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You asked for it SadGeezer. Here is my write up for the Battlestar Galactica Promotion at King of Pussia Mall outside Philadelphia.
During this time I took a few short breaks. one of TPTB from Sci Fi Channel was there. She was very friendly, helpful and encouraging. I asked her a few questions, like what rating do they want for a second season. I was told that they sold the show at a 2.5 HH share, and want similar to renew. This wasn’t great news. 2.5 is much higher then any other series on Sci Fi. The Stargates average a 1.8. The mood however was confident. Somehow the episode downloading came up. This is a sensitive issue at the network. Some see it as an obvious threat. Other see it as a sign of confidence, that a lot of people want to see the show, and many think/hope that they will rewatch when the he show re-airs in the states. Here’s hoping. I also asked about Tripping the Rift, which will return for a second season. They aren’t sure when though, either spring or summer.
Whoa!!! 2.5 share is pretty high for a Sci-Fi show, especially on a basic cable channel. Even SG:Atlantis which started out with a 3.4, has been dropping down to the 2.1 level:
16 July: 1.01 “Rising” — 3.4
23 July: 1.03 “Hide and Seek” — 2.47
30 July: 1.04 “38 Minutes” — 2.45
6 August: 1.05 “Suspicion” — 2.17Guess fans might have to consider spreading the word about the show and hope people will watch it and become new fans of the show. Many cable companies have or collect ratings and either post the numbers or charge a fee to companies that want to see hard numbers in key markets then compare with the Neilson ratings. If the back-to-back episodes shown this Friday gets SG:A numbers, then I hope the Sci-Fi Channel gives the go ahead for a 2nd season right away. Most productions start in Feb to March, so keeping your actors and crew together will be difficult and some may not want to wait and seek other job opportunities.
Read a comment made at another forum that SkyOne was rumored to have exercised a 3 year option on the series, BUT how much does the series really cost? There was an article posted that SkyOne pays $400,000 per episode and some believe that’s only 1/3 of the cost, but who knows for sure? Olmos and McDonnell don’t come cheap especially with their acting credentials. Good thing the Sci-Fi Channel ordered 6 scripts to be written or everything might be too rushed. Maybe find an additional investor/partner(s) to pickup part of the costs or dump some of those big name/well known actors cast in those lame original movies of the week that cost big bucks the Sci-Fi Channel has been churning out. How many giant snake, insect, and killer puppet movies can a viewer take anyways? With all those reality shows they have been airing, the Sci-Fi Channel should generate plenty of cash from those shows.
😳 😀
Like the ratings Sci-Fi showed SG:A peaked in it’s first ep, then has done nothing but gradually decline. If anything, they’re basing their expectations on the first 4 eps of SG:A.
But they cant expect it for an entire seasons average. It will never have a season average of 2.5 on Sci-Fi USA. And I would just love to eat those words, but it wont happen.
Just doesnt happen with any of their shows. They need to get more realistic or move it to a real network if that’s the case. Over expectations kill more shows than bad writing does. As for the cost of the show, I’d wager it’s over 3 million an episode. Earth Final Conflict was 2.5 near it’s end in season 4-5 if memory serves/
Sci -Fi wrote:Whoa!!! 2.5 share is pretty high for a Sci-Fi show, especially on a basic cable channel. Even SG:Atlantis which started out with a 3.4, has been dropping down to the 2.1 level:
16 July: 1.01 “Rising” — 3.4
23 July: 1.03 “Hide and Seek” — 2.47
30 July: 1.04 “38 Minutes” — 2.45
6 August: 1.05 “Suspicion” — 2.17Were Atlantis’s ratings that high?! I remember it premiered strong, but I didn’t think it was that high. If that’s the case, then I have no doubt that Galactica will be picked up for a second season.
The word on the street is that Sci Fi will make its decision (at the earliest) after ep 3: Bastille Day. They want to see how many people come back for a second week, aka the dropoff.
”LexxLurker” wrote:And I would just love to eat those words, but it wont happen.
I have a very good memory… we’ll see what happens in a few weeks.
I remember reading that an episode of Galactica costs about $1.6 milllion.
Wadda blast! You clearly had a great time – and cool pics too. Shame you couldn’t keep the costume – it’s the least they could have done after you helping them for nothing!
Great write-up! And I personally think that Buckwheat looked very nice (nothing like Starbuck right enough).
Flat screen TV’s on their chest! Listening to the same jingle for 4 hours!!!!??? Those guys must have been paid a fortune!
But, hell, that was surely a great experience. I’m envious dude 🙂
Headgehog wrote:”LexxLurker” wrote:]And I would just love to eat those words, but it wont happen.
I have a very good memory… we’ll see what happens in a few weeks.
I remember reading that an episode of Galactica costs about $1.6 milllion.[/quote]
A few weeks would be premature hehe. Note: “season” average. 😀 I was hoping it would premiere at 4.0 or higher, but it looks like it’s a 3.3 (+/- a point). But keeping in mind it did not have it’s Stargate Lead-ins. Based on SG:A which debuted at 3.4 and has now dropped below 2.0 Honestly, I dont think they will stick to the 2.5 benchmark, Olmos claimed during the Promo that a 2nd season was already pretty much guarenteed. And lets face it, if no one watched this series, it’s still the best on in this ‘Geezers opinion. And many of the Sci-Fi execs obviously feel the same as I’ve never seen more promotion for a Sci-Fi USA series than this one.
BTW back on topic, great pics and story from King of Prussia Headge!!
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