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UNIVERSAL CITY - KEEPANIMEALIVE - Syfy is just as upset about the cancellation of Stargate Universe as you are.

That's the spirit behind an open letter from Senior Vice President Craig Engler posted on Gateworld, a Stargate fansite. Engler writes that the show simply never managed to keep a reasonable number of fans.

Science fiction shows have actually been struggling on Syfy, the NBCUniversal-owned network known for titles like Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, and Eureka. When SGU began slipping, it was moved alongside the Battlestar spinoff Caprica.

"With untenably low numbers and no sign of growth on Fridays where it had now lost 1/3 of its initial audience, we decided to move SGU for its second season. We’d had tremendous success on Tuesday’s with our breakout hit Warehouse 13, so we paired SGU with Caprica and moved them to Tuesdays, hoping to introduce both shows to a new audience. As you probably know by now the downward trend continued and ultimately we weren’t able to continue either series."

Engler also denied rumors about the show's death. To suggestions that erratic scheduling caused the show's decline, he responded, "We started the show on Fridays where we’ve had the most success and where it initially did well, and we left it there until it started struggling." To suggestions that Syfy was never fully behind the show, he said, "There is literally no one other than MGM who supported it more than we did. We were the only network who gave the show a try and the only ones who committed to making and airing 40 episodes before a script had been written."

And what about suggestions that the network just doesn't like Stargate?

"We love Stargate. Combined we’ve made 12 seasons of 3 separate series and helped support two SG-1 films. It’s been an amazing ride and we’re incredibly proud of the cast and crew of all the shows, and thankful to all the viewers who watched."

NBCUniversal is the parent company of anime studio Geneon Universal.

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