17 Years Ago Today, This Sci-Fi Masterpiece Released an Episode Its Cast Feared Would Be the Very Last One

That all said, there was one episode of Battlestar Galactica that actually left the cast shook, wondering if they were facing the end. That episode dropped 17 years ago, on January 16, 2009. Titled “Sometimes a Great Notion”, the episode was pivotal, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Battlestar Galactica Was Almost A Casualty of the Writer’s Strike

In January of 2009, Battlestar Galactica was at its most pivotal point. The series was in its 4th and final season on SyFy (the “Sci-Fi Channel” at the time); the season had been split into two parts, named “4” and “4.5”, with the first half of the episodes airing through June of 2008, followed by a six-month hiatus (more on that below) before the final half of the 21 episodes dropped, starting in January of 2009. The two-part story finally answered some of the biggest mysteries in the series, including the fate and history of Earth, as well as the last member of the “Final Five” Cylons, who had been secretly embedded within the fleet since the start of the show.

However, behind the scenes, “Sometimes a Great Notion” was shot back-to-back with its preceding episode, “Revelations”. It was fortunate that the production planned it that way, because the script for the episode was the final one to be completed before the WGA Strike of 2007 – 2008 began. Due to union rules, productions like Battlestar Galactica were left in limbo. Filming on “Sometimes a Great Notion” was set in motion on good faith that it would be able to continue, and reportedly got final approval the night before cameras were set to roll.

Battlestar Galactica’s Cast & Crew Thought It Really Was The End

The cast and crew of the show were reportedly extremely emotional on set. The prevailing logic was that a long strike would cause the network to cancel the show, finished or not, rather than pay the cost of retaining the cast, crew, sets, etc.

According to episode co-writer David Weddle’s post-episode interview, series lead Edward James Olmos was stoking the emotional pitch amongst the cast and crew, telling them, “This is the end, I think we all feel that. They’re not going to bring the show back. They’ll pull the sets down. We’ll never shoot another episode.” The acclaimed actor even shook Weddle’s hand in solemn goodbye, saying, “I don’t know whether our paths will ever cross again, but it’s been an honor to work with you.”