The DeSanto, Hatch, and Bryan Singer continuations

[CaldwellForce]

The new BSG series could have been a very good show, it had some great episodes but they destroyed it will dull or depressing plots and bad soap opera. Look at Dalton, written in Richard Hatch's books long before the "new" BSG series, was an almost exact match for Kara Thrace. Read the details online of the Singer/DeSanto continuation, the new producers borrowed from the failed productions but perhaps these other guys could have handled the franchise much better. The continuation would have used stars from the orginal series like Herb Jefferson Jr, Jane Seymour, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. New BSG has too many great ups and poor downs, it is no longer consistent. The new series by Eick and Moore might have been very good series but the good story telling and the good science in SF was lost to them after the the first series IMHO

What do you guys say

Give somebody else a chance with this Battlestar franchise because its dying with Eick & Moore at the helm ?

Clearly there are issue with hiring some over priced one-hit-wonder like George Lucas, this could be an even bigger disaster

but who could do the 'Galactica' right, who could do it better, maybe Peter DeLuise, perhaps Joe Dante, maybe Joss Whedon, or DeSanto, Danny Boyle, Glen Morgan, J. M Straczynski, Paul Verhoeven, Roland Emmerich, Robert C. Cooper ?

What do you think on the Singer/DeSanto continuation idea ?

[Trek_Girl42]

Never, never, never. The original BSG was for the most part a steaming pile of rubbish. Moore and Eick have created a masterpiece.

Not to mention, I don't like the idea of BSG being looked at as a "franchise".

I would, however, love to see Joss Whedon direct an episode in the final season, but it won't happen.

[Xicer]

Well I half-agree and half-disagree.

While the original BSG may have been, at times, cheesy beyond words and seemed to take a lotta stuff from Star Wars, the story itself was quite good. Aside from some of the lame episodes, the show just had a really nice and campy feel too it. They were the original rag-tag, fugitive fleet on a quest to find Earth. Plus, Lorne Greene is DA MAN.

The new BSG is good, but as you (CaldwellForce) said, its had too many great ups and poor downs. At times I feel some of the episodes Moore and Eick have written were absolutely phenomenal, just pure masterpieces. However, other times I feel they've gone too far in trying to make it realistic and, especially lately, have added cheap soap opera elements to the show. These elements are what have made most people I know stop watching the show all-together. Its kinda sad at times how different the new BSG is from the old too, just about everyone I know who was a fan of the old BSG (which they have childhood memories of) strongly dislikes the new series.

As for the continuations, the Richard Hatch story certainly sounded interesting. I've always wanted to see that 4.5 min trailer of Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming but its never been released outside of conventions.

[Kick-Kinsey]

Moore and Eick have created a masterpiece.

Moore and Eick created nothing, unless of course you're counting boring stuff like Carnivale, the modern Star Trek Klingons or lame tv shows like Hercules. The re-imagined series was not an original of Moore/Eick, it nothing more than a reboot of DeSanto's failed continuation on Glen Larson's original series, re-imaging however does have a much better ring to it than rip off. Skiffy had access to the scripts and sets of the stalled continuation but instead optioned the property with the intention of 'reimagining' the series with same characters and concept but different Producers who wanted to take it in a gritter, soapy, political direction. Even the finale of Season 2 shared a lot of stuff with the DeSanto Galactica continuation

What do you think on the Singer/DeSanto continuation idea ?

DeSanto and Singer might be too busy with that Xmen or Transformers stuff these days. I've liked JMS as a story teller, B-5 is an example how to tell an epic storyline without screwing up character continuity or filler episodes involving soapy elements. Rockne and Henson did great with their little Farscape show, the series was much more imaginative, the sets looked cool, the costumes and aliens were exciting, the series had constant ratings...as a whole it was the exact opposite of BSG. Joss Whedon could also be a winner, I'm not a Buffy fan but Firefly was some of the best stuff on tv. Any of our Stargate people like Brad Wright, Andy Mikita, Joseph Mallozzi, Martin Gero, Paul Mullie...would have done a much better job with the property

[Mefusta]

Yeah, because 4 seasons, a miniseries, and a direct-to-DVD movie are damned indicative of a failed concept. Not to mention the wide range of accolade and critical acclaim the series has drawn over the years, which just stinks of failure. Damn Eick and Moore! Damn them for reviving Galactica and bringing it to the forefront of modern sci-fi. Damn them to hell!

Let's face facts here, the show must be good. Speaking from a purely objective point of view, a 'failed' show doesn't go for 4 seasons and puts out a DVD movie. Sure, Galactica has had its downs, but what series hasn't? I can't deny that the show has never gotten way too soapy at times, really soapy, but so what? Just shrug it off and wait for next week's episode! The ups have been downright incredible television, and while the downs have been pretty bad, they'd have to reach the depths of Galactica 1980 to outweigh the phenomenal stuff we've seen.

Who could do it better? Lots of people. Who has done it better? Nobody!

Moore and Eick created nothing, unless of course you're counting boring stuff like Carnivale, the modern Star Trek Klingons or lame tv shows like Hercules. The re-imagined series was not an original of Moore/Eick, it nothing more than a reboot of DeSanto's failed continuation on Glen Larson's original series, re-imaging however does have a much better ring to it than rip off. Skiffy had access to the scripts and sets of the stalled continuation but instead optioned the property with the intention of 'reimagining' the series with same characters and concept but different Producers who wanted to take it in a gritter, soapy, political direction. Even the finale of Season 2 shared a lot of stuff with the DeSanto Galactica continuation

They also created Battlestar Galactica. I haven't read deep into their careers, or researched where they originally got their ideas or concepts. I know nothing of the backlot politics at Sciffy, and I don't know the history of the Battlestar Galactica concept. What I do know is that most people don't know any of that either. What everybody does know is that Eick and Moore produced a good, successful show. Reputation isn't based on research, it's based on what has your name on it. As such, Eick and Moore will forever be known as the blokes that made one of the most critically praised sci-fi shows of the modern era.

While Galactica may have indeed taken influence from the attempted reboot, the crux of the issue remains that the series has grown and expanded on its own for four years. Are we to believe Ronald D. Moore has a big stack of DeSanto's notes littering the floor of his office? Was it DeSanto's ideas that won Galactica an Emmy, half a dozen Saturns and a Hugo? Was it DeSanto's plans that has kept Galactica highly regarded in critic circles for years? Was it DeSanto's notes that has kept the series on the air for 4+ years?

[Deckard07]

Being in my late 30’s I’ve had the advantage of being a fan of both shows at the time win they were originally aired. It’s easy to set back and be critical of either show and I’ve heard all the sarcasm about how cheesy the original 70s version was and how RDM has ruined the re-imaged version by turning it into a space soap opera. I’m an avid fan of both shows and always find posts like this one interesting. For me the original series is dear from a nostalgia sense and for its time was good sci-fi all the way from the special effects to the premise of the show. Of course there were some lame episodes, but what 70’s show, or any other time period for that matter hasn’t put out a few stinkers? I still enjoy watching these episodes and get inspired when I hear talk about a possible continuation of the orginal series.

I was originally disappointed when the Larson/DeSanto continuation fell through and sent my letters to Scifi expressing disappointment. However, I gave the RDM show a fair chance and was surprisingly shocked at how good the show was and the potential it had. For me the first 2 seasons are the best science fiction I’ve ever seen and even though I was disappointed with about half the episodes in Season 3 (Maelstrom sucked and Thigh a Cylon? give me a break), however the half I did like keeps me inspired for the upcoming and final season. Like it or not RDM and Eick are at the helm for now and us loyal fans will see it through till the end.

I would support a continuation of the original series with DeSanto and Larson at the helm or even Hatch for that matter. Hatch has a real passion for the continuation and would ensure the storylines were solid. When you go back and do the research about the DeSanto concept or Hatch’s “2nd Coming” you can see the potential a continuation of the original series has. All of this material is available at http://www.battlestargalactica.com
Heck, RDM even stated in an interview he’s not opposed to someone doing a continuation of the original series.

Based on the now airing “minisodes” I think a series based on the original cylon wars would be a big hit too.

[X-3-0-2]

What do you guys say

Have a look at this link
http://www.coolscifi.com/gallery/browseimages.php?c=67

Revival Attempts - What may have been...

[Freek]

Those were all concepts for cheesy one-in-a-million shows. Stargate is a great show but it is not different from other Sci-Fi shows. The new battlestar is, it does away with the geeky tech babble and focusses on the action and the emotions of the people.

[Chricton]

Did you guys ever see that tech demo for the Desanto FOX version? Yeah...
The Hatch trailer was probably the closest thing to a true revival TOS fans ever got. The DeSanto version would have probably been cancelled just as fast as Firefly was had 9/11 not halted production. And Firefly was good. The DeSanto one was looking very goofy from all the pre-production stuff that is out there.....especially that not-so-great CGI trailer. It just looked "dated" compared to stuff like Firefly and the new BSG. The Cylons looked like the Starkid suit.

I couldn't be happier with the new series. It has had its lows, but I can't name a single scifi that hasn't had points far crappier/cheesier/lower. I was watching a rerun of Voyager on Spike the other day and was amazed at just how crappy it was, the dialog especially. I think Moore did the impossible, take a beaten old series and make it something relevant. I'd take soapy dialog over the **** I was hearing in the Voyager rerun.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=0

[Kick-Kinsey]

Here's another

"DeSanto/Singer Battlestar Galactica Slideshow"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiC-30keJSs

Have a look at this link
http://www.coolscifi.com/gallery/browseimages.php?c=67

Revival Attempts - What may have been...

Where did that ratings graph go ?

It was a great signature !

[Bey0nd]

cylon dot org is gone!!

[Morbius]

Never, never, never. The original BSG was for the most part a steaming pile of rubbish. Moore and Eick have created a masterpiece.

that's every bit as absurd as the original poster, if it's a masterpiece it's a very very very very flawed one.

The problem with BSG today is that it started as such a good idea and it kept me guessing through the end of the first season, and has been totally predictable since.

I find it predictable not just on the macro level but on the micro level as well. I can predict when a new episode starts, within general terms, what will happen in it, as well as the spoilers for season 4 make it just about as cliche and predictable as season 3 was.

all in all i'd say the new BSG was a good idea that the writing either got "tired" working on, or that they never really had as many ideas as we were lead to believe, after all so far the show has been a reimagining of ideas from the original and nothing more.

[DigiFluid]

The new BSG series could have been a very good show, it had some great episodes but they destroyed it will dull or depressing plots and bad soap opera.

Stopped reading here.

/snore

[Pharaoh Atem]

Never, never, never. The original BSG was for the most part a steaming pile of rubbish. Moore and Eick have created a masterpiece.

Not to mention, I don't like the idea of BSG being looked at as a "franchise".

I would, however, love to see Joss Whedon direct an episode in the final season, but it won't happen.

complety agree!!!1 I would like to see joss and jane write a ep together that be great

[Bey0nd]

What's up with these idiots who go around bashing every single aspect of the old show. I don't really like the old one but I don't HATE IT and do not go around bashing it all the time. I think a lot of these idiots are Xena fans or DS9'ers that think RonMoore is God's gift to scifi or fans who loved that silly Worf/Dax soap opera >> Which happened to be exactly when DS9 jumped the shark

Without the old series there would be no new Battlestar - end of story

and if the old series is so totally sh*t,
then please explain why the new Battlestar keeps revisiting old designs, characters, old storyline etc