Battlestar Galactica Fell Apart Due To Poor Franchise Planning
When the Syfy Channel took a campy 1970s network show and transformed it into a riveting series in the early 2000s, it laid the foundation for what should have been a brilliant new cinematic universe in the science fiction genre. But as well written as the Battlestar Galactica reboot was, show co-creator and executive producer David Eick admitted that a lack of vision and planning stymied efforts to make the two subsequent prequel series successful. In a recent interview, Eick began telling his tale of woe by discussing the failures of the first prequel, Caprica.
Caprica Tried To Cram Too Much Story Into 19 Episodes
Caprica takes place nearly sixty years before the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. The series lacked organizational timing, and Eick said he was guilty of trying to cover too many complicated ideas at once. Indeed, during the 19 episodes of Caprica, AI, religious extremists, and espionage were all featured, only serving to distract show writers from focusing on storylines that attracted and kept the audience’s attention.
Caprica was meant to have multiple seasons, but low ratings resulted in the network canceling the much-anticipated Battlestar Galactica prequel. A true disappointment, especially considering the 14 Emmy nominations garnered by the rebooted series that it followed. As disappointed as fans were with the mediocrity of Caprica, many were elated when yet another prequel series was announced.
Blood And Chrome Had A Promising Story
The second stab at making Battlestar Galactica into a successful franchise happened in 2012 with the release of Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome. The premise had much of what fans of the series were looking for, giving an in-depth look at the war with the Cylons that took place several decades prior to the rebooted series. It also followed a young William Adama in his role as a pilot years before he climbed the military ladder to the rank of Admiral.
What Went Wrong
But Blood and Chrome never got the attention it deserved, mostly due to the indecisiveness between executives at the Syfy Channel, who originally stated in 2010 that a two-hour pilot would be a lead-in for a new series. But the network waffled on that announcement in 2011, stating that it would likely be an online series. Battlestar Galactica fans finally got a look at the war between the 12 Colonies and the Cylons in a series of 12 10-minute webisodes that originally aired on Machinima.com.
Better Organization Could Have Saved The Franchise
Had either of these prequel series been better organized, the possibilities for expanding Battlestar Galactica into a true cinematic universe would have been endless. The complicated timeline of events leading up to the 12 Colonies being destroyed by the Cylons could have generated much more than the combination of a shortly lived prequel series and a set of short webisodes. Additionally, a sequel series to the reboot was expected by many fans, which could have taken a number of directions with different storylines.
Battlestar Galactica Reboot In The Works
Fans are still waiting for another reboot of Battlestar Galactica, announced by Peacock back in 2019. As recently as last October, the show was said to be on the table, though it has not been officially ordered as a series. Fans will see a new cast, replacing favorites from Katee Sackhoff to Edward James Olmos with fresh faces.
Sources: Den of Geek
