Final Season of Battlestar Galactica Confirmed 500
Ant writes "Via Dark Horizons, IESB reported from the 10th annual Saturn awards yesterday, and spoke with Battlestar Galactica stars Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff. Olmos confirmed that, as far as the show that's been running so far, the fourth season will be the last one. It's currently slated to start airing in January of 2008. 'Olmos says "This will probably be the most extraordinary season of 'Battlestar'. It's the final season, so it's definitely going to be the most vicious. As far as we know, in respects of the way we have this show constructed, this is the final season." Sackhoff says "I think part of the problem is that it's an expensive show. It is [a great show], but we don't have the viewership that a great show should get."'"
Good (Score:2, Insightful)
Shame no one watches it (Score:5, Insightful)
you can always count on the Sci-Fi channel... (Score:5, Insightful)
And then kill them.
That's what you get (Score:5, Insightful)
Over the last season and a half, the show has been sucking pretty badly. It feel a long way from the absolute best show on TV ever, to yet another middling sci-fi show where everything gets wrapped up neatly at the end of each episode, no prominent cast members ever die, and they beat you over the head with whatever moral/political point they are trying to make at the time.
I hope they go out with a bang. I hope they are, as Olmos said, vicious. BSG started out as a gritty, dark and hard story about the shit hitting the fan over and over again. Let's hope the writers remember that before it's too late.
And I'd rather the show end nicely than fade into irrelevance by over-staying its welcome (as per Star Gate).
Good News (Score:3, Insightful)
By contrast, one of my other favorite shows used to be The Sopranos, a show that has floundered for the past two years. They seem to be ending with their weekest run of shows to date. It will be hard for me to remember that show as fondly as I would like.
Rome was a great show that didn't run long enough, but there was no filler. A damn good series from start to end.
Sometimes less is more. (Star Trek, I'm looking at you)
Re:you can always count on the Sci-Fi channel... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:you can always count on the Sci-Fi channel... (Score:3, Insightful)
Or, go out while they're still hot instead of beating it into the ground (like the Star Trek series)?
Maybe the writers, producers, and actors got together and said, "There's not much more we can before we go stale and become a parody of ourselves." There's some real talent on that show (they're not your typical network hacks) and I think they want to keep their work, I don't know, "true".
You could see this coming (Score:1, Insightful)
A while ago there was a scary article the indicated that SciFi was actually having ratings success with these low production value monster movies and such. If the drones actually show up to watch Mosquito 2 or whatever, why should they waste good money on a show that has to pay good actors and script writers and special effects masters?
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, most of the American TV viewing public is stupid and couldn't possibly understand or enjoy a show like Battlestar or Firefly for long. I think they should seriously think about either producing these shows direct to dvd. There can be a strong business case given how well the firefly and serenity dvd's sell.
Either that or release them in theaters on a regular basis ala old-school serials.
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
On one hand, I love the show, and hate to see it end. On the other hand, you can only drag out the story so long before it gets out of hand, so this may be the best way to end it.
Besides, isn't there a spinoff show planned?
So how are they tracking viewers? (Score:3, Insightful)
Are they including iTunes downloads and DVD sales? If not, why not? These days, anyone between the ages of 15 and 30 spends more time watching downloads and DVDs than they do tuning into TV broadcasts.
The era of everyone tuning into a scheduled TV broadcast is *over*. Does Nielsen still think it's 1960?
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of people don't want to be challenged by their entertainment. They saw a TV show that they liked yesterday, and what they want more than anything in the world is to watch that same TV show again. You need to change it just enough that they're not bored by an exact repetition, but core should be as close to identical as humanly possible.
Sci-fi fans aren't entirely immune to it, either. They brought Zombie Star Trek out for years after it should have been given a dignified burial. James Bond film scripts have been (until the most recent one) essentially mad-libs. And they'll even watch the same old movies (e.g. The Empire Strikes Back) until they can quote the dialogue and can spot changes on a frame-by-frame basis (and accuse those of doing so of raping their childhoods).
Poor Battlestar is just too expensive to continue. It must cost nearly as much as Lost, a show which probably has 10 times the viewership. Better to let it die than to compromise their vision.
Re:That's what you get (Score:4, Insightful)
Good (Score:3, Insightful)
And they'd better have a really, REALLY good reason to explain why Tigh and the Chief are Cylons, or the first episode of the last season just might be the last one I ever watch. Talk about jumping the shark.
No, it doesn't (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the way the show should end, on a high note. As pointed out somewhere else further down, the show is starting to degrade. There was a time when you never really knew what was going to happen next. A time when, unlike other shows, they weren't afraid to kill off major characters or have the plot twist 180 degrees in another direction.
Now, though, it's gotten where you know that all the majors will be with us next week, that in the end, everything will work out okay. It's just gotten kind of ho-hum.
If they make this the last season, it gives them incredible freedom to do some really great things dramatically. All characters are fair game. All plots are on the board for major twists. And they can always come back and do movies or mini-series if there's a demand for it.
Here's my prediction, though. They get to Earth, but as it turns out, it's not exactly the thirteenth colony they expected. Think about it. It's all happened before, right? The Cylons and the thirteenth colony have encountered each other just as our ragtag colonial crew and the Cylons are encountering each other now. They intermingled (Eve, anyone?), and the result is that we here on earth are actually the progeny of both colonial humans and Cylons. We even adopted both religions. People here are killing each other over the same ideological differences as the Cylons and the colonials are.
I could be wrong, but I think that's ultimately the ending plot twist. When all is said and done, it turns out that WE are Cylons, too, a fact that has been lost to antiquity.
Re:This really....sucks. (Score:5, Insightful)
These shows will ultimately be more successful with end-points written- the writers will have a clear goal of what to write to and how to make it interesting to get there, instead of just coming up with more ways to string viewers along.
While it sucks that it's going off the air, it'll make for better TV along the way.
Re:Shame no one watches it (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, they had a lot more viewers. Right up until the SciFi channel broke up their powerful friday night lineup [savestargatesg1.com] (BSG->SG1->Atlantis) and tried to launch BSG up against the Big 3 fall lineups. (Urk!) Sorry, SciFi. You're not that big.
The SciFi channel has some of the greatest shows ever made. Yet time and time again they shoot themselves in the foot. Twice. Just to make sure they get both feet. Then they get some prosthetics so they can shoot themselves in the foot again. Twice. Just to be sure.
Parent is not Flamebait... (Score:5, Insightful)
Since the escape from new Caprica in the Exodus two-parter, the show seems to have just drifted into the realm of the weird and pointless at times. Filler episodes have increased (such as the boxing episode - Unfinished Business, and the rogue doctor killing Saggitarans in The Woman King), and the main story has been tangled up in a load of tired existential and spiritual nonsense that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The finale of Season 3 even has Starbuck coming back from the dead, apparently as a figment of Lee's imagination. Oh great, another character inexplicably living in someone's head.
Of course, it's all down to opinion in these matters, but for me I'd like to see the show's main story to get back to the heights of Season 1 and 2 (and the start of Season 3). The desperate and down-trodden survivors of the human race fighting to stay alive and stay ahead of the Cylon fleet hunting them at every jump. Brilliant and touching filler / side-story episodes like Season 2's Rise of the Phoenix and Scar, and more all-or-nothing dogfights with the genocidal toasters.
I'll be watching season 4 whatever happens, it's still a good show. But I do think it has been missing its potential lately - hopefully it will improve next season.
In a way, it makes sense... (Score:5, Insightful)
This happens in a lot of shows, where the big point plot that always seems like a distant thing finally arrives. And once it does, there isn't much left to talk about. It becomes an entirely different show, with a different focus, and viewship will decline.
Look at some fine examples from TV's past.
Twin Peaks was a brilliant and weird show, that had a whole bunch of people talking. I still remember going to "Twin Peaks viewing parties" at friends houses, where we would all watch the episode together, and then start to dissect it over coffee and pie. (Those of you that remember the show will remember the line "damn fine pie".) But, once we knew who the killer was, there was nothing left to tell. They tried a second season, and it was a colossal flop. We all got what we wanted.
Moonlighting was another example. Once "Dave" and "Mattie" became romantically involved, instead of dancing around the subject, nobody really cared anymore. The show went into the toilet, ratings wise.
If BSG closes up shop after they find Earth and get things settled in, there is a good chance that most viewers will never say "Damn, BSG jumped the shark".
It is the reason 24 keeps on working. Every year, it reaches its ending, and the next year's season is a totally new (sorta) scenario for Jack Bauer to fix.
Personally, I like the TV show "Heroes", but I worry that it is headed for a Twin Peaks type ending. Once they save New York City, where will they go that will keep our attention? If we all end up feeling satisfied with that ending, then nobody will want to watch season 2.
Re:This really....sucks. (Score:5, Insightful)
Look, I think BSG is the best show on television right now (as much as it's on at all right now, rasm frasm nine month hiatus). But despite the fact that the show has occasionally floundered a bit, I've generally had the feeling that the show is actually going somewhere, that Ron Moore et. al. are actually interested in telling a story. One that has... what's it called? Oh right! An end.
Contrast this with Lost, which I started off watching avidly, but now... well, the four phases of Lost watching:
1. This show is great! I wonder what they'll do next?!?
2. Huh? That didn't make sense.
3. You guys are making it up as you go along, aren't you?
4. God, I hope you guys are making it up, because God help you if you planned it this way.
And Lost just got extended another three seasons.
Re:You could see this coming (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This really....sucks. (Score:5, Insightful)
I have no interest in BSG running 10 seasons. You will likely be unable to keep the entire cast together and let's face it, this cast is solid. You will run out of plot ideas to look at and have to make up the next enemy (Gaould, replicators, Orai) and it just gets silly to me. I used to love Stargate but I lost interest simply because I didn't have time to keep track of everything going on (new development x or superevil badguy y and spinoff z) and some of it just got ridiculous to me.
This is the story that they want to tell and thus far, I have yet to be disappointed. Some episodes aren't as interesting. Some twists were ridiculous. But the story is still there and I believe it will end well.
Re:This really....sucks. (Score:5, Insightful)
scheduling killed BSG (Score:3, Insightful)
The story arcs got so complex, too, that it became increasingly hard to join the show as a new viewer. How do you just jump in midway into season 3 and feel a connection to these characters or understand the gravity of what is going on? Unless you've been on board since the pilot episode, it just isn't accessible. For those of us that have been following, that's great, but for others it is a real turn-off.
With shows like Star Trek, you had far less depth, but the story arcs generally wrapped up within the confines of an episode. Starting with DS9 the producers went to longer story arcs, messing with Roddenberry's formula, and it chased away more casual viewers (while probably appealing more to hardcore trekkies).
As much as I love BSG, rather than see it die I'd rather see a miniseries release 3x a year or so with much more fast-paced storylines and wrapping up introduced mysteries within the confines of the miniseries.
Re:Shame no one watches it (Score:2, Insightful)
Give it a few years, or a decade or so. I think then we'll be able to watch shows that cover the larger questions about what makes a society great - fiction and non-fiction, in the way that BSG does so well. It'll take the passing of the Milton Friedman "free market" above all else - including society - attitude, to get entertainment and news that'll interest the post boomers.
Re:you can always count on the Sci-Fi channel... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Parent is not Flamebait... (Score:3, Insightful)
Like other posters, I think it would be awesome if they ended with season 4 and then put the finale out as a feature film. Kind of like Firefly and Serenity, only in this case the movie would tie the series together with a massive final battle.
Re:You could see this coming (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree. I grew up in the UK with shows that ran for only a season or a few seasons (one season a year and no repeats) - from what I understand that's changed(ing). It allowed the writers to present a good tight story in a concluding arc. Even if the show sucked there was a sense of closure and anticipation to what type of show would replace it. While I hated Enterprise, they had the sense to allow for a written conclusion rather than cliff-hanger ending, which made it a little more tolerable (what can I say, I have a need to watch most SciFi even if I hate it - I even watched Blade: The series *shudder*). The whole nature of Babylon 5 was good. You go back and watch the series again from the beginning and it just comes together so nicely (in the fourth series of course). X-files was a disaster. It started so well, but then they gave up too much plot while intending to push the show further along and ended up with a show that was a joke (the native american season was when it fell apart for me). So when I started watching BSG (and Heroes btw) I really hoped that they would conclude the series after 3 or 4 seasons. Let them find Earth, let them figure out that there are a second unknown set/race/breed of cylons (my personal theory), let it end with dignity and less filler.
Right on. (Score:5, Insightful)
Tell the story. When the story is over, it's over. Trying to tack on extra seasons is just going to make it suck.
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't mean to crap on your birthday cake here, and believe me I enjoy Battlestar and Firefly as much as the next slashdotter, but its not as if these shows are pixelated genius. I'm fairly confident that if my 8-year old cousin can hold a lengthy discussion with me about BSG that we're not really straining people's brains here.
And then just as an aside, its interesting when you imply that Reality shows are thusly "stupid." I mean we're definitely talking apples and oranges (reality tv and dramas), but I think anyone who's interested in Game Theory and sociology would definitely find some intriguing aspects in Survivor.
Re:This really....sucks. (Score:1, Insightful)
I love the show, but I hate seeing a great show waste time trying to expand a small storyline.
Firefly being killed after part of one season was lame. It was a great show that got cut short. The producers of BSG have been reaching for some time to extend a small storyline.
I personally will be happy to see it go out with a bang, instead of limping to a conclusion.
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:5, Insightful)
Watching a SF show like BSG, Firefly, Babylon 5, the new hit Heroes, or even the reviled Deep Space 9 requires a good understanding of a large backstory in order to truly appreciate it. Episodic shows like Star Trek (original or NG) is fine for dipping in and out of the make-believe, and so are easier for casual watching.
The more complex the plot arc, the more work required to make meaning as a viewer.
That's exactly why I like those shows: an audacious plot. The hook is the Big Picture. The rewards are a huge amount of nuance inside each episode.
Re:Shame no one watches it (Score:3, Insightful)
I must admit that this is one of the main reasons I stopped watching the show. Before, we'd have parties on Fridays where I'd go to watch BSG et al with someone who had cable. Now... Sunday at 10? No freakin way. It's just too much of a pain in the ass to watch. It was that, coupled with Season 3's gigantic filler fuckfest.
or even WORSE!!! (Score:4, Insightful)
and then... break out.. loosing all end game, and drag it out to suckdom forever.
Re:Parent is not Flamebait... (Score:3, Insightful)
*** SPOILER WARNING ***
Kristin Shepard shot J.R.
oh yeah and...
Fonzie survived the shark jump.
*** END SPOILER WARNING ***
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:2, Insightful)
Also, I dislike reality TV because they claim to be "real" but they are often scripted or at least contrived. As sociological tools, they are about as useful as a scripted show, and often less fun to watch. I don't know a lot about game theory, so I can't comment there.
Re:Sci-Fi not that dumb (Score:5, Insightful)
Television executives have never needed a reason to can shows before. If they don't like it, *poof* it's gone. Even if there is a massive fan outrage, it won't necessarily change the executive decisions. (Witness: Global Frequency, Firefly, Space: Above and Beyond, Sliders)
The official (and very believable) reason for the change in schedule was that SciFi wanted to stagger the shows so that they'd get massive revenues throughout the year rather than only when the Friday Night lineup was running. BSG was their strongest show, so that's the one they put up against the networks.
Seems less like maliciousness to me, and more of a case of killing the Golden Goose.
Re:In a way, it makes sense... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:3, Insightful)
Kinda like life and history, come to think of it...
Re:Right on. (Score:3, Insightful)
See Babylon 5, where they had the final season cancelled, had to finish up quickly, then got a final season after all and, bereft of ideas, sucked hard vacuum for the final season. One of the worst things to happen to a great series.
Re:Why is it that. all good things come to an end. (Score:2, Insightful)
here is one of the top of my head (Score:3, Insightful)
That being said, I don't understand why there is always a "simpsons already did it"-type chorus following any new show as if just because the concept has been done before, it cannot be done again and be good. I mean "Heroes" is just an X-Man rip-off, and not even the only one, but it is still good (anyone remember that other X-Man ripoff show a few years back? Can't remember the name of it now). Sure there are plenty of really BAD remakes and clones , but there are also plenty of really horrible original concepts too (anyone seen Monk lately? Brilliant concept, run so far into the ground is will soon pop out in China). Generally a
The premise is usually one of the least significant signs of a a good show. The most significant parts are not premises or even plot lines, it is the quality of writing. This is what makes shows like Firefly good. Who cares if they are "space cowboy" themed or not - they could be riding in a Winnebago around 1960's USA for all I care, it would still be a good show if you have good writing.
-Em