by Chris Snelgrove
| Published
A reboot of the classic and iconic sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica was in the works, but Peacock has now canceled the reboot. Fans have mixed feelings about the situation. It would be nice to get another reboot as amazing as Ronald D. Moore's 2003 show, but that show was so high-quality that it would be difficult for any new series to even touch the hem of its dress (a red hot dress, of course). However, what many fans don't realize is that there has been a previous reboot, led by the legendary X-Men director. Bryan Singer originally wanted to create his own channel Battlestar Galactica It was restarted in 2001, but the project was canceled due to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Singer was originally logged in to create a Battlestar Galactica The reboot for Fox, a project that rose from the ashes of a failed feature film first conceived in 1999. Shows like X-Files It established Fox as a surprising home for weird genre television, rebooting something culturally huge as Galactica It will likely be a hit with viewers. However, after the September 11 attacks, the network was reluctant to move forward with production due to how much the American climate had changed (culturally and politically) since the terrorist attack.
By all accounts, Fox was not killed immediately Battlestar Galactica Reboot. They were interested in how audiences would perceive the moral and ethical messages of the show, ideas that network executives feared would not resonate with audiences after 9/11. However, they considered moving forward with the project if enough of these key differences could be worked out. But Bryan Singer had a prior commitment to direct X2: X-Men Unitedwhich increases the delay in choosing it Battlestar Galactica Replay until it fades out softly.
However, there is a lot of irony in the fact that Singer Battlestar Galactica The reboot was eventually canceled thanks to the September 11 attacks. When Ronald D. Moore's popular version was released in 2003, many critics praised it for serving as a kind of metaphor for post-9/11 America. Just as the country was left reeling after an unexpected terrorist attack, the show focused on the survivors of an even more devastating Cylon infiltration attack. The series quickly explored the delicate balance between security and freedom (such as how much power a military leader should have versus a civilian president) even as America struggled with the Patriot Act after 9/11.
For many, what happened with Moore was impossible to ignore Battlestar Galactica The reboot also seemed to be a commentary on America's strange insanity against Muslims in the wake of September 11. Just as countless American citizens worried about the possibility of terrorists lurking in their communities and being spotted by everything from skin color to religious affiliation, the show depicted humanity's survivors struggling with the idea that there might be secret Cylon infiltrators hiding in the fleet. . At times, the parallels became problematically blurred, like when we were supposed to root for our heroes using IEDs even when those weapons were used to kill American soldiers in the Middle East.
Long story short, though, concerns about similarities to 9/11 were enough to kill Bryan Singer. Battlestar Galacticathese same similarities helped Moore's reboot flourish. There may be a lesson here for networks that audiences aren't as precious as you might imagine, and that they're willing to reward big creative fluctuations even if (maybe… especially If) it involves controversial content. One big swing after another helped Moore create a television experience we'll never forget.
