The End of the World: The New Battlestar Galactica (Spoilers Allowed)

Good points, as I rewatched the episode again last night, and there seems to be the implication in the Zak/Apollo/Starbuck scene that later events accelerated that bonding process, especially since she and Adama never met until after Zak's death. So at most, they've probably known each other for around five years.

Also, in this episode, Adama asked Sam a question that seemed to be pivotal to the whole storyline. Now, it's obvious that some people probably think it was "Where is the Colony?", but this might not have been it. Adama wasn't 100% sure about saving Hera, as seen in the previous episode's first scene, and now he feels her survival is absolutely vital. Does anybody want to wager a guess as to what his question was? IIRC, Adama says to Kara that he doesn't want to ask "it" a question, and orders her to do it. In addition to the above, the question could speculatively be about anything, but the question's composition very likely had the Colony's coordinates as its answer.

Now this, alone, would not be sufficient to justify the new mission, but I also think that new information concerning Hera was brought into play. If such information existed, I would have expected Adama to divulge it to the people he was hoping would commit themselves to a one-way trip with him.

If I were Kara, I wouldn't ask "Who am I?", because I would suspect that Adama might not be amused by "[The] herald of the Apocalypse, the harbinger of Death, who will lead the Human race to its end." It might seriously endanger the rapport reached by, "You are my daughter."

 

I recently listened to the BSG version of 'All Along the Watchtower' and I really like it. It gives the song a new flavor, and I saw that Bear McCreary arranged it, like he does for most of the shows music, but it said it was sung by a band called BT4. Initial google searches bring up little to nothing about them, so does anyone have any information on them?

EDIT: Upon looking up the soundtrack on wiki, it appears that the vocals were done by Bear McCreary's brother, who I guess is nicknamed BT4. Cool. I really like the arrangement of this song, and actually, all the music in the series. I might go out and buy it, actually.

 

anyone else get the serious feeling that the show was suppose to end at earth, and this extra stuff has simply been at the request of Sci-fi?

just ONCE I'd like a show to premier with it's final chapter written...Tape it to the wall in the writers lounge...and make everything "long term" that you do fit that final episode.

I'm sick of shows getting away from their essence...and from what I'm hearing...that's where we are headed here. A show that was much lauded, got a big head, talked a big game...and now winds down in a way that will leave everyone wanting.

And you can bet that "Caprica" does have something to do with that...in fact, I would wager the "flashbacks" are a way to set up "Caprica". Which is just obnoxious because you can see the manipulation in the content.

Don't sell me on Caprica...I want closure on BSG...make good on your premise here, and I'll be more eager to consider the next offering.

SG-1 was already mentioned...the end of that series most definitely skews my impressions going into SGU. Nice to see no one takes notes on these things.

 

actually, my understanding is that Moore had a specific ending in mind for quite some time.

The ending on Earth, halfway through Season 4, ended that way because of the Guild strike. They didn't know how long the strike would last, or even if they'd be able to finish off the show, so the arrival on Earth was set up as an "alternate" ending.

The last episode was filmed the very last day before the strike, so the actors/crew didn't have to stretch very far to act depressed.

 

Imagine how much that would have sucked if that had been the end of the show. It would have been the most depressing series finale ever.

 

A part of me wanted it to end there, explanations or not.

That final 5 minutes, with the rebel Cylons and the humans getting together, their arrival at Earth, people cheering and crying.....and then the desolation of a ruined Earth...

one of the most powerful scenes I've ever watched, in film or television.

 

Well, in comparison to what would have been a very open-ended, depressing finale if it had ended at Earth, whatever is coming on Friday has to be more satisfying, more conclusive, and answer more questions, if only by default.

Interesting that no-one has posted an article about the press screening, aka "a friend of a friend saw it and here's what happens".....

Peace,


V-03

 

Ron Moore made everyone invited to the finale screening raise their hands and swear on a stack of Bibles to not reveal anything, interestingly. Of course, we'll see if that holds up between now and tomorrow night.

Also, on the podcast for "Islanded," RDM promises to get Hunter S. Thompson-wasted drunk for the finale's commentary.

Awesome.

 

fixed.

I'm avoiding any of the internet sites I frequent tomorrow, I don't want to know ANYTHING.

 

"Humanity's final chapter is about to be written, and you will be its author, Gaius."

I think this line may have more importance than I may have thought. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with Ian McEwan's novel Atonement, but basically, there's something of a twist near the end where it is revealed that the last half hour or so was a complete fabrication (within the world of the novel) constructed by the narrator to atone for something she had done earlier in the story.

Back to the Six quote...maybe the mission to rescue Hera fails horribly, Galactica is destroyed, no one hears from them again, etc. But...we see it go off reasonably well (yeah, some deaths, but you get the idea)...perhaps something happens and they do not come back, but their demise is a bit more heroic or something to that effect. Basically, the latter part of the story is something fabricated by Baltar to give the story a 'better' ending.

This would still leave for some questions, such as how much is actual fact and how much is Baltar's fabrication, but this could also explain several other things that have popped up., for example...

• Maybe Hera is a McGuffin, with no purpose but to give the Colonials a 'justifiable' reason to go after Cavil.


• Kara is being characterized as...something, possibly explaining her superior piloting skills, and again, some of the elements (like the super nova) being McGuffins to give her character more purpose.


• Head Six could be the 'guardian angel' on Baltar's shoulder, basically giving him pushes in the direction he's going in when a situation comes up that he doesn't know how to deal with.

Again, this doesn't answer everything, but it could be bent around to fit with some of the other stuff we've been wondering about. I guess we'll know tomorrow, at any rate.

 

Heads up for the DVR folks out there:

According to reliable sources, tomorrow night's BSG finale will run 2 hours and 11 minutes. Whether this will be the same as the DVD/Blu-Ray extended cut isn't known, but Bear McCreary recently made some comments about this:

---

[color=blue]"One of the biggest challenges of 'Islanded' was actually scoring two different versions of it. In addition to the version you just watched, I also scored an extended version for the DVD release. Not only are many of the dialog scenes expanded, but there are several scenes that were cut entirely from the show that required substantial original music."[hr][/blockquote][/color]
And later, in a reply to a blog comment, he is asked if there are any other episodes that might be extended on home video:

[blockquote][hr][color=blue][b]Question:[/b] ?...bluntly, how many episodes will get extended versions on the DVD??

"Honestly, I think we don?t know yet. I?ve written score for extended versions of 'A Disquiet Follows My Soul,' 'Islanded in a Stream of Stars' and 'Daybreak,' so I?m assuming those three will have extended versions. But, its also largely a financial decision. Extended versions require a new output, mix, etc. Deleted scenes can be thrown on a DVD with little to no extra costs. But, I?m hopeful that we?ll see extended versions of all three episodes."[hr][/blockquote][/color]

 

Plus Edward James Olmos was running around telling people that it really was the end, that there was no coming back period.

 

If the end of BSG is ANYTHING like the end of Atonement I think I may have to hurt someone. Worst ending to a book ever! Just...no, please God no.

 

Just curious.

For those of you out there with DVR.

Will you DVR the show and then watch it?

Or is the anticipation enough to get you to sit through commercials?

 

You could catch Dollhouse on Hulu- it's usually on within a day or two after first airing.

 

I've watched Dollhouse on Hulu. It isn't something I am going to bother downloading, and it isn't the type of show that really needs a really good picture.

 

Sorry...Dollhouse stinks...Whedon is proving himself to be a flash in the pan.

 

Dollhouse isn't terrible. It's just not great. People came in with very high expectations, and the show is mediocre.

 

Update Spoiler

REBEL CENTURIONS MARCHING ONTO GALACTICA!

That might have made the finale for me.

 

Great moments so far:

The Cylons forming up for battle on Galactica, conveniently marked with a red stripe so that the humans could make them out.

Baltar and Six meeting in the halls.

Hoshi and Romo leaving. Had to laugh.

Tigh's line about it not being too late to get rid of all the Cylons on board.

Helo briefing the pilots, and Sharon finally smiling again, just a little.

Galactica jumping in, it's hull glowing from the hits it was taking.

Galactica RAMMING the Cylon worldship.

 

DIE BOOMER...I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ABOUT YOUR MUSHY MEMORY OF ADAMA! DIE SPARKPLUG!

 

CAVIL HAD BETTER NOT LIVE THROUGH THIS, I SWEAR!