With Battlestar Galactica returning to finish up its fourth and final season soon, I’ve been thinking again about the concept of a television “season” and what it means. This is mostly an academic question, as it ultimately doesn’t have any huge significance, but it’s something that I’ve been pondering lately.

BSG might just have the most protracted ending in the history of television, with the obvious exception of The Sopranos. In March 2007, when BSG season three ended and it was announced that season four would be the final season, I couldn’t imagine a scenario where we would be heading into 2009 and the show still wasn’t over. Think about it: When Battlestar airs its final episode, presumably in late March, it will have been two full years since the previous “season” ended. (Read more…)

Two years ago, on a lark, I did the Black Friday thing, as sort of a sociological experiment more than anything else. I consider myself above the fray on this whole issue; even as I was doing it I was lamenting the stupidity of having lowered myself to participating in the increasingly hyped event that is the Biggest Shopping Day of the Year. (Read more…)