I'm thinking that the only reason they keep beating on the corpse of Stargate is two-fold:

1) SciFi (before they changed their name) paid a friggin' mint for the rights to the original movie, and likely has yet to see enough of a return on the original investment (solution: flog it until even the most die-hard fans turn up their noses at it).

2) They don't have anything else better to do - Joss Whedon left a long time ago, and no writer who is worth a damn really wants to see their works get crucified by the network execs.

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Quote - And, yes, you're absolutely right about Dune.  Superb.

I can agree to that. In the realm of "real" SciFi, there are books (and even a few movies) that simply rock the house. Philip K. Dick stands out as a (largely unsung but absolute) master of the art. Heinlein and Asimov really stand out as well. Clark? Sure - I can give a grudgingly respectful nod to 'im. EE "Doc" Smith could readily drag your brain kicking and screaming into another existence, but when you got back you were damned glad for the trip. Even Carl frickin' Sagan could do a workable turn of the "Fi" in SciFi. There's plenty more where those gents came from as well... :)  

On TV and movies...

Rod Serling is just shy of a demi-god. Gene Roddenberry? Well, not so much, but the kitch is pretty damned irresistible, and no I'm not a Trekkie. Stanley Kubrick? When sufficiently motivated, the man simply knew how to kick theatrical ass. Shirow Masamune (linked) managed to influence SciFi cinema and TV, way the hell beyond the anime/manga realm, and few people will ever know it. Same with Shinichirō Watanabe (yep, linked again). Joss Whedon? All I can say is, damn I wish he'd do another SciFi show - movie or TV, I don't care.

George Lucas? Pfft! He can go eat a, err, well - 'nuff said (mind you, this opinion only came about after those cinematic abortions known as Star Wars, Episodes I - III ). Same with Steve Spielberg, and I'm saying it in spite of the fact that I really liked Close Encounters of the Third Kind (seriously... ET... WTF? It's like his brain shorted sometime during the early 1980's).