Why Battlestar Galactica Was Nearly Forced To End Early
The 2004 reimagining of "Battlestar Galactica" was widely well-received during its four-season run. In fact, Empire recently named the show the 14th best television show of all time. Despite a mixed response over its final season (per Gizmodo), "Battlestar Galactica" has enjoyed its status as gold-standard science fiction storytelling for well over a decade. The show focused on the last remnants of humanity as they flee into space away from the murderous robot Cylons as they search for a mythical planet known as Earth.
Still, as critically well-received as the show was and as dedicated as its fanbase was, this version of "Battlestar Galactica" didn't stick around for too long. While this was apparently the decision of the showrunners (via Movie Web), that's an oddly brief amount of time for a high-profile science fiction series to last, even one as serialized as "Battlestar Galactica." Still, some fans may not realize that the show almost ended even earlier than that, and the reason why may just surprise you.
Uncertainty over the writers' strike almost led to Battlestar Galactica ending early
Per The Hollywood Reporter, "Battlestar Galactica" was nearly forced to end early because of the Writers Guild of America strike that hit in 2007 and ended in early 2008. As noted by NJ.com in its interview with show developer Ronald D. Moore, "Battlestar Galactica" only had up to "Revelations" written, which would have left half of the final season unfinished. Of course, the strike did end despite the uncertainty Moore and his colleagues had to deal with, and "Battlestar Galactica" did get to shoot its remaining episodes, but that wasn't always a sure thing.
Interestingly, the strike also allowed Moore to rethink the ending for the show, and he completely changed the final story arc of the series' final episodes (via Gizmodo). These are the very episodes that have become so hotly divisive among the fanbase and critics alike, so it's hard not to wonder if what exactly would have been different had the writers' strike never taken place. Either way, a divisive ending is probably a better outcome than no ending at all for a lot of fans.