All things Battlestar Galactica

[yorost]

I just didn't like how they resolved that.

Neither did I...

SPOILERS
The thing is it started out good as the final five thought it was a half cylon.  I don't know why they decided on the deus ex machina, it was lame and unnecessary.  Callie getting airlocked was an awesome moment in the series, though.

[Dimitrius]

I just didn't like how they resolved that.

Neither did I...

SPOILERS
The thing is it started out good as the final five thought it was a half cylon.  I don't know why they decided on the deus ex machina, it was lame and unnecessary.  Callie getting airlocked was an awesome moment in the series, though.

Agreed with everything. Though I was sad that one of the few cute humans was killed off.

[bosk1]

You know I'm still here, right?

[Dimitrius]

You know I'm still here, right?

You DON'T HAVE to read.

[bosk1]

So...The Woman King...really wasn't all that bad.

[ReaPsTA]

So...The Woman King...really wasn't all that bad.

Interesting...

 - The doctor was obviously killing them.  No suspense.

 - The Saggitaron racism thing made a couple characters unnecessarily huge assholes for no reason.  It's important to remember that this will never be brought up again.  Thank god the writers abandoned it.  I literally blank this episode from existence when watching the show, since I'm pretty sure that none of the broader continuity of the series relies on it.

 - Waste of Helo, who's a great character.

 - Wouldn't the Gemonese be the ones who don't take medicine?  Remember, they're the colony that wholly opposed abortion earlier.

 - Even the title sucks.  I don't remember why it's called The Woman King, but it's related to a very small part of the episode.

 - This is a problem with TV in general, but I hate when they introduce new characters who are apparently major parts of regular characters' lives.  It never feels right.

 - Really, I'm not sure Helo would be assigned this job.

 - Really, if any of the colonies didn't accept medication, this would have already come up somehow.  This isn't something that would have never mattered contextually until now.

 - I cannot stress enough that introducing the notion of Saggitarons as outliers in Colonial society does not work here.  It's impossible for this to have not been a crucial part of everything that ever happened in the show up to this point that we saw.  Chief says the Saggitarons didn't fight in New Caprica.  WHAT!?  We only just learned about this!?!?!?

I can't go on.  Even thinking about this episode is painful.

EDIT:  Imagine if you were doing a show about America that took place before the civil rights movement.  And then in season three you introduced the idea that Black People were legally not even considered people in many ways and were constantly subjected to racially based scorn, segregation, and violence.  You would NEVER even think to do something so stupid.

[bosk1]

I think you are grossly overreacting and trying to draw parallels that don't apply.  But whatever.  I don't have to hate a TV episode merely because you do.


EDIT:  But, yeah, the title was dumb.  It was quoted directly from a very insignificant line of dialog that I wouldn't have even picked up on if I wasn't so familiar with the episode's title.  It refers to the relatively insignificant character, Mrs. King, the mom of the 19-year-old kid who dies.  She's the one who pushes Helo to take action.  So the tile refers to "the woman, King."

[ReaPsTA]

Yes you do.

[Perpetual Change]

I think you are grossly overreacting and trying to draw parallels that don't apply.  But whatever.  I don't have to hate a TV episode merely because you do.

I agree. Battlestar is one of those shows with a lot of people claiming "fan consensus" about one thing or the other. Not Reap, really, but I've seen it. Lots of people claim there's some kind of consesus that the second half of the show sucks. I completely disagree.

I also liked "Black Market" and "The Woman King", two episodes "conceded" to be weaker ones, and didn't care for fan-favorites like "Unfinished Business" and "Scar".

[Jaq]

The thing is, though, Reap's right. The Woman King exists in a total vacuum, where the assumptions about Colonial society and the way people react to things were never represented before the episode or after. For one episode, there's flat out, total racism against a part of Colonial society that never existed before the episode and never was mentioned again afterwards, and people acted hugely out of character just to make the episode work.

Black Market's primary failure was "suddenly, Lee likes hookers, and oh yeah, totally had a girlfriend we only just got around to mentioning now." The Woman King doesn't even feel like it's part of the same series, and I kind of wonder how it got past the script stage without someone saying something.

[yorost]

There were multiple references to the divisions of the colonies, if you weren't from a select few you were a lower class.  That's what Zarek was, fighting because of the extreme prejudice and almost slavery of Saggitarius.

[Perpetual Change]

I liked that, though. So much of the show focuses on the elite portion of the populace left; the Commander, his top men, the President, etc. It was nice to have a few episodes that reminded you that, elsewhere, life was still going for the fleet who weren't necessarily fighting the war.

There were multiple references to the divisions of the colonies, if you weren't from a select few you were a lower class.  That's what Zarek was, fighting because of the extreme prejudice and almost slavery of Saggitarius.

That too.

[yorost]

Yup, the show almost has an angle of being witnessed through Caprican eyes.

A major character also has a diatribe left about the state of Caprican prejudice.  The issues were there, just not focused on.  It didn't start or die with The Woman King.

[GuineaPig]

Ugh, "The Woman King."

[Dimitrius]

https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/05/battlestar-galactica-blood-and-chrome-to-make-online-debut

As first reported by EW.com, Machinima Prime will debut the webisodes, with the first available on November 9th. There will be ten webisodes total, ranging in length from seven to twelve minutes. Early in 2013, Syfy will then air the complete Blood and Chrome TV-Movie – before a Blu-ray and DVD release of an unrated version.

[Adami]

Oh cool, I was hoping we'd get to see Blood and Chrome.

Sucks they cancelled it before even showing it. But I guess Syfy needed more reality shows about ghosts and zombies and stuff.

[DebraKadabra]

Should be interesting, to say the least.

[Dimitrius]

Yeah, that was pretty stupid! More so after that trailer created so much buzz!

[Dimitrius]

Blood & Chrome Ep. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT79x4qM4FE&feature=youtu.be

[bosk1]

Is this something I can watch in the near future, or should I finish the series first?

[ReaPsTA]

Is this something I can watch in the near future, or should I finish the series first?

I don't think it gave anything away.

I'm not sure how good it was though either.

[bosk1]

I really want to start watching again.  Hopefully, the schedule lightens up here soon. 

[Dimitrius]

Is this something I can watch in the near future, or should I finish the series first?

I doubt it because it's set in the first Cylon war.

[Adami]

Is this something I can watch in the near future, or should I finish the series first?

I doubt it because it's set in the first Cylon war.

Not gonna watch them online, cause...well of the natural computer quality and stuff, but looking forward to it on Sci-Fi.

I actually have seen 2 series of Skins with the guy playing Adama....and he ain't bad. Of course I saw him as a rebellious british kid.

[Perpetual Change]

Is this something I can watch in the near future, or should I finish the series first?

Yeah, you can go ahead and watch it. The first episode, at least.

I thought it was OK. Only one take away: that William Adama is just like Lee Adama, and it's presented to us in as many military cliches as possible. 

[ReaPsTA]

Is this something I can watch in the near future, or should I finish the series first?

Yeah, you can go ahead and watch it. The first episode, at least.

I thought it was OK. Only one take away: that William Adama is just like Lee Adama, and it's presented to us in as many military cliches as possible.

Mmmm.

My biggest issue with how they wrote Bill Adama in this series is that he's really good at being a fighter pilot and cocky. 

I always imagined that part of the reason he related so closely with Starbuck is that she had the potential to be what he wished he was.  He didn't fly vipers very much in the first Cylon war.  He was an under achiever who felt he was in his dad's shadow.  He let her get away with being a frak up because he knew he hadn't been a model soldier either.

Loved how his Raptor ECO had a flask.  It's an obvious nod to colonel Tigh, but in a smart way. 

Overall, I want to see where this goes.  But right now it feels more like glorified fan fiction, especially since RDM isn't involved in any capacity I know of.

[bosk1]

Wow, haven't posted in here in awhile.  Episode update:

3.15 A Day in the Life
3.16 Dirty Hands
3.17 Maelstrom
3.18 The Son Also Rises
3.19 Crossroads, Part I

Yes, I am indeed stuck in the middle of Baltar's trial.  There is a lot that is really cool about this arc.  There is also a lot that just seems silly and not well written.  Oh well. 

But I do believe 3.19 has outed the other 2 of the five.  "Music, music, I hear music..."

[Dimitrius]

Ah, so you've met Romo Lampkin.

[yorost]

Lee was the oddest part of this Baltar arc, but it was one of my favourite parts of the show.

The next episode is all kinds of awesome in my book!

[bosk1]

Ah, so you've met Romo Lampkin.

Yeah.  Eh.

Lee was the oddest part of this Baltar arc, but it was one of my favourite parts of the show.

Yeah.  I actually have a problem with how they wrote him in this part of the story.  Broadly speaking, him making poor decisions based on emotion and going all in despite the consequences definitely is a hallmark of his character.  But when you get down into the specifics of what he is doing, I don't buy him doing it.  It just doesn't make sense coming from him. 

The next episode is all kinds of awesome in my book!

You mean the conclusion of the trial, or are you referring to the kickoff of the next season?

Personally, I'm hoping that they'll call Cavil as a witness against Baltar and that he will be the final nail in Baltar's coffin.  Yeah, I know that presents some logistical problems given that the nature of the human/Cylon relationship is a bit antogonistic, but sometimes you just have to put differences aside.  They've already shown that there are places they know are likely to either have heavy Cylon traffice or are at least monitored by Cylons, so all the Colonials have to do is jump a ship out there to establish contact with the Cylons so they can tell them:  "Hey, umm...  Yeah, so we've got this trial going on right now, and we kinda need to subpoena Number One as a witness.  So, uh, yeah, you've just been served.  Send him over to testify at trial, or else he'll be held in contempt of court.  And that's the last thing you guys need right now.  So...yeah."

Then we could have the inevitable courtroom scene that plays out along the lines of:
Cavil:  "You want answers?"
Lee:  "I want the truth."
Cavil:  "You can't handle the truth!"

[yorost]

I meant the conclusion of the two-parter.

[GuineaPig]

The "Crossroads" two-parter has some great, great moments, and some utterly terrible ones. 

[Perpetual Change]

I'd say the last half of season three and some small patches in season four are the lowest points of the show. Thankfully the finale makes it all worthwhile.

[ReaPsTA]

SPOILERS!!!

Wow, haven't posted in here in awhile.  Episode update:

3.15 A Day in the Life

Unlike seemingly a lot of people, I like this episode.  The moment where Adama gives Lee the law books with the note "For when we have the time" is devastating.  Tough to even think about.

3.16 Dirty Hands

Probably the defining Adama episode.  I think at one point he tells Tyrol "I'll line up ten Callies on the wall if I have to."  It's really disturbing and chilling.  On the other hand, Adama's always been a guy who needs people to ultimately fall in line.  It feels out of character because it's unlikable, but it's actually exactly what he would do.

3.17 Maelstrom

Every season starting with the second, the show did a really personal and intense Starbuck episode that happened to be written and directed by the same people.  Scar is my favorite, but all of them are really good.  It's been a long time since I've seen this so I don't remember it well, but I do remember the whole Leoben dynamic being particularly fascinating.

Also, after you see the next episode, there are a couple really awesome behind-the-scenes stories related to this episode.

3.18 The Son Also Rises
3.19 Crossroads, Part I

Yes, I am indeed stuck in the middle of Baltar's trial.  There is a lot that is really cool about this arc.  There is also a lot that just seems silly and not well written.  Oh well.

Not my favorite episodes, but good.

What about them do you find silly?

[bosk1]

SPOILERS!!!

Wow, haven't posted in here in awhile.  Episode update:

3.15 A Day in the Life

Unlike seemingly a lot of people, I like this episode.  The moment where Adama gives Lee the law books with the note "For when we have the time" is devastating.  Tough to even think about.

I liked it too.  That moment was really cool.  Why do you find it "devastating."  I don't understand what you mean at all.  I thought it was an amazing moment in so many different ways, but I have a hard time understanding how the word "devastating" even fits.

3.16 Dirty Hands

Probably the defining Adama episode.  I think at one point he tells Tyrol "I'll line up ten Callies on the wall if I have to."  It's really disturbing and chilling.  On the other hand, Adama's always been a guy who needs people to ultimately fall in line.  It feels out of character because it's unlikable, but it's actually exactly what he would do.

I agree.  Interesting episode on a lot of levels.

3.17 Maelstrom

Every season starting with the second, the show did a really personal and intense Starbuck episode that happened to be written and directed by the same people.  Scar is my favorite, but all of them are really good.  It's been a long time since I've seen this so I don't remember it well, but I do remember the whole Leoben dynamic being particularly fascinating.

Also, after you see the next episode, there are a couple really awesome behind-the-scenes stories related to this episode.

Yeah, she's a complicated character.  I still don't like her, but she definitely makes for some of the more entertaining moments and fascinatingly complex character development of the show.  Adama's reaction at the end of the episode where he destroys his model ship was just amazing.  One of the best personal moments in the entire series.  Interestingly, I read that him smashing the ship was not planned, and just something he did extemporaneously during the shooting...much to the chagrin of the props department in light of the fact that it was a borrowed prop that was quite expensive. 

3.18 The Son Also Rises
3.19 Crossroads, Part I

Yes, I am indeed stuck in the middle of Baltar's trial.  There is a lot that is really cool about this arc.  There is also a lot that just seems silly and not well written.  Oh well.

Not my favorite episodes, but good.

What about them do you find silly?

Part of it is, again, as I mentioned above, a lot of what Lee does seems consistent with his character only on the surface, but is actually very inconsistent.  So his actions just seem contrived and silly.  The other part of it is the representation of the legal process, both in terms of the legal arguments and strategies, and in terms of the court conduct itself.  Just dumb.