Battlestar Galactica season2 - anyone watching?

[Marek]

Season two started this week on the Sci-fi channel. If you like character-focused science fiction like Firefly you should probably watch it. It is also a story about a spaceship (or actually spaceships) on the run, though it doesn't have that high-spirited action/adventure flavor of Firefly and is mostly very dark, gritty and political.

There's still some aspects of the series that I don't really like, which I assume are mostly conceptual or visual leftovers from the original 70ies version (I didn't see this version and probably won't ever watch it). But the series overall is extremely strong and very character-focused. It has a very strong sense of direction and continuity. I'm enjoying it a lot. I think there's only been one weak episode during the whole first season - all the other ones were totally amazing.

One aspect of the production I really like is the relatively low number of technological gimmicks. They made up this thing that they can't use networked computers on the ship or the Cylons (the robots that are after them) will hack it and take control. So even though they're in this futuristic ship they use real phones, paper notes, marker boards, etc.

[Roderick]

I happened to see the DVD of the pilot episode (three hours I believe) of this new Battlestar Gallactica, and I enjoyed it to satisfying extent. I highly prefer this, indeed characterdriven and political, version of BGwithoutE to the old, laughable, horrible series. And again, a series that succesfully manages that 'documentary' style of directing during space sequences, with zooms and focussing etc. I like that, though it's hardly novel anymore.

[ysbreker]

Rodi, what are you talking about? 'not novel anymore' I've never seen that style of 3D special effects in any tv-serie yet?

And you should really watch all episodes. It's an awesome series that is at least as good as firefly. Especially since this one is still running

So fire up your favorite bittorrent client and watch this show!

[Marek]

The "tiny object in space WHooaaaa zoom-in NOW IT'S BIG!!!" trick gets really old after 14 episodes. I hope they'll keep the basic style of the space sequences but cut down on the zooms.

[Roderick]

I don't have bittorrent or anything. Never seen it before? What about Firefly, which arguably premiered the style? Even the new Starwars films, from Episode 2 on, used that style now and then (at least, the clone battle at the end of 2 had it). It's like the graphic schwung of the day. But, like I said, I really like it. BG gets it right, as does Firefly. No sound in space either.

[Duncan]

I'm watching, and I do like it. I've never seen the original (like Marek, I have zero interest in it) but it does feel like a totally separate show than what you'd expect from Battlestar Galactica, which is good. I'm not sure what holdover elements from the 70s version Marek is referring to, I actually think the new show's done a pretty outstanding job of escaping all the cheesiness and stigma of the original. Not to say that I love everything about it; the 'prophecy' angle is just a little overplayed and the 'gritty military camaderie' shtick seems a bit forced.

I like more than I dislike, though, I'm just trying to balance it out. ¬ ¬ Marek is right on with the strong sense of continuity - the scenes on Caprica, the most 'serial' bit of the show, were my favourite parts of the first season by far.

Rodi - you're talking about the miniseries, right? That was basically the precursor to the actual series. I actually didn't like the miniseries very much, I can't even remember why, but I do remember that in the show proper they fixed everything I didn't like. But since you liked the miniseries, you probably have nothing to worry about. Just saying it does get a lot better from there.

I don't know if Marek saw the season premiere or not, but I should talk about it within spoiler tags regardless, I suppose:

I really do like the show, but that was seriously underwhelming. Did anything happen in this episode? I get that they don't want to hit the reset button and that they want to prolong the storylines, but this episode just felt like Stall, Part One: We Lost The Fleet. And next week it's Stall, Part Two: Cylons on Board! Eh. I like the general direction that it's heading, but I wish it'd, you know, move there.

The flashbacks were bullshit. They were hinting at something big, but they totally fizzled and barely tied into anything. It was all set-up with no payoff or follow-through. Actually I'm reluctant to even say 'set-up', because they just kind of sat there. I was probably more irritated at it because it was so much like the season two premiere of The West Wing, which had someone having been shot and flashbacks all in much the same way, only about a thousand times more effective.

Starbuck really annoyed me in this episode. "Sharon the Cylon Sharon the CYLON bleh." I think she is my least favourite character. She is often a bit more tolerable, though; I think this episode was just weakly written across the board. Like "Here I am standing out in the open, exchanging witty banter, I guess it's okay to let down my guard OH NO I'VE BEEN SHOT!" Eh. I'm still fairly optimistic about this season, I just hope it picks up soon.

[Savage Cabbage]

I have to agree with Marek on this. The zoom thing in Galactica is overdone. I'm just waiting to see them zoom in on someones dinner or pet fish. It's like bullet time all over again. I really do like the effect but it is a little overused in Galactica.

[Marek]

The stuff about Kobol comes from the original as far as I could gather from episode guides. Another thing that bugs me are the ridiculous differences between the old metal Cylons and the near-human ones. Stuff like that. You're right though, this really seems like a total reimagination, with only some of the names and basic plot points left the same.

I agree with you that the whole prophesy theme went a bit over the top in the season 1 finale. Fortunately the series has enough great other strengths that I'm willing to put up with its flaws. I mean, it takes other series years before they get as good as BSG already is. But yeah, they should go easy on that whole prophesy plot line.

Regarding the season 2 premiere, I actually made the decision to not watch the season 1 finale when it was first aired (because I didn't want to be dissapointed in case the show got cancelled) so I saw them right after each other. I guess that prevented me from having huge expectations of how the cliffhanger would revolve.

I don't think they were really stalling in the episode, just focusing on the story of Colonel Tigh while putting everything else on hold. In a way I'm glad they're taking this approach as opposed to dealing with all the things that were set up in the finale at once, as that would have been a mess. I would like to have seen things move along a tad faster though, for sure. To me it was a bit of a medium quality, by-the-books episode.

[Roderick]

Wahoo! =D Wolfgang just brought me the DVD-box of season 2 of Farscape. Since this is a scifi topic ^_~

God, I love Farscape.

[Duncan]

Another thing that bugs me are the ridiculous differences between the old metal Cylons and the near-human ones. Stuff like that. You're right though, this really seems like a total reimagination, with only some of the names and basic plot points left the same.

Yeah, that Cylon thing is pretty absurd. I have noticed that they're slowly moving away from using the characters' callsigns as their actual names; I think they're more often referred to as Lee or Kara or Sharon now. As the show goes on it seems to be moving further and further away from the original.

I don't think they were really stalling in the episode, just focusing on the story of Colonel Tigh while putting everything else on hold. In a way I'm glad they're taking this approach as opposed to dealing with all the things that were set up in the finale at once, as that would have been a mess. I would like to have seen things move along a tad faster though, for sure. To me it was a bit of a medium quality, by-the-books episode.

Oh, I didn't think putting everything else on hold was stalling, I just meant the A-plot of "oh no, we lost the fleet for about an hour there" which was unusually episodic and generic and kind of beneath this show. I would have preferred that they do the 'Tigh in command' story by showing how he handles the ongoing plots rather than introduce a 'crisis-of-the-week' type thing to pad out the episode. I am happy they're not resolving everything at once, I was just a bit disappointed with this particular episode rather than the general direction they're heading in.

[Redwall]

I love Battlestar Galactica (the new one). I agree the premier was kind of blah compared to the finale (which would be really hard to live up to, it was awesome).

I think what I really like about Battlestar Galactica is the huge (comparatively) number of recurring characters and all the development they get. Tigh, Gaeta, Tyrol (aka Chief), Cally, and Helo aren't even regular characters, though they appear in pretty much every episode (and now Tigh's had two episodes just about him). That was one weak thing about the premier, though -- Cpt. Kelly hasn't been shown since the miniseries, so his appearance is sort of "Hi! I'm here for the needs of the plot!"

Marek: I'm curious, what did you think was the weak episode in Season 1? (I didn't really like "Act of Contrition", the fourth episode or so with all the flashbacks about Zak Adama, although it did set up the excellent "You Can't Go Home Again", the episode after that, where Adama and Lee tie up the fleet searching for Starbuck)

[Twilo]

Why didn't Sky One get this first?

[Roderick]

So, Farscape...

[Marek]

I'm not a fan of "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down". It was servicable, but not as good as the other episodes. It's the one in which everyone is suspected of being a Cylon, particularly Tigh's long-lost wife. There's nothing really wrong with anything the episode tried to do, but it all failed when mixed together. Also it tried to play off the Cylon paranoia as comedy, which I don't think really worked. The episode was a bit too confused and unsteady.

(By the way, of season one I haven't seen "Colonial Day".)

Duncan, I see what you mean about episode 2x1. I liked Tigh's plot but I agree there was already enough crisis around to test his leadership. I guess it had more of an episodic Star Trek-esque plot structure than what we've come used to of BSG.

[lailoken]

I really like the BG, but it still saddens me that this show apparently works whereas my alltime favorite spaceshow, Space 2069, Above and Beyond (or whatever it was called) got cancelled... I guess it was too original. Anyway. I agree with a lot of the strong points and weaknesses that have already been pointed out here. Essentially they just utilised the name and recognition value from the old show and do something totally different. I do have real problems with some of the stuff that is going on (like the episode where "starbuck" interogates and tortures a cylon, to me that is too close for comfort, to the ongoing debate about US treatment of POW in Guantanamo). The acting is solid to good. But they should have had some more non-fighter-pilot-character who actually do stuff! I am missing any command structure and such...

I loved Farscape. But my problem is that I never managed to see the series in their original order... maybe some day...

[Redwall]

Why didn't Sky One get this first?

Sky One partially funded the first season, but not the second.

Walter: From spoilers I've read, Zarek returns this season as a much more likable character (or at least as likable as characters get on BSG):

Apparently he and Roslin make an uneasy alliance against Tigh/Adama and leave with part of the fleet to explore Kobol.

And Six is good when she's given the chance to do something other than have sex, IMO.

[lailoken]

thanks for the link to that article Walt

interesting and a good read

[Duncan]

Well that episode was a bit better I thought.

Still zero plot development, but I don't know, I didn't mind as much. It was still 'stand-alone, irrelevant set piece' in the middle of a cliffhanger, basically, but it didn't seem to matter quite so much as last time. I'm assuming now that the direction they're going is keeping all the current scenarios as the status quo for a lot longer (Tigh in command, president in jail, Starbuck and Helo on Caprica, survivors on Kobol) rather than bringing everything back to normal over the course of a few episodes. I like that, but the way it's being done is kind of frustrating if you're expecting a payoff to anything.

(actually, side note: one of the things that irritates me the most about the show in general, the overuse of the "oh, it's intentionally vague" device. Like in that 33 episode, why is it 33 minutes? It's intentionally vague! In that same episode, were there survivors on that ship they blew up? Intentionally vague. Is Tigh's wife a Cylon, and does Baltar know? Who wrote 'Cylon' on Sharon's locker? And the big one, is Six real or is Baltar a total whackjob? Intentionally vague, intentionally vague, blah blah blah. I don't want them to explain every detail but too often they get a kick out of "oh, it's a mystery... FOR NOW".)

In other news, I thought the Billy/Dualla romance was pretty lame and trite. Also, anyone else wonder about a Starbuck/Helo thing? I really don't want to believe that would happen but it definitely looked like he was thinking it. Dude, keep it in your pants for once.

edit - oh, to follow up on the first paragraph, I think this season could be really interesting if they kept everyone where they are and headed in a different direction with the series rather than just reuniting everyoone and getting it back to business as usual. All the location shooting would probably be too expensive to do on a long-term basis though.

[Marek]

By the way it's EXTREMELY striking how much, at its core, this series is similar to the later stages of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (which Ron Moore was a writer/producer for). It's essentially the same show, except with all of the Star Trek ballast thrown off.

[Redwall]

I agree with everything Duncan said. The only thing I'd add is that finally Apollo is a little more than just the standard male idealistic hero and female audience attractor. (The fact that he has no one on his side is rather ironic, too.)

Oh yeah, and Baltar's dream was really freaky... I mean, I knew it was a dream/hallucination from the start and it wasn't really graphic but it was still disturbing. It reminded me of The Grapes of Wrath, of all things...

[Marek]

Just saw the episode and I also agree with most of what Duncan said. This episode revealed very little things we didn't yet already know. (In fact the Billy/Dualla thing seemed like a rerun). It was more interesting than "Scattered", and I'm glad they didn't take the easy bail-out option on the president's situation at the end, but it's still not quite good.

The teaser for the next episode looks good though. Looks like the whole political situation will take center-stage.

[Marek]

Did you guys catch the last episode Resistance? Seems like BSG's return to form...

[Marek]

I wonder if it was done intentionally. They might have wanted to further broaden the audience at the beginning of the season before going deeper into the story. I dunno.

[n0wak]

I really like the BG, but it still saddens me that this show apparently works whereas my alltime favorite spaceshow, Space 2069, Above and Beyond (or whatever it was called) got cancelled... I guess it was too original.

Space: Above and Beyond

I like this show too... for a while. It really started to lose steam after a bunch of episodes (I think it got cancelled once and then came back?) to the point that when they finally started striking back at the enemy Hiroshima style (forget what they were called), I just didn't really care anymore.

*Checks*: Hmm, coming to DVD soon

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3531

Not to be confused with this

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0008ENI5C/qid=1123433315

haha, look at all the suckers there!

[lailoken]

yes well, it's been a while now and I guess I wouldn't like the show as much now as I did back then. just the fact that everyone is heralding BG as such a new approach to SciFi-spacesoap-thingies is bothering me, since Space was so original and fresh when it came out. now it does seem kind of limited in scope. a thing that I really like about BG is the fact that they work with so many different and diverse storylines. I especially liked the whole bit about the vice-presidential elections. If they are able to incorporat this more into the basic setup it could become even better than it already is. Also I really like the whole scylon infiltration stuff about which there was too little recently.

Alas I am now back to Maastricht and can't get the episodes via bittorrent anymore due to University restrictions.

On a totally different note:

I heard on TWIT (www.twit.tv) that those torrents were actually endorsed by the network and are legal(Battlestar Galactica that is)? Anybody heard about this as well?