'Battlestar Galactica' Could Move To NBC ... We Mean It

Al Norton, the TV editor for Boston Now says it's a real possibility as networks scramble to find scripted programs that aren't simply reruns from their existing shows.

And it's a different world in television than it was in 1988 when writers struck for 22 weeks, causing many shows to bring down their tents midway through the season. Even "Star Trek: The Next Generation" tried to get around it all by digging up old scripts from "Star Trek: Phase II," but most shows don't have those kinds of luxuries.

Today, however, many networks own multiple cable channels, and nearly all of those have some kind of original programming or another. So don't be surprised if "Heroes" gets replaced by NBCU's SciFi Channel programming like "Battlestar Galactica," or even a watered down "Nip/Tuck" joining reality programming on Fox.

NBC Universal probably has the biggest library of cable programming to pull from thanks to owning both SciFi Channel and USA Network where they could easily start adding previously aired shows like "Psych," "Monk" and "The 4400" to the main network schedule. TNT isn't owned by a company that also owns a major network, but Time Warner officials reportedly are offering "The Closer" to networks ... for a price, of course.

"Battlestar Galactica" could be the biggest beneficiary. Although it's clear that a strike would delay production on the show's final season (and likely ensuring that the last 10 episodes will air in 2009), NBC could opt to start the entire show from the beginning or even start picking and choosing episodes it feels will draw viewers when they run out of existing scripted programs. "The 4400" -- which is possibly facing cancellation after a not-so-stellar fourth season -- may get new life with a run on NBC as well.

One thing to remember, however, is that not every show airing on cable is immediately available to the networks. "Stargate: Atlantis," for instance, is not owned by NBCU, and if it were to appear on any network, it would be after they negotiated with MGM.

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