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Sci Fi And MGM Reach For The Stars With Stargate Universe

Sci Fi Channel and MGM Television Ent. have reached an agreement to extend MGM's STARGATE brand with a new series for the channel. Production on the first season of STARGATE UNIVERSE, a weekly series based on the popular STARGATE franchise, will begin in early 2009, with the show targeted to premiere that Summer.

Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, co-creators of STARGATE SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS and who both currently serve as exec producers on ATLANTIS, will serve as exec producers and writers on the new series.

The announcement comes a day after Sci Fi greelight a two-hour movie based on STARGATE ATLANTIS, to be written by STARGATE ATLANTIS exec producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who also serve as series showrunners. The movie is set to follow the fifth and final season of STARGATE ATLANTIS, as it draws nearer to its conclusion in January 2009.

Wright and Cooper said in a statement: "In UNIVERSE, we plan to keep those elements that have made the franchise a success, such as adventure and humor, while breaking new ground in the relationships between mostly young and desperate explorers, thrust together and far from home. Above all, we believe the Stargate itself remains an enduring icon with infinite potential as a jumping off point for telling stories."

After unlocking the mystery of the Stargate's ninth chevron, a team of explorers travels to an unmanned starship called the Destiny, launched by The Ancients at the height of their civilization as a grand experiment set in motion, but never completed.

What starts as a simple reconnaissance turns into a never ending mission, as the STARGATE UNIVERSE crew discovers the ship is unable to return to Earth, and they must now fend for themselves aboard the Destiny.

The crew will travel to the far reaches of the universe, connecting with each of the previously launched Stargates, thus fulfilling the Destiny's original mission. Challenges will arise though as the ship comes into range of Stargates placed centuries ahead of the Destiny and the crew is unable to control the ship's navigational schedule. If someone is left behind, there is no way to go back for them, adding to the drama of encountering new races, enemies and adventures.

STARGATE UNIVERSE will debut as a two-hour movie event on Sci Fi. Following its premiere, UNIVERSE will assume a regular hourly slot in summer 2009.

UNIVERSE will be distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.