So tonight we find out... After 2 years (and 1 woefully planned bait & switch by AMC) Who Killed Rosie Larsen?
 
The season 2 finale of The Killing will solve the murder finally. Showrunner Veena Sud has assured fans you will know the killer tonight. After the poorly thought out bait & switch of last season where they sold the idea of "solving Rosies murder" in season 1, only to not, they made it very clear, they wont try the same thing twice.
 
The suspect pool is plenty, and few at the same time. In the 23 weeks (25 episodes) prior that we have sat thru watching the investigation come together, learning the characters & their secrets. We the collective fanbase have all put the clues, pieces & outright red herrings together & summarized a literal series of novels on why "so & so had to have killed her", there has been 12 suspects (Jamie, Gwen, Bennett, Amber, Belko, Terry, Darren, Janek, Alexi, Michael, Nicole, Lesley) who the public have considered the #1 top suspect on AMC's well thought out website app "suspect tracker" where you can see week by week who the publc thinks is her killer (link has died) .

So the public has essentially suspected a dozen people "had to have done it" at 1 point or another thru the shows run. This is of course assuming the final choice WONT be someone that the writers havent pointed the heat at for weeks, or even all season. I've still heard people think Tom Drexler or Belko (yes, the same Belko who died earlier this season) are the killer. With the way The Killing has written the story, frankly, these theories arent impossible still.
 
Going into tonights finale, on the AMC suspect tracker, here are the current leaders voted by the public.
 
JAMIE WRIGHT 28% (5X #1 suspect on the tracker... including season 1 week 1, season 2 wk 1, and the last 2 wks, has been top 3 18X..incl last 16 wks in a row)
TERY MAREK 13% (1X #1 suspect on the tracker...  1st became a top 3 suspect in S1 W5, #1 in S1 W9, has been in the top 3 8X)
GWEN EATON 10% (2X #1 suspect on the tracker...  S1 W2 was #1, S1 finale was leader, has been in top 3 7X)
NICOLE JACKSON 7% (1X #1 suspect on the tracker... S2 W6 was #1, has been top 3 2X)
DARREN RICHMOND 6% (1X #1 suspect on the tracker... S1 W11 was #1, has been top 3 3X, has not been this high on the tracker SINCE he was #1 in S1W11)
 
SENATOR EATON 5% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 4th on tracker)
MICHAEL AMES 5% (2X #1 suspect on the tracker... S2 W4 & 5 was #1, has been top 3 3X)
BENJAMIN ABANI 3% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has been top 3 3X)
TOM DREXLER 3% (0x #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 4th on tracker)
RICK FELDER 2% (0x #1 suspect on the tracker... has been top 3 4x)
 
LESLEY ADAMS 2% (3x #1 suspect on the tracker... S2 W7,8 & 9 was #1, has been top 3 4X)
SALLY AMES 2% (0x #1 suspect on the tracker... has bever been higher than 8th on tracker)
STAN LARSEN 2% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 9th on tracker)
RUTH YITANES 2% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has been top 3 1X)
STEPHERN HOLDER 1% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has been top 3 1X)
 
BELKO ROYCE 1% (3X #1 suspect on the tracker... S1 W6,7 & 8 was #1, has been top 3 5X)
STERLING FITCH 0.9% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 7th on tracker)
JASPER AMES 0.9% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 7th on tracker)
ROBERTA DRAYS 0.8% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 6th on tracker)
ALEXI GIFFORDS 0.8% (1X #1 suspect on the tracker... S2 W3 was #1, has been top 3 1X)
 
GIL SLOANE 0.7% (0X #1 suspect on the tracker... has never been higher than 16th on tracker)
BENNETT AHMED 0.5% (2X #1 suspect on the tracker... S1 W3 & 4 was #1, has been top 3 5X)
AMBER AHMED 0.4% (1X #1 suspect on the tracker... S1 W5 was #1, has been top 3 1X)
 
Of course, everyone wants to know everyone elses picks. So here goes my top 3.
 
1- Terry. It saddens me to say it, but she makes the most sense. Linden suspected from the way the body was placed & put in the trunk that it might be someone she knew & who had an emotional attachment to Rosie (like her aunt). Terry has connections to several prominent players in the story, and many people have suggested she showed emotions such as guilt or remorse when she saw the photos of Rosie from the murder scene in Stans desk in a recent episode. I have tried denying she could be it for so long that it makes sense she is. This season shes been a very prominent character, moved from the background to the forefront & she was 1 of the 1st people AMC signed on for season 2. Of course, if she is the killer, the bigger question is WHO put her up to it?
 
2- Nicole. She has lots to gain & lose. She was clearly on the 10th floor. Shes physically capable of running down someone thru the woods if needed. She is prone to violence & has convinced another person in the past to take the fall for a murder she is suspected of.. and is willing to do whatever is needed to cover up her tracks. (also - she is relatively new to my top 3 list... 3 wks ago, I didnt consider her)
 
2- Janek. A hired thug. Janek will kill for a price... or protection from city officials. His racket clearly needs to have people of influence protecting him. Its not unreasonable he owed a person of note a favour & was called in to handle it & asked to make it look like someone else did it. The question has always been "WHO killed Rosie" not "WHY". Janek may have been the killer.... with someone else pulling the strings to call on him to do it.
 
The tracker leader contenders - why I didnt pick them
 
JAMIE - Even though Jamie has statistically been the most likely suspect to the public, I just am not buying it. Yes, he might know who did. he may have even ok'ed it. I am just simply not convinced. He has been the ultimate red herring several times & with the way this show has been done, its absurd to assume they havent sold us a lie 1 more time.
GWEN - Although the crime sort of seems like a womans type of murder (not bloody & violent like a shooting/stabbing) I sincerely buy her alibi of being with Richmond out of town at the time. I think she didnt know exactly how long Darren might be gone, so it would be illogical of her to get up, leave & go all the way to the casino for a meeting/hunt down/murder. The ONLY scenario where she COULD be a suspect, is if Darren is also involved in it & they left together.... but since we know Darren was on his suicide attempt at that time, this to me, counts out Gwen.
DARREN - The suicide attempt aside (which is pretty much as solid of an alibi as anyone has), he just doesnt fit to me. Jamie was clearly at the casino without his knowledge, he practically spit in the face of the idea of working with Nicole on anything. If he were involved, he likely would be far more willing to work with someone who knows his secret. Plus, lets face it, everyone HOPES its not him. The shining beacon of hope for Seattle... of course, Harvey Dent comes to mind.
 
In the end, I think whoever they put in as Rosie Larsen's killer will likely just be a "hired gun" & the person who actually hatched the plan, gave out the order, will be someone different. Lesley Adams, or Senator Eaton, maybe even Jamie?
 
The question has always been WHO Killed Rosie Larsen. Not WHY did they kill Rosie Larsen. To me, after 2 seasons, the why is as big as the who to me. I hope we have the answer to both questions in the season 2 finale. The answer will be revealed tonight on AMC.

Below I have attached some photos I have taken of the cast in the few interactions I have had with them (including some of Brent Sexton filming the scene where Stan finds Rosie's backpack on his front step)

The 2012 Leo Awards took place Friday & Saturday May 25th & 26th at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
 
This was the 2nd consecutive year the historic Hotel Van housed the awards. Last year, they had the red carpet out on the very busy Georgia Street. While this was great for publicity for the awards, it was a major safety concern as traffic tends to zip by on there & there was several (including myself) instances last year of people needing to step out onto the street to walk by, thus risking their lives somewhat. The red carpet dominated about 4/5 of the sidewalk. This year, they went with a safer approach, which was too far in the other direction. They had the red carpet upstairs in a ballroom, 2 floors up... and while the public was allowed to wait around the check in counter outside the red carpet area, they were not allowed in this time to wait on the red carpet.....meaning, the ONLY red carpet pics this year, will be the very limited number that the very few reporters & bloggers who were accredited opt to put out there. This is IMHO a disservice to the nominees who often would appreciate any free press they can get, and the awards themselves.
 
For an event that has always been a very fan friendly event (even when those fans were protesting a show being cancelled, as was the case in 2007 with CBC series jPod), this was a small smudge on their image. Next year, I suspect they will need to work on a new design for how to have things. Even several of the nominees & presenters we chatted with seemed VERY dismayed and shocked at this turn of events.

The limited access this year however didnt stop the "in the know" people of the city, who figured out where we could go & made good of what we were given. When I got to the hotel, my friends from www.outlaw-hobbies.com told me the bad news & worse, 1 of my top 10 names that I wanted to get, was already in, Ben Cotton. I became a huge fan of the adult themed puppet mockumentary "Sunflower Hour" this past year when I saw it at the Vancouver International Film Festival. So I made a couple cast images to get signed, since most of them were expected to be there. But I had already missed Ben. I was then given the news "you can go upstairs, you just cant go inside... maybe he's hanging around up there" so I went up, didnt see him though. 
 
I returned to the lobby, JUST IN TIME to see the next celeb roll in. "Sanctuary" star (Winner - Best Lead Male in a Feature Length Film) Ryan Robbins was coming in. We got Ryans attention & he proceeded to sign for us, and enthusiastically talk about his other project "Falling Skies" & he was asked about if he was going to be on AMC's "Hell On Wheels" & he wasnt sure if he could talk about it much but said yes. He was terrific as always, and quite candid & open as he told us about a pretty serious accident he had on the set of Sanctuary this past year that left him not doing well for a couple weeks.
 
After that we went back upstairs to see who we missed as several people seemed to come in. I 1st managed to get another "Sunflower Hour" star (winner - Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Length Film) Johannah Newmarch. Upon seeing my cast item I was working on, she went inside & found Ben Cotton for me. Ben signed and chatted about the movie & how much fun it was to do. I asked him if he had any other projects on the go, and he told me not currently... so dear god, SOMEONE, give this brilliant acting specimen a regular gig. He was 1 of the few shining lights from Hellcats.

It didnt take long before things started rolling along at a pretty frequent pace. Next up was "Vampire Diaries" star (nominee - Best Lead Actress in a Feature Length Film - Hannah's Law) Sara Canning, now a member of Vancouver shot series "Primeval New World". She signed for me & the others there, and stopped to chat a bit with a couple people. She was 1 of the bigger people I was hoping for, so it was exciting to get her out of the way early on.
 
Then things became a scramble. I might have (some/much) of this out of order. At some point, I got "The Killing" star (nominee - Best Lead Actress in a Feature Length Film - Sisters & Brothers) Kacey Rohl. Like Johannah & Ben prior, she had just great things to say about doing the film Sunflower Hour and loved the pics I had. Around that same time, another "The Killing" & "SGU" star (nominee - Best Lead Actor in a Feature Length Film - Sunflower Hour ) came by, Patrick Gilmore. Mr. Gilmore was his usual jovial self. He willingly signed what we had and chatted with us for a bit. Sometime a little later a bunch of the cast of "Sunflower Hour" came back out & right towards where I was... seemed they were trying to help me get Ben Cotton's autograph, but I already had him. They then stopped and by this point a few other autograph collectors had made their way upstairs, and there was new people looking for autographs from the likes of Patrick Gilmore. While that was going on, I was introduced to Aaron Houston (nominee - Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Film - Sunflower Hour) and had him also sign my cast poster photo. I then asked him when it might get a DVD release, he said "soon" and I told him I have been impatiently waiting for it, as I have wanted to see it again. He promised it should be "in the next couple of months in the States, then up here" for a DVD release, which I was a tad disappointed to hear, but long as its out SOMEWHERE, I wouldnt groan too much where I got it from at this point. One of the last people I would get was Peter New (nominee Best Supporting Actor in a feature length film) to sign my Sunflower Hour item, leaving it completed by the main cast, minus Amitai Marmorstein (who was not there).
 
The most bizaare event of the evening, and if it were not for Robin Dunne dropping his pants on Georgia Street last year, I would suggest strangest moment in my history at the Leo Awards, Patrick Gilmore signed the stomach of 1 of the local autograph hounds after they chatted about his tattoos, which included 1 from a Harlem Globetrotter who had signed his arm & he had it tattooed over. Patrick even had Ben Cotton photograph the event while his guest/date this evening, the often entertaining in her own right, @KeepinltLeal (1/3 of the entertainingly odd "music" group "Coupla Hot Chicks...Maybe 3") stood by probably regretting getting dressed up for such an affair as she witnessed Patrick sipping champagne while signing a guys body. In typical Gilmore fashion, it became of course, a tweet of his https://twitter.com/PatrickGilmore/status/206546263917862912  in the documentation of his evening that he tweeted that evening (Seriously, if you dont follow him on twitter.... do it, more often than not, entertaining tweets) as he showed the world the adventures he was having (really, Patrick is 1 of twitters best celebrity tweeters 93.5% of the time). Only at the Leo Awards would you see a nominee for Best actor in a feature movie sign the chest of a male fan while drinking champagne & then have that said actor boast about it on twitter... this is why the Leos are 1 of my favorite events annually.
 
As the evening went on, eventually we would nab several of the "Sanctuary" cast as they showed up for the shows big last hurrah at the awards. Outside of Ryan Robbins, we also got Christopher Heyerdahl (Winner - Best Performance in a Youths or Childrens Program - The Haunting Hour) to sign, and he said he's really enjoying working on the AMC series "Hell On Wheels". Robin Dunne (nominee - Best Actor in a Drama Series) would come by a bit later, and although he seemed rushed (he was 1 of the awards hosts as well as nominee) stopped to sign for those there.  Emilie Ullerup (nominee - Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Arctic Air) also took the time to stop and sign (finally) which was a big relief for me, after I tried to get her at a fan expo not that long ago but was told from her she cant sign there for free, and I suggested how about the Leo Awards & she said sure if she is nominated. So in the end, it all worked out. One of the last people to show up was Amanda Tapping (nominee - Best Actress in a Drama Series) and she still had the time to stop & sign for everyone. Agam Darshi was also there, but I had nothing for her and watched as she signed for a couple other people who did have things for her.
 
With "Hiccups" being nominated for a few awards, former "Corner Gas" stars Brent Butt & Nancy Robertson were there of course. Butt seemed a bit hesitant to sign at first, but eventually stopped and did so, while Nancy stood there for the mostpart watching her husband sign for everyone till 1 of the other hounds came up with a Hiccups photo. Shortly after, I got wedged my way by Brent (we were standing in a very crowded confined space near a wall) to go get Nancy as well. She was so amazed by my "Dead Like Me" photo I had she almost forgot to sign it. Everytime I have pulled a DLM photo on someone, they have been amazed by them.
 
"Arctic Air" had several reps there, besides Ullerup, Carmen Moore (nominee - Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series) was asked by a few fans to sign & she did so happily, while I tracked down Stephen Lobo (nominee - Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series & Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Length Film). Sadly, Kevin McNulty, the only cast member I actually needed (on my Robson Arms cast items) wasnt there. Somehow, we never saw Pascale Hutton, even though she was apparently there.
 
I saw "Once Upon A Time" cast members "Blue Fairy" Keegan Connor Tracy (nominee - Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series) & "Hansel" Quinn Lord (nominee - Best Actor in Short Drama Film - Last Christmas) there as well, but I had nothing for Keegan, and didnt see Quinn till it was too late.
 
I saw "Robson Arms" & "Once Upon A Tiime" star Gabrielle Rose. I asked her for an autograph & she was willing to sign, but it was going to take me a few moments to figure out where the item was (by this point, things had been pulled out of my binder, moved, misplaced etc) and said I would get her after she checked in. UNFORTUNATELY, they sent her along the table till she was right at the door, and once out of sight, I was also out of mind, and missed my chance. I saw "The Killing" star Tyler Johnston as he was heading in & didnt have time to get him to sign the item I got for him. I saw another "The Killing" star Brandon Jay McLaren show up, but had nothing for him sadly, although I wish I had the "Tucker & Dale VS Evil" photo 1 of the others had.
 
All in all, almost 40 autographs at this years Leo Awards made it a venture worth my time. my nearly complete Sunflower Hour poster photo (gonna have to track down Amitai Marmorstein now) being my favorite item of the evening.
I will do a report on the actual winners (actors and films/shows... and maybe a couple others) soon.
 
Here is some of the pics of the evenings successes and adventures.

The Best "Supporting" Actor of 2011 as voted by you the fans was.. Mark Sheppard -Supernatural.
 
Our supporting actress & actor awards had a little different style to it than the mainstream supporting acting awards. Ours was based on appearances, not screen-time. This gave several characters who otherwise might get ignored for their roles, a chance to win for their work. The "King Of Hell" Crowley was around striking deals in 2011 & the actor portraying the sharp tongued demon, Mark Sheppard won this poll. It really is a credit to Mr. Sheppard's acting skills that he was up for 2 different acting awards, from 2 different shows. 
 
Mark dominated the voting by the time it closed with over a 100 vote lead over another Supernatural troublemaker Sebastian Roche. Michael J. Fox from "The Good Wife" rounds out the top 3. Michael Cerveris "Fringe" finished 4th ahead of castmate Kevin Corrigan in 5th. Just 1 vote behind in 6th was "Once Upon A Time" star Lee Arenberg, Will Wheaton of "Eureka" was 7th, "Best guest star" winner Michael Rosenbaum was 8th for his work in "Breaking In", Ben Cotton "Hellcats" 9th narrowly ahead of Patrick Gilmore "The Killing" rounding out the finalists in 10th
 
This category might have had the most different finalists who had at 1 point had the lead. Besides the eventual winner, Michael J. Fox, Lee Arenberg, Michael Cerveris & Wil Wheaton all had temporary leads in this category early on.
 
Final vote results
Mark Sheppard "Supernatural" 715
Sebastian Roche "Supernatural" 576
Michael J. Fox "The Good Wife" 346
Michael Cerveris "Fringe" 275
Kevin Corrigan "Fringe" 239
Lee Arenberg "Once Upon A Time" 238
Wil Wheaton "Eureka" 214
Michael Rosenbaum "Breaking In" 157
Ben Cotton "Hellcats" 114
Patrick Gilmore "The Killing" 111

Since January 24, 2011 my site has hosted a league and playoff tournament to find out my readers favorite Male & Female TV characters.

After almost 6 months, over 29000 playoff votes counted, over 28000 regular season votes counted, plus thosands more that were discarded for various reasons....we have some champions.

144 characters, 80 male, 64 female characters started out with hopes & dreams back then. Early on, it became clear there was 8 or 10 characters whose fans had become quite determined to push their favorites to the top. I guess its no surprise, considering my site talks primarily about Vancouver based shows, most of those characters were from Vancouver shows.

Smallville had 4 characters in Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Oliver Queen & Chloe Sullivan who early on emerged as serious contenders. A twitter campaign by Olivers 1st round opponent thwarted his chance to go far. Clark Kent had an indominable regular season, but once the playoff format of no multiple voting was in place, his support tailed some. Still Clark pushed thru to the mens finals, before finally falling. Chloe managed to hold on till the elite 8 of the womens tourney before she finally gave way to her castmate, Lois Lane....the eventual winner of the womens division & the only undefeated contestant in either side of the tournament.

Supernatural super hunter Dean Winchester looked unstopable early, while the shows other characters like Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer, Castiel & Crowley all started slow, but gained momentum as things rolled along in the regular season. In the playoffs Castiel went out early, losing to eventual finalist Clark Kent in round 2. Crowley would meet the same fate in round 3, losing to Clark Kent. Bobby Singer came within 1 game of knocking off his buddy Dean Winchester in round 3, but eventually gave way to the man who would eventually go on to win the Mens title, Dean.

Fringe lead female character Agent Olivia Dunham looked poised to also take a run at the title in the regular season, as was agent Astrid Farnsworth who won her division in the regular season. Astrid could not continue the success in the playoffs, bowing out in the sweet 16 round of the womens division. The shows male counterparts Peter & Walter Bishop both had strong regular seasons, playoff success didnt follow them as much, with each bowing out before their own division finals. Agent Olivia Dunham pushed thru to the womens final, before eventually being swept by womens champion Lois Lame.

Sanctuary lead character Dr. Helen Magnus had a slow start & only barely got into the playoffs with a losing record none the less...but once there, she proved to be a formidable opponent as her fanbase caught on to the game & pushed her to the final 4 of the womens tournament before losing to eventual champ Lois Lane.

Stargate Universe had many challengers in the playoffs. But playoff success was limited for the SGU crew. With all the contestants, including 3 regular season division champs in Eli Wallace, Dr. Dale Volker & Vanessa James, from the now cancelled show bowing out by the sweet 16 draw of each side.

There was some success for shows not from the 604.

The Big Bang Theory had 3 male playoff contestants, with Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Raj Koothrappali & Howard Wolowitz all making it. None however found a terribly successful playoff formula. However, lead female Penny made it to the final 4 on the womens side & even had a 2-0 series lead before falling to Agent Olivia Dunham.

How I Met Your Mother had 3 division champs in the regular season. Robin Scherbatsky, & Lily Aldrin on the womens side. Both however fell in the womens sweet 16 round. On the mens side, Legen..wait for it...DARY ladies man Barney Stinson made it to the mens final 4 before falling to Clark Kent.

The Simpsons mastermind Homer Simpson made the mens final 4 finals before bowing out to eventual champion Dean Winchester.

Several other challengers like Richard Castle from Castle, Dr. Gregory House of House, Daphne Powell from No Ordinary Family, Penelope Garcia of Criminal Minds, Seeley Booth from Bones & Turanga Leela from Futurama also flirted with some playoff success before leaving in the elite 8 rounds of their respective genders.

In the end. Dean Winchester from Supernatural won the mens tournament over Clark Kent of Smallville, while Clarks main squeeze, Lois Lane defeated Agent Olivia Dunham from Fringe for the womens title.

So congratulations to your 2011 favorite TV character winners
Mens- DEAN WINCHESTER (Jensen Ackles) "Supernatural"
Womens- LOIS LANE (Erica Durance) Smallville

First & foremost, thank you to the amazing crew of writers, directors, producers & behind the scenes staff of this series. Without your work, none of this would at all have been possible.

To the cast, I am sure some of you I will cross paths with again over the years. I wish you all the best of luck in future endeavours, but dont be upset if I always remember you as ".*insert character name here* from SGU", it is not that your new work is not good, its just that Stargate Universe was so amazing. To the few of you that I may not cross paths with again, thanks. Not just for your work on the show, but being so terrific off it. I have met every main cast member, and many of the secondary part time cast, each & every one of you was great in person. It is not rare to meet great & friendly actors or actresses, it IS rare for the entire cast to be that way, especially such a large cast. Your encounters with me is what drove me to give the show a chance, YOU made me a fan.
 
May 9,2011 is a day that should be mourned & celebrated in television land. Mourned, because it is the loss of another terrific, creative & entertaining program that will very likely end up getting replaced by some subpar fluff wrestling program or reality show. Celebrated, because for 2 years we were treated to television excellence, each month, the shows & scripts became better. The rough potential the early episodes showed blossomed to pure excellence as season 2 carried on its way to the premature series finale.
 
I found it painful & comforting that the show would end with Eli Wallace manning the ship by himself. Although Rush has always been the unofficial captain of the ship, Eli was more often than not, the one getting the Destiny out of any variety of sticky situations.  It was painful in knowing we'll never get to see what the outcome was. Did Eli survive? Did the ship survive? Its comforting to know that with Eli at the helm, the Destiny's passengers will likely have succeeded in this daring task, as he will most certainly put the ship & the crews interests ahead of his own if it came to that.
 
So many questions still to answer. Does Dr. Park ever regain her sight back? Does TJ find a cure for ALS? Would Varro & TJ ever get together? Or are Young & TJ destined to end up together? Will Eli ever find someone? Will the ship ever finish its journey? Will the crew ever get home? So many uncertain questions without answers. Answers that we will probably never get now....UNLESS....Syfy has a brilliant epiphany down the road, sayyyy in a yr & 1/2?? Maybe Syfy sees some of their programs struggle that they hoped would thrive, with openings in the schedule, they resurrect SGU. Take into consideration time to write episodes, get cast together (assuming the majority are available?) & film it, they could be ready to return in about...3 years. Coincidence? Even if its a 1 off movie, it could wrap up loose ends.
 
Of course, the likelyhood of such a situation happening is low. A lot of luck & chips need to fall into place. Notable cast may have found stable full time roles on other projects by then, leaving large gaps in cast. Would the writers be able to string together a script in time? Not to mention Syfy admitting they made a mistake & giving the show 1 more chance.
 
The sad truth is, its probably the last we will see Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle), Col. Everett Young (Louis Ferreira), Eli Wallace (David Blue), Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith), Master Sgt Ronald Greer (Jamil Walker Smith), Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque), Camile Wray (Ming Na), lt Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman), 2nd Lt Vanessa James (Julia Benson), Dr. Dale Volker (Patrick Gilmore), Adam Brody (Peter Kelamis), Dr. Lisa Park (Jennifer Spence), Col David Telford (Lou Diamond Philips) & the countless other part time cast members that fill out the cast of the show, all in 1 place.  
 
I wont say good bye to this show, because I still have naive blind hope something will resurrect it (afterall I waited 2+ years for a Dead Like Me movie..and finally got 1). All I will say is, hopefully Elis' calculations are correct & we all get to see you all again when you wake up in 3 years.

But it will take even more luck & work than even the likes of the characters have had in surviving as many near deaths as they have.

Last month, a post made by a site called deadline.com stated that Syfy, a station allegedly for science-fiction television, was going to cancel 1 of the few shows, on their quickly depleting list of original programs.
 
Stargate Universe (aka- SGU) cast & crew learned this news not thru a phone call, but a tweet. A 140 character or less update on their livelyhoods & careers. While the utter lack of class Syfy station has shown to their possible former employees is appalling, and should be a red flag warning sign to anyone who in the future thinks of working on a project for them, what is actually more disturbing is that they let this news slip out to a website to tell the world first. They didnt even have the respect, decency or professionalism to tell those who it affects themselves. They let a website tell it, then later used a 140 character or less post on twitter to confirm it. It really makes you wonder how Syfy president Dave Howe was ever given the job if this is how he handles such major issues. 
 
The amazing part is that the station has currently 6 actual sci-fi style original program shows to its list. Of it,  there is really only 3 they have that can without question say they outperform SGU at this time.
 
"Being Human" 1st season- Unproven
"Caprica" Already Cancelled
"Eureka" which started with 4.1M for the shows premiere episode, and is down to 2.5M now in its 4th season.
"Haven" in only its first season Unproven.
"Sanctuary" one show that has managed to capture an audience.
"Warehouse 13" which started with a 3.5M opening & has dropped off to 2.4M for its S2 closing.
 
While the numbers for SGU are below that of Eureka, Sanctuary & Warehouse 13, the fact still remains that Syfy had very few shows they can call their own & are often filling their television voids with marathons of shows that fans have very likely watched already, dont care for specifically, or more likely, already own the box sets of. Even the most ardent Star Trek fan can only sit thru their favorite versions of the show so many times.
 
This is a station thats been so desperate to fill time, it has resorted to adding Professional Wrestling & a reality game show about video game players to its table of shows. While I have been in the past a pro wrestling fan & have nothing against those that still are, reality is, it has no right being on a network solely devoted to sci-fi programming. But, it is a ratings juggernaut for a station & has low costs to them as WWE picks up much of the production costs. There in lies the problem. Syfy has sold out. Its no longer about creating programming for a subsection of society that tend to be loyal to a fault for products they like. Its about whoring themselves out for ever last penny they can, even at the cost of the stations soul.
 
This station has very few of its own shows, so why cancel 1 that has held its own in season 2? While season 1 saw a sharp drop in ratings, season 2 has been steady. There is something to be said about a show, on a station where almost everything it airs has massive ratings drops, is holding its own & not losing viewers. While season 1 was finding its feet & at times, may have been a bit long in getting to its points, season 2 has been intense, full of action & arguably amazing. If S1 was "decent", season 2 has been "absolutely amazing". If fans from S1 were to rejoin, they would be blown away at the changes & character development that has happened since then. but we may not see it develop beyond, because as it stands right now, its to be terminated at seasons end... despite being probably the best show currently on the network & arguably, one of the top sci-fi shows on all of TV.
 
The question is "what now?" for the show.

Various campaigns thru twitter & facebook have popped up to "Give SGU another season" & it certainly is a campign that has garnered a lot of attention. One campaign has garnered over 8500 fans on facebook (probably be 10,000.. if they hadnt spit in the face of the fans by alienating them thru actions depicted by the leader whom told a cast members mother to 'fuck off" in a disagreement), while smaller campaigns have popped up ranging from a few dozen to several hundred. These campaigns are so passionate about what they are doing, they now find themselves at odds over how to best promote the concepts & gameplans to save the show.  But I am not going to get into the politics of fandom in here...this is about coming up with a gameplan for the show. This does show however, excessive devotion. To fight this hard, so hard you are even fighting with yourselves, means you want to see the idea succeed. It might be self destructive, or, it might be healthy.

 While shows that are cancelled arent all that often saved by their networks, or new networks, it does happen. I can vouch for that on 2 different fronts. Two of my all time favorite shows, Dead Like Me, and Robson Arms both came back from essentially being dead for short lived returns.
DLM managed a straight to DVD movie to quell its fans & while it was not anything near the 3rd season fans screamed for, petitioned for, wrote into Showtime & MGM for, and even held rallies for outside the offices, it was something...even if it was a hack version of something (try to not rant about Sarah Wynter's lack of acting skills right now...*deep breath*). The shows fans fought hard and got something.
While Robson Arms was the little show that could. It first fought just to get on the air. After season 1, it sat, with no 2nd season announcement for over a year. Its second season aired 19 months after the final episode of S1 aired. It fought & clawed its way back from death to manage not just a 2nd season, but a 3rd too, before again, meeting an unjust fate by CTV. The fanbase for them was admittedly far smaller than DLM or SGU. But they were devoted & let the station know what they wanted....and they got it. The reality is, fighting sometimes works.
All that being said, stats dont lie, lots of shows have campaigns to resurrect their programs, and most fail. But I can tell you, from my personal experiences, it can happen.
 
SGU is 1 that could have that lifeline to draw from. It has some things going for it, such as it is a Canadian based show. This means a Canadian station could look at a show, with an already developed fanbase & jump in & just fine tune things to their liking a little. The most likely choice for this is "Space" the Canadian version of Syfy (they have many of the same programs on), but Space isn't known for creating its own shows too much. In fact, they have already come out & said its not feasable. Like Syfy, who gets their approval from the pursestrings of a bigger media conglomerate (NBC), Space also is under the umbrella of a media conglomerate, CTVglobemedia, arguably the largest such television empire in Canada. Besides Space, the CTV empire is responsible for over 20 other stations from basic cable to pay per view channels in Canada. It is, without question, the most viable solution for a home for SGU to end up on if a Canadian company steps up.
 
The question becomes, how to convince them to run with the show.
Well, the first fact is simple. SGU is filmed in Canada. As a Canadian station, Space is obligated to show a minimum amount of Canadian content. Sure, they have quite a bit already, including EVERY...SINGLE...SHOW Syfy carries right now, but this would give the CTV empire 1 more, which they also could move to their flagship station CTV for any variety of schedule filling needs (a weekend afternoon filler, or late night marathon materials)

The second fact needs to be about financial potential. They are business people afterall. Can they make a profit from this? Or, at least make it financially sensible thru selling off international distribution?

The U.S. has 10Xs the population of Canada. It is also the primary financial centre for television. Ratings in America count exponentially more than ratings in Canada. So for a Canadian show to do well, they theoretically need far beyond 10% of the domestic numbers to warrant labelling something a success...unfortunately, the budget of the show still needs to stay comparable...so suddenly, you need to have better results than even that assuming U.S. numbers struggle to rise. That is where it gets complicated...proving that is possible without being able to show it first. I dont know what the numbers are on SGU showing on Space, but theoretically, if its doing about 150,000 households or more, it would be doing approximately 1.5Xs better here than in the U.S. currently, where its doing about 1.0M households a week. Those numbers may not be enough for CTV to take a chance on it by itself. This is where the idea of a split cost idea with a foreign station may come in.
 
Why couldnt the Canadian company work on a split deal with another country that admires their Sci-fi programming? Hello U.K?? We might have a business proposition for someone there. With a split cost between two stations in two different companies, it becomes quite financially feasable...then take into consideration distribution rights still in the rest of the world...well, how could it NOT look appealing?
 
The complexity of striking a deal to get the shows rights might be confusing as well. If Syfy has the rights, what might happen could be a deal where CTV, for the Space Channel, buys the rights from Syfy, in agreement, they give Syfy a deal on the U.S. rights for broadcasting it, taking away some bargaining power for looking for the best financial situation in the U.S. market.
Maybe, there is even a deal, like how other shows from other networks have done it. Where CTV, for the Space Channel, doesnt actually buy the rights, but instead puts up some $ for the production costs to Syfy to continue making the show.
If MGM is the owner of the shows rights, what do they want? Do they barter a deal where they get to choose the U.S. distributror? Do they get a nice deal on DVD sales? Or do they simply look at it as a dead asset that they can turn into liquid asset now & sell for whatever they can get?
 
Theres still even outside all of those question, the possibility that maybe they cant work out a deal to generate a 3rd season...so what about a few straight to DVD movie like Dead Like Me or Firefly managed? Simply to wrap up loose ends & complete the story? Correct me if I am wrong, but the sales for Dead Like Me: Life After Death were financial gold for the company. I vividly recall it being in the top 3 in Canada & top 10 in the U.S. opening day on Amazon. In the top 5 in Canada after a week & top 20 in the U.S. Unfortunately, Firefly was not something I followed when it did its movie, but I recall hearing a lot of buzz about it, I am sure its sales were just as incredible.  If they put together a 2 or 3 movie set to wrap up the storlines (although its being suggested  the creators are saying they cant do it with anything less than a season...you take what you can get).

How can you, the fan get involved? The obvious answer- BUY SGU PRODUCTS. But also, make your voices heard. Let the stations know, let advertisers know, hell, even let the cast know, that they are wanted back.
 
Any potential suitors will want to see a healthy show. So alienating & abandonning it is not the best avenue. Support is. Buying the DVDs is good, buying episodes online is good, but in the end tv viewers matter the most. ALSO, key battle point people often overlook.....
 
MAKE NOTE OF WHAT PRODUCTS ARE PAYING FOR ADVERTISING TIME!!
Seriously. This can make a difference. If you see a product being advertised during an episode, whether its first run, or a repeat, make note of it, and definitely let that company know that you saw their ad on an SGU broadcast. Whether its a short email to their site, or a phone call into a comments/questions/complaints line, let them know. They are, afterall, the ones who pull the pursestrings open or closed. DO NOT take commercials lightly, they have more influence than most board members. If the products tell Syfy, or other stations "we are getting a lot of recognition off this show..." trust me, they will find a way to magically come up with the $ in their budget to keep making it.
 
Theres a lot of questions that I personally cant answer, but this does show that there are a multitude of potential options still out there for SGU to breathe more life. It is just a matter of whoever is holding the keys, to hand them to someone willing to take over.
 
Saving SGU is a real possibility. It will just take all hands on deck to steer the Destiny to that outcome... to complete its mission.

Buy SGU Blu-Ray, DVDs & single online episodes on Amazon
(U.S.) http://amzn.to/fNmE0K (Canada) http://amzn.to/elGBzq


Want to learn more about the campaign or the cast? Check them out on twitter or facebook.
 
Helping to resurrect SGU campaign twitter accounts.
http://twitter.com/SGUawareness
http://twitter.com/SGunite
 
Cast's twitter accounts
http://twitter.com/AlainaHuffman - Alaina Huffman (Lt. Tamara "TJ" Johansen)
http://twitter.com/AtleastLevesque - Elyse Levesque (Chloe Armstrong)
http://twitter.com/BrianJacobSmith - Brian J. Smith (Lt. Matthew Scott)
http://twitter.com/Cpbinder - Carl Binder (crew- writer)
http://twitter.com/DavidBlue - David Blue (Eli Wallace)
http://twitter.com/Ivonbartok - Ivon Bartok (crew- producer/director)
http://twitter.com/jbowyerchapman - Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (Private Darren Becker)
http://twitter.com/Julia_Benson - Julia Benson (2nd Lt. Vanessa James)
http://twitter.com/JulieMcNiven - Julie McNiven (Ginn)
http://twitter.com/limajamil - Jamil Walker-Smith (Master Sgt. Ronald Greer)
http://twitter.com/LouDPhillips - Lou Diamond Phillips (Col. David Telford)
http://twitter.com/MingNa - Ming Na (Camile Wray)
http://twitter.com/PatrickGilmore - Patrick Gilmore (Dr. Dale Volker)
http://twitter.com/PeterKelamis - Peter Kelamis (Adam Brody)
http://twitter.com/SpenceJen - Jennifer Spence (Dr. Lisa Park)

Facebook accounts,
http://www.facebook.com/#!/SGUnite 
 
 
Want to tell MGM or Syfy or Space how much you want this show to continue (being respectful works better than crude & angry letters with these people....and thats coming from ME)
 
Email Charles Cohen Executive Vice-President of MGM [email protected] (also believed to be a Stargate fan)
Email the Syfy Station [email protected] or post on their facebook wall http://facebook.com/SyFy
Contact Space Channel  on their facebook wall http://facebook.com/SPACEchannel