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Atlantis actors react to cancellation

Monday - August 25, 2008 | by Chad Colvin

This past weekend, fans of Stargate had the chance to mingle with their favorite actors at Creation Entertainment's Official Stargate Convention in Chicago. For some though, the event had an oddly ironic sense of deja vu attached.

In 2006, during the week of the Chicago convention and immediately following the airing of Stargate SG-1's landmark 200th episode, SCI FI Channel went public with the announcement that they were canceling the series after 10 years -- but with the added knowledge that a younger series would carry the torch and the SG-1 cast would transition to movies.

Flash forward two years later, and the timeline is strangely similar. Immediately preceding the airing of "The Shrine" -- once again the sixth episode of the season -- the announcement was made that the plug was being pulled on the popular spin-off. Again, this was accompanied by the announcement that a new series would carry the torch and the Atlantis cast would shift to a movie format.

Both announcements have left some repeat Chicago convention attendees wondering whether or not they are being punished. The timing of the announcement this year, while not diminishing the fun factor of the convention itself, still cast a grey cloud over the weekend's proceedings, as many fans worried about the cancellation of the series and questioned the direction the Stargate franchise is heading.

GateWorld took the time to sit down with actors David Nykl ("Radek Zelenka") and Chuck Campbell ("Chuck the Technician") at the convention, and get their comments on these latest developments.

"On Tuesday they announced it to the cast, and I wasn't there," Nykl said. "So I came in the next day and I was getting ready like I usually do, and there was this weird mood on set. So I asked what was going on. And it was actually Chuck who told me!

"It's a shock. It's like any big news. There's a process you go through. You're sad, you're angry. You're worried about what's going to happen. There's a sense that it's a real shame. The cast and crew have been together so long that it's a real blast doing the show."

"But you have to remember, we've been doing it for five years," Nykl added. "For a lot of shows in this day and age, that's a major accomplishment." And with Atlantis movies on the horizon, the actor stressed one thing: "Don't give up on us."

Those sentiments were echoed by Campbell.

"Hang in with us," he said. "This new series will be of the same caliber as the other two. These writers know what they are doing. They can write good television. You've been with us this long. Stay with us for the ninth inning. It'll be worth it. And thank you for the five years you've given us."

Stargate Atlantis airs Fridays at 10 p.m. (9 Central) on the SCI FI Channel in the U.S.

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