Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis Renewal Confirmed

This just in from SciFi Channel

Stargate SG-1 Enters Unprecedented 10th Season

The Longest-Running Sci-Fi Drama in US Television History

New York, NY (October 24, 2005) - The Stargate franchise continues to rule the television universe. SCI FI Channel has ordered new seasons of its hit original series, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Production on both 20-episode seasons is slated to begin in early 2006 for summer premieres on SCI FI.

Heading into an incredible tenth original season, Stargate SG-1 is now the longest-running sci-fi drama in American television history, outlasting The X-Files, The Twilight Zone and every iteration of Star Trek. And the series is stronger than ever. The first half of SG-1's ninth season has averaged 2.4 million viewers per week.

Stargate Atlantis, cable television's first successful drama spin-off, has been renewed for its third original season. A pulse-pounding action adventure, Atlantis took the original premise of Stargate - instantaneous travel to different worlds through an ancient portal - and introduced a brand new team and sinister new enemies that pose a threat to humankind throughout the universe. A bona fide hit, the show has averaged over 2.3 million viewers a week for the first half of its sophomore season.

SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper will return as executive producers on both series.

Stargate Renewed

Martin Wood: "We are going to be [...] busy... Yes we just got picked up - both shows. Season 10 [of SG-1] and season 3 [of Atlantis]."

http://www.stargate-project.de/stargate/index.php?seite=news&ID=666

Thanks to Elyse for the link.

Stargate Spooks and Goblins

The members of the BC Film Industry, MPPIA, Stargate and Bridge Studios have all joined forces to present a special "Halloween Haunt" at Bridge Studios in Vancouver, Canada, home to Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis! Guided tours of Stargate's "terrifying and some might say haunted Medieval Village" will be offered to the public for a small fee, with all proceeds going to benefit the B.C. Children's Hospital.

According to their website, "the First Annual Halloween Haunt will be put on entirely by industry professionals that have graciously volunteered their time, (even while in full scale production). The idea is to give back to the community that allows productions to park trucks in front of their homes and stores; shine massive lights into their bedrooms and inconvenience their daily routines almost weekly." Read all about it and purchase tickets here.

Stargate action figures on the way

Diamond Select has acquired the licence from MGM to produce collectible action figures for Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis, the company announced earlier this week.

As yet no release date has been set for figures of characters from either Stargate universe to join the company's impressive roster of characters from Marvel and various Joss Whedon-penned shows, but it's been confirmed that sculpts will be done of the characters played by Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, and Christopher Judge.

For more information, go here.

McBeath and Dow in Vanishing act

Stargate SG-1 alumni Tom McBeath (Maybourne) and Bill Dow (Dr Lee) will be reading parts of playwright Aaron Bushkowsky's new book of short stories, The Vanishing Man as the book is launched at the Playwrights' Theatre Centre, Granville Island, BC on October 16th.

For more information visit the Solo Collective Theatre website, here.

SG franchise gain multiple Gemini nominations

Nominations for the 20th Gemini Awards were announced today, with both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis picking up nods for technical categories.

Martin Gero gets the nod in the Best Writing in a Dramatic Series category for his work on the Atlantis episode 'The Brotherhood', while there are also nominations in the Best Achievement in Make-up and Best Visual Effects categories for work in 'Before I Sleep' and 'The Eye' respectively. Meanwhile, the visual effects teams responsible for Stargate SG-1 get two nominations for their work, for the episodes 'New Order Part 2' and 'The Lost City Part 2', meaning that the Stargate franchise effectively dominates the FX category.

In other Gemini news, Stargate SG-1 alumnus Ben Bass (best known to fans of the show as Stephen Raynor, but also known by genre fans as Vachon in Forever Knight) picks up a nomination for his performance in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role category for his work on The Eleventh Hour.

For more information on the Gemini Awards, go here.

Zahara and Cunningham talk Sci Fi

Podcast Sci Fi Talk now has interviews with three Stargate alumni up on its website - fan favourite Colin Cunningham (best known to fans of Stargate SG-1 as Major Davis), prolific guest star Alex Zahara (who's played nine different roles on Stargate SG-1 to date) and Stargate: Atlantis guest star Christopher Heyerdahl (Holling).

To download these interviews, go here.

Stargate Season 8 Boxset Falls Short?

Just days after the US release of the Season 8 Stargate SG-1 boxset reviews and comments across the web have been full of reports of missing features that were known to exist on the European versions of the Season 8 disks. Most puzzling of all was the episode "Threads," which was included in the US boxset as the syndicated 43 minute cut down version rather than the special 90 minute version originally aired on The SciFi Channel! Fans, needless to say, have been upset. Well, TVshowsondvd.com is reporting that they have already contacted MGM for an explanation and have been told that an exchange will be offered soon. Read the post on their site here.

Thanks to Obelix for the tip.

Atlantis and Inquest prosper in syndication

Stargate: Atlantis started its time in syndication with a respectable 1.7 household rating, say TV Week, comparing favourably with the 1.2 rating picked up by the same weeks new episode of Enterprise.

Meanwhile, the second syndication episode of Canadian import Da Vinci's Inquest, which features guest roles from a number of Stargate SG-1 alumni and recurring roles for both Peter Williams (Apophis) and Robert Wisden (Samuels) gained 21% on its premiere, also climbing to a 1.7 rating.

For more information, go here.

Schombing is back in Black

Fan favourite Jason Schombing (best known to fans of Stargate SG-1 as Robert Rothman) joins the cast of Canadian TV movie Shades of Black, working alongside American actors Lara Flynn Boyle (Men in Black 2, Twin Peaks) and Jason Priestley (Tru Calling, Beverly Hills 90210).

In this biopic of media mogul Conrad Black, Schombing plays David Radler, indicted for a $32 million fraud - Shades of Black starts filming in the UK and Canada this week.

For more information, go here.