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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA to get a Fourth Season

thetvaddict.com — SCI FI is confirming Tuesday... BSG will live on for a fourth season, 13 eps, starting jan 08

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  • theTVaddict, on 10/12/2007, -36/+2thanks for the digg
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -7/+16This story would be great, apart from the fact that Sci-Fi haven't actually confirmed this yet, so it's still a rumor, despite the misleading digg headline.
    • Netmindstorm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+97So say we all
    • ubuwalker31, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-galactica12feb12,1,7910575.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews&ctrack=1&cset=true

      You need to log in with a registered account, but its a much better story than the one linked on digg.
    • Konrad9, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Getting renewed and all is great...
      But why only 13 episodes, and PLEASE tell me we won't have to wait until next ***** January.
      The hiatus between the end of season 2 and the start of 3 was bad enough.
    • fasdfa, on 10/12/2007, -19/+3Here's a suggestion for season 4.....

      Please stop using the fracking word "frack" every 2 fracking minutes. Its really fracking annoying. Ok, we fracking get it, you have fracking circumvented the fracking sensors. Now fracking get over it.
    • bruthaman, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1@fasdfa

      I completely agree with you. It gets to be a little bit much at times. Use it for emphasis but not all the time... That's the favorite thing my non Sci-fi friends (and especially my wife) pick on/make fun of when they watch it with me.
    • billybob476, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17I don't know if anyone has ever noticed, but people in the military tend to swear a lot.
    • ArchonSG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Don't care if its only 13 episodes as long as they keep those episodes tight and good. I'd hate for BSG to become like Lost and loose not only its steam, becomes draggy and well, become lost in both story and plot.
    • ABadInAlbany, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@drlha: Only, Sci-Fi HAS confirmed it. Check the Sci-Fi site, lazy ass.
    • AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dammit, I saw this earlier and my first thought was that they like to keep us hanging. But, well, they're working on a movie between S3 and S4, and a prequel, so those had better make the wait worth it.
    • ophello, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Thank the gods.
    • BeefBaron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Did anyone see the "next time on Battlestar" on this weeks?
      *Another* oh no we've got no air episode? Sounds boring.
    • rderveloy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm just glad they didn't cancel one of their last remaining good shows in favor of another Sasquatch Mountain spin-off.

      I mean, they have to eventually run out of mythological creatures to create terrible made for TV movies? Right?... Right? ...
  • jeremydavid, on 10/12/2007, -32/+3ha ha ha thank god! I heart this show.
    • cybermort, on 10/12/2007, -8/+41umm.. don't you mean THE GODS.
    • ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Jeremydavid is a cylon, therefore its just God.

      Only the humans are polytheistic.
  • gregcotten, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2Thirteen episodes? Oh god.
    • Bara, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32This is actually a good thing. Many people complained that season 2 (and some episodes of season 3) are filler episodes that don't really move the story forward, so keeping a season to 13 episodes might end up ultimately make the show even better than it already is.
    • Bara, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yea, the movie is supposed to bridge the gap between seasons 3 and 4... which will make up for the missing 7 or so episodes.
    • spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2I think the first guy was referring to the fact that 13 is an unlucky number
    • naio21, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5ALL Sci-Fi series I know (for instance: SG-1, SGA, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT) has/had at least 20 episodes per season. Why should it be different with BSG? It seems to be due to budget and budget alone.

      Thirteen episodes is too few!
    • ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Its the way they've done it in Japan, and the rest of Asia, 13 or 26 episodes, and its worked out beautifully.
  • theTVaddict, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18better than zero episodes!
    • ExSlashdotter, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6That's not necessarily true...

      May I present, exhibit A: The Phantom Menace
  • anchorman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Here is the TV Guide link since L.A. Times requires registration.

    http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800008633
    • unixer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1All I can say is W00T!!
    • DiggasWAttitude, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3I think a quote from Cylons of the Lambs would be most appropriate: 'Would you frak me? I'd frak me. I'd frak me hard.'
    • SJS111567, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@DiggasWAttitude

      And the award for "funniest post ever" goes to.....DiggasWAttitude
  • greatromance, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12w00t! I like the idea of only 13 eps for the 4th season. The filler episodes this season portray it as more of a "drama in space" than what season 1 and 2 were like. Still much love and can't wait for season 4!
    • dasutin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32I say the 4th season is that, they find earth, they uncover a very old civilization, when uncovering the civilization, they find out that Google is responsible for the Cylons.
    • kRabbit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I didn't realize the Cylons' AI was based off AdSense.
  • tinker123, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6I hope when the show ends, that it just doesn't stop, that they let the writers bring the story to a conclusion.

    My favorite idea for an ending:

    The galactica finds a technologically advanced Earth. After an episode or two of comparing historical and religous notes Earth helps the colonials kick some cylon ass, letting them return home.
    • syntakk, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2I'm pretty sure they already stated that they won't find earth.
    • leontes, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9I'd prefer, they find earth, but it just the reminants of a long ago lost civilication on a desolate, desrerted planet.

      Within the archelogy they discover that their civization another form of artificial life created by the first humans, who used to live on earth. Much like the cylons destroyed them, these reminants also were sent into the universe in exile.
    • Goner, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4They found earth in th original series...
    • FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -2/+44"They found earth in th original series... "

      Do not speak of "Galactica 1980"
    • sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9@LEONTES
      I agree. that would be cool if the whole BSG universe is a few thousand years in our own future.
    • anti_hax0r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15The final episode will spinoff a new series Galactica 2010, where Starbuck and Apollo's replacements will be stealthily driving around Los Angeles in flying motorcycles.

      Too late, Freep beat me to it.
    • ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Actually the BSG universe takes place a thousands of years in our past... or so some say in the Sci-Fi forums.
    • sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@ShrimpCrackers
      That wouldn't make sense to me. We would just blow off or forget all our advanced technology? For some reason, there is this class of sci-fi geek that likes to believe we were once a great space-faring race. I think the opposite it true.
    • carpeclunes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4They should come to Earth during WWII and help us beat the Nazis.

      Ok, maybe not.
    • tinker123, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm guessing that with the whole born again cylon thing and hybrid babies that at least the cylons will find Earth during the time of the last days of the Roman Empire with its pantheon of gods. The monotheist cylon/human hybrids will bump out the pagan Romans and start the whole Christian movement.
    • MattInChicago, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I want to see them meet up with the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D/E and with the Federation kick some serious Cylon @ss. But hey, I wanted the Enterprise to stumble upon the Death Star too so take it for what it's worth.
  • MarkHawk, on 10/12/2007, -22/+5Rather it would of been FireFly
    • Viremia, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4Kinda hard to have a 4th season, when Firefly was killed off before even finishing its 1st

      And the thing that bothers me most about the announcement is the January start date. It keeps getting pushed back almost every year. I can't wait that long.
    • Crispin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23It's would HAVE, ok? would HAVE.

      Is it so hard for people to sound out the words they learned in first grade? And how do you get "would've" from "would of"?

      There's room for both BSG and Firefly... if only Firefly had been on a network that believed in the sci-fi genre.
    • kurttrail, on 10/12/2007, -13/+0@Crispin

      You grammar/spelling-nazis kill me. (By making me laugh at you)

      This is the internet, not a classroom. If ya gots a problem wid da way people write, STOP READING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE WRITE!

      Or are you just lacking enough self--control to limit your own actions, so you must try to get other people to change the way they are to suit you?
    • Crispin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@kurttrail

      By all means keep writin wit yo bad self and being ignorant of the things *everyone* had an opportunity to learn in english class, but don't expect to be taken seriously when you do.
    • skankyBacon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@ kurttrail

      How about instead of getting offended, take the correction to heart and LEARN from it? Then you'll sound a million times smarter and won't have any "grammar nazis" bothering you to boot.
  • meadtower, on 10/12/2007, -24/+1hmm .. 4th season, havn't seen a single episode (other than channel surfing through and doing the randon spock hand sign to my wife while she rolls her eyes).
    • threepio, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13I love ignorance in action. The series is set in space but please don't make the mistake of thinking it's science fiction. It's political drama with some great action sequences. Enjoy your "Spock handsigns" - I'm going to go back to watching what quality television there is available.
  • mwilke, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Boomshakalaka....thats right...i went there.
  • squatex, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6Thats fracking awsome.
  • nathanielfisher, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3frackin' A! though a bummer of course with the short season. I only watch this, Office, Earl, on a weekly basis.
  • Spetz, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Nice. Best show on TV atm.
  • jull1234, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18eeh, hopefully they're 13 excellent episodes. This show has been kinda turning me off recently. Needs an infusion of battle and action.
    • Goner, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Yeah.. guess it's cheaper to film a lot of soul-searching emotional dialog than it is to do space battle scenes... Too bad advertisers are shying away because the whole audience for BSG uses Tivo and doesn't watch the commercials...
    • mrgreen4242, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3"Too bad advertisers are shying away because the whole audience for BSG uses Tivo and doesn't watch the commercials..."

      That's why a show like this is the perfect candidate for a direct to iTunes exclusive release. Jan '08 -April '08 the episodes are released on iTMS weekly for $2 ea, $20 or so for a season pass. Run the series on TV around September/October, and then DVD release right around Christmas. TiVo using nerds like me will cough up $20 for commercial free "early" downloads. TV release will still get advertising dollars, and if they do it on Universal HD they'll get people who bought it already to watch still, just for the HD goodness. Good bonus features will move DVD sets, as always.

      Getting just one success with a model like this could save so much niche market material, like BSG.
    • Protonz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I won't buy BSG on iTunes because the DRM won't let me play it on my MediaPortal DVR. I watch it live & record it anyway, gotta get my fix as soon as possible. Commercials are a small price to pay to be free of DRM. If I miss it for some reason (dvr crash), torrents are the next practical route.

      I would definitely be willing to give money to this show through an iTunes like store, but not so long as they are treating me like a criminal.
    • quotemstr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Tip jar!

      I admit: I download and watch BSG on my computer. It's some of the best stuff available on television, but I'm usually busy when it's on live.

      Yet I still want to support the show. If Scifi were to set up some kind of online tip-jar system, I'd certainly chip in a few dollars, and quite a few other people would too.
  • cybermort, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6jan 8 i guess it will be back on Fridays, good move sci-fi good move
  • SteelChicken, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6too much filler.
    a good show, but I find myself fast forwarding through many of the episodes.
    • kbarrett, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2I hate to admit it, but I get bored with all of the Edward J. Almos 'speachy/preachy' scenes. I want to see more vipor pilot fighting and more Starbuck angst.

      And the Baltar 3some thing was lame.
  • insomniacal, on 10/12/2007, -28/+75That's too bad -- I loved BSG in the beginning, but it's been going downhill recently. The writers are breaking all kinds of storytelling common sense (SPOILERS BELOW):

    1. Actions must have consequences. But Helo, the officer in love with cylon Sharon, never faces consequences for his. In his new career of defending cylons he has 1) murdered another officer, 2) thwarted a biological attack that would have saved humanity from the cylon threat forever, and 3) sent Sharon into cylon hands to retrieve their child, even though she could have been tortured for her intelligence. Upon each incident Admiral Adama has not only shrugged, but actively shielded him from repercussions (in one case provoking a civil war to do so). Worse, for a person whose sole will continually keeps humanity at risk, Helo’s one of the flattest characters on the show — no backstory, no character flaws.

    2. Keep the plot fresh. Yet Galactica repeats itself: humans land on Planet X, cylons arrive, humans are trapped. Not only has this cycle recurred three times in only two and a half seasons, each time it has been used as a cliffhanger either between seasons, or during a mid-season siesta: “Wait and see how they get off the planet this time!”

    3. Don’t preach. Originally, cylons operated in smooth accord; now every episode shows them bickering, fighting, even killing each other. Get it? They’re just like us, get it? Get it? Sorry, but I’m not interested in a perpetual “Cylons Are People Too” sermon (along with the strict materialistic philosophy it implies), especially as it’s a departure from the show’s original thrust, as well as the very threat that made cylons so fearsome in the first place.

    4. Be consistent with your own character development. “Cylon psychology is based on projection.” So says Caprica Six to Baltar, fueling suspense over whether he himself is a cylon. Yet in no other episode do cylons mention or even exhibit projection as an aspect of their psychology. This is worse than oversight, since the show now delves full-tilt into cylon culture and religion. “Projection” was just a throw-away line to make Baltar suspect himself; cylon psychology isn’t “based” on it at all.

    5. Don’t congratulate yourself on what a great story you’re telling. First we met four known cylons; gradually others were revealed, giving us seven. From the initial mini-series we know there are twelve models in all, a suspense point keeping viewers wondering who else might be a sleeper cylon – but the writers have dragged out this tease in a long dry spell with zero reveals. Now we learn the final five are, in fact, “the Final Five” – a mysterious set of models unknown even to cylons themselves, so holy that prying into their identity is sacrosanct. This late concept is an arbitrary tack-on, added so the writers could imprison Baltar on a base star without revealing the final secret cylons — it could just as easily have been the final four, or six, or whatever other number the writers had happened to reveal up until they decided to repackage the remainder as a grand lump mystery. Worse, it functions as a self-congratulatory move: writers celebrating with religious enthusiasm the build-up of their own suspense questions.

    6. Don’t abuse suspension of disbelief. Humans and cylons skeedaddle away from Planet X when the local star goes supernova. Coincidence? Unacceptably so — even though the writers embrace it as deliberate theme development through a quick line of dialogue: “I can’t get my head around these odds. That human and cylon both converge on this planet at this exact moment, just as the star is going supernova.” The implication is that either humanity’s gods or the cylons’ God has orchestrated this moment (both, really, since the writers will eventually reveal them to be the same). But I don’t care about a show that invents deities who actually move the plot. It’s enough that humans believe in gods and that cylons believe in a God, that each race is motivated by religious belief and finds signs along the way seeming to confirm it. Fine. The movie Troy walked this line expertly, hinting at gods while allowing humans to work out their own destinies. But writers renege on viewers’ suspension of disbelief when they create gods who steer the plot directly. Certainly the supernova’s timing can be explained in no other way – unless it’s truly meant to be coincidence, in which case I must recite one of my school system’s standards for reading materials: plots must be “well-constructed with logical development and a minimum of coincidence.”

    7. Too much of a good thing is too much. Starbuck’s a wonderfully dimensional character, both macho and frail, religious and irreverent. Now the writers hint that she’s even more – a cylon perhaps, or a prophetess, or even a god. But any more mileage out of this rough-n-ready fighter pilot will stretch her beyond her already exaggerated status. Simultaneously a drunkard hotshot, sultry sex diva, spiritual devotee and military strategist, Starbuck is now, as a cylon has told her and as events have confirmed, “destined” – for what? Overuse, eclipsing both other characters and believability. The fact that she's about to disappear is a good thing.

    8. Story should drive the plot, not budget. Seven cylons – yet we regularly see just five. President Roslyn’s aides – one killed for no good reason in a tangential episode, the other frequently absent. Someone’s skimping on the casting, writing episodes not only with the fewest possible characters (a smart budgeting decision), but with too few, leaving out those previously established by the series. Plot should not be dictated by casting decisions. If actors aren’t available for filming, either pay them more to convince them to be available, or replace them with other actors who will be. Consistent faces aren’t as important as a consistent storyline. When four cylons yell at a fifth that they’re all in agreement against her, viewers can’t help but wonder why, sans explanation, two aren’t there.
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -24/+51Digg isn't your blog you know.
    • quantumHobbit, on 10/12/2007, -8/+33Helo isn't one dimensional. He's just simply the only character without a drinking problem or major psychological defect or other moral dilemmas. The show needs at least one boy-scout on a ship full of flawed characters at least as a character foil.
    • FearlessFreep, on 10/12/2007, -11/+5BG suffers from the fact that it basically just borrows cliches from other drama shows and puts it in space. The problem is that the people doing it are just aping the cliche in hopes that it works, without realizing or bothering to understand why it's a cliche in the first place so they can move beyond the cliche and stretch it into something unique and useful.
    • naio21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20"if actors aren’t available for filming, either pay them more to convince them to be available, or replace them with other actors who will be".

      That's what happened to Billy, first Roslin aide.

      But I agree with the most part of your... er... blog.
    • insomniacal, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Fair enough, drlha -- I thumbed you up for a well-deserved correction. I was hoping to encourage others to keep their BS sniffers on when watching. Sure, it's only sci fi, but there's definitely a difference between strong stories and weak ones -- and that difference is usually an air of authenticity, which made BSG so incredibly awesome in the original miniseries and the first season, but which BSG's writers have been sacrificing recently in the name of ... well, suspense, I suppose.

      Anyway, you're right that digg's not my blog, but at least it's a platform where everyone can offer ideas and have them thumbed down. Thanks for challenging mine.
    • hsoj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10The supernova coincided with the prophecy... Remember it wasn't until the supernova that things started happening in the temple. The fact that the supernova was even happening in the first place was because the chosen one was about to enter the temple.

      I agree that there have been a lot of "filler" episodes this season, and that really does blow. I think producers and writers should blow the doors off walls every week. It's rare to find that on even the biggest budget shows, however, especially in a third season. It is common, though, for shows to get stuck in ruts from time to time, but that's often followed by a creative surge. I think a movie/mini-series and a short season may be exactly what the doctor ordered to pump up this show.
    • mikepictor, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7While I don't agree with most of this, I did find it very well thought out. Dugg out of respect for a well detailed opinion.
    • sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8@DRLHA
      I would assume (based on his id) that he was up all night writing that.
    • johnbr, on 10/12/2007, -9/+7@insomniacal

      Yeah it has flaws. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Battlestar Galactica is the worst show on television, except for all the others.

      Having said that, I would say that your diatribe is typical of people who spend significant mental energy finding reasons to dislike something so they can feel all superior and pretentious. Without, you know, actually having to produce anything on the scale of a TV show yourself.

      But hey, you got to feel smug and self-satisfied, so it's probably worked out well for you.
    • insomniacal, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Speaking of blowing off walls, hsoj ... what the writers really need to do is monkey with the survivor count. It's been hovering around 40,000 since the original cylon invasion. Wanna really up the stakes? Cut it in half. Major cylon invasion with nukes that catches Galactica off guard and wipes out half the fleet, as well as at least one major necessity (fuel or food processing). Put humanity REALLY on the edge, in a position where it looks like they really won't survive -- then tell the story from there. A survivor figure that hovers perpetually in the 40,000s can only lull the audience with a sense of complacency.
    • insomniacal, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4@johnbr:

      Ahh, yes, the old "They're more successful than you so what do you know, shut up!" argument. Checkmate, dude! I'll just stop thinking right now!

      May I suggest a bit of reading for you: http://digg.com/political_opinion/On_the_Dumbing_Down_of_the_American_Mind#c5219020
    • zadadka, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Cynically finding fault?
      Pffft! A four year old can do that.

      At least write constructively, not destructively.
    • fasdfa, on 10/12/2007, -8/+59. Please stop using the fracking word "frack" every 2 fracking minutes. Its really fracking annoying. Ok, we fracking get it, you have fracking circumvented the fracking sensors. Now fracking get over it.
    • gjscds, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2@bigdc (and other geeks)

      How to regain your life:

      1. Put the remote control down. Pick up a brick. Insert brick into TV. Stop watching your gay shows. They do not serve you in life. And since you are trying to gain a life, these shows are no good to you.
      2. Put the lotion down. Masturbation is not a female substitute. You have to stop incessantly watching gay tv shows and masturbating to meet one.
      3. Go outside. I know the sun is bright, but your pasty white skin needs some coloration; decent completion and muscle tone will make talking to women easier.
      4. Talk to other people. No--on the computer doesn't count. No--talking to other boy nerds doesn't count either. Unless you want to have sex with them and start a family with them. Then, I guess it would count.
      5. If you ever get to talk to (women), do not bring up gay shows like this. Nor your other geek hobbies. You keep those on the inside. At least until they’re on the hook. No--you will not find a girl that likes Star Trek or BSG as much as you. Such a girl is a myth, or a statistical outlier.

      I hope this helps at least one geek.
    • aboyd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Wow. It seems strange to me to see you all dogging insomniacal for his/her diatribe. I recently stopped watching Battlestar Galactica (I stopped at season 3, episode 10). And to be honest, I stopped for the very reasons that insomniacal provides. I think there is truth there, and I don't think he/she is being indulgent or too critical. BSG is indeed suffering from a dwindling viewership, and that's because people are finding real issues with the writing. Something needs to be fixed, or it'll find itself off the air soon. I am starving for good sci-fi, so if there is ANY way to figure out what's wrong and how to improve, I'm 100% for it. We need more good sci-fi. Letting it atrophe isn't going to get us there.
    • skankyBacon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ gjscds

      So in other words, don't be yourself, discard any interests you may have in favor of those that are deemed "cool," and don't be enthusiastic about anything except finding a way to get laid?

      Some of us are secure enough that we don't feel the need to sacrifice our individuality in the pursuit to be "cool." Maybe you should try it.
    • Vorsuc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm with insomniacal and aboyd.

      The only thing not mentioned, is the constant 'holding pattern' the characters seem to be in. The Apollo/Starbuck thing was old before it even began. Yet time and time again they wave a conclusion to the matter under our noses, only to have both characters go right back at it in the next episode.

      Nearly all the main cast have had interesting 'moments' of character development but yet they go right back to where they started.

      If you want to write for characters that never change, go work on the Simpsons.

      I'm still smarting for the horrific treatment Kat's character got, turning her one-time stim addiction from 'Civilian struggling to cope with the intense and demanding pressure of war' into 'Drug addict past who then compounds her past by lying and doing wrongs to protect her identity'.

      Oddly the show's writers are the only people not to be aware that this has been done to death in pretty much every TV soap and drama ever created.

      They should get back to what makes BSG so good, a dark and bleak show about war, hope and the pressures of exile.

      Here's hoping the new 13 return to the quality of Season one.
  • BigSlacker, on 10/12/2007, -16/+5Haven't watched it since that lame-ass occupation shark jump. Any better since then?
    • SteelChicken, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4a little bit, just alot of filler episodes.
    • sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22Lame-Ass occupation? The episode where they were rescued was the best Sci-Fi i've seen on TV or the movies in a long time. I got chills when the Galactica appeared over the camp, flaming and falling while launching vipers. I've still got that tivo'd and watch it every couple of weeks.
    • tlebrun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1

      Yeah, I LOVED that episode. For all you people who get HDnet this episode will be on this Saturday at 9:00PM
  • ravenpen, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6“…that it has renewed the critically acclaimed (yet little watched) series for a fourth season.”

    Little watched?

    Isn’t BSG the highest rated show on the SciFi channel?

    I don’t know where that puts it in the overall ratings game, but it certainly seems to have been a winner for the station.
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Sadly, its not the highest rated show on Sci-Fi. It might be the highest rated showing right now, but its current ratings are easily beaten by the ratings that Eureka got over the summer.
    • ilyag, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Isn’t BSG the highest rated show on the SciFi channel?"

      It almost was during the first season, and then a little bit at the start of the second season. The ratings have been steadily declining ever sense. However, even at its prime, the ratings for Stargate SG1 were higher.

      Dresden Files is probably also higher-rated, since it's more mainstream.

      BSG is Sci-Fi Channel's prestige show. It's the show that gives them credibility and critical acclaim.
    • DuckFOO, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Something you have to remember is that they really don't know how many people watch BSG. The ratings people take a small sample of viewership and try to extrapolate how many people are watching something mathematically. In the end, they really don't know.
    • ilyag, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3DuckFOO:

      Statistics are an accurate way to measure data. The Nielsen ratings are very accurate, I assure you.
    • DuckFOO, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They are not accurate, although there is probably not a better way to account for ratings.

      I was a monitored Nelson family. From what they said, they only monitored something like 100 to 200 families in my area to get their ratings information. Nelson, in reality, can't really say what all the other homes were watching besides the ones they were monitoring (they can assume that like groups of people watch similar things, but in the end they really don't know).

      It was interesting to watch them set everything up. The put monitoring devices in our VCRs and Televisions, which connected to a device that would dial out every evening to upload our viewing information to them. I think they paid us around $25 per year to monitor us.
  • quantumHobbit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Woohoo! Though I do hope Ronald Moore is going somewhere with the show and not just stringing it along as long as ratings would allow. BSG is one of the few Science Fiction shows to have a long-term plot like Babylon 5,which was created with the whole 5 season story arc in place. I don't know if Moore is that far plotting but if I recall from interviews correctly he hated Star Treks static story progression from season to season. I don't think they can keep it going for 6 or more seasons without finding Earth and still have a believable plot.
    Also thank God BSG is on SciFi and not a major network like Firefly was or else low ratings would be its death.
    • PDelahanty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Also thank God BSG is on SciFi and not a major network like Firefly was or else low ratings would be its death."

      Farscape and SG-1 fans will not be fooled. Sci-Fi will kill a show just for the sake of killing a show. Ratings be damned. ...or they'll kill a show because they turn it into complete crap (like Sliders became). ...or they'll just run it into the ground (like MST3K).
  • Redemption289, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Was great before it turned into a Sci-Fi soap opera now its just kind of ... eh.
    • Nitescape, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4That my WHOLE problem with the show is the filler soap opera stuff.
      Oh well.
    • ShadySpace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You realize that BSG IS a character-driven drama? If you find it to be "lacking of action" or things don't explode enough, you're watching the wrong show.
  • thegreenone, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Best show on TV. Even the filler episodes are pretty good.
    • SteelChicken, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18not really. the last ones plot was obvious in the first 5 minutes.
  • BevansDesign, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1The fact that it's "only" 13 episodes isn't a big deal. Right now they have 20 eps per season, but they take a break halfway through for a few months, complete with cliffhanger episode. And then they publish the DVDs as "Season 1.5, 2, 2.5" and so on. In my eyes, we're in the middle of Season 6 already.

    They're basically just changing the way they number things, and giving us 3 more episodes per season.
  • deepdish, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I don't post to often, but I love BSG and I hate BSG. I will keep watching it and I look forward to every episode. Sometimes I swear it is the best tv series, other times I am bored to tears. The occupation did feel like a "jump the shark" moment. And there are too many filler episodes. Add some nudity for the filler episodes and I will forgive them. And I do hope they find Earth someday and create a good ending to the series.
  • TherealObadiah, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I am not a big TV watcher by any stretch. I don't have time and I don't waste my time watching 99% of the dreck that passes for entertainment today. I have watched the Sopranos and thought that it was entertaining. In my opinion, Battlestar Galactica is a far, far better program. Battlestar Galactica is so polished and so tightly produced, and so well acted, that it amazes even me, a hardcore TV cynic. (Of course Baltar is the Cylon.)
  • kurzweil4, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I am disappointed that the show will not be back until Jan. 08. This is my favorite show even though the love episode about Apollo going back to Dee was not that good and did not contribute to the overall story.

    The first seasons were an on-going cliffhanger. It was great. I hope they get back to this.
  • asubigsaxy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1woot
  • bigdc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Stupid registration LA Times. Here:

    For a while, things looked iffy for "Battlestar Galactica." After the Sci Fi Channel last month moved the third-season drama about a human resistance movement against an occupying race of robots from Friday nights to Sunday nights in an attempt to goose ratings, viewership remained stagnant.

    The network has ruled, however, that the show won't live by numbers alone: The Sci Fi Channel is expected to announce Tuesday that it has renewed the series for a fourth season. At least 13 new episodes will be produced this summer for a premiere next January.

    The show's audience has always been modest, especially when compared with those for basic cable's "The Closer" and "Nip/Tuck," which typically reach double or triple the audience of "Battlestar Galactica." Since moving to 10 p.m. Sundays, the science-fiction show's episodes have averaged 1.7 million viewers overall and 1.1 viewers ages 18 to 49, the key demographic targeted by advertisers.

    But "Battlestar Galactica" stands as one of the most critically acclaimed series on television. It also won the prestigious Peabody Award and was counted among the American Film Institute's top 10 outstanding TV programs two years in a row. Critics often describe the show in lofty terms, referring to it as a multilayered allegory for a post-9/11 world that raises questions about the ethics and politics of war.

    The Sci Fi Channel cites the series' strong buzz and critical praise — a halo effect that can't be quantified in ratings points or ad dollars — as the reason for its renewal.

    " 'Battlestar' is a cachet show. It gives us a lot of credibility with the creative community," said Mark Stern, head of programming for the cable network. "It's the kind of series we want to continue producing in the future."

    Once known for its "Star Trek"-style space operas and Saturday night B movies, Sci Fi now boasts projects in development from George Clooney, Darren Star ("Sex and the City") and Mark Burnett ("The Apprentice"), in addition to a second miniseries for the channel from Steven Spielberg, who was the executive producer of "Taken" in 2002.

    Stern also pointed out that 510,000 additional viewers in the 18-to-49 demographic are watching the show on digital video recorders. They bring the total demographic average closer to 1.6 million, the show's highest numbers since Season 1.

    Advertisers, however, do not yet pay for the playback ratings because the general assumption is that viewers watching recorded programs fast-forward through the commercials. It could be a crucial point for the channel, and Stern is hopeful that the business model is shifting.

    "Who knows? This upfront season you might find that we can monetize that DVR usage," he said. "The important thing is when you add in the DVR numbers, the audience is there."

    Bringing back moderately rated, critically hailed series has largely been the privilege of subscription-based networks such as HBO and Showtime, which don't make money from advertisers.

    The Sci Fi Channel acknowledged that "Battlestar Galactica" is the network's most expensive original series, but costs are also offset by strong DVD sales (more than 1 million discs of the show have been sold).

    Either way, executives and producers say they are comfortable with where the ratings have settled.

    "The show is always going to be limited [in appeal] by its title," said executive producer David Eick. "We just tell the best stories we can and hope that it will convince some people it's not a show just for 'Star Trek' fans." Ronald D. Moore, the executive producer who developed the remake of the 1978 series, and Eick are busy working on outside projects (Moore is writing a remake of the sci-fi thriller "The Thing" for Universal Pictures, while Eick is producing the NBC series pilot for "The Bionic Woman"), which gave some fans pause for concern.

    Moore said with a laugh: "I don't think we ever doubted doing another season. I design my season-ending cliffhangers with the hubris that we'll be back."

    Moore and Eick recently confirmed rampant online speculation that by the end of the season, one of the main characters would be revealed as a Cylon, the robotic race set on wiping out its human counterparts.

    Moore said that he had a general idea of where the story would go in the fourth season but hadn't committed anything to paper. He and Eick went to Las Vegas over the weekend to get started.

    "We'll hash it out over blackjack and Jack Daniels," Eick said. "We came up with the second season cliffhanger over a Johnny Walker Blue." The season finale airs March 25.
    • DuckFOO, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"but costs are also offset by strong DVD sales"

      Not to mention iTunes sales.
  • sabotank, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/news/

    it's officially on the sci-fi website
  • zipr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1According to scifi.com:
    Feb. 13, 2007
    SCI FI has renewed Battlestar Galactica for a fourth season, commissioning a minimum of 13 more episodes of "the best show on television." Production will resume this summer with an eye toward a January 2008 season premiere.

    So it's at LEAST 13 new episodes.
    • xelloss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So long though :( Wish it was Fall where it resumes.
    • joemc72, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Best birthday present ever. :)
    • MediaShipper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There will be a movie between season 3 and season 4. That's why it will start in January.
  • btgoss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+213 episodes are fine, as long as they are focused on the main story arc, and not like this past weeks "filler" story. While it was interesting, it didn't move the plot forward, and that is what I want from this show. I want Galactica to remain a serial at heart, so 13 nice tightly scripted episodes, that don't stray from the main arc would be great. The BBC does this with there shows; Doctor Who, Torchwood, Life on Mars, etc. and it works very well.
  • zadadka, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1@bigdc
    The link would have sufficed, thanks.
  • benenglish, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0Could somebody explain the Cylon model-numbering scheme to me? There are supposed to be 12 models of Cylons, right? So let's count 'em up.

    First, the mechanical ones - the tin cans (the original troopers), the raiders, and the centurions. That's three.

    But if we still have tin cans, then we should still have the other Cylon models from the original show, too. There's the sycophantic, scheming model with glittery robes for a body and an oversized flashbulb for a head. And there's the leader model who sat up on his high chair in the base star. We never really got a good look at him and he sorta looked half-biological instead of mechanical. Does that mean he doesn't count or that he was the more advanced precursor to the current, human looking cylons?

    Next up are the models that we see very little of: the heavy raider (shown in just a few battle scenes) and the chick in the slime on the base stars.

    Now we're up to 7.

    Next are the walking-around models - hot Asian chick, hot blonde chick, hot warrior princess chick, crusty preacher, generic black guy, and generic white guy.

    By my count, we're already up to 13. And there are going to be five more? Yes, I saw the episode where hot blonde chick tells Baltar that there are 12. What I can't figure out is: Was she lying? Can't count? Or what?
    • Hypermarkalan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There are 12 models of the humanoid Cylons. I don't think they've ever said how many total Cylon models there are.
    • TherealObadiah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Some Cylon skin jobs are unknown to even other Cylons. So, we have never seen all of them, and apparently it is forbidden for Cylons to even talk about them openly according to one episode.
    • BevansDesign, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's 12 human-form models. The bots & ships don't count. Nor do the goofy ones from the old show.
      http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Cylon_Models
    • aboyd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There are 12 models that look human and could infiltrate the Battlestar. That was the context of the information when it was given. Adama didn't need to know that there 10 different metallic models, as he could easily identify them.
  • reboare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I love this show. Best sci-fi on tv right now. Best TV period.
    • JesusIsSatan, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears - best music today. Emough said. Poor kids today.
  • xelloss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Frak YA!
  • JesusIsSatan, on 10/12/2007, -10/+0I...HATE...THIS...SHOW.

    They do not wear ties much less Armani suits in galaxies far, far away. I saw the tie in the pilot and started laughing. They also have the same aircraft insignia on the tail with the "N7####" What a joke. Then they gave Starbuck a *****. Then they made the show into a romance. Haven't they learned from George Lucas that you can throw millions into special effects, but story and dialogue still make the movie/show?
    • mikepictor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1good thing this show has more story and quality writing than any other sci fi series to hit the air.
  • JesusIsSatan, on 10/12/2007, -10/+0I...HATE...THIS...SHOW.

    They do not wear ties much less Armani suits in galaxies far, far away. I saw the tie in the pilot and started laughing. They also have the same American aircraft insignia on the tail with the "N7####" What a joke. Then they gave Starbuck a *****. Then they made the show into a romance. Haven't they learned from George Lucas that you can throw millions into special effects, but story and dialogue still make the movie/show?
  • NovaPrime9, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The 12 only refers to the skinjobs. The Raiders, Basestars, Hybrids (the model that more or less IS the basestar), and the Centurions do not figure into this number. The note that told us "There are 12 models of Cylons" was only referring to the ones that may hide among the colonists.
  • Digg413, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I LOVE this show! I think all the episodes are great, though indeed, some do not move the story forward as well as others. But that's okay. Season 4, Season 5 - whatever; as long as the story gets told to completion, I'll be happy. All good things must come to an end. But I'll admit, I hope this show stays on for a very long time. It's fantastic!
  • k1down, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0Its good to see I am apparently not the only one to hate this show.
    Is this really supposed to replace Stargate?
    I have honestly only made it past the intro song once. Whoever picked that music, and the first intro song to enterprise should be stripped of all nerd clearance.
    • mikepictor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1to each their own, BSG is actually the only show that I watch the intro on, I fast forward the intro on every other show.
  • omnithought, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4As long as I get to look at Grace Park each episode, I can't complain.
  • bitrott, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4One man's filler is another man's character development. One of the things this show does so well is balance 'action' and 'characters'. Seems to me a lot of you are easily bored whenever there's no vipers on the screen. There are rarely subplots that are toss away. I've never seen a show that keeps you begging for the next episode like this one does. Every EVERY episode drives the plot forward... or are you gaguing that by how close they're getting to earth?
    • caketank, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Let's be honest, sometimes filler is just filler. Remember the black market ship? That was a completely worthless episode. They're hitting the relationship stuff a little bit harder than they probably need to, as well, and running the risk of devolving into a soap opera. I don't ask that the main story arc be moved forward every episode-- I'm in no hurry-- but I want my non-arc episodes to be decent (like this past week's episode).
  • TheToecutter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hope they pick things up a bit. They have a whole galaxy to play in and we're continually stuck on a ship full of pissed off and depressing people. Mix it up more please.
    • billybob476, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In one of the podcasts Ron Moore mentioned they were trying to recover some costs as the whole New Caprica storyline was outrageously expensive to produce. Hence being stuck on the ship.
  • Dunmander, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1First of all, who is actually surprised that the show got signed for a fourth season? Regardless of the filler crap, it is still the best sci fi show on tv right now...hands down.

    Also, don't forget that there is a spin off in the works(Caprica), so that may cut into production resources for BSG. Also, all the "filler crap" is understandable. They clearly got signed on for a long third season based on the skyrocketing popularity of the show. Then having to produce 20 something episodes, they probably spent most of their money on the beginning, the midseason hiatus action, and most likely, a crazy shocking cliffhanger. Then they had five or so episodes to produce with no money, so they decided to make them "character oriented".

    And for everyone whining about how the show isn't accessible, come on. There was the whole "The Story So Far" episode that recapped everything up until season 3. Granted, there are some details missing, but at least no one will be lost. Also, just download the entire series. It is easily one of the most searched for shows on torrent sites.

    And jesusisatan, stop double posting, and get a life. If you don't like a show, don't watch it. And if your reasons for watching it are based on the fact that a main character is a chick, and that ties and nice suits totally ruin any sci fi show. As for the trade off of special effects and writing... Guess what, Galactica has both. The CG is gorgeous, and the entire show has amazing production value, and still, the writing and acting is above and beyond most shows out there now, in any genre. So leave digg, and go watch Grey's Anatomy you *****.

    k1down, I don't care how big your crush on Richard Dean Anderson is.... Galactica is a superior show to Stargate SG1 in every possible way. Don't get me wrong, first couple seasons of SG1 had some dope episodes. Lets face it though, Galactica took one of the campiest franchises from the 70's and turned it into a gritty, awesome show. Stargate took an awesome movie from the 90's and made a mediocre show. And the music is dope. It's unique, and way better than the emo ***** enterprise song. And what makes stargate and every star trek shows music great? It's just the same orchestral cheerful theme slightly modified for each show. Galactica's music is a great step forward. And sets a great mood for the show. It is epic and sombre. You are right about Enterprise though.... big ***** mistake, and then they remixed for the later seasons... wtf!

    Also, I forget who said it, but no one said that they won't find Earth. Earths existence has already been proven in the show.

  • Onikun, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1BSG w00t!
  • axisds, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is great news. I cant think of a better television show that deserves to continue more.
  • scrambled, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I love BSG, but I hope they won't drag it out too long. Let it run, four or five seasons, the DVD over the summer, but make sure the writers know where they're going with it...
  • thefutureisours, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1WOW fourth season!! surprise surprise.

    yes, would be nice to have it a limited series like Babylon 5. at some point, it would inevitably go downhill with re-hashed threads and jumping the shark.
  • espedair, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This was confirmed today right?

    Its excellent news. I can't think of another series on TV at the moment which is as gritty and uncompromising. Top acting, top plot. We lot it!

    So say we all.
  • k1down, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Every post that says this show sucks, which it does, has been dugg down as I'm sure this one will be.

    Fanboys of stuff like this and anime made for girls crack me up.

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