I’m usually a science fiction fan and I really liked Firefly, so I wanted to ask the all important question: is Battlestar worth watching? My friends tell me the first season starts out a bit rough, then gets awesome. It has a few bumps along the way but it’s worth it for the ending. I trust this forum’s opinion, so…?
Battlestar in nothing like Firefly in tone, just to let you know. Far more bleak and serious.
Well, I don’t know if the ending is worth it. Might be a bit dissatisfied with that, but of course, you won’t be investing quite as much time to get to the end. Could play better for you on an accelerated timeline.
I think it’s still worth checking out though, lot of great storylines throughout. Just lower your expecatations a bit as you roll into the fourth season, and then gradually lessen them as you make it toward the finale.
Hell yes, you should watch Battlestar. Start with the mini-series or you will be lost. The first 2 and a half seasons are the best. The first half of season 4 doesn’t quite work but it redeems itself in the second half. And the finale is fantastic. Interested to know if the extended version adds anything.
I don’t know why your mate said it starts out rough. The first episode of season 1 - ‘33’ - is one of the best of the entire series.
And Eddie Olmos is great in this show.
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.
Moving from 13 to 20-plus episode seasons was the big mistake of this show. Season 1 is tight, gripping and focused, as is the first half of season 2. But after that the momentum is lost in filler episodes and only regained for short periods (as with the phenomenally good New Caprica arc that kicks off season 3) and the show developed an unfortunate tendency to spin its wheels and disappear up the arse of its own pointlessly convoluted mythology.
But for its flaws they on several occasions managed to create some of the greatest television I’ve ever seen, and it’s pretty essential if you’re into intelligent sci-fi or serial dramas in general. Thanks to the relatively small number of episodes it’s quite easy to blaze through the whole show over a few weeks, which is probably the ideal way to experience it (if only because you don’t have to put up with the whiny fanbase bitching about every little thing after every episode).
What did you think of the finale, Paul C. I loved it.
Galactica is one of the finest series in the history of television and (yes) has one of the (Yes!) best endings in all of T.V. If you care about seeing stuff like that, you should watch it.
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| Originally Posted by Bluelouboyle View Post Hell yes, you should watch Battlestar. Start with the mini-series or you will be lost. The first 2 and a half seasons are the best. The first half of season 4 doesn’t quite work but it redeems itself in the second half. And the finale is fantastic. Interested to know if the extended version adds anything. I don’t know why your mate said it starts out rough. The first episode of season 1 - ‘33’ - is one of the best of the entire series. And Eddie Olmos is great in this show. |
I have the DVD set of the first season, so I’m assuming the mini series is on there.
I liked the finale, and I was a lot more positive about season 4 than most of the fans seemed to be (aside from the fantastic first few episodes and the season finale, Season 3 was the nadir for me).
There were things that bothered me though. Not to get too spoilery, but given that the show used to be so much about showing the political workings of this small society in quite a convincing and subtle way, it felt wrong how they kind of threw all that out at the very end and suddenly expected us to accept a certain controversial decision that they unanimously agree on at the very end, without showing us any of the process that led to that decision. I mean, I get that it would’ve been hard to fit that in without expanding the finale to another episode, but it would’ve helped it feel more like a natural ending rather than a ‘writers ending’, if you get me.
I can buy that ending because the alternative involved humanity putting themselves at the mercy of the cylons. The Cylons supposedly “accepted Adama’s command”, but it’s their ship, and along with the centurions could wipe out the humans pretty easily. Given that most of the fleet was likely still distrustful of the Cylons, I could see them taking Earth as the best option.
I think he’s talking about Lee Adama’s tech epiphany. I agree - more debate about that would have been better.
No no no, that’s the stuff you’re supposed to gloss over in the series’ last half hour. What, you want them to call yet another council meeting with people we don’t care about coming to a vote just to tie up that (relatively minor) loose end? C’mon, it should be about our main characters at that point. The address it more than they did would be a digression that the show couldn’t afford in it’s closing minutes.
I’m not so sure. From the very start the show was about people with different ideas and points of view arguing over the right thing to do. And then possibly the single biggest, most definitive decision they make is casually made offscreen? At its best the show was very good at creating the impression that the big decisions were being made by the characters based on their own personal morals and ideologies etc, but a few times in the finale it felt to me like the characters were acting to fit the writers’ tidy plans for the ending, rather than because it was internally consistent behaviour.
I just think a finale should have different priorities than the rest of the series. I absolutely loved Galactica’s political intrigue, but it’s something to let go of at that stage in the game. A finale for a show like Galactica should focus on the personal more than the political. Wrapping that up concerns the fates of people we don’t meet or care about, after all.
People, what the hell are you doing arguing about the ending? There’s a thread for that. The guy asked if he should start watching it. Let’s not spoil stuff for him.
To answer the question, yes you should watch it. BSG’s highs were among the best hours of television ever made. There is a sequence later in the series that literally had me jump off my seat and celebrate. Seriously, this show has two-parters that put most big budget sci-fi films made to shame. Both in execution and the larger questions they ask. Just don’t go in wanting fun or the slightest bit of audience pandering. And try to put some distance between the episodes. I suspect the tone of the series might get overwhelming otherwise.
That’s why I blacked part of it out, meter maid. You can’t figure anything out from the uncensored parts.
Yeah, no spoilers, but a fair warning about the ending is due.
I bought all the boxes as soon as they came out, the first seasons being so brilliant.
And now I regret it, since because of that ending I know I will never watch it again.
That’s a bit extreme. Fun fact: most of the show is not the ending. Even if you disliked how it wrapped up, it doesn’t change the brilliance of the show’s highest points. There’s something to be said for the journey over the destination… let’s not burn the book because of it’s last page.
People who slam the ending must not have been watching the same show that I did for four years. Y’know, the one where God, fate, religion, genocide and so on are front and centre of almost every episode. It’s a GREAT ending, one of the ballsiest but most fitting conclusions of any TV show.
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| Originally Posted by Andrew Merriweather View Post People who slam the ending must not have been watching the same show that I did for four years. Y’know, the one where God, fate, religion, genocide and so on are front and centre of almost every episode. It’s a GREAT ending, one of the ballsiest but most fitting conclusions of any TV show. |
Really? Because the show I was watching the first couple of episodes was smart, brutal and realistic. The last season was downright idiotic, and the last episode hinges on some incredibly bad conveniences and characters not telling other characters important information for the sake of the plot.
I do think it’s worth watching though. Just watch out for that Lawyer. Holy shit.