So, I finally started watching Battlestar Galactica

I don't blame you for waiting for a Release. I watched the Pilot Episode and they had Commercial Breaks (Which lasted about five minutes) EVERY @#*&! SIX MINUTES!!!

I gave up watching after about an hour!

I never watched any more of the Series (I might get back to it at a later date) but it'll have to wait till I see the series on the "Bargain Bin" somewhere!

I seem to recall the miniseries was shot on film, so should have grain. The series was shot on video and they added artificial grain on purpose. Different parts of the show are processed to look different. The launch deck for instance is usually processed to look more high contrast and noisy.

You're going to have a great time, Ron. It's the most mature science fiction show that's ever been on TV. I think of it as the Sopranos of sci-fi. Like the Babylon 5 thread where you kept checking in and telling us your thoughts, I hope you do the same here.

I remember you asking about this show a year or so back and getting a flood of positive comments back, which made it odd to never see you follow up with your impressions. Mystery now solved.

Yeah, it's an intense show- and compulsively watchable like much of LOST was. I was ultimately disappointed in the resolution of both shows, but in retrospect BSG seems a lot tighter and doesn't ladle on nearly as much irrelevant/go nowhere/never resolved complications the way LOST did. There are definitely a few points that still bug me, but I wouldn't deter anyone from experiencing the show in whole.

Many people didn't have a problem with the end, so there's a good chance you won't either Ron.

I'm going to throw this out and hope you don't mind. I don't consider it to be a spoiler as much as a warning to adjust your expectations- Every show opens with "And they have a plan"- as if some diabolically mindblowing intricate master plan will be revealed at some point near the end. It won't. There isn't much of a plan beyond "Humans bad. Kill them all".

That said, don't  fret. There's still plenty of intrigue and incident, great space opera and world class drama ahead.

As far as the Boomer character (spoiler for people who haven't seen up to where you are yet)

It is Helo not Apollo although they look very similar that Sharon is with and Boomer is with the Chief but yes it can get confusing but it works itself out. I started watching the series after getting the HDDVD 1st season for cheap and was hooked. In March I purchased the complete series and enjoyed every last moment of it. All I can say is enjoy the ride. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein 

 

Your spoiler about Boomer is already understood.

 

What I don't understand....

 

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Do the two guys that fell in love with her, Chief and Apollo,

know each other?  It seems strange that you have two guys

falling in love with what they perceive to be one woman and

if the two pilots knew each other they wouldn't be shagging

the same girl.  

 

That is what is confusing.

 

That is what is confusing.

I can't remember the exact timeline of events so I don't want to get too specific in case you haven't gotten that far yet.

In general

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts once you finish it all.

Yes, Chief Tyrol and Helo know each other.

The show is similar to Lost in its serialized nature (I think both shows owe a debt to Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine in that regard). I found BSG to be very satisfying overall. Many episodes are so intense that without thinking about it, I found myself creeping forward until I was literally on the edge of my seat. More than once after watching a particularly intense episode, I said "Wow, this fucking show is going to give me a heart attack."

I've been interested in watching this. What do I need to watch first? Do I just start with Season One? Or, is there a separate Mini-Series release that I would need to see first?

Cool, Thanks.

I was looking on Amazon at the different releases, Is there another mini-series release in there somewhere?

Ron, Helo was reluctant to have a relationship with Sharon because he knew she was involved with the Chief. But over the course of many days in their situation, nature took its course.

Spread out over several weeks, you get more of Helo's reluctance. But watching it all at once, it seems like he doesn't give it a second thought.

He does verbally mention it to Sharon once, I think on a rainy night, saying he doesn't want to get between her and her relationship with the Chief... But she doesn't mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillG 

Cool, Thanks.

 

I was looking on Amazon at the different releases, Is there another mini-series release in there somewhere?

There are several freestanding releases: The miniseries that launched the series. The Razor episode (basically a "hey, we've got these empty sets standing around while the cast and crew are on vacation, why don't we use 'em for sumthin?" situation). The Plan (the post-series attempt to wrap up some loose ends).

They're all included in the BluRay box, except for The Plan I think.

Oh, and there were webisodes that got left off...

You made it through a season in a day?  Wow you are flying!  Its a great show.  I'll need to revisit it again some day soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will_B 

They're all included in the BluRay box, except for The Plan I think.

 

Oh, and there were webisodes that got left off...

"Razor" is included in both Blu-ray boxes (as part of season 4). "The Plan" is included in the second Blu-ray box (the one without the Cylon action figure).

There are two sets of webisodes; the "Razor" ones are included, the Season 4.5 ones aren't (seemingly due to legal reasons).

I will be interested to hear your thoughts regarding the series finale.

The upside to watching this series in the complete set is that you do not have to endure the long wait between cliffhangers and seasons.

I see this complete set is excluded from Deep Discount's 25% super sale going on now. That would have brought the price for the BD to $150. Too bad.

Prior to this show, I never cared for Olmos as an actor, and even though the original show was a joke, Lorne Greene had a comfortable fatherly presence. I think Olmos in that role may have been one reason I avoided the show for as long as I did.

But he won me over completely here, right from the mini-series. I thought he may have originally gotten the role because of a history with Universal product, but he turned out to be a masterful casting choice. One among many though, as the whole series has one of the best casted ensembles I've ever seen. It's almost supernaturally good  given how many were little or unknown previously.

Several things that I still appreciate are that the series almost constantly moves forward and doesn't run in place or keep re-setting itself to maintain a comfortable familiarity.

Also, the show (for the most part) wisely looks for, and finds, all the many varied conflicts that would constantly spill forth from a premise like this. This show is textbook example of how just about any childish B grade genre entry can be re-imagined into something mature and wildly compelling. Start from square one and keep asking "what would be the logical results of that , and then what forces would logically  rise up in conflict to those initial results" and just keep going from there.

There is, unfortunately,  a big exception to that sentiment that I won't even begin to discuss until you're done with the whole thing.

Nice to see your enthusiasm over the show Ron. It's got me toying with the idea of revisiting it a lot sooner now than I was expecting- (I'd completely forgotten the Cain/Pegasus phase of the show- that was some juicy, powerful stuff there).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul_Scott 

Prior to this show, I never cared for Olmos as an actor...

I had never really thought about Olmos one way or the other before BSG but he was just amazing as Adama.

probably should have said as a presence rather than as an actor.

He had some good credits under his belt, but I always associated him with Miami Vice, which I've always had a big disdain for, and before that he was a creepy presence in both Wolfen and Blade Runner.

That kind of explains why I've never been a fan of Gough as Alfred. He got locked into my consciousness when I was a kid as the weaselly villain in so many great Hammer movies. Hard to warm up to him as someone trustworthy and dependable years later 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein 

 

I am so happy that I finally got the chance to sit down

and watch this.  Now my life is on hold until I can finish

the set.

I know the feeling.  When both BSG and LOST were on the air, I joked (was it a joke?) that my number one goal in life was to *not die* before I saw how those two shows ended.

The BSG season threads have some of the best posts your forum has to offer.  Myself, Micah Cerucco, Adam Lenhardt, Sam Favate, Yee-Ming, Patrick Sun, Holadem, MattCR, Quentin--all have a crazy-interesting in-depth discussion.  If you want a real kick, check out this thead, where you can see a bunch of people who passed (heavy) judgement on the show before the first episode even aired.  One poster in particular ("they changed the freaking helmets!") goes so overboard it's hilarious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Dial 


I know the feeling.  When both BSG and LOST were on the air, I joked (was it a joke?) that my number one goal in life was to *not die* before I saw how those two shows ended.

The day after LOST, when some celebrities dying made the front page, my first thought was "at least they got to see the end of LOST".

It's not an invalid thought. Years of watching a show, and missing the ending, would be unfortunate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein 

Now into the third episode of SEASON THREE.

 

Not particularly satisfied with the New Caprica setting.  It seems

to radically slow the show down somewhat.

 

In retrospect, I think New Caprica is one of the show's best moments. There is an intensity there that is very gripping. Without giving anything away, I can tell you there are good things coming, and it will not be slow.

You should have watched the "Resistance" webisodes before the first episode of Season 3. They're not necessary to follow the story, but they do embellish it.

Ron, there's an episode coming up that I think is BSG's finest hour in terms of action.