SyFriday: Can We Withhold Judgment Until We See It First?

But if this is a busy Friday for you, and you don't have time to read this entire column, I can sum it all up in a single sentence: Stop judging a project before you even see it.

I'm saying this because I'm reading around the Internet and watching as diehard fans of "Battlestar Galactica" have already made a decision on what they think about the upcoming prequel spinoff "Caprica." Yes, there are some details out about the backdoor pilot, and prequels automatically give some people a bad feeling in their stomach, but I just don't understand why we all can't wait to find out if we like a show until we actually watch it.

This was the same argument I brought before fandom back in late 2002 and early 2003 when we were preparing for a new "Battlestar Galactica" backdoor pilot from Ronald D. Moore. Many fans had heard bits and pieces about what was going to happen, including Starbuck being a woman instead of a man, and many people had already decided what they would think about the show.

Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original series, was one of those people. In fact, he seemed to berate the show every chance he got, without knowing much more than the rest of us.

But the miniseries changed his perception. He went in with an open mind, and realized that while he would've preferred a continuation like he was proposing, what Moore and David Eick did wasn't half bad. In fact, it was good ... so good, he signed on as a recurring guest star beginning in the first season.

I've done this as well, however, so it's hard for me to throw stones without hitting myself a few times. Last summer, I did nothing but knock CBS for putting out a show that I felt was nothing more than a rehash of "Angel" called "Twilight," and later changed to "Moonlight." I didn't think there were any more interesting ways to present vampires out there, and that CBS needed a big dose of fresh creative juices.

But I had to eat my words. "Moonlight" ended up being a tremendous show, and its take on vampires was indeed fresh. All that time I spent lambasting the show could've been spent reminding everyone that we need to stop and give it a chance.

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