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BGalactica

Battlestar Galactica Webisodes -Fiona

The webisodes seem to be geared towards people who know Battlestar Galactica since apparently they are in-depth stories about minor characters, but it works well for people who don't know the show at all. It's pretty clear what's going on to me, even though I've never seen the whole show. It's also targeting people with a short attention span, or who might not want to take the time to figure out the details of plots in order to understand what's going on in a show. Before, I don't think I would have been willing to sit through a whole show of Battlestar Galactica because the idea of trying to figure out what's going on seems daunting. But after watching these short, 3-min webisodes, I want to learn more about the story and I'd be willing to watch a whole show.

The webisodes definitely take advantage of their online format through filming techniques that capture a sense of intimacy: closeups of faces, intimate settings in close quarters, unsteady camera movements (as if it's a home video). The stories are short and have a good flow, punctuated by some slower parts which set up the characters' personalities. These slow parts are actually really helpful to the SciFi channel because during the slow moments, I found myself glancing around the webpage and reading ads that I probably wouldn't have noticed without the video playing. They aren't slow enough to make me stop watching.

The videos could be something shown on TV, but I don't think it would have the same effect. First of all, you'd be more likely to tune out something as short as 3 mins on your TV, in the same way that you tune out a commercial. But if you are actually choosing the episode and clicking on it online, you'd be less likely to tune it out. Also, because they have to be so short, the stories have quite a bit of detail packed into them and since most people watch TV while surfing the web or reading, they probably would have a harder time catching the whole story than if they were focused and watching it online. I haven't seen the show on TV yet, but I actually think the web format is ideal for the story. It's a pretty emotional story about human suffering, with parallels to a lot of current struggles in the world, and I think the intimacy of a small, computer-screen format strengthens the story and draw in more viewers.

While it's pretty normal to be able to go online and find out more details about a story's plot, I think it's pretty unusual to be able to find the stories behind minor characters. The closest thing I can compare it to might be Project Runway, or other reality shows where you can go on the website to view interviews with contestants and hear more about their lives. This of course enriches the experience of the show, but doesn't have the same effect of the Battlestar Galactica webisodes, which create an extended 'world' of endless stories for the viewer to explore. It also ensures the life of the TV show: if the main storyline in the show becomes dull or expired, the plot can transition to a new network of characters which by that point will probably have built a big following through the webisodes.