There have been three solid seasons of Battlestar Galactica, and upon hearing that the 4th would be its last I took it for granted that it would be great. After all, you would expect that the people that have been enjoying rave reviews and declarations that the show is the greatest on television would just want to go out right. How wrong I was.
Battlestar Galactica has been a smart, savvy, sophisticated and sexy show that just so happens to take place in a science fiction environment. The storylines and the character development have to this point been excellent. The actors on the show are first rate (Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell are no slouches) and do the material justice. You really don’t think about how far fetched the circumstances that these people face are… because they’re so damn believable and so HUMAN. This is not the 70s Battlestar Galactica, this is not a kiddie show… it’s got depth.
So what’s wrong now? Well, the show has gone completely off the rails in my mind. The stories have degraded and fall somewhere in the neighborhood of the absurd. What is it with Ron Moore (producer) and his need to include some kind of messianic element in everything he does? During the Star Trek Deep Space Nine days, it was Sisko… now it’s Baltar or Starbuck or Laura or Six that are the God Squad. I understand that an exploration into humanity might examine faith, BUT ENOUGH ALREADY. The whole concept/arc has degraded into something akin to a Manson family reunion. To add insult to injury, when we get a break from the religious absurdities of the show, we are thrust into either legal dramas like those on Boston Legal or worse, political fare like something out of West Wing. Ah yes, the idealistic Lee Adama, newly appointed to the government wrestles with the older realist President Laura Roslin. Ugh! Do you see where I’m going here?
Meanwhile, as all of this GARBAGE is being tossed at us week after week I am realizing with a feeling of dread that the remaining episode count is fast dwindling. I almost feel like I am being punished for having watched the show. It’s as if the producers, angered by the decision last season to end the show this season are saying to the audience…. ”SCREW YOU!” It’s a real shame. It’s like they’re taking a torch to 5 years of greatness. They’re systematically destroying the show one episode at a time. I am a huge fan, but even I have a limit to what it is that I will accept. At some point I might have to stop watching just so that the show isn’t further diminished in my mind. I can walk away happy, wondering if they aren’t still out in space somewhere looking for Earth. I don’t need to see the show slowly bled to death.
Speaking of slowly being bled to death… why is it that nobody seems to care about the “survivor count” anymore? It’s somewhere in the 30,000 range now, down from 50,000 and while they used to make a big deal about how humanity was dying out every time that number was lowered, now it’s just like… oh well. Nothing is dire anymore. Nothing seems to matter. It’s all just the same old motions. So sad… I know people unfamiliar with the show won’t care… but this was a great show and now, it’s just common place television drivel.
Natty Bumpo
……. and when I became a man - I put away childish things……….
Mark
Blah! Blah! Blah! It was named one of the best shows of 2005 by Time.
“Most of you probably think this entry has got to be a joke. The rest of you have actually watched the show. Adapted from a cheesy ’70s Star Wars clone of the same name, Galactica (returning in January) is a ripping sci-fi allegory of the war on terror, complete with religious fundamentalists (here, genocidal robots called Cylons), sleeper cells, civil-liberties crackdowns and even a prisoner-torture scandal. The basic-cable budget sometimes shows in the production, but the writing and performances are first-class, especially Edward James Olmos as the noble but authoritarian commander in charge of saving the last remnants of humanity. Laugh if you want, but this story of enemies within is dead serious, and seriously good.”
