This is about the two-part season premiere of BSG that I just finished watching, so you damned well better believe there are spoilers involved if you haven't seen it yet.
I will say my abslute favourite moment was watching Sharon get sworn in (again?). Saul's beard looks good, but Tirol's has to go. Pissed that Caprica-Six got popped. I want to see the two Boomers put the smackdown on the rest of those [no expletives strong enough] Cylon skin-jobs. I want to see Kara not succumb to Leoben's manipulation. The interplay on the Battlestars was pretty durn good. I'm proud of both Adamas for getting over themselves -- even a little bit.
That's my first blush. What did everyone else thing?
--Jonah
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Pure awesome, though the Iraq stuff is so on the nose you think, OK, yes, I get it.
On the other hand, I watched it with someone significantly to my political right re blowing things up issues, and no negative comments were heard.
I am not quite sure about listening to Dean Stockwell (70!) grunt his way through sex, though, because, ew.
But, oh man. Oh man.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Hey, I grew up with Star Trek in syndication. I'm used to having to occasionally deal with heavy-handed allegory in my s/f.
And besides, the original BSG was more-or-less the Book of Mormon in space.
--Jonah
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
(I think you are thinking I was being critical, but I'm just saying.)
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
No, no -- tongue firmly in cheek here.
--Jonah
Posted by Krenim (Member # 22) on :
Best part of the episode(s)? Zarek and Roslin.
Zarek: Tell me something, Laura. Last year? You tried to steal an election, didn't you?
Roslin: Yes, I did, Tom.
Zarek: I wish you'd gone through with it.
Roslin: Me too.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Sorry to see Duck die, especially after all the webisodes. He didn't even get to kill Baltar. Speaking of which, I did get a hint of rebellion in Baltar not wanting to sign the execution orders. Perhaps he's developing a spine, but Dualla is already started on growing his back. And oh yeah, another half human/half cyclon child to deal with.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
I think you mean Gaeta, MNW. And yes, Krenim, the exchange between Zarak and Roslin was my #2. I'm glad Cally got awy, but I really want to see the resolution of the firing squad set-up. Did Boomer exert her authority over the tin cans that attacked them, and that group attacked the firing squad? Did they just ignominiously kill off Roslin and Zarak? Is it somewhere in between?
And now that we've got two half-breed kids, I'm more curious than ever as to where they're taking that.
--Jonah
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
I can't believe everyone forgot about Kara nabbing Leoben in the neck with a fork! "Honey, I'm home!" *shudder*
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
quote:Originally posted by Peregrinus: I think you mean Gaeta, MNW. And yes, Krenim, the exchange between Zarak and Roslin was my #2. I'm glad Cally got awy, but I really want to see the resolution of the firing squad set-up. Did Boomer exert her authority over the tin cans that attacked them, and that group attacked the firing squad? Did they just ignominiously kill off Roslin and Zarak? Is it somewhere in between?
And now that we've got two half-breed kids, I'm more curious than ever as to where they're taking that.
--Jonah
Sorry, I'm not good with names.
Oh yeah, that Leoben is a real psycho.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I thought I saw Roslin in the rest-of-the-season preview at the end of the episode. So, either she survives, or there are flashbacks or hallucinations or something.
Frankly, any of those options is equally plausible.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
I believe Adama also made a comment to the effect of,"I allowed the attack on the colonies" and Baltar questioning if he's a cyclon. Its gonna be one hell of a season.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Well, at this point, I'd find it very unlikely that the writers would choose to kill off Roslin, the #2 character, and Tom Zarek, their best recurring character. (Loved that little exchange. So matter of fact, so casual, so "we're so screwed!")
Although the most obvious result might be that most of those people got mowed down and the Cylons neglected to check the bodies to make sure no one survived, I'd find that highly unlikely. Not only would it be incredibly inefficient for machines, but it would also strain credibility to have BOTH named characters survive.
One thing that occurred to me... where's poor Cally going to go? If she goes back to town, they'll just spot her and round her up again.
I'm also really, really confused by the Cylon agenda. It seems that Boomer and Caprica Six have an honest wish for peaceful coexistence, but what the frak were they thinking they'd get when they occupied the place? A ticker-tape parade? Considering their lack of respect earned from their fellow Cylon, I wonder just why they kept the "...And they have a plan" in the opening sequence. It seems more like they're all doing their little thing. Leoben's running his sick little experiment, Xena is playing dictator, Cabal is acting like a nutty atheist-Nazi.
Finally, I want to know just what Tigh is thinking he's getting away with here. The moron spends however many days in lockup, gets let out for no particular reason, and then goes right back to doing what he was doing before? I think the Cylons must've gotten a little chunk of his brain when they pulled out his eye, because he's clearly not thinking straight.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Baaad writing. Really guys, I tried....tried so hard to watch this yesterday! I watched the last three episodes in a row at a friend's insistance and then the season opener.
Meh.
The use of WWII trucks was the final straw that made we really really want to turn off the TV. I mean, yeah, there's a budget and all, but everything is so...store bought. These uys -on both sides- are supposed to be more technologicaly advanced than modern humans, but no one bothered to construct a house in the (minimum) year before te Cylons showed up?
Good acting to be had all around though- Dean Stockwell is at the top of his game here- but the story is (to me) lacking...badly. The Cylons are possibly the least alien or robotic characters I've ever seen- why bother to call them Cylons at all? It's just a bunch of people fucking each other over for no reason or goal.
Just my .02 as a "new" potential viewer.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:The use of WWII trucks was the final straw that made we really really want to turn off the TV.
That's nothing. They showed Starbuck's military-issue Hummer last season when she went back to Caprica. The point is, I think, that the humans are more advanced in some ways compared to us today. And in some ways, they've deliberately regressed. (They established that part in the pilot, pointing out the non-wireless phones, non-networked computers, etc.)
Yeah, it kinda blows the fantasy a little bit. But Ron Moore pointed out in his podcast last year (back when the Hummer made its appearance), that there was really little point in spending the money and time to dress up the vehicles. Because if they'd dressed them up, then they would've looked fake. (Star Trek props, anyone?)
So it's not bad writing. It's just a deliberate choice, albeit one that you may not agree with.
As far as the lack of houses in New Caprica City, I'd like to point out that it's been more than a year since Katrina, and people are still stuck in trailers all over the place. And at least here, we've got the planetary resources to provide an influx of materials. Out there, they had to set up shelter for 40-thousand-plus people all at once. (Plus, the whole thing was obviously being mismanaged by President Baltar.) So I think it makes a whole lot of sense.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Oh, I dont know...you'd assume that any ship that could land would become an instant shelter/housing unit. Mismanagment aside, it's actually easier building from scratch than having to clean up tons of debris and re-build.
As to the whole "why bother to dress it up" nonsense, consider that the original BSG (which this is such an improvment on, riiiight?) had well thought out (for the era) designs. Useing readily available vehicles is just lazy- a casual viewer (or new viewer) would never guess the story was not taking place on earth. They'd probably think "Robots and Body-Snatchers invaded and took over."
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"...a casual viewer (or new viewer) would never guess the story was not taking place on earth."
Well, the "casual" viewers should learn to pay better attention, and the new viewers should start at the beginning. You could make the same argument about, say, "Lost". Anyone who starts trying to watch it now without seeing the past two years will have no idea what's going on. Some shows are just meant to be watched in sequence from the beginning. If you want to watch a show that you can start at any random point you like, try a sitcom or something.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: Useing readily available vehicles is just lazy- a casual viewer (or new viewer) would never guess the story was not taking place on earth. They'd probably think "Robots and Body-Snatchers invaded and took over."
Lazy? Do you have any idea how much it would cost to fabricate credible vehicles from scratch, or even put shells on existing chassis? Me neither, but it's money best spent on other things and so long as the vehicles fit in with the asthetic feel of the show, who cares? I'm more interested in watching the show for the stories and characterisation, not inconsiquential details like having people wearing togas and helmets that looks like an egyptian head dress.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Ooh, lots of tasty stuff in that preview at the end. Looks like the Cylons are going to twig about the switch they pulled with Hera. Grrreat, more children in danger. . .
I mean, you know? It's like they're deliberately targeting my own little parental neurosis! Not only did they have the Tyrols' baby, but also a blonde curly-haired little moppet who looks so like my own daughter, it's scary. Who then falls down and hurts her head just like Lula did a coupla months ago (only, mercifully, without the extended period of unconsciousness and stay in an ICU. . . same amount of blood though)!
Anyway. Good to see the whole Cylon gang in residence, even a Simon there (for one line!). But no Leobens in that little going-round-the-table conclave. I wonder why?
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Incidental aside. I think we missed a wedding somewhere. When Caprica-Sharon was sworn in, she was addressed as Sharon Agathon, rather than Valeri. Cool...
--Jonah
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Hell, we missed ALL the weddings! There was Lee/Dee (yeesh), there was Tyrol/Cally, there was Kara/Anders, Helo/Sharon... am I missing anyone?
As for Leoben in that little circle, I wonder if all the other Cylons realize that he's a psycho, too?
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Jason --
Frankly, it sounds like you don't want to like Battlestar Galactica, and are using whatever you can to justify that. Which you're perfectly within your right to do, but I think you're missing out on the best sci-fi television show in the last twenty years because you don't like some of the set dressings.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"As for Leoben in that little circle, I wonder if all the other Cylons realize that he's a psycho, too?"
Well, one of him is.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Interesting that Harvey-Six only appears when original-Baltar-Six (called Caprica, did I hear that right?) isn't around (because she's back on Caprica, originally, and now had her brains blown out). Obviously they spent a lot of time together during the past four months, I wonder if they ever discussed their respective hallucinations/manifestations. . ? Probably not.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
The Six personality that was with Baltar on Caprica is, indeed, called "Caprica Six" by her fellows. That was something they started last year.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I swear, it's getting as hard to keep track as it is to get all the various minor mobsters straight in The Sopranos. . . Originally you had Baltar-Six aka Harvey-Six who was contiguous with original-Caprica-nuclear-explosion-in-the-face-Six, plus Caprica-Six (-es, various, the ones we saw on Occupied Caprica, being shot by Boomer to fool Helo, picking fights with Starbuck, etc.) as well as Shelley-Godfrey-Six and Gina-Six. Now, Baltar-Six is Caprica-Six and also somehow affiliated with Harvey-Six, and there are also New-Caprica-Sixes various.
Meanwhile, Galactica-Boomer is now on (New) Caprica, while Caprica-Boomer is now on Galactica! And has also just gone to New Caprica as well! It's getting worse than that chart in The L-Word!
Question: do we really think the Cylons have successfully created a hybrid, or is Casey just a ruse? Because surely if they can create hybrids, then Hera becomes less important (unless their ultimate holy grail is a non-in-vitro-tank-grown hybrid)?
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Of course, we only assumed that Baltar's imaginary Six was contiguous with the one he knew for a year or two back on Caprica, when it turns out that she doesn't appear to be a Cylon of any sort.
I worry a little that the nature of Cylon identity, which is currently very fluid and alien and high concept, is going to get pushed aside or watered down. (Or, really, maybe I am just worried it will not turn out the way I imagine it ought to.)
Posted by bX (Member # 419) on :
Me too FWIW. I guess I'm getting a little sick of this compulsive fixation the Cylons have with humans without at least a little more explanation about why or how this is. Like, f'rinstance, what compels Leoben to get recycled 5 times in order to make Starbuck his ladyfriend in his private crazy min/max security compound. Is it fatherhood? Because I wasn't getting fatherhood. Is it madness? That's so boring. I think around the second or third time I got stabbed in the throat with a fork I'd start to realize that maybe she isn't just playing hard-to-get.
Basically in order for him to be (or possibly be) an evil, philosiphizing bad-guy, I need to know he really does have a nefarious plan (without necessarily knowing what it is) because otherwise yeah it's sort of annoying to have to watch Kara cry over her maybe daughter when I could be watching Roslin (I think it was Joss Whedon who called her President Stands With Fist) be ice-water veined/naive optimist lady about terrorism.
Like MinutiaeMan, I'm also having some general issues with the internal dynamics of Cylon politics. We go from lambasting Caprica Six for her being part of the first Cylon on Cylon violence to shooting her in the head. Where I'd sort of had the impression that the other skin-jobs (from Bladerunner n'est pas?) looked to her for leadership or wisdom or something. Anyway forcing Baltar to sign the death warrants is a very cool thing and not only because, hey, multiple Tricia Helfers (imaginary and otherwise), Grace Parks and Lucy Lawlesses.
I do REALLY like Dean Stockwell, he is terrific in this. His manipulation of Ellen Tigh is nice and his nihilistic priest thing is always fun. Plus dude knows how to work a hat.
I still have a hard time believing that the humans made so little progress in their year and a half on New Caprica. Did those trees in the canyon in which the raptors landed grown since planetfall? Because humans are pretty good at turning trees into all sorts of things, even with primitive tools never mind humans with lasers and space-ships.
So despite the above whingings, I did enjoy this two-parter. I guess maybe I'd built it up too much. The in your face, on the nose Iraq stuff was distracting in much the same way as the abortion issue was earlier in the season and were a general let-down for me. Still, a frakkin' good show.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
It's true, why would they choose to build a tent-city on a blasted heath when you had nice woods and leafy dales and streams within walking distance? The Cylonms building themselves a nice block of Condos-cum-prisons I can buy (gotta use all that Centurion labour for something), but staying living on a shitty plain because it's right next to the parked ships? Nah.
Also, how do the Cylons define violence? Because we saw Helo's Boomer shoot a Six on Caprica in order to make him think she was the, er, real Boomer. Didn't look faked (I know, it obviously was since Tricia Helfer is demonstrably still with us, but you know what I mean). Or was it OK because the Six getting shot was part of the plan and she'd have agreed to it?
And, yes, the Cylons need to get with the program, their Plan. The whole "alien/post-Singularity AI/whatever are all too human in their wants and desires" thing is neither new nor interesting.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
re Leoben, I'm prepared to accept that he wants what he says he wants, which is for Kara to love him, for religious or metaphysical reasons, and that the Cylons have a unique understanding of love.
As for the kid, assuming it isn't a ruse, they have had a year to explore other reproductive methods, and so Sharon's child might not be important for the same reasons she (he?) was. On the other hand, surely Casey's apparent age doesn't work at all with Leoben's story? Say she's conceived right after Starbuck leaves Caprica. Does season two last much longer than nine months? (Though how long was Sharon pregnant?) Then sixteen more months pass, and I am not good at guessing ages, but isn't she closer to three, maybe?
So anyway something more seems to be up, or I am misjudging how long season two was.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
She's at least two.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
quote:It's true, why would they choose to build a tent-city on a blasted heath when you had nice woods and leafy dales and streams within walking distance? The Cylonms building themselves a nice block of Condos-cum-prisons I can buy (gotta use all that Centurion labour for something), but staying living on a shitty plain because it's right next to the parked ships? Nah.
Maybe, at first, the leadership wanted to keep everyone close to the ships out of some vain hope that if the Cylons did emerge, the Battlestars could hold them off long enough to get the people on the ships, and the ships into orbit and FTL jump away. And then, when everyone "got soft" (Lee's words), most people didn't really feel the need to migrate anywhere -- although you could probably guess a few hardy folks did. Once the Cylons arrived, anyone who had left for the forested areas were probably rounded back up and brought back to the city.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
I gotta say (and Lee will probably agree with me on this, being a father as well) that any time they involve kids being in danger in a storyline (Casey and Tyrol's baby), it really puts me *way* outside my comfort zone. So much so that I can't stand to watch. Luckily for me, they got through those parts relatively quickly.
Other than that, I was pretty much on the edge of my seat.
Anyone who's watched "The Great Escape" knew exactly what "stretch their legs" really meant. Of course, anyone else could figure that much out, but they quoted it word for word.
Anybody notice the line about the Centurions not being sentient? Since those and the original versions (who still have their uses, according to the mini) are in subservient roles to the skinjobs, it kinda makes sense, but how did the originals rebel in the first place?
quote:Like MinutiaeMan, I'm also having some general issues with the internal dynamics of Cylon politics. We go from lambasting Caprica Six for her being part of the first Cylon on Cylon violence to shooting her in the head. Where I'd sort of had the impression that the other skin-jobs (from Bladerunner n'est pas?) looked to her for leadership or wisdom or something.
I don't think they really looked to her for leadership. She was a kind of hero to them originally, since her actions allowed them to attack Caprica in the first place. She then used that hero worship to influence their next actions, which was coming to New Caprica. Since then, I think they've gotten to know "Caprica Six" a lot better and have gotten over their hero worship.
And Casey does look a *lot* older than she should be. She looks at least two or three to me.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Anybody notice the line about the Centurions not being sentient? Since those and the original versions (who still have their uses, according to the mini) are in subservient roles to the skinjobs, it kinda makes sense, but how did the originals rebel in the first place?
I think you missed something, here. The original Cylons weren't "skinjobs" -- remember, it was a complete surprise that "cylons look like us, now."
What Adama tells Lee is that the skinjobs -- who evolved from the original centurions -- have taken steps to insure that the new centurions (the ones we see as foot soldiers) can't develop sentience like the predecessor centurions did.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Yes, but the original Cylons are still around, according to Six. Admittedly, she didn't say as much, but to me it was inferred that they are also subservient to the skinjobs, since she said they "still have their uses".
Eh, skip it. It's probably nothing.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I think I could stand to see an original-series Centurion on the show. . .
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
I glad to see Adama still trying to free the colonists. I seriously believed he was going to leave them behind, perhaps to reach Earth from which he could establish a base to build up a force capable of kicking cylon arse. The thing is that now Galactica is going to stay behind while Pegasus and those ships that managed to escape (including the mini-Battlestar) continue on to Earth.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by B.J.: Yes, but the original Cylons are still around, according to Six. Admittedly, she didn't say as much, but to me it was inferred that they are also subservient to the skinjobs, since she said they "still have their uses".
Eh, skip it. It's probably nothing.
I suppose it depends on how you interperate that statement. Would a sentient Cylon still inhabit an old "toaster" body when there's plenty of new flesh & blood one to go around? More likely the old cylon bodies that were left vacant after the minds moved into newer & better bodies were simply re-programed as the simple minded robots they were supposed to be in the first place.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Or perhaps these old cylons created the skinjobs to be subservient to them, but the plan backfired and now the skins run the show. It would then better explain why the new centurions are not really sentient since the skins would not want to lose their new-found power.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Mars --
Although Bill told Lee to take the fleet and go, I don't think Lee will. I think Lee'll be at New Caprica, although he & Pegasus might show up as a "Millennium Falcon" surprise.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Yeah, Lee will have to redeem himself for being soft and what better way than the stereotypical "Here I come to save the day!" scene.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
He's going to have to invest in a treadmill first. Yeesh. And I thought *I* had put on some weight recently. Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
I liked it when Adama called him a fat ass.
Posted by Chris (Member # 71) on :
I find myself wondering if Jamie Bamber is wearing a fat suit or if he really did put on all that weight...
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Well he has fat face cheeks, so maybe he did gain it?
Posted by Krenim (Member # 22) on :
It is a fat suit. One of the videos that was on the SciFi website was a behind-the-scenes look at the makeup process for Fat Apollo.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Did you use prosthetics for his face since it did seem fatter?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Malnurtured Snay: Jason --
Frankly, it sounds like you don't want to like Battlestar Galactica, and are using whatever you can to justify that. Which you're perfectly within your right to do, but I think you're missing out on the best sci-fi television show in the last twenty years because you don't like some of the set dressings.
Not at all- in fact, the exact opposite. I really wanted to see that I had been "missing out" as everyone has been saying. Stargate's a looong ways off and nothing else is remotely intresting just now).
But if I was disapointed in the miniseries, I was blown away at the lack of caring about visual story dynamics. Might as well have Starbuck wearing a Gap shirt and Nike's from what Reverend says about how it's all "better spent on the story". Consider that even the zero-budget weekly "sci-fi Presents movies" take more care in props and vehicles. I really think it shows the producers of such shows that they can get away with far less than ever before and that we're likely to see a decline in overall quality from producers if that's their attitude.
But then, maybe such total lack of concern only bothers people when they're used to a higher level of visuals- I sure have seen people here bitch about anything re-used in Trek, but BSG somehow manages a complete slide...
Amazing how defensive people get over this show. Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
While I can see your point Jason, I think your being a bit closed minded. In Sci-fi, aren't you supposed to suspend belief? If you can believe in a world where people fly around in starships with pointed-ear aliens, can't you believe in a world where spacecraft are commonplace in a world where people still use fossil-fueled power vehicles.
If so, then you can be one of us BSG fans.
One of us One of us One of us...
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Wait, are you saying the visual effects suck? You mean the ships, the FTL jumps, the Centurions...? I guess it's just a difference in style preferences, because the shaky and off-focus look is deliberately done, to emulate the "the photographer was really there" documentary appearance.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
No, all the CGI stuff is incredible- I think that'sall top notch. It's all the glaring (to me) lack of props that bugs me to distraction- from army trucks to Hummvees to the .45 and 9mm pistols.
Dont talk to me about costs here- a plastic casing for a handgun would cost less than a dollar (prahaps $10 for the vac-form master and paint). Even Stargate (which is free to draw on real-world weapons) goes the exta mile for the "high-tech" look. If BSG's goal ws to go "low-tech", then break out some old sci-fi props and go retro (pneumatic gun would rock).
Fuck, even if they re-used stuff from "B" sci-fi movies, I'd be happy- at least then I really could "suspend my disbelief" that think of the show as being space-based.
Pointy-eared humanoids I can (mostly) take, if you can see commercials for the very vehicles shown on BSG (during the breaks), it's pretty bad.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Well, that's ridiculous.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Jason --
But the producers don't want the show to look foreign. That's why characters eat apples, as opposed to neon-blue pears. This is a familiar world, a sister-culture that has developed very similarly to us.
As for your point about the handguns ... we've seen two military-issue. One looks like a regular semi-auto with an extra toy underneath the barrel -- that's an "explosive bullet" firing mechanism (think a grenade launcher underslung on a rifle). The pilot's sidearm is only in shape close to a handgun you might actually find in a store.
I don't see commericals for Colonial Vipers on TV!
Did it ever occur to you that people get defensive because it seems you judge the show on the props as opposed to the qualities it should be judged on? The writing and acting?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Strangely enough, they do seem to have gone backwards in the pistol dept., from a plastic shell covering a revolver (giving a Bladerunnerish look) to just having a FN Five-seveN with a plastic greebly stuck underneath. And it does seem to be a retcon - people who had the shell-revolvers suddenly had the semi-autos.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
quote:Even Stargate (which is free to draw on real-world weapons) goes the exta mile for the "high-tech" look.
Which is why they use the Tapwave Zodiac for all their sensor and virus-cure-carrying needs.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Might as well have Starbuck wearing a Gap shirt and Nike's from what Reverend says about how it's all "better spent on the story".
I don't recall saying that. Just that fake vehicles aren't worth the expense. Clearly they are spending tons on visual effects, the Centurions (that ironically enough look more real than the old costumed ones) space suits, full size mockups of Vipers, Raiders & Raptors, not to mention the logistics involved in making a tent city populated by hundreds of extras and the digital backdrops to sell the scale of it all.
Really Jason, it sounds like you're looking for something to complain about.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: No, all the CGI stuff is incredible- I think that'sall top notch. It's all the glaring (to me) lack of props that bugs me to distraction- from army trucks to Hummvees to the .45 and 9mm pistols.
Dont talk to me about costs here- a plastic casing for a handgun would cost less than a dollar (prahaps $10 for the vac-form master and paint). Even Stargate (which is free to draw on real-world weapons) goes the exta mile for the "high-tech" look. If BSG's goal ws to go "low-tech", then break out some old sci-fi props and go retro (pneumatic gun would rock).
Fuck, even if they re-used stuff from "B" sci-fi movies, I'd be happy- at least then I really could "suspend my disbelief" that think of the show as being space-based.
Pointy-eared humanoids I can (mostly) take, if you can see commercials for the very vehicles shown on BSG (during the breaks), it's pretty bad.
Yeah, but then the show would look cheesey and it would be harder to take it more seriously.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I'm just giving you my own POV- I'm not bashing it- there's solid acting (at least by Stockwell) and the CGI is nice.... I just dont "buy" it. Part of my brain is always expecting it to all be on earth- everyone and everything is just "today's world" for me to think of it as being a bunch of humans removed for (minmum) thousands of years.
For the record I've watched this episode almost three times now trying to see only what everyone's so thrilled about.
Again, I'm not dismissing out of hand- I might in fact buy some of the incredible ship models being made from this- but it's tough for me to compare this against shows where a lot of effort is spent of visual storytelling (like DS9, Farscape or even the old BSG) and favorably compare this to it.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Lol! That was good. Though, why does Baltar have the English accent?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Fantastic!
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Because he's evil. Evil people always have English accents. Just watch the Star Wars movies.
--Jonah
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
So, anyway, how about that rumor that NBC is looking to poach Galactica for their own schedule? Like, not a reliable, well-sourced rumor, but I did read it at Ain't It Cool, and when have they ever been wrong and annoying and poorly designed?
(See, now I have covered my bases, and if it comes true I can say I was in on the ground floor, and if it doesn't, as seems vastly more likely, I was in on the ground floor of mockery.)
((My understanding is that when NBC reran the miniseries the ratings were way low.))
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Um...well that's because they ran it unannouced. When I saw it on NBC, I didn't even know it was on until I was channel surfing. Hell I didn't even know NBC owned Sci-Fi. Since Sci-Fi goes out of its way to advertise the show, it does better on that channel. If NBC just shows it without any promotion, well then you get low ratings.
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