The first episode of Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome has drawn over 2.4 million views since the webseries debuted at the beginning of November. Unfortunately, subsequent installments have shown a steep decline in viewership - even after Syfy repackaged standalone episodes into weekly two-part chapters (starting with episodes 3 and 4). Still, at the time of this writing, last week's release has only garnered 350,000 views - nearly an 85 percent drop from the premiere.

Despite rapidly declining numbers, Blood and Chrome is hardly a misfire and, week to week, has delivered plenty of slick visuals as well as a thin (but still competent) addition to the reimagined series canon. Could it be that the episodic webseries format actually hindered interest in this bonus Battlestar story and, as a result, will a chunk of those 2.4 million premier viewers return now that Syfy has released the Blood and Chrome finale?

While some Battlestar fans might have been underwhelmed by the first two episodes, the webseries hasn't been a total waste - offering an intriguing, albeit campy, bridge between the prequel family-drama/Cylon origin series, Caprica, and the critically-acclaimed adventures of Battlestar Galactica and her crew.

Battlestar Galactica Blood and Chrome Episode 1

For anyone who has yet to check out the Blood and Chrome pilot-turned webseries, here's the official synopsis:

This highly anticipated chapter in the Battlestar Galactica saga takes place in the midst of the first Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robotic Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, gifted fighter pilot, William Adama (Luke Pasqualino, The Borgias), finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and hungry for action, Adama quickly finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle-weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton, Alcatraz). With only 47 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle as much as Adama craves its onset. Lili Bordán (Silent Witness) also stars.

It's been interesting to watch Syfy attempt to salvage Blood and Chrome - given that the footage was originally intended as a two-hour pilot for a full Blood and Chrome TV series. However, when Syfy passed on the project, the pilot was chopped into ten 8-12 minute episodic chunks for an online webseries run - with an "uncut" Blu-ray release and on-air Syfy movie event scheduled for February 2013.

However, with today's release of the "finale" chapter, you can check out the full Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome pilot/webseries below:

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episodes 3 & 4

Episodes 5 & 6

Episodes 7 & 8

Episodes 9 & 10

Unlike Mortal Kombat Legacy, where most episodes were standalone storylines, Syfy's choice to air Blood and Chrome in bite-sized pieces may have undercut the success of plot points that, in a one-viewing pilot experience, could have provided a greater emotional connection/impact.

Sure, Blood and Chrome contains ridiculous one-liners, ex. "This is what we do!" and plenty of convoluted melodrama but, by the end, there is an interesting setup in place: a special Cylon task force, "half animal/half machine" creatures, the Ghost Fleet, and more - plus a nice (albeit canon-complicating) nod to followers of a certain fan-favorite humanoid Cylon model.

If you enjoyed the episodes, make sure to tell other Battlestar Galactica fans. It's still possible that Syfy could order a full Blood and Chrome series if viewer response improves dramatically but, given the discouraging webseries numbers, it's very frakking unlikely.

-

Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for future updates on Battlestar Galactica as well as movie, TV, and gaming news.

New episodes of Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome is available free of charge on Machinima or you can check out the uncut version on SyFy in February 2013 – followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on February 19, 2013.

Source: Machinima