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Final Season of Battlestar Galactica Confirmed
Ant writes "Via Dark Horizons, IESB reported from the 10th annual Saturn awards yesterday, and spoke with Battlestar Galactica stars Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff. Olmos confirmed that, as far as the show that's been running so far, the fourth season will be the last one. It's currently slated to start airing in January of 2008. 'Olmos says "This will probably be the most extraordinary season of 'Battlestar'. It's the final season, so it's definitely going to be the most vicious. As far as we know, in respects of the way we have this show constructed, this is the final season." Sackhoff says "I think part of the problem is that it's an expensive show. It is [a great show], but we don't have the viewership that a great show should get."'"
Because that show has taken a real dive in quality.
I would be amazed if this miniseries didn't make a nice chunk of change from DVD sales/rentals though, especially if they made a movie spinoff later (though like Serenity, making it appeal to people who haven't seen the series might be tough).
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
"It's the final season, so it's definitely going to be the most vicious."
So even more shakiness used for shakey-cam? *sigh*
I wonder if they would have gotten more viewers if the show were on a "major" network as opposed to the SciFi Channel. I guess the problem with a major network is that the show could not be as edgy as it is. I guess its best asset is that it flies under the radar. Unfortunately, it's also its downfall.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
I don't understand the buzz about a space opera starring Lorne Green with a bunch of villainous robots in tin suits with a single shiny red eye...
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
...to be brave enough to bring us cutting edge TV shows that we can't help but love.
And then kill them.
Over the last season and a half, the show has been sucking pretty badly. It feel a long way from the absolute best show on TV ever, to yet another middling sci-fi show where everything gets wrapped up neatly at the end of each episode, no prominent cast members ever die, and they beat you over the head with whatever moral/political point they are trying to make at the time.
I hope they go out with a bang. I hope they are, as Olmos said, vicious. BSG started out as a gritty, dark and hard story about the shit hitting the fan over and over again. Let's hope the writers remember that before it's too late.
And I'd rather the show end nicely than fade into irrelevance by over-staying its welcome (as per Star Gate).
--- Tao
I love the new BSG, but I want to see them end strong. The second half of season 3 had too much filler. I want to see them focus on their main story arch and go out on a high note.
By contrast, one of my other favorite shows used to be The Sopranos, a show that has floundered for the past two years. They seem to be ending with their weekest run of shows to date. It will be hard for me to remember that show as fondly as I would like.
Rome was a great show that didn't run long enough, but there was no filler. A damn good series from start to end.
Sometimes less is more. (Star Trek, I'm looking at you)
Part of the problem is that is expensive...that is the same thing that resulted in the cancellation of the original series.
About the first series... "It was the most expensive television production of its time: $7 million (U.S.). Each weekly episode cost a purported $1 million (U.S.). "
I've been here before for the first series, and am seeing it now. In another 30 years when the third version is made I'll bet it won't last for the same reason.
Quality Hosting e3 Servers
"Did more people actually watch Voyager and DS9 than BSG?"
:P
I figure, yes - because they were both shown on normal broadcast networks, as opposed to a cable/satellite-only channel.
Plus there's that whole "they're not as good as BSG but, sci-fi-wise, they were about the best thing on TV when they were on" thing.
The nature of BSG's story is that they couldn't keep running forever - as sad as I am that (assuming the actors quoted are correct) the fourth season will be the last, it kinda makes sense.
"People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
Because reality TV is really really cheap to produce since it doesn't use high profile actors and needs little in terms of props and what not. Also, people love to watch other people's stupid drama. Reality shows purposely choose people who can't get along.
Also, most of the American TV viewing public is stupid and couldn't possibly understand or enjoy a show like Battlestar or Firefly for long. I think they should seriously think about either producing these shows direct to dvd. There can be a strong business case given how well the firefly and serenity dvd's sell.
Either that or release them in theaters on a regular basis ala old-school serials.
I got nothin'
Star Trek is SUPER cheap to produce! Have you actually watched those episodes?? Every planet is a series of caves!
Seriously though, Star Trek TV series have been notorious for having small budgets.
And what's wrong with wrestling? Open the event with the battle of the MILFs -- President Laura "The Amazon" Roslin vs. D'Anna "I'm Not Xena" Biers. Have Boomer walk the ring in a tight bikini, holding up the round cards. End the series with the grand finale: Starbuck vs. Six, and hold it the landing bay of a Cylon base star's worth of jello!
> there's STILL time!
After sitting through an entire season of budget-constrained character development... "there sure is, buddy, there sure is."
"but we don't have the viewership that a great show should get"
Are they including iTunes downloads and DVD sales? If not, why not? These days, anyone between the ages of 15 and 30 spends more time watching downloads and DVDs than they do tuning into TV broadcasts.
The era of everyone tuning into a scheduled TV broadcast is *over*. Does Nielsen still think it's 1960?
Insisting on "correct" English is like saying that there is only one, definitive recipe for chili.
Because a lot of people love comfort food.
A lot of people don't want to be challenged by their entertainment. They saw a TV show that they liked yesterday, and what they want more than anything in the world is to watch that same TV show again. You need to change it just enough that they're not bored by an exact repetition, but core should be as close to identical as humanly possible.
Sci-fi fans aren't entirely immune to it, either. They brought Zombie Star Trek out for years after it should have been given a dignified burial. James Bond film scripts have been (until the most recent one) essentially mad-libs. And they'll even watch the same old movies (e.g. The Empire Strikes Back) until they can quote the dialogue and can spot changes on a frame-by-frame basis (and accuse those of doing so of raping their childhoods).
Poor Battlestar is just too expensive to continue. It must cost nearly as much as Lost, a show which probably has 10 times the viewership. Better to let it die than to compromise their vision.
I just hope they've finally decided to share it with the writers.
Best Slashdot Co
This used to be my favourite show, but there's just been too many bad episodes in the last couple of years. I don't really care if I even see it anymore, though I usually catch a repeat at some point. I'd rather see one more good season, where they are forced to wrap up the story, than several more seasons of the half-ass crap they've been coasting along with lately.
And they'd better have a really, REALLY good reason to explain why Tigh and the Chief are Cylons, or the first episode of the last season just might be the last one I ever watch. Talk about jumping the shark.
I'd say Stargate and Dr. Who are good.
Of course, we can't hold SciFi accountable for Dr. Who since they can't touch it other than playing it, thank all that is good.
but seriously, when these go off the air, I'm probably just gonna ditch cable.
34486853790
Connection too slow for X forwarding? Try "ssh -CX user@host"
This is the way the show should end, on a high note. As pointed out somewhere else further down, the show is starting to degrade. There was a time when you never really knew what was going to happen next. A time when, unlike other shows, they weren't afraid to kill off major characters or have the plot twist 180 degrees in another direction.
Now, though, it's gotten where you know that all the majors will be with us next week, that in the end, everything will work out okay. It's just gotten kind of ho-hum.
If they make this the last season, it gives them incredible freedom to do some really great things dramatically. All characters are fair game. All plots are on the board for major twists. And they can always come back and do movies or mini-series if there's a demand for it.
Here's my prediction, though. They get to Earth, but as it turns out, it's not exactly the thirteenth colony they expected. Think about it. It's all happened before, right? The Cylons and the thirteenth colony have encountered each other just as our ragtag colonial crew and the Cylons are encountering each other now. They intermingled (Eve, anyone?), and the result is that we here on earth are actually the progeny of both colonial humans and Cylons. We even adopted both religions. People here are killing each other over the same ideological differences as the Cylons and the colonials are.
I could be wrong, but I think that's ultimately the ending plot twist. When all is said and done, it turns out that WE are Cylons, too, a fact that has been lost to antiquity.
From a writing standpoint, I think it's great. BSG and Lost both have the same problem... they have a very definite end-point... for BSG, it's finding and populating Earth. For Lost, it's getting off the damn Island. These are the driving forces behind the shows, and on one level or another the action and drama come out of these arcs. However, if you keep stringing them along for two long, they start to suck... there's only so many ways you can delay the end-point before the audience gets tired, and you jump the shark.
These shows will ultimately be more successful with end-points written- the writers will have a clear goal of what to write to and how to make it interesting to get there, instead of just coming up with more ways to string viewers along.
While it sucks that it's going off the air, it'll make for better TV along the way.
Why was this modded flamebait? I'm a massive BSG fan, it's one of my favourite shows on TV, but it has taken a dive in quality since the beginning of the third season.
Since the escape from new Caprica in the Exodus two-parter, the show seems to have just drifted into the realm of the weird and pointless at times. Filler episodes have increased (such as the boxing episode - Unfinished Business, and the rogue doctor killing Saggitarans in The Woman King), and the main story has been tangled up in a load of tired existential and spiritual nonsense that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The finale of Season 3 even has Starbuck coming back from the dead, apparently as a figment of Lee's imagination. Oh great, another character inexplicably living in someone's head.
Of course, it's all down to opinion in these matters, but for me I'd like to see the show's main story to get back to the heights of Season 1 and 2 (and the start of Season 3). The desperate and down-trodden survivors of the human race fighting to stay alive and stay ahead of the Cylon fleet hunting them at every jump. Brilliant and touching filler / side-story episodes like Season 2's Rise of the Phoenix and Scar, and more all-or-nothing dogfights with the genocidal toasters.
I'll be watching season 4 whatever happens, it's still a good show. But I do think it has been missing its potential lately - hopefully it will improve next season.
She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
Think about it. If their goal is to "find Earth", the missing colony, how much story is there left to tell after that point?
This happens in a lot of shows, where the big point plot that always seems like a distant thing finally arrives. And once it does, there isn't much left to talk about. It becomes an entirely different show, with a different focus, and viewship will decline.
Look at some fine examples from TV's past.
Twin Peaks was a brilliant and weird show, that had a whole bunch of people talking. I still remember going to "Twin Peaks viewing parties" at friends houses, where we would all watch the episode together, and then start to dissect it over coffee and pie. (Those of you that remember the show will remember the line "damn fine pie".) But, once we knew who the killer was, there was nothing left to tell. They tried a second season, and it was a colossal flop. We all got what we wanted.
Moonlighting was another example. Once "Dave" and "Mattie" became romantically involved, instead of dancing around the subject, nobody really cared anymore. The show went into the toilet, ratings wise.
If BSG closes up shop after they find Earth and get things settled in, there is a good chance that most viewers will never say "Damn, BSG jumped the shark".
It is the reason 24 keeps on working. Every year, it reaches its ending, and the next year's season is a totally new (sorta) scenario for Jack Bauer to fix.
Personally, I like the TV show "Heroes", but I worry that it is headed for a Twin Peaks type ending. Once they save New York City, where will they go that will keep our attention? If we all end up feeling satisfied with that ending, then nobody will want to watch season 2.
I have to disagree.
Look, I think BSG is the best show on television right now (as much as it's on at all right now, rasm frasm nine month hiatus). But despite the fact that the show has occasionally floundered a bit, I've generally had the feeling that the show is actually going somewhere, that Ron Moore et. al. are actually interested in telling a story. One that has... what's it called? Oh right! An end.
Contrast this with Lost, which I started off watching avidly, but now... well, the four phases of Lost watching:
1. This show is great! I wonder what they'll do next?!?
2. Huh? That didn't make sense.
3. You guys are making it up as you go along, aren't you?
4. God, I hope you guys are making it up, because God help you if you planned it this way.
And Lost just got extended another three seasons.
Having followed the show for the entire run, I can agree with all of these sentiments: that the show is one of the best on television, that the show hit a weak stretch in season 3, and that it may be best to keep the entire show strong to end it before it gets too long. The problem, however, in this case, is that Ronald D. Moore still has "two chapters" he wants to tell (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07085/770732-352.s tm). Passage of time has been crucial to the show (especially the season 2 finale) and while it wouldn't be as bad as seeing nothing of consequence happen for long stretches of episodes (Star Treks), the show now runs the risk of having all that RDM wanted to happen over two seasons occur in the short span of one. True, it may give us a filler-free season, but the show's success is largely due to its believability - and that comes into jeopardy, I think, if the show and the Galactica herself comes an unbelievably long way in such a short amount of time.
As much as I take issue with the SciFi channel canceling amazing shows (see: Farscape), this is not one of those times. The 4th season is, I'm almost positive, a 22 episode season. Well, Ron Moore is on record saying that he'd do 2 more 13 episode seasons, or a single 22-23 episode season, and in that time he felt like he could bring the story to the conclusion that he'd been working towards. Now, I suppose part of that might be ending early to make sure they GET an ending, but this is not just SciFi killing a great show. They've had a definite climax planned for the story, and if they can reach it in one season, and not have as much filler as in season 2.5 and 3.5, I'm all for it.
Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
The Urban Hippie
I must say, good job to whoever made this decision. I love the show, and the last half season definitely helped make up for the Baltar vacationing with the Cylons crap. But.. shows have to end, and its much better to end it on the writers terms than having to quickly wrap it up when the show gets canned.
Take ST:TNG as an example, it ended at the height of its popularity, and the last season is the most amazing one in my opinion. So rather beat it into the ground (which they did with new series instead) they took it out in grand fashion, with the crazy two-parter with Q and a possible future, and bringing back Yar and all that.
So heres hoping they do it right and its not a show where you can't help but think 'What the hell happened?' years later.
Mike Elgen over at Computerworld has a few ideas on where those viewers have gone. I don't know why so many have left so quickly but I'm sure it has something to do with the poor shows available. "Survivor", "American Idol". These are the shows with the highest ratings?
If you think things are bad on TV now, wait until June when the Writer's Guild of America West and East combine for the first time in a long while to get better contracts from the production studios. The Director's Guild and another couple of Guilds are lined up right after that. TV will be pretty poor for a long while I guess.
Won't bother me though. I watch very little besides BG and the canceled "Daybreak". And why should I when I have access to HD television and excellent shows such as "Planet Earth" on Discovery HD.
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
Ron Moore already said it would be at most 5 seasons in the podcasts. They know what they want to accomplish so it's not going to be a half-assed ending. Are you saying that you would prefer BSG to run as long as say Stargate?
I have no interest in BSG running 10 seasons. You will likely be unable to keep the entire cast together and let's face it, this cast is solid. You will run out of plot ideas to look at and have to make up the next enemy (Gaould, replicators, Orai) and it just gets silly to me. I used to love Stargate but I lost interest simply because I didn't have time to keep track of everything going on (new development x or superevil badguy y and spinoff z) and some of it just got ridiculous to me.
This is the story that they want to tell and thus far, I have yet to be disappointed. Some episodes aren't as interesting. Some twists were ridiculous. But the story is still there and I believe it will end well.
I understand yet dislike Firefly and despise BSG. Does that make me an idiot?
It's all a matter of opinion.
Season 3 was sorely lacking in the fast-paced action that got me hooked on BSG in the first place.
Let's see more armies of Centurians with machine gun hands battling it out with scrappy, loveable humans on some weird alien planet, instead of a bunch of "I'm so fracked up because my mom was abusive."
In all seriousness, though, the drama-oriented episodes were great, but c'mon, let's have some balance.
Just my $0.02.
No, it doesn't. BSG has a story to tell, and it should tell that story and then leave.
If your theory is different from practice, then your theory is wrong.
Sci-Fi channel has spent years pimping their friday night lineup. Then Friday night gradually became "Stargate Night" and they spread the rest of their shows around the week. When you take a show out of its stronghold timeslot and move it, especially to Sunday night when the big networks rule the ratings, you're going to lose viewers.
The story arcs got so complex, too, that it became increasingly hard to join the show as a new viewer. How do you just jump in midway into season 3 and feel a connection to these characters or understand the gravity of what is going on? Unless you've been on board since the pilot episode, it just isn't accessible. For those of us that have been following, that's great, but for others it is a real turn-off.
With shows like Star Trek, you had far less depth, but the story arcs generally wrapped up within the confines of an episode. Starting with DS9 the producers went to longer story arcs, messing with Roddenberry's formula, and it chased away more casual viewers (while probably appealing more to hardcore trekkies).
As much as I love BSG, rather than see it die I'd rather see a miniseries release 3x a year or so with much more fast-paced storylines and wrapping up introduced mysteries within the confines of the miniseries.
It's sad to see "the best hour of television" come to an end. Honestly though, it's better to see the show end on a high note, rather than have storylines recycled for a couple of more seasons (see: Stargate SG-1).
Lost brainstorming session - 2/25/2004
Damon note: We have gathered hippies and provided them with Absinthe and pot. They have been prompted to talk.
Hippie 1: Hey, lets have polar bears on an island!!
Hippie 2: Evil companies are bad. DOWN WITH THE MAN!!!
Hippie 3: SO MANY SCARY NUMBERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hippie 4: (munch munch munch)
Hippie 2: Wars are killing the goodness in the Earth.
Hippie 3: Dude, don't you guys see that man in that chair over there.
Hippie 1&2: No man. There's nothing there.
Hippie 3: I'm serious dudes.
Hippie 4: Anyone want to go to Whitecastle? Might as well get fat as hell, it's awesome.
Hippie 2: What if everyone was interconnected to EVERYONE!
Hippie 1: Man if I crashed on an island, I'd have like no pot.
Hippie 2&3: OH NOES!!!!
Hippie 4: (passed out)
Carlton note: Well Damon, I think we have some good ideas.
Damon note: Yep, let's get started.
Word has it that after the main series is done, they have another lined up which takes place on Earth. Apparently a couple of Viper pilots cruise around the planet on hoverbikes to help people.
Sweet!
When asked about the end of the show, Olmos said, "Too bad it won't live but then again what does." He then proceeded to leave oragami unicorns all over the set.
No, we don't know the difference between "than" and "then." But we're pretty good at recognizing run-on sentences and sentence fragments. So we've got that going for us.
I agree. I grew up in the UK with shows that ran for only a season or a few seasons (one season a year and no repeats) - from what I understand that's changed(ing). It allowed the writers to present a good tight story in a concluding arc. Even if the show sucked there was a sense of closure and anticipation to what type of show would replace it. While I hated Enterprise, they had the sense to allow for a written conclusion rather than cliff-hanger ending, which made it a little more tolerable (what can I say, I have a need to watch most SciFi even if I hate it - I even watched Blade: The series *shudder*). The whole nature of Babylon 5 was good. You go back and watch the series again from the beginning and it just comes together so nicely (in the fourth series of course). X-files was a disaster. It started so well, but then they gave up too much plot while intending to push the show further along and ended up with a show that was a joke (the native american season was when it fell apart for me). So when I started watching BSG (and Heroes btw) I really hoped that they would conclude the series after 3 or 4 seasons. Let them find Earth, let them figure out that there are a second unknown set/race/breed of cylons (my personal theory), let it end with dignity and less filler.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
"... the main story has been tangled up in a load of tired existential and spiritual nonsense that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The finale of Season 3 even has Starbuck coming back from the dead, apparently as a figment of Lee's imagination."
:-)
If you'd been paying attention to the existential and spiritual nonsense, you'd realize that it may well be the driving force behind what you call the "main plot". Also, that Starbuck probably isn't back from the dead because she never died. I think that in the BSG universe, the gods are quite real (although perhaps not what we think of as gods) and Starbuck is favored by - or maybe a personification of - the goddess Aurora.
Or maybe it's all a bulshit distraction. Hard to say.
With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter. -- William Lloyd
The only thing worse than ending a series is dragging it on past its natural conclusion.
Tell the story. When the story is over, it's over. Trying to tack on extra seasons is just going to make it suck.
paintball
I had my doubts, but honestly once I sat down and started watching it, it was just damned good. Do you feel you've given it an honest shake? BSG is definitely not like the original, and this fact may turn you on or off to the show. It seems that many people form adverse opinions about things without really experiencing them (read any comment posted on a console article). The shows may not jive with you, but if you are into scifi and haven't really given them a chance, you are missing out on some great stuff.
Also, most of the American TV viewing public is stupid and couldn't possibly understand or enjoy a show like Battlestar or Firefly for long
Don't mean to crap on your birthday cake here, and believe me I enjoy Battlestar and Firefly as much as the next slashdotter, but its not as if these shows are pixelated genius. I'm fairly confident that if my 8-year old cousin can hold a lengthy discussion with me about BSG that we're not really straining people's brains here.
And then just as an aside, its interesting when you imply that Reality shows are thusly "stupid." I mean we're definitely talking apples and oranges (reality tv and dramas), but I think anyone who's interested in Game Theory and sociology would definitely find some intriguing aspects in Survivor.
Gaak. You can do a hell of a lot better than that. Tricia Helfer
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
A&E, ostensibly for "Arts and Entertainment", has become a "lowest common denominator" entertainment channel. It is now targeted to "Cleetus the Slackjawed Yokel". O.k., I'll say it, it is now "A&E for White Trash".
SciFi has done the same thing.
Back in the 70's, "Sci-Fi" was the schlock stuff that hacks turned out. "Creature From the Black Lagoon" and such. "SF" was what Asimov, Heinlein, Dick wrote.
When the Sci Fi channel debutted, a lot of SF fans were horrified with the moniker, but decided they could live with it as long as it was a home for SF. But, it has started to live up to the old definition of "Sci Fi" rather than the higher ideals of SF. We have lost the battle.
Oh, and when did wrestling ever get connected with either Sci Fi or SF? Besides some B grade movies being star vehicles for aging wrestlers.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
Lost still has the "wtf is going on here" factor.
Like last week... did we find the true power of the island? Why did it ask Locke for help? How did the hostel's get there, why haven't the ones that were there when Ben was a boy aged at all (like the fem looking dude with thick eye brows), How did Locke's father get there? How did Michael get off the island if the only way on or off is a submarine? etc.
Getting off the island is also pretty much a long shot now that they know they are all confirmed dead because some how identical wreckage and bodies were recovered nearly 1000 miles away (how did that happen).
I think what you are having a problem with is "how will my serial show last 10 years?"... It won't... that is the point of a serial show as apposed to episodic shows that have occasional story arcs. The story is complex... interwoven through 4-6 seasons and then it ends.
If I could venture a theory, I would say that heavily serialized shows just aren't everyone's cup of tea, because they require committment.
Watching a SF show like BSG, Firefly, Babylon 5, the new hit Heroes, or even the reviled Deep Space 9 requires a good understanding of a large backstory in order to truly appreciate it. Episodic shows like Star Trek (original or NG) is fine for dipping in and out of the make-believe, and so are easier for casual watching.
The more complex the plot arc, the more work required to make meaning as a viewer.
That's exactly why I like those shows: an audacious plot. The hook is the Big Picture. The rewards are a huge amount of nuance inside each episode.
Damn those pesky terrorists
be prison break, where it's a fantastic show, with a VERY clear end point... right in the title!
and then... break out.. loosing all end game, and drag it out to suckdom forever.
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
I had a lengthy conversation with an 8-year-old about A Midsummer Night's Dream after we saw a performance of it. Later, I had a lengthy conversation about the play with my professor who did his doctoral thesis on Shakespeare. The age or intelligence of the people who are capable of discussing a work of art is not the measure of how genius it is. James Joyce's Ulysses isn't brilliant because of the fact that few people can understand it. Battlestar Galactica isn't un-intelligent just because an 8-year-old can talk about it. I can understand saying that it's not genius, but saying that it's not genius because an 8-year old understands some of the issues it presents is specious.
Also, I dislike reality TV because they claim to be "real" but they are often scripted or at least contrived. As sociological tools, they are about as useful as a scripted show, and often less fun to watch. I don't know a lot about game theory, so I can't comment there.
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." --Hanlon's razor
Television executives have never needed a reason to can shows before. If they don't like it, *poof* it's gone. Even if there is a massive fan outrage, it won't necessarily change the executive decisions. (Witness: Global Frequency, Firefly, Space: Above and Beyond, Sliders)
The official (and very believable) reason for the change in schedule was that SciFi wanted to stagger the shows so that they'd get massive revenues throughout the year rather than only when the Friday Night lineup was running. BSG was their strongest show, so that's the one they put up against the networks.
Seems less like maliciousness to me, and more of a case of killing the Golden Goose.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Seriously? Everyone I know thinks DS9 is the best Trek series ever made.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Kinda like life and history, come to think of it...
For me I enjoyed Firefly at first, then it started to wear on me until it felt like the A-team in space.
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
I don't like them either and I have a nice easy reason: a soap opera in space is still a soap opera.
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
It all depends on where you place the division between stupid and clever and if you can easily produce something that appeals to IQs between 85 and 115.
Of course, "stupid" was too strong a word. "Around average and below" would be a better one. Considering the average is 100, 50-115 would be a large-enough group and, if it shows a lower demand for quality than the 115+, they would qualify as the low hanging fruit.
I also suspect the public on the 115+ range is very fragmented and more difficult to hit.
On a side note, I have been observing what is happening here (in Brazil) with the popularization of cable-TV: As more higher income households get cable or other forms of premium content, the more traditional TV stations aim lower income families. The difference in quality, say, of journalism, is astounding, even within the same network.
So, for the disappointed fans of Firefly or BSG, I suggest strongly demanding a better educational system, with special attention to scientific education. Sure it won't come in time to save current series, but it could create a more fertile market for them in the future.
If TV survives the next 20 years.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
The trouble is that intelligence may not 'obey' a Gaussian distribution. Frankly, you find me a room full of psychologists (we're the ones who mainly study this) who can agree 100% on a meaningful definition and measure of intelligence as THE definition, and I'll be shocked. As in drop over dead.
Beyond that, most intelligence tests are normalized to fit the Gaussian distribution, so while the statistics are nice, it ain't necessarily that simple in reality. If you want an excellent review of why, then read Stephen J. Gould's "The Mismeasure of Man" for a good treatment of the subject.
Above that, the largest segment of the population is not stupid people--see your own comment about normal distributions. The largest segment is, rather, those individuals within one or two standard deviations of the mean (assuming normality). Thus appealing to the 'average viewer' is not the same as appealing to stupid people (and if you claim it is, then I am assuming that you are comparing them to yourself, in which case evidence that you are actually more intelligent than the 'average' person--say with an IQ 1.5 standard deviations above the mean--which would be 122.5 or above). I'm not saying you're dumb, or that you aren't smart, but that is the impression you seem to be giving.
I am guessing that most slashdottians are thinking that they are in the upper 25% or even higher in terms of IQ, but the truth is simply that programming ability is not necessarily tied to IQ, nor is the ability to work with computers. Frankly, cognitive ability tests are imperfect, and while most people here are probably quite good and capable at what they do, it doesn't mean that people who are NOT good at those things are less intelligent (a common fallacy).
As for the TV execs--they are good at one thing: making money off of TV. Some of them may have technical abilities as well, but not all of them. They will try to appeal to the largest market with an interest in their product. In the case of the Sci-fi channel, this means that they have to figure out what appeals the most to people who are into sci-fi. Frankly, at the moment they seem to be seriously screwing the pooch on this score. First SG-1, now BSG? Next they are going to quit carrying Dr. Who, Torchwood, and Atlantis all at once, start airing Gilmore girls reruns and eventually become nothing more than "Lifetime--IN THE FUTURE!!!!". The wrestling, while sometimes interesting, is more of a thing for SpikeTV. What we need is a well-funded sci-fi channel that continuously shows original and interesting sci-fi in addition to picking up excellent shows like stargate, BSG and Dr. Who.
"We don't know what we are doing, but we are doing it very carefully,..." Wherry, R.J. Personnel Psychology (1995)
=)
DS9 was great in a lot of ways--notably, it got a lot of the drama right, which was something earlier trek hadn't done much. By which I mean it had multi-episode story arcs, in part in response to Babylon 5's competition. And "multi-episode," for the first time, didn't mean a two-parter.
On the downside, the dominion war also shifted the writer's mindsets too much--and trek became more about shooting things and less about the characters when the next series came along. (The characters in DS9 were good, with interesting long-term growth, and with good interpersonal dynamics. The characters in Voyager were cardboard, poorly designed, poorly written, and with little knowledge of cadence. The good point in Voyager (hard to find them, but there) was Robert Picardo. (Who wasn't used terribly well in Stargate.))
That being said, I don't understand why there is always a "simpsons already did it"-type chorus following any new show as if just because the concept has been done before, it cannot be done again and be good. I mean "Heroes" is just an X-Man rip-off, and not even the only one, but it is still good (anyone remember that other X-Man ripoff show a few years back? Can't remember the name of it now). Sure there are plenty of really BAD remakes and clones , but there are also plenty of really horrible original concepts too (anyone seen Monk lately? Brilliant concept, run so far into the ground is will soon pop out in China). Generally a
The premise is usually one of the least significant signs of a a good show. The most significant parts are not premises or even plot lines, it is the quality of writing. This is what makes shows like Firefly good. Who cares if they are "space cowboy" themed or not - they could be riding in a Winnebago around 1960's USA for all I care, it would still be a good show if you have good writing.
-Em
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