Please excuse the following rant, but did anyone else NOT know that the made for television movie Battlestar Galactica: The Plan was set to premiere this Sunday, January 9th, on Syfy!?! I know this “movie” was released on DVD months ago, but The Blot, like most BSG fans, chose to wait to watch it until the 2 hour special debuted on TV. Now that the series is over, The Blot isn’t really following Battlestar Galactica news or watching Syfy, but shouldn’t more fans have known The Plan was going to air THIS Sunday!? Seems like poor marketing by Syfy, doesn’t it?
Not only is it bad marketing, but it also seems like horrible scheduling to The Blot. The channel formerly known as Sci-Fi could have aired this BSG special anytime in the last three weeks without any competition while most shows were on hiatus, but they chose to air it the same night as the season premieres of Chuck and Big Love (not to mention new episodes from Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters). I know most of you are thinking so what, the show’s already ended and has a totally different audience than most of the aforementioned shows. But in reality this movie should be acting as a springboard to Syfy’s new show, Caprica.
Now I have to figure what show I’m actually going to watch live on Sunday, Chuck, Big Love or The Plan. Thankfully, the Chicago Tribune’s Maureen Ryan has made my decision a little easier by describing The Plan as feeling “like a two-hour ‘previously on Battlestar Galactica.’” (link) Ryan is as big of a BSG fan as they come, and if she’s underwhelmed by The Plan then I’ve got a feeling I will be too. It’s really too bad, because I had high hopes for a BSG project written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos (who also plays Admiral William Adama in the movie).
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan’s world television premiere is scheduled for Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 9/8c on Syfy.