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The wait is almost over!  Exactly four months after “Justice” left us hanging, Stargate Universe fans are eagerly anticipating the show’s return to Syfy Channel in the U.S. this Friday at 9 p.m. (8 Central).  But many want to know:  Why was the mid-season break so long? We asked Stargate fans via Twitter what their ideal length would be for the mid-season break, and got a variety of responses.  But we also heard straight from Syfy’s Craig Engler, Senior V.P. of Syfy Digital, who said, “No mid-season break could mean [32] weeks or more between full seasons.  Basically, every schedule choice has a trade-off. … We split seasons so there are not huge gaps between full seasons.”

Friday nights on Syfy Channel this past fall wasn’t the only place to get a fix of Stargate Universe. Each week MGM also released new kino webisodes — short scenes that complement the TV show. Some of these are general introductions to the ship and its (reluctant) new crew; others tie in directly to an episode, functioning as something of a deleted scene.

In case you missed them, below you can see all 22 kino webisodes released during the first half of the season! The kino webisodes were directed by Ivon Bartok (friend of the site), with a total of 30 installments to be released during SGU’s first season.

“The germ of Stargate Universe began as a movie by Robert Cooper, as do many of our ideas,” Wright told the magazine. “We always come up with a movie, pitch it to MGM, and they say, ‘Terrific, let’s make it a TV show.’  When we were spinning the film idea, we knew deep down that Universe was really a series because it had so much scope.”

Dynamite Entertainment is set to launch its new series of Stargate comic books in 2010, starting with Vala Mal Doran #1.  The limited series is set in the SG-1 universe and features the sexy thief played on television by Claudia Black. Series writer Brandon Jerwa talks about the story in a new interview with Comic Book Resources. Jerwa, known for his work on G.I. Joe, Highlander and Battlestar Galactica, revealed that the story will feature a “heist” for which Vala assembles an Ocean’s 11-style group of cohorts. “Vala’s working with a crew of science fiction ne’er-do-wells that are all new to the franchise,” Jerwa told the site. “I’m going to keep the hard details under wraps for now, but let me give you some glimpses into my madness: Vala’s crew has a weirdo alien pilot, an officious robot, a tiger warrior, a midget assassin and a hot chick with a space monkey.” Look for the SG-1 team to be involved too, of course — including Jack O’Neill.