Battlestar Galactica has upset its biggest fans
Yes Chris Snelgrave
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In many ways, Ronald D. Moore was the perfect guy for the reboot Battlestar Galactica. As the man who broke into Hollywood writing for Star Trek: The Next Generationhe knows a thing or two about the difficulty of reaching out to old fans. However, even he was unprepared for the overwhelming early reaction to the decision to make Starbuck’s character female for the rebooted series. However, once the Showrunner realized that all of these naysayers were generating some much-needed free publicity, he intentionally pissed them off if possible.
Make Starbuck a woman
Wild story about Battlestar Galactica The showrunner and his angry fans are captured in the book by Edward Gross/Mark A. Altman So Say We All Are: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History Battlestar Galactica. In this book, Moore recalls the difficult relationship he had with hardcore fans of the original series, who were angered by the changes he made, particularly the decision to make the popular character Starbuck a woman. Instead of getting mad at all the fans, however, the showrunner soon realized he now had a source of free publicity for the reboot he was trying to get off the ground.
“Once it became a thing, then I was like, yeah, just talked to that flame, man,” Moore said. “We need all the help we can get.” Until then, he was ready to encourage angry fans to “shout it” and “get angry” for the simple fact that “I need publicity.”
In a certain part of arrogance, Battlestar Galactica The showrunner claims he urged fans to “go chat” because he needs “more males demanding Ron Moore’s head.” Of course, part of what makes this story so ironic is that Moore didn’t go to Starbuck’s to make a statement about equality or anything. He just wanted to go to one of the oldest clips of science fiction.
Initial Battlestar Galactica The show largely focused on the friendship of two very different pilots: Apollo, who liked to follow the rules, and Starbuck, who liked to break them. It worked well for the original 1978 show, but Moore worried that genre fans were tired of the trope by the time the reboot premiered in 2003.
Regarding Starbuck being a woman, Moore said he “just realized that would change everything,” including “the whole dynamic” between the characters. Also, he was writing the show “right when we were starting to get into the idea of ​​women in combat in the US.” Therefore, making one of the most famous and talented Battlestar Galactica The later is perfect for enthralling your fans.
Angry fans
Therefore, Battlestar Galactica The showrunner didn’t try to dwell on the culture war with his gendered Starbuck character … Instead, he wanted to change the oldest sci-fi cliché to make things fresh and interesting. After he realized how much his creative decision had upset a hornet’s nest of angry fans, he didn’t hesitate to kick that nest to create the publicity his show needed to succeed. Unfortunately, the current media landscape is different now…instead of the negativity that helps the show find an audience, there is a whole cottage industry of haters YouTube Channels trying to kill new franchises before they get off the ground.
Anger that serves as an anchor for aggrieved fans? This is nothing new. Fans got pissed off at the creators for just trying something different…like Moore’s Cylons to us, it’s probably all happened before and it’s all going to happen again.
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