Why did BSG end at four seasons?

[Solo4114]

I always felt the New Caprica storyline was where things went off the rails and they lost focus. I mean, that REALLY shook things up and, while it allowed them to explore some really neat stuff, it also kind of made me want to say "What does this have to do with ANYTHING that this show is about in any focused way?" There was also the fact that, during Season 3, the network had, apparently, told them to do more self-contained episodes that didn't depend on weekly repeated viewing, with the theory being that they could grow their audience. I think it was also at that point that the ratings started slipping.

I don't think the network said "Four seasons. That's it." though. I think they decided internally to wrap it up in four seasons rather than do their originally-planned five and run the risk of mid-season cancellation or another writer's strike or whathaveyou. The thing is, with the sort of all-over-the-place third season, coupled with the "make it up as we go along" style of writing (example: nobody knew who the final five were when the concept was first created, and they just sort of decided it'd be the five they ended up choosing as they got closer to the episode itself because "We thought it'd be really interesting to watch these characters find out they're Cylons"), I think they never were really going to be able to "explain" what was going on, where things were going, etc. because they didn't really KNOW exactly. I mean, they knew in some sense but not in some grand narrative master plan.

Apparently, the network was also very insistent on the "they have a plan" stuff at the beginning of each episode. So the network was always very much focused on creating the sense among viewers that there was some overarching plot that would gradually be revealed, whereas the writers had no such plot and let the characters "write themselves" in a manner of speaking.

So, when it came time for season 4, I think they decided they'd rather control when and how the show ends, since they knew that numbers were dropping, that the future was uncertain, and that it was possible they'd be canceled.

 

[SSgt Burton]

Well I was very late to the party having watched the entire series one episode after another just this year! A friend of mine gave me the entire series years ago and I just got around to watching it.

Having the benefit of not having to wait at all as to “what happens next”, I have to say that this was like a book that was a page turner. I couldn’t stop watching it! I would watch four or five episodes in a row stopping only because it was 4 in the morning and I just had to get some sleep!

So on the whole I loved the show. It was riveting at times!

Now having said that- the third and fourth seasons did have the show’s weakest moments. But while some may not have liked the direction the “New Caprica” plotline took- I for one thought it was exhilarating seeing the show break new ground, not knowing when they would get back on the journey to Earth- if ever at all! Honestly I thought the New Caprica sideplot was wrapped up a little too quickly; I felt the “year that had passed” could have been fleshed out a little more than simply a caption on screen, and that they could have extended the fight on New Caprica a little longer (this is just me of course).

However the show’s direction definitely took a turn that wasn’t really my cup of tea. I totally understood the parallels they were making (not trying to break the TOS here ), just that if I wanted to watch “Highway to Heaven” I’d put that in the vhs player. :lol

However, as bizarre a direction the 3rd and 4th seasons were, I thought that “Baltar’s trial” had some of the best acting I’ve seen on television in a while (Apollo’s monologue was brilliant), and the “Galactica mutiny” was nail biting! Again I thought the Galactica mutiny was wrapped up a little too quickly.

Finding “Earth”, and that it’s been nuked- brilliant cliffhanger! Discovering that it had been inhabited by Cylons exclusively- again an interesting twist.

Of course now having read the comments here I see why the 4th season moved at a pretty quick pace.

The finale... I have very mixed emotions about it. Needless to say the whole Kara Thrace thing was just... “not my thing.” Again it could have been fleshed out a bit better- was Thrace’s father a Cylon? Was she a half-breed all along? Nope.

And “Head Six” and “Head Baltar”--- I’m to accept they are “Angels”? (As this is the ONLY explanation... unless they are simply extraterrestrial, non-corporeal beings with nearly immortal lifespans... Really? Oh well.)

Anyway despite its flaws (and yes I agree there are some BIG ones) I still liked it from start to finish and was sorry to see it end. I am glad it DID have an ending though, and didn’t just get cancelled on a bloody cliffhanger!


Kevin

 

[JD]

I think the biggest reason they opted to end it with season 4 was fear that season 5 (or 6, 7, etc) wouldn't happen and we'd be left without closure.

I remember there being some delay with the announcement that season 4 would happen at all. SciFi kept dragging their feet - when the announcement finally occurred, Ron Moore quickly added he was wrapping it up at with season 4.

Sometime during season 3, I remember Moore stating he felt he was somewhere between 1/2 and 1/3 complete with the story... and he even mentioned that the last part of the story could come quicker than that first parts of the story. While most will argue that he didn't have the entire show meticulously outlined, it's believed that he had a general idea of what where it was going - and even that was subject to change.

There are some things that just don't make a lot of sense while watching the series again (the final 5, old Earth being populated with Cylons... all being noteworthy); but, to me that doesn't really matter that much... even with a few discrepancies, a few odd twists, a ton of retconning - this was still an amazing series and the best television series I've ever seen.

 

[Solo4114]

Yeah, I vaguely remember that as well -- the delay between the Season 3 finale and the announcement of Season 4, I mean. Then the writers' strike hit and it was up in the air as to whether the show would even wrap up, since there were contracts that would run out and actors would start rescheduling themselves and whatnot. In some sense, it's lucky that Season 4 even happened at all, regardless of whether it met or failed to meet expectations/hopes.

My bet is, had they tried to go for a season 5, Sci-Fi wouldn't have renewed it. Even if it was the highest rated show on the network, it's ABUNDANTLY clear that the people there don't give a **** about ratings or science fiction and are far more about budgets. High ratings on Sci-Fi/SyFy don't actually matter as much as profit margins. My bet is that Sci-Fi's goal in recent years was to slash budgets while slightly lowering prices on ad buys for the remaining shows. Thus, they spend a lot less money on programming, and keep a lot more of what comes in, which produces overall higher profits than running expensive (but good) shows and selling expensive (but less profitable) ad time.

 

[Cobalt60]

There are some things that just don't make a lot of sense while watching the series again (the final 5, old Earth being populated with Cylons... all being noteworthy)...

old earth was populated by cylons because the entire human race were cylons.. they just didnt know it. :rolleyes

"this has all happened before and will all hapen again" -- humans create cylons; the cylons rebel; the cylons kill the huans and take the humans' place in the universe; and the cycle repeats.

the "humans" in BSG were the previous generation of "cylons", created by the lords of kobol, (the previous "humans"). only the 13th tribe told their decendants the truth. the other 12 tribes chose to beLIEve they were human.

ALL 13 tribes came from the same stock; they were ALL cylons. if the 13th tribe were "cylon" then EVERYBODY was cylon. (thats the only way it makes any sense).

I just wish the producers would have revealed this at the end of season4, instead of leaving it 'implied'. (and/or, holding it back, to be explained in some future series, which would never be made anyways). :rolleyes



a huge theme in BSG was 'the son replaces the father' -- the son can't achieve his full potential until he becomes the father. they actually stated this explicitly in season 3 somewhere (re: lee and bill adama).

the goal of the cylons was to become "human" c/w the ability to reproduce biologically. then they would destroy the human race and take their place in the universe.

"this has all happened before"

its the only way it makes any sense.

-===-

personally, I think the "touched by an angel" crap was necessary to sell the show to a predominantly christain nation. the original show got cancelled, in part, because it asked a christian audience to suspend its own belief structure every week. ("there are those who believe, life here began out there"). this didn't fly, in 1978.

the onl y way to tell the story was to include a "god" angle, to smooth over the people who would otherwise be offended, BY the story, itself.

-> I can totally see why they did it. even if I don't agree with it.

 

[Organic Mechanic]

Having the benefit of not having to wait at all as to “what happens next”, I have to say that this was like a book that was a page turner. I couldn’t stop watching it!

I watched it for the first time on Netflix last month, and experienced the same thing...except that being on bed rest, I could watch most of a season in a day. :lol

***Good description****

This exactly what I came away with. I do think that they built Kara up way too much for such a weak payoff though.

I never wondered why BSG ended, I just assumed it was because the story had been told.

 

[SSgt Burton]

"this has all happened before and will all hapen again" -- humans create cylons; the cylons rebel; the cylons kill the huans and take the humans' place in the universe; and the cycle repeats.

Hmmm... that's an interesting take on it. Not saying you're wrong however the cycle of violence that "I" got out of the series was a little more straight forward-

Humans on Kobol create Centurion Cylons. They also create "humanoid" cylons. The humanoid Cylons and Humans live in harmony. The Centurions are treated as slaves.

The Centurions rebel, Kobol is nuked. Humans and humanoid Cylons (remaining together as the 13th Tribe) flee Kobol.

On the journey the "Temple of Hopes" is established. Humans and humanoid Cylons part company: Humans toward the 12 Colonies, the humanoid Cylons toward "Earth".

The humanoid Cylons reach "Earth". They evolve and obtain the ability to procreate. Once again Centurions are created. But not having learned from their past mistakes, the Centurions are again treated as slaves. The Centurions rebel, "Earth" is nuked. The Final Five make their way to the 12 Colonies to warn Humans of what happens when you mistreat Centurions. The trip is made at sub light speed as they do not have "Jump" technology.

2000 years pass.

The Humans on the 12 Colonies have once again created Centurions and are treating them as slaves. The Centurions rebel and the First Cylon War occurs.

The war ends with (unbeknownst to the Humans) the arrival of the Final Five, who negotiate an armistice with the Centurions by giving them Resurrection technology and creating 8 humanoid models. However Model 1 (Cavil) betrays the Final Five by boxing their line, wiping their memories, giving them "human" memories and placing them among the 12 Colonies to live as Humans.

Cavil then orchestrates the final assault on the 12 Colonies. The 12 Colonies are nuked, the remaining Humans flee.

That is the cycle of violence: The continued creation and mistreatment of A.I. (Centurions).

The epilogue in downtown N.Y. begs the question that if "we" create sentient A.I., will we treat them as equals or as slaves?


Kevin

 

[Cobalt60]

hmm. if that's the case, then the 'humans' in BSG are the lords of kobol -- having created (both) humanoid cylons and centurions, on kobol. (and lived with them in harmony, for a time).

but.. it's stated explicitly that the lords of kobol created the 'human race' in BSG.

and these humans were created ON kobol.

--> if the 'humans' in BSG were indeed created on kobol, then that would make them the 'humanoid cylons' of which you speak. no?

((their own religion labels THEM as the ones 'created' on kobol; NOT the 'creators', of anything))

 

[Cobalt60]

another angle:

at the end of season 4, the humans and their humanoid cylons are interbreeding .. (this spawned a 'new' hybrid race, beginning with Hera) .. they all split into 'tribes' and they spread out on New Earth. (for all intents and purposes, the 'old' human race ceases to exist at this point, replaced by the hybrid race, beginning with Hera).

meanwhile the 'purebred' cylons (centurions) go their seperate way, they take the base-star to another planet. (a 13th tribe?)



--> maybe that's what happened the first time around (on kobol): the lords of kobol and their humanoid cylons began to interbreed; after the war, their descendants spread out, and formed the 12 tribes.

meanwhile the only purebred cylons of kobol (centurions) went their separate way, and travelled to Old Earth, where they evolved and became 'humanoid'. (the 13th tribe).

-===-

either way, the "humans" of the 12 tribes were created on kobol.

the "lords of kobol" were the previous human race, and they ceased to exist after the war.

the 13th tribe (on Old earth) were the only purebred cylons -- and the 12 tribes are the new hybrid race.



--> in that case, then the "humans" in BSG were HALF cylon, from the start. hehe