Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayworld
Yes, some of the fan fiction is quite good. One of the best I've read (appears elsewhere here on the forum) was the synthesis of two of my favorite Sci-Fi shows, Battlestar Galactica and Planet of the Apes.
From time-to-time (and perhaps a waste of time at that), I play "what if" games with Battlestar Galactica, such as:
1. What if Richard Hatch's continuation vision was green lighted? Where would we be now?
2. What if the DeSanto/Singer continuation telefilm backdoor pilot was greenlighted into a series on Fox. How would that have played out? How many seasons would it have lasted? Would our view, being Original Series aficionados, been more or less enthusiastic?
3. This one keeps me coming back for more musings: what if Battlestar had NOT been a series but instead a set of three multi-hour movies as originally conceived (Saga of a Star World, Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Pegasus Returns). Would Battlestar have continued as made-for-TV movies in a popular vein well beyond 1979 (compare the Perry Mason TV movies that did quite well for many years)? Perhaps Battlestar would have run 6, 7, 8 years by being a series of television movies, perhaps 2 a year?
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Thank you again for the kind word about the POTA crossover!
The other questions you pose are good ones and as I've found myself returning to the realm of fanfic writing again recently it's gotten me to thinking a lot about those kind of questions too.
1-I'm not sure Richard's project would have been very satisfying unless he guaranteed locking up everyone of importance for it, and that meant we had to see Dirk, Herb and especially Anne because there is something I would find personally wrong if we never saw some acknowledgment of Apollo and Sheba coming together. I have always taken it so much for granted in 25 years of writing fanfic that this happened between them that it was a shock to me when the emergence of Larson's infamous S2 memo revealed killing her off.
But in terms of broader story, I always had my doubts about Richard. His novels that he had ghostwritten were simply awful. It gave me the impression that Richard's grasp of the series wasn't as great as his reputation had us believe and that ultimately he was looking at Galactica more as a means to the end of jumpstarting his career. That hunch was proved right IMO when he was won over to GINO with a meaty role.
I think obviously if it had happened, there would have been some satisfaction to see a project but would it have been accepted as the best possible way to close the series? I really doubt that in my mind.
2-If DeSanto/Singer had happened there was hope. Although the script I remember reading so many years ago (which I don't have any longer) wasn't perfect it would have been something I would have been prepared to give a chance and wait and see.
3-I am less positive that being a series of TV movies would have been successful at that point in time. Yes, they would have been better written but 1978-79 was a point in time when the occasional "rotating" series was a dead concept in TV with shows like "Columbo", "McMillan And Wife" etc. which had ended their runs. The Mason movies were successful because they were revivals but an original series with that format I think would have tried the patience of viewers. All it would have taken was a serious ratings drop from one film to the next and the plug would have been pulled.
