Battlestar Galactica TV show

[Towelmaster]

Yeah but don't forget that TTZ had a much bigger impact on the general american audience than B5 had.
This is marketing-crap so they are trying ty reach the highest possible number of people. Which also means the lowest common denominator...

But I understand your aversion, I used to have that every time some asshole announce a new SF-book and compared it to "The greatest SF-novels of all time, Foundation, Dune"... Never heard of Phil Dick, Sturgeon, Laumer, Lafferty, Scott Card, Tiptree, Harness, Ellison, andsoonandsoon...

Ignore them and feel absolutely superior instead, is what I say...

[AaronB]

Originally posted by Towelmaster
Yeah but don't forget that TTZ had a much bigger impact on the general american audience than B5 had.
This is marketing-crap so they are trying ty reach the highest possible number of people. Which also means the lowest common denominator...

Of course, with out this marketing "crap" the show would have an abisimal rating and would be killed at the end of the season. If not sooner.

We should be happy that the campaign that they have run has been successful. Like it or not, TV bases it's decisions on ratings. Not what Science Fiction fans like ourselves like.

thebaron,
a sales and marketing guy

[colonyearth]

According to Sci-fi Wire, BG is renewed for a second season!

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=30357

Perhaps this is what I was told about it getting 9 more eps for the first season, I will now have to investigate, it might have been a miscommunication in what someone wrote; not 9 new eps for S1 but a second season alltogether.

CE

[AaronB]

Originally posted by colonyearth
According to Sci-fi Wire, BG is renewed for a second season!

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=30357

Perhaps this is what I was told about it getting 9 more eps for the first season, I will now have to investigate, it might have been a miscommunication in what someone wrote; not 9 new eps for S1 but a second season alltogether.

CE

CE does that mean that the second season will be only 9 eps or is that just what they are being asked to do upfront and the rest pending ratings?

aaron

[Dr Maturin]

I am cool with 10-15 ep seasons if it means cutting out filler episodes that so many arc shows seem to have.

[Radhil]

As the article sez, the details of S2 - including the actual count of episodes - are still being worked out.

EDIT - The article also makes mention of Moore's log on the SciFi site. Interesting reading, and it touches on a few things we've already hit on here.

[DGTWoodward]

Is it just me or.......

So BG has an overall arc has it? Good to hear it, good show it is too, FireBird and I both enjoyed it. Can't wait for season 2 when it arrives. There is just one thing....

Have you noticed that since Babylon 5 came on the air, just about every (and I do mean more or less EVERY) show introduced long term arcs into their stories, from the TREK of the time outwards. Now, now that it has been done to perfection, EVERYONE is doing it and talking about it, or talking about doing it. TOUGH LUCK SUCKERS BABYLON 5 started it. BLAKE'S 7 had a stab at it but the melange of writers damaged it very much indeed...causing huge gaps in logic and even same-season, inter-episode lack of continuity!

Nowadays, every important show has a baseline 'arc' around which all the rest of the details develop, as if this had been done all the time. People very glibbly talk about their 'arc', and how intricate and complex it is, how they'd been thinking about for so long etc.

TOUGH LUCK KIDDIES, that race has already been won...and it wasn't by you!

Writing parts of two 3rd season episodes way back in season 1, now that's intricate, that's long-term planning, that's trend-setting. Un-fragging-beatable!!!

[Radhil]

Ah, but so few shows even have time to get decent arcs off the ground, ne? Or even have the wits to make them decent.

Or, as I believe Joe said at that school discussion... Imitation is the sincerest form of television.

The arcs that are done well are still quite fun to watch nowadays. They're usually plotted year by year, which gives them a more organic feel and unpredictable nature. Of course, this also gives the chance of ruining the show completely by growing in the wrong directions (witness Alias, season 3), but it's worth it. If ever a TV show does manage to plot a multi-year story form - in advance (as opposed to the hindsight "I meant to do that" approach)- good luck to them. They'll need it. B5 did.

[Dr Maturin]

Yeah, luck indeed. I don't think imitation has anything to do with it. Any time an arc was attempted, it was usually the network that cut it short. B5 showed that outfoxing the suits can be done. Any good storyteller can plot a five-year arc and pull it off. Only a good persuader can get the suits to give them the go order.

[colonyearth]

Originally posted by thebaron
CE does that mean that the second season will be only 9 eps or is that just what they are being asked to do upfront and the rest pending ratings?

aaron

No...I'm sure it's either another 13 ep season or a full one. The 9 eps I heard about I think was someone misunderstanding something and jumping the gun on reporting it.

The reason, BTW, for the 13 ep season, is because BG costs over 2 million an ep. This means they're doing shorter seasons so they can spend more per ep. It's, IMO, a good move.

As to whether the next season will be 13 eps...I couldn't say...but it wouldn't surprise me. These shorter seasons are a new thing...started at HBO (actually the UK has been doing it for years). It is most likely a movement that will grow.

CE

[AaronB]

Originally posted by colonyearth

The reason, BTW, for the 13 ep season, is because BG costs over 2 million an ep.

Over $2 millon per ep?! Maybe Ronald Moore should talke with JMS about keeping costs down.

IMO I don't care is a season is 13 or 130 episodes. I just want a good story told and acted out well.

[Garibaldi's Hair]

These shorter seasons are a new thing...started at HBO (actually the UK has been doing it for years).

Very true - 13 episodes has been a standard TV season for many years in certain genres of UK television.

Some (comedy particularly) even go as low as 6 for a standard season. That's why there are only 12 eps of Fawlty Towers ever made - 2 seasons of 6 each. Likewise, the four Blackadder series each 6 episodes.

[DGTWoodward]

Mainly for UK fans...

While we are still on this subject, UK fans of BSG may like to check out the following link....

https://www.collectormania.com

These are not actually conventions but elongated autograph sessions. There is usually one every six months and at the last one guest signers included Richard Keil, Margot Kidder, Carrie Fisher, Billy-Dee Williams, Julie Caitlin Brown, Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, Verne Troyer, Dwight Schultz, Paul Darrow and Walter Keonig. Usually the guest will sign either a photo (which they themselves and NOT YOU supply) or a personal item which you can bring yourself. They do this for a small fee of between ú10-20 (except Carrie Fisher who deemed herself worth ú25, so I didn't get hers on principle - it was more than was stated on the web page and we had budgeted for it accordingly!). This may seem like a lot of cash but when you consider the potential price if getting them from a third pary seller, it is not so bad. Also you always run the risk of buying a fake, even with a C.O.C. - but not here! Most guests are OK with a quick photo too.

It may be of interest to fans but, whilst we were there we did not see Dirk or Richard share one word with each other! They did not even sit at the same table, even though they were the headliners of the same show. Bad planning on the part of the organisers?

We went to meet Margot Kidder and Richard Keil as Firebird and I are both also ace BOND and Superman fans (as well as B5!). Margot signed our SUPERMAN-The Movie DVD and Richard signed the fantastic 14inch JAWS figure by Sideshow collectibles. We also got our STAR WARS DVD sleeves signed by many other SW cast members including a rare autograph from Gary Kurtz (SW's producer).

All in all it was an enjoyable event, even if it did have the 'cattle-market' feel to it occasionally. Though this was actually lessened by the virtual-que, you're given a number and you can come and go whenever you please.

One down point though, while we were there waiting for the guests of take their places, we heard a familiar voice to our left. We turned, and there was BLAKE'S 7's Kerr Avon himself...Paul Darrow standing right next to us. He was waiting to be taken to where he was going to sit and sign but this was taking so long that Firebird and I talked to him for quite some time. Charming man. When he did get escorted to his seat, there was no banner photo of him to catch fan's eyes (everyone else had one though). I thought that his was rather shoddy treatment of our own homegrown talent.

This time round we have a Sideshow SPIKE figure we would like James Masters to autograph, also our LotR DVDs will get a couple of signatures on them too.

As you can see from the list, there are plenty of guests for all tastes. Some WILL CANCEL due to work commitments, but there are more than enough others to not disappoint.

Not bad really.

[Dr Maturin]

Question(s):

Does BSG have the same director every episode?

Secondly, if or if not, do they use the same style every episode, with the claustrophobic, zoomed in shots?

I actually caught an ep the other night...about the "witch hunt." Heh, there is one sci-fi clichÚ that they have touched upon. The only thing that I didn't like was the camera work.

[AaronB]

Originally posted by Z'ha'dumDweller
Question(s):

Does BSG have the same director every episode?

Secondly, if or if not, do they use the same style every episode, with the claustrophobic, zoomed in shots?

I actually caught an ep the other night...about the "witch hunt." Heh, there is one sci-fi clichÚ that they have touched upon. The only thing that I didn't like was the camera work.

They use different directors (11 for 13 eps) so I would presume that Moore has told them to use those types of shots. Personally, I like the shots because it gives me that feeling I am in the ships along with them.