Wasting Time With Ronald D. Moore And Bryan Singer For 10 Years Has Cost Universal Studios a Profitable "Battlestar Galactica" Franchise

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The Abnormal Psychology of Universal Studios Executives


The way Universal Studios has behaved for the past decade, you would think that Ronald D. Moore and Bryan Singer have been the only options on Earth in trying to get something profitable going with the (still sleeping giant) "Battlestar Galactica." Universal Studios has acted as though the "Emergency Hotline Phone" to both of them is the only lifeline they have ever had whenever the subject of "Battlestar Galactica" kept coming up. In no small part due to the fact that Universal Studios has inexplicably regarded both of them as "Divine Messiahs" within the realm of Science Fiction despite the fact that their actual work histories (underwhelming as they always have been) have testified to the contrary. Universal Studios has always had an irritating corporate habit of latching onto the marginal and underwhelming, and worshipping the hell out of them despite their fuck ups every step of the way.

During the past decade, there always were remedies available to Universal Studios to free themselves of the "double whammy curse" of both Ronald D. Moore and Bryan Singer. Remedies of course, that ever so conveniently eluded Universal Studios corporate thinking:

1. James Cameron - You may not always like his movies, but he has always had his finger on the pulse of what mass market, commercial audiences want to spend money on. He would have done a beautiful job for Universal Studios in turning "Battlestar Galactica" into a profitable franchise.

2. Joss Whedon - The "Firefly" guy may not be a major powerhouse in Hollywood, but he would have done wonderful things with "Battlestar Galactica" if Universal Studios had simply asked him.

3. Seth MacFarlane - I have a hunch that Seth MacFarlane was a fan of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series despite his fanatical allegience to "Star Wars." Though he only does cartoons, give Seth MacFarlane the assignment to write a "Battlestar Galactica" screenplay for a live action movie, and he would deliver in spades.

4. J. Michael Straczynski - Here is a guy whose space saga really did end on his terms (unlike Ronald D. Moore.) Stracynski stated in "Cinefantastique" magazine (even before the "Babylon 5" pilot ever aired) that his Babylon saga would be five years in length, with a beginning, middle, and end. Sure enough, that's how "Babylon 5" turned out. If Universal Studios had given "Battlestar Galactica" to him, only good things would have happened.

Instead, Universal Studios has wasted the past decade farting around with Ronald D. Moore and Bryan Singer, where the two of them collectively have bailed out on "Battlestar Galactica" twice, gutted everything that "Battlestar Galactica" was in "GINO", "Caprica", and "Blood & Chrome", and repeatedly demonstrated that they lack mass market, commercial instincts every step of the way for Universal Studios to turn "Battlestar Galactica" into something profitable.

If ever a corporation needed a head shrink, Universal Studios is it.