Battlestar Galactica Is Leaving Netflix This Week
So long, say we all.
This article is more than 2 years old
All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again. But if your “all of this” includes wanting to watch (or rewatch) Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galactica reboot, you’d best get your frakking ass in gear, because you’re about to lose your chance — at least on Netflix. Watch it while you can right here.
While the movie side of the Netflix catalog is largely choked by z-grade direct-to-DVD flicks you’ve never heard of, Netflix actually has a pretty solid collection when it comes to TV shows. However, it’s about to lose one of the jewels from its crown, because Battlestar Galactica will be disappearing from the streaming service as of Wednesday, October 1 at 3am PST. Trying to get all the way through the series in that time might actually kill you, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had a BSG rewatch on their to-do list for months. Now what the hell am I supposed to do? I mean, I guess I could watch one of the 10,000 other items on that list instead…
Battlestar Galactica of course began life as a rather cheesy attempt to cash in on the success of Star Wars back in the late 1970s. Created by TV mogul Glen Larson (Magnum P.I., Knight Rider), Battlestar Galactica followed the ragtag Colonial Fleet, filled with the last remnants of humanity on the run from their robotic Cylon creations, which eventually rose up and decided it was time to exterminate mommy and daddy. Ron Moore’s 2004 remake kept the general premise but jettisoned the lighter tone, opting instead for a grounded and gritty examination of war, politics, religion, racism, and humanity. When firing on all cylinders, it was some of the best television of the young century; at its worst, it was ambitious but massively divisive, as exemplified by its polarizing series finale, which rivals Lost’s finale when it comes to pissing people off even all these years later.
While it’s sad to see BSG leaving Netflix, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be gone from the streaming world for long. I can’t find any official announcements as of yet, but I imagine the show may soon pop up on Amazon or Hulu, or even back onto Netflix a few weeks down the line. It’s a high-profile enough show that I can’t imagine no one will snag up the streaming rights now that Netflix’s are lapsing. Amazon Prime, in particular, has been aggressive about acquiring exclusive content, so I can totally see them grabbing the show just to lord it over Netflix. For the time being, however, you’re rapidly running out of time to revisit the tale of the Colonial Fleet’s search for a mythical planet called Earth.
It looks like the prequel spinoff series Caprica is remaining on Netflix for the time being; I’ll leave it to you to determine if that’s a suitable consolation prize or not. And hey, you can always watch the original…
