My First (And Most Likely Only) Blog Entry About Battlestar Galactica

I was hoping to write about the finale of Battlestar, but I've realized that every time I sit down to write something about the show, I end up writing about five or six pages on what I find wrong about the show before I can even begin to explain that I do in fact like Battlestar and think it's, y'know, good.

So I'll try to make it as brief as possible before getting into an exhaustive and rambling rant about all the reasons why the show frustrated the living hell out of me.

Okay, no fuck it. I think I can explain my two main problems with it:

1. The series was structured for HBO-style 12-13 episode season arcs, not 22+ episode arcs, and

2. The writers were clearly making shit up as they went along.

I mean, when a show like Arrested Development (which was a network sitcom, for frak's sake) clearly maps things out several episodes in advanced, why couldn't Ronald Moore, David Eick & Co. do the same (especially when they saw they had a huge hit on their hands)?

When the show was good, it was very good. When it wasn't, it was spinning its wheels and dragging its feet (which became incredibly frustrating for a show that was designed around making the viewer really want to know what happened next).

So, did I like the final episode? Ssssssssort of.

It did what the rest of the series did for me: simultaneously delivered on many things and failed to do so on many others. So here are some scattershot thoughts (all chock-full of spoiler material):

The big showdown between Cavil and Galactica?
Excellent.

Cavil blowing his brains out?
Kick-ass.

Landing on Earth (or "Earth")?
Rock on.

Roslin's death?
Sad and bittersweet and fitting.

That they didn't use the final episode as a back door pilot for its upcoming spinoffs?
Thank Gods.

Finding out the deal with the imaginary Caprica 6 and imaginary Baltar?
Not so sure, but I'm glad they at least resolved that shit.

The resolution of the whole "final five in the opera house?"
See above.

That them landing on "Earth" resulted in the formation of our civilization?
Yyyyyyeah, okay, that's...kinda cool, I guess.

Lee suggesting they just become savages (and apparently managing to get 30K+ people to agree)?
Uh...

Hera turning out to be important just because she's ostensibly "Eve" (not even just the first person, just the first person modern-day humanity found)?
Sigh...

Kara just disappearing?
Go fuck yourself.

Feel free to offer your thoughts below. Again, I realize whenever I start writing about the show I make it seem like I'm not too wild about it, which isn't accurate at all. Hell, just the fact that its creators took a pretty cheesy sci-fi show from the late-70s that was an allegory for Mormonism and revamped it into one of the coolest television shows since, well, ever, is quite an impressive feat. I'm glad this is a show I followed, even if I do have reservations.

Still wanting to know the deal with Daniel,

James "Watchtower-Peddler" Comtois