Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog

Four reasons to watch BSG

The Top of Cool blog has four good reasons why anyone should be watching Battlestar Galactica:

1. You like science fiction
2. You like good TV
3. You like good acting
4. You like good story.

Read the whole post.

I couldn't agree more. There is no reason anyone should be passing up this show. I would even say that point number 1 (liking scifi) is debatable given that many of my friends like the show and they aren't your average scifi fan.

BSG Actors at Collectormania 7

If you live in or near or within flying distance of Buckinghamshire, England and love BSG, than you should be headed to Collectormania 7 Friday, April 29th!

Jamie Bamber (Apollo), Tricia Helfer (Number Six) and Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) are confirmed guests of the event. According to the event information, the cost to attend is ZERO! It is absolutely FREE! You just have to get yourself there!

Anyhow, check it out. If anyone is going or has gone and would like to share their experiences, email me.

BSG Web Vibe

In order to find things to post for this blog, I pour through hundreds of instances of BSG on the web... searching for the little nuggets that I think people might find interesting. There is a lot of discussion about the show taking place in the web-sphere and I thought I would highlight some of the primary discussions for you.

The most talked about aspects of the show are:

1. Religion - Monotheism vs. Polytheism and the portrayal of fanaticism is one of the most hot-button issues in the BSG community. There is no shortage of threads discussing the impacts of this debate and people's aversion or attraction to the use of religious language in the show.
2. Downloading - You cannot do a search for BSG without encountering the numerous calls and advertisements for bittorrent downloads. The fact that the Scifi Channel is offering the episode '33' for free off it's site has only stimulated the debate about whether on-demand viewing is the future.
3. Smoking - There are a few discussions about a quote from Ron Moore's blog about smoking: "I’m also frankly tired of all the anti-smoking p.c. crap that we’re bombarded with these days and I decided that this was a world without all that. Call it my one sop to the idea of an idealized society, the notion that adults can make informed choices and not be nagged to death or run out of public spaces for making choices that others may not like or agree with." This has struck a nerve with a lot of people both attracting and repelling some over such a libertarian view.
4. Race - Some in the community are upset by the replacement of all the main African American actors from the old series. Special uproar was caused by the specific casting of dozens of African American actors for the prison ship in the third episode "Bastille Day"
5. Sex - You can't help but 'notice' the sexual aspects of the show and their seeming importance as a plot device for the Cylons. Boomer manipulates Helo, Number Six manipulates Baltar. Things like Grace Park in a Maxim spread are only adding fuel to the fire. But, it does say something when the most referred search keywords to this blog are "Grace Park Maxim" and "Tricia Helfer"
6. Female Roles - BSG has been identified as dealing with female roles in a different way than most scifi shows and definitely a different way than the old BSG. The female characters are strong and logical and it is the male characters that are often emotional and irrational. Some think this is good, some think this is bad, but we can all agree that it challenges our stereotypes.

So those are the main ones that I have seen. Have I missed any? Again, the fact that these debates are taking place due to a scifi show is extremely exciting and proof that whatever Ron Moore is doing, it is working.

BSG Stays on Top

Scifiwire.com has a list of the Top Ten Scifi Channel shows on it's homepage:

1. Battlestar Galactica 2.5
2. Stargate Atlantis 2.2
3. Stargate SG-1 2.0
4. Jurassic Park 1.6
5. Terminator 2 1.3
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark 1.2
7. Hollow Man 1.1
8. Slipstream 1.1
9. Andromeda 1.0
10. Frequency 1.0

Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 2/7/05 - 2/13/05

Looks like Battlestar Galactica remains in the lead!

Thoughts on Flesh and Bone

Another episode, another batch of excellent performances and spirited writing. What did I think?

WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

This is one of those episodes that leaves me with more questions than answers... lots of questions actually:

1. So is Caprica Boomer choosing sides? Is she in love with Helo and that is why she says "everything has changed?"
2. Is the herbal/alternative cancer treatment giving Roslin the gift of prophecy or were the visions a convenient plot device?
3. When did Starbuck become sympathetic to Leobon? Was she really so easily won over by some ditch psychoanalysis about her family?
4. Can anyone explain the scene with Adama in the morgue? Was he questioning his own humanity?
5. Is the doctor going to tell anyone about Galactica Boomer?
6. Hell, I agree with Number Six, why is she called Boomer?
7. Watch the deleted scenes... what's with the transponder?

So yeah... my mind is spinning. This was one of the more emotionally complex episodes to come along seeing how it had to deal with the moral issues of torture, competing religious blueprints (mono, poly), the philosophy of what constitutes humanity, what constitutes a soul... these are some ambitious stories.

As I was watching, I was convinced that the nuclear bomb was going to be 'inside' Leobon and that they would flush him out of the airlock to save the day... that was not the case. What resulted was a showdown that was much more nuanced, much more anti-climatic yet still revealing.

President Roslin's moment of clarity and immediate action was a welcome surprise. The final scene is setup for her to show pity and compassion. Her snap judgment and summary execution really turned those final moments on it's head and reinforces how important she is to the human cause of survival. She may not command Galactica but she is running the show. Just when the writers set us up to think she doesn't have the guts to make the tough calls, she makes them.

The chemistry between Starbuck and Leobon is excellent. Starbuck stays true to her no nonsense attitude and rarely lets Leobon get the best of her. In the end, I found her compassion in the airlock a little out of character. I feel like I missed the crucial moment when she went from hating him, to pitying his fear. I guess it was meant to show her humanity after committing acts of torture. I found it ironic that Leobon convicted her of dehumanizing him, especially since he actually isn't human... the Cylons do a pretty good job dehumanizing themselves with their own actions.

The MVP of the episode has to go to Callem Keith Rennie and the Leobon character. His performance of a tortured Cylon really made the entire episode work. Without a strong commitment to his character, I don't think the drama of the episode would have been nearly as effective. I still don't get his hold over Starbuck, but I blame that more on the writers than his performance.

It will be interesting to see how Starbuck's sympathy for the Cylon soul plays out going forward. It has been quite enjoyable seeing the show wrestle with religion, its many flavors and flaws. Having Starbuck a more central character in this discussion can only be a good thing given her strong will and seemly clear tactical mind. Science fiction is always at its best when using abstract stories to frame and offer new perspective on common social debates. Religious fanaticism is as worthy of this 'new perspective' as any.

Make sure to check out the deleted scenes and the episode summary at the official website.

Wikipedia Galactica

Are you looking for a good source of reference information about the new Battlestar Galactica? Why not check out the BSG Wikipedia page:

"Battlestar Galactica is a science fiction miniseries which was first broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel on Dec 8, 2003. It spawned a regular television series which premiered on Sky One on Oct 18, 2004."

"This new series was promoted as a 're-imagining' of the Universal Studios late-1970s movie and television series Battlestar Galactica. It was not simply a remake of the original but a new direction taken from the same original premise, analogous to a "reboot" in comic books."

Check out the wiki page

If you don't know what a Wiki is, it is a community space where anyone can add and edit information. If you think something is missing from the Wikipedia page, you can create an account, log in, and make changes! So do you have anything to add? One thing that page is missing is a link to this blog! Who's with me?

Battlestarblog.com

The site is now running under it's own domain name: www.battlestarblog.com

Be sure to update your links and bookmarks to point to the full URL. The battlestar.typepad.com address will still work, but it doesn't look as nice!

Battlestar Galactica Trading Cards

The Scifi.com event calendar is reporting the release of a Battlestar Galactica Premiere edition trading card set April 20th, 2005:

"The Battlestar Galactica Premiere Edition Trading Card set features images and plot elements from the four-hour miniseries that started it all. The 72-card card set from Rittenhouse Archives features autograph cards and costume cards. Autographers for this series include Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), Tricia Helfer (Number 6), Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), and more. The costume cards feature all the major characters, including Starbuck, Apollo, Boomer, Number 6, Commander Adama, and Colonel Tigh. "

Read the event post

Scifihobby.com has the full news on the cards, how much they cost, and what will be available in each pack:

"An exclusive collector's album will also be made available for Battlestar Galactica Premiere Edition Trading Cards and will come with 12 9-pocket plastic pages, a bonus promo card and an exclusive autograph card from Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy."

Read the entire description

This might very well be one of the first pieces of merchandise outside the CD/DVDs of the miniseries! Exciting stuff! You can preorder now from scifihobby.com!

Battlestar Babes

The Battlestar Galactica Hub has a new feature on all the 'babes' of BSG:

"Read biographies and see the pictures of all the hot women who have played characters in Battlestar Galactica. Whether from the old 1978 Battlestar Galactica TV series, or the new Battlestar Galactica on Sci-fi Channel, you'll see them all here."

Check out the site

Of course... you know... most of us just want to go there for the biographies... right?

Get ready for "Flesh and Bone"

If you live in the US and you haven't already seen it via bittorrent, the eighth episode "Flesh and Bone" is appearing tonight on the Scifi Channel. For those of us here in Chicago, IL it is at 9PM CST. Check the schedule.

"When a Cylon is discovered on one of the ships, Adama sends Kara to interrogate the machine."

Check out the episode teaser on the BSG homepage.

Oh, and don't forget to set your Tivo/PVR if you us it! I have seen some sad blog posts lately about people not setting or messing up their PVRs! Don't be another sad blog entry that appears in my technorati feed!