I love it, but I watch it all on DVD so I’m going to go ape-sh*t if I hear any spoilers! Heh, I probably shouldn’t have clicked on this thread. I will say that I’m glad it’s ending. I think they’ve been stretching it out for a bit more than it’s actually worth, which has led to some weak filler moments. I think the high point of the show for me came in season two, in particular watching the Athena character develop and her relationship to Helo and the Galactica crew. Like you mention, the sentimentality can be frustrating, but I love the dark gritty atmosphere. The philosophy has mostly been done before, but I still like how it gets integrated into the show. I also like the constant feeling of urgency and forward propulsion, even if after 4 seasons it winds up seeming like the same plot is going around in cycles. But there is a method to the madness.
I won’t say much because I’m trying not to think about it but I’m excited/terribly sad. I don’t want to know what “entirely selfless act” (gulp) Gaius Baltar is going to perform. He’s been my favorite these past five years.
I can’t wait to see how the dream in the opera house comes into play.
Baltar is definitely one of the more interesting characters right now. I was seriously wondering if he was going to cross that red line in the last ep. And mikerswllg, the sentimentality doesn’t bother me actually. I was simply stating it was part of the show, and honestly….im somewhat of a victim to it especially coupled with Bear McCreary’s score. Definitely agree about that forward propulsion. I think its one of the few rare shows that isn’t stuck on a formulaic week to week basis (ie CSI) and falls into a cohesive linear whole. Sure there is some filler but for the most part, it really does seem like they planned the whole thing out from the get-go (even though we know they didn’t).
yea, thinking about it, I kind of agree with the sentimentality aspect; it helps with the kitsch element that makes the show so much fun. Especially when tied in with the more “heavy” moral stuff. I’m just conditioned to recoil at a lot of that stuff thanks to years of HWD (de)programming, even if it’s appropriate.
This show is lousy.
Best show currently on TV. Certainly it has its flaws, and has had some weak episodes and story arcs but what show hasn’t? Really, name me a show that has run for 4 or more years that has been completely on target every single episode. I think TV is a medium that you have to judge with a bit of lenience considering all of the crap that is popular today. I tend to stay away from most popular television because whenever I’ve ventured into any kind of series, I know that if its good today, it will most definitely be stretched to the point at which its either mediocre or terrible. The fact that there is an actual beginning and end to BSG and a story that has continued for all these years without completely derailing, is pretty impressive.
I loved the first season and a half or, but it’s been in a steep downward spiral since. They’ve clearly been making it up as they go.
I’m curious as to whether or not the reason for the naysayers disliking the show is due to the plot alone. The main reason why I like the show is because of its characters, its tone, as well the use of cinema verite style, cliched or not, in a science fiction show. For me, the plot can afford to slip, because the show brings such quality to such a maligned genre of television, the science fiction space-opera. I really feel like I’m seeing a popular television show, not including HBO, aspire to do what a film can do. To tell mature stories through the use of developed narrative techniques and visual techniques. There’s a scene from a few episodes ago where Adama walks towards Col. Tigh’s office to confront him, and all along the way we see the camera follow him through the snaking corridors, much the same as it did with Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory. It’s these little things, that make me love the show. It has a lived in feel that is mirrored both in its characters, dialogue, and visual technique. I don’t think the sole criterion of how good a show is should be how coherent and tight it’s plot is. A show like this can afford some incoherence. It’s more than made up for in the attention to detail and top-notch acting.
I’m feeling cautious about the ending. I don’t expect Ronald Moore to end this thing on a happy note; it’s going to be bummer, I can feel it. And I’m ok with being bummed-out. But I am concerned that these past three or four eps have been heavy on the exposition, almost too much so. I just keep telling myself that Moore knows what he’s doing and where he’s going.
Robert Jahnke III, you could offer some explanation into why you think the show is lousy, or else whats the point of posting? And Ichi they are clearly making it up as they go, its TV. I’m not saying its a good thing but they haven’t made any illusion that they aren’t and its sort of a natural part of the medium. With that said though and in that context is what I find so great about Galactica. Other shows suffer from poor development and lack of direction, but somehow Moore pulls it off. Of course, its up to personal opinion though I just happen to see it the other way.
Im not sure whether or not the show is going to optimistically KJ, but if I had to guess, its going to at least be hopeful. The already schedule Galactica TV movie can’t happen for example if everyone is dead, so we at least know whoever is starring in that will probably be alive.
I think “making it up as they go” vs. having a plan (no Cylon pun intended) is what separates everyday TV from good TV. That’s what made the first four seasons of Babylon 5 and each season of The Wire so great. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched every episode of BG and enjoy it. I just think Moore could have left out all the who’s fracking whom and the miscarriages and the kidnappings and the startling revelations and told the story better in two seasons.
@CrapMonster: A few weeks back I was feeling confident about where this saga was going. I don’t think everyone will be dead, but I thought Moore was going to evoke Nietzsche’s Eternal Return by way of a resolution: Humans and Cylons would separate (the Galactica Cylons remaining with the Humans) and drift in space until such time as a new home was found. Probably this would take generations. Then the saga would begin again. Cylons would be created (perhaps Human and Cylon genetic material will have merged through generations of inter-marriage), the world would be destroyed, there would be insurrection, resurrection and loss. The story of our species and of all others. The tale would be ever told again and again and again until it wouldn’t. Now I’m not so sure.
your asking for the impossible. Moore has no control over how many seasons the show gets or how long it will go. its up to the networks discretion really, so him and any other TV writer simply has to make do. im not saying they didn’t have a plan either, im sure him and other writers like jane espenson had their own thoughts on how the various narratives could get resolved. I was simply saying that they’ve admitted to not having the “whole” show planned out.
..and wasn’t there only one miscarriage and kidnapping? and people naturally “frack”? I dont see the problem really. its not like any of this has no purpose. the romantic entanglements, the little of it there is, is there to help charactertization and often serves as a catalyst. im honestly not sure what your getting at, it almost seems like you want them to take out the whole “human” element and only stick to spaceship battles, cylons, and political intrigue.
so after 4-5 years on air, it finally came to an end tonight. And really all I have to saw it wow….just wow.
I find that especially in TV, endings tend to be way too over-directed/dramatic, or simply leave the viewers completely underwhelmed. For the most part, they hit it on the nail.
I think my main problem (and I found several) is the way in which they chose to end the whole mythology of the show. I always felt part of the reason why the show worked so well was that it wasn’t tied down to the contemporary world. Yes, they make plenty of social and political commentary as well as draw from current politics into the own show’s narrative, but it always remained wholly disconnected from our reality. That is until tonight, it just seemed very unnatural in how explicitly they tried to tie the show into our own history and evolution. Subsequently the “plan” they come up with is somewhat unbelievable and the 150,000 year later jump just seemed unnecessary.
Dont get me wrong, I was still mightily impressed by the conclusion and my holistic opinion of the show has not changed, if anything it has been elevated. Simply that the conclusion didn’t meet the level of perfection I was expecting.
Crap Monster
Sorry to make another TV thread on a community largely based around film, but Im really curious to know if any of you follow this, and what your thoughts are. After 4 years, its finally coming to an end this Friday and I have to say in my honest opinion, its easily thing to come out on TV in the last 5 or so years.
Incredible performances from Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, and many others, as well as some of the most captivating character dynamics on programming currently. The show definitely plays heavily on elements of sentimentality and melodrama, but it has a healthy dosage of sociopolitical commentary as well as believable realism. Its one of the few shows of the genre that doesn’t exhibit heavy polarization in morality and characterization as well.
Anyways, what are your guys’ thoughts on it, love it or hate it?