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April 01, 2005

Battlestar Galactica -- stunning indeed

click for larger imageTonight saw the close of BSG's maiden season and I have to say regardless of some unevenness, each episode has built upon the other and tonight's season ending managed to even shock me upright at the very end.

Jeff Harrell has been excellent in previewing each of the episodes prior to airing without spoiling any of the twists and turns. He covered the two-part finale, Kobol's Last Gleaming, #1 here and #2 here.

I come to this post less of a reviewer at this point than as viewer. I have looked with great anticipation to the series since the pilot mini-series aired in 2003. It's been a while since I've really enjoyed a television sci-fi series. The Star Trek franchises left me cold after a handful of episodes and the delightfully scene-chewing Babylon 5 has faded into memory. I used to wonder if I was just getting curmudgeony and picky as I grew older when I found I wanted more than shiney ships, weird aliens and things that go "boom." And as much as I still love the original Star Trek series, as I do many an old Hollywood movie of the 30's and 40's, I found I just could not bring myself to invest my time in watching a series where whatever "significant" premise each story might propose, all the characters and settings would be status quo at the end of 60 minutes.

The new BSG is definitely sci-fi for adults. Like Babylon 5, there are multiple story threads, some arcing an espisode or two long, some arcing over the full season and some continuing into next season. And like some of the better dramas to be found on television, BSG is giving me characters I want to spend time with.

Themes? BSG is full of 'em. The temptation of power, betrayal, the dynamics of parent/child relationships, what people do for love, what people do when they believe their survival is at stake. Shakespeare would sigh in delight.

Just off stage, just behind a gossamer curtain, BSG is almost shameless in the teasing and tantalizing concerning the nature of the Cylons. Everytime I think I may get a handle on what they are, BSG dances away in a swirl of colored veils making me stop and question my first (second and third) premise. While many times the Cylons seem to be almost a mirror by which we can gauge human behavior and motivations, then they are protrayed with an agenda of their own that seems unfathomable. I find myself, too, also wondering if the Cylons are at their own crisis because the shows are so carefully balanced as to make me wonder if some of the Cylon are "going native" in their contacts with humans.

To quote Winston Churchill (who was referring to Russians)... the Cylons are "a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma."

The humans have been wonderfully cast and my thrill with both Edward James Olmos' Adama and Mary McDonnell's Roslin has been previously chronicled on this blog. They've circled each other with sometimes grudging respect but always with suspicion the whole season and with this episode their even tentative relationship imploded. I've been delighted to see others change as well -- Lee has grown (IMHO I hope more so next season), Starbuck is less cartoony, Sharon/Boomer more complicated. And Baltar? As much as he is a slimely bastard, I enjoy watching him posture and squirm.

And last, but not least, the production values have been stellar (excuse the pun).

I'm enjoying the ride and may it continue with this level of writing, acting and execution.

PS ... I was very impressed with the use of classical music in both parts of Kobol's Last Gleaming.

Posted by Darleen at April 1, 2005 11:05 PM

Comments

The last 5 seconds of the season finale left me absolutely stunned.

This show has become remarkable even with my initial post on how annoying it seemed to me at the beginning of the season.

Posted by: Digger at April 6, 2005 01:40 AM