Battlestar Galactica

[Rasix]

Ellen.

[Nevermore]

Also a prediction:  Boomer is either unwittingly or complicitly going to lead Cavil's cylon faction to Galactica.

I briefly thought this as well, but how would Helen know where the fleet is now?  On the other side if Boomer knows where the fleet is, then John sure as hell does too.

That's a good point, unless Ellen has some way of tracking/communicating with the other 4 that Cavil doesn't know how to do.  Although considering he put the 5 in their current bodies, that would be tricky to explain.

By the way, I liked the touch of Ellen offering Boomer the apple.

[palmer_eldritch]

And another thing - in that last episode, it sounded as if the final five were the same type of thing as the humans in the 12 colonies. They created aritificial life and it turned against them, and then they were worried that the other colonies would make the same mistake. It sounded as if all 13 colonies were originally populated by something which was *not* artifical life.

But we know that the earth inhabitants were biologically "human cylons" and different to the humans of the 12 colonies. Not just the five after they downloaded into new bodies, but all of the dead skeletons on earth too.

[Tale]

Also a prediction:  Boomer is either unwittingly or complicitly going to lead Cavil's cylon faction to Galactica.

I briefly thought this as well, but how would Helen know where the fleet is now?  On the other side if Boomer knows where the fleet is, then John sure as hell does too.

That's a good point, unless Ellen has some way of tracking/communicating with the other 4 that Cavil doesn't know how to do.  Although considering he put the 5 in their current bodies, that would be tricky to explain.

By the way, I liked the touch of Ellen offering Boomer the apple.

With her memory back, Ellen knows where Earth is. She and Galactica have a navigation point in common.

[Tale]

That Ellen-Caprica-Tigh melodrama was tedious and badly written.

[Tannhauser]

Lame episode, more soap opera than anything.  I think god wants the two races to merge.  Note how Liam was mentioned by Cottle several times to be a 'fighter'.  Then when the cylons debate separating, god promptly kills him lest they think they don't need the humans to breed with.

God's true emissaries are Baltar and Starbuck.  I 'think' Baltar is incoming Jesus and Starbuck is the devil but maybe I'm taking the Christian theme too far.  After all Baltar's 'angel' tells him to get guns. 

I hope the last episode is Cavil showing up, vaporizing the fleet and ruiling the universe as a perfect machine race.  At least you don't get melodrama that way.

[palmer_eldritch]

I'm doing my best with it but it's not making sense to me.

Why does the chief now consider himself to be a cylon and not part of the fleet? The final five are part of the 13th colony while the other cylons (human versions) are artificial lifeforms created by the final five. So if he's being tribal about it, which it seems he is, his tribe is the people from the 13 colonies, not the human cylons.

[Nevermore]

It was one of those blatant mischaracterizations to force a plot point.  There's no way Tyrol should have done a 180 like that.  The whole Tigh/Ellen/Caprica triangle was clumsy and forced as well.  Not a very good episode.

[Venkman]

How could they screw up something like this so near the end of the series?

[tazelbain]

It was one of those blatant mischaracterizations to force a plot point.  There's no way Tyrol should have done a 180 like that.  The whole Tigh/Ellen/Caprica triangle was clumsy and forced as well.  Not a very good episode.

True dat.  I feel it is the consequences of not having planned things out. So this is another "move the pieces into position" episode so they tell the story the want to finish out the series.

[Oban]

I eagerly await the fan edit of this series which distills it down to three hours of space combat.

[HaemishM]

Yeah, way too much forced soap opera melodrama, not nearly enough plot. I can't fault the actors, because I think Tigh is just pulling a marvelous job with what he's given. Even Ellen is acting well, though I really really really fucking hate her character. Obviously reincarnation and restoration of her memories didn't make her any less of a cunt. Four episodes left means we really don't have time for shows that are so padded with "characterizations" especially when those characterizations are off for some of the characters. The previews for next week look worse - why the fuck would the cylons want to try Boomer for treason? WTF? Because she sided with Cavil in the civil war? Wouldn't that be saying that the cylons don't want to have free will?

[Johny Cee]

It was one of those blatant mischaracterizations to force a plot point.  There's no way Tyrol should have done a 180 like that. 

One word:  Boomer.

Tyrol has a long history of acting extremely squirrelly when he has relationship/woman issues crop up.  I think his reaction of wanting to run with Boomer showing back up in the picture isn't out of character at all.  

[Rishathra]

The previews for next week look worse - why the fuck would the cylons want to try Boomer for treason? WTF? Because she sided with Cavil in the civil war?

That made no sense to me either.  "Hey, thanks for realizing your mistake and retrieving the last of our Revered Final 5 from the clutches of our enemies!  Your reward is waiting right through this airlock door here."

[Engels]

Hmm, no episode posted on the galactica site. That's how I watch 'em, since I don't have television. Anyone know what's up with that, and any possible alternatives that aren't out-and-out piracy?

[Oban]

http://eztv.it/index.php?main=show&id=141

[NiX]

any possible alternatives that aren't out-and-out piracy?

Is it piracy if it's not on DVD yet?

[Numtini]

I disagree the Chief has immersed himself in cyclon technology, of the five he's the most integrated into current Fleet-cyclon society because of that. I'm not surprised he would vote to go.

I enjoyed the soap opera stuff, there was some great acting there.

While not a major plot element, Olmos' depiction of Adama slowly cracking up over the last several episodes has been very good.

[Nevermore]

I'd still like to know what those pills are he keeps taking.

[Fordel]

The only part I found interesting about this episode, is that the BaseStar looks almost fully repaired. The rest of it, I could have gotten by with a 'previously, on Battlestar Galactica!'.

[Oban]

The only part I found interesting about this episode, is that the BaseStar looks almost fully repaired. The rest of it, I could have gotten by with a 'previously, on Battlestar Galactica The OC!'.

[Venkman]

Ok finally watched it. Will stand by what I said earlier: Five episodes left in the series and we get this?!

And I'm hating the inconsistencies. Freakin' Baltar is now warning about a Galactican society that may rise up in revolution? Hasn't it been merely weeks since there was an actual quasi-revolution? Not referencing old history I can understand. We've all been through retcons. But dammit, this was two episodes ago.

Oh and I basically fast forwarded through all the Ally MacBeal Ellen/Tigh/Six crap. Maybe I missed something but I honestly just don't care. They wrap up the entire mutiny in one episode and spend almost an entire one on a subplot nobody gives a shit about just so they can rez the Hera-as-savior motivation?

And yea, why are they going to court martial boomer? For liberating Ellen against Cavel's orders or for siding with Cavel when the fleet split? And what the hell's the point of that anyway? There is not "fleet" with the Galactica. It's one slowly-fixing-itself Basestar.

[Engels]

http://eztv.it/index.php?main=show&id=141

Thankee. Downloaded the 1080 version, although, uhm, its essentially a recording off the TV turned into a .avi file which is definately NOT 1080, or 720 or even 480.

[Numtini]

Freakin' Baltar is now warning about a Galactican society that may rise up in revolution? Hasn't it been merely weeks since there was an actual quasi-revolution?

I thought it was entirely disingenuous. He doesn't think there's going to be a revolution, he just wants some guns because the chip/fantasy in his head says there should be guns to cleanse the city.

And yea, why are they going to court martial boomer?

Because the 8's voted to go with the Fleet-Cylons and Boomer stayed with the Cavill-cylons. The fleet isn't trying her for treason, the Fleet-Cylons are. Because they're petty and human.

And one point about the ep which also relates to them being petty and human--very key comment by Adama. The Galactica won't know who she is. That's at the very heart of this series. This series is about identity. About who and what you are. Everything revolves around that and it has going back to season 1 even without any ret-con'ing.

[Fordel]

Oh, I also enjoyed the callsign they gave the Cylon Pilot on the CAP. Fat Turkey indeed. 

[Tale]

I think this all comes down to different writers.

Next week looks better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNqV7fpK_3Q

[Tannhauser]

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/battlestar-galactica-coming-to-the-big-screen-6228

Finally! My cape and Boxey fix!

[palmer_eldritch]

Boomer was with Cavill when they blew up a load of eights and sixes after warping the ressurection ship off somewhere so that they would really be dead.

The eights and sixes we now have are the survivors of that assault, so you can see how they'd be pissed.

[Venkman]

Yours and Numtini's explanations make sense and show great insights. But while that is the lore, you only bother telling that story in the middle of season 2 or 3 when you're trying to add depth to the Cylon "way of life"/thinking. This late in the game they need to be wrapping up the important things, like:

- Where are the humans going to live that survives Cavil showing up?
- Where are the rebel Cylons going to live?

I suppose the one story arc they're driving for may be that both Cylon and Human rally around the Five, who usher in a golden age of commaraderie and mutual respect to replace the last X years of reactionary anti-intellectual religious-based fearmongering. But I'd prefer they stopped the hamfisted allegories instead of relying on them to end out an otherwise awesome series. I swear this show sometimes feels like the first two (somewhat painful) seasons of ST:TNG.

[Johny Cee]

Oh and I basically fast forwarded through all the Ally MacBeal Ellen/Tigh/Six crap. Maybe I missed something but I honestly just don't care. They wrap up the entire mutiny in one episode and spend almost an entire one on a subplot nobody gives a shit about just so they can rez the Hera-as-savior motivation?

Sigh.

You missed the definitive character insight for why Ellen is the crazy, self-destructive bitch she is:  She knows that,  if the choice is forced,  Tigh loves Adama more than he loves Ellen.  Yet she can't stop loving Tigh.

It adds whole new subtext to when she went all Lady Macbeth back in season 1/2,  when Adama was shot.  The sleeping around is basically a response to Tigh making a choice of Adama over her, etc. 

[HaemishM]

I caught that. It was also TOTALLY LAME.

As for bringing the original Battlestar to the big-screen? FUCK'S SAKE, WHY??

[Tale]

Sigh.

You missed the definitive character insight for why Ellen is the crazy, self-destructive bitch she is:  She knows that,  if the choice is forced,  Tigh loves Adama more than he loves Ellen.  Yet she can't stop loving Tigh.

It adds whole new subtext to when she went all Lady Macbeth back in season 1/2,  when Adama was shot.  The sleeping around is basically a response to Tigh making a choice of Adama over her, etc. 

But the Tigh-Adama friendship only occurred because Cavil wiped their memories and Tigh thought he was the human XO of Battlestar Galactica, and it's therefore a tiny moment in the centuries-long relationship of Tigh and Ellen. If Tigh was the real Tigh instead of just remembering flashes of his old self, he probably wouldn't be as close to Adama, so really it's Cavil's fault.

Ellen is now the real Ellen, the co-inventor of the humanoid cylons and resurrection ships, with her full memories back, and knows Tigh is not himself due to Cavil, so why is she preoccupied with being a bitch about stuff that she knows is a result of what Cavil did to them?

[Abagadro]

If I understand it from the info-dump last episode, their relationship isn't "centuries old." The only reason they have been together for 3000 years is because they were traveling at relativistic speeds. For their subjective time it has been a normal life span.

[Venkman]

You missed the definitive character insight for why Ellen is the crazy, self-destructive bitch she is: 

Yes. Because I don't give a shit. And I mean that seriously (as in, I'm not being snarky to you for bringing it up). I cared about this kind of stuff at the beginning of Season 2 because the whole war/exile/on-the-run humanity was done so well in Season 1 they needed to go somewhere else with the characters.

Right now though, with maybe 5 hours left to resolve the entire future history of this show, I want more screen time spent to driving towards resolution and less spent on laborious and poorly-scripted dramedy pieces. If they were limping towards their ninth season with no end in sight, sure, yea, go all Friends on the audience you have left. That's what they want. But since the movie is just an idle placeholder on imdb and the new series is a prequel, this is their sole shot to resolve things. This is not cut-off-in-its-prime Firefly or retelling-shit-we-knew ST:Enterprise or quilt-of-episodes Star Trek in general (no ongoing rolling narrative). This has been a story from start to finish and I'm getting less and less interested in that end.

My interests probably aren't broad enough 

[Nevermore]

As for bringing the original Battlestar to the big-screen? FUCK'S SAKE, WHY??

It's obviously a ploy by Dirk Benedict.