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Battlestar Galactica Finale DVR Alert!
If you're like me, you're really excited about the series finale of Battlestar Galactica, one of the best shows of the past five years. In the old days, that meant plopping down on the couch Friday at 9 p.m. to see the show. Today, that means setting your DVR and catching it later Friday night or that weekend.
WARNING!
SyFy (yes, that's how they spell their name now) has just announced that the series finale is not 2 hours long. It's two hours and eleven minutes long! As so often happens, this is not reflected yet on my cable TV schedule and probably isn't on yours either. If you don't want to miss the last 11 minutes of the series finale, you must go to your TV and either extend the episode an extra 15 minutes (or half hour) or just tape the next show airing on SyFy.
I have a special twist because I'm taping the episode repeat at 11 p.m. (I also tape Friday Night Lights and Bill Moyers in Primetime and they conflict with the original broadcast.) Now with the original airing running through 11:11, does that mean the rerun will begin a few minutes later or 11:30 or what? To be safe, I'm taping the channel from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Reset your DVR now or you'll have to watch it online or buy it on iTunes or just burn with frustration.
And what do you expect in the finale? I thought the miniseries was good, the first season great and the second season even better. They stumbled a bit in the third season but are barreling towards a finale with great momentum. The cast is outstanding and I for one can't understand why Tricia Helfer hasn't been snapped up by a Scorsese or some other great director. She can do anything. (She does appear on Burn Notice in a recurring role.)
What do you expect to happen? Will Starbuck (Katee Sackhof, another fun actress) and Apollo (Jamie Bamber, sigh) get it on for good? Will Gaius (James Callis) ascend into the heavens and astonish himself as much as anyone else? Will President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) die? Will Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan) stop growling? Me, I think they're ALL Cylons and that the humans of Caprica were created by Cylons. How else to explain Starbuck?
And don't forget to reset your DVR.
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The emotional depth with which Galactica approached tense subject-matter was without parallel in science fiction. I would often find myself in deep reflection over many of the issues they touched...genocide, torture, imperfect often hypocritical justice, battlefield stress, desperation, unrequited love, just to name a few. No doubt I will miss it's unique way of encouraging these ponderances.
Though the series had to end, I was a little unsettled with the seemingly hurried wrap-up. It only confirmed the rumors that the show was having financial difficulties, often true of cult-classics, and had limited time. Do understood the necessity of tying up loose-ends, but I felt that the they-live-happily-ever-after but in a Matrix-world seemed almost anti-climatic. I would have rathered they all died, perhaps in the raid on the Cylon Homeworld, fitting of the overall tragedy that was the storyline.
Cinematically, Galactica was a masterful sci-fi opera, the mood setting was excellent (even if "dark-shadowy shakey-home video style" constantly reminded me of '24') and the music choreography was superb. Bear McCreary is a true genius.
I always thought Kara Thrace's "wing" tatoo was pretty spectacular -- especially with the rather mysterious empty circle at its base. Her becoming an angel after her death and guiding the fleet to a previously unknown earth turned the tatoo into a sort of visual prophecy of her final role.
Personally, I thought the mysticism was a little heavy-handed.
Having said that, I must also say that the notion of a beyond-good-and-evil cosmic intelligence running the complex biological/mechanical system of humans/cylons through cycle after cycle in the hopes that there would eventually be a different outcome was expressed pretty elegantly once the pieces came together. In all, a very interesting way to allow randomness (or free will) & predestination & cyclical rebirth to co-exist.
I wept at the end...
I confess, I am still mystified on how Kara was an angel and didn't know it til the last second, it almost seemed like she was more of a death-and-resurrection Jesus-type than angel who at the end, ascended into heaven if we go with a blend of concepts. (By the way, the theory of her being the first cylon/human hybrid since she's Daniel's daughter is great, and her being an "angel" almost puts her closer to that Galactica 1980 episode where we see the original Starbuck protect an "angel" and become the "father" of a hybrid.)
More questions: Did they ever explain what happened to the "Boxey" character they introduced in the miniseries or was that Ron's way of messing with us?
The cylons lived thousands of years, right? How did they make it to earth? Were they cylons before Caprica created them? Did the Caprica version just retreat during the war and find this thousands of years old "cylon" colony?
The time line is pretty fuzzy for me here...can anyone help?
The 5 "original" Cylons are thousands of years old because they traveled from their "Earth" to the Colonies in a sub-light speed ship, and time slowed for them (Einstein's Theory of Relativity). Thus they were able to survive the journey back to the Colonies. The ancestors of the 5 were Cylons that were created on Cobol(sp?). Those Cylons were originally entirely robotic but evolved into clone cyborgs who eventually became able to procreate, and in the process lost resurrection technology. Thus, Ellen, Saul, Tory, Sam, and Galen were all born from mothers and aged like humans. However, the 5 of them worked together to recreate resurrection, which is how they survived their own nuclear holocaust (which resulted from a conflict between the humanoid Cylons and the robotic ones). They then traveled back to the colonies to try to stop a similar conflict between humans and robotic Cylons, but found they were too late, as they arrived during the first Cylon war. They went to the Colony's cylons and created the 7 new humanoid cylons (and gave them resurrection technology), in the hopes that if they had human form, they would be more sympathetic to the "real" humans. But they were wrong.
Hope this helps...this is what I understood from a bit of explication by Sam Anders shortly before he went into surgery.
It was a great finale to a frakin' great series. I have unanswered questions about some things but then that is part of the mystery and magic of the show. I think the whole thing about Starbuck being an angel and how she just vanished was great. Roslyn was such a great character. The final battle scene just awesomely orchestrated. To the trolls who complain (and I'm not talking legitimate criticism) why do you watch? BSG was the work of Ronal Moore. It's his vision. His masterpiece. End of story. The show was great. I will miss it just like I do a great book when I finish reading it. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I'm glad they made it to earth, our earth. I still don't get the opera house motif, I don't know, maybe the whole show was just one big operetic story line being played out. Edward Jame Olmos was great as Adama. Thanks Ron Moore, thanks for the great mind blowing entertainment. Let's see now, B5, Firefly (alas too short but we do have the movie) and BSG. That's some great science fiction television. Heros, Lost and even Smallville will just have to do the job. Now where are the Westerns (I know Deadwood does count)? Can't anyone write a good Western for television?
My biggest disappointment with an otherwise good show was it's amazing lack of Blacks in anything but tertiary roles. Yes, it's science fiction, but for a show that set itself to be a thoughtful canvass of conventional issues, it was sorely lacking in this regard. Sure, many white fans will see nothing wrong, perhaps, because they can often exist for extended periods of time without any meaningful interaction with anyone outside their race, but for other minorities, the overwhelming abscence was salient. Even in the season finale, when the show attempted to make a boldface connection of science fiction and science fact, the whitewashed narrative couldn't even bring itself to present Blacks in any significant role, even in Africa.
I'll have to disagree on that front with you. Although it is true that blacks definitely only played minor roles in the series, that is not to say that the canvass was totally wiped clean of any minorities at all. I mean, how could you even state that when you have Edward James Olmos playing the lead character, Admiral Adama (and he did so with so much intelligence and brevity, I might add.) You also had the hindu actress (can't remember her name at the moment, so please forgive me) playing Tory, one of the final five cylons. And Dualla, who committed suicide earlier in the second half of the season had a pertinent story line to play too, and I believe she is a black actress of South African descent. And there was also Gaeta. Its very easy to condemn broadcast television for its lack of ethnicity, but cable television does seem to have its finger on the pulse of America, and BSG certainly did with its talented cast. Would I have liked to see more 'black' actors play a part in the series? Of course, why not? But I'm not going to say that just because it didn't have 'black' minorities that it lacked in that regard. You had some of the best parts in the series given to minorties and for that I think is a step in the right direction in my book.
The idea that minorities are "interchangeable" therefore a representation of "some" minority should satisfy "all" minorities is fairly condescending, and I'm sure you did not mean it as such, but in effect that's the point. You claim that BSG had it's finger on the pulse of America, yet in the same general breath you admit Blacks only played a minor role. I do not wish to belabor the contradiction but the dissonance is apparent and the rationalization is fairly tortured.
It would seem nearly unimaginable that in America they could find no AfricanAmerican, yes, Black, to fill anything but a minor role. As I said, in the season finale, when they find Earth and land in Africa, they could find no Blacks. They also embarked on tangential explanation of the origins of humanity (remember the "bones of a little girl - presumably Hera - found in Tanzania" headlined in the end of the seaon finale) essentially reinventing an Africa without Africans. Remarkable. The show gets good marks otherwise, but missed or deliberately sidestepped the opportunity to be one of the truly great progressive social commentaries using science fiction. But, perhaps, in it's lack, it did.
Unfortunately, as a "white guy," I will have to agree. I knew it was going to come up. I was a little leery of the "replacements" overall from the start. I loved the fact that they completely changed the personalities...Gaius(my favorite and the one I most personally identify with), Starbuck, both Adamas, Boomer, Tigh, nearly the entire cast, but I was always a little uncomfortable that african-americans were not cast in significant roles, as well. Hollywood sometimes takes a few steps foreword and backward at the same time, but I hope you liked the show as a whole. I'm sure there will be great sci-fi in the future featuring african-americans cast in leading roles. Art is always evolving.
Kudos to the producers of BSG!! The series finale did not disappoint!! All the loose ends and hanging questions were all answered and came together nicely! A much better series ender than SG1 or Atlantis. It was nice how Starbuck's death and return, Baltar's visions of six and vis versa, and the vision at the cathedral that was experienced by Roslyn, Athena, Balter and Six throughout the series came together at the end. This show was one of the best sci-fi shows ever. It's darker sub plots added a sense of realism on how it would really be if a small remnant of the human race were fleeing and fighting for their lives against an enemy that had overwhelming force and motivation to destroy them.
I generally agree.
I thought the battle at the colony was a bit silly and the deus ex machina was a bit heavy relied upon to explain the mysteries, but over all I liked the way they wrapped things up.
I wonder which science fiction classic they will turn into a soap opera next?
If it means worldwide critical acclaim and a seat at the UN for the stories it creates that relate to real-wide issues in metaphorical way, then sign me up whatever it is!
They left some very juicy question unanswered off course I might have missed something... We still have that direct to dvd movie "BSG:The plan" coming up and the Caprica pilot but what we sci-fi fan going to watch on tv in September? No new star trek, no more BSG, Terminator airing in the death slot should not last past season two.
What a great two hours and eleven minutes of television. To answer your questions, Kara Thrace is a (SPOILER), Gaius Baltar is not a (SPOILER) and President Roslin (SPOILER).
Thank you, Ron D. Moore for ending BSG on the highest note out there. Truly amazed.
I'm ticked about the extra 11 minutes, since I heard that it was to include previews of other shows, not because BG itself runs long. I don't need more ads for new programming on "SyFy" (ticked about that too). Now I have to hope I set the darn DVR right. I promised to wait and share it with my husband, who won't be home, and missing the final 11 minutes will send us both absolutely over the edge.
The notion that everyone's a Cylon is appealing, but I'm not sure I buy it. Didn't Baltar eventually make a working Cylon detector that could distinguish between Cylon and human? Implies there's something to distinguish. Ah, well, it's not long until we find everything out.
I agree - I think they'll - we'll - all be Cylons in the end. I hadn't thought about the idea of the Cylons making the humans. Good call.
I hope they don't screw this up. They've got a lot to cover in the last episode and I fear some of my own burning questions might go unanswered (please explain how the Centurions evolved to "discover" their god, please explain the apparent real-life Earth connection provided by "All Along the Watchtower," please don't spend another minute on who loves who or what and why...).
thanks for the heads up! Going to set my Tivo now. I think all main characters make it except Laura. She'll die in the admirals arms. But Starbuck's story is really a mystery. I have no idea where they are going with that. I'd love it if they would do a spin off of this show with the Starbuck character or a pre-quel of their life on Caprica.
I'll miss BG!!
My guess is that Starbuck is Daniel's (the 13th Cylons) daughter. And when he was boxed/destroyed is when he disappeared from her life.
I had the same thought, but it was never resolved.
The Caprica preview was underwhelming...too bad.
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