Showing posts with label battlestar galactica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battlestar galactica. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Dradis Contact! TAW! Podcast
Battlestar week(And Battlestar Galactica itself) has sadly come to a close. But don't fret, we've got you covered. Check out the totally awesome Battlestar Galactica themed That's A Wrap! Podcast. It should go without saying that if you have not watched the BSG finale, you should steer away from this week's show. Don't worry, it'll be here when you've finished. And if you haven't seen any of the series, what the hell are you waiting for? Buy/rent that jam, yo.Hit the jump for the link to the show!
BSG Special: Dradis Contact!(00:59:23)
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Friday, March 20, 2009
Grab Your Gun and Bring in the Cat
Nothing ever comes easy. No joy is bought without sacrifice... especially on this show. For the grand finale to the monumental series, this is a Running Diary of the three hour conclusion to one of the best 
shows on television today. I hope you all appreciate the fact that I'll be suffering through commercials for you people so the timestamps match up... in the age of the DVR Gods that's a big sacrifice.We'll be starting with the rerun of last week's "Daybreak: Part 1" at 8pm through the conclusion of everything just after 11pm. I'll be recording "The Last Frakking Special" and watching it tomorrow, unwilling to risk any spoiler this late in the game.
DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SERIES!!!! HAVEN'T SEEN IT? GO BUY IT RIGHT THE FRAK NOW!
Now since you're all reasonably intelligent individuals, obviously everything gets spoiled since... ya know... it's a frakking diary of what's happening... a witty frakking diary, excuse me.
7:59pm - Here we go with Part 1. Written by series creator Ron D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer, it was originally shown last week, but Moore has come out saying he meant it as a single piece. As far as series finale titles, I like "Daybreak" it is evocative of a conclusion without being corny. I mean if you care about a show the title of the finale means something for you years later. I mean my personal favorites titles include "The Judgment," "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," "Made in America," "The Truth," "One More For the Road" and "What You Leave Behind." On another note, catching the end of the special and I gotta say, LOVE that sad music.
8:00pm - Here we go, strap in Raptor jocks.
8:02pm - So the finale survivor count starts at 39,516. That's 10,482 down from the start of 33... I'm going out on a limb and guessing that number goes down a bit in the next two hours... and one of them will be Adama. That's my guess at least.
8:06pm - Apparently we're starting with a flashback to Caprica before the Cylon attack. My big problem with this is was it necessary? After everything we've been through the original disaster has been humanized enough. It's the resolution of the new world that matters... the world and life that we've been living since the midpoint of the miniseries.
8:11pm - And the Caprica City police show up to give Roslin some bad news. How about a LIfe on Mars style spin-off with someone in current continuity waking up back here and everyone thinks they're crazy... Life on Caprica... huh? Nah? Yeah, I figured.
8:14pm - And we're finally to the present. All I can say about that is at least we didn't spend the first half of the finale in a mental hospital with Hawkeye and Sydney just to find out a woman killed her baby. Sorry, can you spoil a 25 year old series finale that 106 million Americans watched live and has been show in syndication about 3,000 times? I'm going with no.
8:20pm - Five minutes of commercials... thanks for the chance to finish the last paragraph in peace SciFi Channel.
8:21pm - Watching Adama pack up his office, looking around and living the pain of it with that beautiful morose soundtrack. No way this man ever commands from a Cylon Basestar.
8:21pm - Another freaking flashback? Not loving that.
8:25pm - I understand he probably turned himself in, but did I miss a scene. I couldn't remember why Tyrol was in the brig.
8:28pm - As a promo for the Wanted videogame comes up, is this the wrong time to go off on an extended rant about how much that movie sucked compared to the book? Probably.
8:32pm - Watching Adama going back for the picture of Hera is a great little scene. Edward James Olmos is putting on a show tonight.
8:35 pm - Hey I know what you are. You're my daughter. Don't forget it.
8:36pm - I have to say the flashback to Anders' going all Buddha athlete is the first that really adds something to background of the characters.
8:43pm - As Baltar makes his argument for his faith having a place on the new council. I have to call B-S. Things are crazy, but not so much that this group has infiltrated into every ship for the majority. I mean, shouldn't the foundation of a religion that makes up a majority of the fleet have more than one male member? Thank the Gods that Lee isn't a moron here and shoots down the selfish bastard. Good call, Mr. Not The President But Basically Running Things Guy.
8:45pm - What's up with the frakking bird? Is this supposed to be when Lee realizes he loves his brother's fiance? When Zak dies? These flashbacks just seem mostly unneeded and confusing.
8:46pm - Not out of left field, but I love Adama's decision regarding Hera. His world is absolutely and finally falling apart. The loves of his life are both dying and he has no more control. But he has the control to not let this stand. Not this girl. Not on my frakking watch does this pass. And it's a great decision by Moore and Rymer to have the entire crew explain the basics of the plan. It gives more actors a chance to have a moment and hint at their motivations. Besides that, it's too early in the night for a big solo speech yet. A nice decision to pace things. It even includes a scene with my favorite couple (Helo/Athena) at their most heartbreaking.
8:54pm - There's a bit of the big speech. It sets up a great "Everyone with me over here" scene. The first person to move in these things is always important. So it's fitting that Lee is just ahead of Ellen and Tigh. I love Mary McDonnell selling the pain and desperation of Roslin as she marches in last of all. And though I often rag on the character, I have to say that James Callis' Baltar is another excellent performance. I love his reaction to Caprica Six crossing the line, his own stuttering before ultimately not moving and reaction to Roslin.
8:55pm - And above all I love how most of the crew don't cross the line.
8:59pm - Okay, so the Cylon Colony ship is located around a black hole (a.k.a. the accretion disc of a naked singularity) with only one point of entry that has every gun pointed at it? That's pretty cool there. How do you plan around or survive that? Alright... let's get to work. Great ending to hour one.
9:00pm - And now we're off with the two-hour Part 2. It's also by Rymer and Moore, so I suppose that'll make it easier to think of it as a single event.
9:09pm - Now those were some better flashbacks. Maybe I just like them because it had a lot more Adama, including a scene in a bar with Tigh... AND Ellen! But gotta love slutty Roslin, drinking and pissed Adama, lightweight Zak, flirty Kara and even puking Adama. Plus it's a very cool transition out of the flashbacks with a pan up to a night sky becoming outer space above the fleet. I'm Jim and I approve this opening.
9:10pm - A great line from Baltar - End of what?
9:16pm - It's a nice few farewells coming up including this one with Roslin and Cottle Just light a cigar and go and grumble. It's fast and furious bits of fun with Helo addressing the Raptor pilots, Lee discussing the insertion, the Final Five Cylons planning to disrupt the enemy, but most of all Adama on the bridge. Then I want them to throw rocks.
9:20pm - So it's President Romo Lampkin and Admiral Hoshi... guys, you will probably not be seeing Adama at the rendezvous. And Baltar deciding to stay at the last minute is nice, but unexpected... See: The Dream. Hey, Galactica Centurions... nice.
9:28pm - The standard trip around the horn shows us where everybody is. Just leading to the big speech. This is the Admiral. Just so they'll be no misunderstandings later, Galactica's seen a lot of history. Gone through a lot of battles. This will be her last. She will not fail us if we do not fail her. If we succeed in our mission, Galactica will bring us home. If we don't, it doesn't matter anyway. Action Stations!
9:31pm - After getting pounded, Anders shows us a bit of that perfection he talked about to give them a chance.
9:32pm - BRACE FOR IMPACT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! HOLY FRAK!! Um... they... with the ship... Did... Did... did they just equal the atmo-jump?
9:34pm - I love watching Lee lead the assault team of Centurions and humans. We're in this together guys.
9:36pm - It's about time, Boomer.
9:42pm - Glad the lead bad guy Dean Stockwell got a chance to shine here. The Married to the Mob vet digs into his biggest, smirk-worthy bit of the night. Really, you think? Please continue stating the perfectly obvious. It fills me with confidence.
9:46pm - It's great to see the kid at least make it back to Mom and Dad... I don't think they'll make it through with her. Gods damn it. And Boomer finally gets hers from a pissed off Athena which culminates in the first Great-with-a-capital-G flashback of the night with the execution and origin of the Tell the Old Man I owed him one line.
9:49pm - They'll be back to the ship in 5 minutes. I now have no idea what's happening in the last hour. I stopped caring because the ride is on.
9:55pm - Helo got shot! My second favorite character! But Hera runs off to start what looks to be the Opera House sequence we've been waiting years for.
10:00pm - I have to give it up to Moore and Rymer right now. I never, ever, nerver imagined the scene would be pulled off that magnificently. Well done.
10:01pm - Kicking off another hour with Adama wasting a Simon hardcore. Very nice.
10:05pm - And Baltar's great speech revels the mystery behind Head Six and Head Baltar. I see angels. Angels in this very room. Now I may be mad, but that doesn't mean that I'm not right, because there's another force at work here. There always has been. I'm coming down on the side of that being poetic and not corny.
10:09pm - Redemption technology? So that can't be everything right? Right?
10:10pm - I love both Adama's grunt explanation of Cylon Final Five information exchange and Cavil's line You're only keeping two civilizations waiting! Not sure which I like more.
10:11pm - Cally finally gets justice courtesy of her great love, Tyrol... Of course it does end intergalactic peace. Holy crap, Cavil pulled a Cobain!
10:12pm - So Racetrack destroys the Cylons and Kara needs to make the jump. And Galactica is the Dying Leader! Cue the Song The Changes the Universe.
10:16pm - As Galactica finishes the jump and breaks her back like a giant metallic Batman, I can't help but think about what a great job throughout the series and especially these last half dozen at establishing the ship as a character in its own right.
10:18pm - Where we are is where we're gonna stay. You know, I do miss the rains down in Africa! Earth Again!
10:19pm - Sorry to break up the Galactica-a-thon, but Cyclops in the Wolverine movie???? Cool.
10:22pm - As we start talking about settlement, I love the entry point being Africa, the cradle of life, as opposed to the more Hollywood approach of North America. I approve. It's also a wonderfully light scene to break the tension with Cottle, Baltar, Adama and LT. Hoshi.
10:25pm - This scene where Lee suggests really breaking the cycle is just wonderfully written and maybe my favorite Lee Adama scene ever. A clean slate for humanity and the humanish Cylons and a Basestar and freedom for the Centurions.
10:27pm - So Anders will be piloting the fleet into the sun... I have to say getting shot and going brain dead was the most powerful dramatic advancement of his time on the show.
10:33pm - Of course, Adama is the last one off and my favorite flashback involves him choosing Galactica over what's comfortable and easy. Of course seeing Galactica/Anders riding off into the sun(set) is like something out of a western.
10:42pm - I like that Adama gets to name the planet. But... he wasn't meant for this world. His farewells really make the room dusty. Whattya hear Starbuck? Nothing but the rain. Grab your gun and bring in the cat.
10:48pm - Kara, gone too? Was she ever real just disappearing while standing next to Lee in a empty field? One last mind frak, huh Moore? At this point even the bird can't annoy me with a great flashback from these two saying Hello and Good-
10:55pm - A farewell for Laura and Bill. The bit with the ring is just lovely and the strings they add to his already excellent theme take it to another level altogether.
11:01pm - HELO LIVES!!!!!! Thank you, Ron Moore! You're a big softy, you are!
11:05pm - A nice little farewell for Adama (and man are they ever taking the Return of the King approach to endings upon endings) and one last (little) big speech. It almost heavenly. Reminds me of you.
11:09pm - From Hera to 150,000 years later, Head Six, Head Baltar and Ron Moore????? This I don't know how I feel about. They freaking had me until here but.... I just don't know.
11:10pm - So it's Cylon toys, a practical warning for our future and the Song That Changed the Universe - Hendrix style... somewhere Bob Dylan shakes his head and lights up a cigarette.
11:19pm - I've just been thinking about it... and going back to type in Adama's big pre-jump speech... and all I can say is... can't wait for tomorrow's podcast!
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That's a Wrap! TAWp Nine Ten
Welcome to the That's A Wrap! TAWp As we wind into the home stretch for our Battlestar Galactica Week, it's time to break out a countdown of our favorite episodes to date. Just a reminder its best you only proceed if you've seen the series up until the finale or beware the spoilers.
5. Billy - The Oath (Season 4, Episode 13)
Jim and I are on opposite sides of the fence regarding which of the two episodes in this group is the better, "The Oath" or "Blood On The Scales." For my money I say "The Oath" is the better episode. The sense of mounting tension that Gaeta and Zarek's scheming creates is simply superb. Admiral Adama is easily my favorite character and it's a difficult episode to watch as he is stripped away from the command of his beloved vessel. The crazy part of the episode is that you, as a viewer, might agree with Gaeta's grievances. I mean, really, installing Cylon tech on every ship in the fleet despite being bitter enemies with them just months ago? It's understandable at least, reprehensible, but understandable. It's sad to watch these people on the ropes after finding Earth (Cylon Earth, no less!) decimated and acting out in ways to cope with the tragedy. They literally have nothing to look forward to any longer. It's this sense of hopelessness that permeates the episode and facilitates the dread accompanying the mutiny.
But enough about the philosophical reasons why the episode is great, how about the purely bad ass ones. I can think of few defining moments in the series that I smile at as much as Admiral Adama breaking free of his guards with his trusty buddy Colonel Tigh at his side (Tigh standing with a gun in each hand moments after they take down the guards is a highlight as well). Then there is the kiss. I'm an ardent Roslin-Adama shipper and found this small gesture of pure love in the middle of this desperation touching on many levels. The ending is pitch perfect as well, with Adama and Tigh side by side facing probable doom but never backing down. Brilliant episode.
5. Jim - Blood on the Scales (Season 4, Episode 14)
Without a doubt the highlight of season 4.5 so far has been the insurrection led by Gaeta and Zarek. And if "The Oath" was this show at maximum volume, this is one of many episodes that cranked it up to 11. As Zarek sinks to a new low (having the Quorum assassinated for not going along with his coup), the tide turns with kick ass moments all around for Roslin, Lampkin, Lee and Kara and the superior pair of Adama and Tigh. Hell, even the rarely used Captain Kelly shines.
Nothing can touch Adama's march to the bridge, pulling others to his side by a sheer force of will in the ass kicking deparment. But its ultimately the shining performance of Alessandro Juliani as Gaeta that stands out. One of many strong actors on the show, his game stepped up considerably, unleashing an acting clinic in the second half of season four. It is his performance during the resolution that gives this episode a haunting denouement that stays with you long past the credits.
4. Billy - Downloaded (Season 2, Episode 18)
There are many reasons why I love this episode but the biggest one has to be Tricia Helfer. Six had always been a character that I didn't really care about. She was responsible for the attacks on the colonies succeeding and the only other exposure that we got to Six (aside from other Sixes like Gina and Shelley Godfrey) was Head Six. Cryptic messages and romps in the mind-sack with Balter did not really endear me to the character. But if you go back to the miniseries and watch when Six kills that baby, she did it out of compassion. Sure, it's disgusting that she murdered a baby, but she KNEW what horrors would face that child in the universe post-attack. You can see that it affected her when she rushes off. She took no pleasure in the murder. So "Downloaded" is fantastic because we get to see a little bit more of that Six, now known as Caprica Six. We see that she has morals, she is clearly wracked with guilt over her hand in the attacks. This episode is a watershed moment in the series, it's the point at which we get to see the Cylons as more than just amoral robots, but rather they are people who struggle and suffer just like the humans in the fleet. Except these guys can revive in tubs of goop when they die.
Seeing Caprica Six become a well rounded character would have been enough to make this episode a classic, but that wasn't all. We also got a huge glimpse at Cylon society AND we got to pal around with Anders' resistance down on Caprica. It was nice to take a break from the fleet and this episode takes full advantage of that time.
4. Jim - Flight of the Phoenix (Season 2, Episode 9)
Something to admire in this show is how the truly happy moments are so few and far between and because of this feel so utterly deserved. With the crew of Galactica feeling especially morose as the desperate finality of their new situation sinks in, there just aren't too many other times when they could really use a win. Preferably one that isn't tainted in even more death and loses. This episode brought two big wins. Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas does an exceptionally fine job this week) and his deck crew lead an effort to create a new stealth Viper from spare parts. While the effort uniformly mocked, it can't help but drag in everyone from Dualla and Starbuck to cranky, old Tigh. The writers, David Weddle and Bradley Thompson, do an excellent job establishing simultaneously the crew's desperation, determination and above all the need to hope.
While that story takes up a bulk of the time, the biggest win comes when Athena begins to earn her place on the ship, by interfacing with a Cylon computer virus that was crippling the ship and turning the tide in a massive space battle. Between the elation experienced here and in "Hand of God," Weddle and Thompson seem to have a monopoly on happy in the BSG universe, while cranking out an amazing five of the episodes on this list.
3. Billy - 33 (Season 1, Episode 1)
"33" is a brilliant concept episode because it is so atypical of many of the series episodes. Considering that this was the first episode following almost a year gap after the miniseries, it was quite a gamble to make the audience jump back into the fray in the middle of this terrible event. For some reason the Cylons find the colonial fleet every 33 minutes and because the FTL jumps necessary to escape for those precious 33 minutes are incredibly painful, no one can sleep. The entire fleet has only been able to grab small naps between the jumps and the sleeplessness is building up. Everyone is scared, frazzled and about to collapse. But they don't, they keep on moving because not doing so would mean the end of the human race.
"33" may be peculiar in the pantheon of BSG storytelling, but it would set the tone that the series would keep for the entire run. It's important for the very fact that it is the first episode, but also because it's one of the very best.
3. Jim - You Can't Go Home Again (Season 1, Episode 5)
Even if the show had a remarkable advantage to establish the characters in a substantive mini-series, its nice to see them and their relationship explored a little more in the early goings. And no episode did a finer job of establishing the new status quo between the critical trio of Commander Adama, Lee and Kara than this one. In this episode, Kara has been stranded on a deserted planet and Adama and Lee risk the safety of the fleet to recover her.
From a fanboy perspective, it's cool that we get our first look inside a Cylon raider as Kara tries to juryrig one to get back to Galactica by herself. While all three of the main characters do a fine job, it's Edward James Olmos that fully comes into his own as Adama, exploring the conflict between duty and devotion to his children (both literal and symbolic). And of course his once adversarial relationship with Lee is changed forever when he utters the words, "If it was you... we'd never leave." There's reasons that Adama's the best character on the show and most of it is Olmos performances like this.
2. Billy - Lay Down Your Burdens: Part 2 (Season 2, Episode 20)
This episode is filled to the brim with story and drama, it's actually a few minutes longer because of this and it doesn't waste a single moment of that time. Let's count the things going on here: Kara rescues Anders and returns to Galactica, Brother Cavil is outed as a Cylon when Kara inadvertently brings a second Cavil on board, Roslin attempts to rig the presidential elections to beat Baltar, she's caught by Adama who convinces her to not risk losing her dignity by keeping the stolen office, Baltar assumes the presidency, the fleet lands on New Caprica to make a go at living on a planet, Cloud 9 is destroyed by Gina (thus depriving our fleet of ANY pleasure for the rest of the series) and...oh yeah, the Cylons show up insisting on peace through a domineering Cylon-run government.
I'm sure I'm missing a wealth of events that occur in the episode, but there is one defining moment that makes me love this episode and was responsible for me actually watching the series: the one year time jump. Other TV shows have tried this gimmick(coughAliascough) and most have failed. BSG did not. It actually made sense to have this leap in time, the show had been on for two years and in show time only a few months had passed. The time jump didn't harm the series, it reinvented it. Sharon Agathon, became likable (and loved by Adama) and a great character. Kara and Anders were married, as were Callie and Tyrol. The status quo was changed and it worked fabulously.
I can say no more greater praise of the episode than thanking the producers for creating a twist smart and interesting enough to spur my interest in the series. Thank you for that BSG producers!
2. Jim - Crossroads: Part 2 (Season 3, Episode 20)
I'll admit that I actually abandoned this show for a little while. The final four episodes of season three sat on my DVR for about five months. All the while Billy was cursing at me that I had to take the time to catch up and the final episode would knock my socks off like nothing this side of an Atmo-Jump. As usual, he was right. Once I watched these episodes I was locked in the rest of the way. I even tried convincing myself to no avail that is was a good thing I waited so there was less time to kill until season four debuted.
I love this episode enough to forgive them not using the Dylan version of the Song That Changes the Universe. The revelation of not one, not two, not three, but four of the Final Five Cylons, was a significant enough event that I didn't even gripe about the cliffhanger ending that completely caught me off guard and left off in the middle of a massive battle. That one of these revealed Cylon characters just happened to be my third favorite on the show was the icing on the cake. But it was such a wonderfully rare perfect blend of camera work, music, writing and performance that facilitated the reveal throughout the episode that made it even better and increased the re-watchability factor substantively.
1. Billy - The Hand of God (Season 1, Episode 10)
This one is easy for me: I like this episode because it is one of the very, very few episodes in the series that can be considered "happy." No foolin', people actually smile and there is some cheering and there is an awesome space battle and did I mention that people smile? I'm going to sound like such a little bitch here since I sing the praises of the show's dark atmosphere everywhere else and yet name a happy episode as my favorite, but I really don't care. Everything about this episode makes ME smile. In particular the raid on the tylium factory, I just love Starbuck's crazy juke maneuver that they pull on the Cylons by hiding the Vipers inside the cargo containers. This also happens to be the episode where Baltar finally buys into Head Six's notion of one true Cylon God.
Given that the series is built upon a solid foundation of doom and gloom, it's refreshing to break from that tradition now and again. It doesn't happen often (I'm crossing my fingers that "Daybreak Part 2" ends with a happy note, but I'm not holding my breath) making the occasions when it does happen so invigorating.
1. Jim - Rapture (Season 3, Episode 12)
Just how is my favorite episode one rife with the emotional baggage of the personally-reviled Kara/Lee pseudo-affair? Add a massive standoff over the mythical Eye to Jupiter and the competing goals of a path to Earth for the Colonials and the identity of the Final Five for the Cylons.
And it just doesn't get any better than Helo and Athena deciding to murder her on the off-chance she will download and save their baby from the Cylon Basestar. Tahmoh Penikett became my second favorite performer on the show in this scene, holding his wife's body and weeping to the Gods. A wonderfully rare example of an episode where every character has some deeper at stake than just survival, Weddle and Thompson once again mine every role for something deeper. The life and death of loved ones, the need to compromise their safety and multiple searches for meaning in a character's life (specifically D'Anna) all make this about something more important than a physical goal to be accomplished. Even the plot device used to set a time limit on the standoff (a supernova), is used to further develop characterization and motivation for Cavil over two years later in season four's "No Exit."
And that's really what Galactica has done best. It's served as a pitch-perfect example of the powers of serial storytelling as opposed to an adventure of the week. Everybody has something personal and desparate on the line and the massive goals of a society and personified through individual characters.
Bonus - Exodus: Part 2 (Season 3, Episode 4)
Billy - I could simply write Atmo-Jump over and over again to explain why I love this episode. Atmo-Jump, Atmo-Jump, Atmo-Jump. Ok, ok, that's enough. Atmo-Jump. For reals this time. I dearly love this episode because of the aforementioned (and aforementioned) Atmo-Jump, but really it's more to it than that, this episode marks the culmination of the New Caprica occupation storyline and it's huge. Exciting space battles (rest in peace Pegasus), spine tingling drama (you too, Ellen Tigh) and awesome ground action make this an episode to remember. Even without the Atmo-Jump this would be one of the greats, but with it? Well, it's so good that Jim and I couldn't pick who would get the privilege of honoring it. We couldn't fight over it, so we both took a shot at it. Besides, no one wants to see a fight over this episode it would end up looking like a fat guy rendition of the Spock/Kirk fight from "Amok Time" only there totally wouldn't be an awesome soundtrack to accompany the battle. Ok, maybe someone would want to see it, but comedy that great doesn't come free.
Jim - Since Billy and I would have come to blows over this one, the episode with the single coolest, most jaw-dropping sequence in television in years gets a bonus double-take. Ironically, the lowest rated episode ever at the time, this was the most powerful episode of the series to date. The action sequences both on the ground in New Caprica and in space above are as intense as anything else Ron Moore and company ever offered up. Michael Hogan goes to a very special place more than once in his performance as Tigh. Even if everyone has a personal stake on the line, he's the emotional linchpin of the episode between his interaction with his wife, Ellen, and reunion with hetero-life mate, Bill Adama. The series is never as powerful as when these two men share the screen be it in the miniseries, here, in "The Oath" or "Blood on the Scales" or anywhere else.
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Farewell - So Say We All
Battlestar Galactica. Never in my life have two words had such a repulsive effect on me (well, until people started using 'epic fail' on the internet ad nauseum). Of course this had much to do with my exposure to Galactica 1980, Cylons and taxi cabs are a truly disastrous mix. I disliked Galactica 1980 so much, that I was in no way interested in a remimagining of the original Battlestar Galactica. Despite my love of robots (killer ones in particular) and my love of anything involving actors from The A-Team (I SERIOUSLY love it when a plan comes together) I just couldn't muster up any interest in the new series. Then I heard that the new Cylons looked like humans. I just couldn't do it. I mean, sure, Terminator has human looking robots but they always eventually get back to being all robot-y.So I passed up the new Battlestar-- skipped the miniseries and scoffed at anyone who watched it. When the series came to pass I did watch one episode, but didn't know any of the characters or the intricate back story of just what the hell was going on. I was confused and annoyed. So I shut it off. Years passed and I continued to watch my beloved Stargate SG-1 and the lesser Atlantis (spawned from SG-1). Battlestar, SG-1 and Atlantis were presented together on Friday nights. Sci-Fridays it was called, and while I didn't watch one-third of the evening I was impressed at how well the three shows did in ratings together.
Flash forward to the end of season two. I had finished watching the Stargates for the evening. I knew that something big was going to happen on Battlestar that evening from the internet buzz. I was playing something on my Xbox 360 and glanced at the clock. I wanted to know what the twist was going to be on BSG, so I shut off my game and turned Sci Fi Channel back on. The episode, "Lay Down Your Burdens Part 2," showed the surviving humans landing on a barren planet and trying to eke out a life hidden from the Cylons. The show employed a time jump in the narrative. Launching the story almost two years into the future. This device was used to the detriment of Alias but here...here it worked. I was...well, I was enraptured. I didn't know who the hell any of these characters were, but I couldn't look away.
"What do we do now, Captain?"
"Same thing we always do. Fight 'em till we can't."
Classic.
Soon thereafter, I decided to purchase the first season on DVD. I remember the conversation I had with my wife(then fiance), Melissa, very clearly:
"You want to what?"
"Buy the first season of Battlestar Galactica on DVD."
"But...why?"
"I want to check it out. It's only one season, I've bought worse DVDs before."
"But we hate that show."
"I just want to check it out, I've been wrong before."
And so on. Eventually I got her to accept the fact that I was going buy the season and while she wasn't quite sold on the idea, I did get her to watch along with me.
So we watched it. The mini-series, eh, good. Interesting idea, great execution but I just wasn't getting it yet. We began watching the series proper and I was still wondering exactly what everyone was buzzing about. It was good and in some cases great, but it just wasn't hooking me. I loved some things about the show greatly. The minute attention to detail made me happy; the bursts of air that would maneuver the Vipers around were a good example of that. I was clearly digging the series more than her, but it still didn't have me. Until "Flesh and Bone." That episode carried both the supernatural mystery of the series (President Roslin's dreams of Leobin) and the hard-hitting moral ambiguities that the series would always straddle.
It was then that I got "it." I was sold on the series and couldn't finish the first season fast enough. Melissa? Not so much. But she continued to watch and eventually was won over by "Kobol's Last Gleaming" After that we were both big fans of the series. Impishly ignoring the fact that we had badmouthed it so much before, defending it to other people who refuse to check it out (My father-in-law still refuses to watch, no matter the amount of pestering we give him) and championing it as one of the very best examples of science fiction. Because it is. Without a doubt in my mind, Battlestar Galactica is one of the greatest examples of fiction, science or otherwise, ever created.
It is not rare for science fiction to make some commentary on the human condition, it was one of the basic tenets of Star Trek. BSG is really no different in that respect, what is different from other science fiction is intensity, the actual humanity and the flaws present in the characters. These are real people with real problems, yes, some of them stem from killer robots wiping out their planet and chasing them through the cosmos, but you never feel like they are people who couldn't exist. Few other science fiction series can claim the same. If you have not already, hop back in our archives to our TAWp 9 Science Fiction Television Series list. Aside from Garrett's, ahem, quirky choices (Quantum Leap and Futurama are great but don't fit in this example and ALF? Yeah, the less said the better), all the shows listed have some semblance of this. Flawed characters, sometimes pushed to their limits. In particular I feel that Babylon 5 and The X-Files are shining examples of this genre convention. BSG takes it up a notch. Desperate, flawed people struggling--suffering, trying to survive against all odds.
Fantastic characterization would only work if the actors behind the characters can handle the challenge. Battlestar's cast is one of brilliance. Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Michael Hogan...I could continue listing off names but the point is entirely moot, there is no one in this cast that I dislike. There are CHARACTERS that I dislike for one reason or another, but the acting in this show is beyond reproach.
Created in the wake of September 11th, this show has never blinked in the face of difficult topics. 9/11, the war in Iraq, torture--it may seem trite to provide allegories to these topics in a show with killer robots but Battlestar Galactica handles them with a strength and seriousness that is rarely seen on television.
One of the things that I find fascinating about this show is it's capacity for renewal. What I mean by this is that every season seems to carry with it a new direction. Sure, the main thrust of the series remains the same. The last known group of humans in the galaxy is trying to make their way to a place called Earth. But that agenda, the means of getting to it and even the quest itself change and shift nearly every season giving every season a familiar and fresh feel.
The producers of this show also seem to have a great grasp on the internet spoiler phenomenon. Season three included an episode called "Maelstrom" which (aside from being named after a ride in Epcot) ended with the "death" of Starbuck. I was terribly disappointed in the episode, even going to so far as to post on a television blog this comment:
"I'm almost fearing saying this (because rabid Lost apologists will jump all over me for it) but, this episode reminded me of the most boring of Lost episodes. With it's boring flashbacks and go-nowhere story. BSG usually does a great job of at least moving the plot forward, even in a slow episode. Sadly this episode didn't go anywhere. There was no real explanation for Starbuck's paintings and then she died...disappointing. "
I stand by that comment. It was a lousy episode, but it was responsible for one of my favorite meta-series moments. After Starbuck's death Katee Sackhoff made the rounds on talk shows and in interviews she complained and verbally abused the producers of the show for killing her off. She stated that she would never have to cut her hair for the series again, like she did earlier in season three. She seemed genuinely angry about being killed off, but see, it wasn't real. It was a big con planned by Sackhoff and the producers. Make the viewers think that Starbuck is dead and the actress who portrayed her was livid about it. No one would see it coming when Starbuck miraculously returned in the season three finale. It's something that I will forever remember this series for, actually shocking me. Another, shock came when the Colonial Fleet found Earth a solid ten episodes ahead of schedule (show creator Ron Moore was ADAMANT that the fleet would not find Earth until the final episode) proving another shock, quite possibly engineered as such.
With four seasons and two made-for-TV movies (the second, "The Plan" is set to air this fall) the new Battlestar Galactica has already lasted far longer than the series that spawned it. It truly stands heads and shoulders above the original series. This Battlestar Galactica is powerful and moving. I'm truly sad to see it go but at the same time excited to have been witness to it's greatness. Friday nights, indeed the Sci Fi Channel, will never be the same without the Galactica. So say we all.
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