Battlestar Galactica

Several weeks back a rumor circulated that NBC was considering calling in its substantial ownership of the Battlestar Galactica franchise as a potential mid-season replacement for Studio 60, coupling it as a logical lead-out for Heroes. NBC was quick to respond to the rumor, calling hogwash. Well, It’s back. Season Pass holders for Battlestar Galactica received word that the season would be cut by five episodes, and they would be credited appropriately. Why would Battlestar Galactica get cut by five episodes? The answer may be that rumors of a late season shift to NBC aren’t so bogus after all. Battlestar goes on hiatus from Sci-Fi channel in December which would normally leave fourteen episodes to round out its season when it returns in February. However, network schedules are decidedly different from Cable. Where cable does a smaller upfront run to help justifying the longer second half, networks tend to do the opposite leaving nervous show-runners to worry about the “back-nine”, the second segment of a networks full run. By cutting five episodes off Battlestar Galactica’s run, it is all the more safer a bet that the series is being considered as a mid-season replacement for something. Of course, another possibility would include Sci-Fi’s crop of six new shows set to begin spawning around the same time. There is a possibility Sci Fi is weighing the performance of these newer -- therefore less-expensive -- shows against the increasingly budget intensive Battlestar Galactica. Fans of the space opera either cheer the decision, for the promise of HDTV broadcasts that it so richly deserves, or dread the inevitably toning down of the programs obvious political stance. While the official line is still “don’t bank on it…”, both sides of the debate over whether a move to NBC would be a good thing, or a bad thing, can do nothing but wait.