Battlestar Galactica

[Outsider]

Anybody else out there watching the new Battlestar Galactica series on the Sci-Fi channel? I started watching last spring and I've become severely addicted. I'm geeking out big-time. I mean, I knew the meaning of the phrase "geeking-out" but I never really UNDERSTOOD it till now, with the first new episodes in half a year just starting up. I need help, a support group of some kind... Who can help me?

[CIC flurry]

I watched one episode (one of the first ones), and it didn't catch with me, but my friend later told me that the first eps aren't good to base an opinion on. I intend to watch it again.

[full nelson]

I used to watch when I could, but I was never around Friday nights or whenever it came on. Very cool show. I saw the second season premiere and that was the last I time I viewed. Damn shame.

[sampotter]

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RULES.

I got the first two seasons from my friend on a couple DVDs (plus the miniseries) and ripped through that with fervor just in time for the season three premiere. This show is the best! I completely relate the geeking-out sentiment. I thought it knew what it was to geek-out... I've played DND, Magic, more RPGs than you can count, fantasy novels... I used to keep a lot of that to myself when it came to getting on with people. However, recently it's been more like: "Sam, do you want to do something tonight?" "SORRY, GOT TO CATCH BATTLESTAR GALACTICA."

[shredzilla]

wow, no I haven't. I think I remember seeing a commercial for it though before it came out. Pretty good stuff huh? Maybe I'll check it out sometime.

[Anz]

The series is starting in Finland in February I think I might give it a sneak peek.

[Sporatical_Distractions]

I watched the first few episodes and it looked fantastic. I want to watch it but i feel i'm so far behind now. and something bothers me about lying to the last remnants of human life that another planet exists where they can live. They are doomed

[Anz]

Hey don't reviel the plot!!!!

[Outsider]

They are doomed

Yes, they are...

Thats one of the things that so cool about it: its so totally the Anti-Star Trek. There's not much positive about this future. The Galactica isn't a nice shiny new flag-ship of the great space Federation. Its an old rust-bucket, just about to be decommissioned when the series begins and war breaks out. Its kind of like the USS Intrepid in New York, a floating museum and not battle-ready. There's no Holodeck, hardly any comforts at all, in fact. The human race is on the edge, on the run, and they don't have all the comforts of home like in Star Trek. They don't have a home at all, its been converted to rubble and radioactive vapor.

And the characters are nothing like those on the all-too-positive Trek. The commander of the fleet doesn't get along with his son, and is in a constant power-struggle with the President. The president has terminal cancer, and is obsessed with the literal truth of religious scriptures that many others don't believe in. The Executive Officer, Tigh, is an alcoholic and not competent to command the fleet when the commander is incapacitated. The fleet of fighers is sub-standard, over-used and falling apart. The crew-chief responsible for their maintenance is nearly suicidal and has almost nothing left to live for. The brainy scientist is boarderline psychotic and hallucinates a sexy enemy agent in his head who's got him twisted around her little finger. The ace fighter pilot is sleeping with him and almost everyone else on the ship, and is caught up in the power struggle between the practicle military commander and the visionary President. Every other hero on the show is similarly deeply flawed. Plus they're mostly sweaty and dirty and tired and they fight with one-another.

Unlike Star Trek, the humans are actually badly outclassed by the enemy in many respects, and in some ways that they don't even realize. It seems to me that with every victory the humans score against the Cylons they are in fact simply following a trail of crumbs, doing exactly what their enemy wants them to do. The Cylons, it seems to me, could exterminate the human fleet at any time, but they don't want them dead. They have some use for them, and they're playing them like a fiddle because they can read them like a book. But what is that use? Where are they leading them too?

Of course, all the official info about the show exlicitly states that it is written episodically, that each episode is "stand-alone", and they appear that way, but I think that there is much more to it than that, that every episode is perfectly well planned, all being involved in an intricate chain of events. How will our heros ever subvert and overcome the villains' nefarious plans when they aren't even aware of how they are being plotted against? Some main characters have turned out to be Cylon sleeper agents. Some of those agents don't even know they are not human until their programming kicks in. There are almost certainly more like that aboard, and nobody (the characters or the audience [at least not me] ) know who they are.

Ugh, can't wait for the new episode tomorrow night. I am such a hopeless geek.

[sampotter]

Well put, Jon! I'll post here and rave about the new episode after I see it.

[Muffinman]

SEMI-SPOILER AHEAD



My brother made me watch the first couple (mini series?)(he's always been a huge Battlestar Galactica fan), but I didn't really see what was so special about it, or even find it that great (besides the cinematography, which was nice for a TV show if I recall.) -- maybe I need to watch more? I saw up until, like, that fake woman frames her lover and shows him those things she put all over the bridge of a spaceship or something...that's right when I stopped...was I close to something good?

[Anz]

I just found ou that the series starts here in Finland next Friday!!

That's the bad point... it's coming on friday evening when I'm propably not home. Maybe I'll record it and watch later.

[Outsider]

Erik, I'm not sure which episode you meant. I started getting the sci-fi channel kind of suddenly, and towards the end of the first season. Then they re-ran the first season and I saw most of them, but missed a few. And I've never seen the damn mini-series yet.

Never mind the details.

Some things I like about the show in general are that:

There isn't any wasted dialogue. No snappy banter, no one-liners or stupid jokes. The writing is mostly devoid of that cheesy cliche action-hero/sci-fi show talking. The characters don't ramble on and over-explain everything. Similarly, they leave out all the silly sci-fi techno-babble so common, for instance, in star trek. They don't invent wonderous new machines every episode just in time to save the day, they don't give long dissertations on the fundamentals of some fictitious new kinds of science. It is generally understood that the characters are familiar with their own technology and don't bother explaining all the details to one-another (explanations really intended for the audience) because those other characters are probably perfectly familiar with that same technology that is part of their lives, just as you and I don't need to explain how a car works every time we offer to give somebody a ride.

Similar to the lack of bull-shit banter and cheesy one-liners, the characters sometimes seem to express genuine emotions. They actually let the acting tell some of the story. They don't have to explain what they are thinking all the time because it shows on their faces. They say things with a look instead of a sentence. Its not that I'm absolutely raving about the quality of the acting, but I am impressed that they are actually allowed to act, and they act like real people. For instance, unlike cliche action heros and sci-fi heros the likes of James Bond of Captain Kirk, the characters seem to be truly afraid for their lives when faced with a potentially deadly situation. Likewise, they make mistakes, and not just the obvious scripted ones necessary to move the plot along. They don't always make all the right moves.

Last thing, for now: the excitement doesn't generally come from the special-effects and action scenes. Though there are enough of them, and they look great, they tend to be down-played and are not the highlights of the show. The most exciting parts come from the conversations and plot-twists.

As for this latest episode, hmm, it wasn't exactly a let-down, but not what I was expecting. Of course, the "not what I was expecting" part is just an example of another aspect of the show that I like, and I mean that as a generalization. The show often takes directions that I wasn't expecting, and thats usually a good thing, because the opposite of that is formula and predictability, and I've had enough of that already.

Shit, its only Saturday and I'm all anxious for next Friday. Shit. I think I'll go kick now, just to take my mind of Battlestar.

[CIC flurry]

Definitely wanna watch it now.

[Outsider]

I'm not trying to get anyone else to watch the show. I was just hoping that there'd be some other obsessed lunatics out there that wanted to talk about it, tell me why they like it, what they think is going on and whats gonna happen next. Sam, are you still there?

[sampotter]

Of course.

I was a little let down with the last episode's ending... It seemed a little too predictable that character X was going to die in the end. Then again, it was nice that the killer was a surprise, and I suppose what I enjoy most about the show is preserved. I find my greatest attraction to the show is that it leaves off all of the dramatics and heroic bull shit that are usually attributed to sci-fi and fantasy stories. Instead of the characters trekking along a clearly linear storyline, they instead deal with what would likely be the actual problems people in that situation would have to deal with. I guess that character X was just another one of those problems and I suppose that the dynamic would be thrown off if they left that character alive... In that it wouldn't be the same group of people dealing with these problems -- which I suppose is another part of the attraction.

As for what's next? Who knows.

[Outsider]

Ya know, screw all this BS "character X" stuff. We can talk in straighforward speach. We're the only ones who seem to care anyway, so I'm unconcerned about spoilers.

So, yeah, the last episode was strangely underwhelming, and a little confusing. I've got no problems with the overall outcomes, but the actions of some characters confused me. Why did Admiral Cain advise Starbuck not to flinch in the face of difficult decisions? It seemed as though she was perfectly aware of Starbuck's intention to terminate her. Why did Cain seemingly encourage her? Why would Cain even let Starbuck close to her if she had guessed her mission? That confused me a little, though I think I have an answer: Cain understood that her ruthlessness has saved many human lives, but that Adama's restraint was doing a better job of preserving human life. Adama, she must have realized, was more suited than her to command the fleet. Further, she may have had great remorse for the lives she had sacraficed in the name of survival. She was ceding command to her subordinate officer, Adama, in the most expedient and final way possible, and paying for her crimes at the same time. Just as she abused her authority to execute other criminals, so she was also willing to pay that price when confronted with her own guilt. Maybe.

Why did Apollo say that he hadn't wanted to survive the mission? He has never been suicidal up to this point. I don't have a good answer for this yet.

Why hasn't anyone tied the escaped cylon prisoner, Gina (the flesh-and-blood Number 6) to Baltar? It seems all to obvious that he may have aided her escape (I mean, WE know he did, but why doesn't Adama et. al. see this?) yet they pretty much ignore the whole issue. Its like "she escaped, killed the Admiral, and disappeared; who cares?" That doesn't ring true. And that whole interaction between Baltar, Gina, and the Number 6 in his head seemed bogus. I'd say that this is just more evidence of the Cylons manipulating the humans at will. Gina and Number Six are just pulling a good cop/bad cop routine on Baltar. They squeeze him inbetween the controllling bitch whose thumb he's eager to get out from under and another version of the same woman who is, instead, vulnerable and in need of his help. They're playing him like a fiddle. Additionally, it is the Cylon's objective to get rid of Admiral Cain, and they want to see if Adama will do it for them. But even if he won't, they can still eliminate her at will; they still have multiple options to do so, multiple agents in position, and Gina was simply the most expendible because her cover had already been blown and she had a convenient cover motive to do it. They just need to push Baltar's buttons to make it happen.

Almost all the scenes that I expected to be really cool were somehow... ineffective. On the other hand there were some scenes that I didn't anticipate that made up for it. I liked Adama's interrogation of Boomer. "Why do the Cylons hate us?" "I don't think 'hate' is the right word." "I don't want to fence with you, just tell me why." It was a cool scene, esp. how it lead to him cancelling his order to Starbuck to shoot Cain. After the big battle I expected the shit to hit the fan with all those assassination orders, but it was perhaps more interesting that it didn't. Its sort of like it introduces a big "now what?" into the story. The Cylons quickly address that big question with a definitive answer, though: "if you won't, than we will."

I liked how Colonel Fisk (the Pegasus executive officer) saved Helo and Tyrol from getting beaten up. I though that scene was cool. Like, even though he had orders to kill Adama, he was reclaiming some of the humanity that he had lost in the previous months under Cain's command. It showed that he wasn't irredeemably corrupted by her. I didn't really expect that of him. I mean, I did perhaps expect him to betray Cain rather than kill Adama, but I think now that he would not have done that. He would have still followed her orders. So how else could he show that he still had his integrity? By enforcing strick discipline over his troops in the brig. I didn't like him at first, but now I think he's pretty cool, just like a I didn't like Colonel Tigh at first for being an alcoholic hard-ass, but he's proven to be cool too.

In all, I still think that they're following the trail of crumbs that the Cylons have laid out for them. Its all proceding according to plan for them. All those ships were simply sacrificial lambs to deceive the humans, just as that first Base Star was sacraficed at the end of season one, right before Boomer shot Adama. That was simply the most obvious example, the most unambiguous signal that the Cylons just let that happen. This latest battle was less obvious, but still following along the same trail of deception. It still all seems really cool. I just don't know what to make of Apollo.

[Josh B]

Ya know, screw all this BS "character X" stuff. We can talk in straighforward speach. We're the only ones who seem to care anyway, so I'm unconcerned about spoilers.

So, yeah, the last episode was strangely underwhelming, and a little confusing. I've got no problems with the overall outcomes, but the actions of some characters confused me. Why did Admiral Cain advise Starbuck not to flinch in the face of difficult decisions? It seemed as though she was perfectly aware of Starbuck's intention to terminate her. Why did Cain seemingly encourage her? Why would Cain even let Starbuck close to her if she had guessed her mission? That confused me a little, though I think I have an answer: Cain understood that her ruthlessness has saved many human lives, but that Adama's restraint was doing a better job of preserving human life. Adama, she must have realized, was more suited than her to command the fleet. Further, she may have had great remorse for the lives she had sacraficed in the name of survival. She was ceding command to her subordinate officer, Adama, in the most expedient and final way possible, and paying for her crimes at the same time. Just as she abused her authority to execute other criminals, so she was also willing to pay that price when confronted with her own guilt. Maybe.

Why did Apollo say that he hadn't wanted to survive the mission? He has never been suicidal up to this point. I don't have a good answer for this yet.

Why hasn't anyone tied the escaped cylon prisoner, Gina (the flesh-and-blood Number 6) to Baltar? It seems all to obvious that he may have aided her escape (I mean, WE know he did, but why doesn't Adama et. al. see this?) yet they pretty much ignore the whole issue. Its like "she escaped, killed the Admiral, and disappeared; who cares?" That doesn't ring true. And that whole interaction between Baltar, Gina, and the Number 6 in his head seemed bogus. I'd say that this is just more evidence of the Cylons manipulating the humans at will. Gina and Number Six are just pulling a good cop/bad cop routine on Baltar. They squeeze him inbetween the controllling bitch whose thumb he's eager to get out from under and another version of the same woman who is, instead, vulnerable and in need of his help. They're playing him like a fiddle. Additionally, it is the Cylon's objective to get rid of Admiral Cain, and they want to see if Adama will do it for them. But even if he won't, they can still eliminate her at will; they still have multiple options to do so, multiple agents in position, and Gina was simply the most expendible because her cover had already been blown and she had a convenient cover motive to do it. They just need to push Baltar's buttons to make it happen.

Almost all the scenes that I expected to be really cool were somehow... ineffective. On the other hand there were some scenes that I didn't anticipate that made up for it. I liked Adama's interrogation of Boomer. "Why do the Cylons hate us?" "I don't think 'hate' is the right word." "I don't want to fence with you, just tell me why." It was a cool scene, esp. how it lead to him cancelling his order to Starbuck to shoot Cain. After the big battle I expected the shit to hit the fan with all those assassination orders, but it was perhaps more interesting that it didn't. Its sort of like it introduces a big "now what?" into the story. The Cylons quickly address that big question with a definitive answer, though: "if you won't, than we will."

I liked how Colonel Fisk (the Pegasus executive officer) saved Helo and Tyrol from getting beaten up. I though that scene was cool. Like, even though he had orders to kill Adama, he was reclaiming some of the humanity that he had lost in the previous months under Cain's command. It showed that he wasn't irredeemably corrupted by her. I didn't really expect that of him. I mean, I did perhaps expect him to betray Cain rather than kill Adama, but I think now that he would not have done that. He would have still followed her orders. So how else could he show that he still had his integrity? By enforcing strick discipline over his troops in the brig. I didn't like him at first, but now I think he's pretty cool, just like a I didn't like Colonel Tigh at first for being an alcoholic hard-ass, but he's proven to be cool too.

In all, I still think that they're following the trail of crumbs that the Cylons have laid out for them. Its all proceding according to plan for them. All those ships were simply sacrificial lambs to deceive the humans, just as that first Base Star was sacraficed at the end of season one, right before Boomer shot Adama. That was simply the most obvious example, the most unambiguous signal that the Cylons just let that happen. This latest battle was less obvious, but still following along the same trail of deception. It still all seems really cool. I just don't know what to make of Apollo.

YOU RUINED IT FOR MEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[carl winslow]

Im gonna rent the dvds. sounds like a cool show. I loved star trek tng, but have seen all the episodes.
the only other tv show i really look foward to now is Lost, which is pretty good.

[sampotter]

I'm not sure if I buy your reasoning as to why Cain let Starbuck into her midst. I suppose it makes sense, but going off the information we have (and likely will ever have... unless they uncover, like, the memoirs of admiral Cain or something :p ) I think you could also conclude that Cain just saw a lot of herself in Starbuck and was hoping to pass on what she had learned in her line of duty. Ironically it killed her. I suppose if you want to really extrapolate a lot, though, your line of reasoning makes a lot of sense, though.

As for Apollo... Frankly I don't know why they're ALL not suicidal, considering the circumstances. I imagine we'll find out tomorrow, though. That along with them tracing it to Baltar. I can't remember if they apprehended Gina or not, but I'm sure that story line will be dealt with very soon.

I think it's odd that I can still maintain interest in the show with all of the religious dealings going on. All of the show's big decisions are based around the people's religion and the Cylon's interpretation of it... constant references to god's favor of one or the other, finding the two planets, etc. Normally that would make me take the show and its plot less seriously. However, it's more that in this show they go through the motions of religion but it's very obvious that all of it could be completely irrelevant to what's actually going. It's obvious the humans are being strung along by the Cylons, but to what end? And how many of their interactions are genuine? After all, you don't know which people are cylons, which are lying, and whatever else. I'm not convinced that anything Boomer says is genuine -- her prerogative is obviously having her baby. It almost seems sort of like a blank check in regards to the plot, because the creators of the show could basically take it in any direction they want. Let's just hope they don't fuck it up.