Battlestar Galactica

What happened to this show?

Five episodes to go and we get this very special episode of "All My Cylon Children." Wasn't Ellen supposed to have been reborn more enlightened and what not? It's certainly what they led us to believe, but no--she's back to being a petty, jealous shrew.

Once upon a time, this show had characters that made sense, had personalities, and acted within their character. Now it's not about what would the characters really do, but what the writers want them to do.

Maybe I don't care about any of this crap because this love we're supposed to believe Tigh feels for Caprica and vice versa happened off-screen and was weird and creepy to begin with. Wasn't Caprica in love with Baltar, did we/she ever get closure on that?

What's up with Tyrol wanting to leave with the Cylons? Didn't he just accept the position of Chief, again? What motivation have we been shown to help us accept his seemingly out of the blue decision? None, it's obviously a cheap trick to create fake tension with the Cylon plan/vote to leave the fleet.

If anything, I think the show needs more shots of Olmos looking around. Yes, that'll cure what ails you.

And can anyone explain to me why arming Baltar's harem is a good idea?
 
I think the pattern is that the further the show gets away from Starbuck, Apollo, Baltar, Roslin and Adama, the less interesting it is. These past two episodes have centered around secondary characters we don't have as much invested in, with the above mentioned people sitting around doing nothing except for Baltar. Anyway, BSG has always had these middling 'laying pipe' episodes that usually pay off later. We'll see.
 
The Evil Mariachi said:
If anything, I think the show needs more shots of Olmos looking around. Yes, that'll cure what ails you.
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And call me a simple-minded doof if you want, but what happened to the good old space battles and ground confrontations between the humans and the Cylon Centurions?

I know the show is not about that exclusively. It would've gotten boring if all it was about was action and adventure, but come on, there are a number of battle scenes and action scenes in this series that are better than a lot of what has been seen on the big screen in the last decade.

What got me hooked on the show from the beginning was the combination of politics, action, suspense, interesting characters, and the social, philosophical and religious debates that were all weaved into the show. It seems that now they are more focused on just character and Cylon mythology, of course with the exception of the mutiny which was great. I also am really worried that there will not be a good explanation of the Starbuck mystery, if one at all.

Having said all that, I still love the show. The last exposition heavy episode "No Exit" doesn't irk me as much now. I just finally cooled off about it, and then I found these rumors of another Battlestar remake is in the works, this time for the big screen.

http://scifiwire.com/2009/02/as-sci...rsal-adapting-another-for-the-movies.php#more

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40192

Maybe its just a rumor, but what the heck, the current series is not even over yet. I suppose if the new Star Trek is a hit, then Universal will make this.
 
Nektonic said:
I also am really worried that there will not be a good explanation of the Starbuck mystery, if one at all.
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Katee Sachoff said in an interview that she was disappointed with the end of her character, as everyone else's story seemed resolved but hers, so I think your worries are founded. However, it's been clear that some of what's happening is setting up the new show Caprica, so perhaps her story gets resolved or explained there somehow.
 
Batutta said:
Katee Sachoff said in an interview that she was disappointed with the end of her character, as everyone else's story seemed resolved but hers, so I think your worries are founded. However, it's been clear that some of what's happening is setting up the new show Caprica, so perhaps her story gets resolved or explained there somehow.
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I can't remember where, but you're right, her comments on the character in whatever article it was in is what I was thinking of.

I am looking forward to Caprica though. Hopefully it will be good and have some longevity like the current BSG.

One thing I'd love to see is a 6-hour miniseries on the first Cylon war done sometime during Caprica's initial run. They could even bring back the young Adama like they did in Razor.
 
I apologize for the double post, but is anybody still watching this show?

The most recent episode was great. The old BSG that I love is back. Next week looks like it is going to be a good one too. Then there's the two part finale to the series, which I have a hunch will be good since it seems like they've been saving up the budget for the home stretch.
 
Yeah, the last few episodes have really turned it around for me. The last one was a bit sucky, but the one before it was probably one of the best of the series.
 
pmark23 said:
Yeah, the last few episodes have really turned it around for me. The last one was a bit sucky, but the one before it was probably one of the best of the series.
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Which ones do you mean?

I didn't really like "No Exit" and "Deadlock" was better but still seemed like it could've packed more punch.

The last episode "Someone to Watch Over Me" felt like the show I love is back in action.
 
Well the last episode is playing with the whole 'hey, there's something fracking weird going on', so I like that aspect. The whole boomer thing as well.

It was interesting, but I gotta say, this whole season has been a let down. I keep looking for an episode to bring me back and say 'yes, I loved that!' but since they revealed the final 5, it's been hit and miss for me.

Slowly it got better, then they found earth, then they realized they had been on earth... and then it went downhill. They left earth behind and blah blah.

honestly, there are a few things I hate about this season:

1) Baltar... wtf? What does he have to do with anything anymore? I thought he was supposed to have some higher purpose in the end of the predictions? He was being led by six in his mind, and she claimed to be an angel of god. Now he's just leading a bunch of loonies on a quest for... umm... togetherness? Now they have guns? what!?

2) No action... aside from the occasional shootings, and the mutiny, there hasn't been much action. Like someone mentioned, I love BSG for the mix of everything, the social and political aspect, character stories, and action. But now it's just boring.

3) The final five... I'm still dissapointed with who the final five are. I mean torie? Who cares about torie? Tye is still not convincing as a cylon, not one gads damn bit. He's just too imperfect to be a cylon IMHO. Plus the whole him and six thing+ baltar out of the picture... wtf? Doesn't caprica still see baltar? What happened with that? Did the writers just decide to forget about it cause they didn't know what to do? Helen as well!? What!? The only one that's interesting is the Cheif, because he's goodhearted, and he even had a moment in the series where he beleived he was a cylon, but a Cavol convinced him that he's not.

4) The lack of cool/interesting predictions, road to earth, etc... I mean Kara finds earth, comes back and says she'll lead them there. I thought 'cool!", but then she realizes "oh, i can't find it, sorry", then they go on a wild goose chase, she finds the hybrid, hybrid says final five will tell you, then final five 'feel' something in Kara's ship, and voila, it's earth! Seems wayyy too weird and easy. I just hope this music thing in the last episode leads to something.

Anyways, here's to hoping it picks up in it's final episodes, but I don't have high hopes.
 
I agree with a lot of what you're saying Jon.

The Baltar subplot is not nearly as interesting as it was in the first three seasons. I too am wondering if Baltar will have any major relevance in the grand scheme of things by the season finale. I'm also not thrilled with Tigh being a Cylon. Also, the whole thing with the Chief accepting the job offer from Adama and then in the next episode he wants to leave with the Cylons and take off on their Base Ship. Also, after his son was found out to be Hot Dog's kid, what happened with that loose string in the story? Did the Chief just give him up? It seems like it could be the case especially if he is willing to leave the Galactica and the fleet behind, but I can't be sure.

I feel like this has been a repeat of season three. The first half was freaking great. I loved every episode. Then when they got off the algae planet, the second half of season three kinda lost its direction for a while and just dragged. Same thing with season four. The first half was great. I was riveted and then they found Earth, which was revealed brilliantly. Second half of season four had an amazing first episode that they haven't topped yet, plus two "what the frak" mythology/final 5 episodes in a row that just didn't get me excited even though they explained many things. The mutiny arc was good, but took up a lot of time so late in the last season of the entire series.

I'm glad the final 5 thing is starting to recede into the background. I really wasn't a fan of the two previous episodes (No Exit and Deadlock) before this newest one. This newer episode with Boomer and the Chief and the whole betrayal felt like the old Battlestar from past seasons. The other storyline with Starbuck and the piano player just worked for me too, even though it tied into the whole final 5 stuff and felt pretty mythy. I also have a gut feeling that this last episode was more successful because in addition to the great script there was the excellent direction, editing, and thematic use of music.

If they can maintain this kind of quality and momentum here on out for the last three episodes I think that the second half of season four will look much better in retrospect.
 
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The big question is:

will we be happy with how the season ends? It's been building, A LOT. They finally found earth... and the whole point of the show just went down the toilet.

So now... what are we waiting for? Maybe just to answer a few obscure questions, like what will happen with the cylon/human race (which I suppose is the big question, but I feel like it's not the whole point of the show), and what is starbuck (which is apperantly not a satisfying end), and is the opera house going to happen (I guess it just did? But wasn't baltar and caprica six supposed to take Hera?)? I was also hoping they would answer Baltars big role in everything, but I have a feeling they've shut him out of the grand scheme of it all.

But I gotta say this again, the Opera house. Caprica six and Baltar are somehow supposed to change the course of human/cylon existance. The clear linear explination is that they help to breed the new cylon/human race together... but now with Caprica six all "woe is me, I fell in love with a drunken ugly pirate with one eye, and had, but then lost his baby" and Balttar is "Giving is good, follow me idiot devotees, and take these weapons"...

With three episodes left, they better play onto the whole Baltar and Caprica thing, which has been building since season 1, or else I'll have lost faith.

I also with you Nek about the Hotdog thing. They often do that, just leave storylines alone, leave people out, and hope you don't ask questions. My assumption is he leaves the kid to hotdog, but he did seem like he wanted to be a part of the kids life as well. But of course, it's a loose end so they just cut it off.
 
Yeah, they've left some of the minor plots dangling, although I'm not dying to know if the Chief still takes care of his son or not. It would be nice to know, but is not extremely relevant to the main story arcs. Now the Starbuck mystery, I need to know more about that one.

The whole thing with Tigh and Caprica Six and the baby was so anticlimactic and just weird. I assume that the writers decided that their baby should die so that Hera is the only human-Cylon hybrid. It makes Boomer stealing her that much more dramatic and the actions, if any are taken by the human/Cylon fleet, to get her back more important.

As for these last three episodes, the last two are a two-parter which is supposed to be a total of 3 hours, so it should be pretty tight in terms of narrative structure. I'm really hoping tomorrow's episode "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" ties in with the finale, and doesn't just feel like another stand alone. I can't see them doing one more stand alone, since they've always set things up with the last episode before the two-part season finale. Season 2: "Downloaded" lead into "Lay Down Your Burdens". Season 3: "The Son Also Rises" lead into "Crossroads". I'm thinking it will be the same here. Of course season 1 was a slightly different beast since it was only thirteen episodes long and pretty tightly structured compared to the last two seasons.

I hear you on them finding Earth kinda taking some drive out of the show. The real problem was the two episodes "No Exit" and "Deadlock" being real low points when the last half of season four should be pedal to the metal awesome storytelling. After such a long wait between the first ten episodes of season four and these last ten, the anticipation grew. I think I am not alone when I say I was expecting the best season so far, especially after how awesome the first half of season four was. It is also a shame since they wasted a lot of time in the second half of season three with a lot of filler episodes.

I think it would've been better for them to have moved things along quicker, and ended season three with Adama waiting alone in the Raptor for Roslin and the Cylon Base Ship to return. Halfway through season 4.0 then they could've found Earth and spent some time on it. I think all the explanations from "No Exit" would've been more interesting if they found some answers or at least clues on Earth so that the viewers could figure things out a little. Then the whole thing with Cavil and Ellen Tigh could've been used to sort of review things so that any missed details would've been relayed before the end of the series. I also think that it would've been a much better experience if instead of Ellen and Anders spewing all that exposition out, they would've shown some flashbacks of what they were talking about. Oh well. If these last three episodes are amazing I'll feel better about the whole thing.

My prediction is that they'll find a new habitable planet, Cavil and his cronies will show up, and there will be lots of drama and excitement.
 
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I gotta agree, the whole Tigh and Caprica six thing... creepy. It's like watching a smoking hot model having sex and falling in love with some old hobo off the street... actually it's almost exactly like that.

Maybe it's because he's one of the final five and she felt it... but that's still no excuse... eww... Or it's like the dream girl you've had a crush on suddenly ends up with your dad...

Anyways...

I completely agree with the pacing. I was expecting them to stay on earth for a while as well, and slowly discover things. I mean the markings on the wall and Starbucks ship and her body were cool and all... but then they left just like that and everyone became depressed. It would have been cool if Starbuck and one of the final five maybe stayed behind to discover more about earth... maybe they found some survivors... some cool artifacts, whatever... But yes, having Anders just spell it all out just like that, kind of sucks.

Then again, Anders still has some mystery to him. His sudden realizations, then into a coma, wierd brain activities... hmm, things with him should get interesting. There's Anders, then the girl that maybe still loves him that knows how to play the song... maybe they'll figure out something cool, interesting together. What if Starbuck plays the song for Anders?

You know what could pick up the show. Maybe Anders reveals that there's yet another colony that's still alive today, or maybe they somehow find out that it wasn't really earth that they found? Hmm...
 
Sometimes you just have to let the art flow over you...And a smiley to whoever can tell me what movie that quote is from.
 
Jon Starr said:
You know what could pick up the show. Maybe Anders reveals that there's yet another colony that's still alive today, or maybe they somehow find out that it wasn't really earth that they found? Hmm...
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What I want to know more about is there is another colony that Cavil mentioned to Ellen while she was on the Base Ship. She said it was where the final five rediscovered the resurrection technology. It's probably the sci-fi geek in me, but I really want to see this colony or at the very least learn some more about it.

One thing that I find interesting with the whole "this has happened before and it will happen again"... they find toaster model Earth Cylons... they hint at Kobol having created Cylons long ago... the Twelve Colonies create their own Cylons... all this is fascinating. I'd love it if they had more time to explore some of the philosophical ramifications of this. Maybe humans have some desire hardwired into their DNA that makes them want to create artificial life forms in their image, just as we have a biological imperative to reproduce by having children? I mean, look at science and technology now. Right here an now on Earth there are people creating various AI's and human looking robots. It may all be experimental and conceptual right now, but I doubt it will stay that way forever.

I think that would've been an interesting angle to explore in at least one episode. If we can have a whole episode about the Chief and Cally being trapped in a malfunctioning air lock, or a whole episode about the fleet's black market I think they could've spent more time on some of the dangling philosophical issues and looked around Earth a little more. It would have been possible if they didn't wait so long to reveal some of the Cylon back story. Instead they've stretched out the mythology and final five stuff a bit longer than it needed to be.
 
HVX sighting. I think. It was really tricked out. Could have been the DVX from the earlier episode ("Final Cut"), but it looked bigger and seemed like it was all black.
 
David Jimerson said:
HVX sighting. I think. It was really tricked out. Could have been the DVX from the earlier episode ("Final Cut"), but it looked bigger and seemed like it was all black.
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One of the things BSG has taught me is that you don't need as much FX and fancy props to do a sci-fi film as one would think.

So how was this episode? I haven't watched it yet due to being distracted with Final Cut Pro not wanting to properly export the video I edited today. I was planning on catching it On Demand, but I am tempted to wait until next week so I can watch the whole finale in one sitting.
 
Batutta said:
Good. Still more of a setup for the 2 hour finale, but I like where it's going.
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I broke down and just watched it. I'll probably review this last 3 episodes before next week's finale. I liked this one though. Actually this one and the previous 2 episodes seem to fit together really well. I'm feeling a lot better about things now heading into the finale.

Plus, there will be the wrap up film The Plan. I think it will be shown this summer. Then there is the 2-hour Caprica pilot which comes out on DVD in April. This is a weird series finale since this other stuff is coming out so soon.
 
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