Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog

Hinman vs. Weddle over BSG, second round

The Syfy Portal has the second part of an article with co-producer and writer David Weddle:

It used to be that a good science-fiction show couldn't even begin to be a good science-fiction show unless there was some kind of alien in it. Seriously, who would want to see a sci-fi show without some extra-terrestrial being?

In 2002, Joss Whedon broke the mold by saying his short-lived Fox series "Firefly" would have no aliens. While it did get some people talking, it was an idea that stayed popular when the new "Battlestar Galactica" took the air alien free.

Read more... to find out if aliens are on the way... don't worry... I didn't see any spoilers.

You can get the link to part one here.

The BSG Origin story

Anyone who mentions both Battlestar Galactica and Vernor Vinge in the same post, gets a link... that is like a new rule... or something. Check out this post at Terminally Incoherent which wrestles with the idea of the Cylon God as a highly evolved AI:

I actually believe that Cylon God is an evolved AI which transcended beyond singularity.

If you are not familiar with Vernor Vinge's theory of Singularity here is a quick rundown. Vinge theorized that if it is at all possible AI which achieves self-awareness and human-like sentience then it would be possible to improve this AI by means of faster hardware, and better software algorithms, to the point that it is smarted, and quicker than any human could ever be. In other words we can possibly produce a superhuman intelligence which is in all ways superior to homo-sapiens intellect.

This superhuman AI can then use it's beefed up brain to further improve itself. We might not be able to figure our how to augment our super computer any more, but the super-smart, super-fast thinking AI can possibly figure out technological solutions we would have to spend years developing.

Hence, we have an AI which can actively self improve, figuring out new ways to construct better hardware, better software and squeeze out the most computational power from the available resources. This machine keeps improving, and soon enough it becomes so smart that we can no longer relate to it. In relation to it, we look like modern day chimps - while intelligent, inquisitive and resourcefully compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, they would never be able to comprehend intricacies of human science. Similarly, we would never be able to comprehend the super-intelligent, self-improving AI.

This is a crude explanation, so read Vinge's paper for a clearer explanation. The main point is - what happens when an AI becomes so smart, we cannot even comprehend the full extent of it's abilities? For all incenses and purposes it is like a god to us, so logical conclusion would be for humanity to worship this seemingly omnipresent, omnipotent, infallible god-like machine.

Read the entire post... for more information about the Super Cylon AI.

I have been trying to articulate my own origin story for the Cylons. I am not so sure it models an AI, but it might be similar in that the Cylon god is a generation of people who fully adopted technology to a point where they ceased being human and became the equivalent of an AI... or in Vinge's logic passed into the singularity. There were those that feared this conversion event from man to machine to pure consciousness and fled the technology seeking a more pure and human existence. Those were the people that settled Kobol.

Soon, their origin story and original drive to live a pure life was forgotten. As the generations passed, their descendants slowly evolved and relied on technology until they themselves reached a level of AI and augmentation. The singularity approached again in this new location and the people of Kobol were forced to flee once more in search of new planets to colonize... and the cycle would continue... hence the concept in the show of everything that has happened before will happen again.

Speaking of Cylon/Colonial origins, Dave Menendez has an interesting take in one of his posts:

So here’s my theory: Earth is older than Kobol. Maybe the thirteen tribes are descended from colonists who left Earth to live on Kobol. Then, when they had to leave, twelve of the tribes went to found new colonies and the thirteenth returned to Earth. That makes the Colonials our descendants, and sets the series in the future.

Read his entire theory

I have a feeling that understanding the origin story of Kobol and the Cylons will be key to understanding the Cylon plan.

UPDATE 9/2/2005 11:07 CST

Terminally Incoherent follows up this conversation with a new post recapping some comments and adding some new thoughts:

Of course it is hard to theorize about trans-singularity intelligences in general (because from definition, we are not able to comprehend them) but we can make some assumptions. The highest, most evolved intelligence would usually be a AI - human like psyche, may not be elastic enough to transcend singularity. To do go beyond singularity the intelligence must become truly un-human. So while "Cylon God" might have started as an enhanced human or baseline Cylon clone - he/she is now far beyond humanity - it is probably a disembodied, digitized, enhanced and self programming intellect. Once you ditch biological shell, upload yourself to some gigantic computational construct (like a Matrioshka Brain) and completely reprogram your cognitive processes can you be still considered human? Or are you an AI?

Read the entire post

The Funny Robotic Cylon

A post at the Words For My Enjoyment blog deserves some recognition. It made me chuckle:

If I was on that show, man — things would be so different.

I wouldn’t be a soldier or a spaceship pilot (I’d get seasick) and I wouldn’t be a politician or even a human running around worrying about the Cylons. In fact, I would be the most groundbreaking character on the show to date — something that the creators of the show have yet to address since the original series and now this far superior one.

The Funny Robotic Cylon.

That’s the one problem with the Cylons, currently. The metallic robotic ones really have no personality or humor whatsoever. They see humans, they fire at humans and they kill humans. They never have any lines or funny physical moments whatsoever and that’s where I’d come in as the funny robotic cylon. Mind you, we’d just go ahead and supplant my personality inside a robot and let him wreak havoc on the entire Battlestar Galactica universe.

Read the entire post... in all it's zany glory...

Would you like fries with that?

Ratings for episode 2.07 hold steady

Gateworld is reporting a steady hold in the ratings for BSG over last week:

Battlestar Galactica held most of Atlantis's audience at 10 p.m., with "Home, Part 2" earning a 2.1 rating -- even with the previous week's "Part 1."

Read the entire article

As far as Tivo recordings go, BSG has slipped down the list over the last few weeks (#15)... it seems everyone is gearing up their DVRs for the fall season of network shows.

Tivo Top Recorded Shows

Spoiler-free (kinda) recap of the 2.07 podcast

After listening to this podcast, I have to say I am feeling a bit disappointed. I wouldn't say I am disappointed with the show so much as frustrated with the mythos that the writers, producers, actors are working together to create. I can't say there was anything in this podcast that spoiled the plot of future episodes, but there is plenty that spoiled the speculation currently going on across the forums and BSG blogs.

Note: If you want to preserve your innocence and continue to revel in your speculations, than I urge you not to read this post. But I would suggest you read on... it might save you a lot of time thinking about things that in the grand scheme of the show really aren't that important or haven't even been decided. If it hasn't been decided than there really isn't much use in trying to figure out what the writers are hinting at is there?

This podcast reminded me of a DVD commentary I once listened to for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Michael Piller talked about the season three cliff hanger Best of Both Worlds - Part 1 where Picard is taken by the Borg and Riker gives the order to fire the deflector array at the Borg ship killing all the Borg plus the Captain. The episode ends and we had to wait the entire summer to see how it ended. Now you would think that the writers would put themselves in that situation knowing fully how they would get out of it. It turns out that they had no idea. They were only suppose to write a cliff hanger. They had no clue what would happen or how it would end. They painted themselves into a corner and when writing resumed on the first episode of season four, there first order of business was finding a way out of the situation.

To a science fiction fan, this was a little sad to know... it shattered the reality and suspense of the situation. Somehow knowing that they could change their mind at any moment removed the magic from the decisions that Riker was making. It was suddenly as if any decision held no weight. The writers could put themselves into situations and easily remove themselves. For this reason that episode, Best of Both Worlds - Part 1 & 2, has been lost on me... I can no longer watch it without thinking this fact in my head.

I feel like a similar transgression has occurred in the podcast for BSG 2.07 Home - Part 2. And here it is... in all of its speculation killing glory:

What Sharon says to Adama "And you ask why?" means absolutely nothing.

Moore and Eick say in the commentary that it was Grace Park and Olmos's idea to put that line in and that neither of them (Moore or Eick) have any idea what it will mean or how they will explain it. They said it opens up an interesting question about the Cylons, their powers and abilities, but that they have no idea how to answer it. For someone like me... a science fiction fan... a slave to the universe and mythos they are creating... I find this a bit devastating.

As I read back over my thoughts for episode 2.07, they seem so trite now... so uninformed. I was hoping for something grand like nano technology or divine monitoring or life after death and the truth is... it could be all three of these things.

Extend this out to "The Plan" that the Cylons have... I really want there to BE a plan... I want there to be a singular answer. I want there to be this big mysterious story bible that Ron Moore created that lays out the entire Mythos of the show, the limits, and the end game for the Cylons and I want it to be fixed. I want there to be a framework of beliefs and events that we can rely on. Is it selfish to want these things as a viewer? I don't think so. It is a given truth that when you intellectually engage your audience in the way science fiction often does, it will breed thought and speculation. Science fiction is as much participation on web sites like this as it is about the consumption of the primary show.

Unfortunately it doesn't end there... according to Moore and Eick it was going to be Sharon instead of Six who appears to Baltar in the cage. They decided not to do it, but imagine if they had. What would that say about Baltar's mental state? For him to be able to see and interact with other Cylons, it would confirm his mental illness. The decision to not use Sharon signifies to me a switch that the writers chose to turn off... Sharon = Baltar crazy and is seeing anything his mind dreams up... Number Six = Same old manipulated Baltar. I guess I would have thought that they know where they are taking his character. They know if he is insane or manipulated by Cylon technology and it is up to us the viewers to find it out. What is the point of trying to find it out if they don't even have a solid answer?

The only other thing that disappointed me was Six as Kara. I thought it was so obvious that they were turning Six into a representation of Starbuck based on Baltar's comment about Kara having the baby. Moore and Eick mentioned nothing about this. Their sole purpose was to take away her disarming looks and push the idea that she was going to give up on seducing Baltar because he was crazy. This doesn't bother me that much... I guess I just read into it... but still... I thought I was on the same plane as the writers and I guess I was not.

Another point of eliminated speculation was the constellation map on Earth. Moore and Eick confirmed that the planetarium in the tomb was a projection technology. There was suppose to be a Cylon attack that breaks the projection display causing static to appear and clue in the viewer, but that had to be cut for time and budget... so it isn't anything as fancy as teleportation or anything.... just a really good light show.

All in all, I am really disappointed in this podcast. I don't blame Moore or Eick and I still think the episode was fabulous... I am just partially disenchanted with the mythos at the moment and can't really find a point in arguing the intricacies of it if it isn't solidified. It is only fun to guess if there is a right answer. The more that answer is a moving target, the more pointless the exercise becomes. If you extend this out, who is to say that anyone is a Cylon? Maybe Adama is a Cylon if the ratings get low enough? Is anything sacred to the writers? Maybe this is a question for Ron Moore...

Sorry about the rant people. I was so excited about this last episode from a Cylon mythology standpoint and I feel a bit cheated. I am fully aware that the writing process is organic, but I guess I was overly reminded of that in this podcast. It didn't help that the story element I was most excited about turned out to be a whim on the page with no planned ramifications.

Secondaries on Sci-Fi Talk

Check out these two interviews with Paul Campell (Billy) and Lorena Gale (Elosha) on Sci-Fi Talk:

Paul Campbell
This Vancouver native plays Billy Keikeya on the new version of Battlestar Galactica. He has also appeared in films like The Perfect Score, We'll Meet Again and The Long Weekend. His TV credits include appearances on Smallville, Black Sash and Andromeda. Taped at Gatecon 2005.

Lorena Gale
She played Elosha on Battlestar Galactica, but Lorena Gale has also starred in her fair share of SF Movies and Television. You've seen her in Fantastic Four, The Chronicles of Riddick and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. On TV, She's appeared in Smallville and Kingdom Hospital. Taped at Gatecon 2005.

Both interviews were taped at Gatecon 2005. I have not listened to them so I can't really give you a spoiler warning.

Number Six the fortune teller

The Unlocked Wordhoard blog has an observation that I missed in the episode of Home - Part 2:

...consider this: the Number Six in Baltar's head (we'll call that one "Baltar Six") seems to have the ability to tell the future. Not only do no other cylons seem to have this ability ... we've never even seen the other Number Six models have this ability.

"Our baby will be born in this room" is not secret cylon knowledge -- it's a prophecy. Even if Baltar Six were a cylon, how could she know that? She could not know that Boomer would survive on Kobol, and she could not know that the humans would not assassinate her/blow her out of the airlock, and she could not know in which cell in the brig they would detain her.

Read the entire post to learn how Six is a manifestation of Baltar's prophetic abilities.

Having Baltar be the Yin to Laura Roslin's Yang would be a very acceptable outcome.

Thoughts on Home - Part 2

Truth be told, I actually watched this episode on Friday night for a change. My buddy Kevin had come over to grill out and watch the Chicago Bears game (which they won!) and since he is a big BSG fan, we decided to fire up the DVR and partake in a Friday night viewing.

I have been thinking about this for a few days and it has really taken me until now to come to grips with Home - Part 2. There was so much going on that I am still a little unsure as to what I witnessed in certain parts. I can't even continue without bringing up what I feel to be the most shocking line of season two so far:

"And you asked why" - Sharon

I think that was the line. Don't kill me if I misquoted, but I think we all know the moment I am talking about. Adama is trying to kill Sharon and he almost succeeds, except pain from his recent surgery pulls him back and Sharon, with eyes as cold as ice delivers a line to Adama that should be impossible. If you remember, Adama went down to the morgue to look at the body of Sharon after she was killed by Cally. He broke down sobbing over her corpse and simply asked her "Why?"

Sharon was dead... no doubt about it. Yet she was able to hear him? There are multiple ways to take this:

Maybe the Cylons cannot die
Instead of dying like we assume, maybe they are in some sort of repair mode? This would also confirm Simon's line when Kara stabs him in the hospital where he says "I cannot die". I am personally not a huge fan of this idea. It would severely disrupt the blur between Human and Cylon that the writers are concocting, but who knows at this point.

Maybe the Cylons use technology
Maybe there are listening/surveillance devices all over the ship or all around the fleet? Maybe some sort of nano-tech airborne particle monitoring system that is always so popular in the sci-fi novels I read. (for a good example see Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge). Of course this is most likely not the case. A big deal has been made about hiding from the Cylons... surprising them... and it is obvious that the Cylons want to find the humans. A level of surveillance required to capture Adama's private moment in the morgue would make that pretty simple.

Maybe there is a Cylon God
Maybe the Cylon god is all knowing and timeless and passes this information down to the clones. What we could have developing here is some sort of biblical origin story. Number Six does tell Baltar that she can be thought of as an Angel. Maybe the clone Cylons are the equivalent of Arch Angels... soldiers of their God? Cast out of paradise (Kobol) in favor of human beings? And now they want to destroy humanity so they can get back in to heaven? I am not really up on the plots that made films like The Prophecy so popular... but it could be going this route.

As for what Sharon actually says, it is pretty similar to what Number Six is always harping on... that all human's are best at is destroying... killing... It reminds me of Agent Smith's speech in the first Matrix movie about huamnity being a cancer... something to eliminate... maybe the Clyons see themselves as the vaccine. What ever Sharon's line means, it really does signify an entirely different way of looking at the Cylons for me.

The rest of the episode can really be thought of as a character reset button. Since Kobol's Last Gleaming in season one, the main characters were splintering off in their own directions. With the conclusion of Home - Part 2, we essentially get to start over:

Adama has been reset
He learned from his near death experience that they all need each other to survive. With this new perspective he is back in command of the fleet and seen not only as a source of strength, but a force of compromise and integrity. He seems to have a new respect for the politics of the fleet and the fleet probably has a new respect for him as a politician.

Laura has been reset
She was headed down the path of religious fanaticism but when that fanaticism turned from faith to quantifiable proof of legend, she was exonerated. This is an interesting call in that, religion is suppose to be about the unknown. As soon as you have proof, is ceases becoming faith. It says a lot about the Colonial religion that in the end, it is based on fact. Is it really a religion then? This is very convenient for Laura's character because she can have it both ways... she can be a religious symbol and a non-pious person seeking out the factual information to lead them to Earth.

Apollo has been reset
It will be interesting to see how they play this in the coming episodes. Out of all the characters in season two, I felt that Apollo showed the most growth. He really seemed to embrace his independence. Hopefully Adama will respect Apollo's instincts a little more in the future. It turns out Lee was correct in what he did and the entire fleet benefited from it.

Starbuck has been reset...almost
There is still something different about her that I can't quite put my finger on. Her character has been reset in that there are very few ramifications that I can see at this point for disobeying Adama. Like Lee, her hunch proved to be correct and everyone benefited. However she still seems a bit less sure of herself and her mission. The encounter with Anders on Caprica is pulling at her. She wants to go back and help them as she made it clear while hiking with Laura on Kobol. Whether she continues to push for that after her experience in the tomb is left to be seen.

Of course there are plenty of people in the cast of have not been reset. Sharon, Tyrol, Tigh, Zarek, Baltar, Cally, Helo... they will all continue to pay the emotional price for their experience over the last few shows. I am assuming it is the interaction between these characters and the "reset" main characters that will provide the most fun!

Speaking of fun, this episode was full of some great "goosebumps" moments for me:

Adama and Laura talking
It wasn't the discussion, it was the music. The queue from season one written by Bear McCreary was reprised and it was just perfect. The track is called "Forgiven" and it is on the season one soundtrack. It is an outstanding piece of music and I get chills every time I hear it.

Sharon's speech to Adama
Not to say "I told you so" but this situation unfolded almost exactly as I had thought. The specifics were a little different, but Sharon did prove her worth to the group by preventing the assassination plot against Adama and Apollo. Her great little speech to Adama after saving their lives was perfect.

Adama's speech
It just reminded me how much I missed him being in charge. Even after he came back a few episodes ago, he was at the mercy of his emotional instability and isolation. In this speech he proved that they are one family... one fleet... he personifies leadership... he even started a "slow clap" and I wasn't too cheesed out by it.

I was a little disappointed that there were no goosebumps during the tomb experience. I thought that was the weakest moment of the episode. This is a show that never feels rushed to me and that moment, what is probably one of the more important ones (I would have thought) in this episode seemed very rushed. Did they all have a vision? Was it a Star Trek holodeck? Was it teleportation? How did they get out? I just wasn't that impressed. Luckily there were so many better things going on in this episode that I let the moment slide.

Like I said in the beginning of this write-up, Sharon's single line to Adama made this whole episode for me. It blew my mind. We all thought the story was going to be about the tomb and Kobol and Earth when instead it was about the Cylons. Who are they? What are the limits of their power? We had Baltar trying to answer that with Number Six prodding him on. We had Sharon trying to explain it to Helo while flaunting it to Commander Adama. This episode did more to complicate the Cylon origin than any in the entire show so far and I have a feeling the complexity is only getting deeper.

Principal MVP of the episode has to go to Tricia Helfer for her out-of-character Kara Thrace impersonation. The moment was set up so perfectly by Baltar and for Number Six to completely reinforce his fantasy by becoming exactly what he wanted was superb. Tricia Helfer did an excellent job... the mannerisms... the vocal inflections... great stuff.

Secondary MVP of the episode goes to James Remar as Zarek's henchman Meier. He served his purpose as the catalyst for Sharon's acceptance and managed to insulate Zarek from the entire event. I think we can officially say that if you are Zarek's right-hand man, it is the equivalent of a being a red shirt on Star Trek.

Additional Resources

• Official episode synopsis
• Official podcast episode commentary

Zarek is the Gul Dukat of BSG

For those of you who watched Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, you will be familiar with the character Gul Dukat. He was one of my personal favorites. I came across a blog entry at Big Orange Michael than compares Zarek to him in a very interesting way. I never considered it. Seeing that Ron Moore did the writing for Dukat, I could see how Zarek might become his BSG equivalent.

Meanwhile, we begin to see more of the true colors of Tom Zarek. As I watch, I don't see Zarek as a typical bad-guy so much as a Gul Dukat type character from DS9. Dukat was absolutely convinced that everything he did was for his own personal good and to achieve his agenda, even when it seemed totally at odds with what was needed overall. Zarek is one of those where the ends seem to justify the means, but he's also smart to plot with a sidekick to take out Lee, thus leaving him an out should the plot be exposed. (And it might be as I don't see them killing off Lee).

Read the whole post

I love it when my Star Trek and BSG worlds collide!

What do we know about Cylons these days?

This link comes from Galacticaa.net. It is a post on PoliBlog with a run down of what we know and what we think we know about Cylons in the fleet. It is pure speculative fun:

Here are the five Cylons known to the Fleet:

Shelly Godfrey (a version of Number Six) who appeared the episode Six Degrees of Separation and while never confirmed as a Cylon, the crew has to have concluded that she almost certainly was one.

Sharon Valerii. The crews is well acquainted with this model, in more than one incarnation.

Aaron Doral fingered by Baltar, and confirmed to be a Cylon as the suicide bomber in Litmus.

Leoben Conoy. His susceptibility to radiation tipped off Adama in the miniseries, and another version was found in the fleet in Flesh and Bone (and was eventually dumped out of the nearest airlock—but not before appearing in President Roslin’s dreams).

To this list, a fifth model was revealed (and Starbuck has seen him), the Doctor(Simon) in The Farm. Certainly one of his model is in the fleet.

Ok, so are any of the regular Cylons?

Read onward through the speculation

I am not really buying any of the regulars being Cylon's at this point. I would feel too cheesed out by that so hopefully the producers would too. I assume they are going to continue showing off Cylons the way they did with Simon. I found that to be extremely effective. No need to resort to gimmicks like turning regulars against each other when you can introduce new characters with as much skill as was used in The Farm.