Greetings, backers.

Well, we’ve come to the end of the month, and the end of the Turkey Day Marathon and this campaign.

While we’re incredibly grateful for all of the support, enthusiasm, and encouragement, it’s clear we’ve fallen short of our goal this time.

First, to be clear, please understand that that means that no one will be charged anything, and we will not be collecting anything that you pledged to this campaign , since the agreement was that we’d only collect funds if we reached our minimum goal. No charges will be put on anyone’s credit cards.

Second, and more important, please know that we’re incredibly grateful for all of your input, feedback, concerns and questions, and are thinking about all the suggestions you have made over the past month.

One silver lining is that the continued support for this campaign, and the show, may have opened up some new conversations about potential partnerships and fundraising that could be key in getting the show another season.

We’ll spend some time now exploring those, and working to integrate all of the feedback and suggestions we’ve heard from you, and will follow up again next year, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, when we’ve had a chance to regroup and have more to share downstream.

For now, whether you pledged or not, please accept our thanks and gratitude for your ongoing dedication and investment in MST3K.

We’re proud that the show continues to mean so much, to so many, and will keep working to figure out a path forward so that we can hopefully continue to #MakeMoreMST3K.

Until then, have a wonderful holiday season, and thanks again for all of your support.

Cheers and Thanks,

Joel and Team MST3K

From Michael Trucco's Instagram

Here's an article on the "scanning extras" story.

That article speculates that elements of Paramount (including CBS Studios, which produces Trek these days) could be sold off to other companies, perhaps even Netflix. This, however, doesn't get into the hairy discussion surrounding rights to the franchise.

It features multiple characters and actors from the original series and a thirty-eight minute version of the film was made and shown at various conventions. More info here.

If you haven't yet, Bridget and Mary Jo's riffs at RiffTrax are great.

!

That's a Cylon from the would-be series.

In 2000, Singer and producer Tom DeSanto began negotiating with Universal and by 2001, they were hard at work on a new Galactica series that would have aired on Fox.

This series would have been a direct continuation of the 1978 show, set twenty years into that series' future and ignoring Galactica 1980. Deals were in place for original cast members such as Dirk Benedict (Starbuck) and Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Boomer). Sets and props were at least partially built and designs were well-fleshed out, including that of the above Cylons.

Story-wise, we know what was up. I guess I'll say spoiler alert, but since this is a show from over twenty years ago that never got made and whatever we get next will likely be radically different, ... I can't imagine that you really need a spoiler alert. But still. Oh, and you might be a bit surprised how much sounds like the Moore & Eick BSG.

Two years after the episode "Hand of God," Galactica's fleet finds Admiral Cain and the Battlestar Pegasus, leading to a mammoth battle that destroys their Cylon pursuers once and for all. Unfortunately, Cain, Pegasus and Apollo were all lost in the engagement. Some years later, Adama passes away and Commander Tigh and the fleet weary of their search for Earth and decide to settle upon habitable asteroids abundant with resources which they called New Caprica. Elsewhere, the Cylons engaged in a civil war between two factions: those who embraced their free will and those who believed it should be eliminated. In the end, the mechanical Cylons decided to incorporate many facets of humanity, thanks to their assimilation of Baltar and became all the more deadly for it.

That's just the backstory.

So, in the main story of the show, the commander of Galactica is Boxey, now called Orin (and not Troy). The president, Mara, and the council decide that after so many years of peace, Galactica should be deactivated. It is and, of course, this is when the Cylons strike. As the Galactica is about to be destroyed once and for all, the Cylon Central Controller orders a retreat. They then communicate with the Colonials and order them to surrender.

Orin refuses, of course, and launches a bunch of new Vipers. They fight well, but the new Cylons are too strong. In the battle, a water ship is damaged and a large chunk of ice forms. The Colonials push it into the Basestar and it's destroyed. Their cover blown, the Colonials again gather up a ragtag fleet and search for Earth.

Epilogue: on the Cylon homeworld, we see their mechanized might and then we see their Central Controller: Richard Frakkin' Hatch! And his eyes glow Cylon red! Da-da-dummmm!

! A Cylon suit that was built.

! One of two Vipers on their way to completion.

! Galactica's large central bridge console set.

So, what happened?

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Bryan Singer departed the production to work on X2: X-Men United and Fox passed on the series in favor of Joss Whedon's Firefly. They felt the story of a sneak attack was a bit too close to home. This iteration of Battlestar Galactica was, for all intents and purposes, dead and all of those sets, props, costumes and more were trashed. Literally.

If you're interested in more info, check out the Archive.org version of Tombs of Kobol. Those pages include dozens more photos, a more detailed breakdown of the story, plus an interview with Bryan Singer's producing partner on the show, Tom DeSanto.