Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome - Grading & Discussion

[Kegg]

Harvey wrote:

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They're likely being released in five minute segments in order to optimize the number of viewers, since statistics show that the shorter video content is, the greater the percentage of viewers that will finish it.

But only Episodes 1 and 2 were released as two seperate videos. 3&4 and 5&6 have been released as single videos. At this point calling those episodes 3 and 4 and having a break for advertisements in the middle would seem to make more sense.

[DarthPipes]

Definitely great update. The snow background looked fake but otherwise, great FX. I thought Coker's friend was a goner once he learned he had a kid...I didn't except him to abandon them. Though if he doesn't find a ship he's dead anyway.

[milo bloom]

Kegg wrote:

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With Episodes 5&6 (is there any reason at all they are pretending those are two seperate episodes at this point?).

I'm pretty sure folks have it backwards: it was originally designed as a web series, then they considered doing it as a "movie of the week", then just recently went back to the webseries.

They're running them two at a time because Universal wanted the damn DVD out, so they crammed the webseries schedule to rebuild the fan base.

They're still in two parts because that's what Machinima was given and they don't want to spend the time and money re-editing them together.



Anyways, I had been leery of how the giant ice planet critters would be handled, given the specific avoidance of alien lifeforms in BSG but learning that they're Cylon guinea pigs makes that an easier sell.

And the cliched crazed tech sergeant and his boomstick, somehow being part of the BSG makes tropes like that go down so much easier.


They really really really really need to get cracking on a few more movies with these assets.

[The Wormhole]

Parts 5 and 6 were prety damn cool. The final stand of the Osiris was really well done. The snow planet exteriors looked very fake, but whatever. I really like the crazy Marine dude and how he made it clear he won't put up with Coker's whining.

[Harvey]

Kegg wrote:

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But only Episodes 1 and 2 were released as two seperate videos. 3&4 and 5&6 have been released as single videos. At this point calling those episodes 3 and 4 and having a break for advertisements in the middle would seem to make more sense.

Well, that reveals exactly how many of these I've watched so far (only the first one). The answer above must be the correct one (they originally optimized these for web viewing as I described, but then Universal decided they wanted to push these out at a faster rate).

[6079SmithW]

The space battle, short as it was, was pretty amazing. I've missed seeing the flak screen. Did anyone else notice the Basestar missiles went straight through the Osiris? I found it a little odd that the CGI folks put that detail in there instead of the usual exploding on contact. Poor Osiris. "Brace for contact, my friend."

It was interesting to see the cylon snakes and I hope they show more organic/synthetic hybrid experiments in future episodes. Maybe even early experiments with humanoid cylons. One can hope.

[Retu]

6079SmithW wrote:

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The space battle, short as it was, was pretty amazing. I've missed seeing the flak screen. Did anyone else notice the Basestar missiles went straight through the Osiris? I found it a little odd that the CGI folks put that detail in there instead of the usual exploding on contact. Poor Osiris. "Brace for contact, my friend."

"Haven't heard that in a while." It was a nice reference to miniseries.

[Saul]

5 & 6 were great, the episodes/miniseries/movie of the week is moving along at a nice pace now after we got the set up out of the way. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more stories from the Cylon War being thrown at us. Cylon Eel was ok, couldn't see it well but I don't know how in the heck the Cylon's made that thing half Cylon and have it move as competently as it could. We saw what they did to that Human dude in Razor and he couldn't move from his bathtub.

[Candlelight]

Well personally I thought eps 5 & 6 were pretty lame. The space battle effects were extremely weak (mainly the Osiris defensive batteries and the crash), the dialogue stolen from the mini series again shows how small the universe is getting, the fx for the dogfight in the atmosphere was very poor compared to what we've seen so far and everyone has already discussed the snow scenes.

What was the point of the canyon? Why not just have the action in that cave topside? They got out pretty easy so there wasn't much tension involved.

The snake was a silly idea, although in retrospect having it as a Cylon sentry / experiment works.

Hopefully it improves next week.

[Warp Coil]

Still enjoying the series. I, for one, am glad that they are releasing two installments at a time. I personally don't think I would be as willing to follow a web series in ten (or more) 8-9 minute installments. However, it is much easier for me to enjoy five 18-minute pieces. You get a little more content at once, a little more story, and a little more invested. For web series like "The Guild", I just wait until it's all over and watch it in one sitting because watching little snippets week to week is irritating.

I'm really curious to know what the benchmark is in determining if B&C is successful. How many views must each installment earn in order to deem this experiment a success? Or does Universal just not care at this point, and they are waiting for DVD sales to recoup the cost?

[Candlelight]

Warp Coil wrote:

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I'm really curious to know what the benchmark is in determining if B&C is successful. How many views must each installment earn in order to deem this experiment a success? Or does Universal just not care at this point, and they are waiting for DVD sales to recoup the cost?

SyFy are releasing it as a web series first so the viewing figures for the broadcast in February next year and DVD sales are less than desired, so they don't have to make any further episodes.

[Warp Coil]

Candlelight wrote:

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SyFy are releasing it as a web series first so the viewing figures for the broadcast in February next year and DVD sales are less than desired, so they don't have to make any further episodes.

But wasn't B&C originally conceived as a web series? Wasn't it specifically designed and written to be released this way? My understanding is that SyFy gave this project the greenlight as being webisodes, then decided after the fact that they would broadcast it on TV as a backdoor pilot. Ultimately, the network decided to stick to the original plan and release it as a web series. The TV broadcast and DVD release are secondary.

[Kegg]

Candlelight wrote:

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SyFy are releasing it as a web series first so the viewing figures for the broadcast in February next year and DVD sales are less than desired, so they don't have to make any further episodes.

That doesn't make any sense to me. Syfy is under no obligation to produce any more episodes of B&C regardless of how well the Blu-ray sells. Hell I thought this series was DOA for months now.

On the other hand if the Blu-ray sells really well they'll get more money, which being a business is good for them. I can understand them not giving a great effort to advertise the Blu-Ray, but sabotaging their own ratings and sales on purpose seems a bit of a stretch.

[Candlelight]

What I'm saying is if SyFy want to choose expensive space opera vs cheap ghost hunting reality shows I know which one they would want to 'justify' funding.

[pst]

well let's face it, blood & chrome is a product of SyFy's desire for cheaper programming run amuck.