Whywhywhywhy? Oh, and yay!

Why?:
SCI FI Channel confirmed that it will not renew its record-breaking original series Stargate SG-1 for another season, but will pick up its spinoff series Stargate Atlantis for a fourth year. SG-1 aired its 200th episode on Aug. 18, and the SF series is the longest-running SF show on American television.

SCI FI issued the following statement on Aug. 21: "SCI FI Channel is proud to be the network that brought Stargate SG-1 to its record-breaking 10th season. Ten seasons and 215 episodes is an astounding, Guinness World Record-setting accomplishment. Stargate is a worldwide phenomenon. Having achieved so much over the course of the past 10 years, SCI FI believes that the time is right to make this season their last on the channel. SCI FI is honored to have been part of the Stargate legacy for five years, and we look forward to continuing to explore the Stargate universe with our partners at MGM through a new season of Stargate Atlantis."


I will admit, SG1 has been running a long time, and has had some rough spots. But it's just started getting good again. SGA is okay, but definitely has that spinoff/rehashed feel to it. Maybe some of the SG1 cast will go over to SGA full-time, or at least recurring. I don't see SGA lasting more that another season though. I just hope SG1 gets to wrap up their story line all nice and tidy.

Now, onto "Yay!"
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, writers of the upcoming Transformers movie, told fans that the movie will take a real-world approach to its depictions of the robots that can change from everyday objects such as cars into futuristic fighting machines. "In translating this thing to live action, ... all of these Transformers are being designed in the movie such that, when they transform, there's no cheating," Orci said in a a live video Q&A on Yahoo! on Aug. 18. He added: "It's very much what it would realistically look like if a Transformer was sitting right there as a car, and it turned into the character that you know."

As a consequence, some of the everyday incarnations of well-known characters may change for the movie: Bumblebee, for example, is now a Camaro instead of a Volkswagen. "All the vehicle decisions were made based on literally sitting and staring at the actual vehicles and seeing how they would actually transform and deciding based on what is going to be the coolest version of seeing this live," Orci said.

I'm looking forward to this movie. I've seen the concept art and some pics of the 'bots and their vehicle modes. I'm not crazy about them, but I still think the flick has potential.

Whywhywhywhy? Oh, and yay!