tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post5181799427511396295..comments2024-03-19T03:23:06.738-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Battlestar Galactica: Ronald D. Moore finale Q&AAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5485722934728060222012-12-30T03:46:39.134-05:002012-12-30T03:46:39.134-05:00It's really simple. The last jump took them ba...It's really simple. The last jump took them back in time to earth 150,000 earlier than the bsg time. 150,000 years ago it was in that spacial position. <br /><br />140,000 years later earth colonises space, the 12 colonies come into being, the story unfolds. <br />The primitive homosapiens they found were their own ancestors. <br /><br />The first ruined earth they found had our continents. It was the same earth 150,000 years later. The ruins were NYC. <br /><br />The 12 colonies came from our earth, they just jumped back in time in the final episode and it will loop around forever. "All this has happens before and all this will happen again". <br /><br />Solves every plot hole. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62017989208637103752009-04-03T16:29:00.000-04:002009-04-03T16:29:00.000-04:00"if we accept that divine (or supernaturnal or wha..."if we accept that divine (or supernaturnal or whatever you want to call it) intervention played the biggest part, then which "god" interfered? The cylon god or the human gods? Which one is the true god?"<BR/><BR/>I really don't see why people are having so much trouble with the way Moore left this concept. I don't think idea of the divine belongs to anyone in particular. If it is there, then religions are just the reflection of how different cultures choose to perceive it. <BR/>He handled it very well and I for one loved the fact that he didn't try to quantify it or label it or explain to death something that is ultimately a mystery.<BR/>This way everyone is allowed to understand it in their own way and to draw their own conclusions about who exactly Kara was and what is the nature of God according to their own beliefs. I don't think he could have handled it any better truly. Suddenly defining it as belonging to this or that modern religion would have been a total letdown. In fact, Baltar's image at times square at the end says: he doesn't like to be called god.<BR/>Personally, as an atheist, the first thought that popped into my head with the images of the two of them standing in time square, casually talking about fate of humanity in terms of mathematics and probability, and contempt for technological decadence made me immediately think of Q from star trek, with ultimate powers, sitting and playing with the people's fates. I'm not saying that is at all who they are but the point is they left it up to people to decide. In any case, that was not the point of this show anyway. The whole story about human struggle through their exodus was a drama. I got involved in the show because of the richness of the characters and the excellent jobs the actors did to make them so believable and interesting. It matters little ultimately how you label the god or gods or whatever you want to call the divine forces. if they are indeed that.Bisera Vukovicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-48154501491475996382009-04-01T20:14:00.000-04:002009-04-01T20:14:00.000-04:00you did a great job manyou did a great job manJob hiringhttp://local-job-hiring.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43243738299764074862009-04-01T12:19:00.000-04:002009-04-01T12:19:00.000-04:00Well done, Mr Moore. I remember Kara's gesture aft...Well done, Mr Moore. <BR/><BR/>I remember Kara's gesture after playing the song on the piano. The masterpiece is accomplished.Konstantinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1552434273954611132009-03-29T14:24:00.000-04:002009-03-29T14:24:00.000-04:00A very interesting post by the original author.May...A very interesting post by the original author.<BR/><BR/>May I join?<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>I have to say, it's upsetting to realize that the finale is the best that they could have come up with.<BR/><BR/>The show overall was just so well written, so believable that the last 30 minutes of the Daybreak feel weak by comparison.<BR/><BR/>Re: final five<BR/><BR/>I was relieved to learn that they managed to explain their exisitance and how they ALL ended up on this specific battlestar.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, same cant be said for Kara...<BR/><BR/><BR/>Re: God. <BR/><BR/>As someone stated above, God or Gods was the reoccurring theme, however it was never stated that the divine power actually exists in the show.<BR/>I was taken by surprise. Definitely if I get to meet Ron (somehow) I'd ask him that.<BR/><BR/>Re: Abandoning ships.<BR/><BR/>That should've been a standalone episode for me to buy into that. I can almost see why Ron thought Lee would suggest that. I can not see why anyone would agree with him. It was never made clear what exactly they took away from their ships. They lived for years on those ships - they made food, they survived. What would their chances of survival be 'now', that they threw it all away?<BR/><BR/>Re: the new Earth.<BR/><BR/>It'd take a divine power to make sense of the music, language, technology, culture overlap between the words that were thousands of years apart (the 13th tribe, 12th colonies, the 'new' earth 150,000 years later)<BR/><BR/><BR/>Maybe it's a good thing that the God exists in the show - he can patch up all the holes then.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>-fiksalFiksalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43382652751306860922009-03-28T04:17:00.000-04:002009-03-28T04:17:00.000-04:00Kara was indeed the harbinger of death (for the fl...Kara was indeed the harbinger of death (for the fleet) and led civilization to its doom.... and then civilization was reborn, like karaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49082731153987834012009-03-27T11:43:00.000-04:002009-03-27T11:43:00.000-04:00Ever since EPISODE 7 from the first season, we kne...Ever since EPISODE 7 from the first season, we knew there was more to "Head 6" than met the eye. When she disappeared from Baltar's head and reappeared as "Shelly Godfrey," followed by her sudden disappearance (she turned a corner, while being followed by guards, and was just gone?) seemed a sure sign that she wasn't an ordinary cylon.Goldarnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01002035439360220264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4984322657869007052009-03-26T09:33:00.000-04:002009-03-26T09:33:00.000-04:00I think it is evident that the whole religious ide...I think it is evident that the whole religious idea was not handled very well because if we accept that divine (or supernaturnal or whatever you want to call it) intervention played the biggest part, then which "god" interfered? The cylon god or the human gods? Which one is the true god? There's no way to tell since things turned out sour for both civilizations.<BR/><BR/>Elias.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-42604959518461911792009-03-25T10:23:00.000-04:002009-03-25T10:23:00.000-04:00If there was ever a planned connection between the...If there was ever a planned connection between the 12 Cylon models and the 12 Lords of Kobol, I have to think that went belly-up when they decided that the "Final Five" were actually the last five of a whole planet of Cylon models rather than the last five of the post-war 12. Since the "Significant Seven" (actually "Elite Eight", including Daniel, I guess) weren't created until long after Kobol, and the "Final Five" were just five of probably billions that existed before Kobol, the 12 Lords really couldn't possibly have much to do with the 12 Cylon models of the show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27079597932761575262009-03-23T16:08:00.000-04:002009-03-23T16:08:00.000-04:00My first thought, as the final credits rolled was,...My first thought, as the final credits rolled was, was in regard to how Rick Berman and Brannon Braga ended Enterprise. To wit:<BR/><BR/>This is how you end a frakkin' TV series! You morons!Captain Averagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06791631119318530096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36561570073546247872009-03-23T14:39:00.000-04:002009-03-23T14:39:00.000-04:00I was very satisfied with the ending. I especiall...I was very satisfied with the ending. I especially like the fact that the main characters split up. Especially Bill Adama. If he stayed with the main group, people may have tried to use him to second guess any new leadership. If he stayed with Lee or Saul, they would have continued to live their lives under his shadow.<BR/><BR/>Baltar breaking down when talking about farming made me cry. It made the recent flashbacks worth it.<BR/><BR/>Kara Thrace. Well, not what I expected, but I am OK with her resurrection and angel status. It was best she didn't stay with Lee if she was human, because we know that wouldn't work. (Although Lee didn't freak out as much as I would have) Also, I think that "the harbinger of death" talk was Cylon propagada.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2024075835361816652009-03-23T12:26:00.000-04:002009-03-23T12:26:00.000-04:00The nature of the Lords of Kobol and the parallels...The nature of the Lords of Kobol and the parallels between the 12 Lords of Kobol/12 Cylon models/12 tribes is a concept that I would have liked to see explored more in the series, but may likely be a thread that is picked up in The Plan or in the mythology of Caprica.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86097856721258845152009-03-23T11:31:00.000-04:002009-03-23T11:31:00.000-04:00> He's going to build that little cabin, an...> He's going to build that little cabin, and who knows what.<BR/>><BR/>> Aaron Douglas keeps saying, "Well, you know what? They're<BR/>> going to get a message. Someone's going to trudge up the hill<BR/>> to Adama and hand him a note<BR/><BR/>What?<BR/><BR/>This is about 25,000 people, spread out across an <I>entire planet,</I> with no technology. When your friends and family walk over the next ridge and you don't go with them, <I>that will be the last time you ever see them.</I><BR/><BR/>Adama, and Helo, and Baltar are not each going to be able to construct, by himself, an entire little eighteenth-century homestead, from nothing, using skills he doesn't have, tools he left behind on Caprica, supplies that can't be bought anywhere on this empty planet.<BR/><BR/>They're not going to <I>teach</I> the natives anything, they'll be lucky if they can pick up the natives' survival skills before they starve!<BR/><BR/>The characters' blasé attitude about saying goodbye to their friends and relatives, for the last time, for no reason, is a big believability failure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12762377709976638082009-03-23T11:27:00.000-04:002009-03-23T11:27:00.000-04:00They illustrated that Head Six was not a chip in B...They illustrated that Head Six was not a chip in Baltar's head, but they never explicitly clued that it was celestial avatar, or a psychosis of guilt or some other Cylon-tech scenario a la the Tyrol/Boomer fantasy house or Tigh seeing Ellen on a Six's body (or vice versa).<BR/><BR/>They only cleared that there was no physical tech piece in Baltar's head - but Caprica could have infected him with some techno-organic telpathy receptor virus. Or whatever. <BR/><BR/>The point is, no one is exactly correct - no, the celestial aspect was not sprung, nor was it so thoroughly illustrated earlier on in the series.<BR/><BR/>It was up there with Starbuck's resurrection, as a non-specified, intriguing angle, that might have benefited from a little deeper set up or a little more screen time, as opposed to all of the flashback time spent in the 3-part finale.<BR/><BR/>One thing that did rub me wrong was all of the time that was spend building up the relationship between Leoben and Starbuck, the cryptic clues and messages etc. That was very intriguing, and it just got dropped on Earth 1 with the discovery of Starbuck's body and Viper. Leoben freaked out about how it wasn't supposed to happen this way, and then the whole thing was dropped. He was barely even in the last season.<BR/><BR/>They could have used him relative to Kara in an analog of the head characters.<BR/><BR/>Again, or whatever. This is why, while I enjoyed the finale, I felt it was flawed via being a little rushed/disproportional.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-66201667148454145702009-03-23T10:44:00.000-04:002009-03-23T10:44:00.000-04:00"Editing for time"?!Edited out the part where the ..."Editing for <I>time"?!</I><BR/><BR/>Edited <I>out</I> the part where the center of Cylon civilization gets <I>sucked down a black hole</I><BR/><BR/>and <I>left in</I> interminably lame and unconvincing flashbacks about Lee, Kara, and Roslin <I>not getting laid,</I> and Mr. and Mrs. Tigh spending their free time at a <I>strip club?!!</I><BR/><BR/>Absolutely nothing that happened on this show since the Pegasus was destroyed made any damned sense, and the final episode was the worst of all. What could they possibly have been thinking?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-16673602209634886032009-03-23T02:51:00.000-04:002009-03-23T02:51:00.000-04:00//Aren't there any TV writers left who can write l...<I>//Aren't there any TV writers left who can write long-term plots? Why are proper plots and planned-out arcs so rare these days?//</I><BR/><BR/>Fully agree. I guess The Wire has spoiled me...I wish TV shows were more like books, with everything planned in advance, especially when it comes to shows like BSG, Lost, etc.<BR/><BR/>It bothered me a little when Moore decided that Ellen was the final of the final five before he started writing the final season. Such an important part should have been in his mind right from the beginning.SJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01245472084190224186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26722715467302277792009-03-22T14:09:00.000-04:002009-03-22T14:09:00.000-04:00i too would like to raise the question/mystery of ...i too would like to raise the question/mystery of the Lords of Kobol. i was hoping for the backstroy to get more play in the finale. i know that ron moore writing mantra is that its all about the characters, to let them determine the direction of the writing, but when you weave so many characters stories together for so long you can get caught in a complexity that needs to become simple very quickly... for the finale.<BR/><BR/>what happened to D'eandra? what about the role of the Centurions in it all? what about the already-there inhabitants of this earth they find!?<BR/><BR/>i was shocked that they put in there "primitive tribes" that they spy on and make references to "teaching" them AND mating with them! are THEY human?<BR/><BR/>and Helo and Athena playfully arguing about which one of them is going to teach their little girl to KILL?! to HUNT?! "hello"! didnt we learn anything? so now we know where the first earth-weapon comes from... from Colonial Soldiers.<BR/><BR/>and Head Baltars hair is so stupid... greased back like hes some sleazy gangster. they were quite over-the-top. the whole debate about the Head characters being connected to god or not.... i always assumed baltar was creating his own hallucination even if there was a psychotic connection between him and 6, i never thought "god" was behind it all. <BR/><BR/>i think they made this "god" way too literal in the end, especially attaching him ("sir" is "gender-neutral?!) to this visually romanticized "innocent", plentiful earth they can now dominate and conquer. the judeo-christian ideology that nature is here for people to use is way too strong... how is that being "ground-breaking" in any way?<BR/><BR/>i too thought that the show previously had a more skeptical view of such dogma. ron moore may claim that theyre not presenting any specific religion but rather idea about a generic "divine" but thats not what i get from it. <BR/><BR/>dismal ending. 150,000 years after the Agethons start building weapons and the "humans" land and start building we have New York City and the domination of technology to the point of AI. this is not a happy ending people.<BR/><BR/>ron moore may say "were at a crossroads, we have to choose and decide, etc...." and thtas why the fast-forward to "today" in "real life". but weve been making "choices" all along.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-16817241479534759162009-03-22T07:58:00.000-04:002009-03-22T07:58:00.000-04:00For me this was the best tv show ever to grace our...For me this was the best tv show ever to grace our screens. As someone said before, one of the reasons that this was such a great experience was because the actors obviously put their hearts and soul into playing their characters and will probably never be recognised for giving such powerful perfomances.<BR/><BR/>Having watched the finale I was initially happy about the way things turned out. But 24hrs later and having had time to reflect there are things that are now starting to niggle at me.<BR/><BR/>Most notiably is the fact that after being together for such a long time, everyone just decides to go their own way. I could accept the 'let's get rid of the technology,' thinking but then for all the main characters just to go off seperately on their merry way just didn't seem right.<BR/><BR/>On another note. What about the the 12 colonies? Surely even after the holcaust there were survivors. From earlier episodes we could see that on Caprica, it hadn't been totally devastated. Of the 40 odd thousand that arrived at earth surely there would be many more hiding in different places on the other colonies. And would there not still be a Cylon presence on the 12 colonies that would need taking care of.<BR/><BR/>I agree that I'm probably already missing the show and was looking for another 10 series where Adama and the rest of the crew make plans to retake the 12 colonies and wipe out the Cylon threat for good.<BR/><BR/>Anyway thanks to the actors and the creators for such a beautiful creation. Guess it's time to go back and start with the series 1 dvd's.<BR/><BR/>This has happened before and will happen again. So say we all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-45954062079357761852009-03-22T03:44:00.000-04:002009-03-22T03:44:00.000-04:00Personally I was always vaguely hoping that Ron Mo...Personally I was always vaguely hoping that Ron Moore would turn away from implying that God controls and guides us all, humans and Cylons. We have to seize control of our own fate, rather than putting ourselves into the hands of God. I liked the way that ST:DS9 (one of Moore's former shows) treated religion much better. Sure, God was often invoked throughout BSG but I was hoping this was a theme, not an answer to everything. To me, putting God in control and using God as an excuse is just lazy writing. In the BSG universe, Ron Moore *IS* God, so Moore saying "Kara was resurrected by God" is like Moore saying "Kara was resurrected by ME... (waves hand) so say *I*! Poof! There she is." And there's no lazier writing in the world than that.<BR/><BR/>I thought Moore was more skeptical of religion than this. In the end, this is just another show revelling in the impulse towards monarchy ("God") rather than self-determination and democracy.<BR/><BR/>BSG's characters were great, but I'm very disappointed that Ron Moore has been revealed to be even worse at plotting and planning arcs than Joss Whedon. Aren't there any TV writers left who can write long-term plots? Why are proper plots and planned-out arcs so rare these days? I long for the days of Farscape and the Wire and (to a lesser degree) DS9.Ikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18054970668978336859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26048014744153996662009-03-22T02:57:00.000-04:002009-03-22T02:57:00.000-04:00SJ, ... (sorry for my english) ... the importance ...SJ, ... (sorry for my english) ... the importance of Hera was established when her face fade and we found Head Six and Head Baltar reading the story of Eva (actually, a real scientific theory), about a woman who lived in Africa and was the ancestor of every single human bean living in this planet today. It means that after some generations, no one of the descendents from humans or cylons survive on earth if they don't descent from Hera, for father or mother. I can be wrong, but I believe that the theory is based on the fact that all the people share the same mythocondrial DNA (yes, we are all a giant disfunctional family :-)). <BR/>And by the way, the finale was perfect for me. It was the one I spected from season one. And for Kara's rol, a very important word was said to Cavil by Baltar: Ascension. If you searh on google for "earth ascension" you will find a lot of nonsense, but some very interesting thoughts too, and coincidentially or not, related with the spiritual message of BSG. Message that was a main character in the story from the very beginning).<BR/>(sorry for my english again)<BR/>GreatingsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27657615572328091642009-03-22T02:56:00.000-04:002009-03-22T02:56:00.000-04:00@Alan pointed out: . . . we've been speculating ...@Alan pointed out: <I> . . . we've been speculating on the idea of the Head characters as angels -- and about Kara as a Head character for the entire fleet -- at least as far back as "The Road Less Traveled </I><BR/><BR/>More than the fleet, Alan. It seems everyone could see her and she interacted directly with them. <BR/><BR/>In the muslim world there's a concept of a <I>wali</I> (pronounced waleee and it just means friend/companion, short for Wali-Allah) who is like an angel who takes the form of a beggar or other downtrodden person. The idea taught kids is that if you mistreat people like this you'll never know if one of them could be an angel sent from God to test you. Not sure that it really makes people behave better towards beggars in reality, however, but always an interesting topic of conversation when you're a stranger. <BR/><BR/>So maybe I'll think about Starbuck like that because otherwise she's just a "zen event" to me.<BR/>-- <I>anonymoose</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4387351210722114942009-03-22T01:48:00.000-04:002009-03-22T01:48:00.000-04:00I fully expected that God or a Higher Power would ...I fully expected that God or a Higher Power would have a role in the ending and it did. Not a full, puppet master type role but a gentle guiding wind type of role. <BR/><BR/>The reason this does not surprise or anger me in the slighest is that it was set up right from the beginning. Ron Moore has freely appropriated christian, hindu, buddist and I-don't-know-how-many other concepts into the mythology of the show. And he has had the characters talk freely about religion. He's had Laura and Baltar make decisions based on visions. <BR/><BR/>C'mon what did you expect? Ah...therein lies the problem. With a show like this if you build up too many of your own expectations you can't just sit back and let the story unfold.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-63899391185509452142009-03-22T01:31:00.000-04:002009-03-22T01:31:00.000-04:00Hank - "to have everything quickly explained at th...Hank - "to have everything quickly explained at the last moment with supernatural quackery was a major disappointment."<BR/><BR/>... have you read one comment in this entire thread? It wasn't "explained at the last moment with supernatural quackery" as the "supernatural quackery" had been there since the very beginning. How many times did "the one true god" get mentioned? How many times did they discuss fate? Prophecies? "All this has happened before, and will again"? The series was rife with every element you needed to know this all had to do with God.<BR/><BR/>I am just amazed at how many people are saying it came out of the blue. I'm not sure we went one episode without at least someone bringing up God. <BR/><BR/>-shakes head- I give up. A bunch of you paid no attention at all, and now you are judging it all from that perspective. Those of us who actually paid attention seem to have had no problems with it.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05889151055630289454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62377622401622897302009-03-22T00:49:00.000-04:002009-03-22T00:49:00.000-04:00Posted by KrisHank said,"Baltar was the most self ...Posted by Kris<BR/><BR/>Hank said,<BR/><I>"Baltar was the most self centered and self aggrandizing character on the show. I took his 'I see angels' schtick as an effort to further his religous movement for political purposes. I never for a moment expected the writers to expect us to take this as more of Baltar's manuvering."</I><BR/><BR/>Hank, you should see the movie "Frailty." It came out in 2001 and stars Bill Paxton. <BR/><BR/>Anyway... I have to agree with others here who mentioned that the supernatural/ Divine has been at the fore-front of the series since its beginnings.<BR/><BR/>There was also one episode a few seasons ago where, IIRC, Baltar has his head X-rayed or scanned to rule out that he had a chip in his head, because he was trying to figure out why and how he could see this blond woman who nobody else around him at that time could.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-14907189150106000332009-03-21T22:37:00.000-04:002009-03-21T22:37:00.000-04:00Scientists have been saying that we are five years...Scientists have been saying that we are five years away from true artificial intelligence for the past fifty years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com