Stargate fandom

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Corin Nemec at Gatecon in 2006 Corin Nemec Gatecon 2006 (2).jpg
Corin Nemec at Gatecon in 2006

Stargatefandom is a community of people actively interested in the military science fiction film Stargate and its television shows including Stargate SG-1 (SG1), Stargate Infinity (SGI), Stargate Atlantis (SGA), Stargate Universe (SGU) and their spin offs. The first franchise release, Stargate (1994) spawned four television series successors, four movies (two in production), a plethora of merchandise, and a massive franchise collectively known as the Stargate (owned by Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer and aired by Syfy, which now owns television properties they previously held with Carolco Pictures).

Contents

Thanks to Stargate fandom, the franchise has spawned other media including books, television series, video games, comic books and audiobooks. These supplements to the film and series trilogies comprise another universe than the series and the film, and have resulted in significant development of the series' fictional universe. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film and series trilogies. In 2008, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Continuum was released direct-to-DVD, which in total grossed over 21 million in the United States. In 2002, the franchise's first animated series, Stargate Infinity , was released as an introduction to the Expanded Universe. In 2004, Stargate Atlantis was released as a spin off from Stargate SG-1 and a new Stargate spin-off series entitled Stargate Universe was released in the fall of 2009.

Fandom

While panned by critics, the 1994 film, Stargate drew much attention grossing close to 200 million USD. The film was praised for its special effects and eventually gathered its own cult following over the years. [1] The follow-up, Stargate television franchise has built a solid fanbase, the series has been known for its loyal fans. Stargate SG-1 has established many of its own conventions, such as Wolfcon in Europe and Gatecon in Canada among others. The franchise contains many unofficial conventions to such as MediaWest Con and Vividcon established and run by fans of the franchise. Since its early years, Stargate has grown in popularity in Great Britain, France and Germany among other European countries. The American written book, Reading Stargate SG-1 noted that the franchise was strong with female fans because of its feminist approach to certain characters, most notable Samantha Carter (portrayed by Amanda Tapping). [2]

Gaters

Fans posing as SG teams at Dragon Con in 2008 Stargate SG-1 SG team Dragon Con 2008 cropped.jpg
Fans posing as SG teams at Dragon Con in 2008

Brad Wright used the term "Gaters" to refer to fans of Stargate SG-1 in 2001, [3] but the term did not become widespread. Some fans' belief that there was a real Stargate device under Cheyenne Mountain inspired writers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie to come up with their own conspiracy story for season 4's "Point of No Return". [3] The fansite GateWorld became a major franchise news site with special arrangements with MGM; GateWorld's founder Darren Sumner was later hired to serve as a news editor for the official Stargate SG-1 magazine and to check Stargate comic books for continuity errors with the TV shows before publication. [4] Late Night with Conan O'Brien graphic designer Pierre Bernard gained notoriety among Stargate fans for devoting several of his "Recliner of Rage" Late Night segments to SG-1. The producers invited him to make cameo appearances in the episodes "Zero Hour" and "200". [5]

Gatecon

Gatecon is an annual fan convention, which centers around the Stargate television franchise. Gatecon was conceived in 2000 to provide a place for fans of the show Stargate SG-1 to meet members of the cast and crew, and to get to know their fellow fans. The original organizers met due to an interactive Stargate-themed site run by Ryan Peters under Showtime's umbrella. Since its inception, Gatecon has raised money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation through a series of auction evenings. Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (MGM) and Bridge Studios donated props and costumes. Because of the financial crisis, Gatecon decided to not hold any convention until 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Gatecon's founder Allan Gowen said, "With the current world economic status it is making it harder and harder for people to attend conventions," as the reason why there is not going to be any Gatecon in 2009. [6]

Until 2005, Gatecon was the main Stargate SG-1 fan convention. It was held in the Vancouver area, with more actor and crew member participation than other conventions. SG-1 conventions by Creation Entertainment were also marketed as "The Official Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis Tour", which mostly took place in the United States until Creation Entertainment acquired the license for Vancouver conventions in 2005. Wolf Events organized many SG-1 conventions in Europe, particularly in the UK and Germany. [7]

GateWorld

GateWorld
GateWorld2HomepageAug18.JPG
Type of site
 Fan-news site
Available in English
OwnerDarren Sumner
URL www.gateworld.net
LaunchedOctober 22, 1999;22 years ago (1999-10-22)
Current statusActive
Content license
 Copyright

GateWorld (also known as GateWorld.net and abbreviated to GW) is an English-language fan-news site-based webpage for British-Canadian-American science fiction shows, but lays most its weight on the Stargate franchise. It was started in 1999 by Stargate SG-1 fan Darren Sumner, to be an online community for fans of the show. Through its relationship with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), GateWorld occasionally offers exclusive news reports such as the recurring appearance of Claudia Black in season nine of Stargate SG-1 and the announcement of the third Stargate live-action television series being in development and the casting of Brian J. Smith in this new show.

GateWorld has an extensive show encyclopedia, cast interviews, an online store, forum, articles, reviews as well as a large episode guides, with transcripts and pictures. The site also features up-to-date news. The GateWorld forum has more than 44,000 members and 9,100,000 posts. The record number of users online at the same time was 2,770 as of 10 May 2011, the day after the last episode of Stargate Universe aired. [8]

History

GateWorld was inaugurated on October 22, 1999 as "Starguide," a fan site that has changed addresses and servers many times since then. The site was developed by SG-1 fan, Darren Sumner to be an online community for the show Stargate SG-1, similar to web sites for other science fiction shows. Though the site focused on Stargate, other parts of the site were devoted to other sci-fi series in the form of episode guides. It was during this time that Starguide was given the new name GateWorld. [9] [10] The main site was completely redesigned in 2006 to coincide with the broadcast of Stargate SG-1 s milestone 200th episode. [11] With the cancellation of Stargate SG-1, Gateworld announced its support for SaveStargateSG1, [12] a fan run campaign to get international networks and executives to show support for Stargate SG-1 and to help get it back on the air.

Although the webpage focus lay on news coverage and the episode guides, it also started to include a large encyclopedia, reviews and a store. Now, even the cast and producers of Stargate have contributed to the site with extensive multimedia interviews, blogs, spoilers, and live chats. The GateWorld Alpha Site is a site made by the creators of GateWorld. It was made in case of system problems with GateWorld, deeming it unable to connect to the site. The site provides news on problems and updates on site maintenance.

In 2007, GateWorld launched its Creation Storefront merchandise section, which includes DVDs, Stargate glassware, apparel, jewelry, photographs, autographs, keychains, and calendars available for purchase.

On January 4, 2008, GateWorld launched a new service called GateWorld Play, a Stargate video service similar to YouTube. Plans were to update this new channel "seven days per week for the foreseeable future". [13] [14]

Reception

On June 9, 2006 Entertainment Weekly became the first major publication to recognize GateWorld. [15] The Province called GateWorld "amazingly detailed". [16] GateWorld was the winner of the 2007 SyFy Genre Awards for "Best Web Site". [17] It was also nominated in 2006. [18] The producers of the Stargate franchise are in good contact with GateWorld and have mentioned the website favorably in several audio commentaries. In 2004, Darren Sumner was invited to tour through the sets of Stargate Atlantis and to interview the members of the series' crew. Since then he and partner David Read make an annual pilgrimage to Vancouver, where the franchise is filmed, to visit the studio and interview the casts and crews of both shows for the Website. Producer Joseph Mallozzi stated in his blog:

"I have always been a supporter of GateWorld and consider it the premiere site for Stargate fans online. In fact, I was the one who suggested to MGM Marketing several years back, that they look toward establishing some sort of working relationship with Darren and GateWorld."

— Joseph Mallozzi's, weblog [19]

Looking back on producing SG-1' season 5, Joseph Mallozzi also stated in 2011:

"And, when we weren't writing or producing, we were checking out Gateworld which was fast becoming THE one stop shop for everything Stargate. In fact, Gateworld was so impressive in its scope and detail that we eventually abandoned updating the show's massive bible [...] in favor of directing prospective freelancers to the site. It blew all other Stargate-related sites, even the studio's which paled by comparison. Over the years, Gateworld evolved alongside the franchise, growing and improving. In later years, I would roll my eyes and fans on other forums would accuse Darren and David – "the Gateworld guys" as we called them – of simply being a PR arm of the franchise. The truth is, as incredible as they've been in the amount of support they’ve shown, there have also been incidences in which we've strongly disagreed with some of the decisions they've taken. Nothing that couldn't be talked through but, still, enough to remind everyone that Gateworld was and would remain a strong and independent online entity."

— Joseph Mallozzi's, weblog [20]

Related Research Articles

Stargate SG-1 is a military science fiction adventure television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 science fiction film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. The television series was filmed in and around the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The series premiered on Showtime on July 27, 1997 and moved to the Sci Fi Channel on June 7, 2002; the final episode first aired on Sky1 on March 13, 2007.

Stargate Atlantis is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself based on the feature film Stargate (1994). All five seasons of Stargate Atlantis were broadcast by the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States and The Movie Network in Canada. The show premiered on July 16, 2004; its final episode aired on January 9, 2009. The series was filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Stargate is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen bridge device that enables nearly instantaneous travel across the cosmos. The franchise began with the film Stargate, released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, which grossed US$197 million worldwide. In 1997, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created a television series titled Stargate SG-1 as a sequel to the film. This show was joined by Stargate Atlantis in 2004, Stargate Universe in 2009, and a prequel web series, Stargate Origins, in 2018. Also consistent with the same story are a variety of books, video games and comic books, as well as the direct-to-DVD movies Stargate: Children of the Gods, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, and Stargate: Continuum, which concluded the first television show after 10 seasons.

The Siege (<i>Stargate Atlantis</i>) 19th and 21st episodes of the first season of Stargate Atlantis

"The Siege" is the season finale for season one and season premiere for season two of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first episode of the series overall. The episodes were written by executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie and Martin Gero, and all three were directed by Martin Wood. The episodes were one of the series strongest in season 1 on Nielsen ratings and part three gathered the strongest rating with "Instinct" in season 2. The episode got strong reviews from major media publishers worldwide.

Vala Mal Doran Fiction character from the Stargate franchise

Vala Mal Doran is a fictional character in the American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, a science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by former Farscape actress Claudia Black, Vala was created by Damian Kindler and Robert C. Cooper as a guest character for the season 8 episode "Prometheus Unbound" (2004). Because of the on-screen chemistry between Black's Vala and Michael Shanks' character Daniel Jackson, and the character's popularity with the producers and the audience, Claudia Black became a recurring guest star in season 9 (2005–2006) and joined the main cast in season 10 (2006–2007).

Robert C. Cooper

Robert C. Cooper is a Canadian writer and producer best known for his work in the Stargate franchise. He was formerly an executive producer of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. He also co-created both Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe with Brad Wright. Cooper has written and produced many episodes of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe as well as directed a number of episodes.

Evan Lorne Fictional character from the Stargate universe

Major Evan Lorne, USAF is a fictional character in the 2004 Canadian–American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, two military science fiction shows about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by Kavan Smith, Evan Lorne was first introduced as a recurring character in the seventh season of Stargate SG-1, holding the military rank of Major in the United States Air Force. He joins the Atlantis expedition after "The Siege" as one of the personnel on the Daedalus class battlecruiser.

The mythology of the Stargate franchise is the historical backstory of the Stargate premise, which centers around xeno-mythology as experienced by humans during episodic contact. In the fictional universe of the franchise, the people of Earth have encountered numerous extraterrestrial races on their travels through the Stargate.

<i>Stargate</i> literature

Stargateliterature comprises the novels and short stories in the Stargate franchise fictional universe as well as non-fiction devoted to the franchise. Stargate literary works follow no strict continuity with the series or each other, and are often considered to be non-canon. This is evident in the fact that there is a period of roughly a year between the original idea for a novel and the finalized product, causing problems for authors as they are unaware as to how the franchise will develop and change during the writing process. Despite this, the editors of Stargate literature function as the medium between the author and the production company.

Martin Wood (director) Canadian television director

Martin Wood is a Canadian television director who has been directing since the mid-1990s. Specializing in science fiction, where he is best known for his work as a director and producer on Stargate SG-1, as well as its spin-off series Stargate Atlantis.

"200" is the sixth episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1's tenth season, and the 200th episode of the series overall. Unlike the more serious nature of the season's story arc, "200" is a light-hearted parody of both Stargate SG-1 and other sci-fi shows, as well as popular culture like The Wizard of Oz.

<i>Stargate Universe</i> A science fiction TV series

Stargate Universe is a military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny several billion light years distant from the Milky Way Galaxy. They are now trying to figure out a way to return to Earth, while simultaneously trying to explore and to survive in their unknown area of the universe. The series, created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, premiered in the United States on Syfy on October 2, 2009. The series featured an ensemble cast and was primarily filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A second season of 20 episodes was announced by Syfy in December 2009.

Gatecon

Gatecon is a fan convention centered on the Stargate television franchise. The first Gatecon was held in 2000 in Vancouver, Canada, with the convention being held annually until 2008. Since 2008 the event has been held sporadically. The event has included tours of the Stargate SG-1 (1997–2006), Stargate Atlantis (2004–2009) and Stargate Universe (2010–2011) sets at The Bridge Studios.

Be All My Sins Rememberd 11th episode of the fourth season of Stargate Atlantis

"Be All My Sins Remember'd" is the 71st episode of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and the eleventh episode of the series' fourth season. The episode was written by Atlantis co-executive producer, Martin Gero, his third script of the season, and directed by Andy Mikita. The episode originally aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States on January 4, 2008, and aired on Sky One in the United Kingdom on January 8. The episode's title is derived from the line, "The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons/ Be all my sins remember'd" from the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

<i>Stargate SG-1</i> (season 9) Season of television series

The ninth season of Stargate SG-1, an American-Canadian television series, began airing on July 15, 2005 on SCI FI. The ninth season concluded on March 10, 2006, after 20 episodes on the same channel. The series was originally developed by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, and Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie served as executive producers. The season arc centers on the new threat of the Ori, a race who Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran unleash in an unknown galaxy, and who are threatening to prepare for a crusade into the Milky Way galaxy to convert the beings to their religion called Origin.

The Daedalus Variations 4th episode of the fifth season of Stargate Atlantis

"The Daedalus Variations" is the 84th episode of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and is the fourth episode in the series' fifth season. The episode first aired on August 1, 2008 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States, and subsequently aired on October 9 on Sky One in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Alan McCullough, and directed by regular Stargate director, Andy Mikita. Richard Woolsey and Jennifer Keller do not appear in the episode, despite being credited during the opening title sequence. Talking to journalists, McCullough linked the story to that of the Flying Dutchman, a mythical ghost ship that drifts forever in the ocean with no chance of returning home. The episode received generally favourable reviews.

<i>Stargate Universe</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of Stargate Universe consists of 20 episodes. Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper wrote the three-parter series opener named "Air", which was originally planned to be a two-parter. The first two parts of "Air" premiered on Syfy on October 2, 2009, with regularly weekly airing beginning on October 9, 2009. "Fire" was originally going to be the title for episode four, but the story and script was too big to be able to fit into one episode, so the producers changed it to become a two-parter called "Darkness" and "Light", therefore pushing all future episodes forward one slot. "Justice" was the mid-season finale. The back half of the first season aired on Friday April 2, 2010 on Space and Syfy.

"Air" is the three-part opening episode of the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe. The first two parts aired on Syfy in the United States on October 2, 2009, while the third part aired on October 9. In Canada, SPACE aired the first two in tandem with Syfy. Sky1 broadcast the first two parts on October 6, and the third on October 13, whilst Sci Fi Australia aired the two-parter on October 9, and the third part on October 16. "Air" was written by series creators Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright, and was directed by Andy Mikita.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Storm 2005, pp. 6.
  2. ↑ Beeler and Dickson 2006, pp. 1–3.
  3. 1 2 Wright, Brad; Glassner, John; Mullie, Paul; Smith, Stuart T.; Giannazzo, Tom (2001). Stargate SG-1: Season 3 – Timeline To The Future – Part 3: Beyond The Gate (DVD). MGM Home Entertainment.
  4. ↑ Storm 2005, pp. 81–86.
  5. ↑ Sumner, Darren (September 9, 2006). "Conan O'Brien notes Stargate cancellation". GateWorld. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  6. ↑ Read, David (January 14, 2009). "Gatecon takes a break in 2009". GateWorld . Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  7. ↑ Storm 2005, pp. 93–95.
  8. ↑ "GateWorld Forum". GateWorld. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  9. ↑ Juarez, Vanessa (June 2006). "Summer TV: July 2006". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  10. ↑ "Site History". GateWorld. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  11. ↑ Sumner, Darren (August 18, 2006). "Introducing: GateWorld 2.0!". GateWorld. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  12. ↑ Sumner, Darren (August 28, 2006). "Fans Rally: SaveStargateSG1.com!". Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  13. ↑ Storm 2005, pp. 81-87.
  14. ↑ "GateWorld introduces GateWorld Play". GateWorld. January 4, 2008. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  15. ↑ Entertainment Weekly Issue #880/881, 9 June 2006.
  16. ↑ Luba, Frank (June 17, 2007). "Stargate secrets revealed at last". The Province . Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  17. ↑ "Stargate takes SyFy Genre Awards". Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). October 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  18. ↑ "SyFy Genre Awards Nominations". SyFy Portal Yahoo Group. June 19, 2006. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  19. ↑ Mallozzi, Joseph (February 17, 2008). "February 16, 2008". WordPress . Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  20. ↑ Mallozzi, Joseph (May 3, 2011). "May 3, 2011: Skinny little Maximus! Stargate: SG-1 season five memories! The Refuel update!". WordPress . Retrieved 2011-05-04.

Bibliography

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