The End of An Era

• October 28, 1994: Stargate is released by MGM and Carolco
• July 27, 1997: Stargate SG-1, a television series based off the 1994 movie is produced, airing on Showtime
• 2002: After five seasons of Stargate SG-1, Showtime drops the show and the Sci-Fi channel buys the rights and continues to produce more seasons
• September 14, 2002: The ill-conceived and ill-fated Stargate Infinity, a cartoon spin-off of SG-1 is launched
• March 24, 2003: After one season (26 episodes), Stargate Infinity is cancelled
• July 16, 2004: Sci-Fi launches Stargate Atlantis, a spin-off of SG-1, that takes place in the Pegasus Galaxy
• March 13, 2007: After 10 seasons and 214 episodes, Stargate SG-1 airs it's final episode
• March 11, 2008: Stargate: The Ark of Truth, a direct-to-DVD movie based on the SG-1 series is released
• July 29, 2008: Stargate: Continuum, the second direct-to-DVD movie based on SG-1, is released
• January 9, 2009: 100 episodes in 5 seasons sees the end of Stargate Atlantis
• October 2, 2009: The 9th chevron is dialed and the third live-action series of the Stargate franchise, Stargate Universe, is launched
• May 9, 2011: The 40th episode of Stargate Universe airs, bringing an end to the second season and the series itself
• 2011: With the cancellation of Stargate Universe, Syfy cancels other Stargate works in progress, bringing an end to the franchise

I cried. I didn't mean too, but later, as I was sitting around playing on the internet, I found tears in my eyes as I thought about Stargate. After 14 years of Stargate (17 if you count the original movie), it was over...the end. But it didn't mark just the end of Stargate. It marks the end of an era of great space-based sci-fi television shows. We lost Star Trek in 2005 with the passing of Enterprise. Battlestar Galactica (even though I wasn't a fan) and it's successor, Caprica (not space-based, but I was a fan), have both ended. We have Star War: The Clone Wars still, but it is a cartoon, and while I love cartoons, no animated series can stand up to a live-action one.

Sci-fi in general is almost dead, and for this I blame none other than the traitor network Syfy. The one station nerds had to their name has changed their name and done a brand reimagining, killing everything science-fiction and replacing it with wrestling and cooking shows. WRESTLING and COOKING SHOWS.

While it's true that we still have movies (Star Trek living on in it's horrible alternate universe, again in hopes of bringing in a different audience à la the Syfy channel), sci-fi TV is slowly spiraling down the proverbial drain. We still have many shows, the strongest being the seminal British hit, Doctor Who. Syfy also has four returning contenders to name, Eureka, Warehouse 13 (both of which are "comedic" light sci-fi), Amanda Tapping's post-Stargate series Sanctuary, and the Stephen King-based Haven, and one new series, Alphas. Torchwood, the Doctor Who spin-off, is said to be coming back. Fox is coming out with Terra Nova, but if Fox has proven anything, it is that it can't hold onto anything that isn't a cartoon (Firefly RIP 2002) or American Idol. And as I said before, there is the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There are also the non-sci-fi side shows that nerds can appreciate, like the fantasy series Game of Thrones and the nerd sitcom The Big Bang Theory (and in my opinion, the fantasy-ish cartoon series Adventure Time). But I do not expect many of these to last.

Sanctuary, being mainly CGI, has high production cost, and despite it having it's best season to date, I expect the ever-increasingly-non-sci-fi-Syfy Channel to cancel it either mid-4th season or at the end of the 4th season. Alphas has something of a weak premise, sounding almost like a light superhero show, and if anything is true, superhero shows only score about 1-in-5 (Smallville, which is mainly a drama, and Hereos being two out of innumerable attempts). And as I said before, I don't think Terra Nova will last, just because it's on Fox.

But, all-in-all, none of these are space adventures. And if there is one constant of sci-fi that has been around since the Golden Age of Science Fiction (other than the robot), it has been space, and the exploration of, the adventures in, the tales about. It is a staple of science fiction that still has limitless potential. But, as of Monday, May 9th, 2011, no television programming.

Space. The final frontier. One frontier we seem to have abandoned. Farewell, old friend. I will remember you fondly through your reruns and stand vigil at the window, candle lit, waiting for you to return home.