After 93 1/2 years, the new season of Battlestar Galatica has finally started on the SciFi Channel. It’s about now that we do our seasonal ritual of trying desperately to convince our friends, family and that one guy you see during your lunch at Bennigan’s who just might consider watching the show if you tell him the entire 3 season arc over Cheese Poppers.
You know what? Don’t waste your time, or breath. These people are the ones that got left on the planets after the Cylon attack -the ones doomed to die or something (is that what happened to them, I was never 100% clear). Watch them in your Raptor, looking befuddled, as you head off to the stars while the toasters slowly circle them.
Now I happen to love BSG, which makes the last two paragraphs all the more confusing. But hear me out. To me, anyone who hasn’t taken a chance at a show that critics repeatedly call “The Best Show on Television”, might not be worth the additional effort. If they couldn’t watch a show that dealt with terrorism, patriotism, war and suffering like no other drama has done on television when it first aired, then it is THEY who have the problem.
Of course, what we’d really like is for EVERYONE to suddenly tune into the rag-tag, fugitive fleet’s exploits. The ratings bump would surely get even the quarter-wits at SciFi Channel’s attention and make them reverse their decision to cancel the show. That’s the dream, right?
Not to me.
Here’s shocker number two: I’m thrilled Battlestar got cancelled. Seriously. I’ll admit that when I first heard the news, I was a little bummed (Edward James Olmos broke the news and some how it felt like he was our dad and he was really disappointed.) But later on it struck me that this will be the best for the show, and ultimately for us.
All television shows are designed to tell a story. Most stories have a beginning, a middle and an end, with the middle generally two to three times longer than the beginning and the end. Network television screws with that template pretty unscrupulously in an attempt to wring big dollars out of advertisers. They have one or two hours of an action packed beginning, 1-9 SEASONS of slow boil middle, and if we’re very, very lucky one or two hours of an ending where everyone suddenly, falls in love with each other, dies or falls in love and then dies. It’s the longest ‘Frakplay’ (PG rated website) in the universe and the payoff always seems like a rushed cheat.
So when SciFi Channel announced that this would be the last season, they gave us a gift. Now we all know that the end is near and can plan accordingly. The writers no longer have to tease us or stall the story, characters can fall in love and/or die and best of all we don’t have to see the return of Boxey and Muffitt from the original series (Boxey? What a Feldercarbby name!)
And heaven help us if the show really did catch on fire now. Suddenly, the network would wake up, realize there’s still money to be made and order another season. Earth, which was just around the corner, now fades away for another centon due to an unbelievable plot device (Adama: “So you’re telling me that was a fake Earth and the real one is in another galaxy?!! Frell, er, Frak!”) . Actors leave the show, plots get stretched thin and when the final, final end comes, it is more of a relief to all of us that it’s out of its misery, than a celebration.
No, let’s keep it the way it is right now. Now we get Ron Moore and company’s best, tightest writing. The plots will twist and turn, Starbuck and Apollo will finally get together, Adama will finally smile. They WILL find Earth (minus the flying bikes and Professor Z) and it will be the perfect ending to a perfect series.
So I go back to my original plea: let’s keep this show for us Sci-Fi nerds. Let’s close the drapes, pop some popcorn and snuggle up to our sci-fi lover that we call BSG. We’ll share another series with the rest of the world (Maybe Knight Rider, just to punish them!), but for this show, let us, and us alone join Adama and Co. as they look (and find) “That shining planet, known as Earth.”
So say we all.
By your command.
Am I the only who is somewhat sceptical of this season?
Like everyone else I loved the first two, but after the first few episodes of the third I feel like they dropped the ball, and I’m not seeing alot that makes me think they have picked it up again in the fourth.
Considering most of that article is written around the ‘fact’ that BSG was ‘cancelled’, which I believe is incorrect, makes the entire thing kinda ‘fracked up’. The creative team chose to only have 4 seasons and to wrap the story. It was always made with a beginning, middle and end in mind. Or am I wrong?
I have a sister-in-law who likes scifi but still won’t watch BSG “because Starbuck is a girl”. Who gives a frack if Starbuck is a girl?
I guess it’s better to know the show will end and that allows the writers time to wrap things up properly instead of having to rush things at the end.
But I am going to miss this show. It really pisses me off that SciFi cancels it and then to get people to watch season 4 they put on ads calling it the best show on television.
Aren’t they admitting they canceled the best show on television? Pretty stupid if you ask me.
Ben,
No one ever plans for a four season arc in US television, it all has to do with syndication rules. FCC rules state that if a show has at least 100 episodes, you can run it on a continual basis over a 90 day period. Anything less (Like Star Trek:TOS) will have to take a break of sorts before it can start up again. If if can’t run continuously like that and fill a five night a week line up, it’s of considerably less value to the production company. 100 has been the magic number for a long time now.
Cable doesn’t have that rule. So it is possible to run something with fewer episodes now, although fewer episodes still equate to quicker audience fatigue.
The ‘Four Season Arc’ story line is being pushed out by SciFi as a diversion of the fact that they did indeed cancel BSG. It removes the stigma that this last season is a ‘Lame Duck’ season and will actually be exciting and worth every one of the advertisers dollars.
It’s all about the money.
Mike Mc.
I think it’s sad NBC is finally giving this show it’s due in the LAST season! There is talk again about putting it on NBC. But if they do, why not run it from the beginning, so a whole new audience can find it?
They are putting Monk and Psyc on NBC, hoping they catch on, I don’t see why BSG couldn’t make the jump from cable too. They ran it a few times before on NBC and the numbers weren’t half bad for a show they never advertised.
if they end it and it made money, they’ll keep rolling with it like the stargates.
Well that makes sense. Fair enough. I just don’t know enough about the evil machination’s of US TV.
Ok, so does that make me a total loser for FINALLY having a chance to catch up and mainline all three seasons in two weeks leading up to the premiere last week? Do I not get to be in the “BSG is fraking awesome” fanclub because I just joined? If so, that kinda sucks.
I’m the opposite of everyone else. I thought the first two seasons stunk and it got better in Season 3. It’s not a predictable space opera anymore, and to me that’s a good thing. I couldn’t be happier about the way it’s been going in Season 4 so far and I really look forward to more. Too bad it’ll be over after this season, though.
We’ve been told that the cylons had a plan since the first episode. For 2 seasons I believed it.
After the mess that season 3 degenerated into its clear that there is (was) no plan and that they were pulling this stuff out of their butts as they went along.
They almost got canceled in season 3 (no surprise) and the fact that they gave them a 4th season to tie their 4 billion loose plot threads up just makes me scratch my head.
Didn’t we see Boxey in the mini-series?
Galactica not being canceled it’s at the end of it’s story arc.
Galactica is ending. While the announcement back in June from Ron Moore and David Eick said they would wrap up the series in 4 seasons, I have to wonder if maybe that was a compromise with SciFi to both have enough time for the writers and producers to wrap things up properly, and also negotiate a bit for getting CAPRICA into production.
There was never any previous statement that the series would only be 3, 4, or 5 seasons long, but maybe the producers learned a little from what happened to some other NBC Universal SF properties, The Dead Zone and The 4400, that dragged things out an extra season (or season and a half depending on how picky you are) and found themselves canceled with no way to wrap the storylines up.
So while SciFi didn’t outright cancel the show by pulling out the rug like they’ve done with other shows in the past, I don’t think the producers would cancel their project without some guidance in that direction from SciFi Channel or it’s parent entity.
I think this also falls into a ‘Soft Landing’ Philosophy that seems to be coming about with the networks. If they cancel a sci-fi series that’s even remotely popular, they catch pure hell from the fans. It’s a lotta mail, blogs and random food items arriving at their offices. Bad press that puts pressure on them to throw (in their minds) good money after bad. Even if they don’t pick the show back up, they’ve disenfranchised the core sci-fi audience that might not sample their next science fiction outing.
By giving the show a final season, they quell the mob and get a more marketable product in the DVD market.
I will repeat, though: Under the current system, there will never be a pitch for a 1,2,3 or 4 season series. It becomes a money losing situation for the networks, something they aren’t that fond of.
Mike Mc
actually that is not true star trek the original series had a planned five seasons and was cancelled after 3. enterprise was pitched and accepted as a 8 season show but cancelled after 4.
anyhow galactica was originally cancelled for the new flash gordon to take it’s place, but that already got cancelled.
LOL.
gotta love them suits and bankers who run tv.
I had never seen BSG because in my area we don’t get the Sci-fi channel and until recently, never saw it but had heard some really good things about it. So I was very happy when a friend of mine started buying the DVD box sets and I got him to lend them to me.
With great anticipation I watched the first episodes and then the rest of the first season and was utterly and completely disapointed with the series. I don’t care that Starbuck is a woman, I do care that every woman on the show is hard as nails, kick ass, hard case and that the men are infectual or criminal at best and drunks or whinning wimps at worst.
I like strong female characters but if this is the way the creators see all women and men, they need to seek councling immedeatly.
To sum up, it is nothing more then a space soap opera with a dominatrix theme.
I will not waste any more time with this peice of gosha and am going now to re watch my box set of Firefly, to clear my head and remember what good television science fiction is.
Wow James. Thats a bit much aint it.
From CBR and the NYCC 08 pannel.
“Receiving a question aimed at him, VP Stern was asked what it will be like to lose such a high profile show after the last season ends. “It’s going to really suck,” he replied. He remarked that it was a strange experience having executive producer Moore pull the plug on his own show. Moore chose to end the series after only four seasons, despite it being a ratings and critical success. But Stern assured viewers that Moore and company were doing it the right way. He also reminded viewers that the Battelstar spinoff Caprica, focusing on the creation of the original Cylons, is still on the horizon.”
Mike,
It happens from time to time. One of the more famous examples is Babylon 5, which had a 5-year-arc planned out before the first episode had aired.
Not sure where you’re getting this stuff, but the FCC has no such authority and no role in these matters. Networks want shows to reach at least 100 episodes because it’s a magic number they picked for syndication viability, mostly out of thin air. There are a number of examples where shows didn’t even last a single season, but have found success in syndication. The contrary is also true with many long-lived shows failing in reruns.
It is not a hard and fast industry rule either, just a target.
A show that only ran for two or three seasons can still fill a five-night-a-week schedule, it just won’t last as long overall. Again, these schedules are tailored to the specific channels audience and have nothing to do with the total number of available episodes of the FCC.
Nobody has that rule.
Nothing Scifi says is going to affect what the advertisers pay. Those numbers are pledged before the television season begins and are based on ratings, not press releases and spin.
Kamic,
They are; a BSG prequel named Caprica has gotten a back-door pilot (a TV movie or mini-series that can test the waters and launch the series of the ratings are there) and will probably air later this fall.