Battlestar Galactica Viewing Order [No spoilers!]

Amazingly, not a single human or cylon ever dies when you watch in reverse.

So it's pretty clear, thanks to the concern of other BSG fans, that there's some truth in the "Old Man in the Bath"'s assertion that Thrace will "bring the apocalypse"... but we've been told many things by the Cylons in the past, and while this hybrid does seem to be a more reliable source, it's still extremely unclear what it means...

Saying that, the first scene with Starbuck in after this supposed revelation does feel odd... and I did start seeing her in a different, more dangerous light... I'm sure that will pass once I get back to my own timeline, though.

At least, I hope it will!

I have a to rant a little, but how "Six of One" got nominated an Emmy is beyond me... I have no doubt that BSG deserves an Emmy nod, but there were plenty of better episodes to choose from ("Faith", for example, just a few episodes on leaps to mind). What's somewhat shocking to discover is that there probably was an Emmy award winning episode in the deleted scenes.

Katie Sackoff's portrayal of Thrace's pain was so vivid and really showcased probably the actor's best work... and yet for time constraints those scenes were left truncated. It's a shame because in the broadcast version some of those scenes barely made sense (Adama's motivations for attacking her in the scene in her cell, springs to mind). Such a shame that an extended cut wasn't included (and the same can be said for just about every single episode in the first half of Season 4).

Whoever decided to make "Lee Adama becoming the acting President" a sub-plot in "Sine Qua Non" deserves a good talking to, as well. I spent the entire episode thinking "It's going to be Lee, it's going to be Lee", while the characters sat and pondered, "Gee, who on earth would the old man listen to? Hmmm. Who's charismatic enough to unite the Quorum? Hmmm, I wonder who? I know, I'll write the shocking answer on a whiteboard that the audience can't see for a big surprising reveal." It was really jaw-dropping that BSG would do something so obvious.

The worst episode of all has got to be "Revelations". I hope it was the writer's strike that's to blame for such a pivotal episode being so badly structured, but it's still a shame to see what was produced. Getting the humans to suddenly start a truce with the Cylons was a big task, to be sure, but there had to have been better ways... Why didn't the Cavels suddenly come back en masse and force everyone to unite through desperation? Why didn't the fleet's FTL drives start immediately plotting a course to jump to the second it became clear there were complications? *sigh* The whole "let's find each together, then" just was not earned and neither was the "we've decided to let the final four go free". It felt so forced. I understand it must have been a tricky thing to accomplish, but having to make the characters stop behaving like themselves, in order to make it work, what sad to see. In all there was a surprising amount of clunks in a short period of time for Battlestar Galactica, a show I've come to expect consistent quality from. (I guess I've been spoiled.)

Thankfully the first episode of 4.5 showed people acting like themselves again and had some serious emotional gravitas, too. I hope the rest of the season (show!) maintains the previous quality that I know the writers are capable of. Fingers crossed...

Older Adama getting into the ring and getting beaten up by Tyrol, but the I loved the backstory involving young Adama and Starbuck, and especially Dee's heartbreak. There was also something about the pacing of the Extended version that made it somewhat hypnotic -- there was so much breathing space.

But I think you're right, there's definitely the unfortunate odd moments when character's motivations go bizarrely out the window for dramatic effect or in order to progress the plot.