The Real Reason Stargate Atlantis Was Canceled By The Sci-Fi Channel

MGM Television

The 2000s were a pretty incredible time to be a science fiction aficionado and offered a number of big, successful shows from various franchises — meaning there was something for every flavor of fan. Trekkies had "Star Trek: Enterprise," the absolutely killer "Battlestar Galactica" reboot reignited the war with the Cylons for a new generation, and we even had a brief sci-fi Western through the ill-fated "Firefly." Fans of the wild 1994 Roland Emmerich movie "Stargate" similarly had a whole string of TV spinoffs to enjoy, starting with "Stargate SG-1," which expanded the world-hopping storytelling from the film into a whole expansive universe. "Stargate" centered on the concept of literal stargates, i.e. giant and ancient circular portals that allowed for travel between worlds, and it was rather unique even among the crowded sci-fi landscape.

For a short period of time, it seemed like the "Stargate" franchise was everywhere, as there were three TV shows all running pretty close to concurrently. Then, right when it seemed like "Stargate" was at its peak, it all started to fall apart. First, "Stargate SG-1" was cancelled just after its 10th season and 200th episode in 2007, and then "Stargate Atlantis," its successful spin-off, got the axe in 2008. The announcement that "Atlantis" would be ending was especially shocking, and even though the Sci-Fi Channel announced plans for a separate spin-off and a wrap-up "Atlantis" movie, it was a real bummer. So, what the heck happened, and why did the Sci-Fi Channel (as it was known at the time) take out a great show before its time was truly done?

MGM Television

Like a great many things in this world, the cancellation of "Stargate Atlantis" all came down to a matter of money. The 2008 U.S. economic crisis caused a weakening of the U.S. dollar, which had a pretty major impact on the show's budget. The series was produced in Canada but financed in the U.S., which meant that it simply became more and more expensive to make the show as the U.S. economy tanked. In a blog post explaining the show's cancellation at the end of season 5, executive producer Joseph Mallozzi put it pretty succinctly:

"With 100 episodes under our belts, rising production costs, and the US dollar's steep decline, the odds were stacked against us."

A later blog post elaborated on the fact that even if "Atlantis" had gotten a sixth season, it's very unlikely that it would have continued beyond that. Shows tend to get more expensive with each passing season since actors are able to demand higher salaries (while fans demand higher production quality), and Mallozzi felt that "by season seven, the costs of producing the series would have probably surpassed [any] upside benefits."

That unfortunately meant starting fresh with a new "Stargate" series, "Stargate Universe," which some fans blamed for "Atlantis" concluding when it did. In the end, though, the series wasn't the "Atlantis" continuation that fans wanted, and "Stargate Universe" was cancelled after only two seasons.

MGM Television

The "Stargate" franchise can be a tiny bit confusing to understand at first, and since "SG-1" and "Atlantis" ran concurrently, it can be a little tricky to know how to approach the shows. There is no one truly correct way to watch the "Stargate" franchise, though generally it's always best to start with the 1994 movie and work your way forward from there. Unfortunately, there's not really a satisfying ending for "Atlantis," as the movie that was promised never came to fruition and the adventures of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), and the rest of the "Atlantis" cast of characters simply ended when the show did.

Flanigan told fans at Edmonton Expo in 2014 that he actually tried to buy the rights to "Stargate Atlantis" from MGM so that he could make a movie and finish things properly, but unfortunately during MGM's bankruptcy, the informal agreement was lost as the company was restructured. That meant that he had to try and start the whole process over again with Spyglass, which now owns the MGM library, and unfortunately it wasn't interested in his idea of shooting a 20 episode reboot of "Atlantis," instead focusing its attention on a movie reboot with Emmerich. Sadly, that reboot is pretty much dead in the water as well, and for now, it looks like we may never get to see a proper farewell for "Stargate Atlantis" or even another "Stargate" entry at all. Maybe we just need to find a stargate for real and travel to a future where we can make that happen.