Galactica Sunday (On Monday)
Kevin D.
It’s that time again. My thoughts are hidden below.
(show)
For a stand alone episode I thought it was pretty good. It addressed the dangers of an epidemic spreading amongst a cloistered group and the hard decisions that would have to be made with limited medical supplies. Who gets what and who decides.
It was interesting to see the treatment of the Sagittarons (or however you spell that). They seemed like a mix between gypsies and any number of religious groups that abstain from not just modern medicine but modernity itself. Chief Tyrol’s grudge against them seems valid on the surface but if you dig a little deeper I’m sure you can find a logical reason for their non-action against Cylon occupation. If we were to go back a few hundred years or so I’m sure we’d find the Sagittarons warning against the developing technology that would eventually create the Cylon race. I’m also sure those warnings were roundly ignored. So, their inaction against the Cylons on New Caprica would be consistent with their past behavior.
An “I told you so” that I’m sure will never get pointed out, most of all to Tyrol.
So, I can safely say I liked this episode. It wasn’t a jaw dropping one but not all of them have to be. It was also nice to see what Helo has been up to. He’s got a crappy job but hopefully his time in purgatory will come to a close soon seeing how, as Adama pointed out, he’s been the lone voice in the wilderness on Galactica.
What’s weird is that I was considering writing an episode like this.
As some of you may or may not know I’m an aspiring screenwriter. Writing for Battlestar Galactica would be a dream. Anyway, the episode I was thinking about penning was going to be titled “One Good Day” and it was going to be centered on Helo. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t going to go the particular route this episode did but, in essence, I wanted to give Galactica a good day. They’ve been through so much crap I thought it would have been a nice change. You know, give them a happy ending. And since we’ve not seen a lot from Helo I thought I would have been nice to have it be about him.
Well, thank you Ron Moore for fraking that plan.
(hide)
On the flip side, I like seeing more of Caprica Six and the Baltar in her head.
I guess Helo's fan base probably liked the show, but I'm damned if I know what people see in the guy. I find him to be a tiresome, self-righteous, insubordinate prig. That probably affected my enjoyment of last night's episode as well.
It's all about the jaw.
Moral decay which would be represented by Kara, the President, and the Col., though he's growing on me since he willingly took that clock to the mouth.
Cylon decay represented by both Baltar and Six.
And the decay of the Battlestar Galactica as evidenced by the appearance of the ship. Over time she has taken one helluvah beating from both the Cylons and natural forces. She must be in a terrific state of disrepair by now and in need of a serious refit. But you never see systems failing and the ship coming apart, which would realistically be happening. And often. Sooner or later they will have to find a way or a place or some kinda ally to help with refits and repairs. Or they will simply fly apart.
So I'd like to see an episode written that addresses these problems of decay and what needs to be done to correct each problem, or what happens if those problems are not finally addressed.
But as far as the show itself goes I think many of you are expecting far too much of it. It's just a show. You're gonna have good episodes and bad episodes and good overall seasons and bad ones. Just like in real life people have good times and bad times, times they excel and times they do not, or when they fail or face setbacks.
Nothing is good all of the time, nothing is bad all of the time (except maybe Enterprise - though that female Vulcan was really nice). Anywho I think that you can't expect Aeschylus out of a simple Sci-Fi Television show. Sure, it's the best Sci-Fi show ever in my opinion, and it has it's moments of truly great Greek Drama, but it's really just television. It'll never be Shakespeare, and even Shakespeare wasn't Hamlet or Henry the Vth every night of the week.
Sometimes you write the masterpiece, and sometimes you write the High School musical.
It's just all part of life.
Nobody is a genius 24/7.
And art is just art, it ain't ever gonna be perfect either. If it were it wouldn't really be art, and it wouldn't really be something humans could make anyway.
I think part of the problem is the nature of the American formula for TV series--they don't write things with an ending in mind, they just keep going until the fans get sick of it.
It all comes down to money, and SciFi said it was the expense of the puppets in Farscape that killed the last year.
As far as Galatica, the show has lost me as a viewer...the story is going no where...and it has turned into a night time soap opera but without all the sex.
I mean, people are ragging on a show for going "nowhere" and calling it's doom and it's only in the 3rd season! Most shows don't find their feet until the 3rd or 4th season.
I'm recalling the fan favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter "The Best of Both Worlds," argueably the best two episodes of the entire run of the show, was the 3rd season finale and 4th season premier!
I guess I'm alone in this but I have every reason to believe that the best is yet to come.
Galactica started strong, got stronger, then stumbled badly.
Dude, the ratings tell the tale. They're in the toilet. They aren't going to make season 4. They've pissed *that* many people off.
I'll certainly buy that statement as an overall principle and astute observation of American entertainment (TV, video games, films, music, serialized fiction novels) in general. I'll give 400 points for it too if anyone will let me.
Not that 400 points will stop that kinda crap, but it's the thought that counts.
Wanna place a wager on that? If I win you buy me a steak dinner. If you win I buy you a steak dinner.
Deal?
Have they already made any official announcement about a season 4?
They expect to be renewed. They aren't sure whether they'll be renewed for 13 or 20 episodes.
They admit they aren't pulling in what it takes to satisfy advertisers and that they're looking at a key demographic of teenagers right now to keep them alive.
My prediction was wrong. They'll be renewed.
Given their spectacular ratings tumble however, especially amongst adults over 20, I would be shocked if they got renewed for more than 13.
That could be ideal. If they're told they're getting only 13 more and that they'd better pull themselves out of this nosedive if they want to see anything else, maybe they'll get their heads out of their butts.
Still, I think a smaller episode order might be what is needed. I know Ron Moore was complaining when SciFi ordered more episodes for season 2 than season 1. He counted that as amongst the contributing factors for some of season 2s poor episodes.
More episodes per season means that have to stretch their story out longer than they possibly want to. More opportunity for crappy filler.
In fact I hope you're right.
One thing that always comes to me whenever I see Helo is what the Cylons said when he was on Caprica: "He always does the right thing." He's probably my favorite character, with Cally and Gaeta close behind.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.