Battlestar Galactica

I’ve spent the better part of this past week catching up with the third season of Battlestar Galactica on DVD (in preparation for the start of the 4th season later this week) and I realized that it’s not something I’ve discussed on the blog, so here are a few thoughts (Spoilers are called out at the start of a bullet).

• Alright, let’s get this one out of the way first: I don’t think BSG is the greatest show evar like so many other folks. It’s a really good show, I enjoy it, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming season. My understanding is that this is the final season, and I find that promising. I think my biggest issue with the show is that I sometimes feel like they’re making it up as they go along (this is the same issue I have with Lost, which I gave up on about 2 seasons ago). However, I have to say that BSG has written themselves out of corners a few times. Case in point, the beginning of the third season and the escape from New Caprica. It was a little predictable, but I loved it. And honestly, when it comes to SF television shows, BSG is definitely in the upper echelon with Star Trek:TNG, Firefly and the like. Yeah, maybe I’m being a little hard on it. It’s a great show.
• What’s the deal with the lack of corners on paper? All of the paper in the BSG universe has the corners cut off and I can’t figure out why. Books, clipboards, and even some of their computer screens all have that 45 degree angle cut where the corner would be. It’s impractical (both producing it and using it) and wasteful. I mean, come on, how did people in the BSG universe get past their tractor-fed printer paper phase without corners? I heard a story once that the SciFi channel told the producers that the show was over budget and that they had to cut some corners, so they did (heh), but that sounds like urban legend to me. Any other ideas? Perhaps there’s a philosophical reason?

  

  
  Where are the corners?

• Now that I have a DVR, I’ll be able to watch season 4 as it happens. This presents an interesting contrast though, as I’ve watched the first three seasons on DVD. I’ve been wondering lately what impact this sort of schedule has on the perception of a series. It’s certainly fun to watch. Addicting, actually. Will watching only a single episode a week (as opposed to 4 commercial-free episodes at a time) have a positive impact on my perception of the show? It’s obviously a highly subjective question, but I guess I’m going to find out. It’s been a while since I’ve actually looked forward to watching a show every week…
• Spoilers! So who’s the final Cylon? There was some speculation that Starbuck was the final Cylon, but I think that was pretty much nixed (leaving the writers with the challenging prospect of explaining what happened to her). The most obvious choice for the final Cylon is Baltar. Aside from the hallucinations (and the fact that Six has a counterpoint hallucination), D’Anna’s reaction when she was in the ancient temple (in the “Eye of Jupiter” episodes) seems to go along with this. Of course, it is the obvious choice, so maybe the writers will try to avoid that in favor of something more surprising and controversial.
• Major Spoiler! I realize I’m late to the party on this, but if Tyrol is a Cylon, then didn’t he and Cally have another “hybrid” child? A big deal was made about Sharon’s hybrid child, and obviously both the Cylons and the humans treasure her. Will young Nicolas play an important role in the fourth season?
• Colonial Propaganda Posters [via Galley Slaves]