TV/Movies Battlestar Galactica

[Telfer]

So, spoilers abound.

I never read that other thread about BSG. I only started watching via Netflix this year. I'm all caught up with the DVDs, and I've "obtained" Season 3. But I've only watched the first episode.

Can I just say what the frack? You can't be serious. They threw the whole plot away for this refugee crap and I'm way not into it. I thought using the "one year later" device was total crap at the end of Season 2.5. But then! At the beginning of Season 3 they fast forward ANOTHER year? Oh my my. I feel totally screwed as an audience.

Now, I will probably watch the rest of the episodes, but while I tore through the mini-series and first two seasons, I'm going to be very casual about catching up with Season 3.

On one hand, props to them for keeping on with the risk taking. And Dean Stockwell and Lucy Lawless as Cylons? Beyond brilliant. I'm sure the heart of the creative team is still alive and if I stick with it I'll be happy. I just did a play where the director and actors were constantly freaking out about certain episodes of Season 3 and I was sooo jealous. But now I'm kind of not. I kind of think it's crap. Anyone care to taunt me back into watching? Again, just one episode of Season 3 and I'm ready to pack it in. Maybe when it's officially released on DVD I'll Netflix it, but I kind of feel like my show died.

I mean seriously! Everyone's randomly married? Lee Adama in a Santa fat suit? It's like an SNL skit. A current SNL skit.

[VinRigan]

Give 'em a few more episodes, and they'll get past it. Not my favorite season thus far, but not bad, either. By the end of the season, you'll have forgiven them for the "one year later" junk- which was a bit of a turnoff for me, too. Plus, there are multiple flashbacks throughout the season, so you'll get to see a lot of what actually happens in that year.

[sammy]

It pays off.

[Chip]

Telfer, don't forget to check out the webisodes I told you about. They are shorts that cover some of what the resistance has been up to.

Do like Tony says and stick with it. In retrospect, I'm glad they did what they did because frankly, I want them to get on with it - the show is called Battlestar Galactica, not The New Caprica Refugees. They take enough time on the planet as it is, so I forgive them the time jumps in order to get to the meat of the story.

So, do please keep watching. There's some interesting stuff coming up.

Upcoming season 4 is most probably the last season, so I say stick with it and see it through.

-Chip

[Telfer]

I also hate flashbacks! Grr! We'll see- the webisodes thing might be cool, but it might also function like the Star Wars animated series and I might just get mad that they aren't a part of the real timeline. Why couldn't they put that material in the actual show? Arrg!

[schaefe]

It wasn't a year...it was four months into the Cylon occupation. Geez.

Don't be a hater. I thought that 3rd season, as a whole, rocked out.

[Telfer]

The difference between 4 months and 12 months is marginal as far as character development goes. You still miss a lot of important shit. It smelled like a producer getting sick of his show and trying to squeeze out his favorite ideas for the plot before he cuts and runs.

[Arnie]

I would have to say that overall, the third season was the weakest, but, for me, the flashing forward was one of the best things they did. Time passes and we don't need to see everything. And we are given enough clues to fill in the gaps on our own. Many of my favorite shows use this technique (usually between seasons): 24, Sopranos, the Wire. It never really seemed like a cheat or gimmicky to me, like, say, the lost two years on Alias.

At the same time, for better or for worse, television is about retaining the status quo, so most shows, no matter how much they pretend to break or shatter the formula ("oh shit, this totally changes everything forever!") tend to get back to business as usual faster than you'd guess. The same holds for BSG.

[robbersean]

They needed to go to New Caprica, and they needed the flash forward.

I look at like a group game in a Harold. They're flying through space, they fight Cylons, Lee and Kara have a messed up relationship. After two seasons, of that, things would've started to get stale if they had just kept the status quo. So they switched it up for a few episodes. We see all of these characters in a different situation, see some new facets to who they are, so when we do get back to flying through space, fighting Cylons, and Lee and Kara screaming at each other (or boxing) there's a newness to all of it.

My only criticism of this season was that they grouped all of the stand alone episodes together. Dirty Hands, Taking a Break from all Your Worries, and the Woman, King didn't all need to be one right after the other. I mean, those weren't bad episodes, but they just didn't feel needed to the overall storyline, so I didn't care about them quite so much.

I loved the season finale. I think the last five minutes of that last episode stands up to every other great moment that the shows had, including the showdown between the two Battlestars during the Pegasus three-parter.

[schaefe]

Originally Posted by Telfer

The difference between 4 months and 12 months is marginal as far as character development goes. You still miss a lot of important shit. It smelled like a producer getting sick of his show and trying to squeeze out his favorite ideas for the plot before he cuts and runs.

Renewed for a 22 episode 4th season though...no cutting and running here.