Posted in: Amazon Studios, MGM Television, SYFY, TV | Tagged: amazon, Joseph Mallozzi, mgm, robert carlyle, SGU, stargate, stargate universe, syfy

Stargate Universe Producer on Series Being Unique Franchise Departure

SyFy's Stargate Universe represented a dramatic departure for the Stargate franchise from the terrestrially-focused SG-1 and station-focused Atlantis. While the concept of using ships was nothing new in the world, the fact the entire crew became stranded on the Destiny for a long journey a la Star Trek: Voyager was. Complicating things was the fact the ship had autonomy planet jumping as the crew consisting of military, civilian scientists, and their families scrounged for resources and remained at contentious odds at one another. Producer and writer Joseph Mallozzi spoke with GateWorld about how the series' concept, how communication stones became narrative opportunities, and more.

"Conceptually, I loved the idea of a 'ship show.' It's kind of classic sci-fi, but with a Stargate angle. So that really appealed to me. I really loved the kind of ensemble dynamic," Mallozzi said. The fact the ship had a mind of its own also created its own challenge for the crew in the form of time constraints representing "a ticking clock that, when the planet came in range, you had a window in which to get down to the planet to explore and get back onto the ship. Because if you missed that window, you weren't catching the shuttle bus down the road — that was it!" When the crew arrives on a planet, they would still use the Stargate to go the surface side.

The communication stones allowed crew members to body swap with volunteers on Earth, so they could stay in touch with their loved ones. "They felt that just being on the ship all the time would feel claustrophobic, and so that's why they introduced the stones," Mallozzi said. "[The show] opened up the show and allowed them to not only communicate but ultimately, [to] get us off the ship. And to me, getting off the ship is easier said than done. Even though the Universe budget was healthier than Atlantis or SG-1, you would eat up a lot of that budget just by virtue of…being such a huge cast and the amazing visual effects."

SGU, which starred Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, Peter Kelamis, Patrick Gilmore, Jennifer Spence, Julia Benson, and Ming-Na Wen, would last only two seasons from 2009-2011. Season two concluded with the crew having to put themselves in suspended animation to survive their latest trip, but one crew member, Eli (Blue), would have to remain. A six-issue comic series from American Mythology Productions called "Back to Destiny" ran from 2017-2018 that picks up directly after the events of the finale, "Gauntlet."

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