As anticipated, the ‘Universe’ team will led by an older veteran officer played by a “name” actor, who is described as being “like the Jack O’Neill of ten years ago, but [whose] edges have tended to sharpen over time.” The rest of the cast of characters will be made up of young men and women, mostly in their early to mid twenties.

Fans all want our Stargate to be familiar — that is, we want it to be faithful to and consistent with what has come before. But that doesn’t mean it has to be the same. As much as we like the same, if that’s all we ever got then the franchise would certainly run out of steam. A show that is set on a ship, with a younger vibe and a darker tone — so long as it continues to rely on the Stargate — can tell brand new kinds of stories.

For the Stargate franchise to enter a new era and attract a new audience, SCI FI network president Dave Howe believes that ‘Universe’ should update its storytelling for a new generation. “The ambition with Universe is to skew it younger than the previous two chapters and fill it with a fresh-faced cast,” he said this week, adding that the producers needed to provide “storytelling that is more for the late 2000s than it is for the 1990s.”

This week was a week of number twos on a variety of fronts. In the US, Joe Biden became Barack Obama’s new sidekick, while in Australia, the minor parties in the Senate geared up to take on their new roles as second fiddles. Meanwhile, in the entertainment world, ‘Stargate Atlantis’ was cancelled and replaced by ‘Stargate Universe’.

Earth discovers that the Stargate’s mysterious ninth chevron can be utilized to gate directly to the Ancient ship, the ‘Destiny’ opening up literally the whole universe to explore. But the team will soon discover that they have no way back to Earth, and must ride the ship on its programmed course. The show will go to air in 2009.

Assuming that the SCI FI Channel eventually picks up ‘Stargate Universe’ as a television series, executive producer Brad Wright told GateWorld that the Stargate franchise will be stronger than ever with four “brand” legs to stand on: ‘Stargate SG-1′ and ‘Atlantis’ in the movie format, Universe on television, and the upcoming video game ‘Stargate Worlds’ reaching into yet another medium.

MGM already is talking with executive producer Brad Wright about keeping the direct-to-DVD movie franchise going. In addition, it seems that MGM is confident SciFi Channel or some television outlet will pick up the previously announced third series “Stargate: Universe” as well.