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Battlestar Galactica, which I anointed as the Best Television Show Ever last season, will officially end after their 4th season in 2008.

And you know what? I’m not crushed. Hell, I wasn’t even that bummed when I initially heard the news and here’s why: This means BSG can now only go out on top and with a bang. Think for a minute, when was the last series finale that you were absolutely thrilled with after it aired? Seinfeld’s was kind of stupid, as was Friends’ and West Wing’s. Many shows that are hits stay on the air until they become stale or, more importantly in the network’s eyes, stop making money. Hell, the only thing worse than a great show being canceled too early is when a network or creator refuses to let it die. I’M LOOKING AT YOU, MATT GROENING!

So when a writing staff or executive producer has the gaul to come out and say, “You know, we’re doing great, but let’s not drag this thing out too long. How about we just go out on top?,” you have to applaud them. LOST did this a few weeks ago, announcing they were only going to make three more seasons before they called it quits and I have a hunch that in the not too distant future, more and more shows are going to be doing this, which is fantastic.

Viewing habits of most Americans have drastically shifted in the past three years, what with the rise of TiVo, iTunes, torrents, YouTube, and cable plans with millions of channels. As a result, we’re more accustomed to not only watching TV whenever we want, but skipping the crap we don’t like and finding alternative shows. Thus, more and more dramas like BSG and LOST are going to have to plan ahead and know where the hell they’re going if they expect to keep things not only fresh, but exciting as well for their viewers. As a result, we’re left with fewer “filler” episodes that shows always air in months like October and April and instead get seasons where the plot is moved significantly all year long.

From the marketing aspect, it’s also a smart move. When shows like ER and Desperate Housewives have no real end date in sight and the story just seems to keep dragging on and on, it’s easy to kind of shrug and not get excited about a new episode. (Not that I watch either of those) But even if the end date is far in the future, just having that date set in stone makes it a bit easier to go, “Hell, there’s not that many new episodes left, I’m gonna watch this!” On the flip side, competition between advertisers may increase as they know there is only a limited number of shows left where they can pitch their product. Of course, this won’t work as well on some shows as others, but a smart ad ex could certainly work some magic if they knew what they were doing. I bet Travelocity or Expedia would pay a little more if they knew Amazing Race only had two more seasons left or Chevy would sponsor more episodes if 24 was only having a few more days (which, after this last season, needs to happen. Seriously, that show sucks now, but whatever.)

So bravo, BSG. I can’t fraking wait to see what happens next and how this epic show actually ends.