Flanigan talks Atlantis cancellation
Stargate Atlantis leading man Joe Flanigan suggests that the cast of his show doesn’t get the recognition they deserve — and that the series’ cancellation could set a bad precedent for actors. Flanigan made the comments in a new Q&A with fans at the Hungarian broadcaster site AXN.
“No one is really certain why it was cancelled,” said Flanigan, who played Lt. Colonel John Sheppard for Atlantis’s 5-year, 100-episode run. “Every producer/executive lays the blame on the other so it’s becomes impossible to understand the true reasons. I think our cast did a truly amazing job in helping build a successful franchise, but I don’t think that it is seen that way by the writers and producers.”
The actor said that he won’t be appearing on the spin-off series Stargate Universe, which premieres in October. Should the new series be a hit with viewers, he fears that it may not bode well for actors in the franchise.
“If Universe is successful, the prevailing theory among the writers and producers will be that actors are dispensible and not a critical part of the show,” he said. “Only time will tell.”
As for his future, Flanigan said that he is reluctant to get involved with another television project unless the character is very interesting. “I have been really fortunate in my career and hope that I continue to be,” he said. “I have been offered a number of things since I quit Atlantis. Many of them require relocations that would prove too difficult on my family. Some are simply not as interesting as my role as John Sheppard. I am looking for a show that will really invest in their lead characters. I’ll be shooting a movie in July.”
This summer he will also appear in a guest role on the SCI FI Channel’s new series Warehouse 13 (story).
Flanigan said that he would also return to a future Stargate Atlantis project, “Probably. I miss my cast members and the crew. There is a lot of unexplored elements left for Atlantis. Personally I think it could have easily gone for another five years.”
Visit AXN to read the complete Q&A! Also don’t miss GateWorld’s exclusive new video interview with Joe.
(Thanks to wraithfodder for the tip)
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I’m rather amazed that people think that Joe Flanigan is arrogant. Why? During the filming of SGA, he always spoke for the cast with the producers. When Torri and Paul were fired, he defended them with all his heart – and the producers stopped communicating with him. He asked Joe Mallozzi not to take so many behind-the-scene pictures so the actors can relax and rest between takes – and Mallozzi stopped even acknowledging his existence in his blog.
So tell me, who’s behaving like a petulant child here? Everybody – David, Rachel, Jason, Joe… – are rather disillusioned with TPTBs attitude. Joe isn’t the only one voicing his opinion on that matter.
katikatnik | June 4 @ 9:27 ammmm very interesting comments….. But has anyone read the entire transcript to his chat? mmm it seems like this is a No…. so why are a lot of people being negative towards what he said he only made one comment to one question and it fired up a lot of negativity… i know everyone is entitled to their own personal opinions and i really respect that but a lot of people are throwing this interview out of proportion and this is not the only time Joe has talked about this or made any comments about this… I personally think that he did great with his replies and like I said before he doesn’t have to pretend things are ok or sugar code everything at least he said something unlike the rest of the actors who stay quiet or just say “100 episodes is great run” yada yada yada….boring! Am glad he talked about this and I agree with someone who said on here that gateworld only published that particular part of the script instead of the entire thing because Joe answered many other questions that had nothing to do with sga.
mrs john sheppard | June 4 @ 1:26 pm@mrs john sheppard: Exactly! He talked about his children and his bee-keeping… It was a wonderful interview and it showed him as a loving father and a warm-hearted, funny person.
katikatnik | June 4 @ 2:24 pmI agree with Joe – and have to have my say. The new show runners in my opinion that (Malozzi/Mullie) it seemed, did think the actors were indespensible, (Weir/Beckett) and there began the downfall. Also, replacing them with Carter or Woolsey – great actors, but the writers did absolutely nothing for their story lines, so they became fillers – might as well have left Weir there, who was good already. I am a huge fan, kept watching to the bitter end, but the stories had definitely begun to get boring and repetitive, and nothing was surprising and new anymore… there, just getting my opinion out… Still love SGA though and will miss it…
vanity01 | June 5 @ 3:43 amI agree with those that say read the whole interview first, its charming an witty an shows JUST what a nice person Joe is not just this snippet showed by GW. I also think Joe has a right to voice his opinion and I thank him for being open and honest and this is not the first time he has consistently been open about how he feels about things an WHY SHOULDN’T HE?, for me Joe has ALWAYS been loyal to the fans with his conduct and words and I really do wish to thank him for that, loyalty is a big issue for me an I don’t feel this has been a 2 way street with some of TPTB but that’s just a personal POV. SGA was axed in favour of SGU and I know I’m P’d so I would expect the actors/crew to be as well. Also he has said to fans not to boycott SGU and to show respect to those actors because its not there fault that TPTB screwed the whole thing up (my words not his). For me its them that are to blame for this whole mess AND IT IS A MESS which was totally avoidable IMO if there hadn’t been a certain degree of arrogance on the side of TPTB both shows could an should have been done IMHO. I for one am not even gonna bother with SGU I don’t want, I’m not boycotting or disrupting the actors for me there is nothing appealing about SGU, “NOTHING” I looked, read watched the trailers and that’s why I’m not watching. SGA was the show I loved it, far surpassed SG1 for me IMHO. First an foremost it was the actors portrayal of the characters I loved, stories/plots 2nd as we all know some, not all the writers were just poor. I would love to see SGA back in season 6 or mini series coz a movie jut does not make up for the lost of a weekly show and I don’t care HOW SPIN is put on that. SGA should have gone on for at least another season personally I think it had enough life to mirror SG1. I have no faith in the movie even being made and I feel dread at what they will actually do with the script if it does, because TPTB have openly stated they are bored with SGA, isn’t that distrustful to the actors? An not forgetting the flipping the coin remark if that’s not arrogant/ condescending and total disrespectful on the part of TPTB I don’t know what else is! an some are calling Joe arrogant beats me but each to there own opinion I guess. This whole thing makes my blood boil, an its not getting any better. I will support Joe in what ever project he does same as the other cast members an I would love to see something with them all reunited whether Atlantis related or not, yes I would hope Atlantis related but I’d settled for another project. Because these guys are good actors IMO and have a great chemistry with each other and that shins through when they work together and that’s a big + for me.
Like someone has already mentioned I have also been buying and downloading shows that Joe or David & co have previously done because its these guys and there acting styles I like and I will continue to do. I my ideal line for any project Atlantis or otherwise would be to see Torri & Paul to join them. The worse thing the writers did IMO was kill of Torri, I’m sorry but I never enjoyed season 4, because of the watered down version of Carter they gave us, there was NO chemistry IMHO, not AT fault shes great NO the bloody writers fault :-(
I miss SGA so much an will continue to miss it for some time to come I feel, theres a lot of hurt and bad feeling and a lot of mis trust of TPTB to overcome.
Atlantis Rocks | June 5 @ 5:22 amSorry I auto spelled checked an then didnt read it back “ha ha” so the words distrustful & disrupting should really be stated as disrespectful.
Atlantis Rocks | June 5 @ 5:31 amWhat can I say that hasnt already been said, this interview shows us what a truly nice guy, its so nice to see a family man these days that really loves his wife& kids, he really is an IMHO loyal to SGA/Fans and cast.IMO a great actor who together with the others made SGA what it is A GREAT SHO in spite oof some poor scripts and lack of support from some of TPTB, this show should not have been cancelled full stop! Joes views mirror a lot of us fans, things we have thought for a long while, but as clever man once said “we are so few as to make a financial success” lol lol. There are many valued points others have made here that not much else I can add. But THANK YOU Joe for not disrespecting the fans, THANK YOU Joe being open and honest its really appreciated. I for one cant wait for a new projects, though I still have my fingers crossed for a Atlantis season 6 AND movies, just keep hoping that someone, somewhere reads all the fans messages, blogs & comments, listen to the actors an starts to get with the programme. I’m not SGU bashing I’m really not BUT not watching it not, interested full stop.!
shepsgirl4ever | June 5 @ 7:27 amMaria Petrova wrote this question to Joe F.
If you are the one with the questions, what would you like to ask the “Stargate: Atlantis” fans?
My answers to your questions to the fans Joe.
“Would you like to see more Atlantis?” YES Absolutely.
“As a movie or a series, or both”? Series with movies.
“What characters worked and didn’t work?” They all worked except Keller in season 5 it was almost like the Keller show I liked Beckett way better. I wanted to see more of Sheppard and Larrin.
“Would you like to see Chris Judge, David Hewlet and myself do another series, even if it’s unrelated to Atlantis?” Yes and add Jason and Rachael to the mix.
My comments to your statements.
“Will you take part in Stargate Universe? No.” My thoughts exactly.
“If you had the chance would you take part in Stargate Atlantis again? Probably. I miss my cast members and the crew.” We miss you guys to.
“There is a lot of unexplored elements left for Atlantis.” Yes to bad the writers and producers couldn’t or didn’t want to see that.
“Personally I think it could have easily gone for another 5 years.” I was thinking the same thing and so where a lot of other people, to bad SOME people where just to full of themselves to see that.
“No one is really certain why it was cancelled. Every producer/executive lays the blame on the other so it’s becomes impossible to understand the true reasons.” They TPTB have a hard time telling the fans the truth they gloss over everything and sugar coat it thinking we will just keep coming back and some fall for it hook line and sinker. IMO SGA was cancelled to make way for their new baby SGU.
“I think our cast did a truly amazing job in helping build a successful franchise, but I don’t think that it is seen that way by the writers and producers.” Right again if I had to choose which show I liked best it would have been SGA hands down the cast was wonderful, you guys did an amazing job with what you where given. I truly think that if more writers with a little more interest where added to the team it would have been even better.
“If Universe is successful, the prevailing theory among the writers and producers will be that actors are dispensable and not a critical part of the show. Only time will tell. I don’t know about you, but I think there are a lot of crappy shows on the air and I really appreciate good acting and interesting characters more than formulaic and procedural dramas.” I can think of a lot of crappy shows and some have yet to air LOL IMO of course.
Buddybear | June 5 @ 11:17 amI think this shows JF as the great guy he is, an that he cared about the show and THE FANS unlike some we could mention, loyality has been mentioned a few times above and boy do we now know what that really means to some, maybe someone should give you the PTB a dictionary
Joycelm2 | June 5 @ 11:45 amso they can understand the concept! I 4 one want to see much more of him in what ever form that may take. Yeah I want it to be Atlantis but if you keep the current PTB theres not a hope in hells chance :-(, time for a sweep clean, lets get people back that are intrested in SGA an leave the others to there new pet toy! I still cant get my head around the fact that SGA wa axed! Doesnt much sound like the actors can either, which says it all as far as I’m concerned.Personnally I will watch an support anything these guys do, as I have in them faith an faith that it will be good, TPTB wouldnt support them if you paid me too, my faith in them expired with SGA an the many, many rude comments made since.
I’m probably too late with this… no one is ever going to read it now… nevermind…
Joe’s WHOLE chat was great… warmhearted, thoughtful, funny… but heck… doesn’t it just tug at the heartstrings and make you realise how much you miss seeing the guy on a regular basis?!
I don’t think he was slagging off SGU in his comments, but simply giving the SGU actors a kinda warning… that in these times of formulaic writing of TV shows, it’ll been down to the hard work of the actors to make the show successful… but IF it is successful, the writers and producers will just think… hey! we’ve hit on a good formula here, lets do some more of the same (and with SG they show they’re already thinking like that… a THIRD Stargate? why not? it’s worked in the past!) and TPTB will be blind to the input from the actors… because that’s how they’ve been with SGA…
He’s saying that he’s going to avoid TV shows, and that trap in the future and who can blame him?
I’m not sure what I think of JF in a project with CJ & DH… in view of DH’s past production of A Dog’s Breakfast and in view of what JF said at the Bedford Con… that he’d like to do something completely different, and something humourous, this has all the feel of comedy… and I’d like my JF to continue to play the strong heroic types!
I’ve missed SGA a lot… but have to admit that some of the episodes were getting a bit naff… many of my S4 DVD set eps just don’t get watched… and I’m sure the same will be true of S5 when it comes out… so there’s been times lately when I think… yeah… JF is better off out of it… that the cancellation in the long run will have done him a big favour… that it’s time for this talented actor to move on, to find pastures new to shine in… I’m sure he can… and I look forward to it…
Elanthra | June 6 @ 5:00 amThe problem with this blog/forum is that we the fan’s can’t encourage toe writers/producers enough to stop practicing @$$! I’m thinking we should send them mail with baby powder in it.
Coremae | June 7 @ 7:59 pm@Coremae, I know your anger but that would be sinking to their level an we need to set a higher standard than that. Write to them I did I sent a 10 page written letter to MGM copied in Sci Fi also asked that another copy that I enclosed was forwarded onto to BW. I dont know if it was, guess its doubtful but at least I was able to put my POV and anger across in a polite way abiet a long letter :-). Also there is the campaign still going on for saving SGA, they are always asking if people can help out with stuff: SGAwww.wix.com/savesga/campaign
http://forum.saveatlantis.com/
With the flipping the coin remark IMO just shows depths they will sink to, so again IMO we need to be better than that an not set that as standard to go by, as for me this was a real turning point as to how low it can get.
Atlantis Rocks | June 8 @ 6:30 amSo glad to see Joe! I miss Atlantis and I have no intentions of watching Universe.
I mean – why on earth would I want to invest emotion and time in another series only to see tptb pull another “Killing-off-Weir/Carson” move? And they will. They’ll kill off main characters OR they’ll pull-out the Replicators again when they start running out of ideas.
btw SHAME on the ones who cancelled Atlantis, especially for doing it the way they did. Unforgivable.
Lilli | June 8 @ 10:46 pmI really like Stargate Atlantis and agree it should have been allowed at least 5 more years. I was very disappointed when it was canceled and have no intention of watching SGU because it sound boring. After SGA and SG1 being on ship all the time like Enterprise doesn’t appeal. I don’t think that the networks listen to the viewer otherwise SG1 and SGA would still be there Friday after Friday. The only time I watch SCIFI anymore is MOONLIGHT (another stupid drop by a network). Sorry SCIFI don’t want SGU give us back what we lost with SGA and SG1 cancellations.
alumplus | June 9 @ 12:21 pmdam, why gateworld only quoted the Joe Flanigan’s comment that could appear negative. In fact read all the chat and you could see Joe speak with honesty, respect and frankness. We can’t tell the same for some. He spoke about his own feelings about the show, the cancellation, the reasons some doesn’t even know to explain, the cast, his family, his project, what he likes. How can pick up some sentences out of the context and suggest he is the bad guy. Joe Flanigan is a great actor and a great man who speak his mind, tell the things. So thanks to him to speak so freely, making this he respects us a lot than some who have told anything or conflicting and rude comments for 9 months. I can understand he was a bit annoyed by this silence and behavior. Everyone know by now SGA was cancelled to be replaced by SGU. It was not a financial reason. I watched all the SGU teasers, read a lot about this and I can tell all of these doesn’t convince me at all. TPTB made me feel too “old” to their new toy. TPTB added the tossing coin joke that made me more annoyed. All of this around SGA cancellation, what I feel willand all I read on SGU made I’ve no intention to support once again TPTB. When I read on JM’s blog his answer about Joe Flanigan’s comment that made me more more annoyed coz I wondered if he read all the chat. He affirm in it TPTB are always respected those who participated to the 2 shows and named some actors except…. J. Flanigan, T. Higginson, K, smith. and it’s not the first time he ignore his lead actor. Once again a very professional behavior?
domdom | June 12 @ 1:59 pmIt’s a pity.
How can JM compare him as arrogant, full of himself when he is exactly the opposite. For 5 years he tried to defend the interest of his cast. ITA with you Atlantis rock on all what you said.
So Thanks to JOE FLANIGAN to speak like this and show how he cares about the show, the viewers. It’s so rare now to see some with this integrity. BRAVO.
I bring you all my support.
I miss you. I miss SGA. I miss SGA cast.
TPTB, I tired.
LONG LIVE ATLANTIS
http://www.wix.com/SaveSGA/Campaign
http://forum.saveatlantis.com/index.php?act=idx
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/SaveSGA
He thought Sheppard was an interesting role? Hahaha.
GateHunter | June 13 @ 7:52 pmYes Sheppard is an interesting charactor an well played by Joe Flanigan, I really miss Atlantis an wont get over it, SGU is not a replacement. An never will be I refuse to watch this show full stop.
Spaceballs | August 10 @ 10:40 amAs always, JF is honest, articulate, and refreshing. What made SGA different for me, an only occasional sci fi watcher to that point, was the characters, who wouldn’t have been what they were without the actors who played them. That “chemistry” is IMO th most charsacteristic element of the series. It’s also intangible and impossible to quantify, which makes it utterly impossible for TPTB to comprehend, let alone value.
aa915 | August 16 @ 4:06 pm