Tricia Helfer and James Callis by Frank Ockenfels/SCI FI Channel Photo
With the Writers Guild of America strike coming to a close, a lot of post-strike analysis is going to concentrate on the "winners" and "losers" in this battle. Let's face it, though, the fans were the biggest losers in all of this. With no new episodes being written, all of our favorite programs got pushed aside in favor of "more of the same" reality shows. In the final tally, some scripted series are getting a handful more episodes this season, while others will wait until next season and still others simply got the ax.
What about TV-DVDs, though? How did the strike affect the home-video release pattern of current shows? We're still waiting to see the fallout on this, and we won't know the extent of it for weeks or months to come, but our first indication has come to light in the form of Battlestar Galactica.
When the strike started back on Nov. 5, shooting on Galactica continued until the 16th, using already completed scripts. Of the 20 episodes ordered for the fourth and final season (not including Razor), 11 had been completed by the time production was suspended. At the time, creator Ronald D. Moore blogged his "frakking" promise that Galactica would be back, and with the strike now over, the staff will be gearing up to shoot those remaining episodes. It looks like production will resume sometime next month. The first half of Season 4 will debut on the Sci Fi Channel on on April 4, but a decision is still pending on when the strike-delayed second half of the final season would be broadcast.
We've gotten word from multiple trusted sources that Universal Studios Home Entertainment has decided to release Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.0 late this year. Very late, is the indication (but no date has been finalized, as far as we know). We expect it to be timed for release before the broadcast premiere of the second half of the season, as has been done in the past, to maximize sales. The "4.0" package will contain the episodes that have already aired by that time, with the final episodes eventually getting released on a "Season 4.5" set down the road... probably in 2009.
So instead of getting one season set with a list price of $60, and getting 20 episodes all at the same time, the strike-induced hiatus means fans will instead have to pick up two separate packages at a list price of $50 apiece. And they'll have to be patient during the wait between release dates. Can Ronald D. Moore and the other producers of the show, along with the studio, pack these two releases with enough extras to appease the fans? We'll have to wait and see.
Until then, we hear nothin' but the rain.... Grab your gun and bring the cat in. BG fans who recognize that reference, pour yourselves an extra glass of ambrosia! — David Lambert
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