What can long-time Stargate fans expect from “Seizure,” the upcoming SGU/Atlantis crossover episode? Executive producer Brad Wright answered that question in a recent interview with TV Deathray.
“Without any of the specifics, it’s sort of like an SG-1 episode I wrote called ‘The Pegasus Project’ back in [Season Ten]. In that there were events that needed to happen in the other galaxy that affected both sides — meaning the Destiny needs our help but we need to do something in the Milky Way in order to help it. And the people who are helping us in the Milky Way are naturally folks who work in and around the S.G.C. or Atlantis, and the people who help us this time are Woolsey and McKay.”
In “The Pegasus Project,” SG-1 traveled to Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy in an attempt to dial the Supergate in the Milky Way, blocking the Ori from sending any more warships through. Along the way (and with help from Rodney McKay) they ended up running afoul of both the Ori and the Wraith … at the same time.
“Seizure” guest stars former Stargate Atlantis cast members Robert Picardo and David Hewlett, and is currently slotted as the fifteenth episode of Season Two.
“Most of their storyline takes place in the Milky Way and on a planet near Earth … not in the Pegasus Galaxy but our galaxy. It was just a natural fit. I’ve been thinking of a story to bring McKay back from the beginning, but we just didn’t want him to come aboard the ship and solve the problem! That’s our job. Obviously he has his own important things to do. It’s not like he just drops everything because there’s a few folks stuck on a ship. But this time we need him and he comes up with something that is obviously very smart.
“That isn’t to say that we don’t get a great scene between him and Eli, and some fun kind of SG-1-style stuff and Atlantis stuff in terms of storytelling in the episode. It’s a little bit funnier because David can’t help himself, and there’s a whole other storyline that is really quite intense with Rush. The two storylines share a similar theme. We go back and forth between Destiny and this planet.”
“It’s kind of fun,” Wright told the site. “I don’t want to give away too much about the story, but McKay is very much McKay — I’ll just say that. He doesn’t have to pretend to be anyone else because it’s SGU.”
Check out the complete interview now at TV Deathray! New episodes of Stargate Universe air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (8 Central) on Syfy. “Seizure” will air in 2011.
Sounds like it could be interesting. I’m slowly warming up to SGU, and it’s things that tie all the series together that are most likely to speed the process up.
Based on the casting report on GateWorld a few days back, I’m assuming that planet is gonna be familiar to all of us SG-1 and Atlantis continuity fans :P
Rodney will go to Langara to use their naquadria to try to activate their Stargate to dial Destiny or something like that.
It seems to me the whole season 2 is being promoted around this episode. They could just go back to making Atlantis you know.
I kind of agree with Mentat, McKay is in ONE ep, it’s airing in the back half of the season and this is the big promo item?
Ummmm not wanting to sound stupid but can someone explain to me who Mckay and Woosley are lol
what i want to know is if there are going to be any cleverly hidden spoilers to the fate of atlantis???
I have yet to warm up to this series. I know I sound like a bitter SGA fan, I suppose I am, but I believe that Wright and Mallozzi, made a very bad mistake when they trashed fans of the first two series. We are what made them successful; but they forgot that. They justified their distruction of the fanchise by calling us immature, old, and that we were not sophisticated enough for their new show. Now they know they made a mistake; and are doing all they can to use SGA and SG-1 to salvage a truly inferior show.… Read more »
Sounds great! This is 1 outh of the 20 eps I will surely watch. Now, put one previous SG cast member in every episode of SGu and I will watch the entire season.
This sounds like an awesome episode I can’t wait to see it! I miss SGA they shouldn’t have ended it!
Mckay and Woolsey make it the most exciting thing to happen to Universe ever but still not worth watching, imagine if it was Sheppard and Mckay, or indeed they just replaced this dull dirge with Atlantis instead.
stella_pegasi most of your post isn’t just incorrect, it’s borderline libellous. The only people the producers have insulted were the people indulging in hate campaigns, those sending abusive comments to them and the actors, and generally those acting like children. No one has been attacked for simply not liking SGU, not by them anyway. And I wouldn’t have thought this needed repeating, but they never cancelled Atlantis either, they’re just producers, they don’t have that sort of power, they couldn’t have cancelled it even if they wanted to, which they have repeated stated that they didn’t. Mallozzi is only attacked… Read more »
Will any of the SGA or nothing guys watch this episode?
I’ve watched Stargate from the very beginning, every single movie and episode. I’ve been a long time fan. And I’d have to say that SGU is the best out of all of it, and it’s only getting better. I loved SG-1 and SGA, I own it all. The producers took a chance to reach out to more people and in hopes to keep the old fans as well. Everybody that is upset and on strike about SG-1 and SGA being canceled and refusing to watch SGU are only hurting themselves. If SGU fails then the whole franchise will fall and… Read more »
@HaxMii
Why would we want more stargate from these writers when they are just sending the franchise down the pan with a turbo flush? Why should people fall for the sudden U turn that they are doing when the writers have openly disrespected the old shows and the actors that were in them? Matbe if the admit that they got it wrong and said that they were sorry for the things that they have said some bridges might be able to be rebuilt
bring back sg1 because sgu is already history i am never going to watch it so is every fan of sg1 because sgu is already history i rather watch the reruns of sg1 because i dont care for sgu
Interesting note: What was the first type of comments that was off topic from the article?
So it’s SGA to the rescue? I am trying very hard to like SGU. Watched all last year. It had some good moments. However, Even with this past weeks episode, I still don’t care for a single member in the expedition. I’ll watch “Seizure” and from now on only watch episodes with SG-1 & SGA cast members. I am happy that there seem to be those that enjoy SGU. I wish I could say the same. I’m out. I will no longer watch the series. Hopefully they will find a way to bring SGA back or invent another team. One… Read more »
@HaxMii SGU has nothing to do with the makings of an SG-1 or SGA film. Those fan’s are already in place.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy SGU (not as much as SG-1 and SGA), but if the big highlight of the year is an episode which features prominent “Atlantean” aspects, I think this means that the cancellation of SGA was ill-recieved and the fans want it back.
^ Run on sentence for the win?
So, if episode 15 is going to be like The Pegasus Project does that mean that Rodney is going to be treated with disrepect and made the butt of a bunch of lame jokes? Because I can hardly wait for that. /sarcasm
Hate already? That was pretty quik. I’m rather upset this show generated such strong aversion that some fans from Sg-1 and SGA not only “won’t watch it”, but actively wish it to crash, burn and end in a big mushroom cloud. I liked the previous shows and I like this one too, and I see improvement from the first half of season 1 to the second half, and from the second half to season 2. Remember they had time to note criticism and take it into account when writing season 2. They couldn’t change anything anymore when season 1 aired… Read more »
I have to add that such hatred is directed to the writers.. but why? The guys who gave you 15 seasons of enjoyment and 2 movies, and then there is 1 season of a show you do not enjoy and you feel insulted and/or hate them? I am honestly disappointed by this lack of loyalty, and respect for them. :(
SGA was canceled because it wasn’t popular enough & because it was awful. I’m glad that it’s off the air. SGA was the insult, not SGU. This cross over has nothing to do with ratings because it airs after the decision to renew or not will have been made. Let’s not forget that hardcore fans (or anti-fans) don’t make the biggest change in ratings, it’s the casual viewers that do.
If “SGA was canceled because it wasn’t popular enough & because it was awful”, and SGU is less popular than SGA and SGU is truly awful, I wonder what that means….?
I’m doubtful this will be a complete crossover like Pegasus project. Perhaps like a Midway? For one, only McKay and Woosley would be there. It’s not like the whole gang will be on SGU. But who knows, little is known about the episode.
Really pity US audience has only the power to continue or cancelled Stargate franchise for ALL Stargate fans in the world… Really pity.
I love SG-1, SGA et SGU so see McKay on SGU is a very good thing like Mitchell on Atlantis ^^. Can’t wait to watch this episode. Come american people watch the show or just turn on TV for all Stargate fans who can’t help Stargate franchise don’t be selfish thanks…
Thank god episode one of season 2 is better keep it up. I miss the action of atlantis.
@ kayd: “SGU is truly awful”
Well, that’s you opinion. My opinion is that it’s not awful. SGU has a problem of old SG fans wishing it is cancelled. And I’ve seen the quality improve from the frist half, to second half, to season 2 opening but of course when someone says ‘grrrr, I hate it for this-and-this reason’, they will never consider giving it any chance whatsoever.
I do sort of like SGU. Sort of, but the end of SGA made me furious; I wanted ten seasons! But bringing Mckay to SGU will probably make all the difference in the world. Truthfully the SG1 team didn’t make much of a difference, and that’s because their story got told; TEN SEASONS! Atlantis was just getting their stride and then bang. I’m still injured by their ending. But I feel a bit better that Mckay is coming back. Woosely? Sure, if Teyla Sheppard and Ronon was there as well. Just Woosely? Mckay’s back, and that’s awesome.
jeanette178 – I really, really hope you are kidding, cause otherwise I think you’re on a wrong page here!
As for me, the only reason I keep watching SGU is the hope of seeing glimpses of SG-1 and SGA cast… What about those movies? ;)
I have watched Stargate since the feature film all through SG-1 and Atlantis. I LOVE SGU, for me it feels like Stargate has grown up and gotten real. As much as I enjoyed Atlantis I don’t miss it. It was essentially a rehash of SG-1.
I for one am delighted to see the franchise take a big step into the future of television and into broader more interesting story telling.
Still keeping my fingers crossed for those movies though and I would love to see a glimpse of Atlantis in this episode.
I really can’t believe this debate about SGU vs. rest of the franchise is going to drag into another year. I mean why are haters of SGU still watching it, and if not, why are they still here trashing it? You’ve already made your point last year, now let the rest of the people enjoy it, while they can. And I really can’t believe you people are defending Atlantis, which was, in it’s final season particularly inconsistent in quality. I mean come on, with an exception of mid-season two-parter, the finale and maybe couple of episodes in between there really… Read more »
It’s a gift, to the fans of the past two series. Treat it as such, with respect.
Just Wondering.. Why do SGU Fans always start their diatribe with a “watched Stargate from the time it was a gleam in somebody’s eye”, have all the DVD’s with the Extended Directors Cut? Does that add weight to their comment by some weird way? or do they seek acceptance and validation as a part of the Stargate community. Being a fan of SGU should not be a bad thing and one doesn’t need other’s validation for you to watch something and appreciate it. TPTB kept saying it was not your Father’s brother’s Nephew’s/Niece’s Stargate. If it is good, it should… Read more »
I’ll watch Hewlett as McKay anywhere. After seeing the numbers from SGU’s premiere, it’ll likely be the last time we see it so hopefully they won’t do to his character what they’ve done to some of the others.
I’ll admit that my personal opinion means that I like SG-1 and SGA more than SGU. But remember it’s Stargate, and the thought of not having *ANY* Stargate show on TV is more horrible than getting to know the characters and “universe” of SGU. And if SGU is cancelled due to low viewer numbers then what hope is there of either movie being made? I know I wouldn’t bother (as an executive) if I did not believe that Stargate still attracted an audience. I would suggest people think about that, and put some support behind ALL of Stargate, regardless of… Read more »
@dominikbm: That’s an invalid mantra that Joe Mallozzi kept repeating. It is fact that SG1 and SGA DVD’s are still outselling SGU DVD’s. (Check Amazon Sales Ranks). Of course the Fans are Still there, in overwhelmingly great numbers. Just that The Fans are not willing to stand Behind *ANY* stargate show, just because it’s got Stargate in it’s name, and a Ring Behind the Promo Shots. The Stargate gained it’s popularity for what it did for 15 seasons, yet managed to Fracture the fandom and drive the franchise to the ground within 1 year. “Support SGU or no more movies”… Read more »
I’ll probably tune in to watch McKay’s episode, but only out of Loyalty to David Hewlett. (I adore that man. XD) Sadly SGU just doesn’t hit the right notes for me. I gave up in the later half of last season with trying to like it. It became pretty obvious that it’s not my cup of tea. Way too dark and too depressing for me. I am curious though, how they are going to merge SGA, which was a much brighter series with SGU, which as I said above is much much darker. I’m not sure how this will help… Read more »
@US06154, perhaps you misunderstood me. I am not quoting anyone else. What I am saying is that I want Stargate on TV (not a movie every x years). I will settle for SGU, but love SGA & SG-1. I will not settle for nothing. This is my personal view, and as such not open for debate :-)
p.s. You are free to have your own opinion of course, and it’s good to see so many supporters of SGA & SG-1 writing comments… although it’s a shame that it sometimes leads to not-so-nice behaviour towards actors, etc, rather than at the people that make decisions about these things. They deserve the blame… IMO…
My major issue with the series is one with Maliozzi’s directives as EP. I loved the science-fiction aspects of Stargate mixed with a bit of fantasy and humor. He seems to be hellbent on robbing what could be a promising series of all of these properties, and substituting them with forced, emotional tear-jerking. To quot him: ‘techy scripts are on my personal No Fly list, coming in somewhere between Ancient storylines and anything involving replicator duplicates of our team reaching out to Atlantis’. I take this to mean that he is dis-allowing ideas pitched around both techie concepts and involving… Read more »
@Anquietas, you make some good points. And yes, it’s definitely a very different show to SG1 and/or SGU. Maybe they’re targetting a more female audience as well? I only say that because my wife watches SGU with me, bot lost interest quickly with SG1 and SGA. Don’t get me wrong, I loved/love SG1 and SGA, especially Dr McKay in SGA. Some of that technical stuff was awesome :-) I am keenly interested to see how a super-techo like Rodney will fit into the drama of SGU. I can only image that the episode will either feel a lot more like… Read more »
This will probably be the best SGU episode