Cunning_Linguist writes, According to Sci Fi Wire, TV Guide and the Sci Fi Channel are going to be offering a free download of the best (IMHO) episode of Battlestar Galactica yet. SWEET! 8) If they want to offer legal downloads, then I’m all for promoting it. It sounds like AOL is doing this too, with Babylon 5 episodes among others, if the introduction to The Babylon 5 Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski is any indication.
Offering eps out of order?
While Downloaded may be the best BSG ep yet, I don’t feel so good about offering it for download. I’d prefer if they released the first few eps to reel unsuspecting people in. I’d feel a bit betrayed if I was introduced to the story midway through, and I’d bet most of the response we had to this superb ep was because of the 20 episodes of groundwork before it. I mean, realising that Baltar has a Six doesn’t probably drop your jaw the way realising that Six has a Baltar did.
Then again, I didn’t start watching Lost or, say, Neon Genesis Evangelion until after I accidentally read a few spoilers that made me think "I have to see this one!"
Re: Offering eps out of order?
I see what you mean and agree with you but, being a fan of the show, I just think it’s cool.
As for realeasing the first few eps though… I’d think that releasing the mini-series (however unlikely that is to happen) would be much better at hooking people in to the show.
Re: Offering eps out of order?
Right, right, the miniseries. I kind of forgot the first few eps were actually a miniseries, but that’s what I was thinking about. :)
Re: Offering eps out of order?
I actually thought the mini-series was quite boring. The only reason I kept watching is that Season 1 was getting good reviews and I wanted to see what it was about. I only really started getting hooked after a few episodes of the series.
Re: Offering eps out of order?
It’s like when I rave about how perfect Babylon 5 is, then convince someone to watch an episode, and they don’t agree. They don’t have the history with the characters yet to fully appreciate the nuances that really flush out the story.
Re: Offering eps out of order?
Yeah, B5 was fairly average sci-fi taken on an episodic basis, but as a series was significantly greater than the sum of it’s parts.
Re: Offering eps out of order?
I think the same can be said of most good sci-fi shows. Most of the goodness comes from plot and character development. I was really turned off by Firefly when I say just one episode near the middle of the series. I didn’t even watch another single episode until after it was canceled. When I did watch it in order, I became a big fan.