New Battlestar Galactica Webisode Today!

[Ravenseye]

10 webisodes leading up to season 3. Part 1 started showing today on the sci fi channel. They show what happens between the end of season 2 and the start of season 3, which will supposedly be a separation of 120 or so days.

"The Resistance"

http://www.scifi.com/

Anyone else can't wait for the new BSG season to start? Best series on television, imho.

[Archae]

1. BFD.

I still say the original was better. :P

[Ravenseye]

3. Frak you

I like the new series much better. I do love the original, but I went back and watched some of it this summer and man...horrible. Really really horrible. Some of the episodes were UNBEARABLY Bad. There were some good ones in there but it was just...bad.

The effects were so repeated that if I had to see a viper break left one more time I think I'd scream. The writing was stilted. The shows were 70s formulaic.

There was a great show in there, but not up to today's standards imho, even from a nostalgia point of view.

;)

[Benfea]

24. That was a joke. It had to be.

[Jokerman]

2. Just finished watching

I'll withhold any comment on the new stuff until I see more.

I've been a big fan since the start of the new series but the whole "New Caprica" thing and the recent jumps in time have me wondering just WTF the writers are thinking.

[Ravenseye]

4. It was a big mental jump

In the season finale when it skipped forward a year it was a big shock. My wife and I didn't know how we felt about it, and I think that feeling was pretty widespread. It was definately a break from the past.

Thinking about it now though, I like it. It takes the series beyond the original one. It adds a new level to it's mythology, like Kobol. This is the story about the exodus of mankind from the colonies following a holocaust by an inhuman enemy out to slaughter them. It's scale is biblical. I equate New Caprica to something like the Jew's time in Babylon or Egypt. It's just another stage of the story. The holocaust happened and they fled lookign for a home for 7 months, along the way finding Kobol and a new path to their cousin's mythical planet, then they wearily settled for a year on a planet of hardship, then were conqured and live under occupation for months and months, only to rebel and make it back into space (by episode 4 or 5 of season 3 I think) to continue their escape and search for their new home.

At first I didn't know. Now I love it. It allows not just that new level of the mythology but it allows the characters to expand in a way that the general method of BSG doesn't allow. 36 episodes in the first two seasons along with the miniseries covered only about seven months. That's a tough way to really actively change and develop characters. This way people can grow, they can change. Starbuck can get married, Chief Tyrol can have a baby with what's her flake...

I like it.

[Jokerman]

5. It seems out of character to me.

I'll give them props for being inventive and daring enough to take the story in an entirely new direction but here's my problem with the recent shift in gears:

The humans maintained a powerful, well trained military machine in spite of not seeing a single Cylon for something like twenty years. The Cylons attack, refusing offers of surrender and set out to exterminate the humans. A small group of survivors fight valiantly until they reach a planet that they think may be hard to detect. At this point they basically let their guard down and the Cylons, who have since totally reformed and now want to help the humans instead of killing them, walk in and take over.

I'm not saying it couldn't happen, particularly after the hardships of being on the run and with Baltar running the show but it still seems out of character for career military people like Adama and Apollo to become so complacent.

I'm still a fan and I'm anxiously awaiting the new season but I'm not sure that I buy the story line at this point.
Only time (and new episodes) will tell.

[Xithras]

6. I think you missed something.

Adama and Apollo didn't become complacent. Roslyn didn't become complacent. Baltar won the election, and control of the civilian government, with the promise of the founding of a peaceful world on this "undetectable" planet. Baltar, the legally elected president, ordered the fleet to land the people on the planet, stripped the battlestars of most of their resources and crews. The Galactica and Pegasus remained in orbit, staffed only with skeleton crews, because Adama feared that the Cylons would return. He was, of course, correct.

The problem wasn't that the military stood down, but that the civilians lost their will to fight. Without civilian support, Adama simply didn't have the resources he needed to fight off the Cylons.

[Jokerman]

7. No, I caught all that...

I just don't find it believable in the context of the characters previous actions.

Again, I'm merely stating an opinion that could very well change after viewing the new episodes.

[Ravenseye]

8. I think it fits Adama's actions

After Adama was shot he went through a bunch of introspection. Particularly when he called off the assassination of Admiral Cain.

"It's not enough to survive. One has to be worthy of surviving."

Adama let Baltar become President. He had the power to ignore the fact that the election was rigged. It was internalized. Heck he could have just peformed a military coup. He didn't though.

"Do we steal the results of a democratic election or not? That's the decision, because if we do this, we're criminals. Unindicted maybe, but criminals just the same."

Adama "The people made their choice, we'll have to live with it."
Roslin "It's the wrong choice."
Adama "Yes it is."
Roslin "So that's it. We just give it up, just like that."
Adama "The battle perhaps, but not the war."

Adama believed that humanity needed to choose it's own path, and that otherwise they weren't worthy of surviving. He wasn't willing to give up, but he wasn't willing to become unethical or immoral to do so. That was a hallmark of the cylons and Baltar. If the humans became the same as the Cylon's. Why did they deserve to live?

I think his actions are perfectly reasonable. He was willing to let humanity destroy itself rather than him impose his beliefs and will upon others.

[Benfea]

26. You're making assumptions about the cylons.

Six may not be representative of the Cylons as a whole, and we know that there are disagreements within cylon society. Other than that, we don't know very much about cylon morals or attitudes.

[Ravenseye]

29. It's not just six

Granted I'm sure there is more to the Cylon's than what we've seen but it's not just six...

Leoben attacked Adama in the miniseries (he struck the first blow)
Doral used himself as a suicide bomb to presumably attempt to kill Adama
Sharon #1 shot Adama twice in the chest and sabotaged their water supply
D'Anna Biers had no problem trying to kill Starbuck's boy on Capirca
Simon was running the farm where they were forcibly operating on and using humans in scientific experiments.

All of them lie. All of them were complicit directly or indirectly with the holocaust (which killed what? 40 Billion people or so?)

I'd say their morals and attitudes are pretty much out there. Genocide, human experimentation, murder, terrorism...

Yeah they're just peachy.

[Benfea]

25. You don't believe these military men are capable of that?

The crew of the Galactica were assigned to the crappiest post in the fleet. They're all misfits one way or another, so they each got shipped out to an ancient, about-to-be-decommissioned hunk of junk.

The command of the Battlestar is completely incestuous. The XO is the captains best bud, and Adama even pulled strings to get/keep Tigh there. The CAG (now cpt. of another Battlestar) is the captain's son. The top pilot, second to the CAG, is the almost-daughter in law of the captain. The crew chief was having an affair with a pilot. Several top officers have drinking and/or drug problems. Officers of wildly different rank regularly drink and play cards together (that kind of fraternization is a no-no in any well-run military).

You think it's out of place for the command crew to become complacent slobs in only a year? They were barely functional to begin with.

Don't get me wrong, I love 'em. Their misfit status is what makes the show so interesting, but if you think the characters in BSG are top-notch examples of a well-run military unit, you're very much mistaken. I think the colonial military used the Galactica as a dead-end post to dump people whose careers weren't going anywhere anyway.

[Ravenseye]

30. Good point

I had thought about that before. What sorts of people would be on Galactica at that point. Although they had been supplemented with Pegasus staff and pilots who were presumably more elite, the command staff is still a bit suspect.

I bet we see more of that in flashbacks as we glimpsed breifly in season 2. Adama and Tigh's relationship. How they got stuck on Galactica. Etc.

[Ravenseye]

10. See my comments in 8

Adama seems in character for me to let it all go down, but the part that doesn't jive with me is how lackadaisical they seem after a year up in space. More than half the crew of the Galactica on the ground. Adama even refered to it as 'the lighthouse'. Adama said "I don't think they're coming back anymore."

Really? After a year? You think they've given up? That's the part that seemed out of character to me. Letting them stay, letting Baltar win the election. That makes sense.

Adama actually thinking that the Cylons aren't coming back anymore? I just have a hard time with that. I'd imagine him orbiting in that ship till the day he died, and fighting and arguing for enough peopel to man the cap and the ship at all times. I can see Baltar overriding him, but I can't see Adama letting his guard down as much as he did.

who knows. Maybe they'll explain that more.

[Jokerman]

16. I think we're in agreement.

I can see where Adama regrets his previous actions (locking up the President, conspiring to kill a superior) but I still don't buy how easily the Cylons took over.

Maybe Adama has something up his sleeve we don't know about.

MAYBE (wild speculation alert) it's all a LIHOP by Adama to show the civilians how stupid they were. (Ha Ha)

[Ravenseye]

17. snicker

Tin foil hat time for Adama eh? heh.

I don't know. I can't wait though. I'll forgive that one lapse in judgement on his part, if that's what it was, as long as they go strong from here on out.

One thing this storyline has done is make me guess more about the different things that might happen in the future. I've read a bunch of spoilers that make it sound like particularly the second half of the season will blow our minds. We'll see. I doubt those episodes are even written yet.

I'm hopefull though. I love pretty much everything they've done so far.

[Benfea]

28. What choice did he have?

I'm pretty sure doing otherwise would have required defying the civilian leadership and setting up a military dictatorship. That's definitely not Adama's style, at least not anymore.

[Ravenseye]

31. Well he supposedly retained military authority

That was a big thing with President Roslin. Adama made all the military decisions. He went against the civilian wishes a few times for military reasons.

I would have expected his style at least to consist of keeping the miltary aspects of the fleet at least up to snuff. Instead half the crew was on the surface and they didn't have enough pilots to fly a CAP regularly. He seemed lackadaisical about it. That's the part that shocked me. Not the time jump so much, or what happened, but the fact that Adama was so...calm.

I would have expected him to sit up their in his lighthouse till the day he died keeping an effective fighting force in place. Heck as another poster mentioned they did it for 20 years after the previous cylon war, but now after a year they're ready to practically disarm? It just didn't feel right.

[Benfea]

33. That was something Roslin agreed to out of respect.

Our civilian leaders make a big show of observign similar respect, but they don't. Not really. Seriously, would you expect Baltar to bother with it?

[Ravenseye]

34. Yeah but would Adama have caved to Roslin?

I doubt it. If he really felt militarily there was an issue. Why would he cave to Baltar if he wouldn't to Roslin?

[Benfea]

35. He would and did cave in to Roslin. -NT

[Ravenseye]

36. He did?

When? I mean. I know he changed his mind and ended up agreeing with her, but I don't recall him ever not doing what he thought was militarily appropriate just because of what she said.

[NewWaveChick1981]

9. I loved the original BG, and I like the new one.

Anything with Richard Hatch in it is OK by me. :9

[Ravenseye]

11. You and Richard Hatch

No pic this time? ;)

I always liked Dirk Benedict better. Apollo was too goody goody for me.

[NewWaveChick1981]

12. LOL.... Nope, no pic (unless you want the oldie from the 80s)

:rofl: For me, it was about the dark good looks that Richard Hatch has. :9 Still is.

I liked Starbuck (and hey, he even had a chain of coffee shops named after him... :rofl:), but I just liked Apollo better. :D

[Ravenseye]

13. Tall dark and handsome eh?

I can dig it. I got my chicks by a combination of my tall dark and handsome looks as well as my roguish Starbuck personality. I'm like their love child.

[NewWaveChick1981]

14. So if Starbuck and Apollo had a love child, you're it?

:rofl: Sounds kinda weird to me... :P But I wouldn't mind that at all.... :*

[Ravenseye]

15. Call me Starpollo

Apbuck?

Meh.

Yeah that's me. Tall. Dark. Handsome. Smartass.

[CatholicEdHead]

18. Sweet!

Considering what the rest of the channel is doing, this is a very welcome change. With the breakup of SciFi Friday, all that will be left to watch is BSG inbetween the wrestling on the channel.

The Season 2.5 DVDs come out soon anyways.

[Ravenseye]

19. I think the friday night fall lineup is going to be

Doctor Who Season 2
Battlestar Galactica Season 3
Threshold Season 1

With BSG between two 'repeat' series, though Dr. Who season 2 hasn't been seen in the states yet unless you *ahem* downloaded them. Threshold is a canceled series from CBS last year. I don't get why that's on there.

I wish I could be put in charge of the Sci-Fi Channel with full programming control for a year or two...

[Gatchaman]

20. Are these going to air anywhere else?

I really hate having real story content available only online.

[Ravenseye]

21. I don't know

I wouldn't be surprised if Sci-Fi rebroadcasts them in like a 2 hour digest at some point, but I think prior to the season 3 premier, you'll only get them online.

[CatholicEdHead]

22. Probably on the Season 3.0 DVDs when they come out

Probably early next year.

[Benfea]

23. Cool!

I would expect the Chief to get involved in the resistance, but col. Tigh? Whoa.

[Liberal Veteran]

27. I think Tigh would be one of the most obvious choices for the resistance

Keep in mind, Tigh was involved in trying to rig with fake ballots to get Roslin re-elected.

Tigh may not make leaps of faith the way Adama does (which is why his relationship with Roslin was so strained during Season 2 while she was trying to get the Arrow of Apollo and bring it back to Kobol so she could lead the people to Earth), however, he has never been unwilling to resist the Cylons or make difficult choices (even if they aren't always the right ones). Tigh was also the guy who ordered the airlocks be opened in the initial attack on Galactica to save the ship knowing full well that crewmen would die as result of his decision.

I think Tigh is an inconsistent leader and his judgement often sucks, but I can't imagine Tigh not being intimately involved in the resistance on New Caprica. In the abscense of Adama, he'd like feel his duty would be to join the resistance and try to lead them.

[Ravenseye]

32. Yeah I'm not surprised either

Tigh wouldn't just sit down. He's a fracking bastard.

Plus even though he has his problems and inconsistencies, he wouldn't have made Colonel if he was a complete fuckup. He's capable and hardnosed. He'd never make Commander of his own ship, but he's as you mention, the kind of guy who'd make the call and open the airlocks to save the ship. The kind of guy who would store loaded guns for the resistance in the house of an infant.

He's cold, and calculating. He might not inspire, but he's damn sure capable I think.