Battlestar Galactica

Listen to the commentary on the DVD. They explain everything.
Considering only about 1% of people who buy DVD's actually listen to the commentary, there is alot of information that people simply don't know.

That's all I have to say.
 
Listen to the commentary on the DVD. They explain everything.
Considering only about 1% of people who buy DVD's actually listen to the commentary, there is alot of information that people simply don't know.

That's all I have to say.
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If you have to buy a DVD and then listen to the commentary in order for something horrible to make sense, it's still horrible.
 
I find the commentary quite interesting.



And you should check the Word Game and look up the amount of times I posted there . . .
 
Bandit LOAF said:
So... you just don't *count* the parts that disprove your point? Clever.
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I don't really think he's arguing a point, or trying to prove anything. Just because there exists in this world Star Trek that is not squeaky clean does not make him incorrect for noting that a whole lot of Star Trek is squeaky clean.
 
I've been reading over the forum here, and it seems to me that everyone is missing something in battlestar galactica's main theme that makes it special.

It is NOT about humanity fighting robots or aliens. On the surface it seems to be, but the biggest issue that they repeatedly attempt to tackle is "what defines 'humanity'"
It is by no error that the humans on the show are polytheistic while the cylons are monotheistic. In many ways the cylons look upon the pagans of the colonies as each of the monotheistic religions on earth have looked at pagans over time.
Recent episodes have also made it clear the cylons do not share one mind, and that there is dissent within the ranks. In reality, if one examines the cylons closely, one can see quite a bit of ourselves in them. So which side really is the most human? When one looks at the cylons as sentient beings with varying opinions, doesn't it raise a question as to whether the blind hatred on both sides is justified?

Looking at a cylon is like looking in a mirror and seeing the parts of ourselves that do not like to see. I believe this is why the remake placed such importance on the idea that the cylons look human.

The show has also spent significant time on terrorism, "peace" movements, child labor/slavery, the struggle between democracy and military rule, racial bigotry, and of course survival.

Where star trek is an optimistic view of the future where humanity flourishes in some kind of unrealistic socialist utopia where everyone wants to better themselves, Battlestar Galactica attempts to simulate what true human nature would do in a situation where all infrastructure were eliminated, more people were dying than being born, and the future was a dream at best. The very sobering (and realistic) result is that the strands by which civilization is held together are weaker than we think, and we take a lot for granted.

So yes, on the surface it's humans fighting alien robots and there's blood and gore sure. But there is symbolism beneath the surface, and contrary to LOAF's comments, I would argue that there are some issues addressed that are not commonly seen on other shows in the genre (or any other for that matter). It may take some deeper examination of the show beyond what's thrown in for entertainment value, but there is a treasure to be found in the depths.
 
StarSlayer said:
It is NOT humanity fighting robots or aliens. On the surface it seems to be, but the biggest issue that they repeatedly attempt to tackle is "what defines 'humanity'"
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Hey, I got a bridge you can buy! Real cheap!
 
maniac89 said:
you should check the Word Game and look up the amount of times I posted there . . .
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It's not about how many times you post to the thread. It's about how many posts there are between your individual posts to that thread. Once you post to it, you have to wait untill 20 other people do too to post to it again. For all I know, The CIC staff just might close the thread, but the rule was necessitated because posting to it was getting out of hand. (some people were basically boosting their post count and had something like 80 percent of their posts in that thread alone.

Raptor_Pilot said:
As far as the planets, the show is filmed in Vancouver. Not many Deserts, Jungles, and Ice packs in Vancouver to make different looking planets. (Budget again)
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So was SG1 and Smallville and mission to mars.. (or was it red planet?). And there were episodes with Ice, snow, deserts, and more. In fact, of any location, as long as your willing to to film in the surrrounding countryside BC has some of the most varied terrain around. a 3-4 hour drive and you have glacier/ snow/ towering forest/ mountain/ ocean/ beach/ island/ semi-arid desert with rattle snake/ rolling hill with cowboy-style ranches, City etc. There's more too but I think you get the Idea.

And this really doesnt explain why they keep going back to the forest for *every* planet. And Caprica is just the streets of vancouver - and Simon fraser university (and more forest). Well I guess there was one dirtball planet (where starbuck gets the cylon raider but that could have been a gravel pit in anyones backyard)
 
StarSlayer said:
The show has also spent significant time on terrorism, "peace" movements, child labor/slavery, the struggle between democracy and military rule, racial bigotry, and of course survival.
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I'm all for commentary on real-world issues in my science fiction. But the bit with the child prostitution was just about the worst thing in the world, ever.
 
StarSlayer said:
It is NOT about humanity fighting robots or aliens. On the surface it seems to be, but the biggest issue that they repeatedly attempt to tackle is "what defines 'humanity'"
It is by no error that the humans on the show are polytheistic while the cylons are monotheistic. In many ways the cylons look upon the pagans of the colonies as each of the monotheistic religions on earth have looked at pagans over time.
Recent episodes have also made it clear the cylons do not share one mind, and that there is dissent within the ranks. In reality, if one examines the cylons closely, one can see quite a bit of ourselves in them. So which side really is the most human? When one looks at the cylons as sentient beings with varying opinions, doesn't it raise a question as to whether the blind hatred on both sides is justified?

Looking at a cylon is like looking in a mirror and seeing the parts of ourselves that do not like to see. I believe this is why the remake placed such importance on the idea that the cylons look human.

The show has also spent significant time on terrorism, "peace" movements, child labor/slavery, the struggle between democracy and military rule, racial bigotry, and of course survival.

Where star trek is an optimistic view of the future where humanity flourishes in some kind of unrealistic socialist utopia where everyone wants to better themselves, Battlestar Galactica attempts to simulate what true human nature would do in a situation where all infrastructure were eliminated, more people were dying than being born, and the future was a dream at best. The very sobering (and realistic) result is that the strands by which civilization is held together are weaker than we think, and we take a lot for granted.

So yes, on the surface it's humans fighting alien robots and there's blood and gore sure. But there is symbolism beneath the surface, and contrary to LOAF's comments, I would argue that there are some issues addressed that are not commonly seen on other shows in the genre (or any other for that matter). It may take some deeper examination of the show beyond what's thrown in for entertainment value, but there is a treasure to be found in the depths.
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Look...its just a show...it's entertaining, it's not a fricking thesis on the nature and existence of mankind. I think people are trying to read way too much into this show...
 
PeteyG said:
I don't really think he's arguing a point, or trying to prove anything. Just because there exists in this world Star Trek that is not squeaky clean does not make him incorrect for noting that a whole lot of Star Trek is squeaky clean.
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He makes the claim that "most" Star Trek is, while acknowledging Voyager and Deep Space 9 aren't (and it doesn't sound like he's ever seen Enterprise). He's factually incorrect.
 
I find the commentary quite interesting.
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I'm sure it is... but it's not part of the work of art and it's decidedly not an excuse for things the show does wrong. It's very, very, very easy to look back on something you've made and point out (and come up with excuses for) what's wrong. Hindsight is 20/20 -- that doesn't fix problems.

I've been reading over the forum here, and it seems to me that everyone is missing something in battlestar galactica's main theme that makes it special.

It is NOT about humanity fighting robots or aliens. On the surface it seems to be, but the biggest issue that they repeatedly attempt to tackle is "what defines 'humanity'"
Click to expand...

Then you haven't been reading hard enough, because we spent quite a bit of time making fun of exactly this earlier in the thread -- all that rubbish about the 'human condition'. I also fail to see how this is different from... just about any other science fiction series -- isn't it the exact same very generic concept that's at the heart of, say, Star Trek The Next Generation?

It is by no error that the humans on the show are polytheistic while the cylons are monotheistic. In many ways the cylons look upon the pagans of the colonies as each of the monotheistic religions on earth have looked at pagans over time.
Click to expand...

Oh, my! Judeochristian deity versus Greco-Roman pantheon? That *is* cutting edge... or, it was in 21 AD or so.

Recent episodes have also made it clear the cylons do not share one mind, and that there is dissent within the ranks. In reality, if one examines the cylons closely, one can see quite a bit of ourselves in them. So which side really is the most human? When one looks at the cylons as sentient beings with varying opinions, doesn't it raise a question as to whether the blind hatred on both sides is justified?
Click to expand...

Rais a question? Perhaps, if you've somehow managed to avoid seeing any war movie made in the last forty years.
 
AD said:
It's not about how many times you post to the thread. It's about how many posts there are between your individual posts to that thread. Once you post to it, you have to wait untill 20 other people do too to post to it again. For all I know, The CIC staff just might close the thread, but the rule was necessitated because posting to it was getting out of hand. (some people were basically boosting their post count and had something like 80 percent of their posts in that thread alone.
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A word of advice about the word game, make sure that there are 20 posts between your individual posts. It's easy to count incorrectly, that's what happened to me last time
 
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