I have never watched before. Starting off with the mini-series. Looking forward to hopefully a wild ride.

Ronald D. Moore: But yeah, you can say strip it down to these dark premises and wonder if audiences are going to follow you there. That's a legitimate question - a question the Network asked us over and over again the first season. They were very concerned about how dark the show was. They literally thought that no one would watch the series after the first episode, 33. There was a point where they didn't want us to air 33 as the first episode.

They were, like, so scared of it. That was a whole big fight, and they eventually backed down, but there was a brief period where they talked about not airing them in order.

They did one of the infamous controlled tests of the Miniseries just before the Mini went on the air — like four weeks before we aired or something, one of those marketing testing focus group things. They watched the series. It was one of the worst rated ever.

The company that did it sent back this cover page report that just said, "Nobody likes any of these characters; we see no reason this should ever become a series; there's no identification with any of it; it's too dark, it's too scary."

And the Network- all the blood drained from their face when they heard that, because it was too late. Fortunately, it was too late. The show was done, locked, "in the can". I think we edited back- we cut out a couple more shots of gore here and there to throw them a bone, but it was way too late in the process to make any serious adjustments. It went to air with this sense of fatalism on the part of the Network that- "Well, we're boned here: they're going to hate it, it's too dark."

Then they were shocked when the numbers were so good. It really shocked them. It made them reevaluate.

It's chilling how close BSG might have come to being mutilated into a failure by SciFi (SyFy) - just like Firefly was by Fox.

And now I want to see the original cut of the Miniseries!

Source:
* Wired: Read an Extended Version of Wired's Interview With Ron Moore (May 18, 2008) (archive.today) (web.archive.org)

Its quite an act to photograph this monster....i will do better after i have primed and laquered it.

I've always felt there's a rather comical number of Mexican (or I suppose Gemenon) standoffs throughout the show. Just watch how many scenes turn into people pointing guns at each other with rapid cuts and zooms and Bear McCreary directing his drummer like J.K. Simmons at the end of Whiplash. Then everyone yellsplains their respective plot developments at each other, remembers how horny they are for at least one of the people they're pointing a gun at, and we're back to the A-roll footage. I think Lee only shot whosits in Black Market because RDM realized he'd done like fifty standoffs and he needed a gun to actually go off in one in order to maintain credibility.

I noticed because my suitcase has the same logo. Must be a pretty old company.

You are Admiral Nagala when the Cylon Attack begins. 30 battlestars have been destroyed in the opening wave, accompanied by mass reports of equipment malfunctions.

Do you:

(a) Pause and try to figure out why the equipment isn't working
(b) Order your fleet to denetwork their computers because Cylons
(c) Rollback the most recent computer update
(d) Immediately YOLO the entire remaining fleet into Cylon lines in orbit of Virgon

Your choice.

Not for good TV mind you but just logically. When Boomer determined that she might be a Cylon rather than try to kill herself she should have reported to the authorities that she might be a Cylon. This way she would no longer have to worry about killing someone as they would keep an eye on her and probably keep her locked up. Oftentimes on TV and in real life things are complicated by lies and secrets.

Why Col. Tigh "had to" kill his wife is beyond me.

First of all, she did what she did to save him - the escape mission would most likely fail without him taking the lead of the whole plan.

Secondly - despite Cylons getting the plans, it obviously wasn't enough to shut down the whole operation. Very shortly after her betrayal was revealed, everything worked out as they planned anyway. Yes there were slightly more casualties but nothing major.

Thirdly - she had to die because she saved another person? That logically and morally makes absolutely no sense. Her sacrifice of saving his husband was for nothing if ultimately she had to die in his stead. It's kinda ironic too. She already sacrificed enough, her death was meaningless and felt like spit in a viewer's face.

Lastly, let's not pretend as if no traitor in the show has never been forgiven.. right the contrary.

I guess they just wanted to get rid of the character and maybe further develop Saul to some end, which is unknown to me yet but this whole thing just feels so stupid to me.

I just started watching the 2 part miniseries and noticed a Firefly flying over the President's head while getting her diagnosis.

Dreilide "Slick" Thrace was a concert pianist and composer, and the father of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

Was he a cylon?

I always thought that maybe Kara was the cost of using FTL so much. Some kinda cost of breaking causality..?

since its impossible to go “Faster Than Light” without time dilations and effects preceding causes.

Just strolling around my local antiques mall and this caught my eye.

Obviously it's hard to choose on this show but for me it's Roslin hands down. Never interested in going into politics at first until her father and sisters are all killed by a drunk driver (while one of her sisters was pregnant no less). Agrees to work for Adar after that and becomes a cold and jaded politician focused on advancing her career for much of her life until the Cylon attack happens and she's suddenly forced into presidential duties. Doesn't find the ability to connect with anyone again until Bill comes along (and their connection only really takes hold in season 4 when she's dying from cancer).

Lee and Tyrol are probably a tie for second since they both ended the series completely alone with everyone in their life that they were close to essentially gone. I've never felt sadder for Lee on the show than I did in the scene where Kara disappears forever while he's enthusiastically talking about how excited he is to explore the planet.

You didn't think you were going to take off without me Admiral, did you?

Never crossed my mind Madam President.

So I finally sat down and watched the show once it finally came to streaming on Paramount. The show itself was incredible. It was a fun ride. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Star Trek but BSG was a refreshing departure from the technobabble that has come to dominate the sci-fi genre.

But that ending...

I won't sugarcoat this. I hated the last hour from top to bottom. I don't want to focus on that too much though because I'm sure all of the things I despised have been beaten to death/defended religiously all over this sub. Instead, I would like to focus on Moore's defense of the end and moreso of his desire to write the show without a roadmap.

There was this prevailing theory around that time that winging it was the "best" way to craft a fresh and dynamic narrative. Abrams was doing the exact same thing over on Lost while BSG was on the air, and he failed miserably to stick the landing as well. I think that entire premise is a bunch of hooey.

Case in point: Isayama went the complete opposite direction with Attack on Titan and ended up with a veritable masterpiece in the end. He famously began with the exact ending in mind and crafted the narrative backwards from that fixed point. He even went so far as to weave that reality into the narrative itself and gave us a stunning treatment of predeterminism in the process.

And while I understand that Isayama had some misgivings about that approach as time wore on, I for one am eternally grateful that he stuck with it. Attack on Titan was one of the most compelling looks into the human condition that I've ever witnessed. But, if nothing else, it proves conclusively that writing a story with an actual plan doesn't guarantee that the final product will inevitably become watered down or any less compelling.

I feel that people like Abrams and Moore are spinning sophistry to deflect attention away from the fact that they just don't like commitment. They want to make things up as they go along simply because they don't want to play by why rules. They'd rather write whatever they think is interesting at any given moment instead of remaining disciplined in telling a cohesive story.

What's absolutely bonkers when it comes to Moore in particular is that he had a direct hand in crafting two of the absolute best story endings in genre history. He was in the writers room on DS9 and TNG. You'd be hard pressed to make the case that "All Good Things.." and "What You Leave Behind" were anything less than spectacular. It breaks my mind to see how someone could be a part of episodes like these and then turn around and deliver the trainwreck that is "Daybreak Part 3".

I definitely don't regret watching the show (unlike my experience with Lost 🤬). I enjoyed 99% of it. And few shows have drawn a reaction out of me like a lot of season 4 did (R.I.P. Anastasia 😭). But I could not be more disappointed with the conclusion - particularly the unceremonious ending of Galactica herself.

anyone know of a Colonial ship flight sim? would be fun to fly a Viper… or a bus

https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/who-we-are/nominate/

Here’s a suggested text posted by a commenter…probably AI assisted but up to you if you want to use it:

Michael Hogan created one of television’s most compelling and enduring characters through his portrayal of Colonel Saul Tigh in Battlestar Galactica. While he has enjoyed a long and accomplished career, it is that performance that continues to resonate with audiences around the world.

Battlestar Galactica defined the early 2000s for me. Hogan’s portrayal of Tigh was remarkable because he transformed what could have been a one-dimensional military officer into a deeply flawed, complex, and profoundly human character. His performance gave emotional weight to some of the series’ most important themes: loyalty, identity, redemption, and the choices that define who we are.

The moment when Saul Tigh discovers he is a Cylon, yet ultimately chooses the man he wants to be rather than the label forced upon him, remains one of my favorite scenes in television. It is a testament to Hogan’s talent that decades later, that performance is still so memorable.

Michael Hogan’s work has left a lasting mark on Canadian and international television, and he is richly deserving of recognition on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Unsure on the ending, seems a bit fetishist of the whole dying from an easy cut and be on the brink of starvation forever. I think I’d have preferred if they’d landed in post Bronze Age Greece or an Atlantis thing so they could warn future humans about the issues.

I’d heard season 4 wasn’t great, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. First half was a slog especially the whole sex cult which went on way longer than I’d hoped, but the coup plot line redeemed the season a lot more. Kara Thrace kinda faded into the background and she was absurdly annoying in the first half of the season, I feel they should have found earth at the end of season 3 and spent the whole season 4 dealing with the ramifications that they could be on the ship forever.

I liked most of the final 5, Tory just feels like she appears out of nowhere and was probably my least favourite of them, Galen I think the best. I get the feeling from the ending that we should all be really sad about Anders but tbh in the whole series I never really connected with him, and even mixed him up with Apollo a few times.

Overall I did really enjoy BSG, although I think it was a tad too spiritual for my taste and too many mystery boxes I think Moore put in and didn’t really think of the consequences.

Currently available on Prime UK.

Hey there,

I just ended my not sure how many'nth rewatch, and I was wondering about something. At the end of the season 4, when the baseship officially joins the fleet, we barely see Leoben at all. He's not part of the repair crew, he's not figting during the mutiny, he doesn't appear during the assault on the Colony.

In fact, he only makes a very short appearance on the last episode when saying that the 2s, 6s and 8s will remain on Earth, and that's it.

Is there any production reason for this? I didn't notice this as much on my previous rewatches, and it's getting me a bit miffed as he's my favorite Cylon.

I'm told it's a great game. I don't think I ever tried it out back in the day. I had a big group of friends that got together for gaming nights and for some reason or another we never got around to this one. Looking forward to checking it out.