Okay who watched Battlestar Galactica part 2 tonight?

[Liberal Veteran]

I loved it!

There wasn't anything particularly new done, but it was done well, which is more than I can say for the old Sci-fi standbys of the Star Trek franchise (although Enterprise has finally decided that it might be okay to do something halfway decent this season) and the hideous mess that is Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2.

If they kept up the quality, I'd like to see this show as a weekly.

[xultar]

1. I thought it was great! I liked the new stories and how they switched

the characters around. I'd love for them to make it a new weekly show!
but i gotta go nite nite or I won't be able to get up to go to work!

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Watching

And they have done a great job. I must say the references to both Pearl Harbor and LBJ were great! (That is yesterday). It has the feel of The Day After as well.

[Mikimouse]

3. I'm with you...

I am very impressed with the re-make. The cast is terrific, especially Olmos as Adama, couldn't have made a better choice on that one. Good plot development, and so far not nearly as cheesy as some parts of the old one were (the Dagget really got to me-the mechanical dog for Boxy).

[Beetwasher]

21. Olmos is awesome!

He's made for the role...

[Exultant Democracy]

4. yeah, does anyone know what the future plans are with this?

[henslee]

6. if ratings are good, they will go to series. eom

[FireHeart]

5. We gave up in the first 10 minutes of Part 1.

When that bimbo "cyclon" started making out with the Council Officer.

Completely ridiculous. Oh well. Each to their own. :)

[DoNotRefill]

9. You missed out. (be warned, some minor spoilers)

It has TERRIFIC potential for a series. It's in no way as simple as the original series was, and the characters are much more conflicted than in the first one (Tigh as an alcoholic?!?!? Baltar as a conflicted, weak man instead of simply an evil man??? Jolly dead??? Adama and his son at each other's throats??? Adama telling "The Big Lie"???). I was also tickled by the references to the first series. They weren't too blatantly obvious, but got me chuckling.

I think they're running both episodes back-to-back Sunday. You might want to give it another shot. Remember the pilot episode of STTNG (the one with the giant jellyfish)? It righteously SUCKED. But the series ended up being pretty good.

And not ALL of the humanoid cylons are sex-maniacs. Frankly, I saw the insinuated sex scenes (the so-called "dry-humping") to be fairly important for plot development. It certainly provided a large part of Baltar's motivation....

[FireHeart]

71. Well...

My daughter taped the episode, so I did watch it later that night. Unfortunately, there were just too many loopholes. I can't imagine someone selling out the entire human race just for a hump. Sure, the original Baltar sold out--but for power and he really didn't intend for the entire human race to be destroyed. After all, ruling over nothing isn't a very enticing idea. He wanted to rule! The modern Baltar just wanted to hump. When the "Cylon" killed that baby, with no explanation, no followup, it left me wondering why they even bothered filming the sequence.

But that part when Baltar was cringing in front of the bimbo and saying he didn't want to die--and somehow her body managed to protect him from a 50 megaton thermonuclear explosion...well. The Cylon fighters couldn't withstand sustained tracer fire (from the old Vipers) but her body could take such a blast...bleh

Now, I do agree...Tigh being an alcoholic was surprising. The conflict of Adama and Apollo was mildly interesting. But then they kinda killed that by having "Starbuck" and "Apollo" with a history of...whatever.

I dunno. If the writers could get away from the mindless sex and start focusing on what the survivors need to do to fight and continue on, it might make a good series. Might...but I'm still not sure.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. I figured out the code! The Cylones are the impulsive horny ones!

Anyone with a libido on overdrive is suspect.

[DoNotRefill]

10. Doesn't work.....

in both cases that you're referring to, there were human partners. On top of that, they just went through a traumatic situation involving untimely death and survived. I've always found that such an experience in real life tends to loosen things (like kneecaps) up considerably amongst the survivors. Been there, done that. It's a basic life-affirming response.

BTW, Da Pres seemed to be wanting to push for enforced impulsive horniness on a fleet-wide level. "Go somewhere and make babies", indeed!

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Do you remember who he was looking at when he said that?

I think she's one of them. She came on way too strong on a perfect stranger who is well connected.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

12. It's pretty obvious the President's aide is a Cylon as well...

Two big hints... (IMHO)
1. When the Pres discusses her cancer and says "How selfish is that?" he says "That's not selfish, that's human.

2. He too, tries to talk her into staying with the non FTL ships by reminding her of the young girl in the horticulture ship.

They probably laid it on a little too thick for my tastes (the gratuitous "frakking"), but I still really liked the show and hope they do make the series... There were a couple of times I felt as if I were watching a B5 episode I had never seen before and that's high praise from me, indeed.

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Now that's very interesting...

because I think the girl that came onto him when he came on board that second time is a Cyclon too.

[Demonaut]

24. Thought it was well done

Had some decent effects, gave a good sense of life on a aircraft carrier (I lived on one for five years)...think if they keep this up it may be as good as the Next Generation.

[Tharesa]

27. Tharesa disagree.

But that aid probably has the same funky chip in his head as baltar does. This is why he probably got lost in the first episode.

[LeftCoast]

8. How many times do the characters need to dry-hump each other?

Shoot more cylons. The constant make-outs and fully-clothed frottage are annoying. I suppose I'd probably appreciate it more if I was a straight teenage guy but it really is gratuitous (ie, doing nothing for the story).

Prude-master LeftCoast signing off! :)

[Tharesa]

28. exactly!

The first series produced alot of fans who were kids at the time. But Tharesa wouldn't let her kids watch this.

[Gore1FL]

11. I wish it wasn't so soap opera ish

There was a lot more character conflict and a lot less Sci fi than I'd have liked. IMO they wasted 2 of 4 hours on charcter devolopment at the expense of the plot.

If it becomes a real show, then it will be worth it, but if it sits as a stand-alone miniseries, I would have to call it a missed opportunity.


Don't get me wrong -- I liked it OK. I'd probably watch it again. I think overall that they could have really blown everyone away and instead chose not to.

Considering the special effect available and cost thereof relative tot he original series, I am a bit confounded by waht seemed to be less of it in this relative to the old show's pilot episode. (Though at least this one was not interupted by the Egypt/Isreali Peace accord being signed :) )

[commander bunnypants]

13. Good show

I stay away from discussing the moral, ethical , political suggestions and how they relate to today. It is just sci-fi for friggin sake.

DDQM

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. Cell-phones were sci-fi...once.

*

[truthspeaker]

17. SPOILERAMA

I thought Boomer was the Cylon agent on Galactica, since there was a Cylon model that looked like her at the very end. The president's aide would make sense though.

[Beetwasher]

20. They definitely implied Boomer

was a Cylon.

[Tharesa]

54. but are you implying boomer is a double-agent?

Hey...maybe we should write the sequel. We could call it Galactica 2010! :wow:

[thom1102]

66. no implication necessary...

She is a Cylon.

[Love Bug]

18. I really liked it

I think the music really added to it as well.

Question: Who thinks Balzar is:

1. Insane
2. Has a chip implanted in his head
3. Is a cylon but doesn't know it

Spoiler
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Ok, who else really felt sorry for the guy who was abandoned on the space station? Until the very end? Did anyone get a chance to count how many "models" there were?

[Beetwasher]

23. That was a good twist

I suspected it, but it was good anyway. I believe there were 4 or 5 different models in that scene (out of 12 that are said to exist); the hot chick, the boomer, the weapons dealer, the abandoned guy and maybe one more...

[Xithras]

33. Baltar & the 7 known Cylon models

I'm pretty sure he's a Cylon. Remember the nuclear blast that levelled his house? How did he survive that? I don't think he did...I think his "conciousness" was transferred into a Cylon body, and he's now a Cylon without realizing it.

Oh, and I felt REALLY bad for the abandoned guy too, up until the very end. I honestly thought that Baltar had falsely accused an innocent man, and pitied the guy thinking that he was being sentenced to spend his life alone, on a rusting space station, for absolutely no reason. It DID demonstrate brilliantly, however, how convincing the Cylons can be at presenting themselves as real humans.

As for the number of Cylons that we now know of, remember that Number Six said that there were now 12 models of Cylons.

1. The walking toaster from the original show (she said in episode 1 that they were still around and had their uses).
2. The new robotic Cylon model.
3. The "Boomer" model.
4. The "Arms Dealer" model.
5. The "Tour Guide/Abandoned Guy" model.
6. "Number Six" aka "The Oversexed Evil Blonde Robot".
7. Another unidentified male model in the crowd at the end of episode two.

By my count, there should be five more models of Cylon that we haven't seen yet. The Baltar model? ;)

[Tharesa]

45. actually I disagree again!

The 12 models are probably modeled after each tribe of humans with different traits and languages. Not for each individual human that the cylon is modeled after.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

36. You're right, the music AND the sound effects were great...

They hinted at the silence of space by making the guns souns as if they were being fired under water or muffled...

And when BSG laid down fire... WOW! I thought to myself, Well THAT's a battlestar.

They've got a contingent of 2000 people on board, so the thing is truly massive in size. Lots of rom for lots of shows here. I wonder if they're going to replace Stargate 1 with this as I believe this will be the last season.

[Tharesa]

40. Yes..but,

for any person who grew up in Atlanta, the biggest disappointment was not to actually see the Battlestar Atlantia!

I guess I'm just a fan of the old series, but I'll keep watching. Will their be an episode with Commander Cain, and the Battlestar Pegasus? Stay tuned...:shrug:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

44. LOL... I think that's a big part of the diverse opinions on the show...

I never cared much for the original even though I watched it as SF on the television in those days was relegated to Star Trek repeats, Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers. So, when I first heard they were doing a remake, my only thought was "WHY?"

I was expecting the same two dimensional characters and straight lined plot. The new show was, to me, some of the best small screen SciFi I've seen since they decommissioned Babylon 5.

[Tharesa]

55. Are you kidding?

Those were hightech effects for the 70's!! The robotic voices and the voice activated lights were cutting edge stuff back then. I still have this late 70's mult-colored light, which flashes these different colors whenever people in the room are talking. Then I had a color computer. Came out in the early 80's. I wrote some of my first programs on it. One of the best things you could do was slap in a speech pack, write a program. Then your computer would say everything which you typed, in the voice of a cylon! pretty cool, eh? B-)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

57. The special effects were great. It was one of the most expensive

TV shows ever... But the writing... All my previous television sci fi was Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and the original Star Trek. BSG couldn't touch any of these programs for sheer imagination.

BSG wasn't science fiction, it was Wagon Train in space trying to ride the coat tails of George Lucas's Star Wars.

Was that a Commodore or a RS80 that you had? I had a Vic20 and learned Basic way back when on the darned thing. Those were fun days in computers back then.

[Tharesa]

61. TRS 80

programming was fun. But word processing was hell! we used some software called telewriter. One cool program was called wefax. Just link an analogue cable to the back of the computer to a shortwave radio, and it would produce image after image of satellite weather pictures. The problem was it took forever just for the images to be completely loaded on the screen! But now we can get these images in a single click on the internet.

I also remember some of the first vidio games on that computer, like zaxon, donkey kong, and space invaders. I also logging onto the internet with a model for the first time with that computer, and it took ages just to make a connection. Having some one-on-one chats using that computer. But that was the extent of my internet dialogues in those days.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

62. That wasn't internet. that was the great American FidoNet BBS system

(I'll bet!) Used to buy Computer Shopper Magazine just for the section on BBS #'s. Then came Comp-U=Serve. Entirely text based except for the ascii graphics... Online games like Trade Wars...

Fun times for me.

[Tharesa]

64. ..funny how we can forget the daily things we did 20 years ago.

I remember using compuserve in 1979. Names like fidonet just sort of fade away with the years, or else become replaced with something new. I still have boxes of double density 300 KB disks full of files, but nothing to load them with!

[oldcoot]

38. #3

I think that he is a cylon but does not know it yet.

I really did not care for the music because I was not able to hear some of the dialog. Other than that one minor complaint, I will admit that I enjoyed the show.

[Beetwasher]

19. Yup, it was surprisingly good!

I thought it was very plausible and well written and they way they did the cinematography was awesome! The space battles and sense of scale they accomplished was terrific! They added a sense of reality and attention to detail that really impressed me. I like the fact that they did their homework physics-wise too, like the attitude adjustment jets on the fighters...Well, done. I'm hoping for a regular series...

[htuttle]

34. Physics-wise, one of the the best scenes...

...was when the Cylons had used the EMP-type thing on the newer fighters and they all lost power.

They were all sort of floating free and gently (and not-so-gently) bumping into each other uncontrolled -- I thought that scene was really cool. I hadn't ever seen the depiction of loss of attitude control done so well.

The camera work they did during the battles was also a first in my experience. They were doing hand-held type shots with big swings of the camera and fast zooms, just as if somebody was standing (floating) there taping the whole battle with a video camera. Very cool. Much more realistic than any space battle I'd seen before.

[Deja Q]

69. I noticed that too... considering the effects are CGI...

they're spectacularly done, most notably in the camerawork AND attention to detail, especially when the ships used thrusters to move in various directions and when the EMP disrupted the Vipers...

The mass Cylon attack against their enemies was pretty damn chilling too, especially in part 2...

The only physics-wise problems I saw was that (a) you can't have explosions in space that expand outward, and (b) unless there was a forcefield, the fires seen on the Galactica after the nuke hit the ship shouldn't have been happening.

But those are minor quibbles, since when has sci-fi been scientifically accurate AND entertaining?

[Zolok]

22. Liked it didn't love it....

The acting ran the gamut from fine (Olmos, McDonald) to dismissable (whoever played Apollo)...but they layered the show and tried to correct it's flaws so I'm giving them a strong B overall.
If it goes to a series, I may watch it.
:)

[htuttle]

25. EXCELLENT! It's like NYPD Blue In Space!

Seriously, did anyone notice all the handy-cam shots, just like Homicide, NYPD Blue, etc? I've never seen space battles shot that way, and it looked REALLY great, just like actual news footage.

I think that's where they are getting a lot of inspiration. At first, all the 'sex', and the interpersonal conflicts seemed over the top, but after I made the 'NYPD Blue' association, it seemed appropriate in place.

I also like the fact that there's very little technology that seems 'magic' (except for the FTL drive). No laser beams! No Photon torpedoes! Gatling guns and nuclear missles, instead.

All in all, I think it's very well done, and might even raise the bar in terms of plot and character development in a sci fi series. If nothing else, they 'handy-cam in space' during the battles is really cool.

I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised. I found very little not to like. My wife and I were startled to realize that we were both chewing our nails during one scene (I won't give a spoiler). That hasn't happened before during a Sci Fi channel series in my memory...

[Tharesa]

26. Tharesa did.

But why is boomer now a cylon? In the old series boomer was the good guy! And to make things worse look at the propaganda, "SO WE ALL SAY..SO WE ALL SAY!" That really pissed off Tharesa!

And Boxey was supposed to be Zac's son, or Apollo's nephew in the first series..but who the hell is he this time? Worse of all are the Cylons. In the original series they were a race of robots built by an evil race of reptiles. These robots were modeled to look like these reptiles, explaining their strange eyes and imperious leaders. But in this series the humans made the cylons, and they try to send us the message that cylons have no souls. IMHO..anything with intelligence, artifical or otherwise, has a soul!

The only scene so far which I have enjoyed was the part when Baltar announced to Number 6 that he wasn't on anyone's side. I know exactly how he felt! :thumbsdown:

[DoNotRefill]

29. They played with the formula.

Lots of people from the first series died (or were left out) in the second series (Jolly comes to mind). Adama didn't have a daughter on the bridge crew. No Cassiopia, either. :(

Boxy was never put forth as Zach's son. He was always an adopted orphan. BTW, did anybody else immediately know that the kid was Boxy when he first appeared on screen? The haircut gave it away, IMHO.

Also, in the first season, the cylon centurions were mortal cyborgs, not entirely machines. There was a rather convoluted "first brain, second brain, third brain" promotion scenario, with the Imperious Leader being the only one with a third brain. Where he kept it, I don't know. There was only one Imperious leader.

OK, maybe I spent too much time watching the series as a kid....

[Gore1FL]

70. boxxy was an orhpan in the original too.

He was found y serina and taken abord the fleet. Apolla married Serina and then Serina died. This left Apollo as the last in the long line of defacto adoptions.

[Dogmudgeon]

30. A completely enjoyable surprise

It's no secret, I thought the original BSG was a piece of SHT, loaded with early-Reagan-era right-wing tropes, saved only by the interesting acting of Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and the occasional talent-laden newcomer they'd stick on the bridge with Dippity-Doo-soaked feathered hair.

And there has also been a faithful contingent of Battlestar Galactica fans who have kept the flame alive (cue music) lo these 25 years, who are none to pleased with the modern Galactica.

But I was amazed by how good the new Battlestar Galactica was! I'd always been an Olmos fan, but his Adama has so much more to him than Lorne Greene's did. The shared arc between the Adamas was gut-wrenching to watch, which is actually a good thing in drama.

Many complaints were fielded by the "reimaging" of Cigarbuck -- I mean, Starbuck -- from a long-haired male rogue to a short-haired female rogue, but Katie Sackett (?) was fantastic in the role, far beyond her sex appeal, which is prodigious, indeed.

The thing that really got to me was that they gave a much better sense of the heartless murder of a huge, multi-planet civilization, ending the lives billions of human beings. Even the scene of the cutelittleblondgirl in the domed habitat had a depth it ordinarily would have lost. While it is a time-proven dramatic technique (i.e., a cliché) to abuse or kill CLBGs in movies about crimes, this one greatly amplified the sense of pathos as the Cylon bombs killed the 2000-odd people in the trapped vessels.

The character of Baltar was also a surprise. True to form, Veddy British Accent = Bad Guy, but this wasn't your Daddy's Baltar. He came off as a man whose narcissism and manipulativeness have come back to bite him in the ass in the form of the Cylon siren, and he's cracking from carrying the burden of his betrayal of his entire race. Death of a Salesman writ large and among the stars (but not even BSG Mark 2 can approach Miller's writing).

I didn't think that the "sex scenes" were intrusive at all. The only loveless "hot sex" was between sexy-British Baltar and the Aryan Goddess Cylon, and it was creepy. The rest of it was very, well, touching, as if (shudder!) the couples actually loved each other! So I'm waiting for Rev. Falwell to weigh in with his disapproval of people in love having s-e-double-toothpicks.

I hope the Sci-Fi Channel doesn't abandon this Galactica the way Chris Carter abandoned Space: Above and Beyond, another military sci-fi series with top-flight acting and a subversive subplot.

My most weighty judgement? Four (Battle)Stars. It's simply the best piece of SF that's been made for TV since 1996.

--bkl

[Beetwasher]

32. Excellent Review!

I know, I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed the show! I went in with low expectations, but COULD have gone in with high expectations and still been impressed!

They really added an incredible depth to the characters that was accomplished in a relatively short time span. They've accomplished true drama, they've set up some great arcs, journeys and conflicts for so many of the characters already, I am totally hooked! This is space opera at it's best, on par w/ B5 so far I'd have to say!

Yes, the female Starbuck is absolutely terrific. Baltar's character is amazingly complex, interesting and very well acted, I can't wait to see where they go w/ him. Olmos was born to play Adama. Mary McDonnle is also terrific. I'm only afraid that if this goes to series, they won't be able to hold onto these terrific actors!

And man oh man did I dig the cinematography of the battle scenes. I LOVED what they did w/ scale and I love the attention to detail and the use of actual, real physics (the attitude jets on the fighters just really stood out as a great detail, among others!). They put a lot of thought into this thing. If they can keep up this quality then I'm totally psyched for more, because there's is an incredible amount of stuff they could do w/ the series!

[PatGund]

31. Watched it as well

And here's some random comments.....

Ah, a page from Star Trek. When in doubt, fire up the technobabble generators.

FTL seems to be a chancy thing with them.

The new president has either let power go to her head, or is trying very hard to make up for any insecurities.

Nice concept of a "cylon-proof" station, though I have to wonder if there's been any thought to finding out what the radiation is and turning it into a weapon.

For that matter, why didn't the Cylons, if they knew of the station, fire a few missles off though the cloud?

Nice to see that the Galactica has some big guns as well.

I'm amazed that Starbuck and Tigh weren't cashiered or RIF'ed long before now. Militaries use peacetime to get rid of the deadwood.

Colonial Fleet seems to have no rules against enlisted/officer relationships, or even relationships between people in the same chain of command. Stupid.

Interesting that the religious aspects of the humans finally came up.

Six's chipping Baltar was an interesting, (though tiring) twist. I've had some psychopathic ex-girlfriends, (one in particular) that would have done that to me if they could.

Starbuck is either a) insane, or b) has big brass ovaries.

Hmm....if we take what the Cylon on the station said, Cylon theology states that God made a mistake in creating humanity, and that God had the humans create Cylons to correct that mistake. Yet Six has indicated that she thinks it was a shame that Baltar's brain wasn't recorded. So there may be some qualities from humanity that the Cylons may feel they lack. Maybe this was the reason for creating the 12 different types of Humanoid Cylons - as a way to determine what those qualities were.

12 Colonies - 12 Humanoid Cylons. Is there a link??

In the old series, Adama was part military leader, part political leader, and part religious leader. I'm glad they seperated those roles out in this one.

Though Adama was smart to use the myth of Earth as the 13th colony as a rally point. Morale being important.

I see some of the mk. 7 vipers survived. Good.

However, unless they a) have a factory ship, or b) give into "Space 1999" syndrome, (for the Moon is Hollow, and Filled with Eagles), they have a problem with Viper and Raptor production - which is they can't produce them. A Carrier doesn't build it's aircraft, and doesn't even have the plans. And it will take time and a certain level of infrastructure to build the parts. Unless there's some depots they can raid along the way, they're screwed. If there's a fleet "boneyard" somewhere on the way out, making a quick raid to grab as many small craft as possible may be a good idea.

Okay, good way to find out who's a Cylon and who isn't - check for abnormally high libidos. I'm going to assume that the CPO never noticed Boomer's glowing spine. Or is that only showing up on active Cylons, rather than deep-cover ones??

There is some potential in this series. However, it may be better for some to think of it as "Battlestar Galactica - the Next Generation". Or maybe the Mirror Universe one, because it's way too different from the original. It has some good points, but I have to wonder if it could have been better done by making it closer to the original. Richard Hatch, Tom DeSantos and Glen Larson had some good ideas for a BG Revival, I'm wondering if Universal may have been better using some of their ideas.

And, after the nth commercial for UFO shows and Sci-Lie's "Mad Mad Mad House" reality show, I really, really, really think that the suits at Sci-Lie Just Don't Get Science Fiction. I'm wondering if some of the sex scenes in the new BG were thown in to make them happy. Surprised they didn't throw in pro wrestling if that was the case.

[Beetwasher]

35. I'm Glad it's Way Different than the Original

It's almost like they're doing it right this time.

Nice concept of a "cylon-proof" station, though I have to wonder if there's been any thought to finding out what the radiation is and turning it into a weapon.

Sounds like a good future episode! ;-)

For that matter, why didn't the Cylons, if they knew of the station, fire a few missles off though the cloud?

Don't know for sure, but possibly they couldn't target anything through the cloud? It seemed to me they knew they were in there, but not exactly where. :shrug:

Interesting that the religious aspects of the humans finally came up.

Absolutely! I see the religious/philosophical aspects that are being raised as one of the more excellent aspects of the writing! Thought provoking indeed. They can and I hope they do do a lot more w/ this aspect.

Six's chipping Baltar was an interesting, (though tiring) twist. I've had some psychopathic ex-girlfriends, (one in particular) that would have done that to me if they could.

Actually, this is more than interesting. I'm not so sure he's chipped, that's the real twist. He could be going insane! That's what makes this story line so fucking awesome! And the actor is doing a GREAT job with it!

Starbuck is either a) insane, or b) has big brass ovaries.

IMO, it's "b", all the way. What a great character! Fuck all those whiny pussies who were upset they made Starbuck a female. She kicks major ass.

Hmm....if we take what the Cylon on the station said, Cylon theology states that God made a mistake in creating humanity, and that God had the humans create Cylons to correct that mistake. Yet Six has indicated that she thinks it was a shame that Baltar's brain wasn't recorded. So there may be some qualities from humanity that the Cylons may feel they lack. Maybe this was the reason for creating the 12 different types of Humanoid Cylons - as a way to determine what those qualities were.

Yup, that's why I'm VERY impressed with the writing so far. They can go to some very cool, deep places the way they've got it set up. Think Bladerunner...They are definitely going in the right direction so far...

Though Adama was smart to use the myth of Earth as the 13th colony as a rally point. Morale being important.

Again, stellar writing creating the possibility of an awesome future conflict regarding the secret. What a great set up.

However, unless they a) have a factory ship, or b) give into "Space 1999" syndrome, (for the Moon is Hollow, and Filled with Eagles), they have a problem with Viper and Raptor production - which is they can't produce them. A Carrier doesn't build it's aircraft, and doesn't even have the plans. And it will take time and a certain level of infrastructure to build the parts. Unless there's some depots they can raid along the way, they're screwed. If there's a fleet "boneyard" somewhere on the way out, making a quick raid to grab as many small craft as possible may be a good idea.

I too thought of this and I can almost guarantee that given the writing so far, this issue will be addressed in future episodes. I can imagine that this will be a key obstacle to be overcome and/or constantly dealt with. The struggle I'm sure will be ongoing and very interesting to see develop...I imagine this will be a continuing plot-line...

Okay, good way to find out who's a Cylon and who isn't - check for abnormally high libidos. I'm going to assume that the CPO never noticed Boomer's glowing spine. Or is that only showing up on active Cylons, rather than deep-cover ones??

Ahh, you just reminded of another great plot. Baltar's lie about having found a way to detect Cylons! Pure genius. Another great plot instrument.

This Battlestar Galactica for adults. I can't believe how impressed I was with it. They absolutely have to make it into a series.

[Tharesa]

37. Tharesa agree, both Apollo and Starbuck are more interesting this time!

But the humanoid cylons are a stupid addition to the plot. If the cylons are really out to destroy humanity..then why produce cynthetic humans which are even more evil than humans, are detectable by humans, and can survive longer.

Sounds like a political message hidden in this mini series, a terrorist maybe waiting under every bed! So start the witch hunt ye patriotic members of the 12 tribes, SO WE ALL SAY.

[Beetwasher]

39. They're NOT detectable by humans

at least not yet...I actually think they're a great addition to the plot...They make a lot of sense from a tactical point of view. The best way to infiltrate your enemy is to look and behave like them. That's what they did and that's how they won the war.

[Tharesa]

42. Yes, but here is the problem with the plot

why would someone wish to become the same as the enemy they seek to destroy. Aren't cylons ultimately seeking to destroy humanity in the series, because of their wild emotions? That is what the last episode seemed to indicate.

Finally, why would Number 6 waste time with breaking a baby's neck before the world was about to end?

[Beetwasher]

46. They may not necessarily

want to become like the humans, but that may be an unintended by-product of their subterfuge. That's the dangerous line you walk. By becoming like your enemy to defeat them, you may in fact become what you're trying to defeat! I see this as good writing and an exploration of some deep philosophical/moral concepts.

As far as breaking the baby's neck, I see two possibilites. 1. she did it out of curiosity, thus her comment about that it was pretty amazing that a neck could hold so much weight 2. she did it out of compassion, to save the baby from having to deal w/ the Cylon attack. I think they also did it for the dramatic quality, in other words, the show has no bounds and no compunctions about something that is somewhat taboo on TV, killing a baby...

See, I see the point you're bringing up as a weakness as being a central element to the underlying theme of the show. Did you ever see Bladerunner? Have you read Frankenstein? Can a machine/monster be considered human? Can a machine ever be considered as possessing a soul? What is a soul? What is emotion? Can a machine programmed to behave as if it has emotion actually FEEL emotion? #6 seems to be evolving past her programming. She claims to feel love for Baltar! The Cylons may have created an uncontrollable/unpredictable monster when they created their synthetic humans. They may not have foreseen the consequences of their actions, just like the humans didn't foresee the consequences of their action in origianlly creating the Cylons! This is great writing IMO.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

49. My guess on the "baby killing."

I think they wrote it in to hint at an underlying compassion in #6. If they do a series, she could fill much the samew role as Robert Englund did in "V"

I'll vote for the compassion guess.

[Beetwasher]

51. She'll be an interesting character to watch develop

I'm thinking she's more like Roy Batty in Bladerunner...

[Beetwasher]

63. More On The "Baby Killing"

The more I think about this, the more I realize what an important and dramatic thing this was. The question is, indeed, WHY did she kill the baby? It says a lot about her character and about the machines and it's probably a critical question that has important implications in general for the show. Was it out of compassion? Or was she a curious, sentient machine, coming in contact possibly for the first time w/ human child? How are the machines dealing w/ their simulated emotions? For now I think, it's supposed to be a mystery, but as the character and series (hopefully) develops we may be able to discern an answer...Another example of good writing in the show I think...

[oldcoot]

56. Sci-Fi Channel and quality

My biggest problem with Sci-Fi Channel is that the "suits" are only interested in the "bottom line." I feel that if one wants to make a good science fiction movie with plenty of special effects, one needs to be willing to spend some money to make sure that the special effects look good. Unfortunately, I have seen too many programs on the Sci-Fi Channel with terrible special effects, writing, and acting.

I suspect that the main reason that the Sci-Fi Channel features "reality" shows like "Mad Mad Mad House" and UFO shows is that those shows are cheap to make. This is why I was pleasantly surprised by "Battlestar Galactica." I was pleased that they hired and apparently paid two well-known and accomplished actors. I was also very happy with the plot and character development.

Like you, I wondered about the glowing spine. My theory is that the writers did not mean for the glowing spine to be visible to the characters but only to the viewers. This may explain why the CPO did not notice Boomer's glowing spine. I wonder if Boomer was always a cylon or if the cylons captured and/or killed the original Boomer and replaced her with a cylon.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

58. I agree with your thoughts on the SciFi channel 110%

You can consider what they did to Farscape as proof.

(Which, has been funded for a movie to close the story line but not with the SciFi channel.)

[Beetwasher]

60. The Glowing Spine Effect

Yeah, you might be right about it being a "viewer only" effect. Or, it could be something that happens only at certain times, under certain circumstances and when no one can or would really notice...:shrug:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

41. Did anyone else think that the "chip" in the head was borrowed from Farsca

I half expected Scorpie to pay Balzar a visit.

I think that they borrowed a lot of the better ideas from a lot of different Scifi..

The battle scenes reminded me of B5
#6 from Bladerunner,
end of the world, The Day After
Old Industrial look from Alien
And the only thing they took from the original BSG? Names and looking for earth.
Unisex bathrooms from Starship< Troopers...[br />
Someting original? HINGED DOORS & ANALOG Instruments.

This was SOOO much better than their last foray into a possible series. I'm still pissed at them for what they did to Riverworld.

[Beetwasher]

43. Remember though, it's not certain that he's got a chip in his head

He could be going insane...But yeah, they definitely borrowed a lot from other series and they put it together real well!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

47. Good point. Could be. I did have one "believability" problem though...

When a Cylon is destroyed, it wakes up at a new location in a new body with memories intact (Riverworld rip). If they have that sort of data transmission capability, why can't they be sharing info as they collect it like the Borg of ST do?

Hmmmm. Enquiring minds want to know.

[Beetwasher]

48. Maybe the do!

It's not precluded so far. Future episode?

Remember, the weapons dealer Cylon couldn't transmit theoretically because he was in the cloud. #6 might have very well been constantly transmitting everything for all we know...

Damn, there are so many great elements and plot instruments to this show it's almost overwhelming! I really haven't been this excited about a show in long time!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

50. I'm with you. This was one of the better written SF for the small screen

in quite a while. The pickings are a bit slim right now as IMHO, theonly imaginative SF wrtiing done presently for the small screen is SG1.

[Beetwasher]

52. Heck! It'd be damn good even for the large screen!

SG1 is losing it's lustre for me this season...Though I still watch it and enjoy it and it's one of the best shows out there, it's slowing down a bit IMO.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

53. It' slost a bit in the last few seasons...

After seeing the promo for the new season. I get the feeling that they're planning on going out with a bang. I'm guessing that since they've decided (conjecture on my part) to end the show, that they are all going to try to make it a good season for the reason that they're all hoping to find good work on other shows after this season.

[Beetwasher]

59. I Hope You're Right!

About SG1 going out w/ a bang of a great last season. It's overall been such a great show...

I'm glad you appreciated BG as much as I did! I don't know many other people who would be into it and I was dying to discuss it cuz I was so psyched about it.

And the more I've discussed and thought about it, the more I'm liking the show. They really set it up w/ a surprising amount of depth.

[Astarho]

65. It was alright *possible spoilers*

BG was a little before my time (I was a year old when it came out) but I did see the reruns on Scifi, but was not overly impressed. I was looking forward to this one, female Starbuck and all. They did have a different twist on a lot of it, but nothing particularly new.

I liked Olmos as Adama, he brought a lot to the role. They also did a good job with Baltar and explaining his motivations and why he betrayed Humanity, and how he tries to come to terms with it. Mary McDonell did a good job with what she was given, although I have no idea why she had breast cancer, it really did not have anything to do with the story (I personally think it is so they can write her out if it goes to a series). Tricia Helfer was also quite good as the the evil Cylon chick.

However I thought the guy that played Apollo was bland. I really didn't care if he lived or died. Colonal Tigh seemed to be a man past his prime and doddering into old age. Starbuck, I didn't mind they made the character female, but they need to tone her down a little, she's too unlikeable. Boomer really did not have much to do.

But a lot of this I have seen before: The chip in Baltar's head seems to have come from Farscape, Six acted a lot like Scorpy did to John (but of course more sexed-up).
The whole "one of us here is not human" has been done so often, and BG did not add much to it, and if they have infiltraters on Galactica why do they still need Baltar? Also the twist of Boomer being the Cylon, why didn't they have some clues, have Boomer recognize Baltar rather then the other guy, or something like that.
The whole thing felt too contemporary, with everyone wearing suits and ties and having names like Sharon, William, Laura, Lee, etc.
The whole shaky camera/documentary style battle footage was annoying and WHAT was the source of the cameras? B5 used that style only when we were watching through security cameras.

That said, it was an enjoyable enough way to spend a few hours, but I probably wouldn't watch it again, or as a regular series.

Just one final thought, I have to laugh when I read some reviews of people complaining about how "PC" the casting is. They dropped most of the female cast and then had to switch two male characters to female. Both African American characters were replaced, one with a white man and the other with an Asian woman (who as it turns out may be evil)

[xultar]

68. OK so who was that Baltar guy. The one dating the Cylon chick?

[Deja Q]

67. I agree!

(I wish my post got as many responses though. :D )

This new BG does have style, and a certain charm, and the Cylons come across as being a very nasty threat.

Still, the humans look and sound a little too much like contemporary 2003 humans for my liking, but I can let that slide. :D

Disagree with you on "Enterprise". If they want to do something new, they can start by getting rid of Rick Berman, amongst others.

People whined when John Nathan-Turner had stayed on "Doctor Who" for 9 years, and he only produced something like 44 stories. Compare that to Berman's 600+ stories, fizzling out after 200 and the fans don't mind getting the same tired dish over and over... Speaks volumes, in a way...