Battlestar Galactica

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From the Summer ’09 Newsmakers family edition

I’m not really equipped to evaluate the finale of Battlestar Galactica. (Because I haven’t kept up with all the developments this season, and this is a finale that obviously rewards viewers who have followed every episode — or punishes them, depending on how you reacted to it.) But.. (and don’t read further if you’re anti-spoiler)

This is Battlestar Galactica night, so here’s something that’s distantly related to the subject. In 2000, the Sci-Fi channel, which had not yet learned the glorious new truth that led it to rename itself “SyFy,” did a show called “Sciography,” where they did episodes about the making of some of the most popular science-fiction shows. The style was halfway between a parody of Biography and a slightly geekier copy of it. This episode is about the making of Battlestar Galactica, which at that time was the only Battlestar Galactica there ever was. It’s not the best BSG, but it is where the whole thing started, and the new, better BSG couldn’t have existed without the basic strength of that concept.

An open thread—tell us what you think

The SPACE channel is understandably going all-out to celebrate/mourn the Battlestar Galactica series finale on March 20. From their press release, their plans for the day consist of an all-day marathon of season 4 episodes, followed by a “Battlestar Galactica Finale Special” at 8 and the two-hour finale at 9. And then we get a post-game show, complete with colour commentary: