'Battlestar Galactica' producers: The show had reached its third act

Fans may have been shocked, but "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer Ronald D. Moore said he saw the end of "Battlestar Galactica" looming months ago, as he and executive producer David Eick hashed out the plan for the end of Season 3.

The final handful of episodes saw the humans discover a liveable algae planet, a glimpse of four of the Final Five Cylons, and the revelation that at least one character had reached Earth.

"There is a creative agenda we wanted to serve," Moore said during a conference call Friday afternoon with reporters clamoring to know why the producers had chosen to preemptively draw the series to a close. "We feel the show has reached its third act. The storyline is propelling us."

He added: "If we don't start paying this off and if we don't reveal those secrets, you feel like you're jerking around the audience."

The producers were naturally tight-lipped about what would happen in the upcoming 22 episodes, but did promise that the search for Earth will be resolved in some way.

"Battlestar Galactica" is the most high-profile of Sci Fi Channel's original series, but according to the pair, the network's programming executives were ultimately supportive of the decision to end the show next year. "They expressed concern that the show would be able to go on longer," Moore explained. "But when we were clear this is what we wanted to to, they were supportive."

Eick said the cast reactions to the news of an end date were split. "Some of them understood...others believed that the show had a longer shelf life and were surprised." But everyone now is really "sinking their teeth in" for the last hurrah, he said.

Moore echoed the description, adding that being in Vancouver last month for the show's last start of production "felt like the beginning of senior year."

Other tidbits from the call:

• Lucy Lawless might be back! Her Cylon brethren pulled the plug on Lawless' character D'Anna after she went renegade last season, but Moore revealed that the producers are talking about booting the femme-bot back up. "It's in the planning stages," he said, but added that nothing is firm.
• November's two-hour stand-alone special, "Razor," will follow the back story of Battlestar Pegasus, the high-tech ship run by Admiral Cain (who died in Season 2). Story will go into the events prior to her death and will also dramatize the original Cylon attack on the humans. It won't deal with last season's cliffhanger -- Starbuck's alive? Who's the fifth member of the Final Five? -- but it will set up certain events that will happen in the final batch of episodes, Moore said.
• The pilot "Caprica" is still in contention for a series pick-up at Sci Fi Channel. Eick said the project, which would serve as a prequel to "Battlestar Galactica," would get into the creation and origins of the Cylons among other things. "We're anxious for any opportunity to pursue it," Eick said. "It's not on the front burner, but no one has said it's dead. We continue to hope."

• No film spin-offs are in the works -- yet? "The plan is to end the show, to bring it to a definitive conclusion," Moore said, but not without adding: "but never say never. You never know how we'll feel when we actually write the conclusion. It would be foolish to say absolutely not. But right now, the plan is to end it [with the series]."

-- Denise Martin

(Photo by Carole Segal / Sci Fi Channel)

Comments

[Lawrence]

I'm a musician. What the frak does that have to do with BSG? Well, a lot of times, we've presented songs, really good ones, to the "record companies" and they shot them. When we released them ourselves, the were successful. BSG is the best SciFi series ever made. The actors are not all that fameous but nevertheless, anyone of them does a hell of a great job! Especially Edward James, the born leader but actually, they're all so great. The first season had a great opener but then took too much time to start moving. ANyway, from Season2 to 3 it went on so so well. There were some great story lines, the action was great, you name it. Now take series like Stargate or Star Trek. Not bad. How long are they on air? But BSG raises some concerns with some "executives". It's like these 'record companies'. Thay seem to have lost all feeling with the public. They do not know anymore what is good an what's not. It's true that in BSG the story has been written to have an end i.e. finding earth. I'm sure anyway there could have been a few orhter seasons but 4!

I will so terribly miss that show. I really will. I only hope those frakkers who write the story won't make the mistake to have the entire colonial fleet been blown up by some event, or have it turn out that actually the humans are all cylons that have gone bad and need to be shot down by the 'good' cylons. Anyway, the ending of this series will be like they take out some organ I will miss badly. But that means that it was a very very strong show. Congratulations to the entire crew!