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What is wrong with BSG?
jestersage
Member Posts: 8 Arc User
Recently me and my friends had finished BSG, and all we can think of is that the ending is the best one of all sci-fi (in fact a few of us are moved to tears). Yet before I watched it, I heard many comments online that say the ending is a let down.
I don't get it. What is wrong with the BSG's ending? It was probably the most mature ending of all sci-fi series, beating even DS9's ending which I consider to be good.
I don't get it. What is wrong with the BSG's ending? It was probably the most mature ending of all sci-fi series, beating even DS9's ending which I consider to be good.
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I really don't know... if you consider that about 2 of them are in film school, and they consider it to be a very good (not just good) series, then I really do not get what is wrong with it. especially with season 4
good example was Starbuck came back from death somehow... the character was not likeable (wanted to be challenging and edgy she was just grating and annoying) so I did not care when she died and actually looked forward to it, only to have her return as some kind of unknown unexplained mystical entity. LOL that's not good writing its barf in a bag and call it art
it was poor fantasy fiction, dressed up as sci-fi. fantasy because they could not make the story work, so they use magic to make it work (things like, visions of the map). that's the problem with almost all modern sci-fi, star trek included
Yeah the original was the bible though. The 12 tribes of Israel seeking the promised land and the Cylons were the devil. The new one is like neo pagan or something and anti JudeoChristian because the cylons are monotheistic killing machines. So spituality was part of the shows nuts and bolts from the get go.
Parallels: my second mission for Fed aligned Romulans.
Oh... that will explain why my friends like it. I can't believe I did not realized it's actually a biblical story in space.
Considering that my friends in addition to the pastor actually like the ending, I would guess even the new one is actually very supportive of the christian mindset.
Now, I can understand some of the problems with the ending, which stem largely from Moore's uncertainty as to whether SyFy would permit him to end the story at all. He had a five-year plan, in which he would spend much of the fourth year establishing the idea that Someone or Something exists, and keeps trying to guide Its creation such that the creation will end the cycle of "create life - war with life - everybody dies except for the seed of the next cycle" of its own accord. I think the point Moore wanted to make was that we're going to make AIs eventually - and they can be our "children", or they can be our enemies, and it's up to us which it will be. (Starbuck's "disappearance" and "reappearance" was that she died in the atmosphere of that gas giant, and what they got back was an "angel" of sorts.)
This could have been a good and powerful ending. However, it was overshadowed by the bit where Lee talks the entire fleet into completely abandoning all technology except for a few select bits, for no very good reason whatsoever. (The remnant of the fleet was not self-sustaining - the ships would have died soon without a spaceport for maintenance, so they could not have built a high civilization from what they had, and since the landing was supposed to be 50,000 years ago, there would have been no traces of their works to explain away in the final moments.) It was also short-circuited when Moore felt it necessary to cram all the story elements possible into that last half-season - a decision which actually turned out to be for the better, as SyFy actually was planning to axe the show.
I did, however, like the way the Galactica showed the stresses that everyone was undergoing - and the way she gave her all in that last boarding action to rescue Hera.
Personally I think its one of the best shows I've ever seen.
1. Let's have every scene shot as dark as we possibly can. We don't have to build sets if they can't see them!
2. Let's make the battles as dark as possible! That way, we won't have to spend as much on the action sequences.
3. While we're at it, lets make EVERY******nthing as dark as we can. That way people will know how dark and grim and gritty and dark and horrible and grim and dark and gritty this series is!!!
Yes.
Because this series is supposed to be completely serious.
Where people say the word "Frak".
Yes.
4. Let's make Starbuck a woman! No one will see it coming!
5. Let's make her an jerk! No one will see it coming!
6. Since no one likes her, let's kill her! No one will see it coming!
7. Now let's bring her back from the dead! No one will see it coming!
8. Remember how no one saw that [insert character here] was a cylon? Let's do it again! No one will see it coming!
9. Hey, remember how in the original series, Cylons were evil, uncompromising, relentless all consuming alien horrors that gave in to their greedy self-serving ways in order to parallel the soulless beast that is the biblical devil? That was lame. They have feelings now.
And TRIBBLE.
10. You know what was a good series? The Animatrix. Let's rip it off and call it an original series.
11. And that stupid stupid ending. I could go on and on about how that endiJUST TRIBBLE YOU RONALD D. MOORE. TRIBBLE YOU. SHAME ON YOU AND YOUR STUPID DESIRE TO MAKE EVERYTHING DARK AND GRIM AND HORRIBLE AND LAME. SUCK IT RONALD. SERIOUSLY.
All I see is a big tantrum.
Because the ending was an incredibly forced and hamhanded way of trying to get around how the Colonials became our 'primitive' ancestors in spite of being a spacefaring society.
Really, you're about to settle the only survivors of your entire species on a world you know nothing about...and your first act is to do away with nearly all of your advanced technology?
The only thing I liked about the ending is that I can tell myself that Baltar ended up dying of some injury or illness that could otherwise have been easily treated. :P
And heres a question werent they supposed to be looking for earth the "13th colony"? then why is it they get there and guess what they become the 13th colony?
give me a break BSG was a terrible series with good CGI to distract viewers from poor acting bad scripts more plot holes then pot holes on a Ny city street.
some of the best star trek tv episodes were the ones that ronald d more worked on in the 1990's.
Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.
Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
you did not realize? while Baltar literally became space Jesus in the last season?
imo the problem was not the ending itself, but what it did not do.
there were many things, that were brought in, and in the end, either they did not make use of it, or just gave a very meaningless explanation (like the operahouse, it was like the biggest thing for a long time, then it just turned out to be nothing too important)
imo it was fine, still my favourite show, but it was not perfect
10k DPS Vesta threads: 1; 2
it is effectively 'god did it' and to some that's a cheap way to wrap up the story as there was no great explanation to how things were happening, no scientific evidence to back anything up, none of it was open to interpretation either, but i accepted it was very religious and just went with it rather than try to nitpick it.
i don't believe in god myself, but for the purpose of the show i do believe that there was a god (or higher power) and that he was controlling things, so things did not need to make total sense to me.
Our Earth is not the 13th colony. The 13th colony was the old Earth they found that was a nuclear wasteland, once inhabited by humanoid Cylons who exterminated each other. The final five were the only survivors and left to warn the 12 colonies, only to be reprogrammed by the Cavils.
One thing I cannot understand is that if we (humans) are born from the breeding of humanoid Cylons and Colonials, then who were the primitive humans on our Earth that they spotted in the final episode? And how were they genetically compatible with the Cylons and Colonials? Act of God?
Those humans on Earth would have probably been Neanderthals, who it is now believed became extinct as a species through, among other things, interbreeding with another species that was a direct ancestor to modern Humans. As to how they were genetically compatible, well I guess that depends on the backstory of how Humans came to be at all. Either you accept the ground rules in the series that God exists and has a plan, in which case this is simply an example of how things were meant to be, or you accept pure Evolution, which makes the idea that Humans could evolve on two completely separate worlds (Earth II and Kobol) almost identically pretty low, in which case it would seem the Neanderthals probably were linked to the Humans on Kobol even further back than any of the Colonies (perhaps the Humans on Kobol came from Earth II? ).
As to the core question of what is so bad about BSG, my personal opinion is that many people never got over comparing it to the original, which was a completely different series in terms of intent and quality. Also, much of BSG required thinking to see beyond the surface of things, which can be frustrating for some viewers as they watch TV to avoid that sort of thing (not all, but some). Finally, anything that hints of a spiritual aspect to the Universe, a Being watching over it all, or anything that is different from 'the real world' tends to make people uncomfortable because it starts treading on concepts they rely on for security in real life. Few people like to have their assumptions on how the World is challenged (look at the Middle East for some history on that).
I personally think there was nothing wrong with BSG, any more than there was with B5, Firefly, or Star Trek. Some viewers can't watch anything without looking for the real life drama of production or budget expenditures (indeed, this may be more important to them than the series itself), and that can color their perception of the series on it's own rights. No media production is totally free of the forces that produce it, but that doesn't mean that the core message of a Series can't be accomplished or good Sci Fi managed despite the pitfalls put in their path by Executives and Staff who only see it as a meal ticket.
The only quibble I had with the entire show is the fact that Starbuck came back. I didn't mind that she did, what bothers me is that she was never explained, not like the angels at the end who knew who they were. Starbuck II didn't know who or what she was, at least not until the end when she just vanished.
Other than that, I loved the show. It's been a while since I saw it, but it had everything I'd want out of a sci-fi and more.
Personally, this is my favourite show. Cavil's ending happened way too quickly for my taste, but otherwise, I loved everything. It was stated from the 3 hour mini series opening that they were Angels of God, and such religious connotations were themes throughout. Thus it was not lazy story telling, but one of the core themes of the show. If they had thrown it in at the end, then yeah, it would be. But they didnt. I love shows that are not afraid to explore themes like this.
I believe Lee had the fleet dump it's tech because look at the trouble technology had given them. 4 years of being hunted because their tech got out of hand. I don't agree with him, but that's the reasoning.
Hera was the only one descended from Cylons. Everyone else was from normal humans.
But not everything was explained. It didn't wrap up with a neat little bow. I think that's the main reason why people may not like it. It left too many important questions unanswered. Personally, I believe Starbuck died on First Earth, and was reincarnated by 'God' in the 12 colonies with no memories of her past in order to guide the humans to Second Earth for her soul's redemption. She died in teh gas giant before she could achieve this, which is why 'God' put her back in play. With some helpful hints.
As for 'God'. It may not be God in the biblical sense. It could be someone like Q. Simply a higher entity playing with his ant farm.
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
You, sir/madam, have obviously not had the distinct privilege to have watched the finale to the Babylon Five series. After watching the entire series, this was the best ending I have yet seen for a show.
There's several different kinds of series finales though and its like comparing apples and oranges and grapes.
There's the "Wrap up everything" kind of ending like Babylon 5, BSG, DS9, Voyager, Buffy, the West Wing.
And there's the "Sail off into the sunset, the adventure continues" kind of ending like TNG or Angel.
The third type being "We got cancelled and this happened to be the last episode" like Firefly (although I think after the movie it moved up into category two), Terra Nova, and many, many other shows.
I think its tough to compare the relative qualities of some of these because they are designed to do different things or weren't designed to be a finale at all.
"I'm gonna try and convince you my invisible sky daddy is real because that is what I believe. I'm not going to tell an unrelated story and then tell you about my invisible sky daddy in the last sentence. That would be misleading you."
Perhaps if they had worn their "Gawddidit" intent on their sleeves from the start, I'd be a lot more favorable about the show. In the end it was just an over long "Take that, heathens"