Battlestar Galactica's Finale Could Have Been A Four-Hour Epic

The reimagined Battlestar Galactica is SYFYs crown jewel and one of the greatest space operas of the 21st century. Well in the end it's still pretty divisive. The three-part finale over two hours long Daybreak aired 13 years ago on March 13 20 2009 splitting viewers. I think the ending is excellent until the characters hit the ground running. The first half when the Galactica crew stormed Cylon Castle to rescue the hybrid girl Hera Iliana Gomez Martinez was the kind of suspense that BSG has always featured. The second half isn't terrible but the writers seem to have opened a lot of mystery boxes with no idea how to put the answers together. Reflecting on this jumble of ideas to iron out the finale was originally recorded an hour longer than the broadcast version.

Rationalization of the structure.

Speaking to Collider series co-creator Ronald de Moore explained how Daybreak ended the way it ended and what the differences are between its original draft and the ending. As Moore says the editing not only pared things down but also restructured events to create more coherence. The first part of Daybreak presents a series of flashbacks telling how the main characters got to the point where we met in the pilot how William Adama Edward James Olmos accepted command of Galactica and how the chief eventually arrived Laura Roslin Mary McDonnell I got involved in politics how Lee Jimmy Bamber and Kara Katie Sacoff fell in love and how Gaius Baltar James Callis fell under the influence of number six Trichia Helfer. According to Moore's structuring, this flashback was one of the corrections he made during the review.

Watch the end without cutting

Can curious fans watch the original 4-hour version of Daybreak? Mostly not. According to Moore, there is an uncut version of Daybreak but it is most likely on a DVD misplaced somewhere in Moores's own home or in the Universal Archives where it takes a lot of searching and a little miracle to find it. Moore hasn't seen it himself since production ended in 2009. However, he assured fans that they didn't miss out on much. First, the unpolished version is nowhere complete. Although it was far enough away to not have any storyboard placeholders for uncapped shots there was an incomplete green screen and most CGI shots were simple previews. He also emphasized a lesson that all filmmakers learn when it comes to editing.

I have to agree with Moore. With how he explained his review process the 4-hour Daybreak maybe just a more bloated slower-paced version of the cut that saw air. If I ever wanted to see the previous clip it would be fewer fans and more to see how it compares to the broadcast version and to gain a better understanding of the creative process that guided its simplification. After all, this creative process has given us a series that despite its warts is perched atop the halls of science fiction television.