In Retrospect, Universal Studios and SyFy Channel Will Always Be Remembered For Their Astonishing Stupidity in a Number of Areas

Science Fiction -

Some corporations can successfully do Science Fiction in movies and on television. Universal Studios / SyFy Channel never could, can't and never will. The numerous reasons why Universal / SyFy Channel can't include its general all around hatred of the genre, and the extremely bad habit they have always had in being "too hands on" in the development process of what is supposed to be Science Fiction. This corporation is so un-yielding and unbending in stamping every Science Fiction project they work on with its typical "status quo corporate perceptions" of what they think Science Fiction should be, that it always drowns out what is supposed to be a developmental environment of creativity, inspired thinking, and fresh ideas. And what always ultimately results is this sort of post-apocalyptic cynicism in everything they do. Post-apocalyptic cynicism we have seen thousands of times before from everyone trying to imitate Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" and "Alien."

Battlestar Galactica -

The astonishing idiocy this corporation continues to show towards the "Battlestar Galactica" property after 34 years never lets up. Universal / SyFy Channel had their slimy corporate hands all over Ronald D. Moore's failed remake of the successful 1978 series. Gutting everything that made the original show what it was, and being absolutely insistent that Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" and "Alien", along with Paramount Pictures "Star Trek" be emulated and borrowed from every step of the way. What Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" - (Galactica in Name Only) ultimately turned out to be was Moore's vengeance against not only the fanbase of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series (via needless, pointless, and gratuitous content), but also his vengeance against the former "Star Trek" producers who refused to make "Star Trek: Voyager"..."dark & gritty."

Universal Studios and SyFy Channel never should have come near Science Fiction and "Battlestar Galactica" because they are terrible at trying to do either one. You can't approach both of them like corporate business people and expect good things to happen. If you do, you end up in the present predicament Universal Studios and SyFy Channel are in right now. A cable channel (SyFy) not doing anywhere near what it should be doing in terms of financial success, and a still sleeping giant (Battlestar Galactica) that would be a wide awake and wildly successful franchise if anyone else owned the property.

SyFy Channel -


If this channel went out of business would anyone even care? Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern have successfully proven that the vast majority of the television audience doesn't like what they do, and the television audience also doesn't care about the things that Hammer, Howe, and Stern care about. Such as whether or not "SyFy" is a marketable and profitable brand name for NBC-Universal. Whether or not "SyFy" can be spun off into different business ventures. The only things the public cares about is whether or not the "SyFy Channel" is a good cable channel (it isn't), whether or not the "SyFy Channel" is worth their time (it isn't), and whether or not the programming is good (it isn't.)

Why is it That None of The Guests on "The Maury Povich Show" Ever Suffer From Stage Fright?

 

And to be fair...the same can also be asked of  "The Steve Wilkos Show" and "The Jerry Springer Show." You would think that after the 20 odd years these various types of shows have been on the air, there would have been a good cross section of guests that just brain farted, froze, stumbled, and stuttered on the air while these various freak shows were playing out each episode.

Nope. There hasn't been one instance. Not one after 20 frickin' years. I suppose that if you were the executive producer of either one of these shows, and you were producing 52 weeks of episodes every year, your primary concern would be to make sure that "Stage Fright" would never, ever occur on your show. The only way you could to that would be to turn to a staffing / acting agency in Hollywood whose sole purpose is to supply professional actors and actresses to these various types of shows who play the various "Trailer Park Trash" guests on these shows.

Time is money, isn't it? And if you're the executive producer of one of these shows on a rigid and tight shooting schedule which yields one episode per day, you certainly couldn't have "real guests" from rural America screwing up your shooting schedule with chronic examples of "Stage Fright."  So you would quite logically turn to this agency in Hollywood to supply you with seasoned acting pros on a daily basis to play the roles of "real guests" from "rural America."

And I gotta tell ya'!!" These professional actors and actresses are real professionals while playing the roles of these guests. Crying on cue just as Camera #3 locks in on them for a close-up. Shouting at and shoving one another while apparently oblivious to all of the various mini-cams on boom arms doing high speed aerial zoom-ins on their faces during the arguments.

It could be argued that all of these apparent "real guests" on these talk shows receive a high speed crash course in how to be melodramatic and theatrical in front of high tech cameras hours before filming begins....but I doubt it. I would even go so far as to say that there is a professional and accredited acting school in California that specializes in teaching professional actors and actresses how to play the roles of "talk show guests" from "rural America." Once they graduate from this school, they are immediately sent over to this staffing / acting agency in Hollywood where they are sent out to "The Maury Povich Show, "The Steve Wilkos Show", and "The Jerry Springer Show."

Is There a Such Thing as "Pre-Production Hiatus?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmmaking

I think it's safe to say that Bryan Singer's "Battlestar Galactica" movie announced on October 17th, 2011 by him and Universal Studios is presently "suspended" somewhere in-between the "Development Phase" of a movie and physical "Pre-Production." And it will remain "suspended" until October 17th, 2013 when Universal Studios and Bryan Singer announce yet another "Battlestar Galactica" movie to be made.

These Folks Used To Work For Bryan Singer And Ronald D. Moore. Why Haven't They Moved On To Superstardom?

1. Brandon Routh
2. Aaron Douglas
3. Katee Sackhoff

Could it have been the sadly lacking quality of material in both "Superman Returns" and "GINO" - (Galactica in Name Only?)

So, When Are We Going To See a Director's Cut of "Saga of a Star World?"

The answer of course is..."never." Because this is Universal Studios we're talking about here. If the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series had been owned by any other movie studio in Hollywood, we would have seen a "Director's Cut" about 12 years before now. Because any other movie studio in Hollywood would have realized about 12 years before now, resurrecting and salvaging as much of Richard A. Colla's original footage as possible, and reconciling it to Alan J Levi's  footage would be the smartest commercial venture one could do.

A project like this could and would never happen because Universal Studios still hates the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series, and the project itself would be "too cerebral" for the idiots in the "Black Tower" to wrap their thoughts around.

The underwhelming and shameful release of "Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Epic Series" in 2003 on DVD failed to include every single deleted scene from "Saga of a Star World." The typical trait of Universal Studios doing everything "half ass" or not at all when it comes to the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series.

Scenes still missing from "Saga of a Star World" and never released on DVD:

1. Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) storms the bridge and demands to know from Colonel Tigh why the Galactica pulled out of fleet formation. The scene immediately after Starbuck crash lands his Viper and is embraced by Athena.

2. Additional footage of Starbuck and Boomer in the Carillon casino.

3. Additional dialogue (on the bridge) after Adama informs Colonel Tigh of his intent to resign from the Council of 12.

4. Additional dialogue in the council chambers of the council simultaneously (1) discussing Adama's resignation (2) Sire Uri hoarding food, and (3) lead-in dialogue to Apollo interrupting the meeting to discuss going through the Nova of Madagon.

5. The footage of Jim Peck (instead of Jane Seymour) on the surface of Caprica doing a live news broadcast.

6. More footage of the Ovions and Cylons interacting on Carillon.

A project like this should have been done long before now. But it never came to pass because of Universal Studios relentless pre-occupation with turning the simplest things into "Rocket Science" when it comes to the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series.

Just How Expendable To Hollywood And Audiences Alike Are Bryan Singer And Ronald D. Moore?

Collectively, their body of work has elicited groans, the rolling of eyes, and the unanimous conclusion of movie and television audiences everywhere..."Who Cares?"

And between the two of them, they have not come up with one original, genuinely inspired idea during their entire careers.

What Bryan Singer and Ronald D. Moore have always had as an unlimited resource, is their collective desire to remake every movie and television series known to mankind.

Perhaps the reason why we are seeing less and less of Bryan Singer and Ronald D. Moore, is that Hollywood has pretty much exhausted every movie and television series that can be remade. And when there is nothing left to be remade in Hollywood, Bryan Singer and Ronald D. Moore return to career hibernation.

I'm sure even Hollywood has realized by now that everything that shouldn't have been remade has already been remade. And quite frankly, out of all of the old movie and television series Hollywood has remade into repulsives piles of shit (during the past 20 or so years), I can only think of one remake that was genuinely successful on a blockbuster level...

"The Fugitive" - starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.

Hollywood and audiences alike have never needed Bryan Singer and Ronald D. Moore, because the two of them individually and collectively have never had what it takes to pull off a "Fugitive." And the two of them individually and collectively have the most bankrupt imaginations in Hollywood history when it comes to crafting original, genuinely inspired ideas.

What Are We Repeatedly Seeing With Bryan Singer? A Lack of "Clout" In Getting Anything Done

Forget the "9/11 Excuse" which was used to explain away Bryan Singer's 2001 "Battlestar Galactica" movie falling to pieces. If Steven Spielberg or George Lucas had been the director helming that movie, it would've been made anyway. The point being, with the 2001 "Battlestar Galactica" movie for example, Bryan Singer lacked the back-up resources to get the movie made regardless of "9/11" if in fact "9/11" really did derail the 2001 movie. The sort of back-up resources usually at the fingertips of movie directors with "Clout."

Jump ahead eight years to 2009. Bryan Singer's second attempt at a "Battlestar Galactica" movie also collapsed. Movie directors with "Clout" don't routinely have movies collapse down around their ears in between the announcement of the movie and pre-production, which has been an all too common occurrence with Bryan Singer.

And it isn't just "Battlestar Galactica" that routinely collapses with Bryan Singer signed as the film director. "Excalibur" also collapsed with Bryan Singer signed as the director. We are seeing a pattern with Bryan Singer that has long since emerged, and firmly entrenched itself in his work habits. This guy can't seem to get anything made. He announces movie after movie, and television show after television show that he enjoyed as a kid, and wants to make them all into movies. But it ain't happening. Bryan Singer just isn't getting anything made.

If you can't get anything made in Hollywood, it means you don't have any "Clout." The sort of "Clout" you earn from having a track record like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Bryan Singer wants to make "Battlestar Galactica", "The Munsters", "The Six Million Dollar Man", and "Star Trek" all into new movies and television series. Obviously it's his lack of "Clout" preventing any of these projects from becoming a reality.

If you don't have any "Clout" as a film director in Hollywood, guess what? The studios get to tell you what to do. The studios can dump you at a moment's notice. The studios can freeze all of your dream projects all at once if they so choose. Bryan Singer gives the impression that he is a pinball ricocheting all over the damn place within the bureacracy of not only Universal Studios, but every other studio owning the copyrights to all of the dream projects he wants to make. Because Bryan Singer isn't George Lucas or Steven Spielberg, he is an "itty-bitty" rivet within the giant "stainless steel" wheel of Hollywood bureaucracy. He is as expendable to the movie studios as any janitorial staff cleaning a studio commissary.

So, where does this leave "Battlestar Galactica", "The Munsters", "Six Million Dollar Man", and "Star Trek" for Bryan Singer? Permanently entrenched within his fantasies of getting remade.