Unbelievably, it has been 6 months since Battlestar Galactica finished with the triple part episode ‘Daybreak’.
Back, before the show finished, indeed, before the second half of the final series even finished, we started hearing rumours of a straight to DVD movie being released once the series had wrapped up.
Well, that time is only 5 weeks away when “The Plan” comes out on DVD. I was digging through the old Basketcase archives (my first attempt at a blog) and came across this, my first post on the matter – ahh, fond memories.
A new trailer (well, as of 3 months ago anyway) is out on YouTube but well worth watching to get yourself in the mood for its release…
Massive, massive spoilers below – don’t read unless you’ve seen the finale!
I’ve just watched the series finale, Daybreak Part 2 and wanted to jot down a review of sorts and what I thought of the episode. I have to say that I was a little disappointed by Islanded in Stream of Stars and the first part of Daybreak so like most fans, was really looking forward to the finale. I realised they must have been saving up budget for the no-holds barred finale but they were pretty obviously stories that were the deep breath before the storm. Saying that however, the interstellar shoot-out was just the appetizer in what would prove to be an emotional, surprising and absolutely memorable finale to one of the coolest hour-longs to ever grace the small screen.
Things I liked about the finale
1. The rescue mission on the Cylon colony. What a brilliant action sequence, dwarfing anything that the series has done before, including the previous high-point, the frenzied escape from New Caprica. From the initial jump entry, where the Galactica is taking a hell of a pounding, to the nukes, the dual assault teams, the Raptor asteroid navigating, the Cylon counter-offensive, the Raptor/Raider battles. All of it brilliant!
2. Centurion vs Centurion. It was brilliant to see the reimagined (second generation) centurions going toe to toe with their old skool brothers.
3. Boomer’s fate. Had to happen that way and Athena may not be the most sympathetic character after that cold-blooded execution, but it beat the alternative: kidnapping amnesty. The flashback about what she owed Adama was an unexpected touch, but did make me think about how violent and extreme she can be – remember the attack on Athena?
4. The “can’t we all just get along?” moment. Oh, it seemed too good to be true. The exchange of resurrection technology for Hera seemed to set up a mutually beneficial alliance until Tyrol lost his mind of Cally’s murder. More shooting and then the colony was nuked. Crikey! A nasty little twist that I enjoyed greatly.
5. Adama and Roslin. The most emotionally fulfilling relationship was the real tear-jerker this episode. That final Raptor flight was has to be the most emotional scene from the whole series. And what a wonderful departing shot of the Admiral sitting on the hill next to her grave.
6. Baltar’s “farming” comment. It was simple, called back to a relatively new piece of character history, but it was emotionally resonant. Probably because he was one of the most complex characters in the series and this simple declaration and resulting outpouring of emotion was genuine.
7. Baltar’s “faith” speech. But this dialogue was the most important of the show. It gets to the core of the series, this transcendent ”Divine Will” guiding humans and Cylons and helps to answer the supernatural questions of Starbuck’s resurrection, Head Six and Head Baltar (angels? demons? both?), the Opera House and even Bob Dylan.
And what I didn’t really like
1. Hera as the missing link. I get the point of it: we’re children of humans and Cylons and so on and so forth and I see how the series led to that point (Hera had to be super-important for a reason), but something about this twist just struck me as too contrived.
2. “Go forth and populate the Earth!” Hey, instead of hanging around together with access to technology, let’s take a rucksack and hunt gazelles. A good idea from a script writer but if you were one of the last members of humanity, wouldn’t you want at least a few mod-cons? I thought that at least a couple of people might have said, hang on a minute, I would never said yes to that! What about all those people in sickbay?
3. Chief Tyrol. I quite liked him at the start of the series but over time he has thrown his toys out of his pram once too many times for my liking. The final attack on the colony has to be at least half his fault, considering he let Boomer slip through his fingers. He deserves to seclude himself in Scotland or wherever he’s off to.
4. Breaking the cycle. Here’s the reason for moving away from city planning on the new Earth: we need to break the cycle of violence. It’s is another driving theme in the series and I can understand it, but its overuse in the finale became cliche.
5. The ending. Which brings me to the final scenes. Part of me liked modern-day Times Square and Six and Baltar walking down the street and the montage of robots (actually I really liked that). Still, I think this was all inferred and showing it and having Six/Baltar run through the “cycle of violence” talking points again diluted the power of the parting shots. Put me in the “It would have been better to end it all with Bill gazing out to the horizon” camp.
6. Kara. So what was she, an angel? A figment of our imagination? Seemed that the harbinger of death was a bit of an overstatement – more like a lost wingeing teenager to me… Still, overall a really nice ending to a great TV show. Funny what can happen in 150,000 years hey!
We’ll I’m off to try and find a show to watch that’s even half as good as this one.
Well thats all folks, Battlestar Galactica held it’s series finale last night across the pond (here in Blighty, we need to wait until 9pm, Tuesday on Sky One!) and from the various tweets I’ve seen (while hiding behind my hands so I don’t actually see the ending) it was a great ending. Now that it has wrapped up, I thought it would be fun to build up a list of my top 15 favourite episodes. Now I’m well aware that this list is entirely subjective, but should strike up a bit of debate out there and please feel free to comment as I’m certain not everyone will agree. Note this list doesn’t include the show’s finale ‘Daybreak’.
15) Six Degrees of Separation
One of the better episodes to come out of the first season, Six Degrees of Separation sent a collective chill down everyone’s spine from the first scene onward. Baltar is called down to CIC where a woman named Shelly Godfrey has accused Gaius Baltar of supplying the Cyloncs the defence codes that lead to the descrution of the Twelve Colonies (which they did!). However, he is horrified beyond reproach to discover not only does Shelly Godfrey look like the Caprica Six but also the fact that she could be seen by everyone else. This episode testing the limits of Baltar’s character, where your faith stands in the face of neverending hopelessness, and the lengths some people will go to to keep their darkest secrets hidden. Dramatic, unforgiving, character-defining. Simply a great episode.
14) Maelstrom
Maelstrom came to us towards the end of the show’s third season and was actually one of the high points in an otherwise lackluster season. This episode planted the seeds for Kara’s eventual return in the show’s fourth season. We get greater depth into her character both with her mother’s long battle with cancer, Starbuck’s childhood but also something greater, the possibility that Starbuck is actually some type of oracle, as she painted the same image (the Eye of Jupiter as seen in the Temple of Five) as child. Furthermore, we get the death of Starbuck. At a time when Baltar’s trial was nearing closer to it eventual happening, Starbuck’s death came as the final nail in the coffin for a lot of people abroad Galactica, specifically one Lee Adama.
13) Scattered
This was a highly anticipated episode for the series as the season two premiere. Adama is been shot twice in the chest by Boomer and amidst all of the confusion hell breaks loose. Tigh must come to gripes with the possibility that he might have to take control of Galactica, Boomer (not knowing what she did until it was too late) is thrown in the brig, and to add to their burdens Gaeta accidently inputs the wrong jump coordinates leaving the Battlestar stranded and the Colonial Fleet defenseless. This episode really showed how vunerable the Colonial Fleet is to an attack from the Cylons without Galactica there to protect it. As a premiere it was fantastic, a perfect blend of action and drama that left us wanting more.
12) The Passage
‘The Passage’ was a fantastic replacement mid-episode for an otherwise less-than-stellar third season. The basic premise: the Colonial Fleet is out of food, and their only hope for survival is a planet of algae that can be cultivated and eaten. The only problem is a radioactive nebula that must be traversed in order to reach the planet. This is one of the most difficult episodes to watch, as the fighter pilot continuously cross the nebula hungry, tired, and sucking up more and more radioactive materials guiding the ships one at a time towards the algae planet. How long can humans live without food when pushed to the limit, this episode answers that.
11) The Valley of Darkness
This is a person favorite of mine. After the events of the season’s two premiere, and a fire fight with a Cylon Baseship, and cylon freighter (unbennounced to the crew of Galactica) has crash landed on-board Galactica with a dozen or so Centurions. If anything this episode shows vulnerable being on Galactica is without communication and electricity. Why destroy Galactica from the outside when you can destroy it from the inside? This episode is basically a race to beat the Centurions intent on destroying the ship’s life systems. Suspenseful and terrifying, Valley of Darkness will always hold a place in my heart.
10) Kobol’s Last Gleaming (Part 1 & 2)
This episode should the dynamic between Roslin’s religious views and Adama’s political views come to a head as Roslin, behind Adama’s back, orders Starbuck to retrieve the arrow of Apollo. Similarly, Gaius Baltar and every ships head towards a planet to be the fabled Kobol in search for clues to Earth. However, these ships are quickly shot down and crash land on the planet. We also get the subplot of Helo and Sharon comes to a head on Caprica as he shoots her in the shoulder, and the Boomer on board Galactica attempts suicide at her own peril. Overall, just a great closer to a debut season.
9) Blood on the Scales
This is the most recent episode to make the list, and for good reason. Gaeta, alongside Tom Zerick, have convinced more than a few members of Galactica’s crew to mutiny against Adama, and his plans to allow Cylon crew members on board to repair Galactica’s infrastructure via a biological resin. Blood on the Scales was the second part after ‘The Oath’, Gaeta has taken over CIC and most of those loyal to Adama has been either imprisoned or killed. Eventually, however, they do retake the ship but not without dozens dead and the true loyaties under Adama are shown.
(8) Six of One
Six of One gave us something that we never expected, civil war among the Cylons. The nine existing Cylon models are divided into two camps, those who believe the final five exist and should be sought after among the Colonial Fleet, and those who believe it should be ignored and the Centurions should be reprogrammed to forget. While normal disputes among the Cylons was expected no one believed that it would ever lead to bloodshed, millions killed, and the near-destoyed final Baseship seeking refuge among the Colonial Fleet for protection. It should also be mentioned that this was the only BSG episode (to date) to be nominated for an Emmy award for Best Writing.
7) Pegasus
Pegasus was one of those episodes that defined BSG. It was one of those episodes that forever changed the rules of power among the fleet. Adama is stripped of much of his authority as Admirial Cain is
put in charge of the Colonial Fleet, a much more powerful battlestar is set with the task of protecting the fleet, and rumors among the Galactica’s crew quickly spread as to the circumstances as to how Pegasus survived the inital attack of the Twelve Colonies. It also exposed rape and torture of the Caprica Six, and near rape of Boomer after she’s handed over to the sister Battlestar. This episode is as dramatic as it is suspenseful, and entrenched the series as a force for another two seasons.
6) Razor (Part 1 & 2)
Razor was a highly-anticipated episode among Battlestar Galactica viewers who had to wait more than six months after the show’s third season to see it. Not only did it explain how the Pegasus suvived the initial attack on the Twelve Colonies, but also filled in a lot of the gaps as to how the Pegasus came to be before locating the Colonial Fleet. Now I’ll admit it, these episodes has some problems with them, the how in one scene Cain announces to the ship that she won’t seek vengence against the Cylons, but in the next few scenes imprisons the Caprica Six, shoots her XO in the head, and strips other surviving ships of valuable personnel and parts. There’s also a fantastic subplot to William Adama’s past as a viper pilot forty years ago before the first war with the Cylons, and the search for a remaining Centurion vessel that is still out there bent on destruction. A great episode.
5) 33
The pilot episode of the main series. Just when you think all is over after the inital attack on the Twelve Colonies, things get worse, much worse. Every 33 minutes the Colonial Fleet FTL jump to a new point in space, only to have the Cylons chasing them after 33 minutes. It’s important to note that this episode takes place 78 hours after everyone has gotten no sleep. 33 set the tone for much of the series, the idea that the Cylons will always be a constant threat in the lives of the surviving humans and the idea that there really is no escape. I think I’ll watch it right now.
4) Resurrection Ship (Parts 1 & 2)
The crews of Galactica and Pegasus come to a head as vipers from each side stand off nervously but don’t fire upon one another. Not long after Starbuck returns with photographs of a nearby Ressurection Ship, which is enough to cool tensions for the moment and bring them together. This happens again towards the end of the first part when assissination attempts on both Adama and Cain seem enivitable. This episode also gave the Colonial Fleet the upper hand with the destruction of the ressurection ship, a flawless execution of what good military strategem is when everything more or less goes to plan.
3) Exodus (Parts 1 & 2)
Exodus was just a fucking cool episode. How do you get 30,000 people off a planet during a revolution and additional Cylon enforcements. Since the Occupation of New Caprica by the Cylons and the abandonment of the remaining Colonial Fleet ships from orbit, many waited to see how they would pull this one off. The production values on this episode are exemplary, enough to get an Emmy nomination for best Special Effects for that year. There will be very little disagreement that this episode should be on Battlestar’s Top 10.
2) Lay Down Your Burdens (Part 1 & 2)
This is what the second season was leading up to in its final episodes. The election between Laura Roslin and Gaius Baltar for president. When Starbuck returns with news of a possible planet for permanent colonization, Baltar turns this into an election issue in the face of slumping numbers in the polls. While their signatures is masked by the nebula, Roslin sees colonization on this planet as a fatal mistake for humanity. As a reuslt, Roslin makes the crucial decision to rig the election so that she can win, which thanks to Gaeta fails miserably, allowing Gaius to win the election and begin permament resettlement on what will be known as New Caprica. It also gave us the bombing of Cloud Nine and several surrounding ships, as well as the best cliffhangers of the show.
1) Crossroads (Parts 1 & 2)
It was difficult to name one best episode for the series. And while a lot will probably disagree with my choice, I can’t help but admit that this was a difficult to make. There’s just so much in this episode to work this. Among them the trail of Gaius Baltar for crimes against humanity once he returns from the Cylon Basestar. But there’s so much more. We get the revelation of four of the final five Cylon models. We also get the return of Kara Thrace at the end of the episode alongside ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and Baltar emergence as a cult figure among the disaffected youths. So there you have it, the top fifteen BSG Episodes. Overall this is just a fantastic series, one that will not likely be repeated for a long time.
In the beginning, the Cylons had a plan, but it didn’t account for one thing: survivors! The events of The Plan are the events that you’ve seen in the BSG show, from the miniseries up to the end of season two, but this time round, we’ll see things from a Cylon perspective. So you’re going to see a lot of stuff that was going on that you weren’t aware of at the time: on Caprica, in the fleet… A lot of loose ends are tied up, a lot of questions are asked that you don’t even know you have. The movie begins just after the fall of the 12 colonies, with two Cylon agents discussing the problem of the remaining humans, both on the planets, and those who have escaped into space. Starting before the events of the miniseries, the story focuses mainly on Cylon Number One, known as Cavil (Dean Stockwell), Resistance Leader Sam T. Anders (Michael Trucco) and Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas).
Well, the end is nearly upon us folks, one of my favourite TV show – Battlestar Galactica is coming to an end over the next fortnight, with the two-part Daybreak episode. Poor old Galactica hey? She’s been through a lot and think she is going to go out with a bang in the coming weeks. The ship is starting to look seriously beaten up now.
Here’s what I think we’re going to see in final episodes. If you haven’t yet seen the latest episode ”Islanded in a Stream of Stars”, you should watch it first as there will be spoilers below.
1. The cylon colony. I managed to find some HD screen grabs from the last episode so you can see just how cool looking it is. It looks like it can be physically moved but is more of a semi-permanent base. This is supported by Ellen and Six saying that he did in fact move the base 5 momths ago. Here are a couple of pictures of it – can you see the oldy style raiders?
2. Adama is going to ram Cavil’s Baseship with Galactica, or maybe even the Colony itself. This was not-so-subtly foreshadowed by Hera playing with strategic models at the beginning of this episode, as well as the painfully dragged-out talk of Galactica “dying.” What’s less clear is who will be onboard at the time. Probably Anders has to be I think, and there are a few hints in the promo I posted prviously. Here’s a refresh of Hera playing with the models.
3. Boomer’s going to betray Cavil and help Hera escape. Boomer betrays everyone, after all, though I just can’t bring myself to hate her. She’s a sweet girl, but everybody uses her except Tyrol. She’s not sure how to deal with little Hera, but when she calms down and starts to treat Hera like a little person, you can see she has a heart. And Hera has to make it to the Opera House vision.
4. What’s going on with Sam? As it turns out the cylon-goo doesn’t do anything for the Galactica BUT Sam, now connected into the ships systems as a hybrid would; is starting to connect to the ship to enable him ultimately to run it I suppose. With the Galactica’s final mission a one-way trip, I wouldn’t mind betting that it’s Sam who actually crashes Galactica into the colony.
Well, a while back, when Cavil mentioned that the humans hadn’t found the “colony” yet, he wasn’t referring to Earth. The Cylons do have a colony and that’s where Boomer took Hera. It appears that the final episodes are going to involve some sort of a rescue attempt. It’s all about Hera. (And Kara I suppose.)
While we’re speaking of Kara, Baltar tested the DNA from the dog tags and apparently discovered that she did in fact crash and burn on Earth. After the funeral, Baltar used this information about Kara to advance his own agenda. He announced that Starbuck is walking proof that there is an afterlife. (Of course, if that was the case, why don’t we see more “dead” people walking around?) Anyway, we learned once again that Baltar is a back stabber, only out to cover himself. For whatever reason, Kara took him into her confidence and he betrayed her. But really, what did she expect he’d do?
What else did we learn? It took a lot of booze and yet another breakdown, this time with the white paint, but Bill is finally able to give up on Galactica. He’s cynical about the fleet’s destiny and what to do next, but what else is there to do? If the more spiritual folks say that they need to go after Hera, why not do it? Isn’t that better than aimlessly drifting around space until you run out of resources?
Hera can project! I don’t know what this really means, but she and Boomer bonded over it. By the time they got to the colony, Boomer had grown attached to Hera and proved that she had a tough time handing the girl over to Cavil. By the way, did you hear Cavil say to Hera that she would soon have a lot of little playmates? How does he plan do accomplish that? Cavil also confirmed that Boomer sneaking Ellen off to the fleet was indeed just a ploy to kidnap Hera. It will be interesting to see if Boomer steps in and saves Hera from whatever Cavil has planned for her.
With Galactica being stripped for parts, the military personnel are going to move over to the Cylon basestar. The humans are justifiably skeptical of this, but do they really have a choice?
