I used to be a huge Stargate Atlantis fan. It was pretty much the only TV show I've ever followed. I bailed on it shortly after the beginning of Season 4, when TPTB decided they were going to go fix what wasn't broke and traded an independent, kickass icon of feminism for a shell of what Sam Carter used to be. My interest just wained, though I tried to keep watching. I vaguely recall watching the season finale, just because the imagery of Atlantis in the desert was enticing.
To tell the truth, SGA never lived up to it's potential at all. I remember that iconic scene in the premiere episode, "Rising," when the Lost City rises from the ocean. I was hooked after that... the symbolism, the beauty of it... but nothing else ever lived up to that initial spark of promise. Season One, and parts of Season Two built upon it nicely, and I always thought they were working their way up to amazingness (remember the episode "Aurora," and the Captain's speech to his crew at the end? I had chills. That was epic. And "Before I Sleep" from Season One. I was convinced this show was going to be something amazing.)
SG1 has always been a fun Stargate show, with it's share of epic moments. ("The Fifth Race," "The Lost City," etc.) SGU was too much of angst-fest that I abandoned it after three episodes.
As far as shelving the planned SGA movie, they would have already shot it if they could have. They'd been telling Joe Flanigan and the others for over a year and a half that it would be "soon." Has it happened yet? No. Some fans called it a year ago that the SGA movie would never happen. If you ask me, this is just TPTB's excuse to get out of it.
Stargate is pretty much my only other fannish-type interest other than Chrono. When TPTB were openly thumbing their noses at Elizabeth Weir fans (who was pretty much the most independent, kickass female Stargate character ever... she didn't need a gun to command respect), and later on berating SGA fans for being irritated at its cancellation to make way for SGU... well, I said, "Cool. You want to insult the fans? I don't need to hang around and be insulted."
I do remember in the Weir-related circles of the fandom that people had predicted SGA's cancellation pretty accurately. (Some even celebrated as if it were vindication, but I remember just feeling sad that a show with such amazing potential had been canceled.) When you thumb your nose at one corner of your fans, it's just a matter of time before you thumb your nose at the rest.
My mom absolutely loves SGU, and one day a week or two ago I was at her house and she was watching an episode. I didn't know exactly what was going on, but I was intrigued. The thought had occurred to me that maybe I didn't give SGU a fair shake because of my mood and situation at the time it premiered. Then again, I didn't really get into BSG so maybe I wouldn't like it. I have historically always liked serious-type Sci Fi, but lately I've been craving the lighter stuff to ease my mood, heh.
Heh, sorry. A very long, only semi-related rant. I could go on and on about how much I loved SGA, but I think I loved it's potential more than anything else. And this was supposed to be a thread about SGU/Caprica.
SyFy screwed up a long time ago when then cancelled SG1, which if I remember correctly was doing well in ratings at the time. That started a series of events where Stargate's own Powers That Be managed to self-destruct the rest of the franchise, all without SyFy's further help. Maybe they had cleaned up their act by the time SGU got going, though sometimes it's too little, too late to bring the viewers back.
