Making a sci-fi project isn’t always as frivolous and fun as it may seem. The best entries, from Star Wars to Star Trek, all have nightmare stories of productions that ended teetering on the brink, before inevitably achieving greatness. Battlestar Galactica was no exception, as fans well know. Ronald D. Moore’s reboot of the 1970s sci-fi saga was always catching stray shots, whether it was the darker, militarized vision of BSG, or the infamous Season 3 dividing line, where the show took some of the biggest and most ambitious thematic swings ever in television.
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That all said, there was one episode of Battlestar Galactica that actually left the cast shook, wondering if they were facing the end. That episode dropped 17 years ago, on January 16, 2009. Titled “Sometimes a Great Notion”, the episode was pivotal, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Battlestar Galactica Was Almost A Casualty of the Writer’s Strike
In January of 2009, Battlestar Galactica was at its most pivotal point. The series was in its 4th and final season on SyFy (the “Sci-Fi Channel” at the time); the season had been split into two parts, named “4” and “4.5”, with the first half of the episodes airing through June of 2008, followed by a six-month hiatus (more on that below) before the final half of the 21 episodes dropped, starting in January of 2009. The two-part story finally answered some of the biggest mysteries in the series, including the fate and history of Earth, as well as the last member of the “Final Five” Cylons, who had been secretly embedded within the fleet since the start of the show.
However, behind the scenes, “Sometimes a Great Notion” was shot back-to-back with its preceding episode, “Revelations”. It was fortunate that the production planned it that way, because the script for the episode was the final one to be completed before the WGA Strike of 2007 – 2008 began. Due to union rules, productions like Battlestar Galactica were left in limbo. Filming on “Sometimes a Great Notion” was set in motion on good faith that it would be able to continue, and reportedly got final approval the night before cameras were set to roll.
Battlestar Galactica’s Cast & Crew Thought It Really Was The End
The cast and crew of the show were reportedly extremely emotional on set. The prevailing logic was that a long strike would cause the network to cancel the show, finished or not, rather than pay the cost of retaining the cast, crew, sets, etc.
According to episode co-writer David Weddle’s post-episode interview, series lead Edward James Olmos was stoking the emotional pitch amongst the cast and crew, telling them, “This is the end, I think we all feel that. They’re not going to bring the show back. They’ll pull the sets down. We’ll never shoot another episode.” The acclaimed actor even shook Weddle’s hand in solemn goodbye, saying, “I don’t know whether our paths will ever cross again, but it’s been an honor to work with you.”
The collection of interviews Weddle was part of all echo the same sentiment: “Sometimes a Great Notion” was one of the most stressful times Battlestar Galactica ever went through – especially filming an episode where major characters exit. Lucy Lawless’s Cylon leader “Three” remains behind on a ruined Earth, while Galactica crew member Anastasia Dualla (Kandyse McClure) shocks everyone (and the audience) by suddenly committing suicide with no warning, and a haunting smile on her face.
Throughout the years, cast and crew have described the gaps the script writers hadn’t and couldn’t fill due to the strike, leaving them to improvise moments and creative decisions that are now famous (like Dualla’s humming her suicide lullaby). Knowing the very real emotional turmoil happening on set, it’s even more of a testament to how well “Sometimes a Great Notion” turned out. Despite some fans having already jumped ship, Battlestar Galactica finished its final season well (enough), and has cemented its place as one of the top sci-fi TV shows of the 21st century.
Battlestar Galactica can be purchased on digital platforms like Prime Video and YouTube.
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Image Courtesy of Lucasfilm
