GateWorld: Was there anything thematically … did it hit close to home with anybody? I mean, at that point, I think you guys knew that as you were working on those last batches of episodes that those might possibly be the end of the line, even, at that point.

David Blue: Um …

GW: Not that you knew for sure, but I think at that point, the beginning of Season Two airing and the ratings that were pulling in at that point.

DB: You know, honestly, no. I don’t want to sound fatalistic, but it was 50/50 the whole time. You know? Like, we were proud of what we were doing. We knew it was something different. We knew either people would like it or not. You know? It’s the way it is with television, especially these days. Things don’t stand a chance much. It’s much more cut-throat than it used to be.

We were very proud of what we were doing, but, you know, we premiered with decent numbers, but they weren’t amazing. And it continued.

And I’m friends with a lot of other people on the network. When Caprica was cancelled we thought, “Well, hey, maybe we’ll be on longer because now they have a slot.” And then we never knew where we stood. But I don’t think any of us thought it would end. We always knew from the beginning of the show that it could be, at any time, the end.

The crew has dinner in the final episode "Gauntlet" -- as a family.

You never have job security with it. But there is a special … there was kind of a wonder. You know, we talked about it a lot … about the ratings, about whether or not we thought we’d get renewed. And when we shot the final scene, actually, in the finale, the final shot of the show was all of us sitting around at that table. And we even talked about the time. There was kind of a bittersweet feeling of, “Well, hopefully we’ll all be back, but just in case, you know, at least we’re all here together.”

GW: Right.

DB: And looking back, I’m glad we did it. And looking back, it was really cool.
But I don’t think any of us had accepted it was the end. It was kind of a shock, still, when it happened. Especially for those people who found out later than us. There were a few of them.

GW: I think the show had some — especially in the first season — it had its detractors. But in Season Two, I think a lot of them basically stopped. Because the quality, especially many of the episodes in Season Two once the heavy character building of Season One got out of the way [was better and closer to the Stargate tone of old]. I think a lot of fans, and especially once the announcement was made in December that you guys weren’t going to be coming back, with what still had left to air yet, I think a lot of people that weren’t fans before kind of jumped on the bandwagon at the end. And there was a lot of Stargate love going on as those last episodes were airing.

DB: You know, it’s … I’m so thankful. From the beginning I told people – you know, I think I actually told this to someone in the UK when I did my first convention. I said, “Look, you know, if you wanna hate us, or any show for that matter, that’s your purgative. But give it a chance. Watch a couple of episodes and then decide you don’t like something. That’s fine.” And I even … I think bet her. I said, “I’ll bet you $100 that if you watch up until this episode you’ll like it.” And she ended up telling me that I won. I didn’t, of course, take her money.

GW: [Laughter]

DB: I should have, but I didn’t.

That’s my one thing that I will get on a soapbox about. Because I am … I consider myself a member of fandom because I’m a huge dork. And that’s the one thing that we kind of come to these days, which I don’t understand about fandom. Like, there are people who say they hate something and they are actively against it and I don’t understand why we live in a world like that.

You can not like something. There are shows I don’t watch. It’s not my cup of tea. But I’m never gonna go out and actively be against it. Just because I don’t … ‘cause that’s … other people do like it. And that’s other people’s well-being. And I’m not going to be that way.

I used to run a Bulletin Board System and, you know, I love Star Trek: The Next Generation. I didn’t end up liking Voyager as much. So I just didn’t watch it. And that’s not how it is nowadays. So, it always kind of bothered me. And I think a lot of us. It was kind of like we were dodging. People were throwing things at us and we were dodging it. And it’s the unfortunate thing about fandom right now.

And I love that some people have kind of found it later. But the unfortunate truth is I would love the show to come back, but it’s probably not going to. You know, who knows? I’ll keep the hope that in a few years that they’ll change their minds. But I wish people would have given it a chance — the ones who are discovering it now — earlier. You know?

It would’ve been nice, but I’m so thankful for people who watched it — even the ones who are discovering it now. I still get the occasional e-mail from people saying, “I just watched the finale.” And I’m so thankful they’re watching it and they’re still enjoying it and coming along for the ride.

I just hope … I’m going to try to get the message out there for all of fandom. If there’s something you like … if it’s a Star Trek, you know, support it. It’s the only way you’re gonna get to keep it going.

Watch Fringe. Watch Fringe. Fringe is amazing. Everyone needs to watch Fringe because I like it and I don’t want it to get cancelled! So people need to watch it more. [Laughter]

GW: See? That’s exactly … that’s my issue. I mean, I work here — you know, I’m recording this at a radio station. I work here. And I work for a bank. And I also do the work that I do for GateWorld. So my time where I can just sit down and watch whatever is pretty slim. Usually not access to a DVR or anything like that at all. So, if I’m going to catch something, I either have to physically buy it in hard copy media. On DVD or whatever.

DB: Mm-hmm.

Blue in a scene from "Epilogue". Unlike some actors, he doesn't mind prosthetic make-up.

GW: Or catch it on Netflix. Because that’s the only way that I can get to it on my schedule. And so, I literally just a couple weeks ago picked up Fringe, the first season. And I’ve got it. Have I had the time to actually sit down and pop it in and start to watch it yet, though? No. So …

DB: And it’s done in Vancouver now. Which is … support Vancouver. Yay, Vancouver.

But you know, it’s a funny thing. It is. I jumped on board the Star Trek bandwagon with Next Generation. And then I ended up watching Deep Space Nine. But then I — Voyager, I watched. I ended up seeing it all, but it wasn’t really my thing as much. And then I didn’t watch Enterprise. But that’s how things have changed. Back then, I just didn’t watch it. But I still … I was still like, “Yay, Star Trek!” because I was hoping that one day there’d be another incarnation that I loved. And there was.

And I never really understood that with some shows nowadays, where people are actively against it. I’m like, “Don’t … no! You’re hurting the franchise! If you hurt the franchise they’re not gonna make the one that you like anymore.” You know? You’ve gotta support whatever your passion is.

I kinda feel that way about Comic-Con and nerdom in general. There are so many haters now. And it’s like, “You guys realize that we’re all cut from the same cloth, right? Be nice. Smile a little bit more.”

GW: We’re going to actually touch on this a little bit later in our chat here. But you’re talking about Star Trek and now it is back. You know, it’s been rebooted by J.J. Abrams. And as far as Stargate is concerned, do you think if it comes back, that it would be a reboot of some sort like that? Or do you see it maybe possibly if it’s still under the control of MGM — and depending on who they’d bring in if they decide to bring it back in some form — a continuation of what’s come before?

DB: You know, I don’t know. Who knows these days? It seems … I mean, I can’t believe they’re rebooting Spiderman already. It was just a couple years ago that they started it? I don’t really understand a lot of these reboots these days. Star Trek I actually ended up loving. I love the way they did it. Because it wasn’t really a reboot. It was a reset. And that was kind of cool.

Who knows? It’s … I want to be positive about it, but when you look at just the financials of it … I love Stargate and I want it to be around forever. But as the viewership dropped off of all the shows, then DVD sales weren’t as much, I don’t know that financially people are going to invest in it because they’re not getting their return. And unfortunately, it’s commercialism. That’s what it’s about, you know? As much as I love entertainment, people who make the decisions are doing it for money.

GW: Right.

DB: I hope I’m wrong. And I hope that it does come back in some form. I would love Stargate Eli where, you know, they call me up when I’m 50 years old and I’m the captain of an awesome spaceship. I would play that role again in a heartbeat.

But who knows? I don’t know. Maybe Brad and Rob or MGM will reboot it and it’ll be this whole crazy new thing. I mean, I’m not the one who makes the decisions. I’m just somebody who loves to show up and play and be a part of it.

I think Stargate is a great franchise. You know? I mean, that’s why I watched it from the original movie. And it’s a great idea. I even read a pilot this year that was similar type premise. And it just reminded me of it. And it’s hard to believe that we’re in a time right now where there isn’t any kind of Stargate going on right now.

GW: Yeah. Like I said, we’ll be talking about that here a little bit later.

DB: Yeah, well, it’s also unfortunate too. I mean, I love fans. Thanks. Thanks to everybody for following me on Twitter or Facebook. And I read every e-mail and every tweet. But, unfortunately, the ones who approach me …some are like, “Hey! I’m doing an animated series!” or “Hey, I’m, you know, I wanna film an episode to just wrap it all up in my backyard. Will you come and play Eli?”

One: I can’t. I don’t own the property. I’m not legally allowed to. Two: In my heart, I hope one day they decide to pick up SGU. I know it’s a very, very far shot, but I hope in like four years they’ll be like, “You know what? Screw it!” And they’ll just rebuild sets and call us. And I don’t want to contribute to anything that screw that up.

If I play a role and do something different to the story maybe that’ll hurt it down the line. You know? So, I’m just trying to keep the hope alive. So, thank you to fandoms who are offering me that, but I can’t respond, unfortunately.

NEXT: The final scene of “Gauntlet” and Blue’s ideas for Eli after the finale