Thoughts on Battlestar Galactica

[WonderWillard]

So I just watched the final episode of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica on Netflix my dad and a friend. I know, I know, I'm a latecomer, I didn't watch it when it was on TV, but I thought it was the best TV show I've ever seen, hands-down. I have never been so emotionally invested in characters like that, never had my mind blown so hard or shocked so much by some of the cliffhangers. I loved the series finale, I liked how even though there were a *few unanswered questions, every character was given closure. I understand that there have been mixed fan reactions to the finale, so I was wondering what the Escapists thought of the finale, and the series as a whole.

 

[MoD1212]

pretty much exactly what you thought, I saw the entire series on DVD after it had already aired on T.V. and from the mini-series to the finale i have never been more pleased and engaged in anything i have ever watched ever.

I can't even imagine what it must of be like watching this show a week at a time.
Some of those season ending cliffhangers would have drove me crazy waiting for the next season to start

 

[subtlefuge]

I didn't have quite the same response, but it was one of the few long series that thoroughly entertained me the whole way and probably the only one that had a satisfying ending.

 

[Summerstorm]

Hm hm... well i LOVED the first season of it. But after a while it really went downhill fast for me. Still haven't watched the last season as i lost interest. I think i haven't watched most of the third season too, now that i checked.

But really: 33 (The first episode after the minies) was a masterpiece. VERY suspenseful.

 

[WonderWillard]

pretty much exactly what you thought, I saw the entire series on DVD after it had already aired on T.V. and from the mini-series to the finale i have never been more pleased and engaged in anything i have ever watched ever.

I can't even imagine what it must of be like watching this show a week at a time.
Some of those season ending cliffhangers would have drove me crazy waiting for the next season to start

Oh man, I agree. Every season had an insane cliffhanger, and I just thought, thank GOD I can watch the next episode soon haha. Even some of the two-parter episodes had some nail-biting cliffhangers.

 

[LostCrusader]

I tried watching the show when it was on TV and got bored of it pretty quickly, probably from waiting between episodes. I have netflix now, might give it another try.

 

[MoD1212]

Oh man, I agree. Every season had an insane cliffhanger, and I just thought, thank GOD I can watch the next episode soon haha. Even some of the two-parter episodes had some nail-biting cliffhangers.

hell yea those two parter were great home part 1 & 2 from season 2(search for the Tomb of Athena on Kobol) and the resurrection ship part 1&2 are both almost mini movies in themsleves

I tried watching the show when it was on TV and got bored of it pretty quickly, probably from waiting between episodes. I have netflix now, might give it another try.

i highly recommend it, even after getting into other space shows like firefly(still need to actually watch that whole season) nothing captures the atmosphere of space drama even close to BSG and with all of it on Netflix, there is really no reason not to give it another shot.
unless you have a lot of things to do everyday cause this show will suck up your time

 

[Valksy]

Loved it, have the DVDs and sometimes go on binges of watching eps back to back.

I'm not bothered by the ending, if you watch a lot together, you pick up a lot of the foreshadowing that began the first time they meet Leoben. Concepts like pre-determination, destiny, existence are there from the very beginning.

 

[Spade Lead]

pretty much exactly what you thought, I saw the entire series on DVD after it had already aired on T.V. and from the mini-series to the finale i have never been more pleased and engaged in anything i have ever watched ever.

I can't even imagine what it must of be like watching this show a week at a time.
Some of those season ending cliffhangers would have drove me crazy waiting for the next season to start

I bought the first season for twenty bucks at wal-mart just to see how it was. A week later I bought both DVD sets of season two. A week after that I bought season 3. By the time I was ready to buy it, wal-mart didn't carry the seasons any more. It was four months or so before I was able to buy both season 4.0 and 4.5 at the same time. I love that series. It was well worth the money I spent.

I also couldn't imagine watching it one episode at a time, a week apart, or with months between seasons. That is the best Drama I have ever seen on TV, easily.

 

[Wrath 228]

Pretty much what everyone else is saying. It has an excellent balance of action and meaningful characterization. Never before has a television show or movie got me so emotionally involved. There's just not enough good things I can say about the show. I loved every second of it.

 

[Spade Lead]

Hm hm... well i LOVED the first season of it. But after a while it really went downhill fast for me. Still haven't watched the last season as i lost interest. I think i haven't watched most of the third season too, now that i checked.

But really: 33 (The first episode after the minies) was a masterpiece. VERY suspenseful.

If I remember right, that episode was like the only one based on the original series... IF I remember right.

 

[Merkavar]

its one of my favourite series. i think i should look into watching it from the start again. i watched it all spread out. like the mini series then a season here and there.

I think the series as a whole had its ups and down but its downs were better than alot of other shows ups.

i like the series finale. for me it closed everything off all nice and neat. i also like the all along the watch tower song that played through the final season.

BSG is like a really hot girl giving you an amazing blowjob, but as soon as you're about to finish, she just stops and walks away.

Great show, terrible ending.

She is letting you finish your self off.

 

[perfectionist]

The show was awesome but its spinoff was a disaster

 

[NerdElf]

I liked the old series better. BSG 1979 was a great show, it deserved more credit.

 

[EvilPicnic]

I'm a big fan, and absolutely dug the ending.

I mean really, the people who moan about the ending are the sort of people who ***** about the ending to the Sopranos: they don't understand it. Every character gets some sort of emotional ending, and [cont between spoiler warning]


*SPOILERS*

'Humans' and Cylons turn out to literally be the Adam and Eve of what we understand as humanity. Which is a) a decent sci-fi concept, and b) a fantastic riff on one of the central themes of the show.

It's a great and fitting ending.

*END SPOILERS*

And it's just a generally great TV show. The scene where Galactica jumps into the atmosphere at the beginning of S3 is still one of the most awe-inspiring bits of television I've seen.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I liked the old series better. BSG 1979 was a great show, it deserved more credit.

You and me both. The remake was too dark and depressing for me, and what's worse, its influence made all the other American scifi shows dark and depressing for several years. I miss shows like Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, and the original Battlestar Galactica, dangit. It's pretty sad when you have to watch BBC America to get a glimpse of what was once a heavily American dominated genre...

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I got mixed feelings about it, they started off with a bang then got kinda slow and at the end picked things up again, and then the spiritual ending... not my cup of tea really.
Overall tho I loved it, it was something very unique and very depressing

 

[Plinglebob]

You and me both. The remake was too dark and depressing for me, and what's worse, its influence made all the other American scifi shows dark and depressing for several years. I miss shows like Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, and the original Battlestar Galactica, dangit. It's pretty sad when you have to watch BBC America to get a glimpse of what was once a heavily American dominated genre...

While I've never seen the original, this post pretty much sums up my thoughts. I watched BSG on DVD up to season 3 then weekly on season 4 and my biggest problems (apart from the whole GrimDark atmosphere) were:

I didn't find any of the characters likable. The only character I could consitantly watch and enjoy was Baltar and Head Six. Everyone else either started off jolly and went downhill to moody, or were already moody and went even further down. Maybe its just a British thing, but I can't think of any other show that would have been significantly improved by some dark sarcasm/humour.

It became more and more obvious the writers were pulling the plot out of their collective arses. I have no problem with shows having an overarcing story (yay B5!) or shows that use and expand on small items of established continuity (go SG:1), but in BSG it felt like the writers desperately wanted to cash in on Losts "Myth Arc" hype by throwning lots of crap in at the beginning and then obviously making it up as they went along. Either do it properly, or don't pretend to try.