Here's Why Cancelling Battlestar Galactica Was a Horrible Decision!

[ernie90125]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lwEi4a35YMg&t=8s

[Jayworld]

Actually pretty decent video. Recommended viewing.

[Eric Paddon]

An interesting view though I think he overstressed the "franchise" potential which never mattered a bit to ABC (since they didn't make money off the merchandise or anything lie that). What he left out was how ABC's decision-making was largely influenced by it's #1 status at the time and it's misguided belief it could get the same numbers on the cheap by putting "Mork And Mindy" in the timeslot which ended up having a domino effect on ABC's ratings across the board that caused it lose forever the "Still the One" status it prided itself on.

[Jayworld]

Ever so often, I have wondered what it would have been like if Battlestar had remained a series of tele-films. Instead of the one season we hold so dear, we would have had a few 2-3 hour movies, such as Saga of a Star World, The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, War of the Gods, and the Living Legend (mostly as they were or perhaps expanded). What would that have looked like to have about 3 multi-hour movies over a typical broadcasting season? Would we have had 2-3 years of Battlestar with good ratings eventually spawning a movie franchise, or would it have eventually dried up?

[Eric Paddon]

It's hard to say. One thing I will note is that by the late 70s, the age of the "occasional movie" series was on the way out. Universal and NBC had been successful with them for much of the 70s with the rotating "NBC Mystery Movie" series for the first half of the decade but those shows were finally gone in 78. Would an audience have come back to watch a new Galactica movie two-three months after the previous one? The quality of the writing I'm sure would have been better but its not a guarantee the numbers would have been sustained.

[Lighthope]

Most of the telemovies NBC put out were garbage. I have no doubt that a series of BG movies would have faired better, but you are right in that holding on to an audience over time would be problematic.

Some network tried that approach with the Brady Variety Hour. That show, along with a couple others, were rotated and couldn't hold on to an audience. (It didn't help that Brady Variety Hour was their version of Galactica 1980.)

I think we may have ended up with more episode-hours with the one season than if we had a series of telemovies.

And say what you like, Fire In Space was a fun episode. And the first hour of Greetings From Earth was some of the best science fiction out there!

[Eric Paddon]

Most of the telemovies NBC put out were garbage. I have no doubt that a series of BG movies would have faired better, but you are right in that holding on to an audience over time would be problematic.

Some network tried that approach with the Brady Variety Hour. That show, along with a couple others, were rotated and couldn't hold on to an audience. (It didn't help that Brady Variety Hour was their version of Galactica 1980.)

I think we may have ended up with more episode-hours with the one season than if we had a series of telemovies.

And say what you like, Fire In Space was a fun episode. And the first hour of Greetings From Earth was some of the best science fiction out there!


Well I hope you're not suggesting "Columbo" was "garbage." :)

Thinking back, even occasional one hour episodes had happened as recently as 1976-1977 when ABC only ran "Wonder Woman" (the World War 2 episodes) as intermittent special episodes as though they were too afraid to commit to a series.

[Lighthope]

Well I hope you're not suggesting "Columbo" was "garbage." :)

Thinking back, even occasional one hour episodes had happened as recently as 1976-1977 when ABC only ran "Wonder Woman" (the World War 2 episodes) as intermittent special episodes as though they were too afraid to commit to a series.

I have to admit that I never saw Columbo...but I was a large Quincy fan. :salute:

I don't recall the Wonder Woman series being intermittent. But then I only saw a few episodes, iirc. Been way too long and way too young.

[Eric Paddon]

I remember now that the live-action "Spiderman" series which starred Nicholas Hammond also aired as an intermittent series of one hour shows the same year Galactica was on. So I guess, yes in theory not *every* occasional Galactica episode, had they gone that route had to necessarily be a two hour episode.

"Quincy" remember was married to Siress Belloby! :)