According to the recent interview on IGN, actor Jamie Bamber (Apollo) thinks that the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica may be the last. He says that_ “the [ratings] numbers aren’t great and our pickup [for the next season] was much later than it had been before. No one from the studio or network has said anything, but the executive producers have hinted they think it will be [the last season]. I think the writing’s on the wall, as they say.” _
Considering this is one of my two absolute favourite shows on television (Heroes is the other), I have to say that this is a resounding disappointment.
Why does it seem like the sci-fi genre is losing all of its best shows? Stargate SG-1 was cancelled despite the fact that the Ori storyline was really one of the better ones that the show has seen. And now Battlestar Galactica may be seeing the curtain early due to lacklustre ratings? This blows.
Granted, all of us nerds will still have a dose of Stargate Atlantis and Heroes to keep us going…but for how long? If all of these shows are being led to the gallows, how long can Heroes and Stargate Atlantis keep their presence on the air?
This is extremely disappointing. Perhaps the made for TV movie that is being filmed for between Season Three and Four will inspire more people to watch the show, or revitalize the series. Who knows. While I do want it to end, I do not want Season Four to be a rush to get to Earth. While I appreciate the overall storyline - the quest for Earth - it is the smaller stories that examine politics, rights, and the legal framework of this rag-tag fleet.
In many ways, the fleet in Battlestar Galactica exists as a microcosm for humanity. Within it, we are able to see situations that have an analogue in modern issues. The recent episode with Chief Tyrol organizing a strike on the fuel refinement ship due to substandard working conditions was an excellent episode (although it would have helped if Adama and Roslyn had not merely relented within the last five minutes of the episode after being such hard asses for the whole story).
But, I ramble. Galactica, I will keep my fingers crossed that you keep flying. I could not bear to suffer the loss of another priceless sci-fi show. Not again.