Sunday, December 12, 2004
I'm not too worked up about the new series. I have to admit, the pilot was good. The problem I have with it is this term 'reimagined' which has been tossed around by its 'creators' - like 'reimagining' was some kind of legitimate creative process. Well...as a writer I have some tough news for you. If it's easy to reimagine an old show then it should have been child's play to imagine a new one. In fact, why waste time using the husk of the old Galactica if your new ideas are so damned hot in the first place? The entire process seems like a fool's errand to me. Either a sequel to the original Galactica is good enough to air on Sci Fi or the new idea and story are good enough to stand on their own. Pick one!
The fans of the old want the old and will only be happy with the old. People drawn in by your 'new' imaginings will enjoy your new imaginings - even without the husk of the original franchise to prop them up. Bottom line: no matter how well produced this new Galactica is, our 'creators' only wanted the name 'Galactica' to make money. If they really had a top shelf new series, that treatment would have sold Sci Fi all by itself.
As it stands, we risk creating another Alien 3 - that is, Universal figuring out how valuable their property was AFTER these creative carpetbaggers ran rough shod over the franchise. By then, this 'creative' team will be long gone, Universal's money spent.
I know that you can't please everybody...true. But the new Galactica looks like a sure fire plan to piss off everybody - old fans and new viewers.
Did I watch the miniseries? Yes. I liked it quite a bit. Will I watch the series? I'll give it a shot. But I'll never help feeling like there was another, better show here. Maybe it was a fitting sequel to a Galactica - the one we all remember fondly. Maybe it was an original science fiction series not hobbled by an aging studio property. Either way, we will never know. Either way I find it difficult to support a television series that these people don't entirely support themselves. Somehow it will never entirely seem free from the bitter taste of plagiarism. But maybe that's just me.
The fans of the old want the old and will only be happy with the old. People drawn in by your 'new' imaginings will enjoy your new imaginings - even without the husk of the original franchise to prop them up. Bottom line: no matter how well produced this new Galactica is, our 'creators' only wanted the name 'Galactica' to make money. If they really had a top shelf new series, that treatment would have sold Sci Fi all by itself.
As it stands, we risk creating another Alien 3 - that is, Universal figuring out how valuable their property was AFTER these creative carpetbaggers ran rough shod over the franchise. By then, this 'creative' team will be long gone, Universal's money spent.
I know that you can't please everybody...true. But the new Galactica looks like a sure fire plan to piss off everybody - old fans and new viewers.
Did I watch the miniseries? Yes. I liked it quite a bit. Will I watch the series? I'll give it a shot. But I'll never help feeling like there was another, better show here. Maybe it was a fitting sequel to a Galactica - the one we all remember fondly. Maybe it was an original science fiction series not hobbled by an aging studio property. Either way, we will never know. Either way I find it difficult to support a television series that these people don't entirely support themselves. Somehow it will never entirely seem free from the bitter taste of plagiarism. But maybe that's just me.
posted by Hunter at 10:51 AM 
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