Did the RDM BSG kill ship-based SF on TV?

[Brother Freyr]

I don't know why anyone believes BSG killed ship-based sci-fi. It earned more commercial success and critical acclaim than any other series of its kind in a long, long time. If anything, it improved the chances for other sci-fi series. Place the blame on a multiude of forces arrayed against launching an (expensive) ship-based sci-fi series.

[Sp!der]

I don't think he killed it he made it much more awesome, at least with season two and three and the rest were superb too.. YES even the finale as one of the better finales I've seen !

[Snowman37]

I didn't watch BSG, but I'm vaguely familiar with it. Did it kill space-based science-fiction on TV? No. At most, it killed Stargate, and only because SGU tried to emulate it. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. The problem was that SGU was too different, too fast, with too much focus on character drama over plot-driven stories. MGM's bankruptcy was probably the biggest factor. Anyway, no, BSG did not kill space-based TV shows. They've been drying up due to the popularity of cop/lawyer/doctor procedural and similar shows.

Face it, science-fiction does well at the movie theater, but it's always a hard sell for television.

[The Flyattractor]

Is it "dead" because we don't want to watch them or there isn't a company out there that wants to pay to produce one anymore?

I hear the tv execs whinning about it being to expensive alot more then the other.

[Brother Freyr]

Is it "dead" because we don't want to watch them or there isn't a company out there that wants to pay to produce one anymore?

It's apparently both. TV execs don't want to pay extra money for a show with fewer viewers. Not while they can pay less for a greater number of viewers for shows like "America's Got Talented Master Chefs Dancing with Starred Island Survivors."

[The Flyattractor]

It's apparently both. TV execs don't want to pay extra money for a show with fewer viewers. Not while they can pay less for a greater number of viewers for shows like "America's Got Talented Master Chefs Dancing with Starred Island Survivors."

So in other words...Reality TV killed the Sci Fi Star?

[garhkal]

One quick question, what about the mindset of casual viewers? Why are people sold on reality shows and talent shows more so than shows like Psych or sci fi space based shows? Why are shows like Psych better sold to the public than Sci Fi space based shows? Why are non-space based shows better sold to the public than space based Sci Fi shows?

Psyche and somewhat the mentalist churn peoples love of comedic cops. Reality appeals to the masses in the sense its dumb, easy to watch and cheep to make.

So in other words...Reality TV killed the Sci Fi Star?

IMO yes.

[gatechick]

It's apparently both. TV execs don't want to pay extra money for a show with fewer viewers. Not while they can pay less for a greater number of viewers for shows like "America's Got Talented Master Chefs Dancing with Starred Island Survivors."

Lol I would love to see "that" show!!!

I agree it is probably both. I am personally saddened that people would rather watch a bunch of clown make idiots of themselves than watch a good quality sci fi drama.

[Sp!der]

No, I converted a friend of mine into a fan, I borrowed him the pilot and season one and he is almost through with season one, and I borrowed him that yesterday morning

[spratty]

Face it reality TV is killing off most scripted shows, people are becoming too stupid and simple with their viewing and also since most people are going online instead of relying on cable or free to air, studios simple will take fewer risks, they will occasionally give things like The Walking Dead or falling skies a chance and get lucky but if any other show doesn't get anywhere close to their unreliable "ratings" method they will **** can a show much quicker how many shows now only last 1-2 seasons and making it to a third is a godsend?

also no BSG did not kill the ship based genre, peoples tastes, the mentioned above has killed it. At some point I am sure it will come back in some form maybe even a popular web series who knows but I for one am happy to see any sci fi related shows any more as tv is becoming more enveloped in reality tv rubbish.

[jelgate]

The data says otherwise. If anything their is less reality TV then their was 5 years ago. And TV cord cutting is a myth

[spratty]

The data says otherwise. If anything their is less reality TV then their was 5 years ago. And TV cord cutting is a myth

sadly not the case in Australia :-(

[maneth]

I don't know why anyone believes BSG killed ship-based sci-fi. It earned more commercial success and critical acclaim than any other series of its kind in a long, long time. If anything, it improved the chances for other sci-fi series. Place the blame on a multiude of forces arrayed against launching an (expensive) ship-based sci-fi series.

Agree with you on this one. More than one factor is at play here, you can't blame any one show for killing off ship-based sci-fi.

[techs]

Yes, it did.
BSG was very, very well done and was quality television. The fact it never got high ratings was certainly noted by the major networks. NBC tried to show BSG repeats on Friday nights for awhile, iirc. Not many people watched it.

The lesson I think tv networks learned from BSG about space based scifi is no matter how good it is it will not break out ratings wise and be a huge draw. So, the show has to be economical to make based on a low viewer ship. Therefore its not worth making under current conditions.

However, networks are willing to make scifi if it can be done for the same cost as a regular series, or even a tad more. Falling Skies is an example. Lots of character developmen and just enough special effects to keep the nerds watching.

[Brother Freyr]

Yes, it did.
BSG was very, very well done and was quality television. The fact it never got high ratings was certainly noted by the major networks. NBC tried to show BSG repeats on Friday nights for awhile, iirc. Not many people watched it.

Comparing viewership of Sci-Fi channel to the "Big Four" networks is apples and oranges. BSG was a huge success for the Sci-Fi channel, compared against past ratings for Sci-Fi. No one compares "Mad Men" or "Breaking Bad" to the shows on ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX and says, "Oh, Mad Men is a failure. It's ratings are nowhere near the competition on the networks." Success or failure is judged against historic data for the channel where it airs.

And Friday night re-runs are irrelevant as a measure of viability.

[techs]

Comparing viewership of Sci-Fi channel to the "Big Four" networks is apples and oranges. BSG was a huge success for the Sci-Fi channel, compared against past ratings for Sci-Fi. No one compares "Mad Men" or "Breaking Bad" to the shows on ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX and says, "Oh, Mad Men is a failure. It's ratings are nowhere near the competition on the networks." Success or failure is judged against historic data for the channel where it airs.

And Friday night re-runs are irrelevant as a measure of viability.

Well, tbh, Fringes ratings on Friday are comparable to what BSG was getting on Fridays. Although BSG was on at 10 pm.
The idea for BSG on NBC was to see if there was an untapped market on a major network who wasn't watching it because they just never watched Scifi or later Syfy.

Personally, I always wondered why NBC didn't grab BSG from Syfy. After seeing the mini series and the first few episodes it was immediately clear, to me at least, the show was far better television than NBC was making. I wonder what kind of rating BSG would have gotten if it had premiered on NBC?