THE GEEK GARAGE SALE: So were you shocked by Friday’s return of Battlestar Galactica? Thrilled, bummed out, disappointed, confused? It’s one down, nine to go – not including The Plan, the Edward James Olmos-directed movie, due to air after the final episode, which is actually set sometime during the first season, so it doesn’t really count toward the show’s finale. And then there’s Caprica, the prequel series scheduled to debut next year, but let’s not get ahead of – or behind, as the case may be – ourselves.
Word also came down this weekend that Matt Weiner has finally signed a contract that puts him at the helm of two more seasons of Mad Men, which will hopefully be as far as he’s willing to take the show. I’ve been gritting my teeth hoping that Ronald Moore and the rest of Galactica’s creators wouldn’t make that often invisible slip into hokey junk before wrapping up the series, and now I’ve got to worry that Weiner will pull off a decent denouement for his show and avoid the temptation to keep a steady gig. I’d like to think that both shows, in the end, will underline the case for limiting the lifespan of a TV series to four seasons at the absolute maximum, though in a perfect world two seasons should be enough.
Fans who, like grieving relatives or the lovelorn, can’t let go, were probably bleeding their bank accounts this weekend at the auction of the show’s costumes, props, sets and design drawings held in Pasadena, Calif., where you could pick up a Cylon Resurrection Tub (lot 799, estimated at US$2,500-$3,500), a full-sized Viper (lot 347; $50,000-$60,000) or Adama’s desk and accessories (lot 752; $6,000-$8,000.) The budget-conscious could settle for the pen Gaeta used to stab Baltar (lot 441; $400-$600, complete with dried stage blood), while you’ll be a star at the next comic con with either an unnamed Viper pilot uniform (four lots from small to XL; $2,000-$3,000) or Kara Starbuck’s flight suit (lot 111; $10,000-$15,000.)
The real prize, however, was probably the red backless dress worn by Number Six, played by ex-model Tricia Helfer (lot 260; $10,000-$12,000), and probably only suitable for a very lean size one who’s been spending a fair bit of time in the gym. Or a very willowy and extravagant transvestite whose tastes run to Darth Vader and not Marlene Dietrich.
