Battlestar Galactica finally received not only Emmy Gold, but some of the proper nominations befitting its television goodness. The question is, now that it has achieved some notoriety in Emmy circles, will Galactica finally at least be nominated for Outstanding Drama in its final season, as it has deserved since its first?
One thing that may stifle Galactica’s chances at the category is the rumored plan for the Sci Fi channel to split the final season of the series into two 10 episode chapters, which would be aired during separate television periods.
Even though the move is highly unpopular amongst Battlestar fans, it addresses the fact that once BSG leaves Sci Fi, it will leave behind a void that may cause the channel to slip inexorably into gravity of its ample black hole of schlock.
While Galactica may not be pulling in the numbers that put Sci Fi into the big leagues, its accolades serve as an anchor against the pull of its less than successful – cough, Flash Gordon, cough – programming. For years, the channel has struggled to be taken seriously, and Battlestar Galactica is the first episodic show since Farscape to keep Sci Fi legitimate and vital.
True, with minis like Taken, and The Lost Room, Sci Fi has created a niche for genre fans that is unrivaled. But the saturation level of sub par programming like Mansquito, or Mega Snake, keeps the channel dismissive as a steady source of quality programming. Don’t they know that brilliant independent filmmakers like Shane Curruth (Primer) are looking for work?
At this point, an Emmy nom in Outstanding Drama would be the ultimate feather in Sci Fi’s cap, but by splitting Battlestar Galactica into two pieces, and continuing to invest in sub par programming, is the channel telling the Academy it doesn’t take itself serious enough to reach the next level?
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of Sci Fi)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
