Foo - Battlestar Galactica, final season starts April 4

I am a huge fan of BSG but I thought the last season kind of sucked. Will the final season be :D, :( or :rolleyes:???

http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/710256.jpg

It will rock, but I am kind of baffled as to why they took such a successful, well-regarded show and decided to stop at four seasons, like they're the BBC or something.

For the past couple years, I've been pretty religious about BSG and LOST, both of which have complex, sometimes season long story arcs and both shows simply refuse to insult the viewer's intelligence. Both are being cancelled after a fairly short run. I guess all the shows I like, from Monty Python to Farscape are too good to stay on for very long...

For sure one of the reasons is that the production costs escalate every season. I'm sure it's hard to keep all of those folks around once they start seeing offers roll in.

Watch for Caprica to be a scaled-down prequel.

Same crap has happened to Rome and Deadwood, two excellent HBO series. If they can't hold Dexter together on showtime, I'm gonna be upset.

It will rock, but I am kind of baffled as to why they took such a successful, well-regarded show and decided to stop at four seasons, like they're the BBC or something.

For the past couple years, I've been pretty religious about BSG and LOST, both of which have complex, sometimes season long story arcs and both shows simply refuse to insult the viewer's intelligence. Both are being cancelled after a fairly short run. I guess all the shows I like, from Monty Python to Farscape are too good to stay on for very long...

Btw, what did you think of the 3rd season?

Btw, what did you think of the 3rd season?I loved it, (thought first season was weakest.) Saul Tigh is probably my favorite character and i really liked that they finally showed why he was in the position he was and wasn't just a pathetic alcoholic. My least favorite part of the show, the stupid T&A shots where Balthar is interacting with the invisible Cylon, got scaled back in favor of some actual development and progress for both characters. The guy who plays Balthar has every actor's dream, an emotionally-conflicted, complex villain that everyone pities and hates at the same time. There were certain scenes I couldn't believe they televised, such as the attempted **** of Sharon and the President outlawing abortion. I guess it's true what Rod Serling talked about how you can tackle political issues if you put the science fiction mask on them.

I had never seen BSG until a few weeks ago... I hadn't caught it in the first season, and it always looked too hard to catch onto. But then a friend loaned me the DVDs, and I'm just smitten with the show.

So who do you think is the 5th cylon?

When I first started watching, I thought Starbuck would end up being a Cylon, but it would be too obvious right now.

If you look at the other 4, they were all the "closest" people to those in power. The president's assistant, Adama, Starbuck, well--wait...I guess Chief isn't, so there goes that theory.

They keep talking about how everything that is happening has happened before. Maybe it will end up that the humans are really cylons, but a previous version. So the 5th cylon would be everyone.

I'm reminded of the "5th column", but can't remember what that refers to. Anyone remember?

I loved it, (thought first season was weakest.)

I liked the first season the best. There were some weak spots but I was basically glued to the TV every episode. I thought season 3 was the worst, as if they didn't know exactly where to go after the New Caprica cliff hanger.



My least favorite part of the show, the stupid T&A shots where Balthar is interacting with the invisible Cylon, got scaled back in favor of some actual development and progress for both characters.

I would agree with that. I get frustrated by six and Balthar but they did give that entire mess some purpose toward the end of season 3.


There were certain scenes I couldn't believe they televised, such as the attempted **** of Sharon and the President outlawing abortion. I guess it's true what Rod Serling talked about how you can tackle political issues if you put the science fiction mask on them.

Yeah, some critic had said that BSG is the most important political television show currently on air. I do know that the entire Political Science department at Penn State watches it religiously.

I had never seen BSG until a few weeks ago... I hadn't caught it in the first season, and it always looked too hard to catch onto. But then a friend loaned me the DVDs, and I'm just smitten with the show.

:beer: everyone I know who has watched a few episodes loves it

So who do you think is the 5th cylon?


When I first started watching, I thought Starbuck would end up being a Cylon, but it would be too obvious right now.

Jeez, I dunno what to think the way the last season ended. I just hope that it doesn't become a complete mess.


I'm reminded of the "5th column", but can't remember what that refers to. Anyone remember?

The colonists' religion subscribes to something like the eternal return and many references have been made to the notion that history endlessly repeats itself. This suggests that we might look for clues in the original series? There have been several loose parallels.

I am assuming there will be movies, either theatrical or TV.

On a side note, Sci Fi can pretty much be relied upon to ruin it's best television shows, from MST3000 to Farscape. Trying to exert creative control, then making completely idiotic demands, or bizarre schedule changes, they are historically completely ridiculous. This will be the latest example. Heinous shows like Stargate are always safe, for some reason.

Sci Fi needs to dump all of those crappy made-for-tv movies and start paying the bills.

But God almighty, Sharon Valeri is my dream girl. She really is superhumanly attractive. http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/11-asian-girls/

It will definitely rock due to the revelation(s) at the end.

But God almighty, Sharon Valeri is my dream girl. She really is superhumanly attractive. http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/11-asian-girls/

Yes! But I am totally on the Katee Sackhoff bandwagon. :love:

http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Katee_Sackhoff/katee_sackhoff.jpg

I had never seen BSG until a few weeks ago... I hadn't caught it in the first season, and it always looked too hard to catch onto. But then a friend loaned me the DVDs, and I'm just smitten with the show.

So who do you think is the 5th cylon?

When I first started watching, I thought Starbuck would end up being a Cylon, but it would be too obvious right now.

If you look at the other 4, they were all the "closest" people to those in power. The president's assistant, Adama, Starbuck, well--wait...I guess Chief isn't, so there goes that theory.

They keep talking about how everything that is happening has happened before. Maybe it will end up that the humans are really cylons, but a previous version. So the 5th cylon would be everyone.

I'm reminded of the "5th column", but can't remember what that refers to. Anyone remember?

Oh yeah, I totally forgot that you need to see Razor!

Razor was good, I really enjoyed the Pegasus storyline, and it was good to see Admiral Cain again.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot that you need to see Razor!

I just saw Razor and was disappointed. Aside from finding Admiral Cain pretty boring, the actress that plays Apollo's XO was mediocre at best. :/

SPOILERS:

OH! And I wish they would have made the whole "I'm a lesbian lol" thing a bit more subtle. That scene where the Six discusses it with XO girl was unnecessary; I would have been way more interested if they just alluded to it. It also would have made her whole "I R ANGRY WOMAN" thing a bit more convincing as (unless I missed something, since I YouTubed it) the only suggested reason she went PEWPEWPEW was because her buttbuddy betrayed her.

one of the nice things about being on a show like this is that even if you stink you can go on to make a fortune at sci fi conventions, especially if you're a cute woman

For sure one of the reasons is that the production costs escalate every season. I'm sure it's hard to keep all of those folks around once they start seeing offers roll in.

Watch for Caprica to be a scaled-down prequel.

Same crap has happened to Rome and Deadwood, two excellent HBO series. If they can't hold Dexter together on showtime, I'm gonna be upset.

+1 on HBO series.
Also it's nothing to do with production costs. It's the same story that killed Firefly, B5, and every other stellarly good SciFi show. The networks are always looking for the next "Star Trek" blockbuster popularity, money making machine, and when it doesn't explode in the first season and make them as much money as some gay reality show, they can it or sabotage it so badly that it can't survive.
Truth be told though, accurate to history, Star Trek bombed, too. It didn't really resurge in popularity until it was petitioned to to be returned by the fans.

I'd still like to stab the NBC exec in the neck, who tanked Firefly, and let it be replaced with that abyssmal show "Fastlane."

Oh yeah, I totally forgot that you need to see Razor!

Razor? I don't know about razor. I'll check it out when I get to Kansas.

There's supposed to be a series of online mini-shows on the sci fi channel website that fill in the blanks between seasons 2 and 3, too. I haven't gone looking for them.

I bought Razor and wish I hadn't. It's not bad, but feels too much like a rehash of stuff they've done at least a couple times before. Plus the plot line was their favorite (redemption.. c'mon guys, there are other themes)

I loved the first season to death. The second season was good, would have bought it too if they hadn't split it up into two boxes to make more money.
I caught a couple episodes of the third and decided to wait to see it on dvd.

Just fyi, I have a cheap Oppo dvd player feeding into your basic 420p widescreen TV.
Nothing exotic, but the Oppo has a chip that makes the picture look a little better, and the picture quality on dvd is worth mentioning. So I did.
http://www.oppodigital.com/

The overarching plot of BG, like Voyager before it, was borrowed from the Odyssey. Nothing wrong with that. Works best if you go for a few years, and get to the destination. It already shows signs of being dragged out.

The series should go out with a bang. I am looking forward to seeing it without commercials or reruns.. on dvd.

i voted "meh." because i've not watched it since the miniseries. it just didn't capture my interest - i love the classic show, campy though it was at times, but couldn't get into this one.

so when it goes off the air, i probably won't even notice.

+1 on HBO series.
Also it's nothing to do with production costs. It's the same story that killed Firefly, B5, and every other stellarly good SciFi show. The networks are always looking for the next "Star Trek" blockbuster popularity, money making machine, and when it doesn't explode in the first season and make them as much money as some gay reality show, they can it or sabotage it so badly that it can't survive.
Truth be told though, accurate to history, Star Trek bombed, too. It didn't really resurge in popularity until it was petitioned to to be returned by the fans.

I'd still like to stab the NBC exec in the neck, who tanked Firefly, and let it be replaced with that abyssmal show "Fastlane."

I never liked ds9 and voyager stunk. But I really liked Enterprise. It's too bad that show was sunk by the failures of prior series.

I'd still like to stab the Fox exec in the neck, who tanked FireflyCorrection. Sentiment shared, though.

I keep hearing good things about Battlestar Galactica, but I haven't seen a second of it, original series, miniseries, or new series. Maybe once it's over, I'll pick up the DVDs and watch it straight through.

I never liked ds9 and voyager stunk. But I really liked Enterprise. It's too bad that show was sunk by the failures of prior series.

and i think DS9 was the best of all the Treks: but you had to like the characters, as they never changed. at least TOS and TNG went somewhere every week.

Voyager was iffy, but i never understood the love folks have for Enterprise. the visual design turned me off, and the writing was a bit flaky. good cast, though.

good cast, though.

Star Trek needs excellent actors to create and maintain the illusion.
Scott Bakula didn't have what it takes, IMHO. I had several people complain to
me about him.

Other than that, I liked the series a lot until they decided to jazz it up with the Xindi. As a race and as a plot device, I liked the Xindi. But the grim apocalyptic
character of the situation seemed to suck the life out of the series. A good cook knows when to stop adding spice.

Is there the underlying assumption here that TNG was the best? Or do some of you actually prefer the other shows to TNG?

...LOST [is being] cancelled after a fairly short run.

Seven seasons is a "fairly short run"? You've been watching too many Gunsmoke and Bonanza re-runs.

You can't do epic shows like this indefinitely - everybody gets too tired: the writers, the actors, the sponsors, the fans, etc. Much better to channel the creative energy to a new concept rather than beating the dead horse until it won't move anymore. The fact that Lost is coming to a finite conclusion when the questions will be answered and the secrets of the island will be revealed is one of the main reasons I'm going to invest the time in the show over the next three years.

- Mark

Seven seasons is a "fairly short run"? You've been watching too many Gunsmoke and Bonanza re-runs.

You can't do epic shows like this indefinitely - everybody gets too tired: the writers, the actors, the sponsors, the fans, etc. Much better to channel the creative energy to a new concept rather than beating the dead horse until it won't move anymore. The fact that Lost is coming to a finite conclusion when the questions will be answered and the secrets of the island will be revealed is one of the main reasons I'm going to invest the time in the show over the next three years.

- MarkLOST makes less episodes per season than the average network fare. Perhaps you noticed it when they showed re-runs every other week, or maybe when they went 9 months between seasons? I like it that there will be a finite conclusion as well, but what I'm saying is there are really not that many episodes for a show that has been on that long. They've chased away a lot of the fans by dragging things out this way, even though it is a great show.

LOST makes less episodes per season than the average network fare. Perhaps you noticed it when they showed re-runs every other week, or maybe when they went 9 months between seasons? I like it that there will be a finite conclusion as well, but what I'm saying is there are really not that many episodes for a show that has been on that long. They've chased away a lot of the fans by dragging things out this way, even though it is a great show.

That's because it is a much more highly produced and expensive format than the typical TV show. Same with BG. This isn't "Three's Company" or the "The Love Boat" they're producing. It is simply not logistically feasible for the production company to produce 30 episodes a year.

Lost is currently committed to a 16 episode season for the next three years, although this year it is reduced to 13 because of the writer's strike with the extra three episodes carried over in the next two years. The first three years, the series ran 24, 23, and 22 episodes. So when they conclude, they will have made 117 episodes, which in my book is plenty to play out the theme of the Island and discover it's power, whether Ben is a good or bad guy, and whether Kate and Jack will end up together. I wouldn't want it to run any more. Like I said, why not channel the creative energy to something new? The reason Lost is good is because it is innovative and fresh.

IMHO, if there is anything the networks do way too much of is finding something that works, and then running it forever and creating copycat spinoffs.

- Mark