It sounds a bit like a Cylon plot, but this week the SyFy network and Youtube announced that the much anticipated "Blood and Chrome" prequel will be aired on the the Youtube's Machinima Prime channel starting this Friday. It seems like the Digital launching a surprise attack on the Analog, doesn't it? We're not quite sure what to think and perhaps this will be interesting experiment - will viewers be able to tolerate spreading the prequel pilot into 8 to 12 minute chunks? Will playing it on Youtube first generate more interest than might have otherwise been the case?
The Cylons will be streaming into your home, but will they be fully buffered?
It's not clear whether any more of the series will be produced but it seems as though this move certainly puts that in jeopardy if the result ends up being that the SyFy premier (which will air sometime after the web series concludes) has fewer viewers instead of more. Not too long ago we heard news about Netflix pursuing original content as well. Way back in the stone age, similar questions arose when the fledgling cable networks like HBO and Showtime starting producing original content instead of just airing cinema releases or reruns. Business models in Hollywood are shifting again although this time with the media product being released more or less simultaneously across two mediums it may be a little harder than usual to measure success. If it does well, it's not clear who would produce a follow-on series and whether that would be presented in the same manner as the pilot.
Before the Cylons got sexy - they had Heavy Metal...
As for story, we haven't seen it yet but have always been intrigued by the Adama back story. It promises to be purer than the somewhat confusing Caprica series (which went off into its own virtual reality tangent - although for the most part we did like it). The biggest problem it has to overcome is that we already know the outcome in advance, the humans win - this time around anyway.
The ever-popular Cylon Toaster
There are a few things about Galactica that we know we'll really enjoy no matter what happens with the plot; for example the prolific use of the word "Frak" and Cylons in general. Cylons are the more menacing, robotic alter-egos of Star War's storm-troopers. There's something about chrome that is undeniably irresistible as most car-lovers can attest to. In the years since Gallactica was first released we have seen a number of household products patterned after Cylon technology. We'd like to suggest several more products that might benefit from a Cylon design makeover:
The Cylon Washing Machine - A stylish stainless steel and chrome finish allows you to make a fashion statement while keep your skintight bodysuits super-clean. It even comes with an 'eradicate all humans' washing cycle.
The Cylon Upright Vacuum - It's intelligent, can vacuum by itself and perform hyper-light jumps into other rooms for the speediest clean ever.
The Cylon Ipad - It wasn't designed by Steve Jobs, it is Steve Jobs as he inserted his brain patterns into each and every unit as its AI engine. Watch out, he's or it is a bit temperamental.
Speaking of AI, we will be reviewing a Raving Classic next time - "2001, A Space Odyssey" and will even write some suggested Epic Rap battle lyrics for a HAL versus Watson duel. Stay tuned.
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The Raving Reviews Blog is dedicated to the convergence of popular and critical review of the motion picture art - that and taking a sometimes irreverent view of popular culture.
