posted
I agree, Jason. I think it would have been much better for the photographer to be innocent and flayed open by the Cylons at the end. It really would have shown just how much of a bastard Baltar is and how far he'll go to save his own ass.
Another point on the Cylon-Humanoids. The ending pretty much told us that Boomer is a Cylon agent. However, the conversation between Baltar and 6 of 12 just before we see the Photographer picked up seems to imply that the Cylon agent is a sleeper. If that's so, Boomer shouldn't be doing the Cylons any favors right now, correct? Not until her programming is activated should she be helping them, and 6 of 12 implies that the sleeper hasn't yet been awakened.
With that in mind, how the hell did that Cylon device wind up in the command center? Tigh's assistant (the lieutenant) says that the device had been there a week. The photographer didn't set foot in the command center until the day of the attacks. So he obviously couldn't have put it there. That leaves two possibilities. Boomer is a sleeper, and there's an active Cylon on the crew somewhere. Boomer is an active Cylon, and there may or may not be a sleeper on board.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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quote:Originally posted by Siegfried: I agree, Jason. I think it would have been much better for the photographer to be innocent and flayed open by the Cylons at the end. It really would have shown just how much of a bastard Baltar is and how far he'll go to save his own ass.
Totally agree there.
quote: With that in mind, how the hell did that Cylon device wind up in the command center? Tigh's assistant (the lieutenant) says that the device had been there a week. The photographer didn't set foot in the command center until the day of the attacks. So he obviously couldn't have put it there.
Um, that's wrong, actually. When Baltar is planning to use him, he mentions to 6 that the guy's been on board for a couple weeks, with complete access to the ship. Remember, he wasn't one of the photographers; he was leading them around and giving them the tour. He was some kind of government PR flunky.
posted
Like many people, I've previously watched little to no Battlestar Galactica. I once tried to watch an episode of Galactica 1980...
*Begin flashback*
My eyes! They burn!
*End flashback*
...but I can't say I cared for it.
Anyway, I enjoyed the mini-series. Commander Adama sounded so much like B5's Sheridan that it was kind of scary, though.
The one thing I want explained, though, is the scene where Adama picks up that piece of paper that says there are only 12 models of Cylons. I'm guessing this is supposed to mirror the 12 colonies, but I still don't get it. Does that mean 12 models that look like humans, or just that many models period? Can't the Cylons design new models themselves?
-------------------- "Kirito? I killed a thing and now it says I have XPs! Is that bad? Am I dying?"
-Asuna, Episode 2, Sword Art Online Abridged
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posted
Yeah, Krenim, I'm so sorry. I'd recommend you flush with the pilot episode of Battlestar Galactica proper. Such promise. No one, but no one should ever have to see Galactica 1980. OTOH, it does tend to cast this miniseries in a very positive light...
quote:Originally posted by Siegfried: That leaves two possibilities. Boomer is a sleeper, and there's an active Cylon on the crew somewhere. Boomer is an active Cylon, and there may or may not be a sleeper on board.
Well I doubt she's an active Cylon. That would blow for them the opportunity to have the old, "what do you mean I'm a replicant" episode. (In which they'd have to figure out some way to make her not a Cylon.) Not to mention the, "no, shoot her, she's the Cylon replicant!" episode. I suspect the human Cylons will make for all kinds of paranoid "who's the mole" fun.
We were trying to figure out whether Baltar really had invented a Cylon detector. The scene is played like he's bullshitting, but I mean he'd have to produce one at some point and it doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult. I mean if the Cylon physiology is different enough that they've got silicon(silica? silicate? silly anyway) neurons susceptible to radiation, even an X-Ray might do. I mean he'd need to have evidence, he couldn't just point at people. The other thing to think about (while trying desperately not to think about how much Baltar looks/sounds like a strung out Bashir) is that this guy really is supposed to have one of the most advanced minds on the planet. It's entirely possible that with a little help from Scorpius-er, I mean No. 6 that he'd be able to intuit who's a Cylon and who isn't. My theory is that he might be a Cylon sleeper. Maybe.
That being said, I think leaving the press agent (he's not really so much a photographer, is he?) alive makes for a PROFOUNDLY DUMB tactical error. Here's this guy with all this extrememly sensitive information about the personnel and protocol of the Battlestar, I would think either A) destroying him, or B) examining/interrogating him would be in order. This would necessarily entail some way to block the Cylon transmissions of course, perhaps generating some kind of ion field emulating that of the Ragnar ion clouds.
Another thing that kind of bugged was the rapid discarding of things which would give you valuable evidence about who you are up against. For instance, I believe Baltar mentions that they detected sythetic elements when they cremated the Arms-dealer Cylon. Why in the fuck would you destroy the singular prototype, presumably already incapacitated, of a brand new, and horrifyingly not-understood weapon. That's less than dumb. And then when you get an opportunity to examine a working model... well that's dumb. I guess they've got the smoke detector and maybe they figure that will be enough.
I had more problems with this episode and no, not just the fact that the entire mega-gigantic super advanced (from us) Aircraft Carrier in space with what must certainly must be millions of sensors, weapons systems, navigation elements, and control apparatus aren't networked (though clearly that will remain a thorn in my side). No, more than that it was the presence of so much more bad dialogue/delivery in this episode. Even Mary McDonnel who I usually adore had that terrible line about saving their collective ASSES, that sounded all wrong and didn't fit, etc. The Starbuck vs. Tigh, Starbuck vs. Apollo, Apollo vs. everyone, Adama vs. President scenes also stand out. Which is too bad because that's really a lot of them isn't it.
Dude, please stop saying 'bullets'. Once was funny. More than that is just silly and it makes me mad.
Getting Adama locked in another part of the station with the impossibly suspicious and inexplicably solo Cylon was handled VERY unsmoothly.
I am curious about the piece of paper. Was it Baltar? Was it the baby from inside the silver case? Anyway it's interesting.
The battle scene was very cool though. I mean the heroic piloting was silly, but fun. But the battle was neato. Was it just me or was the animation of a couple of the Cylon shots rather jerky. It's not a big deal. It was definitely way cool.
I also liked that they will presumably be able to downgrade the Viper Mk 7s (and other ships) so that they don't get switched off everytime they see a Cylon.
Do you think I could get a chip in my head that just tried to molest me from time to time and wasn't part of some kind of quasi-religious mechanical cabal attempting to convice me to betray my comrades and perpetrate genocide on my species?
I also liked they withheld the explanation about why that cloud was important until we see Mr. Cylon arms-dealer coming off the rails. Edward James Olmos beats the guy to death with a flashlight, and then keeps on whacking for good measure in a scene right after they are talking about humans and clubs. How cool is that? Picard would never approve. Hooray barbarians!
I am officially interested in viewing an ongoing series, and would make an effort to catch it or tape it or whatever.
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I have no problem with them not networking Galactica and it still being able to function well. You don't think the WWI and WWII battleships were networked, do you?
Yes, it was lucky that Baltar just happened to pick the Cylon randomly. But he doesn't know that, and I think it will really mess with his sanity, thinking that he sent an innocent person to die, and not knowing who the real agent is. Of course, he also didn't know there was more than one. He's also going to have to try and BS his way through screening everyone else. I believe they left the guy alive because there was, according to Baltar, the small chance that he was not a Cylon.
I noticed near the end when the Vipers were returning to the Galactica that at least one Mark 7 survived.
So how long until they announce (admit?) that they're starting a new series?
posted
Easy way to spot Cylons: just photograph every person on every ship having sex and fry those whose spines start glowing red. (Why would you build light-emitting circuits into there in the first place?)
-------------------- The difference between genius and idiocy? Genius has its limits.
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quote:Originally posted by MarianLH: Um, that's wrong, actually. When Baltar is planning to use him, he mentions to 6 that the guy's been on board for a couple weeks, with complete access to the ship. Remember, he wasn't one of the photographers; he was leading them around and giving them the tour. He was some kind of government PR flunky.
Ah, I see now, and I stand corrected. I completely didn't associate the PR/tour guide person as being the same person who took the pictures of the Adamas. I thought they were completely different characters. And this also leads me to agree with Balaam's point about leaving him on that station. I mean, the whole series they talked about keeping things secret from the populace less they be captured and forced to spill what they know to the Cylons. Instead of just killing the suspected Cylon who knows A LOT about the only remaining battlestar, they leave him alone on a station to be caught by the Cylons. Really, really poor.
I also have a bone to pick about the computers on the Galactica not being networked; however, my complaint is different from Balaam's. Who the hell is Adama that he gets to decree that there will be no networks and no automated systems aboard the battlestar? I mean, that's an important capital ship, and the military command just said, "Well, Adama's the shiznit, so we'll let him have a battlestar and allow him to force his paranoid views of computer technology on the ship, thereby making it less sophisticated than the rest of the fleet." Whoever agreed to that deserves to be a TNG-era Starfleet admiral.
quote:Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane The battle scene was very cool though. I mean the heroic piloting was silly, but fun. But the battle was neato. Was it just me or was the animation of a couple of the Cylon shots rather jerky. It's not a big deal. It was definitely way cool.
I noticed that a lot of the battle scenes in the conclusion were jerky and shaky. It was a bit distracting.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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posted
I missed the first ten or fifteen minutes, and haven't watched most of my recording yet. Can anyone tell me if there's any reason stated for the Cylons wanting to kill us all? Or is it just a given?
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posted
Omega, that is indeed explained in the first 10 minutes of part one. Humanity created the Cylons to serve us. Man kinda acted like God and got too bossy with the machines. They revolted and a long, bloody war between man and Cylon began. Eventually, an armistice was reached, and the Cylons settled on another world. Forty years after the conclusion of that war, the Cylons came back for revenge.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
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posted
Of course, that premise was pretty stupid to begin with: humanity has been at war with an implacable enemy (ok, a race of oversized rolls of aluminum foil complete with flashy KITT eyes, but an enemy nonetheless) for decades, yet because ONE man claims he has brokered a peace deal, we all decide to go about our business and leave our colony worlds defenseless. Such strategic minds we are.
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posted
Yeah, the preamble to the destruction of the colonies is much better in the miniseries than it was in the original series. That's not to say that there aren't problems, though. The colonial military had no monitoring outposts around their homeworlds to detect the incoming Cylon invasion force? They didn't care that one of their officers died on a diplomatic space station they shared with their enemies? In forty years of not hearing from the Cylons, they think that just maybe they ought to do some reconnaissance to see what they're up to? Like I said, TNG-era admirals must have found new jobs in the BG universe.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
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quote:Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane: The other thing to think about (while trying desperately not to think about how much Baltar looks/sounds like a strung out Bashir) is that this guy really is supposed to have one of the most advanced minds on the planet. It's entirely possible that with a little help from Scorpius-er, I mean No. 6 that he'd be able to intuit who's a Cylon and who isn't. My theory is that he might be a Cylon sleeper. Maybe. That leaves two possibilities. Boomer is a sleeper, and there's an active Cylon on the crew somewhere. Boomer is an active Cylon, and there may or may not be a sleeper on board.
Well I doubt she's an active Cylon. That would blow for them the opportunity to have the old, "what do you mean I'm a replicant" episode. (In which they'd have to figure out some way to make her not a Cylon.) Not to mention the, "no, shoot her, she's the Cylon replicant!" episode. I suspect the human Cylons will make for all kinds of paranoid "who's the mole" fun. [/QUOTE]
I thought "Dr. bashier from the Mirror Universe" many times when listening to Baltar from the other room.....really funny in a sad, unoriginal way.
#6 being inside Baltar's head is a HUGE Scorpious rip-off! Can I get a HELL YEAH?!?
I'd be impressed if Boomer was an active cylon: All the scenes where she's an emotional wreck are with lots of witnesses and she's never shown alone. I like that.....buuuut the Galactica's location could also have been given away via that chip we know is in Baltar's head. Mabye the cylons know everything Baltar knows?
I would hope they avoid all the "what being human is really about" stories they could do with Boomer if she predictibly learns she's a cylon and sides with the humans anyway. It's Sci-Fi channel so they'll alomst certainly take the bait and re-hash old Data/T'alk stories though.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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Uh, how important can it be? Its about to be decommissioned and turned into a museum and Adama is supposedly some hero for some random reason, fleet command probably just shrugged their shoulders and said "whatever, let the guy suit himself". In fact, it kinda bugs me how they weren't MORE prepared for this. I mean, its only been 40 years since WWII and people are still paranoid about nuclear radiation, neo-Nazi's, anti-Semitism, etc. I would have expected them to have EMP devices, more teams devoted to countering electronic gear, no "mainframes" for Baltar to get his hands on , and be bloody paranoid about any electronic equipment with a transmitter on it. Oh well, serves the plot.
Re: 12 models
That just seems weird. They designed totally new Cylons that the humans aren't aware of with advanced AI and whatnot, but decided not to make anymore variations? In addition, they decided to taunt Adama with this information, letting him know about it? What flakey random language are these robots programmed in? Turing?
Re: aesthetics
About time we have a big capital ship that actually IS big and ungainly with a seemingly large crew. That really bugged me about Andromeda SFX aside from the endless repetition of stock footage. These are supposed to be big huge fricken ships, don't have them bopping about twisting around like an insane top, especially with no sense of scale.
Re: guns vs. missiles
Is there a reason from the original why this decision was made? Or is this just meant to evoke WWII images and give a big aesthetic difference between the Cylons and the humans? There doesn't seem to be any reason not to have both, you'd think they would both have their uses.
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