NUMBER 2: REACH A NEW AUDIENCE.
Of course we love the casts of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis and the tremendous talent that they bring to the franchise. We don't ever want that to go away. But the franchise has been around for a long time, and TV viewers have already been exposed to Stargate and decided whether or not they are going to watch it. Making Stargate Universe different enough that it will appeal to a brand new set of viewers is exactly what the franchise needs.
Simply put: If the third series doesn't grab new viewers, the franchise's future will be limited and finite. Hold-over viewers from the first two series, loyal as we are, will simply continue to age and lose interest. Universe can reach a new set of viewers (and appeal to those who may have wandered away from Stargate) by appealing to a slightly younger demographic.
Now we're not talking about Stargate Squarepants or Stargate: The O.C. here. We don't want a live-action version of Stargate Infinity, and we don't want "who slept with who" teen angst while the new single from Time Warner's new up-and-comer croons in the background. But certainly that's not what Universe will be; that's not who the show's creators, Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, are.
Aiming for a "younger audience" probably means cast members in their 20s and 30s (rather than 30s and 40s), and trying to bring the average viewer age from around 47 (which is what Atlantis's average demo is believed to be) to perhaps the early 40s. That doesn't mean that the show will be written with teens in mind, or that the producers have no interest in viewers over 45 or under 20. Remember, we're talking about gross audience averages here.
It may not be everyone's cup of tea (Stargate's current audience does lean into the older demographics). But it is good for the future of Stargate.
NEXT: Character Drama
