks for the behind the scenes videos! They are very interesting.
Ooooh, someone falls?!
eddy
I will add this…
Sci Fi does not cater at all to the international community. Shows, if they even air internationally, usually air 1-3 years behind schedule. Downloading is a result of Sci Fi not taking into account the international community.
One of my favorite shows, Ghost Hunters, does not air overseas.
I try to access the show through the Sci Fi website, only to get the error “Sorry, you don’t reside in the USA…etc” I can’t even watch the behind the scenes clips either. This really just emphasizes my point all the more. Sci Fi does not cater to the international community.
Stargate is an international success. However, there is no means that Sci Fi provides for which international viewers can obtain the most recently aired episodes when they air. And, seriously, who wants to watch a show in which the episodes are two years old and everyone has already discussed them in length on the internet? The Stargate website would spoil it enough alone.
Hey Joe!
Neat video of Stargate Command in ‘downtime’. I’m amazed how much you are able to remove, and yet have no problem erecting it again. You have some great set builders. 😉
In the corridor outside the gate control room, is that a ping-pong table beside the mirror?
Heh, in regards to seeing the episode when it airs, the only way to see it in Canada anyways is via The Movie Network…which costs extra with the cable companies. Unless you want to wait over a year or two for Space to air it. 😛 Well still, it’s neat to to see Atlantis in different forms.
Thanks as always!
– Enzo Aquarius
BTW, which TPTB numbers nit thought that there would be more than 3 *younger* audience people sitting at home in the U.S. to actually watch SGU…? Cause any and everyone under the age of 25 will be too busy hacking into where ever it is they go to on their iPhones that their parents pay for so they have something to view later while waiting for their ride home from where they usually spend their time…
And as for the rest of us *old* folks who download the present show… Well, Duh! The reason *we* watch is *because* we’re ALL McTechies!! It’s those studio suits that have the IQ of roadkill that should be taken out of the gene pool! Those guys seriously are in need of being Borg’d! Quick, anyone have any extra NAPA autoparts lying around? Or a Replicator in their backpack?
Hey, DAS, think TODD would like to do a little *roadtrip*…?!
Whatever, I’ll bet my Adam West autograph, that the Studio Stats guys took the same math classes as the Citibank beanies…. [*cough*badmortgagepaper*cough*]
Hey Joe,
I think MGM and SCI FI are wrong for cancelling a show that has proven to still attract viewers, recovered in ratings from a dip in Season 3, won the most recent PCA award, nominated for an Emmy, and multiple Gemini awards. Brad and Rob put SGA in your hands and you did wonders with it, only for them to take it away or whoever was responsible. You and Paul and the rest of the producers and writers raised the bar for Atlantis and made the show even better. I hate to be the one to say to MGM/SCI FI/ and Stargate Productions “I told you so” for taking such a big risk with a new series and cancelling one with a loyal fan base. I like to see SGU succeed because it’s Stargate but if it doesn’t interest me, the SGA cancellation will feel even more bitter. I think I know why you are dissappointed. Atlantis has so many stories that can be told, and when you see the show doing better you begin to feel more hopeful, and then the door is slammed shut on you.
Anyway, I hope the network will Green-light multiple movies. I know SGA will not end with Season 5, but it must continue past one TV movie.
Best of luck to all of you!
Squall78
Mr. M
Citibank is practicing the currently in vogue fashion of appropriating funds until it’s banned by law or someone gets a free vacation from Uncle Sam. If you study history, this is is a cyclical thing. Business types usually wants less regulation and oversight from governments. Generally business supported governments decides to “de-regulated” after appeals from lobbyists over a prolong period. Then the scandals and sudden bankruptcy of major institutions happens. Everything gets regulated again until the next government with weak memories comes along.
On another note. Our non-friend GUSTAV ‘s computer projection tracks have gotten worse. About half got NOLA in their sights while the other half got a path paralleling the coast offshore from near NOLA to Galveston with strength at category 3 next Tuesday. Hope the posters from this blog in that area have finalize their evacuation plans. The rest of of us should top up the gas tank before the price spike from oil supply disruption. Then we will see if HANNA will visit Florida later with the possibly of IKE forming up in mid Atlantic.Wonder if we got enough names for this hurricane season without going Greek again.
Hahahaha! I gotta save that Marty G. pic and put a funny caption on it. It’s just asking for it.
Thanks for another vid Joe! Wow, Part 4 already; this is certainly a facinating story arc. It was kind of a “holy hannah” moment seeing the SG1 gate again, even if it was badly lit. Where’s Jim Menard when you need him? 😉
Thanks to Carl for the Vegas and Inquisition tidbits. Good to know we’ll get to see the SGC one last time before the Atlantis series…*sniff*…finishes. Does that mean we’ll see Walter too? Oh please say yes! If so, that would make him one of a handful of characters to appear in all seasons of Stargate!
Oh, and I’ll gladly show up to watch a mix, Joe. Really. After lunch is fine too! 😀
And here it is!
Potential LOL
Speaking of (potentially) funny Marty G. stuff, I also have this:
More Potential LOL
You might have heard of the incident, Joe. I found MG on MySpace and, without thinking things through, quickly nabbed a few of his pictures, friended him, and created that thing I just linked to. Then, wanting to use it as my signiture on Gateworld, I sent MG a message asking if it’s ok to do that, which then became very awkward and stuff, and…yeah, it was very strange and I’m pretty sure I came off as a creepy fanboy stalker. Luckily, those days of awkwardness is over. Heh. Heh.
Heh.
Well Joe the show gets piratewd a lot, but what can you do when you live in a country that only now is showing season SGA S1 and SG-1 S7?
Hey Joe,
try to get anything related to sci-fi, on polish tv, hehe,.
We are behind every country on earth.
If they starting showing some sci-fi shows, usually after 1 season, it’s over,cause too little ppl were watching it,well cause it was shown at 6AM, or 2/3PM when everyone is either sleeping or working.
Not everybody has acces to AXN or other channels, so it’s really hard to watch some popular shows.
When you want to buy a whole season of Stargate,you have to try to get it from outside Poland – and it costs a lot of money.
As the others wrote, you can’t even acess the Sci-fi site – gets only error – no resident of US,blee.
And here are many fans, too.
Thanks for vidoe tours.
🙂
Ok now, I am one of those naughty downloaders. *looks sheepish* But to be a fair, I do watch the episodes on the Sci Fi channel. I watch both airings every friday night. And if the episodes repeat the following week, I watch those too. And while I do sometimes download episodes on occasion, I buy the dvd’s pretty much the day they come out. And once I have them on dvd, I delete them from my computer. I’d like to think I do my part in helping the ratings.
@Montrealer: I agree that people need to have their plan at the ready. We were rather unprepared when it came to Katrina. Evacuation was crazy. We didn’t leave until the cloud bands were over Baton Rouge/Hammond area. Though admittedly things were fine once we’d left the city. Funny how silly people can get even in the midst of a natural disaster. There was a contraflow started on I-55 and people were so excited to drive on the opposite side of the road that the regular side was fairly clear.
Alexandria,
It’s not that SciFi doesn’t like the international audience, it doesn’t have the licenses to broadcast outside this country. I have the same problem with the BBC. I don’t know if you can get into the Sci Fi site, but the BBC not only won’t let me get into the videos, it won’t even let me get to the INFORMATION.
I wouldn’t have a clue how to use bit torrent, but my understanding is that what you get is not all that clear and people that use it mostly do so to see things in a timely fashion, then replace their copies when it airs in their country or they can buy DVDs.
My frustration is that I can have somebody get me a broadcast copy if I can tell them when it’s on, so all I’m asking from the BBC website is to look at their schedule and they won’t let me do that. Or read their articles or anything.
So you are not alone… we all have that problem whenever we want something from a country other than our own, when they aren’t inclined to give it to us.
Thanks, Joe, for the information on Citibank. I haven’t seen any news on that. I have my own horror story with them. I refuse to have a credit card or anything that will give them any more money than they already get from me every month.
They bought my mortgage from the bank I went with — one I wouldn’t have gone to if I had known they’d sell it where they did. When I went to refinance, they offered me the best deal on a no-fee re-fi because I was already a good customer and supposedly wanted to keep me.
Part of that deal was to get rid of the real-estate taxes escrow which I could have gotten rid of a few years earlier but had been too busy to worry about.
Anyway, come closing day, which was in something like June, July or August, they claimed there was no money in the escrow and presented me with zeroes. I had to fight to get my money back, which was nearly $800. They swore there was no money in it, but they had paid the last tax bill in February or March, and collected money past then every single month. But if I hadn’t fought them, they wouldn’t have ever coughed it up.
However, they didn’t pay me everything they owed me. They still owe me $30 of my own money which they claimed had to be some kind of fee out of one side of their mouth while admitting it was a no-fee transaction out of the other. Unfortunately, there’s only so long you can waste time fighting them, before you cut your losses and give up. And that’s what they count on.
For years afterwards any time they sent me offers of any kind, I’d send them back with a note that said, not until you pay me back my $30, because until then, I consider you thieves. But they never gave me back my money.
Hmmm, maybe I’ll contact them again and say, now that you’ve admitted to being thieves on a grand scale, how about returning my money you stole.
Hey Jo
Hi from France, thx for your blog!
About pirating, don’t forget it involves foreign countries as well, thus not affecting domestic ratings.
I confess I download the episodes, not being able to wait 2 years for a crappily dubbed version. But I buy the DVDs when they’re out.
I live in Central Europe so I couldn’t do anything about the live ratings but I do buy every SGA DVD and every book available. It’s the only way for me to support the show that I love 🙁
You’re number 1 at the moment, but that’s because Heroes and BSG aren’t showing new episodes yet 😉
Everyone wants to share the watercooler moment about their favourite shows and discuss what happened in the latest episodes with their friends. The web means friends can be anywhere, not just those in the TV defined regions, so you download to keep up, to have the social currency. (Something NBC seemed to have forgotten with their recent Olympics coverage)
International downloads don’t affect the ratings, so have no impact on the amount of advertising revenue the network can make on the show. They do impact the ratings in other countries, when they eventually get the rights and possibly DVD sales, so have a longer term financial impact. Although research has shown than downloaders are often worth more in the long run, as they are passionate about the show and tend to buy more things related to it.
On a completely unrelated note, nice to see the soundtracks there. A question I’d love to ask Joel Goldsmith is would he like to have his music performed in a concert. There was a Doctor Who Prom recently (the Proms are a huge annual music festival in the UK) where music from the series was performed at the Royal Albert Hall, full orchestra and choir, plus the occasional Cyberman and Dalek.
Bonjour Joseph.
Cool les photo. merci pour la video.
Il y’en a qui doive être heureux, il ont des réponse a leur email -_-‘
Question:
1 Pourquoi vous ne répondez jamais à mes email? Vous ne m’aimez pas ?
Aller a bientôt.
Well, I use BitTorrents to download Stargate Atlantis. But I’ve never had cable, and prior to torrents I just waited and bought the DVDs a year after the season aired. And I still buy all the DVDs (have SG-1 seasons 1-8, never watched more than two episodes of the later seasons, and SGA seasons 1-4). A lot of students don’t have cable — or TVs. We use our computers for everything.
There are a lot of us who are in other countries. Yes, I download, but for me it’s the only way to watch the show in a decent timeframe. In my country it’s only aired in Satellite, dubbed (which is a major crime) and they are never up to date. I have been doing that since SG-1 season 4, and I buy all the DVDs because I like to collect them. Lately I even buy them in my country to convince them that release is worth it. I don’t think I’m hurting anything.
I do think, however that bussiness executives aren’t in tune with how technology has changed our viewing. Be smart and use it. Not that you’re in time for SGA, mind you. Which is a shame.
With respect to previous posters, The readers & participants of this blog aren’t typical SGA viewers. We’re more invested in the show. The insights & dialogue provided by Joe, make us intimately involved with the cast, crew & creators.
I doubt the majority of people who download free programs purchase them later. Whether it is tv shows , movies, or music . The primary goal of many people is to get it free. They resort to purchase only if the quality of the free product is lacking.
Post online to find a reputable site where you can purchase downloads . 75% of the replies will be people directing you to illegal sites or ridiculing you for paying.
I think the majority of people who download a good copy will burn it or play it ad naseum. Just my opinion , but I doubt most people delete a show they are still very interested in watching. They will more likely burn or transfer the file until they have a superior copy.
A year or two when it becomes available on tv or dvd will they be intersted ?
That depends. A die hard fan will be. But they can afford to wait until there is a good sale or an inexpensive used copy. Maybe they will have moved on to the next sci -fi phenom or be invested in ( name the actor)’s. latest offering. There’s no great rush to shell out $ for a show you already own and have seen many times. Especially when the FX are a couple years old.
Time will tell. If people really will spend their $. Atlantis should be the #1 seller in a few years when it is released abroad.
ok the poster, q-ball-er is really starting to annoy me…anyone else??
They keep posting that same DAMN post!!
Question for Joe: Will Gary be back for Vegas?? Can he…please?? *Puppy-eyes*
NZJ
Hey Mr. Mallozzi ! I just wanted to react to your BitTorrent comment.
I actually illegaly dowload must of the episodes of Atlantis for a simple reason : I’m French, and it’s been 2 years since any public channel broadcasted Stargate, SG1 or Atlantis. Since 1998, the show was sold to a channel name M6, a free and public channel. Then all of a sudden they broadcasted it very very late, so the audience would fall and they could have an excuse not to broadcast the show anymore. They stopped SG1 at the 10th episode of the 10th season, and refused to broadcast the rest of the series despite thousand of complaints, arguing that if we wanted our show, we had to buy they private channel. France is not like America, most of the population has regular TV, with 6 to 16 channels, but no cable, which is very expensive.
So yes, like many french fans I download SGA episodes the day following their diffusion in the US, because I don’t want to abbandon my fave series only because a stupid channel decided that Stargate was overrated ! But I can assure you that most of us litteraly RUN to buy the DVDs when they come out !
So I’m sure that if you take a closer look to the origin of the dowloads, many of them are from foreign countries who are eager to watch the show and who will buy the DVDs anyway. And I think a lot of US dowloaders will do the same.
Hi, Joe.
Thank you so much for the video tours of the stages. My, how nostalgic I became when I saw today’s entry. Sniff. Thanks to Carl for being our guide.
Best wishes, Morjana
Hey Joe,
I agree with the people saying that a lot of those that download live outside of the USA. There’s simply no other means for them to catch the show, and it would be very sad to have to wait for over a year before this season actually airs on their local station.
By that time everybody will have moved on. You, however, would be sitting there with a big *squeee*-y feeling, and would want to go online to chat about it, e.g. on GateWorld, but you’d find no one, because everybody will have moved on to the next season’s thread. It’d be quite lonely, there. Plus, like some other people also pointed out, the ep would probably be totally ruined from all the spoilers you’ve seen by then.
So basically, for the people who live outside of the US, and have no way of watching SciFi, it’s keeping away from GW on Sat morning, and quickly get the ep, watch it, and rant about it on GW for about a week, till the next ep airs.
I know it’s definitely not an ideal situation, and we’d all LOVE to count for viewers, too, but there’s no way we can. Only US people get that privilege.
The only thing I can do, is run to the store, or order the DVD boxes online as quickly as they come out.
I also can add that I think it’s a shame that, and that goes for tv shows and movies alike, there’s sometimes so little different languages on those DVDs. Meaning that, if my mother tongue was included on those season 4 DVDs that are released somewhere else, I might already have it, instead of having to wait for another few months (season 4 just finished airing) before the box finally comes out over here.
We still have over a month to wait until Continuum comes out, too, but fortunately, same as with AoT, I haven’t seen it yet, I haven’t spoiled myself, and therefore, I’ll probably absolutely love it. 😀
Spikey
Hey joe!
It is a sad #1 for you, being on top of the blackmarket. Well, I’m really sorry but as a Germany viewer I probably am responsible for that too. But as long as I don’t know how to get the sci-fi channel I don’t know what else to do. Waiting for more than a year longer than all my friends? I hate being spoiled and over that long a period it’s close to impossible besides cutting all contacts.
But at least I buy the DVDs as soon as they are out and my parents are watching Stargate every Wednesday night anyway. But getting good rates won’t help you much anyway I guess.
Well, what I wanted to say is, that loads of people watching Stargate via internet are probably from other countries and can’t support the ratings on sci-fi. Stargate is just THAT popular in Europe and the other continents. Well at least one can hope that that is the reason
Thanks for the tour through the stages. I love them!
1. Holy crap. I have a credit card with Citibank. Lucky I’m not, dead, or anything…
2. After-lunch anything is torture. Think of the after-lunch grips and gaffers, dude!
3. If I were so lucky (broadcast sci-fi entertainment -wise) as to reside in the USA / Canada, there’d be nothing more appealing on a Friday night than to blob down on the couch after work, crack open a beer and watch some dorky hot/handsome space-rangers, mutant-punk-rock-headbanging-human-frog-aliens, fancy white and blue lights flashing in circles, some kick-ass storylines and, of course, gunfire and punching. But, unfortunately, I’m not. And unfortunately for the Australian public, they haven’t yet embraced the Stargate franchise so vehemently as they have Dancing With The Stars. So, it’s either download and buy the box sets a few months after they’re available over there, or wait two years and stay up ’till midnight on a Thursday (funny, you get the classiest ads around that timeslot…), meaning I’m a zombie for work the next day at 5:30am. I tried it a few times. I gave up. We don’t even get Stargate via iTunes yet (although we can score Joel Goldsmith’s tracks). Hopefully Australian broadcasters and audiences will eventually wake up to themselves and replace WIPEOUT with something a little more entertaining, perhaps around early 2009? ‘Till then, it’s BitTorrent and DVDs for me, I’m afraid. Apologise to the cast, crew and production staff on my behalf. Thanks.
4. Oh, and congrats on topping the poll that actually DOES reflect something accurately!
Hi again Mr M!
Great snaps! RE: The Continuum Soundtrack, has Mr Goldsmith any intention in releasing a “Best of SG1” type CD? Taking the stirring themes / suites from the 10 seasons and releasing a compilation?
I’ve been over to his site and was fascinated by the development of the Atlantis theme.. Any chance he’d swing by and answer a few questions here? I have always been aware of how important music is to the show (I think of Mr Goldsmith as the 5th member of SG1) but I realised watching the Commentary on Continuum, just how much a part it plays in the minds of the creators (particularly Brad Wright who on a couple of occasions pauses to hear to score)
Also, re: Stage 5 tour, more please!!! Reminds me of last April…I came home with about 120 pictures….My wife’s comments were:
(Hammonds Office): “Ok, you in front of a cement wall, beside a light switch!”
(SGC Corridor) :”Two thick coloured lines on the ground”
(Control Room): “Switches,buttons,plastic and glass”
You know when you put it that way…….
Despite my enthusing about :”But this is where Hammond phoned the President” ; “This is where Jack kissed Carter” ; “This is where the Reetou ran”….fell on deaf ears.
Her description of my Expedition to the Convention : “You are travelling half way round the world to see a giant circle of plastic?”…Ah yes, ever the SciFI fan….
Best to all
Shirt’n’Tie
Morning’.. or rather, afternoon, Joe.
Apologies for my tardiness, but I kinda managed to get myself locked away with youtube and Danger Mouse this morning. And with needing to finish off the canvas I started this week, along with drinking far too many espressos, being taken for a drag by the dog *and* listening to the Pink Panther theme tune loud enough to irritate the neighbours.. Well, I kinda lost track of myself.
Anyhows.. coffee in hand. Am here now.
Interesting on the ‘pirate’ stats. To be honest, i’m not surprised. Unfortunately, between their collectively useless heads, TPTB decided it would be a brilliant idea to air the show at different times around the globe. For some fans, that means weeks or months (years, in Aussieland?) after it’s shown Stateside. Now, patience isn’t exactly something I waited in line for when it was being handed out.. but it’s understandable that fans want to watch their favourite show as soon as is humanly possible. Visiting scifi-based sites and being buried in spoilers for something you’re not likely to see for a long, loooong time to come, can be a little frustrating.
Nevertheless.. tv ratings mean alot. I understand that and so find it a little puzzling that TPTB don’t take into account the ratings from other parts of the globe. SkyOne shows reruns of both SG1 and SGA almost 24/7, 365 days a year.. and they’re really pushing the new season through advertisements and trailers. In fact, i’m surprised that BSkyB haven’t yet made moves to muscle in on the franchise themselves. Over here, it puts alot of monies into their pockets. *Alot* of monies.
Ah well, I guess it’s all irrelevant now anyways.
Nice piccies by the way. Tis almost tempting to paint a bullseye on Marty G’s forehead and load the waterpistols. See how fast a Writer/Producer can run, with a pack of morbidly sadistic fans on his heels.
Narelle from Aus said:
Hey Narelle,
How was the holiday? Feeling refreshed?
It’s actually not SciFi’s fault that they can’t show us the latest eps. Channel 7 have the rights so they get to show it first and they can just sit on it like they do. SciFi can’t show a season until it has finished on Channel 7. Of course they could spend more money than Channel 7 to secure the rights.
Presently, I just wait for the DVDs. Fortunately I bought the Season 4 box set from the States, so I’ve seen it, I loaned it to my boss and now I’m watching them with my Mum.
I wish MGM would make a deal with iTunes Australia to offer Atlantis through our store. When Apple emailed me to let me know that I could now download tv shows from iTunes Australia, I really felt like emailing back and telling them to email me when they were offering anything worthwhile watching ie Atlantis or CSI – both shows I would pay for the entire season.
Cheers, Chev
@ Ganymede – If Todd takes a road trip, it better be to South Jersey, where I’m SURE I can find some space to put him up for a while. I…I think he might like the basement…
Speaking of Todd (SPOILERS), I just saw a few more pics from upcoming episodes – one standing on the bridge with his stunner in hand *wriggles eyebrows*, and another…’oh my!’ pic of the Pallid One with his hair…brushed?!…AND braided?!. I just wanna know what lucky bint had THAT job…’cause I know plenty of easy earth girls who would have gladly jumped at the opportunity! I sure hope that scene (‘gussied up Todd’) made it into the episode…although it might be the death of of us all.
Heh…would be a good way to go out, fainting to the floor and drowning in our own drool. Unless, of course, a prissied up Todd has us dying of laughter, instead. I mean…the frazzled look suits him so well, not sure how the Stevesque pretty boy style will fit him. What I do know is that I can’t WAIT to find out!!
RE: Videos – I’ve been laying low because, after the first one, I just can’t seem to bring myself to watching the rest. Too depressing. 🙁 It’s pretty bad when watching a lovely elven prince die over and over again isn’t nearly as depressing as watching the walk-through of a ‘dead’ set.
I really miss the weird food vids, Joe…they made me laugh…and, besides, I’m still waiting for you to try one of those 100-year eggs. 😉
Have a great weekend, Joe, and everyone else, too – holiday here for us, so three days off! WOOT!
das
PS @ Joe (gah, I hate when I forget stuff!)…RE: Todd. From the pictures I’ve seen, Todd seems to have a more expressive brow this season – was his make-up tweaked to allow for more expression, or am I just imagining things?
Thanks.
das
Hello Joe,
So, you’re really getting your money’s worth out of that camera. It’s been interesting – I watched all of the set tours this morning. Of course I think Ivon’s job is safe – he wouldn’t walk up the stairs with the camera fixed on Carl’s arse. LOL! **shakes head**
1. Are you really afraid of heights? And flying? Anything else? I’m afraid of flying – I’ve seen a few too many episodes of Air Crash and that’s just fed that phobia.
2. Did TPTB ever seriously consider having someone take over military command of Atlantis and having Sheppard just be the leader of the no 1. team (whatever it’s called)? I’m glad it hasn’t happened. I’ve loved watching Sheppard’s journey coming to terms with command.
3. What’s happened to the Weird Food vids? Haven’t got the stomach for it lately or just maintaining some variety?
Cheers, Chev
Wow Joseph, now we can call you our up to date news informer.
As far as feelings go, I agree with Granymede and Squall78 on this whole SGA situation. As far as I am concerned though, I don’t understand any SGA fans who will watch SGU after being pretty much slapped in the face with the whole “younger audience”, new audience comments. They are counting on Franchise fans, you should show them they made the wrong decision.
pg15: “Oh please say yes! If so, that would make him one of a handful of characters to appear in all seasons of Stargate!”
Not even a “handful”, is it? Just him and Carter?
Anyway, yeah, this tour is fantastic. Thanks a lot, Joe.
What should be an easy question, did Chris Heyerdahl play Todd in all the episodes with the character?
As someone who’s only seen glimpses of the set in behind-the-scenes specials, usually shot during filming, there’s something kind of sad about seeing Stage 5 all kind of tore up and full of loose ends. Or is that what it looked like every time there’s a break in filming?
Either way, “Residual signs of SG-1!” was hilarious.
Hi Joe… Do you know if they are going to use the SG-1 or Atlantis cast to kick off Stargate: Universe like they did with Atlantis????? Thanks
Jason really must get a life picking on a poor little cat! heheh… I hope the cat wins.hehe…
I tried to get on with citibank i am sure glad i did not. What frauds. If you have a Sears card they be ware they handle Their banking also. As well as Discover card which is part of Sears. Just an FYI.
As far as the new sgu goes if its for the younger audience guess what I’m not young any more. They will gain one set for another and lose one set. the older set is a done deal. The younger set is a gamble. Part of me hopes you all have success the other part of me hopes you screw up. Not sure if i am interested in another show for the young. Besides they are all out cursing up and down the main strip in their home town and doing God knows what. Why would the young stay at home when their is so much trouble to get into. I know i did not stay at home much. Did you??
Any way I will keep watching and enjoy what’s left of the universe as we know it.
Loving the videos. I do watch the shows live on Fridays , well mostly live, I dvr them for repeaded viewing and tend to start viewing 15 minutes late to bypass the comercials. It not like I have a Nielson box so what, when and how I watch something makes no difference.
I am so disapointed in Citibank. They treated me really great a couple of years ago when I paid for a convention that went belly up at the last minute and decided to declare bankruptcy instead of issuing refunds. Everything that I had paid for on my Citibank card was refunded to me by Citibank while PayPal and Ebay basically told me I was out of luck. I was refunded with stolen loot. I feel so dirty.
Wow, it’s so cool to see the control room and the main gate! It’s also a little weird too though, to see some of the rooms and corridors full of stuff and not in their usual state – they don’t look quite right somehow like that! 😕 🙂
I can pretty much clear this up for you – torrents haven’t damaged ratings like you might think. I live in the UK and can’t watch SGA because I can’t get Sky in my area and it’s the only provider that has the channel that shows Stargate Atlantis.
Also, as someone who relies on torrents as their only means of watching the show (yeah, like I’m going to wait for the DVDs which come out only after the new season starts – season 4 DVDs came out a couple of weeks AFTER season 5 started…and yes I DO buy the DVDs, and the figurines, and the soundtracks, and the calanders, etc) I can tell you a lot of the people sharing the file are British, German and French and, sometimes a few Canadians. There’s actually not that many Americans other than the original seeders and a few more who maybe just want to rewatch the episode and have a copy. Seeing as only the US counts towards ratings it will have barely made a dent. Also, they prefer neilson boxes in homes that don’t even have cable so no wonder ratings never reflect true fandom! If you wanna blame anyone for bad ratings (and as far as I know, the ratings were never that bad anyway – they were actually quite good and holding!) blame the stupid US only, neilson box archaic method of recording ratings.
Hi Joe,
I love your videos thank you or sharing with us 🙂
I love sci fi but I’m really not tech savvy….God forbid I miss an episode..I just go to Amazon and get it. I do own all of SGA DVDs and will be the 1st to get season 5 and the MANY SGA movies that will be made. 🙂
dasNdanger
Where did you see these pictures of Todd??? Maybe Joe can post some pics on his blog for us. I do love Todd, but have learned from reading your posts he is yours.
I’ve been working on my own Stargate and I think its ready..If Joe will give you Todd’s address you are more than welcome to use it 🙂
After sobbing from watching “The Shrine” last week, I’m ready for some serious shrieking during “Whispers”. And can’t wait to see Anne Teldy’s heroic stand against evil, ah,”things”.
Regarding Citicorp, It seems these days it’s only illegal if you get caught. Is there any wonder why the American economy is in the toilet?
Also, please for anyone who “torrents”, Illegal downloads are illegal, period. If you download illegally you are affecting the livelihoods of the hundreds of people who support a musician, TV show or movie on every end of the scale, from talent to custodian. A sale of a download is just like a sale of an item at any physical store. The better the sales, the more people can keep their jobs. And with the US economy tanking, every sale counts.
@anyone in harm’s way from hurricanes – if you have to evacuate, please take your pets with you. Although pets are not allowed inside Red Cross shelters, the Red Cross will be setting up pet shelter areas nearby. But you must have a carrier to shelter your pet in, plus you must supply any special needs such as medication or food requirements.
Yes – me. But I’m very patient and really good in ignoring things. 😉
Hurray! I was wondering if Evil Villain Cat was still around!
I can’t wait to see the rest of the scene, wherein Ronon’s sword bounces off Cat’s personal shield and accidentally goes flying through the air, eventually spearing Evil Villain Showrunner to the wall by the collar of his suit jacket. Ronon then advances on Evil Villain Showrunner and Cat takes a bath.
What is to stop Sci-Fi/MGM releasing an episode for free download just after it has aired in the USA?
Us so-called International People would love this
Hell, toss in a few global brand names like Coke, Pepsi, McDonald’s and KFC to pay the way and watch Bittorrents downloads plummet.
Downloading is here to stay, Sci-Fi and MGM have got to accept this and react accordingly.
Paloosa wrote:
Aah, the magic of television! On television Anne Teldy can appear as a brave soul when confronted with scary things but if it were real, this Anne Teldy would be screaming, crying, and trying to hide behind Sheppard. 🙂
Anne Teldy
Hi Joe,
Your backstage tour documentary videos have been great, thanks for posting them 🙂
The videos inspired me to document how to make a scrapple, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F0435B5DBE483CC3 , have you every had or made one?
Hi!
Never posted here before, but have been a lurker for quite some time. Now, I just wanted to respond to the “downloading question”. Well, maybe what you’re seeing isn’t downloads from US, UK or Canada, where the show airs quite simultaneously (as I’ve understood it), but from us other countries where they don’t even air the show at all, or air it years after. Here in Sweden I believe they began airing SG-1 like two or three years back, and SGA a year ago. So for me, being able to download is the only way for me to keep up. And because of internet, and the fandom that I find here, I hardly wish to be years after them. This goes for pretty much all my favourite shows. And yes, when I have the money, I try to buy the shows to support it, and because they are so pretty in my bookshelf 😉
Thank you for a very entertaining blog,
Astrid.
Joe, thanks for keeping my questions for Church of the Dead. Unfortunately sometimes I have to leave for work before I can read your post and I wanted to get my comments in.
As for the downloading, I have a TIVO and if I can’t watch SGA the night it airs (usually because the exhaustion wins over my superfan sensibilities) I’ll watch it first thing in the morning. I can empathize with the out of country veiwers however. I certainly love Dr. Who and Torchwood, and hate how SciFi/BBC America butchers it for commercials, so those I download the minute they become available. I also buy the DVDs to make up for it. It makes sense in a twisted Karma sort of way.
Thanks too for the video, its great getting a visual of the inner workings of the show.
Aha, I see Ronon has found his match at last! It’s always lovely for us fans to see that everybody seems to have fun making SGA. (And your anecdote about the screenings was deliciously funny!)
As for the illegal downloads, indeed, it’s hard to tell whether their impact is negative or actually positive. In my case, I wouldn’t be buying the DVDs now if I hadn’t been introduced to SGA by friends who download (and they wouldn’t count for ratings anyway, first, because they are not American, and second, because they wouldn’t be watching SGA). It would be interesting to know the location of people who download illegally, and what part of them would actually welcome a legal way instead, were they proposed one.
Joe,
I think I know all the answers to q ball er’s questions….don’t want to over step…do you mind if I answer them?
As I’m sure others have said , for many of us who live outside the US downloading the episode the following day is the only way we have of watching it and be part of fandom. Even here in the UK sky transmits it a few weeks after the US airing and terrestial channels one year later.
Perhaps DVD sales give a more accurate view of a shows popularity and studios should pay more attention to that rather than figures from a few selected households. I for one only bother downloading shows that I ‘m keen enough to own on dvd when the box sets finaly come out.
Would it be possible for the BOTM Club Selections to have the genre attached? I don’t have time to read all but I loved Old mans war which I read on holiday and The gost brigades so I feel brave enough to try another of your sci-fi suggestions, thanks.
@ Mellow Yellow – Not sure where the pictures are from – they may be on Gateworld, or elsewhere. Someone posted them in the Wraith Defenders thread at GW…that’s where I saw them. They look like promo shots from The Queen, and the mid-season 2-parter. Wherever they’re from, they have me totally hyped for the episodes!!
Downside about it all, however, is that reading some interviews and getting some additional info on the episodes, I’m now totally pissed about the series cancellation, because they are FINALLY opening up the Wraith storyline (and even Teyla’s), and now the cancellation puts the kibosh on everything. Of course, I can’t say for certain, but I really doubt valuable film-time will be spent on Wraith, when the human characters are really the stars. Oh well…I’ll take what I can get, but behind their backs, I’m making some seriously ugly faces at TPTB.
RE: Todd – well, he is a yummy morsel, that’s for sure. What makes Todd so special is that he not only has a great personality and a terrific story arc, but he also comes across as very masculine, whereas most of the other male Wraith are rather asexual in comparision. I think that’s why everyone loves him so much – he’s both a guy’s guy, and a ladies’ man. 🙂
But as far as him being ‘mine’ – well, it’s really hard to tie down such a free spirit. AND…I’m kinda greedy, because I lay claims to all of them…with a special soft spot for ‘Edward’… and Steve… and Bob… and that new feller from Broken Ties and…oh, you get the idea. Wraith are like potato chips, or M&Ms, or something…you can’t have only one. So, seeing as how I so greedily grabbed an entire handful of life-suckers…I do ‘lend’ them out on occasion…JUST as long as they are returned to me undamaged, and well-fed.
That goes for anyone with their eye on Nuada, too, ’cause he’s mine as well…the action figure standing right here proves it! 😀
I am SUCH a geek. 😛
das
First, Joe, thanks for posting the video tours. I’m enjoying them.
Re bit torrent downloads, that’s something I’ve never taken a chance on because they ARE illegal, period. It’s as much theft as stealing a car. I have been sorely tempted more than once to download something I don’t want to wait to see, but one’s online behavior can be tracked. People are getting caught for music file sharing, and they (or in many cases, their parents) are paying lots of money to the copyright owners. And further, downloading something on bit torrent is not fair to studios, actors, crew and everyone else whose livelihood, directly or indirectly, depends on the revenues from broadcasting and dvd sales and the like.
@das – you know, I just don’t quite get the, umm, attraction, to Todd and the wraith. I mean, they are interesting bad guys, but they are very creepy and disgusting. Including Todd. And if I were out in Pegasus, I’d be doing everything I could think of to kill them all. Or change them to some kind of lifeform that didn’t prey on everyone else in the galaxy.
I find Michael’s protestations about what was done to him to be rather ridiculous, and if I were one of the Altantis denizens, I’d have said so when they were doing all the handwringing about what was done to him.
I don’t have any moral qualms about wiping out a predatory race whose only food source is humans and whose ultimate goal is to get to a planet of 6 billion people to use as said food source, so long as humans aren’t taken with them.
I suppose cows might feel that way about humans, though….
Mary
Is it just me or does Joel Goldsmith’s signature kinda looks like it says “Godshit”
Yeah… Probably me.
Hi Joe
That’s a very nice picture of you with Bruno. Will you be writing for the new SHow? By the way thanks for the Kage Baker suggestion.. I have read almost all of her books .. They would make a very good tv series. Take Care
Dori
After reading all of these comments up to #81, I think it is now very obvious that there is a real problem. We’re not talking about a few people doing a little downloading – we’re talking about thousands.
The argument over revenue is also lost in countries where channel coverage is minimal.
And like I have previously mentioned – there maybe a law written about this downloading thing in the US – but there isn’t in most countries and is therefore it is NOT illegal – or at least not until tried in court (where as, defamation is).
So regarding so called illegal actions – a) the courts are not big enough b) there are not enough jails c) doesn’t MGM have a responsibility in safe guarding it’s own assets?
and d) just look at the money in two ways 1) loss of revenue due to poor coverage (MGM’s problem and should shoot the sales team) 2) how much money HAS been made through franchised sales because people were able to download.
It’s a bloody mine field of arguments!
@ Mary – You are certainly welcome to your opinions, I know mine are a bit…well, let’s just say I think outside the box.
I see something very special in the Wraith. For one, they’re great sci fi characters – the best ‘invention’ since the Klingons, and maybe the Borg, though they still need further development to equal the likes of the Klingons, with their drinking songs and platefuls of qagh (gagh), and all. Still, the show has been trying to give the Wraith more depth, and in doing so they have made me love them even more.
RE: Michael. Where do I start? He was raped – biologically, mentally and emotionally. I could compare it to forcing a person to change their race, or their sex, because someone disapproves of what they are. What was done to Michael was unjustifiable…disgusting… a sin in every sense of the word. You just have to empathize – put yourself in his shoes – and imagine if someone forcibly turned you into a man, or changed your race. It would be immoral…just as immoral as what was done to Michael. Sad thing is, I am just as guilty as the Wraith, because – like them – I no longer consider Michael ‘pure’ because of what was done to him.
I could also go on and on about how – since the humans from earth arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy – they are probably responsible for more TOTAL annihilations of human worlds/civilizations in 4+ years than the Wraith ever were in 10,000 years (between their waking the Wraith prematurely; the creation of Michael; and the reprogramming of the Replicators).
See, the Wraith didn’t wipe out entire civilizations, except on rare occasions (Sateda). They don’t want to annihilate human worlds, they want to manage them. By managing them, they prevented human communities from suffering the ills common to over-population – war, famine, disease, pollution. I have yet to see a Pegasus world that suffers under the same deplorable conditions many people in third world countries or in the inter cities here on earth suffer. In a way, the Wraith cullings kept the human populations strong and healthy…much in the same way that animal cullings on real world earth helps to ensure the overall health of the herd.
Also, the Wraith went into hibernation for hundreds of years, providing relative peace for the humans (except for minor cullings that did not affect every planet or civilization). During those 500+ years, humans lived peacefully. Name a 500-year period here on earth when there was no war. You can’t, because there never has been 500 years of peace on earth…we can’t even manage 100 years without war. But most civilizations in the PG did experience hundreds of years of relative peace while the Wraith slept.
In other words, humans are far more brutal to one another for selfish reasons – and far more often – than the Wraith, who – out of a biological need – are to humans.
Also, we now know (from Repliweir) that there are many technologically advanced civilizations – civilizations that managed to survive (and perhaps thrive) under Wraith domination. So, the Wraith did not suppress everyone – in fact, it seems many populations did just fine despite the Wraith presence.
However, the Stargate folks walked in, and totally disrupted this balance. They are the invaders, they are the ones who have totally f’ed everything up (IMHO). Kinda like…ya know…Americans. 😆 (Also IMHO) jk, jk…no hate mail, please.
ANYWAYS…
As regards to the attractiveness of the Wraith – well, what can I say? They are beautiful and magnificent creatures, regal…proud…with really great hair. 😉 I could go on about their exquisite browline (to die for!) or that lovely hair of theirs (also to die for!) or their pouty mouths (thank god for fake teeth!), or their soft profiles (big noses are no match for prosthetic bits with extra nostrils! W00T!). But it’s so much more than that. The Wraith have in spades what both the Ancients and the Replicators lack – the Wraith have STYLE.
Much credit is due the actors who bring these characters to life – James, Chris, Connor, Brendan, Scott, Tyler, Andee…and others. Both Andee and James did excellent jobs in portraying multiple characters while giving each a unique personality. Just take James alone – I mean, there was Steve. Oh…my…what can I say. The most beautiful of them all (and he totally knew it, too). So poised, so well-spoken, so confident…a stellar performance, all the way around. And even though most of James’ other Wraith had limited screen time, they still each had unique style; we had the sophisticated, yet drooly, feller from Condemned, the hard-edged Bob, the lecherous ‘Eddie’, and the feral Defiant One. I was also impressed with the new Wraith from Broken Ties; Tyler brought a wonderful air of casual confidence to this character, as if interacting with humans was the most natural thing for him to do. He was almost on their level…not so above them as other Wraith have been. And then there’s Todd. He is so unique…his humor, his ability to empathize, his honor – just SO much personality wrapped into one character you can’t help but be impressed by him. Not only that, but he looks damn fine strapped into a long leather coat. Chris missed his calling – he should have been a model ’cause each time I see Todd, I hear the catwalk calling!
Okay – yeah…I totally ran away with this. Sorry. It is a favorite subject of mine, if you haven’t noticed. 😳 Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’ll go back over here – *points to corner* – and get back to watching my Prince Nuada videos.
das ~ multigusher extraordinaire
As I understand it, it doesn’t matter if I watch a show when it airs on tv since I’m not one of the “approximately 25,000 metered households” that the Nielson people monitor.
I am a huge fan of Hulu.com and watch shows like Psych, Burn Notice, and In Plain Sight on it. After the shows air, Hulu has the rights to put them online.
Also, I think tallying the amount of people who watch shows on Hulu or on network sites must be more accurate than Nielson. I know people who run websites, and there are trackers that tally what pages are visited and how much time is spent on each one.
I wish more shows were legally online at Hulu and network sites, because I feel I am immediately supporting the show, and not waiting around for DVDs or illegally downloading. Also, I hope networks clue-in and realize viewing tv online is something that can be profitable.
Just to throw in my support of a Joel Goldsmith SGA music CD – yeth, pleathe! I’ll buy it! I’ll probably blub and sniff big time listening to it, but that’s another story. I stress SGA – don’t want SG-1 and goodness knows I have no interest in…
…SG-EWE.
Baaah! (Not.)
As for Todd et al – we had Steve and Bob, right? – I’ve been waiting for a Brad or Scott or Kyle or a Ryan. Waaah! I want a Brad or a Scott or a Kyle or a Ryan! Why? Because!
Are the queens called Brittney, Tiffany, Ashley or Courtney, by any chance? Oh, I forget – we shall never find out…
Bummer.
@ Shai – I really wanted a Brad, too…it’s such a preppy name (do they still use the term ‘preppy’?). Like you said, Brad…Kyle…or, how about Dwayne, or …better yet – Chet (Weird Science ref)!
Thing is, I love the fact that Wraith don’t have names (or known names) – I wonder if they will ever reveal this, but in a way I’d like it to forever remain a mystery. In the meantime, I’m all for giving them ‘pet’ names. Hey…maybe the next one should be named Bubba…or…Lulu… 😉
das
Hey, DasNdanger – LOL! There should be a Brad. Mos’ def. Nothing to do with BW or anything. It’s just one of ‘those’ names.
Not a preppy name in the UK – I’m a US-resident ex-pat, so, like I know, but – that would be Rupert or Tristan/Tristram or Giles or Charles. No, I think I’ll leave it to Shep to hand out the jock names.
Although, I gotta say, Charles does lay it wide open for a Chet – or a Chuck or a Chas or a Chey or – some other monosyllabic Charles-type monicker.
;-D
Gotta love that springy thingy sprouting out of your nethers…
I always, always, ALWAYS wanted antennae…
I’m sooo jealous…
*pouts*
I’m a saddle-sore apple with noodly appendages.
At least, hereabouts I am.
Sheesh…
Dear Mr. M:
As a Canadian fan who watches episodes when they hit Space, and who buys the DVD’s and the toys and the novels … it sort of felt a little like a backhand to the side of the head when you attribute the cancellation of the show, in ANY way, to the fans.
Ratings are based on representative viewing, and for SciFi those numbers are based only on your US audience. Your show is on a specialty network, in dead zone time slot. (Even the elderly, less demographically desirable audience members such as myself, fast approaching forty, go out on a Friday night!)The fact that it achieves as well as it does shows rather a dedicated following rather than people who are not supporting you in every way possible.
I just thought I’d mention that.
MK
Someone said in yesterday’s blog that she wishes more shows would be on Hulu.com so she’d feel like she was supporting the show and wouldn’t need to wait for DVDs and illegal downloads.
I just wanted her to be aware that with Hulu.com and outlets like that that the studios contribute to, yes she is supporting her show’s longevity in the sense of the more money they make, the more they are inclined to keep a show going.
However, she should also be aware that, as far as I know, those online outlets do no pay the actors or writers or directors or crew (crew gets it in form of health and pension benefits, not direct payment) a single penny — all money goes to the studio. It was one of the reasons the writers struck and one of the battles SAG is still fighting with the AMPTP.
The sale of DVDs do give a small horrendously pitiful amount of money to the actors, writers, etc. With the possible exception of Atlantis, which if it is a Canadian contract, is most likely a buyout. That’s another battle SAG is still fighting (and another reason the Writers struck and lost) because a fair split was promised if they would give a discount in the beginning to jump start the business, and so far the AMPTP has refused to revisit. Still as bad as the deal is, buying DVDs give the creative community a small pittance, as opposed to nothing online. And while online is free to you and I, every time you see a commercial in them, the studios are making money… and only the studios.
No actual hard numbers provided in the report, but one can’t help but wonder whether all those illegal downloads have been hurting the show’s ratings. The 30% bump Atlantis receives from the Live+7 numbers suggests that our viewers are tech-savvy (not all that surprising considering they are SF fans) and make use of alternate viewing resources such as Tivo, DVR, iTunes and BitTorrent. Exactly how this affected the show’s ratings is debatable and, at this point, of little consequence, but I just thought I’d mention it.
I find it interesting that, although you tell us not to blame SciFi and MGM in any way for the show’s cancellation, you’re perfectly willing to blame the fans who download – many of whom also buy the DVDs and the action figures and the t-shirts – for the downturn in the ratings. I’m sorry, but the reason your ratings declined is that SciFi did next to zero to promote its flagship show (unless you consider horribly airbrushed photos of the SGA cast striding through the surf like brain-dead runway models to be effective promotion), instead relying on “franchise” loyalty and the lead-in effect from SG-1. Once it killed that series, we were back to the core problem, which is that the network consigned SGA to the absolute black hole of TV time slots from the beginning. The young people SciFi is so determined to attract – and even a lot of us old, decrepit folk over the age of 18 – go out on Friday nights, Joe, which is why your live numbers have never been what they should have been. I’m surprised that an SF savvy network never clued in to this and tried moving SGA to a different night, since when Star Trek got placed in the Friday at 10 time slot going into its third season, everyone knew it was the kiss of death. They knew that forty freakin’ years ago, and it hasn’t changed, and so the fact that SciFi didn’t even bother to try moving SGA when the live plus seven numbers clearly showed it did have a much larger potential live audience is infuriating. As for MGM, it’s clear from the comments you’re receiving above – and from my own experience in fandom – that there’s a huge untapped international market out there hungry to get their hands on fresh episodes, a market that MGM has obviously been unable or unwilling to reach. It’s actually a miracle that the show has done as well as it has in the live numbers, and that despite the lack of promotion, the word has gotten out about SGA – in large part, I might add, thanks to the efforts of fans talking up the show at every opportunity with anyone and everyone who’ll listen, both on the web and off.
I could write a whole treatise on the outdated perceptions of the audience for genre TV and films, and talk about how it’s time for SciFi to start thinking seriously about the kinds of demographics that they should be courting (since we want to support these shows with both our hard-earned cash and our eyeballs, but the networks and the studios seem determined to keep telling us that we’re not the viewers they want), but I won’t take up any more of your valuable time. I just want to wish you, SciFi and MGM the best with your shiny new demographic, and tell you I’m sad to say that I’m not going to be able to go on that next journey with you, since, like the Atlantis cast, I’m obviously expendable.
@ Shai – Yeah, not like having a ‘springy thingy sprouting out of your nethers’ – 😆 Thanks for the before-8 am-laugh, noodlearms!
I forgot about BW – I was thinking more about Brad Pitt – NOT a favorite of mine (though his appearance in the new Coen Bros movie may change that). ‘Brad’ (no offense to the Brads out there) just reminds me of this really snooty, obnoxious guy, especially when the name is said all flat and nasally like we say it here in the US.
As far as other names go – Ralph or George would be fun…good ‘cartoon’ names. And I always felt that that poor sucker from The Defiant One should have been named Wile E. Coyote…all he needed was an Acme Rocket Sled, an anvil, and a box of dynamite. THAT would’a learned Sheppard good! 😀
das
AAAAND….that was supposed to be ‘nothing like’…see what happens when I try to write first thing in the a.m.? Sassin’ frassin’ lack of an edit feature 😡
WordPress is not OCD friendly! Of course…I COULD always proofread stuff a bit more thoroughly… BUTNOTBEFOREMYCOFFEE! 😀
das
I have been searching around the web since this set of arguments have started and have found this
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/29/freedom2surf_copyright_accusation/
A complaint of Copyright Infringement by MGM over an episode of SGA.
Basically, in this example MGM don’t actually have a prayer and there is no argument to little or actually no financial loss to MGM – hence Copyright Infringement.
What I mean is this – if you can’t get SGA where you live, and by the time DVD’s become available the show has been ‘spoiled’ to death… then it’s actually the viewer that loses out. Indeed, MGM certainly can not claim monies for something that would never be available to the viewer anyway.
So what of copyrights? Well I don’t know much about this subject and the world of Intellectual Property – but I know someone who does and will talk to them.
BUT… it’s one thing to download for personal use and delete – it is another entirely to burn, copy and SHARE it… The best way to look at this is like when you use a video recorder (if anyone still does). It’s ok to record a show and then record over it – it is not ok to record it and start duplicating it.
So I will get back when I find out more.
By the way, many stockists of SGF DVD’s are often out of stock, wouldn’t it be interesting if the global sale of these DVD’s is directly linked to viewers downloading the shows originally because they can’t watch it on TV.
With the SGF coming to it’s most dangerous time of canceling a successful show to make another – it could, in effect have a massive financial cost in the loss of income to MGM if people don’t like the new series.
What I’m saying is that if the SGF/MGM were to fully embrace the downloading angle – it may well be the real step forward into the future of TV shows and guarantee it’s financial income etc – after all, there is plenty of product placement on the show ie DELL and so on.
But here is a solution..
MGM offer a direct subscription download on or just after first air date.
That subscription is a pro-rata rate based upon this; I buy a whole season to download – MGM then send me the boxset at the end. So, cost of boxset + post.
What do MGM get out of it? They get accurate viewing figures on a global scale, they make money and they then make decisions on tv shows based on this.
If they had done this a few years ago, Joe would at least be driving around in a Range Rover rather than that Audi 4×4 thing he has now and own his own stomach pump lol – but ultimately it would work and everyone would get the money they deserve.
As several people have already noted, the way the viewing ratings are calculated in the US is unbelievably outdated. Not only that, but the networks persist in scheduling programmes in preset slots rather than take any notice of how people really want to watch. You only need to ask Aaron Sorkin how a good show can fail by being put on at the wrong time. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip had the dream viewers – affluent and intelligent – but was scheduled up against CSI, which is possibly the most watched programme in the states. It was the most tivo’d show of the season and every episode was top of the iTunes charts pretty much as soon as it was released. But it didn’t get live viewers at 10pm, because all the affluent and intelligent people have jobs to go to and wanted to watch intelligent programmes at a time when they were awake enough to enjoy it.
As to the downloading, whether through kosher channels or not, this is how a lot of people watch shows these days. The sooner the studios and networks work this out the better. I agree with wonderingbrit, I’d pay a subscription direct to the studio to watch shows without having to wait a year or more for them to arrive here in Rightpondia. SGA used to be on one of the terrestrial channels in the UK, but is now only available on subscription satellite channels and I’m not prepared to fork out huge amounts every month for the garbage they fill their schedules with. There’s usually only an hour a day of new programming on the main Sky One channel, so we’re paying for 23 hours of repeats.
As for SGU, I’m way outside the target demographic. If the studios want a younger audience, they are going to have to work out a better way of keeping their existing viewers than to keep telling us we’re too old. So I’m rooting for Hewlett to take over from Tennant as the next Doctor Who sometime in the not too distant future (although I’m happy for Mr T to hang on in there for a while). At least the producers of that show know that having grown up with Doctor Who, the entire middle aged population of the UK are glued to their TV sets every Saturday night along with their kids and so cater to them too.