Battlestar Galactica: Classic v. Re-imagined

June 10th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica

Jun
10

I’ve been thinking altogether too much about Battlestar Galactica lately. Not sure why.

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Maybe because news has come out about The Plan telemovie. Maybe because Katee Sackhoff was cast in Season 8 of 24. Maybe because the Season 4.5 DVD drops next month. Maybe because I have the Caprica DVD sitting on the piano, mocking me for not having watched it yet.

Maybe just because I haven’t been able to cope with the fact that the series is over and it was just that frakkin’ good.

But I was thinking to myself about all the ways the new series was better than the old, and I realized that the old series doesn’t quite get its due among fans of the reimagining.

So I thought I’d do an old-fashioned matchup and see how the two stack up:

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Battlestar Galactica: Eagerly awaiting The Plan

June 8th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica, telemovie

Jun
08

I’ve not ended the So Say We All blog carnival for simply one reason: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan – the BSG telemovie – airs in September and from what I read this weekend on SciFi Wire, it’s gonna be amazing.

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It’s written by Jane Espenson and directed by Edward James Olmos and it’s not exactly a secret what it’s about: It’s the Cylon perspective on basically the entire series. How and why the Cylons did what they did.

I think it’s a brilliant move because we pretty much were conditioned to believe the Cylons were just bad, unfeeling machines. Sure, they were given more humanity than the original BSG allowed, but in the end, they were bent on the destruction of humanity and, being human, that didn’t go over too well with us, the viewers.

Lest we forget, it was humanity who made the first move, by making slaves out of the machines. (I have the Caprica miniseries on DVD, by the way, and just haven’t had a chance to watch it. I’m hoping the slow summer season gives me the opportunity to watch it and finish Season 1 of Torchwood, too, but that’s another story for another day.)

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So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival, Ed. 4.5.9

March 17th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica, blog carnival, so say we all

Mar
17

Everyone, it seems, felt as if they were in a holding pattern this week, with a really good ep of Battlestar Galactica that was totally just the first hour of the end, and answered really nothing at all.

The biggest question seemed to be what the point of the flashbacks was, though the consensus was that they were quite good, whether or not they were necessary.

I would like to make this comment about the Baltar flashbacks – I think that Caprica Six was so solicitus toward Julius Baltar for more than one reason. I think she saw solving that problem as a way to get on Gaius’ good side, and that was vital. But she was, indeed, taken with Julius, despite his crudeness. Was it a matter of having a respect for one’s parents, parents whom Six did not know but, somehow, deep down, knew she had and had respect for?

Or, and this is TOTALLY speculative and I have no reason to think it other than I’m trying to figure it all out, is Julius some frakked up version of Daniel and Six knows on some level that he’s important and should be taken care of? There’s been some speculation in the blogosphere that Kara and Gaius could be brother and sister, both children of Daniel. I find it hard to believe that Julius could actually be Daniel, but don’t forget that Daniel disappeared from Kara’s life when she was quite young, and there were multiple copies of all the “new” skinjobs.

There are a zillion reasons none of this makes sense, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in the broader scope of BSG.

Oh, and just one more thing: way back when, Ron Moore told Mo Ryan that the ruined Earth WAS indeed our Earth. Not some other Earth. It’s Earth. There’s no Earth they’re suddenly going to discover.

They have found Earth. This is the Earth that the 13th Colony discovered, they christened it Earth. They found Earth.

And with that, I give you the penultimate So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival.

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Battlestar Galactica: Islanded in a Stream of Stars

March 7th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica

Mar
07

Poor Starbuck. Serves her right for trusting Gaius Baltar.

Oh, did I mention that spoilers abound? Read at your own risk.

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For a moment of night we have a glimpse of ourselves and of our world islanded in a stream of stars – pilgrims of mortality, voyaging between horizons across the eternal seas of space and time.

That quote is from Henri Beston, from his book, “The Outermost House.”

It has such resonance for last night’s episode.

The Galactica is, itself, an island in the sea of stars, and also is islanded – stranded – in the sea of stars, as it has nowhere to go and is about to fall apart.

And they are “pilgrims of mortality,” with Starbuck the harbinger of death and, herself, dead. Or not.

OK, I have to tackle this episode character by character, as I usually do, or else my pea brain might just explode.

Boomer

I knew it. Boomer does actually love the Chief. Her pretend projected world on Picon was not just a ruse to mislead Tyrol. She loved him, dreamed up a whole place where she could be with him.

With no chance of ever being accepted back in the Fleet and no desire to truly be a part of the Cylon world, she created her own world. Eventually, seeing she had no chance to ever be with Tyrol (New Caprica pretty much solidified that for her), she decided if she was going to be a Cylon, she was going to be CYLON. She aligned herself with Cavil.

Still, she loves Tyrol. If she could be accepted as human again, she’d do it in a heartbeat. But she knows it’ll never happen.

And so she sees in Hera the child she never got to have with Tyrol. She didn’t want to, and that’s why she treated her like so much cargo. But in the end, she saw this child, this frightened child. And Hera knows that – so she calls to Boomer.

Cavil

I’m not exactly sure what he wants from Hera. Is he looking for a way to use Hera to unlock resurrection? To unlock procreation? As a tool? As a guinea pig to dissect?

By the way, wtf is that ship/facility that Cavil is in? Was that the ship the Final Five traveled in to find the 12 Colonies? Whatever it was, it was very cool. Read full story

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So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival, Ed. 4.5.7

March 3rd, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica, blog carnival, so say we all

Mar
03

And so we move one step closer to the end.

The fandom seems a bit split by Someone to Watch Over Me, with some believing it advanced our knowledge of what, exactly, is going on and others wondering what the frak they were watching. I started more in the camp of the latter, but with time and pondering, I’m more convinced that we learned a heckuva lot, though I’m still not sure exactly what.

OK, so I’ll just let you read what others had to say, in this week’s edition of the blog carnival:

First off, Tru presents BSG – 7 down, 3 to go posted at True Science Fiction. He points out that now Starbuck also has a head person, the piano player who may or may not be her father (but at the very least represents him). Does that mean she’s a hybrid?

Norman Doering presents Battlestar Galactica: “Someone to Watch Over Me” posted at A Blog from Hell. He outlines the two main storylines and has some interesting thoughts about the musical score and links to Bear McCreary’s excellent blog. As usual, Norman has some excellent turns of phrase, such as “exposition dump-itis.”

Ms. SP presents There’s a Somebody I’m Longing to See posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All. She watched the episode a second time immediately after it ended its first run-through, even though she still isn’t quite sure what happened. But Starbuck and Tyrol, she realizes, were both faced with mirages.

Kenneth Hynek presents Someone to Watch Over Hera & Starbuck posted at Kenneth Hynek. All I can say is, wow. Lots of good stuff here, so here’s what he had to say by way of introduction: ” I was reminded, watching “Someone to Watch Over Me,” of an earlier “Starbuck“-themed episode, which (not coincidentally?) came near the end of one of the show’s seasons (its third). Of course, I’m speaking about “Maelstrom,” in which Kara has to confront one of her personal demons — her relationship with her mother — before she can pursue her destiny to its next stage. This episode puts her through a similar situation, albeit without the apparition of Leoben Conoy guiding her through it; this time, however, the demon she’s confronting is her relationship with her father. ”

Erika presents Battlestar Galactica – “Deadlock” posted at Seriality. She hated Deadlock, as did many in fandom, though I actually liked it. Her reasons are well spelled out, though. But one thing: The last 3 (D’Anna) decided to stay beind on the nuked Earth. She’s done. That was the last episode Lucy Lawless filmed.

Roberta presents BSG So Say We All Blog Carnival – I have a new theory! posted at CouchSlobs – A Monument To Human Idleness. Roberta is on the “Daniel is Starbuck’s father” train, and I’m with her.

Nina presents Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 Epi. 17: Someone to Watch Over Me posted at Blog It Out Bitch. As usual, Nina points out some of the best lines in the episode, including Tigh’s oh-so-appropriate “What the frak?!” when Kara is playing The Final Four Theme (which Bear McCreary describes as pretty much All Along the Watchtower, but different).

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of so say we all using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival, Ed. 4.5.6

February 24th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica, blog carnival, so say we all

Feb
24

In blogging last week about BSG, I ignored a huge part of the episode, as I got rather wrapped up in the whole “Ellen Tigh really is as crazy as she seemed, but I love it” part of things.

Don’t worry, lots of Baltar goodness to go around in this week’s carnival, but I thought I’d share some things I’ve been musing on:

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Baltar is crazy. Like a fox. He quickly sees that control of his cult has been all but wrested from him. But the ladies still have an eye for our brilliant, possibly insane, doctor, and he has a last chance to get it back.

All he needs to do is appeal to their inner sense of strength. And if that doesn’t work, their desire to have bigger guns than the bad guys. That should do the trick.

Head Six is still totally in on the game. What does that mean? We know that some of the Final Five had visions that preceded the blowing up of Earth, etc., so what does that mean for Baltar? We know that he has some sort of strange connection to the Cylons, but what is it? Is he perhaps a hybrid? And why does Caprica Six hallucinate Baltar?

And, is Baltar and his merry band of insane women going to become the new militia? Sort of the National Guard, if you will? And I simply must ask this (as did, I think, EVERYone else watching the show): WTF did he say to Adama/Roslin/Lee to convince them to give him the big guns? I mean, really?

Anyway, there’s a lot to get to here, lots of entries, so let me get started:

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So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival, Ed. 4.5.5

February 17th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica, blog carnival, so say we all

Feb
17

I don’t think I need to repeat how fantastic I thought Friday’s ep was, so I’m not gonna say much here. Let’s just get into the week’s

submissions, no? (I can’t believe there are only five episodes left!!!!!) By the way, if after reading all this, you still want more, head over to Mo Ryan’s blog at the Chicago Tribune and check out her Q&A with the writers. We will find out what Starbuck is and we’ll get more Boomer. Oh, and the devastation on Earth was, indeed, the result of a Cylon Civil War.

Nina presents Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 Epi. 15: No Exit posted at Blog It Out Bitch. She has a very interesting theory about Starbuck that actually makes more sense than mine. Be sure to check out the pre- and post-episode questions. Amazing how many questions the ep actually did answer.

Tru presents BSG – 5 down, 5 to go posted at True Science Fiction. John/Cavil’s rebellion against the Final Five is very much the stuff of nightmares for every parent of a teenager, he notes.

Norman Doering presents A few Pieces of a Puzzle posted at A Blog from Hell. “In a way,” he says, “Ellen Tigh is our Doctor Frankenstein and Cavil is her monster. The others making up the final five are apparently just a collection of Igors.”

Jayson Peters presents “Battlestar Galactica: No Exit” — It’s all coming together posted at Nerdvana. He points out that Ellen Tigh wasn’t the Final Cylon after all, and that Moore & Eick were all tricky on us, hiding a No. 7.

Ms. Smarty Pants presents Hell is Clunky Exposition posted at Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All. Not a fan of the exposition dump (as Norman, above, called the episode), Ms. SP still found there to be some interesting answers, not least of which is that the Final Five all had “head angels” like Baltar has. Hmmm. What the frak does that mean, though???

Roberta presents BSG So Say We All Blog Carnival – brainfry anyone? posted at CouchSlobs – A Monument To Human Idleness. She managed to pull her frazzled brain together enough to ponder Daniel (and express relief that my urgent cries of WHY IS SHARON NO. 8??? were finally answered) and express rather interesting thoughts about the Cylons’ desire to be more human.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of so say we all using our
carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our
blog carnival index page.

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Battlestar Galactica: No Exit

February 15th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica

Feb
15

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of what may just be the best episode EVAR of BSG, I would like to say, “Thank you Ron Moore and David Eick.”

I have lamented many times that I am totally confused as to why the Sharon model is an Eight, yet there are only seven models of “new Cylons.”

Bless their hearts, there actually was a method to their madness and we got our answer.

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By the way, have I said yet that you shouldn’t read if you didn’t watch? No? Well, I have now.

OK, so I just need to say this: WOWWOWWOWWOWWOW. Just. W.O.W.

My mind is still reeling, having just finished watching the episode on Hulu, so let me just recap to make sure I’ve got the backstory straight:

Humans made the Cylons on Kobol as a slave class. They rebelled. When the tribes  left Kobol, 12 created the astrologically named Colonies and the 13th were the Cylons, who ended up on Earth.

OK, so far so good. Once the Cylons blew themselves up (are we to assume that the current Civil War amongs the Cylons is also something that happened before and therefore is happening again?), Ellen, Saul, Galen, Tori and Anders downloaded to a ship orbiting the planet, because they saw the apocalypse coming and worked furiously to rediscover the resurrection technology.

They didn’t have FTL technology, so it took them thousands of years to reach the Colonies, where they’d planned to tell the humans to be nice to the Cylons (because, I’m sure, that would have worked), and found themselves in the midst of the First Cylon War.

Cylons were having one hell of a time developing hybrids, but the arrival of the Final Five enabled them to gain that technology. So they immediately ended their war against the humans and went away somewhere to get all human. Explains the suddenness with which the war ended, leaving Husker to ponder wtf (frak) was going on.

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Battlestar Galactica: What is Starbuck?

January 18th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica

Jan
18

The thing that has kept running through my brain since Friday night is this: What the frak is Starbuck?

It would seem she’s not a Cylon. We know the final Cylon is Ellen Tigh. Don’t we? (Questions – was Ellen resurrected somewhere before the resurrection hub was destroyed? Is there another resurrection hub somewhere for the Earth Cylons? Did Brother Cavil know she and/or Saul were Cylons?)

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But we know that there’s a dead Starbuck on Earth. She did crash-land there and die. Her dogtags, her wedding band, her ship. All were there. And we know that she’s the harbinger of death. But what does that even mean????

Leoben seemed to think she was the final Cylon until they saw her dogtags. Then he seemed so uncertain about everything. I found that a bit puzzling, because the dogtags would initially have seemed to confirm it to him. Until she mentioned what the hybrid had told her.

Then, Leoben couldn’t get far enough away from her. But the Leobens have always known something about Starbuck and her destiny. They just didn’t know what they knew.

The only thing I can think of is something that makes no sense chronologically, but I’ve believed from the moment I saw the Razor telemovie.

Remember the scene where Husker’s in the creepy Cylon building with all the human parts in tanks, just before he finds out an armistice has been signed?

Some people are trapped in a room and he can’t quite get the door open. One of those trapped in there is a young girl with blonde hair.

I’ve been convinced ever since that she was Starbuck.

Now, the Cylon Wars were 40 years ago, and Kara Thrace isn’t 40.

But what if she’s some sort of hybrid who ages differently? Obviously, the Cylons were creating hybrids there. Perhaps she’s the missing link, of a sort. I’m not sure which link, even, because we don’t know how the Earth Cylons fit into all this yet.

But we know that Hera and Nicholas (Tyrol’s son) are hybrids. But they’re different kinds of hybrids, as Tyrol is an Earth Cylon and Sharon’s a New Cylon. What does that even mean? I don’t know.

The theme of the show is and has always been, “All this has happened before and all of it will happen again.” The Cylons and humans obviously intermingled (intermarried?) on Kobol. The Earth Cylons had some sort of Civil War that culminated in the destruction of the planet and the race – which might happen again with the Cavil v. Six war among the New Cylons.

Did Starbuck die on Earth before or after they made the jump there? Why was her distress call not even activated until four of the final five were uncovered?

Who, or what, is Starbuck? Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she a hybrid? Is she a hallucination? Will the final episode end with her taking a shower, telling Zack Adama she had the weirdest dream last night?

OK, I’m obviously joking with the last one there, but I’m really intrigued, and curious to find out the rest of this story.

Nine more weeks to go.

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Battlestar Galactica: My jaw dropped *twice*

January 16th, 2009 | by | battlestar galactica

Jan
16

I’m not going to post a full review just right yet; so much happened tonight that I must let it all seep in.

But despite the fact that we shouldn’t have had to wait this long, tonight’s episode was more than worth the wait.

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Hey! You haven’t watched yet? Then don’t read any further, OK? NO FURTHER. I cannot be held responsible for spoiling anything if you do.

First time my jaw dropped. Dualla’s suicide.

She’d finally had enough. She always loved Lee and couldn’t really go on without him. Despite their “date,” she knew he would always go back to Kara and wasn’t going to go through that again. So she had her perfect night with her perfect knight and ended it all there.

Never saw it coming.

The second jaw-drop: Ellen Tigh? Really?

I know her name came up from time to time in theories of the final Cylon, but I never gave that any credence, and I don’t think anyone else ever really truly did, either.

Until Dualla killed herself, I wondered about her again. And when Starbuck found her dead self, I really truly wondered if it was going to be just that obvious.

Nope. Ellen Tigh.

When Saul finally remembers his past on Earth, he watches his beloved Ellen die the first time. But it will all be OK – they will be reborn, together.

Does that mean Ellen may still actually be reborn? If so, does that mean she might actually be able to broker a peace between the warring Cylon factions, given her “relationship” with Brother Cavil?

OK. It’s very cold and I really must sleep. But I will be back at some point tomorrow to discuss all the other issues that came up tonight, and there were many.

I am not in the slightest bit disappointed with tonight’s return; I only regret there are just 9 episodes left

So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival will post here on Tuesday. If you’d like to participate in the carnival, please submit your article here.

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