BSG Season premiere (SPOILERS!)

Wow. Last night's episode was one of the best in a long time, not just because of the shocking revelations but because it was one of the best directed, written, and acted since...season 2?

The show reasserted its ability to punch you in the stomach and arrange a date between your jaw and the floor. The 13th colony was all Cylons _and_ they built big-ass old school Centurions? Whoa. That one got me.

I was surprised at how grim and hopeless the show was...I mean, BSG has gone down some dark paths but this one sort of took the cake...I expected the kid and the dad from THE ROAD to turn up.

Of course the biggest news other than Starbuck's apparent death(s) and Dualla's suicide was that Ellen fuckin' Tigh is the fifth. I totally didn't see that coming at all. What a bitch. The thing is, she seemed to know about something when she's dying in the debris...which begs the question, did everyone on earth (all Cylons, for frak's sake) believe in resurrection? Was that part of the culture there given what she tells Tigh when she's dying? Who nuked Earth, anyway? If these "old" Cylons die, do the usual resurrection ship/download rules apply? Agh, the mind reels.

The scene with Bill and Tigh was actually scary to me...to see him so unhinged and dangerous was kind of frightening...it was also really a sad scene since you know he's just trying to get Tigh to off him since he won't do it himself. Pretty powerful stuff...at first I thought it was totally off character, but that's how people at their lowest point are- off character.

I wonder if Dualla did something to Athena. I don't buy that she was just despondent over earth. There was too much of a show made about the babysitting thing.

I think the season's off to a good start, but it could easily go south...the show's been good about toeing the line between shark-jumping upheavals and keeping things fresh. We'll see how it goes, I guess. I still think Baltar's Six is god and is likely behind the whole thing.

Of course, since pretty much everyone is a cylon at this point, what does that mean for our BSG games?

After watching last night I remembered the ep. from the first half of season 4 where Tigh was in the brig with a 6 and kept seeing her as Ellen. What's the significance of that? The first clue that she was a cylon? I'll have to go back and watch those again.

I hope the show kind of steers clear of the "Baltar's a religious leader" storyline. It seemed like that thread was the weakest point of last year. Also, the show has gotten to the place where they dwell a bit too much on everyone's despair. Season 4.0 was all about the 4 cylons on Galactica and their torment, as well as Roslins torment, Tyrel's wife's (what was her name?) torment, etc...

It's a bit much.

Some very cool revelations and thought provoking stuff to balance out the despair, though. Looks promising.

Meh. At least the plot is moving forward more quickly, which makes the show far more entertaining. Reminds me of the "wrap it up" box from the Chappelle show.

Overall I liked it. We had a pool going on who was the 5th, and one lady had her money on Dee. We thought she was crazy until the show started and focused on Dee a whole lot, and suddenly we thought she was right. That made Dee's exit all the more shocking. Mike, I think Dee's actions seemed real enough on their own. She after all was a Sagitatian, a supposedly hyper-religious bunch. When the scriptures appeared to be wrong I can see how she would be devastated.

The part with Starbuck was interesting. I loved it when Leoban(?) freaked out and backed away.

I don't know how I feel about the part with Ellen. They have a lot of explaining to do.

It's no secret I think the show has been a turd floating around the punchbowl for quite some time, but last nights episode was a fantastic return to form. Real character, real honesty, real guts. And no cop outs like the show has become famous for.

Michael Barnes wrote:

The show reasserted its ability to punch you in the stomach and arrange a date between your jaw and the floor. The 13th colony was all Cylons _and_ they built big-ass old school Centurions? Whoa. That one got me.

Actually that was the one thing I didn't find surprising - seems to fit right in with the whole "The humans are really cylons and everything is happening in a big evolutionary circle again and again" theory which was becoming obvious in season 3. If that ends up being true I'll try and pretend to act surprised in the final episode.

Of course the biggest news other than Starbuck's apparent death(s) and Dualla's suicide was that Ellen fuckin' Tigh is the fifth. I totally didn't see that coming at all. What a bitch.

I hope she is the 5th and its not a red herring as unlike 3 of the final 4 her being a cylon actually makes some sense.
Only problem is wasn't she cylon tested by Baltar in season 1? If so that would mean Baltar knew who the 5th was all along which makes no sense. And why would Xena say sorry to her?

The scene with Bill and Tigh was actually scary to me...to see him so unhinged and dangerous was kind of frightening...it was also really a sad scene since you know he's just trying to get Tigh to off him since he won't do it himself. Pretty powerful stuff...at first I thought it was totally off character, but that's how people at their lowest point are- off character.

Great scene and I thought it was in charcater. Only bit I hate was the cut to commercial with Bill having a gun pointed to his head saying "Do it!!!" which has become THE BSG cleche.

I wonder if Dualla did something to Athena. I don't buy that she was just despondent over earth. There was too much of a show made about the babysitting thing.

I sure hope there isn't more to it. The way Dualla's death played out was note perfect, it sure doesn't need no lame scifi bullshit added to it. I think the point of the baby sitting scene was that the kid was a future that Dee now saw had no hope. I think the despondent over eath angle was the most honest the show has ever been about everything - she saw children and the respark of romance but in the end it would all lead to nothing. All hopes were pinned on Earth and now without that there was nothing - no hope, no focus, no dream, no objective. Nothing to believe in.

I guess. I still think Baltar's Six is god and is likely behind the whole thing.

I don't see any other way it can end and still make sense.

I thought the first 20 minutes was pretty boring. But the whole show picked up after Dualla's suicide, The scene with Bill Adama's freak out, etc. Hopefully, that is a good sign for the rest of the season.

Bleh. That'll about do it for me. A couple of good scenes do not an hour-long episode make.

And could the Dualla thing have been more telegraphed? A second-tier character who hasn't even appeared in every episode, a character who in the past has been given only one thing to do on the show (be Lee Adama's wife) is suddenly all over my screen? She might as well have put on a red shirt ... she was either going to be badly hurt, killed, or else turn out to be the final Cylon.

I'm not happy that Fonzie is now eyeing the shark; I used to love BSG and considered it absolute must-see TV (in the age of TiVo, it was the only show I'd watch live). But the miniseries and the first two seasons are starting to seem like a loooooong time ago. Since then, we've been preached to in the third season's Battlestar Iraq-tica sermons and had to endure a very up-and-down fourth season. Frankly, the best BSG thing to appear in the last two years was the Razor special.

I'm out. I really no longer care who the final Cylon is (although I really doubt it's Ellen Tigh; Col. Tigh's attempt at self-baptism doesn't really prove much at all), mostly because I still don't believe in numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11. The plot-holes are just too big, now; in terms of consistency and logic, BSG is beginning to make Lost look really strong.

Oh, well ... as a longtime follower of F/SF, I'm used to being disappointed. And, oddly enough, I'm still really interested in the BSG boardgame. But I'm done giving the show second, third, and fourth chances.

TheDukester wrote:

Frankly, the best BSG thing to appear in the last two years was the Razor special.

I thought razor was utterly pointless garbage.

Actually that was the one thing I didn't find surprising - seems to fit right in with the whole "The humans are really cylons and everything is happening in a big evolutionary circle again and again" theory which was becoming obvious in season 3. If that ends up being true I'll try and pretend to act surprised in the final episode.

It wasn't so much that vindication of the theory (which is pretty obviously where teh show is heading), it was more the implication that everybody on the damn show, all the Capricans, all the 12 colonies, and Earth (meaning "us") were Cylons to begin with that got me. But that could go wrong if they go with some kind of lame ass "we're all the same" kumbayaa thing.

hope she is the 5th and its not a red herring as unlike 3 of the final 4 her being a cylon actually makes some sense.

Yeah, if they back down from that it's going to be stupid. The thing is, if they're all cylons the whole "OMG who is the fifth" thing is kind of redundant anyway. The bigger question is why the hell they wound up Galactica to begin with. There could be some interesting revelations out of that. I hope.

Only problem is wasn't she cylon tested by Baltar in season 1? If so that would mean Baltar knew who the 5th was all along which makes no sense. And why would Xena say sorry to her?

Hmm...I don't remember...I haven't watched season 1 since it was on air. But if that's the case then you're right, that would be a major loophole that would need some kind of explanation. Of course, Baltar more than likely would have been in the sack with her at some point and we know how that turns out...

Great scene and I thought it was in charcater. Only bit I hate was the cut to commercial with Bill having a gun pointed to his head saying "Do it!!!" which has become THE BSG cleche.

Oh, I didn't think it was in character at all...he was too nasty. Bill isn't nasty like that, he's a hardass but he's not violently, aggressively hostile like that. He was desperate in a way we haven't seen him before. But you're right, the BSG cliche is the gunpoint standoff...or somebody being shot in a surprising fashion. It's like they're always trying to top when Boomer plugged Bill...and they can't.

I sure hope there isn't more to it. The way Dualla's death played out was note perfect, it sure doesn't need no lame scifi bullshit added to it. I think the point of the baby sitting scene was that the kid was a future that Dee now saw had no hope. I think the despondent over eath angle was the most honest the show has ever been about everything - she saw children and the respark of romance but in the end it would all lead to nothing. All hopes were pinned on Earth and now without that there was nothing - no hope, no focus, no dream, no objective. Nothing to believe in.

Well, Bistro did bring up a good point about her being a Sagittarian and thus very religious- I didn't really think about that and that sort of closes the logic gap I had. It's something that's been kind of underplayed, really. There ought to have been something to reinforce that to make the suicide more meaningful, I think.

I hope that the hopelessness and despondency marks the remainder of the series. You're dead right, it's as honest and brutal as the show has ever been. One of the most subtle great scenes was when Bill was walking to Tigh's bunk and those guys spill out into the hall fighting and he walked right by, nobody seeming to notice even though people were all over the hall just kind of sitting,dazed and despondent. That spoke volumes about where the morale dial was at- more than the "Frak Earth" graffiti. I also thought that was particularly powerful when Roslin got off the Raptor and everyone just kind of waited for her to say something and she told Bill "Get me out of here". That collapse of faith, authority, and leadership all at once was masterfully handled. Burning the book almost seemed like childish petulance after that.

Y'all sure are critical...I understand it though, you want the show to be as good as the first season. Honestly, I thought season 2 better than season 1. But as for this particular show I thought it was damn fine TV and I'd put it in the top 10 or so episodes. And it's a far sight better on points than pretty much any other SF show I can think of. Even when the show has been bad I've still enjoyed it. The thing is, I actually agree with a lot of the negative comments- it is extremely ham-handed sometimes, there's plot holes (which you're going to see in any extended series with so many people writing, directing, and editing it over the course of five years). All that being said, I can do without ever seeing the cheap-ass set that passes for a Basestar interior again. What fuckin' hog wash "They don't need decoration because it's IN THEIR MINDS".

And I can't argue with the "season 4 sucks" complaints. It did suck. The finale was good, but it was so rushed and sloppily written. I liked Baltar's trial well enough, but everything before it was pretty dopey stuff.

But we're all leaving out the DUMBEST thing about the season premiere- the blond wig on Starbuck's corpse. I think that's why Leoben was so shocked- he couldn't figure out how someone could have got there before them and put a blond wig on a burned up, decomposing skeleton. That was just stupid. And I actually thought when Anders picked up the guitar that if they showed him jammin' away on stage I was going to throw up. Bad enough that Chief was buying fruit when Armageddon happened. That's pretty dumb too, that on the whole planet he just happened to find the same fruit stand where he got blown up. And how about those jacks? 2000 years of atomic dust and they're sitting right on top...

I think they actually use the method Robot Chcken theorized about: Ron Moore throws darts at a board with the pictures of each and every cast-member on it and whoever he hits is a cylon - Only I think he threw the darts until he hit every character there, and they are all cylons. Someone watching it with me thought that Dee dug up a locket with a picture of herself in it, and offed herself because she realized she was a cylon; No one else in the group spotted that, and supposedly the internets disproved the theory. But it would fit in with everyone being the final fifth.

I'll keep watching it until the end, but I don't know how I feel about this episode; I generally reserve judgment of a new season until 3-4 episodes in (and by then I am successfully sucked in whether it's good or bad). I think the prequel stuff they are planning on as their next move once the series ends has huge potential to be shit though(especially if all the prequel-clips last season and "Webisodes" this season are any indication).

According to AICN Ron Moore admitted he is making this shit up as he goes along.
The 'final 5' wasn't thought of as a concept until they decided to have Baltar on the cylon ship and needed an excuse as to why you can't see the final 5 cylons on the ship.
The 5th's identity wasn't decided on until halfway through season 4.

So yeah, expect plot holes out your ass.

PseudoIntellectual wrote:

... and offed herself because she realized she was a cylon.

She's got my vote. I don't believe for a second that it's Ellen Tigh. I really don't give a shit what Ronald Moore is telling the fanboys on the interwebs; I stopped trusting that guy at least two years ago. I also like that her name could be a direct reference to "dual" ... as in, her dual nature.

The dartboard comment is about dead-on to me. I admit I was basically pre-conditioned not to like the Season 5 opener; I'm still all kinds of cynical about the Cylon reveals in Season 4 and the gaping plot chasms that opened up as a result.

Man, I miss the tension from the first two seasons. The worst thing that ever happened to BSG was all those "best show on TV!" reviews that started popping up. Well, that was the second-worst thing; the worst was the writers reading those reviews.

I'm digging the rebellion. Felix, Tom and everyone else vs. Adama and family and the Cylons. This should make the next couple of weeks pretty interesting. I think one of the Cylons has to die in the next couple of weeks. Maybe Chief???

I'm so sick of Laura. I wish they'd kill her off. I know they won't until the maybe the end.

I may have to switch my F:AT badge to Saul. This guy is Fraking cool. A one eyed drunker who's Cylon sperm can swim. He's a total Cylon stud that all the Cylon chicks will be hitting on. I'm playing Saul next BSG game. I played him once. It was the only game that I was able to be Admiral and President at the same time. Me and humans ended up winning the game.

Wow. Last night's episode was HORRIBLE! Halfway through, my wife went to bed, citing the fact the show was "boring". And it was. There was some decent setup for later events, but the show by and large was really dull and felt like a filler episode. Acting wasn't up to par and the whole thing just felt really slow and uninteresting.

So Hotdog is the dad of Callie's baby...big fucking deal. That was written in SOLELY to tie up the Hera-being-the-only-hybrid plothole. Total soap.

Roslin, instead of becoming angry and vindictive at losing everything has become one of those batty ladies that hangs out at salad bars or public libraries.

Gaeta hates everybody now...I do like that plot development, actually, and how he's in league with Zarek. A revolutionary movement might be pretty interesting.

Baltar is back in Jim Jones mode...I kind of like it, but it better end up in some kind of suicide cult finale.

Tigh has always been a favorite of mine...he's like the gruff old sea captain. I loved in that in the game his drawback is "alcoholism".

I dunno, with so few shows left it sucks that they laid egg on this one...particularly since the premiere was really good.

What? I loved this one! The baby-daddy drama tied up a loose end (why Hera is so important when the other half cylon baby isn't). The political intrigue was great. I can't wait for next week.