By Kent Gibbons — Multichannel News, 8/20/2008 5:59:00 PM

Space drama Stargate Atlantis will conclude its run on Sci Fi Channel after the current, fifth season ends next January — but the network has greenlit a two-hour Atlantis movie to run after that and says the show will live on as a network franchise.

After airing on Sci Fi sometime next year, the untitled Atlantis movie will be sold as a home-video title by producer MGM, Sci Fi told Multichannel News on Wednesday.

MGM this year released two financially successful straight-to-DVD movies made after progenitor series Stargate SG-1 ended a 10-year run of first-run cable episodes on Sci Fi. MGM and the show producers are scheduled to make more in DVDs in future. A movie franchise is also envisioned for Stargate Atlantis.

2-Hour TV-Movie Greenlit For 2009 As Stargate Franchise Lives On In Features

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• Robert J. Kral will also be signing his SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY soundtrack.
• Kevin Manthei will also be signing his JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER soundtrack.

SCI FI Channel announced that it will air a new Battlestar Galactica two-hour prequel movie, set to air in 2009 following the conclusion of the series.

Directed by star Edward James Olmos, the as-yet-untitled new film will be set before the events of the original Battlestar miniseries and will focus on Cylons: Number One, known as Cavil (Dean Stockwell),
resistance leader Sam T. Anders (Michael Trucco) and Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas).

In the beginning, the Cylons had a plan, but it didn’t account for one thing: survivors. During the chaotic aftermath of the nuclear destruction, two powerful Cylon agents struggle with plots and priorities on the human ships that got away and among the resistance fighters who were left behind.

The film will be written by Jane Espenson and will begin shooting in Vancouver, Canada, at the end of the summer. After airing on SCI FI, it will be released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The final 10 episodes of the fourth and last season of Battlestar Galactica will begin airing on SCI FI Channel in 2009.

Science Fiction Buzz is giving away 10 copies of the critically acclaimed Masters of Science Fiction series DVD. Enter to win through the month of August 2008. Drawing will be at the end of August and winners will be announced.

Check out this series:

On August 5th, the critically acclaimed Masters of Science Fiction anthology series will be released on DVD as a 2-disc set. The Masters of Science Fiction DVD contains the entire series – including the world premiere of two episodes never-before-aired! Originally broadcast last year on ABC, Masters of Science Fiction adapted short stories from some of the genre’s greatest practitioners, including Robert Heinlein, Harlan Ellison, Robert Sheckley and John Kessel. Mark Dawidziak of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote: “I’ve seen what may be the best futuristic anthology series since the glory days of ‘The Twilight Zone’ and ‘The Outer Limits.’ It’s called ‘Masters of Science Fiction.’”

MORE INFORMATION ON THE DVD

• Premiered on ABC August 4, 2007

• 2 Episodes Exclusive to the DVD set – never aired on ABC

• Hosted by the legend Stephen Hawking

Stories by award-winning writers:

• Harlan Ellison
• Robert A. Heinlein
• Walter Mosley
• Robert Sheckley
• Michael Tolkin and many more!

Directors include Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek).

• Starring: Sam Waterson, Judy Davis, Anne Heche, Malcolm McDowell, Terry O’Quinn, Elizabeth Rohm, Brian Dennehy, John Hurt, Sean Astin, James Denton.Ma

Enter the contest using the form below.

by John K., Critical Myth

Having covered my general thoughts on the film and its broad connections to the mythology, I will now elaborate on some of my disappointments and explore some of the aspects that I think were successful.

Apparently the film was cut for length, and I can’t help but wonder if the excised footage, once restored, will have the same effect that I’ve seen with other films that have suffered in the theatre. A lot of studios are taking a jaded approach to initial release: they cut for time, cut to get a PG-13 rating, all designed to maximize theatre earnings (at least in their own mind). The “real” film is later released on DVD, where the restoration drives sales and additional profit.

The audience has become savvy to this methodology, and a lot of people refuse to see certain films in the theatre, because they want to see the complete version of the story when the DVD arrives. Yet the studio continues to use the box office as a measure of success. It’s akin to using Neilsen ratings for television in the era of season-set DVDs, Netflix, legal digital downloads, and everyday DVR recording.

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So it’s a slow day around here. Martin Gero is directing his episode “Brain Storm” and the first unit is not on the lot (they’re on location). Brad and Rob are working from home. Joe Mallozzi took off at lunch to go to the dentist. And Lawren is doing his second, more important job. Did I mention we’re about to have a four day weekend? So anyways, it’s been a bit slow. Even Carl Binder admitted to having a case of the lazies. The result was an extended chat session in the writer’s room.

Now I can’t tell you exactly what is said in the writer’s room, but I can tell you that these are some witty guys and the jokes always come fast and furious. Today’s topics included: Lasik eye surgery for your pets, unnecessary censorship, Carl’s “foot in mouth” day, the future title of episode 20 (I suggested “Untitled” - less work for me), finding locations for episode 519 (”Vegas”), good casting decisions, bad casting decisions, possible season 6 Atlantis character relationships, Robert Picardo’s brilliant ad-libs, and last but not least, what I can and can’t put in the blog. For example, the room was divided as to whether I should tell you that the producers discussed the possibility of Jason Momoa appearing in an upcoming episode as a Wraith, but the notion was discarded. I thought you
might be interested to know that.

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Other interesting Stargate Atlantis posts we found:

• Tonight on the Tube: Doctor Who, Swingtown, Stargate Atlantis …


• Stargate Atlantis Episode Details!


• Kari Wuhrer News: Stargate: Atlantis Season 5 - Who Goes, Stays …


• лya reviewed Stargate Atlantis on 17:52 PDT, 31 July, 2008


• Hamlet, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis Icons

Here’s the latest news from the Stargate Atlantis Blogosphere for 31 July 2008.

Stargate Atlantis - Cinema Spy: Jewel Staite Interview

Actress talks ‘Stargate Atlantis′ and shedding Kaylee By Blaine Kyllo | Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Jewel Staite has been acting since she was a child, but it was the role of Kaylee Frye in Joss Whedon’s Firefly that cemented her status as …

Stargate Atlantis - Watch This and Much More on Your PC !

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Save Carson Beckett is proud to announce a charity auction of entertainment memorabilia starting later this week! Paul McGillion and many of his colleagues and friends have contributed items for the auction. All proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Babz Chula Society. The latter is in support of Canadian actress Babz Chula, who currently suffers from breast cancer. These charities are supported by Paul McGillion, and he happily agreed to sign and contribute items to this auction, as well as get others to do the same.

Technorati Tags: Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, Carson Beckett, Paul McGillion

by John K. of Critical Myth

The first direct-to-DVD “Stargate” film, “The Ark of Truth”, was burdened with the task of condensing a season’s worth of resolution to the Ori arc in the space of about 90 minutes.  The writers did well enough under the circumstances, but it was clear that the plot was the overriding consideration. Stargate - Continuum also seeks to resolve a lingering plot thread from the final season of “Stargate SG-1”, but generally speaking, the writers had more freedom with the story.

In essence, the plot boils down to this: Ba’al, the last of the System Lords, has finally been captured (and we shall never speak of the Ba’al clones again).  In a last ditch effort to reverse his fortunes, Ba’al uses a time machine to prevent the relocation of the original stargate from Giza in the late 1930s.  Jackson, Carter, and Mitchell are in the middle of gate transit when this happens, so they retain their memories of the original timeline when they arrive in the altered reality.  Hilarity ensues.
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20Q™ Star Trek is the newest installment of 20Q™ (an A.I. twenty questions game). Next year Mattel will release a handheld version of this game, but right now, in an effort to make the game smarter, 20Q™ Star Trek is available to play online. The more Star Trek fans and experts who play the online version, the smarter the game will become.

Aside from giving Star Trek fans an outlet for sharpening their Star Trek knowledge, the game is fun to play, and is amazingly good at guessing what you’re thinking. See if you know more about Star Trek than 20Q does: http://www.20q.net/startrek/

If you’d like more information about 20Q Star Trek, read this article here.

This post was submitted by Emily Hershey.