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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph “So Say We All.” - The Battlestar Galactica Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Community' started by JediTrilobite, Jan 13, 2005.

  1. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    That's why the best hope for sci fi in cinema is really the low-budget, independent, and internationally ex-Hollywood funded stuff like Moon, Under the Skin and the less successful Europa Report, which if anything is an interesting failure of a movie, much more interesting than seeing Transformers IX.
     
  2. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    Europa Report was awful. One of the few movies that made me furious for wasting my time on viewing.
     
  3. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004

    The less said about Galactica '80 the better.

    In contrast, every single frame of the rebooted series looks like it came from a $200 million movie.
     
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  4. dragonsith13

    dragonsith13 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2005
    Does anyone thing that they ended it too quickly and could of had a another season before the final season theme was put into place?

    I enjoyed the series a lot, and agree that they did seem to struggle for material at some points. However the series was a strong series and I do think that they could have gone some different places for an additional season though before the finale.
     
  5. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004

    Maybe. I've always felt like the route to Earth was too direct. It would have been interesting to see the writers throw in a couple of red herrings, like maybe there are two astronomical phenomena that fit the description of the Lion's Head Nebula and Adama has to decide if he's going to split the fleet on keep it together and go in one direction or the other. A dead end or two would have been nice.
     
  6. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    Some plot lines seemed a little rushed (especially Kara) but I'm not sure another season would be the solution.

    Maybe more but shorter seasons, so less need for filler.


    Gesendet von meinem iPhone mit Tapatalk
     
  7. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 20, 2012
    I felt that the first half of the first season really dragged on for some reason.
     
  8. Darthmaul208

    Darthmaul208 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2013
    Resurrection time! (pun intended)
    I came here last year (that one moaning about spoilers- sorry guys I've learnt my lesson)
    So this is how I came to BSG. I watched the series without the Miniseries (not a good idea folks) up till Valley of Darkness- The one where Galactica is boarded, Baltar has visions of Adama drowning a baby, and head six tells Baltar of Kobol. oh and Helo get's a kick up his arse from Starbuck! I stopped watching because of time but was pretty impressed with the "prophecies and foreshadowing". Anyway I left it a couple of months reread some summaries of the first season as well as some of the events that occurred later on- so The final Five, new Caprica and Starbuck disappearing.- nothing too specific but enough to entice me.
    I got the boxset for Christmas and finally had time to watch it over the summer months. A great time was had, sitting there in pyjamas and watching these characters develop and grow- It is a masterpiece , despite it's flaws, the best piece of entertainment ever produced.

    I finished it a week ago and the finale is playing on my mind (well I think it does for everyone) It was good but there were problems with it.
    I haven't seen the Extended Edition, The Plan, Blood and Chrome and Caprica YET. I definitely need to pick this up.

    So to sum up I've become obsessed with this show and want to discuss it with people- not just the finale the whole lot.
    Help me out!
     
  9. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    I won't claim to know it as well as Star Wars but I did watch each episode once each. I think it is the highest quality scifi tv show ever. Folks will call Star Trek the greatest or whatever, but the reimagined BSG had but i think 2 "filler" episodes and even those were great.

    The primary viewing difference between new and old is that the old was very one shot episodic; you could pretty much watch any episode at any time. The new BSG is more like one very long story. Maybe one day I'll catch a new BSG replay and change my mind.
     
  10. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    So say we all. I've never seen a TV show, of any genre, with such incredibly high production values and such consistently brilliant performances. Every single frame of Battlestar looks like a $200 million movie. Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff, in particular gave Emmy-worthy performances. It's too bad they were never recognized for their work.
     
  11. jabberwalkie

    jabberwalkie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2014
    It might be one the best science fiction TV show. Even at its lowest, it was fantastic. Pacing, intrigue, story telling, soundtrack, effects, and acting were all very well done. Plus, I think Jamie Bamber had one of the absolute best reactions in then entire series:
    [​IMG]
    FWIW, I didn't care for Caprica that much. The pacing was too slow for my liking and I stopped watching sometime in season 1. Blood and Chrome on the other hand started off kind meh, but actually by the end I wanted more.
     
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  12. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    Yeah, I didn't like The Plan very much. Way too many ideas for one film and virtually no time to explore them all properly. The Plan should have been broken out into at least four or five different movies.
     
  13. SuperWatto

    SuperWatto Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 19, 2000
    I enjoyed BSG immensely, and then watched nothing after that. I understand that was a good idea.
     
  14. Darthmaul208

    Darthmaul208 Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Dec 29, 2013
    @Chancellor_Ewok The fans know! I mean the awards go to whatever is popular and whoever pays the most. Fantasy/Science Fiction is "frowned upon" because the mainstream haven't worked out it can do analysis and commentary well and think it's just "dorky". It does it better than most serious shows/dramas. I laugh now when I see them "touch" a subject. Realistic stuff isn't brought up.
    I mean just look at the fan following of Edward James Olmos (highlight of Agents of SHIELD Season 2), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan in TCW), Sam Witwer ( BSG, TCW, Rebels) and others from different series: Sarah Michelle Geller (buffy the vampire slayer) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly).

    When people like that are cast in SW, It excites me in a way that it's hard to describe. I mean the hype for Sarah Michelle Geller's Inquisitor in Rebels is immense. When they cast Sam Witwer as Maul I was excited because people had a "belief" in him and his abilities. Same with Katee Sackhoff. Also add the fact that these people are appearing on shows like The Big Bang Theory that introduces them to this "geek world" ( I HATE that term and think it's just rude) and the things associated with it so they think it's less "dorky". I mean we could discuss that to death and how popular the show has become and it's true impact on the world. I mean it appeals to lots of people yes but are the watching it for the same reasons I am? And do people actually get it? One example is the Firefly gag they used where Sheldon mentions that "oh Friday will be Firefly night, that show will be on for years" I got it but do some people watch it because it's "funny" in some sort of ritualistic parody. It an interesting topic.

    Anyway back to the BSG. How could they solve the problem of the name being dorky and less appealing? People laugh when I tell them the name.
     
  15. jabberwalkie

    jabberwalkie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2014
    If you liked the 2004 BSG, you would probably enjoy Blood and Chrome. Caprica though, not so much.
     
  16. SuperWatto

    SuperWatto Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 19, 2000
    If it's not better than BSG, I don't really see the point.
     
  17. Darthmaul208

    Darthmaul208 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2013
    I want to watch Caprica because A- It deals with the creation of the Cylons B- It deals with Adama's father ( I mean heck there was so many references it's hard not to go there now.) C- It's more BSG! D- Bear McCreary
    I've also heard that it changes how outlook some people have of the ending and main series because I've heard it deals with stuff like virtual Reality and Holograms. So I think people have linked this to the "angels" but I don't know for certain.

    No officially the Blu-ray hasn't been released in the UK or America but France had it released there. now I've heard if you order from the French amazon site you can get the Blu-ray and then change the menu and language to English. Has anyone done this? Or confirm this?
     
  18. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Yeah, Caprica is worth watching because it give us a little glimpse of pre-Fall Colonial society.
     
  19. Darthmaul208

    Darthmaul208 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2013
    So how should we discuss the series? Someone shoots a statement/comment and then we discuss it?
     
  20. jabberwalkie

    jabberwalkie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2014
    Sure. Regarding the transformation of Baltar in the series, even though he was an unwitting accomplice to the destruction of Caprica by Six's manipulation and basically sold out the survivors to live under Cylon rule on New Caprica, does he redeem himself in your opinion by the end of the series? Does he redeem himself at all? I mean he also gave Natalie a nuke....
     
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  21. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004

    You mean as opposed to Roslyn, who was perfectly OK with rigged elections, abducting a baby, murdering Cylon POWs to commit genocide and almost allowing Baltar to bleed to death on the rebel Basestar?
     
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  22. Darthmaul208

    Darthmaul208 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2013
    Gaius Balter.
    I think he doesn't. He ultimately does the whole speech about "god/higher power" and manages to stop Cavil but in the end he gets exactly what he wanted from the start. Caprica Six.

    I don't know if it is just me but the writing seemed inconsistent at times, intentional or not sometimes he doesn't make sense.
    *talking to a cylon centurion. Those episodes the writing was all over the place. It seemed to me that he was trying to get the cylon to rebel but the show had only briefly touched on the cylon centurions thoughts and sentience. I wish it had done more.

    One of my favourite shots from the show, is the shot where Tyrol comes in to the cult and fights Hotdog. And Gaius just sits there smoking, looking over. It makes me think of him like the devil. (And honestly he would play it/him well).

    When he was preaching he didn't seem his self. I don't know if he is/was meant to be an "instrument of god". But the whole cult stuff seemed shaky. He didn't like Paula and kept trying to undermine her but it never went anywhere.
    The angel stuff was just silly. He points it out and no one questions it till the next episode. (The consequences in season 4 especially just got breezed over. The final five led the resistance movement on New Caprica and they never mentioned it-what they did was treason. Cavil never even realised apperantly-he was a big let down). Why does he reveal that Starbuck has dna from her corpse? What is the gain from that-he doesn't seem to be spreading the message of god or converting people intentionally.


    Would it be a cop out if I said both? He is a victim and an exploiter. He gets in bad situations but then uses it to further his power. Or at the very least doesn't even acknowledge that he has done anything wrong to a LASTING effect. He admits the stuff in the wacky drug/suicide episode but he does not then act on it.

    But he can act on it because of that one scene with Gaeta after the mutiny. (Another one of the best scenes "Restaurants shaped like food"). He obviously feels something towards him , shame, guilt, loyalty I don't know but he feels obliged to say "goodbye" to him.
     
  23. jabberwalkie

    jabberwalkie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2014
    Fair point. Both of them descended into grey morals where the ends justified the means in their eyes. However, her conscience kept her from letting Baltar bleed to death IIRC. She still believed in fairness to a point for fellow humans. I think that Roslyn's issues stemmed from her hatred of Cylon's in general and her inability to trust them until they absolutely had to. If anything, Adama acted as her balance to her more hardliner stances.

    Did Baltar have that same moment that she had though? That moment where he realized that preservation of the human race and justice needed to be upheld?
     
  24. Darthmaul208

    Darthmaul208 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2013
    The whole speech at the end? About a higher power?
    I mean he mentions how to survive that humans have to co exist with the cylons., and we have all been influenced by this force. He realises that but I don't know if that counts because 2 minutes later he is back to his same self when Adama says he has a "one track mind" he takes it an an insult.
     
  25. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Yeah, Adama acted as a counterbalance to Roslyn's more ruthless tendencies and Apollo and Starbuck served the same function for Adama. Adama even says so in Razor.Some of the things that Cain did may have technically been the correct action, like stripping Pegasus' fleet for personnel and spare parts, but Cain didn't have Lee and Kara to have to face every day, but that's not really the point. My point is that its really easy to hate Baltar because he's more obviously flawed. He's a hedonist. a sex addict, a narcissist and a pathological liar, but as Apollo said at his trial, not very many people actually like Baltar and New Caprica makes him an easy scapegoat. A lot of the things happened to him were beyond his control. He was manipulated into helping the Cylons engineer the downfall of humanity because nobody, not even Baltar, who is the Colonials' foremost expert on AI and cybernetics, had conceived that the Cylons could have gone from looking like chrome toasters to passing for human on cellular level in just 50 years and he signed the Cylon death list on New Caprica because the Cylons literally put a gun to his head. Roslyn's crimes, on the other hand, abduction, summary execution, attempted genocide, ballot box stuffing, terrorism are actually crimes, but she gets a pass because she's the President of the Colonies.
     
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