Random Thoughts about BSG (Webisode and Non-Webisode!)

[beccatoria]

I know it's Christmas Eve/Christmas Day (depending on time zones) so no one will be around. But on the offchance that you are online and bored:

Can anyone answer the following questions?

- In the latest webisode, even though it will cost them a small amount of precious air, they need to dump the body so that it doesn't start contaminating their atmosphere with methane, etc. I have no understanding of biology but that sounds good and plausible (even if I suspect it's setting up someone to die of a faulty pressure suit). But, why not just put the body in a spacesuit? I mean, it's airtight, right? Sure it'd be kinda creepy having a dead body sat there, but they wouldn't lose any air. Which seemed to be worrying them.

- Why is there no toilet in Athena/Caprica's cell? I mean, it's built to be like, frakking indestructible and mostly they wouldn't even take Athena out of it without a dog collar and a million chains and a whole PLATOON of marines. Yet they build a cell where they're going to have to let her out several times a day to use the bathroom?

- Is abortion still illegal in the Fleet? It was the platform Baltar used to launch his campaign but that got completely subsumed by the New Caprican issue. I think it would be darkly wonderful if he just never did anything about the abortion issue and it's still illegal. That would just sum up Baltar. I'm also morbidly disappointed we never saw the fallout of that executive order. Like, you know, all the dead women.

- Not so much a question as an observation. I think I'm far too attached to this show because when I discover people I really respect and love reading the work of think that BSG squandered its potential and became a confused mess, it makes me really, really sad. Like someone just kicked my puppy, and now the only sound I want to make is meep sad. I think because I find it so wonderful and the idea that there's someone out there who doesn't see that and who I now couldn't hypothetically have awesome discussions about it with makes me all...wibbly. Not like angry or anything. People can have their own opinions and lord knows that I think a bunch of shows other people have tried to assure me are genius are actually complete and utter bollocks, so this is just the flip side of that. But...dude. I'm so sad. Which is a little "sad". :(

- The final cylon. I'm almost resigned to disappointment. I hope to the lords of kobol and the cylon god that the stupid "it's one of these five!" list that SciFi Portal released is bogus because dude, yuck. And damn, what is this fucking ridiculous obsession people have with making it Gaeta? I apologise if anyone on my flist is someone who wants it to be Gaeta but it seems to my very biased eyes that it's this really weird obsession that started in S1 because he liked computers and back when being a cylon was about shock factor and back when yet another third string character would be a shock maybe he would have been a good choice. But now?

The final cylon can't just be a "by the way, it's this guy," reveal. It has to be bigger than that. It has to answer the question of why that person didn't join the other four. Either because s/he's more important or different or already knew his/her identity? Whatever. It can't just be Gaeta/Dualla/Zarek/Whoever unless there's a freaking massive reveal that goes along with that that turns everything we know about them on their heads. And that in itself would be difficult to pull of without it feeling, well, lame.

I genuinely want the writers' reassurance that it'll affect the way we rewatch the series to mean something more than, "OMG maybe in that instant when Gaeta let the cylon virus onto the Galactica it WASN'T AN ACCIDENT!"

So. My choices for Final Five Reveals that Won't Suck are:

- Laura Roslin
- One of Kara Thrace's parents, preferably her father even though I want the final cylon to be a girl.
- Maybe they could pull off Kendra Shaw
- A new character

The other tricky issue is that if it's a shock to the character who is revealed to be the fifth, then it'll be tricky not to run over the ground we already covered with the crises experienced by the four. Which makes me think it'd be better to cast the Fifth as cognizant of his/her nature. Although in the Roslin situation, I'd recant that because I think the manner in which her character would handle the reveal and the huge part of the show she represents would warrant something of a retread, because it would be different enough to be compelling.

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

The final cylon at this point almost *has* to be Laura Roslin. Everything else would just make viewers go 'Meh'.

Plus I think Roslin is the only one it could be that wouldn't suddenly turn the w hole show into a contradictory mess.

Although I suppose it is possible they could introduce a major new character in the final season, and have the story arc being about them being the final cylon.

Maybe they'll get Original!Starbuck back to play him.

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

I'm also morbidly disappointed we never saw the fallout of that executive order. Like, you know, all the dead women.
IA. Although I like to think Cottle's still giving abortions anyway. (Actually I like to think that Baltar did make good on his pro-choiceness, and the human race didn't dieeeee, and Roslin didn't bother reversing it again.) But seriously, I'm annoyed that it never came up again because it feels like "Well! We did the abortion episode. Job well done, guys." *washes hands of entire issue*

For the "sad" part, oh lord YES. For me what hurts a lot is when people I respect think the show has gone downhill for the SAME REASONS that I love it.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

This fandom is still all shiny and new to me (having only started watching the show back in March), to the point that I have a hard time understanding people who say s3 and s4 are less than s1 and s2. I understand intellectually how the show changed, but I love it so much I kind of feel like you can't question that--like it's just the way the show NEEDS to be.

God knows I can be a critical bastard on other shows, but this one...I have kind of a naive fangirl-ish love for it, flaws and all. So yes, I also feel really sad when I read posts from people who have fallen out of love with it. Or--and this is really selfish I admit--when the most excellent fanfic writers never write for this fandom anymore. Sniff. I hope some will return to see the conclusion and that we will all be so happy with the way it ends.

[pirateygoodness.livejournal.com]

But, why not just put the body in a spacesuit?

Well, if it produces gaseous environmental contaminants, those are going to fill up the suit and create pressure, meaning eventually it would inflate and could theoretically explode if they're there for long enough or someone trips and falls on it.

Also, I'm not sure how those suits work, but I assume that in addition to providing oxygen, they at some point vent CO2, meaning they would be pressurized but not necessarily airtight, so the methane and such might leak out anyway.

[asta77.livejournal.com]

I watched the fourth webisode last night and my only thought was, "Are they serious?" I know Jamie was disappointed not to be able to direct some of them as was originally planned, but I think they are crap and I'm glad he's not associated with them. Jane Espenson is a very talented writer, but, wow, is she a bad fit for this series. The murder mystery is laughable. Worse than 'Black Market' and I didn't think that is possible!

I'm realizing as the show is drawing to a close just how attached to it I have become. I can safely say it's my One True Show, at least for the time being. And I see people who have abandoned the show all together or are begrudgingly watching or constantly critical and, while it is flawed, I still find it to be one of the best things to ever appear on TV. As I'm rewatching I'm realizing you have to judge it as a whole and the good far outweighs the bad (though I am about to embark on the Black Market/Scar/Sacrifice period and not much looking forward to it). Ron Moore made mistakes, he dropped the ball on Lee's character and left subplots unresolved, but I can't imagine not having BSG, good and bad, in my life. All of which is to say, I totally understand how disheartening is to read people disparage what the show has become or not enjoy Season 4.0 which, for the most part, I've loved. I'm pretty critical of what I watch, but I sometimes think people become too critical.

As far as the final Cylon, we've talked about it and I don't want to go into spoiler territory here so I'll stick to my non-spoilery thoughts. Gaeta seems like a likely candidate, especially since he's starring in the webisodes, but is he too obvious? I actually think Zarek could be an interesting choice. This is a man who has essentially been fighting humanity since his youth and trying to undermine the system from within. He'd also provide an interesting contrast to Tigh who has spent his life fighting for the colonies and happy to maintain the status quo.

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

Putting Pilot 8 in a space suit is logical. BSG webisodes are not bound by such things. Maybe they're thinking of the extra space in the ship as well.

I'm with you on the sad thing.

In the beginning I thought it was Gaeta. I don't think it will be now because it's too built up and it's almost like a gimme. As much as I would have liked it to be him, I don't anymore. On that same token I don't want it to be Laura Roslin. To me, it would feel like a cop out.

I think they'll be a huge reveal of who the last cylon is and then they'll do a sequence where they go back to show stuff all the way from the pilot or something. There are a few little things to clear up, like who sent that original message to the fleet saying that there are 12 cylon models.

I hope that the final cylon is aware of their own existance. Like you said, it would be a retread if they were another sleeper.

[beerbad.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm STILL pissed off at them for not just keeping all 12 cylon models as "normal" skin-job cylons. I hated the idea that there are these five "special" cylons, and I hate it even more that there is an even SPECIALER 12th/5th cylon. Fucking ridiculous. I also feel like this whole thing has created lots of unnecessary retcon, especially when rewatching the earlier seasons. UGH.

[(Anonymous)]

Seeing Dirk Benedict in Galactica would make me the happiest man in the world, well for a few hours at least. He is a tv sci fi god, only dwarfed by Gil Gerard!

Oh and i hope you and ya guy have a wonderful Christmas.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

*covers eyes as hasn't got around to the webisodes yet*

- In the latest webisode, even though it will cost them a small amount of precious air, they need to dump the body so that it doesn't start contaminating their atmosphere with methane, etc. I have no understanding of biology but that sounds good and plausible (even if I suspect it's setting up someone to die of a faulty pressure suit). But, why not just put the body in a spacesuit? I mean, it's airtight, right? Sure it'd be kinda creepy having a dead body sat there, but they wouldn't lose any air. Which seemed to be worrying them.

My professional opinion is yes, that would suffice. Maybe they need the suit for something else?

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

Kicked my puppy is a really good description of the way I feel too when someone I know brushes off BSG, or thinks that the show has gone downhill. We are watching different shows, evidently. Or I am way too invested, which also seems to be true.

And, word on the final Cylon, that particular revelation is probably the thing I'm looking forward to least. Like, to the point where I wish I could do some kind of rewinding and make it so that there was no final Cylon. When we got the Final Four, I just rolled with it, since I could see a ton of ways that this could be interesting, even if I had no clue where they were going with it. And it has been so far, at least to me. But, I sort of think that they've used up their gotcha! moments on Cylon reveals. There's just nothing interesting about going back and reevaluating yet another character's actions throughout the series to me.

The webisodes are just making me sad, since they're proof that I won't automatically love something just because it's BSG.

[madenglishbloke.livejournal.com]

roslin would be the most obvious way of revealing the final model - and probably the easiest to write, seeing as theyve spent a fair amount of time building up to that - which makes me suspect that they wont actually go down that path.
i still say that galactica herself is the final model though - it makes far more sense, at least to me.

having said that, id put money on either lorne green or barry van dyke... ;)