December 25, 2010: Christmas! Marty G.! And the return of the mailbag!

Hey, know what I got for Christmas?  If you guessed "a really bad burn on my hand" – congratulations, you guessed correctly!  I'm now sporting one major blister.  Thank God for aloe gel.  And, uh, family of course.

Spoke to our mutual friend Martin Gero today.  He says to say hi!  He's been busy in New York, finishing up work on the third season of HBO's Bored to Death.  After that, he heads to L.A., then back east to Toronto to start work on his new show, Highland Gardens: http://bit.ly/hnu4K2.  It's always great to hear from him.  He's not only extremely entertaining, but he's surprisingly sane and practical, the perfect person to talk to (and talk sense into me) at a time like this.  By the way, this was the cover of the holiday cards he sent out this year -

Yep, that's Marty G.  Granted, I haven't seen him in a while and I've heard the stress of the television industry can take it's toll – but geeez!

The night of their arrival, my mother and sis took it upon themselves to put up the Christmas tree.  As a result, they completed in a single evening the entirety of the fun family-time activities I'd planned to occupy us over the course of several days.

Great.  Now what are we gonna do for the next couple of days?

As promised, a little mailbag:

Abbas Karimjee writes: "Is the possibility of continuing SGU, in movie format, being considered or all efforts currently being devoted to reviving it as a series, for a third season?"

Answer: All options are being considered at this point, but a third season would be ideal.

Abbas Karimjee also writes: "Do you have an idea as to when some further developments on SGU's future will be known?"

Answer: No, but "positive progress" could be made as early as next week.

Michael writes: "Was anyone in the staff leery of using drones after similar foes like the Replicators appearing on SG-1 and SG-A?"

Answer: Nope.  They're sufficiently different from the replicators in that, well, they don't replicate.

Michael also writes: "I noticed a few fans couldn't get behind the Lucian Alliance becoming such a threat between SG-1 and SGU. What's you take on their progression throughout the franchise?"

Answer: Much of the Lucian Alliance we saw in SG-1 was inept and, dare I say it, a bit goofy.  They fit in with SG-1′s lighter, more high adventure-driven tone but would have stood out (and not in a good way) in the new series.  As a result, I was initially leery at the prospect of introducing them to SGU but, as so often happened over the course of my many years in the franchise, I trusted in Brad and Robert and, in the end, that trust was rewarded with a terrific story element that not only succeeded as planned (creating the chaos that leads to the Icarus evacuation in the pilot, seeding the mole throughline, and, later in season one, setting up the incursion scenario) but offered up plenty of interesting story material for future episodes (as evidenced in the first half of season two).  The Alliance was always envisioned as a loose coalition of mercenary groups so it made sense that certain factions would have been more capable and threatening than others.

Arctic Goddess writes: "Did you and the rest of the cast and crew have an inkling that SGU would get cancelled? Were you expecting it?"

Answer: Those early season two ratings were admittedly a downer.  The move to Tuesday night was not good for us (and, speaking to the franchise as a whole, the move from summer to fall did us no favors either) and I firmly believe that time-shifted viewing and internet downloads have bled off a significant portion of our younger, tech-savvy audience.  Still, we held out hope and, as production continued on season two, positive word from various places gave us hope that the show would come back for, at the very least, a third and final season (much the same way Battlestar did).  Many of us were shocked by the abruptness of the cancellation decision.

KuroSyamito writes: "is it possible that other network to pick up the series?"

Answer: We're investigating all possible avenues.

KuroSyamito also writes: "are you gonna create a new stargate related series? or a totally new show?"

Answer: A new Stargate series isn't even being considered.  As for a totally new show – I can't speak for Brad and Robert, but I'd certainly love to set up a new (non-Stargae-related) show somewhere down the line.  But given recent developments, I'm thinking that won't be for quite a while.

Major D. Davis writes: "4) Say all this doesn't pan out…. Does Gauntlet at least give some closure and resolution…. Or is it an all out cliffhanger?"

Answer: Your first three questions require answers I can't give at this point.  Regarding Gauntlet – hard to say.  Most would probably consider it a cliffhanger while I would consider it a touching, bittersweet end to the series (if it comes to it).

"5) Whats your favorite 2.5 episode?"

Answer: I'd go with Guantlet, our season finale.

"6) What can us fans do to ensure SGU gets another season/movie and that SG-1/SGA gets their movies?"

Answer: Honestly?  Watch the show, pay for your downloads, and purchase the DVD's if you're so inclined.

Paloosa writes: "1) How can we fans contact MGM to let them know that Stargate (SG-1/SGA/SGU) still has a huge and lucrative fan base?"

Answer: Again, letters and emails are nice and all but, at the end of the day, the studio is more likely to look at things like iTune and DVD sales when making a decision.

"2) I think you mentioned that if there were another Stargate show, that you wouldn't be involved?"

Answer: There are no plans to create or move forward on a new series.  We love the one we have now.

"3) If the SGA movie is a go, would you still be involved as the writer and/or producer?"

Answer: I'm sorry to say but the cancellation puts the brakes on whatever progress the SGA movie had made in the past month, shelving it indefinitely.

Mike McGinnis writes: "Is there any chance of the SGA movie anymore if you guys can't save SGU?"

Answer: See above.  Contrary to what some may think, the cancellation of SGU is very bad news for those looking forward to an Atlantis movie.

dodoalda writes: "What's gonna happen with the set in Bridge studios?"

Answer: That set isn't going anywhere.  It will remain standing until all avenues have been exhausted.

Dara Lundy writes: "Would the people on the Destiny ever have got new clothes?"

Answer: Make sure to check out the back half of season two when it airs.

Dioxholster writes: "If you write that book will it be sci-fi?"

Answer: It will.

"How are SGU's DVD sales? are they as good as SG-1′s?"

Answer: Don't have the sales figures but DVD sales have been down across the board for several years now as more and more consumers opt to download their programming instead.

Airelle writes: "Ok my question is how are you doing Joe, really??"

Answer: I'm doing well – if not a little stressed at the prospect of having to make some major decisions in the coming weeks (if not days).