The truth about Battlestar Galactica and SciFi Channel

[spiderr987]

Glen Larson speaks out against SFC's molesting his BSG source material!

‘Battlestar Galactica’ returns
But fans of original are wary of remake


Updated: 1:15 p.m. ET Dec. 9, 2003

A few years ago, fans thought they’d get the continuation saga they’d clamored for when Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto, the director-writer team behind “X-Men,” hooked up with original “Galactica” creator Glen Larson to develop a project at 20th Century Fox.

When that deal fell through, Universal TV chief David Kissinger brought in executive producer David Eick and Moore to rework the franchise for Sci Fi.
“We want the fans to embrace what we are doing,” says Sci Fi President Bonnie Hammer, “but if you produced now what was produced then, it would feel like old TV. We wanted to make it more relatable, even in terms of the stereotypes of characters.”
__________________________________________________ _________

“I understand they’re trying to do a modern version,” says Larson. “But change for the sake of change — it’s taking the title and exploiting it.”
__________________________________________________ _________

http://www.cylon.org/bsg/bsg-desanto-01.html




Q: Now that Firefly has jumped from the small screen to the big as Serenity, would you ever consider doing a theatrical feature of the new BSG? (This ought to stir-up the original series' fan nest.)

Eick: Ultimately, I would think any appetite for a Battlestar feature film will be in part driven by how Serenity performs at the box office. However, Glen Larson, the producer of the original Battlestar, in a strange, unusual twist of contractual dexterity, was able to carve out the theatrical film rights back in the '70s when he made his initial deal for the television series. He holds those rights to this day, so any pursuit of a feature film would have to involve Mr. Larson. Given his purported disdain for the new series, that would seem an unlikely scenario

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/bts/...s/eick_QA.html




Apparently, SciFi Channel has a penchant for molesting the source material of authors against their wishes. READ:
______________________

How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books.
By Ursula K. Le Guin

Posted Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004, at 6:14 AM PT

On Tuesday night, the Sci Fi Channel aired its final installment of Legend of Earthsea, the miniseries based—loosely, as it turns out—on my Earthsea books. The books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, which were published more than 30 years ago, are about two young people finding out what their power, their freedom, and their responsibilities are. I don't know what the film is about. It's full of scenes from the story, arranged differently, in an entirely different plot, so that they make no sense. [purple]My protagonist is Ged, a boy with red-brown skin. In the film, he's a petulant white kid. Readers who've been wondering why I "let them change the story" may find some answers here.

When I sold the rights to Earthsea a few years ago, my contract gave me the standard status of "consultant"—which means whatever the producers want it to mean, almost always little or nothing. My agency could not improve this clause. But the purchasers talked as though they genuinely meant to respect the books and to ask for my input when planning the film. They said they had already secured Philippa Boyens (who co-wrote the scripts for The Lord of the Rings) as principal script writer. The script was, to me, all-important, so Boyens' presence was the key factor in my decision to sell this group the option to the film rights.

Months went by. By the time the producers got backing from the Sci Fi Channel for a miniseries—and another producer, Robert Halmi Sr., had come aboard—they had lost Boyens. That was a blow. But I had just seen Halmi's miniseries DreamKeeper, which had a stunning Native American cast, and I hoped that Halmi might include some of those great actors in Earthsea.

http://www.slate.com/id/2111107





Ronald Moore booed at 25th BSG anniversary convention

NBC/Universal, which owns the franchise, ultimately went with a new version of the "Battlestar" saga, which, like the old series, follows the last vestiges of humanity through space as they try to elude attacks from a mechanized race called the Cylons.

Despite this tangled history, when Ronald D. Moore, creator of the new "Battlestar," finally met Hatch in person, the two hit it off.

Hatch had invited Moore to show footage of the new mini-series at a 2003 convention celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original series. To say that the old-school "Battlestar" fans in the audience were a tough crowd is an understatement.

"There was hostility," Moore recalls with a rueful laugh. "I was booed."

When things got too testy during Moore's Q&A session, Hatch stepped in, a gesture the veteran of "Carnivale" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" appreciated.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....nt_tv/2005/01/





Why most sci fi fantasy fans hate Ronald Moore

However, many have a problem with Ron Moore for the key
role he played in writing "Star Trek Generations," which many consider to be the turning point of Trek, essentially the franchise killer, though it was to be a slow death over time.

One of the biggest fan "movements" of modern Trek stems from the frustration over the ridiculously mediocre and meaningless death of Kirk, an icon of American pop-culture. Again, Moore played a key role in this.

Moore has been attached with much mediocrity. Star Trek Generations. Mission Impossible 2.

My own look at TNG episodes reveals (IMHO, of course) that most of the really good episodes with Moore's name on them are co-written with other writers, and than many of the scripts with only Moore's name on them are pretty mediocre. Haven't looked at the DS9 episode credits in the same way.

Add to that Moore's role in the remake of BSG when for more than two decades both the BSG fan base and actors have been clamoring for a continuation.

Top that with Moore's uncommon arrogance in claiming to reinvent an entire genre with a remake of an old TV show. Gene Roddenberry never claimed that he was doing anything remarkable. He was just happy to do what he
wanted to do, as best he could, while occassionally putting one over on the networks who didn't catch some of the messages he wanted to convey. George Lucas never thought that Star Wars would revitalize and change a genre and an industry, he was just happy to tell the story he wanted to tell. Very few creative types who declare their own work revolutionary will
produce anything that truly is.

So, to his critics Moore has been involved in the two most contentious bad decisions in two of science fiction television's biggest franchises ever,
as well as engaging in more than his share of mediocre TV and movies.

As for BSG, what Moore claims is revolutionary is really just taking SF TV further from it's roots and potential. All he is doing it is placing the SF in the background to make character drama in space, with the whining, maladjusted, psychologically disoriented, unrealistically, dysfunctionally flawed characters that seem to be popular as a current entertainment fad. How drama cliche's translate to revolutionary SF, I don't know.

I think Moore would do fine in straight drama, maybe as a staff writer for ER or some cop show, but his sensibilties are all wrong for Trek, BSG and SF.

And did I mention all the mediocrity?

http://www.trekweb.com/stbbs/showThr... &sort=&order=

Battlestar Galactica
Written by EdwardHavens


article-topic-5.htmlAs a work of science fiction, this re-imagined "Galactica" miniseries-cum-pilot runs hot and cold. There are genuine moments of excellent writing within the piece. Sadly, these moments are few and far between. For the most part, Mr. Moore has overthought his re-imagining of the show to bring us a jumbled mess of cliches, dime store psychology and the general feel of a show that wants to be more than it can be. If some reports are to be believed, this version seems to exist solely so the Sci-Fi Channel and Universal can keep their rights to the concept from reverting back to series creator Glen A. Larson. From the way this script reads, I can see how this is a distinct possibility. This new Galactica might not become as bad as the never-released "Fantastic Four" movie from Roger Corman's company several years ago, but that film's failure to even get released straight to video should be a shining example to the producers of this show of what can happen when you try to lowball a high-concept idea.

But honestly, is it really that big a deal that Starbuck and Boomer have changed genders? Not really. There is little chance any male actor could match the bravado of Dirk Benedict in the original series, so making the character female could be an interesting choice. However, there is nothing specifically feminine about the new Starbuck, so there is really no reason to make the character female either. Boomer does show some maternalistic qualities when she picks up young Boxey as one of the survivors of the destruction of Caprica City, but any female character could have shown the same instincts. If there aren't any compelling reasons to make a change, that change shouldn't be made.

In the end, this could be a good new show... provided there was some intense rewriting and the removal of any remaining evidence of Galactica. Galactica fans have kept the faith alive for almost a quarter century, and they do deserve better than this. As I stated before, I don't know what happened with previous attempts to mount a Galactica, by original series Richard Hatch or the "X-Men" team of Tom DeSanto and Bryan Singer or why either of those failed to happen, but this is a step in the wrong direction. I give the screenplay a C- for effort and a C for execution.

This is not to say that Moore is not a good writer. I happened to have also received a copy of the pilot screenplay for his upcoming Depression-era drama "Carnivalé," which I will be reviewing soon and will be getting positive marks from me, as that show looks to have much potential for the future. But the Galactica fans are right on this fight. This story is not worthy of the name "Battlestar Galactica."

http://www.filmjerk.com/new/article354.html





By todays's cable standards GINO's ratings are nothing to write home about. GINO had it's chance to score big on major network tv and this is what happened:
________________________

CBS Sinks NBC's 'Battlestar' on Saturday

(Sunday, July 10 08:38 AM)

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Fast National ratings for Saturday, July 9, 2005.
Led by a pair of episodes of "48 Hours," CBS won all three primetime hours on Saturday, though The Eye still couldn't beat FOX in the coveted young adult demographics.

Overall, CBS averaged a 4.3 rating/9 share, outdistancing second place FOX's 3.7/7. ABC was a distant third with a 2.7/5. NBC, which ran three hours of the Sci Fi Channel drama "Battlestar Galactica" was a dismal fourth with a 1.8/4.

FOX came in first among adults 18-49, doing a 2.1 rating in the demographic advertisers love the most. ABC was second with a 1.5 rating, followed closely by the 1.4 rating for CBS. NBC trailed again with a 0.9 rating.

CBS started the night off right with a 3.8/8 for "48 Hours Mystery," good enough to beat FOX's "COPS" (3.3/7) for the hour. ABC was third with the 2.2/5 first hour of "The Emperor's New Groove," while NBC was last with the beginning of the "Battlestar Galactica" marathon.

At 9 p.m., CBS got a 4.3/9 from "Cold Case," edging the 4.1/8 for "America's Most Wanted" on FOX. The second hour of ABC's Disney movie was third, while NBC got a 1.8/3 from its "Galactica" hour.

The second "48 Hours" episode delivered the night's strongest ratings for CBS, with a 4.9/10. ABC moved up to second with a 3.2/7 for "America's Funniest Home Videos." NBC remained last with "Battlestar."

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve...272|1|,00.html




________________________

While Barbecues Sizzle, Ratings Fizzle

Three programs produced fireworks over the Fourth of July week; everything else fizzled. The three programs were the finale of ABC's Dancing With the Stars, which attracted 22.4 million viewers and was by far the most-watched show of the week; another was the season opener of Big Brother 6, which drew 8.5 million viewers; and the third was the season premiere of USA Network's Monk, which, with 6.4 million viewers, drew bigger audiences than many network shows last week. Otherwise, the week produced the smallest audiences of the year.

Indeed NBC drew one of its lowest ratings ever with a two-hour showcase of Battlestar Galactica set to air on Sci Fi channel, an NBC corporate sibling. It turned out to be the lowest-rated show of the week on any of the major networks, drawing just 2.3 million viewers.

The evening newscasts finished with virtually unchanged ratings, with NBC leading with 8.7 million viewers, ABC following with 8.2 million, and CBS trailing with 6.8 million. All of the networks experienced a spike in their ratings on Thursday following the terrorist attacks in London.

http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2005-07-13#tv1





"Actress Katee Sackhoff sat down with reporters on the Vancouver set of her latest film WHITE NOISE 2...

There was talk on one point of putting us on NBC. I think everybody on the cast was like, 'No. We'd be canceled after a week. There's no way.' We wouldn't get the ratings, and we all know that."

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-ka...v-mainheadline

http://mboard.scifi.com/showflat.php...page=4#1700088


http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~springob/bsgratings.html





Season one’s premiere "33" averaged US Nielsen Ratings of: 2.6
Season one’s Finale "Kobal's Last Gleaming: Part 2" averaged US Nielsen

Ratings of: 2.5

Season two’s premiere "Scattered" averaged US Nielsen Ratings:
2.6

Season two’s Finale "Pegasus" averaged US Nielsen Ratings:
2.0

Season 2.5's premiere "Resurrection Ship pt.1" averaged US Nielsen Ratings:
2.1

Season 2.5's finale "Lay Down Your Burdens: Part II" averaged US Nielsen
Ratings: 1.9

Mini ratings (average of parts 1 & 2): 3.5

Season 1

33/Water..................= 2.6 January 14, 2005
Bastille Day..............= 2.3 January 21, 2005
Act of Contrition.........= 2.5 January 28, 2005
You Can't Go Home Again...= 2.5 February 4, 2005
Litmus....................= 2.5 February 11, 2005
Six Degrees of Separation = 2.2 February 18, 2005
Flesh and Bone............= 2.5 February 25, 2005
Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down..= 2.1 March 4, 2005
The Hand of God...........= 2.2 March 11, 2005
Colonial Day..............= 2.3 March 18, 2005
Kobol's Last Gleaming pt.1= 2.2 March 25, 2005
Kobol's Last Gleaming pt.2= 2.5 April 1, 2005
--------------------------------
Average Ratings of........= 2.16

(If "33" and "Water" are concidered 2.6 each then the average is

2.19)

Season 2.0

Scattered.................= 2.6 July 15, 2005
Valley of Darkness........= 2.0 July 22, 2005 That's 23% plunge in one episode!
Fragged...................= 2.0 July 29, 2005
Resistance................= 1.9 August 5, 2005
The Farm..................= 2.0 August 12, 2005
Home pt.1.................= 2.1 August 19, 2005
Home pt.2.................= 2.1 August 26, 2005
The Final Cut.............= 2.0 September 9, 2005
Flight of the Phoenix.....= 1.9 September 16, 2005
Pegasus...................= 2.0 September 23, 2005
-------------------------------
Average Rating of.........= 2.06

Season 2.5

Resurrection Ship pt.1....= 2.1 January 6, 2006
Resurrection Ship pt.2....= 2.0 January 13, 2006 [The last time GINO made 2.0]
Epiphanies................= 1.9 January 20, 2006
Black Market..............= 1.8 January 27, 2006
Scar......................= 1.9 February 3, 2006
Sacrifice.................= 1.8 February 10, 2006
The Captain's Hand........= 1.7 February 17, 2006
Downloaded................= 1.8 February 24, 2006
Lay Down Your Burdens Pt1 = 1.8 March 3, 2006*
Lay Down Your Burdens Pt2 = 1.9 March 10, 2006*
-------------------------------
Average Rating of.........= 1.87


In essence [from the mini debut of 3.5 to the season finale of 1.9] GINO has managed to retain only 54% of it’s original audience, which is an overall drop of 46%!

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ONE AND ONLY BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (as created by Glen A Larson)
____________________

"Battlestar Galactica, the definitive battle between the last surviving human colony and an evil robotic race, premiered on ABC in 1978 to an audience of 65 million viewers. The show remained a top-15 series throughout its brief run, and was eventually cancelled due to the prohibitively expensive special effects. From legendary television series creator Glen A. Larson (Magnum P.I., The Six Million Dollar Man), this science fiction adventure starring Lorne Green, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict quickly established itself as an epic and powerful television saga.

Considered cutting-edge for its time, Battlestar Galactica took home Emmy Awards for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series and Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts."

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/426/426739p1.html




This is simply not about a show us original BSG fans don't like. Long before there were GINO or fans of GINO (Galactica In Name Only), there were a core group of original BSG fans, who fought for and petitioned for a new BSG show. The majority of us wanted and petitioned for a FAITHFUL CONTINUATION of BSG. If you know anything about the history of BSG, you would know that Singer and DeSanto of XMEN fame were already working on a FAITHFUL CONTINUATION of BSG, with THE BLESSING OF IT'S CREATOR, GLEN LARSON AND THE FANS. DeSanto attempted to continue Singer's vision, but SciFi Channel tore up all the preproduction sets, without warning, overnight. Really professional.

After the 9/11 tragedy set Singer and DeSanto's BSG project behind, they had no choice but to abandon the project, as they had already previously contracted to start the XMEN movie by a certain date.

Many, like myself, had gotten over the fact, the new show would not be a continuation, and still were very excited about a new BSG BEGINS. Many, like myself, tuned in for the first four to five episodes, with hopes of liking what we saw. Instead, we were soured by severe changes to the spirit of BSG and the characters that fill out this space epic. We were looking forward to an updating of the F/x, a SLIGHTLY darker, more mature interpretation of BSG. On the other hand, we didn't want a show that was so devoid of hope in the face of adversity and so filled with shock value antics, such as baby-neck snapping, rape and public masturbation (Baltar), we would hardly recognize the show as BSG. All of the latter is very out of place in a story, which bares the Galactica name.

Just think if someone remade STAR WARS and made Han Solo a girl, Princess Liea a guy and interjected public masturbation and rape? Fans would have been outraged. I like my ALIENS dramatic, dark and gritty, and my STAR WARS fun, slightly dark and political and action-packed. It was how both stories were written and meant to be. I wouldn't want my ALIENS fun, lighter in tone and action-packed anymore than I would want my STAR WARS more dramatic, darker, grittier and more violent. STAR WARS, along with BSG, was the sparkle in our eye, which sent a surge of adventure and dreams of hope and heroism through our heads, as children. Moore disrespected that memory, all in a selfish agenda to pad his own ego. WHY? As I stated before, I love dark, violent and gritty, just as much as I love light-hearted fun, adventure and action. It depends on the mood; I’m in at the moment. To be honest, if Moore had penned his own story, characters and title, laced with all the dark & grittiness of an ALIEN movie and then some, I would have loved to seen what became of it with eager anticipation. Still, I’m not sure; I’m too keen on what I’ve witnessed of Moore’s directing and writing skills.

Moore has taken a cherished story and characters and molested them into something they were not written as and never meant to be. If he wanted to do something so different, why didn't he wait until he had a chance to write his own source material 100% from scratch, instead of crushing a fan base's and author's hopes and wishes. THAT is the definition of true SELFISHNESS. ...and that is why so many of us are pissed off. The core element of original BSG fans, which are the same ones, who fought for a BSG revival, are actively making their opinions known via e-mails, message board, etc, as we feel, as that is our only voice. Most of the casual original BSG fan base of 29-65 million strong (at least back in 78-79), make their disapproval known, simply by not tuning in to watch GINO. SciFi Channel is the Goliath and we are David. We are desperate and frustrated. The nastiness and vindictiveness of so many pro-GINO posters (not all) and staffers at Sci Fi Channel SINCE DAY #1, has only added fuel to the fire.


I hope this sheds some light on the state of things today, in the BSG community.

Sincerely

sPider




Sci Fi Channel's campaign to silence BSG's fans' protest against show

The SCI-FI Channel (U.S.) censors Battlestar Galactica fans -- again
(25.April.03) The SCI-FI Channel has chosen to censor (again) their main Battlestar Galactica bulletin board. In this instance, SCI-FI is banning any discussions by fans over the wishes for a future Battlestar Galactica continuation series versus the current reimaging production.

We understand that the SCI-FI Channel is entitled to whatever it wants to do with it's bulletin boards. Fans who have written BattlestarGalactica.com and BattlestarPegasus.com with this story feel that this is no surprise: SCI-FI Channel did not listen to the fanbase when it chose to "reimagine" the original series and it is choosing to ignore fans AGAIN.

http://www.battlestarpegasus.com/whatsnew/index.html


_____________________________

Links to groups mostly against the new, unauthorized BSG on SFC and dedicated to a new movie based on the original, which BSG's original creator, Glen Larson, EXCLUSIVELY and LEGALLY holds the rights to. DeSanto of XMEN and X2 fame, is eager to get behind the project:


The Cylon Alliance
http://cylon.org

Battlestar Galactica Club
http://www.battlestargalacticaclub.com

Colonial Fleets
http://www.colonialfleets.com/forums/index.php

BattlestarPegasus.com
http://www.battlestarpegasus.com

www.stallioncornell.com
http://www.stallioncornell.com/board

Battlestar Galactica Original Costume and Prop Museum
http://www.kobol.com

Sheba's Galaxy
http://www.blast.net/hart/Sheba.htm

Btw, here is an update on the declining ratings for this imposter BSG:


Season 3.0

Occupation.............=1.8 October 6, 2006 [That's lower than the season finale and still under 2.0!]
Exodus pt.1.............= 1.6 October 13, 2006 [A new low!! Keep in mind, this is the ratings level where STARGATE-1 was cancelled!!]
Exodus pt.2............=1.4 October 20, 2006 [That's another 11.1% drop from the last episode and a total 22.2% drop from the already crappy season premiere ratings performance! This turkey is almost done!]



In essence [from the mini debut of 3.5 to the last episode's ratings performance of 1.4] GINO has managed to retain only 40% of it’s original audience, which is an overall drop of 60%!

[RaZrEsHaT]

What is your point bud.

The new show is so much better than that cornball that was the old show. I watched it then, and have watch the reruns now and I love the new one on a level that the old show could never reach. Just too corny and stupid.

You should really just drop it. If you don't like it, then dont' watch it. Like I do with the entirety of CBS's evening line up.

[TSylvester]

Spider, I do thank you for all those reads. Having grown up watching the original BSG, loving it and hanging models I would get from Santa every year, all over my room, I can say the changes made to the show were obvious and not so welcomed.

However, I have come to take the show for what it is, not for what it was. Taking out the politics of how the show came to be, was, or was not, and I can enjoy it for what it is; a good show. The story line is gripping- and I might add- a little more 'believable" than it was back when the original came out. The characters are identifiable, like-able and loath-able. We've witnessed many things the characters have gone through over our life time,especially in the time between the original BSG came out and this new version.

Public masturbation? Sure, if you look at it that way, if you look for problems you will see them in everything. It is insinuated, not portrayed, big difference.

OK, Starbuck was a goof-ball guy with great "talent" more a talker than fighter. Now, Star Buck is a woman who would rather fight than talk. We could go on, but you know what? It's a show, no based on actual events, I like it and can separate it from the original BSG. Some will like it, others will not.

[Sleepyhead4]

It really is a big debate, but I'm thinking I like the new show better than the old one.

My dad grew up with the old one, and he feels the same as me about the new show.


And just a warning Spiderr, try not to post 13 times in a row again. Make one post as big as possible, and continue like that.

[tailhook]

Originally Posted by Sleepyhead4

It really is a big debate, but I'm thinking I like the new show better than the old one.

LOL. There is no debate. That ended when Moore put out a show worth watching. Spider's posts are like watching the loser of an election cry in his beer over the fact he lost. I'm surprised he didn't bring up hanging chads. At least Hatch had the decency and common sense to make nice and get paying work out of the deal.

As per the current series... anyone who knows the business side knows the ratings aren't what will drive whether BS:G stays on the air... it all comes down to the DVD sales. I got good money the newest SG1 sets were starting to not sell real well.. precipitating its cancellation.

-TH

[spiderr987]

If you really think that DVD sales make up the main bread n' butter for production cost of a tv show and not ratings (higher ratings means the more a studio can sell commercial airtime to advertisers and sponsers), then you really are clueless. Btw, here is an update on Galactica In Name Only's bombing in the ratings. There will be no season 4. If it's any consulation to ya, GINO would have been cancelled a loooooooonnnng time ago, if it had debuted on a successful cable tv channel with standards like Spike, TNT, FX, etc or a major tv network. SciFi Channel is, indeed, the bottom of the barrell:


Steady Decline in Ratings for Moore's GALACTICA IN NAME ONLY

http://mboard.scifi.com/showflat.php...page=4#1700088


http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~springob/bsgratings.html

Season one’s premiere "33" averaged US Nielsen Ratings of: 2.6
Season one’s Finale "Kobal's Last Gleaming: Part 2" averaged US Nielsen

Ratings of: 2.5

Season two’s premiere "Scattered" averaged US Nielsen Ratings:
2.6

Season two’s Finale "Pegasus" averaged US Nielsen Ratings:
2.0

Season 2.5's premiere "Resurrection Ship pt.1" averaged US Nielsen Ratings:
2.1

Season 2.5's finale "Lay Down Your Burdens: Part II" averaged US Nielsen
Ratings: 1.9

Mini ratings (average of parts 1 & 2): 3.5

Season 1

33/Water..................= 2.6 January 14, 2005
Bastille Day..............= 2.3 January 21, 2005
Act of Contrition.........= 2.5 January 28, 2005
You Can't Go Home Again...= 2.5 February 4, 2005
Litmus....................= 2.5 February 11, 2005
Six Degrees of Separation = 2.2 February 18, 2005
Flesh and Bone............= 2.5 February 25, 2005
Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down..= 2.1 March 4, 2005
The Hand of God...........= 2.2 March 11, 2005
Colonial Day..............= 2.3 March 18, 2005
Kobol's Last Gleaming pt.1= 2.2 March 25, 2005
Kobol's Last Gleaming pt.2= 2.5 April 1, 2005
--------------------------------
Average Ratings of........= 2.16

(If "33" and "Water" are concidered 2.6 each then the average is

2.19)

Season 2.0

Scattered.................= 2.6 July 15, 2005
Valley of Darkness........= 2.0 July 22, 2005 That's 23% plunge in one episode!
Fragged...................= 2.0 July 29, 2005
Resistance................= 1.9 August 5, 2005
The Farm..................= 2.0 August 12, 2005
Home pt.1.................= 2.1 August 19, 2005
Home pt.2.................= 2.1 August 26, 2005
The Final Cut.............= 2.0 September 9, 2005
Flight of the Phoenix.....= 1.9 September 16, 2005
Pegasus...................= 2.0 September 23, 2005
-------------------------------
Average Rating of.........= 2.06

Season 2.5

Resurrection Ship pt.1....= 2.1 January 6, 2006
Resurrection Ship pt.2....= 2.0 January 13, 2006 [The last time GINO made 2.0. This is also, where Ronald D Moore started to run out of BSG creator, Glen Larson material to plagarize].
Epiphanies................= 1.9 January 20, 2006
Black Market..............= 1.8 January 27, 2006
Scar......................= 1.9 February 3, 2006
Sacrifice.................= 1.8 February 10, 2006
The Captain's Hand........= 1.7 February 17, 2006
Downloaded................= 1.8 February 24, 2006
Lay Down Your Burdens Pt1 = 1.8 March 3, 2006*
Lay Down Your Burdens Pt2 = 1.9 March 10, 2006*
-------------------------------
Average Rating of.........= 1.87

Season 3.0

Occupation.............=1.8 October 6, 2006 [That's lower than the season finale and still under 2.0!]
Exodus pt.1.............= 1.6 October 13, 2006 [This 11% drop in ratings to 1.6 is a new low!! Keep in mind, this is the ratings level where STARGATE-1 was cancelled]!!
Exodus pt.2............=1.4 October 20, 2006 [That's another 11.1% drop from the last episode and a total 22.2% drop from the already crappy season premiere ratings performance! This turkey is almost done!]
Collaborators...........=1.4 October 27, 2006
Torn....................=1.5 November 3, 2006
Measure of Salvation....=1.5 November 10, 2006
Hero....................=1.3 November 17, 2006 [That has to be record low for any show in tv history! Can I get a 1.0 please]?
Unfinished Business...1.3 December 1, 2006

In essence [from the mini debut of 3.5 to the last episode's ratings performance of 1.3] GINO has managed to retain only 37% of it’s original audience, which is an overall drop of 63%!

[Sleepyhead4]

Originally Posted by tailhook

LOL. There is no debate. That ended when Moore put out a show worth watching. Spider's posts are like watching the loser of an election cry in his beer over the fact he lost. I'm surprised he didn't bring up hanging chads. At least Hatch had the decency and common sense to make nice and get paying work out of the deal.

As per the current series... anyone who knows the business side knows the ratings aren't what will drive whether BS:G stays on the air... it all comes down to the DVD sales. I got good money the newest SG1 sets were starting to not sell real well.. precipitating its cancellation.

-TH

I had meant to say 'was' not 'is', I was just speeding through.

and yeah I have the series on DVD

[spiderr987]

DVDs don't pay for tv production show budgets. ...selling commercial airtime does... and the lower the ratings, the lesser SciFi can sell that airtime, which pays for most of the bills... Get a clue. ...b/c of all the rancid, ripped-off b-grade crap like GINO that SciFi Channel spews out, at an alarming rate, SciFi Channel's ratings and profits are down by 15% at last check from the previous year. In 2006, EUREKA and ECW were the channel's highest rated shows. Especially, since GINO is SciFi's most expensive show to produce and barely beats out it's original b-grade movies and was being overtaken by GHOSTHUNTERS (a much cheaper show to produce) in the ratings, don't be surprised to see GINO along with other shows axed, in lieu of their new shows, DRESDEN FILES and PAINKILLER JANE, among others, set to debut next year.

[wingsabre]

Originally Posted by spiderr987

DVDs don't pay for tv production show budgets. ...selling commercial airtime does... and the lower the ratings, the lesser SciFi can sell that airtime, which pays for most of the bills... Get a clue. ...b/c of all the rancid, ripped-off b-grade crap like GINO that SciFi Channel spews out, at an alarming rate, SciFi Channel's ratings and profits are down by 15% at last check from the previous year. In 2006, EUREKA and ECW were the channel's highest rated shows. Especially, since GINO is SciFi's most expensive show to produce and barely beats out it's original b-grade movies and was being overtaken by GHOSTHUNTERS (a much cheaper show to produce) in the ratings, don't be surprised to see GINO along with other shows axed, in lieu of their new shows, DRESDEN FILES and PAINKILLER JANE, among others, set to debut next year.

DVDs off set the cost of production. Think about it, if ads pay for 25% of the profit, DVD's and other items like toys can pick up the slack. Creating enough episodes to allow it to go to syndication will also bring in profit. With the addition of the 4th season, the series will have a very decent syndication packet. The series also does very well online.

Even if they don't break even, the series brings on critical acclamations which brings free advertising for the network, and helps other shows. A big reason for why people think Stargate SG-1 was canceled was because it's ratings were down because the network didn't package it with BSG. In general the network's ratings are down overall this season.

Realize that the current model for television is breaking up due to iTV/ IPTV. People have more sources of entertainment and more options, so the ratings, even for networks, are down. In the past years network ratings have gone down and have shifted to cable, and recently those viewers have gone online and have gone to DVD sales. Now a growing group of people don't watch TV weekly and just buy the season DVDs an watch the whole season in one sitting. Some of the reasons for this move is the removal of commercials. Grey's Anatomy is doing quite well online with commercials before and after the airing. In fact NBCUniversal, Viacom, and Fox are all moving to the internet.

For a long term profit, scripted series will bring in more in the long term. Reality will bring in quick money, but performs poorly in DVD sales and in syndication. Ghosthunters may have brought in more advertisers, but their DVD sales and syndication value is much lower. Honestly would you buy a Survivor DVD or re-watch it on TV especially when you know who won? The same goes for American Idol. With the exception of the first season, would you really want to watch American Idol all over again when you know who one in the end?

[wingsabre]

Originally Posted by spiderr987

There will be no season 4.

wanna bet on that? i'll put money down on that right now. In fact, i'm so sure there will be at least 13 episodes, that i will name my first born GINO, in caps, if i am wrong.