Frakking Toasters
Mar. 14th, 2009 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowI've been watching Battlestar Galactica recently. I've made it through the first two seasons, and the big question I've been asking myself is why I haven't been watching it until now because is so incredibly good. And then I remembered why I didn't watch it. Because the first night the mini-series was airing, my flatmates dragged me away from the TV to go watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the movies. So instead of spending years savouring the show as it aired, I spent a week terrified Leather Face was going to jump off a train and come and kill me in the night. I'm not sure what the lesson in that story is, (umm, never forgo a mini series for a slasher flick?) but I'm sure there's one somewhere.
For those who haven't seen it, basically Battlestar Galactica = Rome + The West Wing x Star Wars and I'm completely hooked. It really is the best show on television. Thoughts on the first two seasons under the cut.
Season one I thought on the whole was more consistent in quality than season two. However, the first eight or so episodes, and last two episodes of season two are better than what season one. It's just that after the Pegasus episodes, it seemed to lose itself a bit, what with overusing the '48 hours earlier' plot device (it only worked well in Scar and using it three episodes in a row is just lazy) and the episode in which Apollo tries to take down the black market gets my vote for worst episode ever. But it got itself back on track by the end of the season.
Although, the 'one year later' thing had me screaming a bit. It was an excellent plot twist and I know the show probably would have floundered a bit showing the trials and tribulations of the settlement of New Caprica (I'd imagine it'd be misery, more misery and a side of even more misery, but without cylons), but I've grown to like the characters, and I feel a bit robbed of getting to see them in that year.
I love how the show appeals to multiple aspects of my taste. One minute you have a big space battle in which Starbuck's kicking ass in her viper complete with lots of explosions, and my inner eight-year-old is happy, the next there's some scene in which Roslin & Adama are discussing quietly a hugely controversial issue, and my inner academic is happy (oh, and inner squeely hyperactive fangirl is happy because Roslin/Adama OTP!), and I really can't tell you what I love watching more.
Regarding characters - because it characters that make me love a show - I like Roslin the best (is anyone surprised?). Mary McDonnell is fantastic and the character is fascinating. And it's interesting because she's the first fictional politician that I adore that I would not vote for. Okay, if I were in the fleet, I would vote for her over Baltar, but I would never vote for her in an ordinary election. She banned abortion, uses religion to increase her power and dishes out the death penalty without judicial oversight. But then all that's kind of excusable, because, yes with a population of below 50,000, they need to have babies and she felt really bad about that call, she may well be a prophet – she's believes it and all the evidence currently points that way, and then there's the whole do enemy robot combatants get Geneva rights question, and while her actions may often be questionable, her goal is always to save humanity, which you can't fault. She kind of tilts between being Sarah Palin or George W Bush and being FDR or Winston Churchill. Really, then, according to Battlestar Galactica the difference between a great president and a dangerous and destructive one is circumstances and motivations.
And that's just the character's day job. There's also the fact she's got cancer and that whole aspect of her story and her gorgeous relationship with Bill Adama. No wonders she's my favourite.
Anyway, besides her, I adore Bill Adama and Starbuck. Adama really does seem to have that much to do most of the time beside be the voice of calm reason when everyone else is going crazy and suffer when his 'kids' betray him or he fails his 'kids' (I love how Adama is the father figure for the most of the military characters on the show) but he does it so well, its hard not adore him. Speaking of voice of calm reason, I really like how Roslin and Adama tend to act as the voice of reason for each other when one goes a bit off the rails, and that its when this stops, like say they both start to act unreasonably, that things tend to really go to hell (like in the Kobol arc).
Starbuck's a highlight because she's fun. There was a lot of potential for her development to make her into a really annoying character in the second season, but it was for the most part clear and consistent was causing her to act the way she was (guilt over those left behind on Caprica).
Apollo on the other hand, was a character I really liked until about mid way through the second season when the writers really messed him up. The death wish came out of the blue, as did his relationship with Dee, the episode which was supposed to be about his 'pain' was just bad and basically, in my mind he's become the male Meredith Grey. Although, I very much appreciated the scene with him and the constantly slipping towel, and I got over my dislike of Jamie Bamber's American accent a few episodes into the first season.
Baltar and Six are interesting to watch. Sometimes their scenes drag out for so long they're boring, and sometime Baltar being a complete prat is really annoying. Other times it great. The almost accidental rise of Baltar to political power in the first season, however, was quite hilarious, and the stuff with Gina during the Pegasus episodes was good. Oh, and the episode where he decides to have his brain scanned. Actually, Gaius is an interesting character in that I can hate him sometimes for his actions, but love him for the conflict that ensues from those actions.
The rest of the characters I tend to like or dislike depending on their storylines. For example, hated Helo in the first season because him and Sharon running around Caprica was just boring, whereas I'm indifferent to him now. And so on and so forth with the other characters.
Finally thought: Hells yeah to Lucy Lawless getting to use her natural accent.
Next up: season three.
I've found myself in a really unfortunate situation regarding the show. The final episode is about to air, and I don't want to be spoiled, but I know it's pretty much inevitable that I will be because I always click the wrong links and I'm weak willed. So, I feel like I'm racing to finish the show before the ending is ruined for me, but I don't want to be because I want to draw out watching it for as long as possible.
For those who haven't seen it, basically Battlestar Galactica = Rome + The West Wing x Star Wars and I'm completely hooked. It really is the best show on television. Thoughts on the first two seasons under the cut.
Season one I thought on the whole was more consistent in quality than season two. However, the first eight or so episodes, and last two episodes of season two are better than what season one. It's just that after the Pegasus episodes, it seemed to lose itself a bit, what with overusing the '48 hours earlier' plot device (it only worked well in Scar and using it three episodes in a row is just lazy) and the episode in which Apollo tries to take down the black market gets my vote for worst episode ever. But it got itself back on track by the end of the season.
Although, the 'one year later' thing had me screaming a bit. It was an excellent plot twist and I know the show probably would have floundered a bit showing the trials and tribulations of the settlement of New Caprica (I'd imagine it'd be misery, more misery and a side of even more misery, but without cylons), but I've grown to like the characters, and I feel a bit robbed of getting to see them in that year.
I love how the show appeals to multiple aspects of my taste. One minute you have a big space battle in which Starbuck's kicking ass in her viper complete with lots of explosions, and my inner eight-year-old is happy, the next there's some scene in which Roslin & Adama are discussing quietly a hugely controversial issue, and my inner academic is happy (oh, and inner squeely hyperactive fangirl is happy because Roslin/Adama OTP!), and I really can't tell you what I love watching more.
Regarding characters - because it characters that make me love a show - I like Roslin the best (is anyone surprised?). Mary McDonnell is fantastic and the character is fascinating. And it's interesting because she's the first fictional politician that I adore that I would not vote for. Okay, if I were in the fleet, I would vote for her over Baltar, but I would never vote for her in an ordinary election. She banned abortion, uses religion to increase her power and dishes out the death penalty without judicial oversight. But then all that's kind of excusable, because, yes with a population of below 50,000, they need to have babies and she felt really bad about that call, she may well be a prophet – she's believes it and all the evidence currently points that way, and then there's the whole do enemy robot combatants get Geneva rights question, and while her actions may often be questionable, her goal is always to save humanity, which you can't fault. She kind of tilts between being Sarah Palin or George W Bush and being FDR or Winston Churchill. Really, then, according to Battlestar Galactica the difference between a great president and a dangerous and destructive one is circumstances and motivations.
And that's just the character's day job. There's also the fact she's got cancer and that whole aspect of her story and her gorgeous relationship with Bill Adama. No wonders she's my favourite.
Anyway, besides her, I adore Bill Adama and Starbuck. Adama really does seem to have that much to do most of the time beside be the voice of calm reason when everyone else is going crazy and suffer when his 'kids' betray him or he fails his 'kids' (I love how Adama is the father figure for the most of the military characters on the show) but he does it so well, its hard not adore him. Speaking of voice of calm reason, I really like how Roslin and Adama tend to act as the voice of reason for each other when one goes a bit off the rails, and that its when this stops, like say they both start to act unreasonably, that things tend to really go to hell (like in the Kobol arc).
Starbuck's a highlight because she's fun. There was a lot of potential for her development to make her into a really annoying character in the second season, but it was for the most part clear and consistent was causing her to act the way she was (guilt over those left behind on Caprica).
Apollo on the other hand, was a character I really liked until about mid way through the second season when the writers really messed him up. The death wish came out of the blue, as did his relationship with Dee, the episode which was supposed to be about his 'pain' was just bad and basically, in my mind he's become the male Meredith Grey. Although, I very much appreciated the scene with him and the constantly slipping towel, and I got over my dislike of Jamie Bamber's American accent a few episodes into the first season.
Baltar and Six are interesting to watch. Sometimes their scenes drag out for so long they're boring, and sometime Baltar being a complete prat is really annoying. Other times it great. The almost accidental rise of Baltar to political power in the first season, however, was quite hilarious, and the stuff with Gina during the Pegasus episodes was good. Oh, and the episode where he decides to have his brain scanned. Actually, Gaius is an interesting character in that I can hate him sometimes for his actions, but love him for the conflict that ensues from those actions.
The rest of the characters I tend to like or dislike depending on their storylines. For example, hated Helo in the first season because him and Sharon running around Caprica was just boring, whereas I'm indifferent to him now. And so on and so forth with the other characters.
Finally thought: Hells yeah to Lucy Lawless getting to use her natural accent.
Next up: season three.
I've found myself in a really unfortunate situation regarding the show. The final episode is about to air, and I don't want to be spoiled, but I know it's pretty much inevitable that I will be because I always click the wrong links and I'm weak willed. So, I feel like I'm racing to finish the show before the ending is ruined for me, but I don't want to be because I want to draw out watching it for as long as possible.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 06:56 am (UTC)Well, except to say that Gaius is my favorite. I lurve him, mostly because he's such a flawed person. He just seems the most realistic to me (not sure what that says about me...). Plus, like you mentioned, sometimes the stuff he gets mixed up in is just hilarious.
I totally felt like that about Helo in the first season, too. He gets better as the series progresses.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 06:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-15 10:29 pm (UTC)I've watched the first five episodes of season five now, and found myself wanting to give Gaius a big hug (along with Starbuck, Tigh and Gaeta). He comes across as just so hopeless and naive to the point of seeming innocent sometimes.