NBCUniversal TelevisionRunning out of things to binge during your shelter-in-place? Syfy is delivering two full-series marathons to help get your mind off of the state of the world– ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’.
Syfy will air all six seasons of ‘Xena’– 134 episodes– on Thursdays, with star Lucy Lawless serving as host. ‘Xena’ will run during mornings and afternoons, with Lawless providing “host wraps.” Syfy also promises “special surprise guest appearances.” Intrigued? The ‘Xena marathons are sponsored by Syfy Fangrrls. This event kicks off on April 16.
While ‘Xena’ is being broken up, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ will air for three days straight in one large chunk. Tricia Helfer (Number Six) will host, but once again, Syfy promises “surprise guest appearances.” Syfy will air all four seasons– 76 episodes– plus the two-part miniseries that kicked the whole thing off, and the movies ‘Razor’ (set between Seasons 3 and 4) and ‘The Plan’ (set after the series). This event kicks off on Monday, April 20 at 12 am EST and will run through Thursday, April 23 at 9 am EST. This marathon is sponsored by Syfy Wire.
Both ‘Xena’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ are significant works in the fandoms of science fiction and fantasy, but at this point, they are also both pretty old. So this is a perfect opportunity for those that missed out the first time (or weren’t alive the first time) to check out these groundbreaking series.
The shows couldn’t be more different. ‘Xena’ was a campy fantasy romp, while ‘Battlestar Galactica’ was a surprisingly sophisticated update of a campy ’70s romp.
If you don’t want to live-watch, both ‘Xena’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ will also be available on Syfy.com and NBCU’s OneApp. Also available on Syfy.com is ‘Battlestar Galacticast’, a podcast hosted by Helfer and writer/journalist Marc Bernardin. On Monday, April 20, there will be a special bonus episode which features a reunion of cast members Edward James Olmos, James Callis, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, Michael Trucco, Rekha Sharma and more, plus a live-reading of the pilot episode, “33”.
‘Xena’ was created by John Schulian and Robert Tapert (Lawless’ husband) and developed by R.J. Stewart and Sam Raimi as a spinoff of their established hit ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’. The series aired in syndication from 1995 until 2001.
‘Battlestar Galactica’ was created by Ronald D. Moore, based on the 1978 TV series created by Glen A. Larson. The first miniseries aired on Syfy ( back then, known as the Sci-Fi Channel) in 2003. The ongoing series began airing the following year and aired until spring 2009. ‘The Plan’ was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in October of the same year.
Sam Esmail is currently developing a new ‘Battlestar Galactica’ series that will be set within the same continuity. This series is earmarked for the upcoming Peacock streaming service from NBCUniversal.
Will you be tuning in to either of these marathons?
Source: Deadline
