Battlestar Galactica

[Venkman]

Ya know, my vain hope that they don't do the "you're all Cylons" thing at the end has given rise to the hope that the skinjobs are human. They've just forgotten their history, forgotten how they learned to replicate/clone/conduct soul transference, etc. If that technology is truly thousands of years old, it's quite easy to understand. Heck, there's technology today we've forgotten how to create (by product of technology itself being used to advance technology).

I also wonder what the original war was that caused the diaspora. Was it a civil war between cylon and human? Some external event/race (Count Mosely's Beings of Light perhaps  )? It strikes me that these two warring civilizations have some odd technological exceptions. I've always been curious if there was some point to the fact that aside from hyperdrive, fake gravity/intertial dampening (which you'd need for hyperdrive) and AI, they're pretty limited technologically, like humanity maybe 100 years from now but that's it. And that in the whole of their universe there's only two factions of the same original race. Even the old series had other specifics and settlements in it. But even still, at least two thousand years since they figured out cloning and autonomous AI and all they have to show for it is USB ports in their forearms?

And damn... I wanted to just let the last 10 episodes wash over me like so much of the schlock on TV these days that isn't worth anything more than that 42 minutes of enjoyment. But I'm thinking again. THINKING. Damn you all!

[Fordel]

Well the Cylons have living growing ships... that is pretty up there in technological advancement, no?


You just don't keep 'advancing' technologically until godhood or whatnot. Like, where the fuck are my flying cars and jet packs that the 50's visions of the future promised us?



As to the original war. IF Cylons are Humans and vice versa, the War could have been between the 'Cylons' that wanted to live forever through the whole cloning/rebooting technology, and the 'Humans' that thought that was unnatural and soul destroying or whatever. Maybe that's why they split off to form the 13th colony to begin with, so they (Cylons) could live how they wanted.

[Merusk]

Flying cars took too many turns to complete, so we decided to backfill some social techs and the comp. sci tree for a bit. They were shorter on turns for more techs.

[Riggswolfe]

I still want to know what the deal with Chip Six is. And who or what Starbuck is.

I hate that Ellen is the last of the Final Five. I've always despised the character and cheered when she was killed off. Now that annoying, shrill, bitch is back and a major character? Fuck that.

[cironian]

Flying cars took too many turns to complete, so we decided to backfill some social techs and the comp. sci tree for a bit. They were shorter on turns for more techs.

Also, while the Internet world wonder gives +100% , it's also -50% hammers.

[NowhereMan]

Wait, everyone seems to be assuming that Cylon skin jobs are from the 13th colony? I guess it makes sense since the Cylons know about them but it's also pretty clear that there weren't any skin jobs about when the Cylons originally cut off contact with the Colonies, and they were made by them. Unless of course the writers are just going to gloss over that point since that comes from the original series and might just make things too complex Hell perhaps the Cylon's final five are different from the Earth Cylons somehow, or they were the ones who found the Cylons and taught them how to make skinjobs decided genocide wasn't the answer, wiped themselves from the Cylon's memories and frakked off to earth (with more )

I'm guessing they're not about to leave earth totally behind, simply because I don't think we're going to see anything explained about Starbuck elsewhere, the 5 will tell people that they must originally have been from earth.

[rattran]

I think they're just making it up as they go.

Or Starbuck is the mystical 13th Cylon, who's a human.

[Rishathra]

To possibly clear a few things up for some people, I just finished listening to this week's podcast and Moore laid out some of the history more specifically.  Basically, humans and 'gods' are peacefully living on Kobol.  Humans 'steal fire from the gods,' i.e. learn how to create life themselves, then they make Cylons.  This causes much conflict and catastrophe on Kobol, and sparks an exodus.  Twelve tribes form the Twelve Colonies, and the thirteenth tribe - Cylons - go off and form their own colony on Earth.

[Raguel]

To possibly clear a few things up for some people, I just finished listening to this week's podcast and Moore laid out some of the history more specifically.  Basically, humans and 'gods' are peacefully living on Kobol.  Humans 'steal fire from the gods,' i.e. learn how to create life themselves, then they make Cylons.  This causes much conflict and catastrophe on Kobol, and sparks an exodus.  Twelve tribes form the Twelve Colonies, and the thirteenth tribe - Cylons - go off and form their own colony on Earth.

All this religion-based obfuscation makes me want to punch someone. How is it possible that a space-faring, AI/clone-making civilization could lose so much of their history? I like BSG, but I swear sometimes this show reminds me of the movie Ed Wood when he had his actors walk around the "door" and say something to the effect that the audience wouldn't care about something so trivial.

[Nevermore]

To possibly clear a few things up for some people, I just finished listening to this week's podcast and Moore laid out some of the history more specifically.  Basically, humans and 'gods' are peacefully living on Kobol.  Humans 'steal fire from the gods,' i.e. learn how to create life themselves, then they make Cylons.  This causes much conflict and catastrophe on Kobol, and sparks an exodus.  Twelve tribes form the Twelve Colonies, and the thirteenth tribe - Cylons - go off and form their own colony on Earth.

Oh well, in that case it's 'the gods' that nuked the 13th tribe (cylons) and resurrected Kara.  Why?  Who knows!

[rattran]

Well, at least tonight's episode didn't clear anything up. Just a filler 'we could have moved the plot this tiny bit in 10 minutes, let's take 45' I really hope they leave Ellen dead, and kill the fucking schoolteacher.

[Rishathra]

So after seeing this episode and the teaser for the next, I really don't see this ending well for anyone.  Unless the 'beings of light' swoop in at some point and save the fleet, it's looking like Olmos wasn't kidding when he said everyone dies.

[Chenghiz]

So after seeing this episode and the teaser for the next, I really don't see this ending well for anyone.  Unless the 'beings of light' swoop in at some point and save the fleet, it's looking like Olmos wasn't kidding when he said everyone dies.

I would be okay with that ending. I am, however, absolutely sure that it wont happen.

[rattran]

Especially since they have a movie in production.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

[TripleDES]

Or Starbuck is the mystical 13th Cylon, who's a human.

Or it's the same mythical entity/machinery that made the final five show up again 2000 years later that cloned her.

[Rishathra]

Especially since they have a movie in production.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Except that the movie takes place during the timespan of the show, so it doesn't rule out everyone dying.  It's basically BSG from the viewpoint of the Cylons.

[Lum]

"Everyone dying in the end" doesn't necessarily imply a Hamlet-esque scene of bodies all tangled on the floor. Except for certain Cylons, everyone *does* die in the end, eventually. It could very well be a here's how everyone met their end kind of deal.

[HaemishM]

Well, at least tonight's episode didn't clear anything up. Just a filler 'we could have moved the plot this tiny bit in 10 minutes, let's take 45' I really hope they leave Ellen dead, and kill the fucking schoolteacher.

This. Waste of an episode setting up Richard Hatch to be imminently more important than he should be. Also, yes, please keep Ellen dead.

[Abagadro]

I wouldn't say it didn't move things at all. You have a serious schism brewing in the fleet and a budding mutiny on Galactica led by Gaeta.

[HaemishM]

Does anyone else think that Gaeta is starting to look a bit like the guy that played Baltar on the original series?

It spent an hour making on real plot point, the rebellion. None of the things I really gave a shit about had one iota of movement.

[Engels]

Well, it is a space opera, of sorts. Its liable to mander in plot lines where the outcome is predictable.

I'm digging the webisodes on scifi. Its cool that the main actors are willing to crank out story content out of the main tv series.

[Fordel]

Didn't we already DO the whole mutiny thing like 3 seasons ago?


The only way the next episode will redeem itself, is if order is re-established by putting the actual Chrome Toasters on Galactica to take out all the mutineers.

[Bunk]

I know people don't like episdoes that don't do much to forward the plot, but let's not forget the alternative: episodes like the end of the first half of this season - where they put a whole season's worth of story in to the last two episodes and it felt rushed as hell.

[HaemishM]

I know people don't like episdoes that don't do much to forward the plot, but let's not forget the alternative: episodes like the end of the first half of this season - where they put a whole season's worth of story in to the last two episodes and it felt rushed as hell.

That's the point of my bitching though. They piss about for 40 minutes with 10 minutes worth of story, then when they have to finish things off, they have to rush rush rush everything to fit it all in.

And yes, I think we've done a mutiny or treason plot of some kind at least once per season.

[rattran]

That's the point of my bitching though. They piss about for 40 minutes with 10 minutes worth of story, then when they have to finish things off, they have to rush rush rush everything to fit it all in.

This.
Pacing  is                  hard.

And I sort of suspect there will be an 'ending' but not one that ties up loose ends, as Moore hopes he can continue in some for.

[Tannhauser]

Mr. Moore has written some audacious drama for this series and he has pissed me off many, many times.  But the show makes me think and I do hope that the series ending is satisfying in some way, even if they all die.

I love the mythic aspect of the show, not the fracking mutiny of the week.  It's payoff time godsdammit!  Let's see some space battles and Count Iblis and all that shit!

Oh and I bet Gaeta gets knocked off in the next episode; look for secondary characters to drop like boxers in a Reno cathouse.

[Yegolev]

I would like to see the Gaeta mutiny nipped in the bud, hopefully also taking out Zarek, because we have seen this already.  Gaeta is the new Baltar, only this one twirls his moustache and strokes his goatee.  Frankly the idea of the humans rejecting the "good" Cylons is going to piss me off, even if it is turned around later when Cavill shows up.  Although it is a good exploration into the concept of isolationism and how that hurts more than helps, so it's still good scifi.

[Samwise]

You'd think that Gaeta, Zarek, and everyone who follows them would have noticed by now that they're consistently on the wrong side of everything, even if they never realize it until after it's had horrific consequences for everyone else.

Then again, some people still vote Republican, so maybe it's not that unbelievable.

[MrHat]

Eh, I hope Roslin gets stabbed in the neck.

[Venkman]

Finally watched it. Very much a filler episode. I feel like they had the final episode story arc written for six episodes but ended up getting permission to do nine.

I didn't like the Blagoyevich allegory though ("the buying and selling of the Vice President's office"). Yea, ok, it wasn't true in the end (and I loved the "I appealled directly to his intellect"/"should I send in the medic" thing with Tigh  ), but I'd have preferred something a bit more tied to anything Richard Hatch's character actually did in the show. None of what Adama was saying matched anything Hatch the VP has actually done. And worse, the VP is appearing to act motivated by belief rather than corruption (or we'd have seen something like "give me the Presidency and I'll get your fleet back"). Obviously he was guilty of something or he wouldn't have caved so quick, but still.

There's something wonky too with the timespan. How long has it been since they left New Caprica? Like rattran said, pacing is hard. But as bad as it has been in recent episodes, it's the whole frakkin' series that has gone off the rails. The whole division that was implied by that photo of the cast last summer is being hamfisted onto us with no rhyme nor reason. Even two seasons ago Adama would have not forced Cylon tech on the fleet, then would have convinced everyone to take it. They showed him learning from the first season of overly militaristic rule (him and then Tigh when Adama was shot). And New Caprica brought it back to stark reality again. So he'd squander that just to search for nothing 300% faster?

There better be the mother of all effing spacebattles coming up, with the old Galactica, the Pegasus showing up again, some mysterious fleet that was out in the fringes when Caprica et al was bombarded, Beings of Light, a frakkin' Death Star of tech just being thrown around Fifth Element style. Or I'm going to... err, seethe irrelevantly.

[Polysorbate80]

Upgrading the hyperdrives is the sort of decision you don't make democratically, unless you're willing to say "bye, c ya later, have a nice death" to the folks who decline.

[Venkman]

That's sort of the point of a democracy though. You don't like it? Move. I could see them declaring martial law on the fuel and food supply ships, but every single other one is a gigantic taxi. Let them vote themselves to be the next targets of the Cylons.

The only way this all makes sense to me is if they're trying to show that the survivors don't believe the Cylon threat to be real anymore. Again back to the timespan: how long has it been since they left New Caprica. If they haven't been attacked in a while they lose their sense of urgency about following any direction at all. Yet another analogy to current events, but an excusable one given the context. Why take better tech to get you, well, nowhere? Better to be sitting ducks to an enemy that apparently isn't showing up anymore.

[Tale]

They've always done these filler episodes and some of them have been stinkers. I didn't think this was a stinker, it added some minor stuff to the major plot.

[Yegolev]

You'd think that Gaeta, Zarek, and everyone who follows them would have noticed by now that they're consistently on the wrong side of everything, even if they never realize it until after it's had horrific consequences for everyone else.

Aren't you engaged?  I submit you consider the quoted idea in depth, as it is certain to come up again in some undoubtedly-personal way.

That's sort of the point of a democracy though. You don't like it? Move. I could see them declaring martial law on the fuel and food supply ships, but every single other one is a gigantic taxi. Let them vote themselves to be the next targets of the Cylons.

The only way this all makes sense to me is if they're trying to show that the survivors don't believe the Cylon threat to be real anymore. Again back to the timespan: how long has it been since they left New Caprica. If they haven't been attacked in a while they lose their sense of urgency about following any direction at all. Yet another analogy to current events, but an excusable one given the context. Why take better tech to get you, well, nowhere? Better to be sitting ducks to an enemy that apparently isn't showing up anymore.

The thing is that most humans don't know or understand the difference between the two Cylon factions, which is very understandable when you are dealing with an enemy who has no individuality in a visual way at least.  Cylons all look alike, you know... well mostly but you get my point maybe.  The ones seeking asylum are the same models that were perpetrating horrors, so it would be difficult for anyone to swallow a sudden shift in allegiance no matter the motivation.  You can give a situation summary to some random dickwad in the fleet and he's probably going to be all for letting the Cylons kill each other just on general principles.  An ignorant voting public is dangerous when thought is necessary, and that's why we have an Electoral College.

The military-vs-civilian-government thing is well-worn, though.

[tazelbain]

They've always done these filler episodes and some of them have been stinkers. I didn't think this was a stinker, it added some minor stuff to the major plot.

Seems to me, there are 3 types episodes: Exploration (of a character/theme), Political, and Plot.  Political has always been the black sheep manly because it usually caused by people acting completely irrational to generate a conflict.