Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Battlestar Galactica Season 2 US Thread (SPOILERS)

Page: 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7(8)9 10

02:27 / 27.02.06

As Lara M. would say, here's my thing. The difficulty in trying to resolve whether or not Baltar will turn out to be a cylon, or any of a number of other things, is that in listening to the podcasts, while the Cylons have a plan I'm not entirely convinced that the creative team has one, and what they have may be subject to fairly radical change at any time. Trying to suss out where they're going from little tells earlier on feels like it won't really yield much that is really definitive.

This dovetails into one of the things that I find very interesting about the show as a piece of work. Listening to the podcasts, we've gotten a fair amount of into about what the producers and writers wanted to do at a given time but were unable to do because of time/money/network constraints. And a lot of their original ideas were, well, kind of crap. It feels as if the limiting aspects are almost as important as the creative aspects in ending up with what is a splendid end product. The fear I have is that as the show becomes successful, a lot of those limitations may disappear, and that once off the leash the creators will jump, if not the shark, then at least the rails into a show that is very poor indeed.

Phex: Dorset Doom

06:37 / 27.02.06

I haven't really been listening to the Podcasts, I'd rather let the show speak for itself, but what were some of the crap ideas?

12:42 / 27.02.06

Thinking further, we now know that new information is not automatically downloaded to each model of cylon when one of their number dies...

This being the case, how did baby boomer know about Adama's speech given at the time of Galactica's decomissioning? Are one of the Dorel type cylons meant to have remembered the speech and told it to baby Boomer off screen when she was on Caprica?

It's little stuff like this that leaves me somewhat inagreement that the people behind galactica don't so much have a plan as they have a rough idea it changes as they go along...

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

14:36 / 27.02.06

I think the information might be shared at specific intervals.

Baby Boomer knew who Helo was when they met on Caprica, something that Sharon 8 would have know, having worked with him.

Maybe they have occasional Hot Synchs like a palm pilot, so that information needed for a mission can be shared. The question then becomes memory of experience vs actual experience and how it might affect your personality. Cap6 is a celbrity, because she was the one who kille the planet (effectively). The others all know what she did, whether through memory trading or the Cylon New Network, but she is the only o0ne who actually did it.

So, I think Baby B knew the things Sharon 8 knew up to a point, but that the shared knowledge stopped when Baby B went semi rogue.

14:55 / 27.02.06

Baby Boomer knew who Helo was when they met on Caprica, something that Sharon 8 would have know, having worked with him.

But Boomer's pre-cylon massacre insertion into the galactica crew would likely have been widely known by other boomer models, they would also likely recognise her crewmates as such intelligence would be useful...

By the by, did baby boomer ever see the corpse of her child? I don't remember seeing it there in sene where she is told that it died... which kind of begs the question why she didn't insist on seeing the corpse... - Doc Cottle/Kottle specifically mentions he plans to cremate the corpse - wouldn't this be caught even/especially by a distraught mother who feels that the doctor has murdered her baby?

Keith, like a scientist

15:15 / 27.02.06

no, they showed it right at the beginning of that scene. i think the first shot of the scene is the baby corpse, actually. then it pulls back to show everyone else in the room.

15:18 / 27.02.06

Which in turn begs the question where did they gat a baby corpse from...

Did they drug a premature baby? Did they find a baby corpse hanging around?

Did they mock it up?

Or is the idea that the corpse is the aborted foetus from last week's episode?

Keith, like a scientist

15:48 / 27.02.06

oh...it might be.

There was a conversation about this in the episode, though. I can't remember the details, but they talked about having to find a recently deceased baby, and matching the kid up with a mother. It was covered fairly quickly, but I do remember the conversation.

17:04 / 27.02.06

The lady who adopted the cylon-human hybrid mentioned that something tragic happened to her own child. I believe this is where the corpse came from.

17:29 / 27.02.06

I don't think the weekly bodycount at the start of each show supports that, Lel...

Our Lady Has Left the Building

19:48 / 27.02.06

Now that's more like it. This show sold me on the revelation that the Six in Baltar's mind is a delusion, now. Sadly if you look back at Season One she so blatantly isn't that there's some residual problem there, I think they still thought she was a Cylon chip when she showed Baltar the temple at the end of s.1. But it also shows why the Cylons haven't had an easier time tracking down and destroying the humans if they don't have a psychic link with Baltar.

The awkward thing will be explaining why there weren't any models of Cylons we haven't seen in all those scenes, why they were all Lucy Lawless, slimy guy, Six or Boomer. And how many different versions of each model are there? Why is it Cylons could create only twelve different models of Cylon? Why not hundreds of different types? If they've got the resources for something like a Resurrection Ship they'ev surely got the resources to develop different models of human Cylon. With human/Cylon breeding so difficult that would surely be the more sensible course to pursue if you're trying to make sure your species survives.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

20:11 / 27.02.06

Still, at least now we know that the Cylons don't have any real ambitions with regards to the humans other than to kill them. Anything else is Baltar's delusion.

Phex: Dorset Doom

20:14 / 27.02.06

Well, we didn't see any more Cylon models than the ones we've seen already because that'd give the whole game away. If you saw a Adama/Starbuck/Helo/Guy who restocks the coffee machine having a drink with the others it'd hardly be a shock when we found out.
As for Balthar's hallucinations... maybe they were being beamed into a chip in his head from the Ressurrection Ship, and maybe he got so used to having a curvy platinum blonde conscience around he didn't give it up when the RS was destroyed. If it was some kind of network router for all the 'Skin-jobs' it would also explain why there's been no major attacks- just an ambush and Scar's vendetta- as they can't get any intelligence on the fleet and they can't coordinate any bombings and assassinations.

20:41 / 27.02.06

I think that there are meant to be 12 models to echo the 12 colonies... not that this makes much sense in the narrative itself...

20:56 / 27.02.06

Phex, I think you are stretching past breaking point there...

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

22:02 / 27.02.06

I gotta say, the more I read all of your posts the more annoyed at BSG I get.

When I thought that 6 was an implant, like Scorpius in Farscape, I could understand and rationalize how she could tell Baltar all kinds of crap he didn't know. The writers were able to retcon this out thanks to the break between seasons, and I didn't even blink.

As far as the models on Caprica, I think that they could explain that, if, for example, there were specific resurrection ships or bases for each model, you would want to stay close to home, so mayby Xena, 6, 8, slimey guy, and black doctor models all can be grown on Caprica, but the others cant.

It is a stretch, but it helps my head a little.

Phex: Dorset Doom

22:28 / 27.02.06

Sleaze: Hey, we're discussing a sci-fi show on the Internet, breaking point is saying 'STARBUCK IS TEH ONE AND THE MACHINES R REALY CORPORATCHONS!!11!@4!'

16:39 / 28.02.06

Anyone else think it odd that they gave the woman the cylon baby and, apparently, didn't tell her what it was? I'm guessing they'll be watching the baby closely, but shouldn't they warn her of the danger to her and the baby's lives?

And the earlier poster is correct, the more you listen to the podcasts the more you realize that the cylons have more of a plan than the producers. Moore said this week that they never really planned the Sharon-Helo thing to get to this point. Yet it seems the cylon-human hybrid that is the result of that relationship is one of the most important philosphical elements of the show... and it just happened by chance? WTF are they doing? How many shows do they plan in advance - one, two? If it were me, I'd have all the major stuff for 3-5 seasons plotted out beforehand... which they obviously have not done in any way.

18:56 / 28.02.06

I'd say that they have plotted it all out in broad strokes - there was always going to be be a human/cylon baby. The paternity of that baby has probably changed, from whatever orginal notion RDM originally had...

09:07 / 01.03.06

If it were me, I'd have all the major stuff for 3-5 seasons plotted out beforehand... which they obviously have not done in any way.

You can't work like that in telly. Your show might get cancelled, your actors might leave, your budget might be cut... there's tons of reasons why television isn't made like that. I'm very suspicious of anyone who says they've got a complete and detailed plan beyond a single season, as it usually smells like bullshit given the constraints of the medium. You have to be open to changing your plans at a moments notice.

10:15 / 01.03.06

J michael strazinski planned B5 out in advance and he had to factor in numerous redundant characters and what he called "trapdoors" so that he could get himself out of trouble in case external factors came into play, such as the fifth season not being a certainty(accelerate storylines in the fourth) or actors dissappearing (there were a lot of female telepaths (latent or otherwise) around in case they were needed,& the captain changed after the first season to a more netwok frindly one.

In any case in such a scenario the show can eventually become about juggling these factors as opposed to moving the story forward.

A lot of writes talk about the characters writing themselves, especially in reactions to choices made by the aqctors, so I guess that the bsg staff are aware of this and taking it into account for the plannin.

At least I hope so.

17:08 / 01.03.06

And the earlier poster is correct, the more you listen to the podcasts the more you realize that the cylons have more of a plan than the producers.

But I'm not saying that this is a bad thing. I'm pleased that they're able to adapt to audience responses, and see opportunities to develop characters in ways that they hadn't earlier. I'm simply saying that trying to discern what is going to happen based on what one might see as older clues is going to be pretty hit or miss.

Keith, like a scientist

14:36 / 04.03.06

this new episode was mega cool. and it's only part 1 of a 150 minute finale! next week is a 90 minute episode.

lots of presidential stuff, lots of caprica stuff, not very much cylon stuff, though. will wait for more to see it though, to discuss.

odd (or good) thing about this episode is that it goes back to the season 1 style of just starting an episode halfway through the plot of the story within the episode, and you dont' have a clear idea what's going on for another 15 minutes. there was no setup, just cutting out the "how we got here" and diving right into "what we are doing."

15:49 / 04.03.06

Very breakneck pace and a lot of bases covered.

Some odd things though, was that the longest pre credit sequence EVER!?

And did we actually see lee say "I'm leaving galactica, not you" to Dualla in another episode?
I don't remember that from "previously" but please correct me if I'm wrong!

The "copy" I got may hands on had a dodgy sound mix, but did anyone else notcie that the music during said "longest precredit sequence EVAR" was completely different from the styles they've had previously on the show? Not that I didn't like it but it stood out and took me "out" of the show for a bit.

Oh and Dean Stockwell...ace!

01:27 / 05.03.06

I think they've started regularly adding things in the previously precaps that never quite made it into the relevant episodes...

Disco is My Class War

11:44 / 05.03.06

Did the episode end just after Starbuck et al's finding with Anders et al, and then the Cylon ambush? It seemed to end really suddenly.

Keith, like a scientist

13:14 / 05.03.06

that's called a cliffhanger. it was followed by "to be continued." next week is part 2, a 90 minute season finale.

Disco is My Class War

02:18 / 06.03.06

Yeah, sometimes I just wish the distributors would keep the 'tbc' and credits bit, so you know. It's free though, I shouldn't complain.

Harold Washington died for you

03:56 / 06.03.06

Ron Moore KNOWS his shit. Wow. That pre-title sequence left me breathless. All this season I've recorded the show and watched it later, but this is the first time I've had to pause when the credits came on and smoke a cigarette. I enjoyed it that much. GOD I hope the Chief is not a Cylon, although I would probably enjoy the resolution of that situation a whole hell of a lot. This is the first show since "Angel" that makes me nervous every week that one of my favorite characters will bite the proverbial it.

And in the spec. category, I hope at least half the remaining models will be previously unknown characters (That is, not the cast). The goddamn Cylons have the best intelligence operation in the history of fiction and fact. Please, God, no more!

08:36 / 06.03.06

Harold, if the pre-title sequence left you breathless then the LAST thing you should probably be doing is smoking...

This is still not quite hitting it for me... nothing is a fleshed out and realized as I'd like and much of the plot comes accross as cold, mechanical and unconvincing - Racetrack's Raptor being 'left behind' in a jump specifically so it can find the habitable planet.

The extra cast that make up Anders's resistence cell being wiped out that very morning...

I am also completely failing to buy the chief's sudden paranoia that he is a cylon. coming as it does out of nowhere, it just feels like a tacked on plotpoint that has been written in rather than the organic evolution of a fully formed three dimensional character... Don't get me wrong - I can see circumstances where the Chief's plot points hit in this episode would have worked and worked well... but they just weren't adequately sold to me here...

15:05 / 06.03.06

Sleaze, I totally see where you're coming from with Racetrack's raptor and Anders' army (couldn't resist, sorry) but I'm a bit surprised by you thinking the chief's plot was out of the blue.
To me, his whole paranoia has been coming for a long time, the first signs of which were shown back when Boomer was revealed to be a cylon in the first season and he was thrown in the brig and interrogated (maybe a bit strong, perhaps questioned would be better). That would have sowed the seeds of doubt for him and since then it's just been going from bad to worse.
The episode where he first started working on the blackbird, he commented to someone that it was all that he had left to keep him going showing that things were starting to get on top of him and in his mind it's possibly a case of what can go wrong, will. It's only a small step from that to thinking he might be a Cylon.

I thought this weeks episode was excellent, a thorough return to form after a few weaker ones. It really felt like everything that was happening was really important and had that sense of impending dread about it. When Boomer mentioned she felt something 'dark' was coming, it summed up the tone perfectly.
Like most first season episodes, I found myself feeling that the hour shot past really quickly which is always a good sign.

17:00 / 06.03.06

I don't necessarily think the Chief's paranoia has anything to do with him per se. I assumed they meant that many people - especially those in touch with the human Cylons - were questioning this. So it didn't seem very strange to me.

Similarly, it seemed like part of the Cylon "plan" that left the Raptor behind to find the habitable planet. Maybe Sharon was even involved...

Again, a good episode but overall I just feel like all the great ideas get lost in the shuffle of actually making the episodes. For me, that's a failure of the producers/writers. Not that it's still not one of the best shows on television, but it just doesn't live up to near its potential. For me it would be better if they narrowed the focus a bit and had more of a through-line in each episode instead of continually adding new elements and dropping plotlines to be picked up whenever they get around to it.

18:02 / 06.03.06

This was all set-up for me. Looking forward to seeing some more action next week.

BTW, that whole pre-credits recap thing was in a previous episode.

Disco is My Class War

11:30 / 07.03.06

sleaze, I too know what you mean about Ander's lost army, and the sudden discovery of a habitable planet. And Tyrol going psycho seemed weird, too. In order for it to work absolutely, they should have spent moments in each of the stand-alone episodes just attending to these possibilities, even if it made no sense at the time. The three stand-alones have made it difficult for the writers to pull it all together. And as much as I like Starbuck and Apollo as characters, sometimes I wish they'd kill 'em off so we could keep having encounters with 'lesser' but more interesting characters like Tyrol, Callie, Helo, Dualla. It can get needlessly Freudian and nuclear-family when all the episodes are about Starbuck and Apollo's childish dramas. (With Mom and Dad, Roslyn and Adama, standing around in the background keeping watch.)

Baltar for President! Would he be banning abortion? I don't think so....

11:53 / 07.03.06

I'm not so sure... I could easily see Baltar doing whatever was necessary to achieve his aims... he may be personally irresolute, but the six part of him is not...

Is Baltar Immoral or Amoral?

Page: 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7(8)9 10