Netflix giveth, and unfortunately, Netflix also taketh away – and with October starting tomorrow you can bet that some good titles will be departing the company’s popular Instant Watch streaming service. The biggest of the bunch is arguably Ron Moore’s updating of Battlestar Galactica, which will be gone by 3 AM Pacific Standard Time October 1st. Don’t bother rushing to your TV with the hopes of binging through the entire run of the show now – you’re already too late.
Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica, based on the 1970’s TV series created by Glen Larson, has been heralded as one of the best sci-fi shows to emerge in years. As our sister site Giant Freakin’ Robot points out, the reboot took the original series, which was little more than an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars, and broadened its focus – lasering in on bigger human issues against its sci-fi backdrop. The show also gender-swapped character Starbuck, who was played by Dirk Benedict in the original series, and Katee Sackhoff in the new version.
As great as the new Battlestar Galactica is, it was not without its problematic moments. The most notable being a final episode that left many fans disappointed -- and often gets compared to Dexter and The Sopranos when the topic of “great shows failing at sticking the landing of the final episode” discussion comes up (which is almost daily on the Internet). That problem aside, Battlestar Galactica really was something special – the way it handled subjects like racism and religion was a great reminder of how science fiction can serve as a mirror for our modern lives while entertaining us with futuristic stories at the same time. Plus, the show was just completely addictive – as this hilarious Portlandia segment demonstrates.
With four seasons in all, plus the 87-minute “Razor” miniseries, you’re looking at almost 60 hours of time to blast your way through a marathon of Battlestar Galactica – and that’s if you give up sleep and work. With less than 24 hours before Netflix pulls the plug, you could get into Season Two of the series – probably more than enough to have you fiending for more like a sci-fi junkie.
Don’t fret too much, because this departure from Netflix’s streaming service could be short-lived. Sometimes shows vanish, only to re-emerge a month later. Amazon, Hulu, and other streaming services are also a possibility. Battlestar Galactica is really too big a series for no one to be streaming it, so we’d be pretty surprised if it weren’t available again somewhere in the very near future. If you just can’t wait, you can always snag the DVD box sets – which could set you back a hundred bucks or more, but that’s the price you sometimes pay for procrastinating.
If you’re set to wait it out, you can always catch the Battlestar Galactica spinoff prequel series Caprica, which looks to continue streaming on the service come tomorrow morning.
