I finally finished watching all of the BSG 2.5 episodes, and I’m never going to watch the show again; I’m that mad.
I think the writers of the show completely misunderstand why I’ve been tuning in. I don’t care about the toasters, their plan, or whether or not the lost colonies ever find Earth. I care about the people. I want to see them interact, every day, with each other – on the ship or on the ground, under stress or in peace. I don’t care about the wham-bam action (yes, it makes my heart pound… but why does it make my heart pound? The pretty explosions? Oh, ORANGE! Wow, THAT’s why I’ve been tuning in, because I love the orange explosions so much… oooh, you added yellow, wow-whee.) No, you fraking idiots. Explosions themselves don’t make good drama. For me it’s the characters, and now...
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
...“one year later” I don’t know these people any more.
I understand that the writers wanted to skip what they perceived as the boring parts (peace) and get back to the Cylon action.
Whatever. That's for crap storytelling, people. Who do you think you are, George Lucas? (Oh, and guess what? I hate HIM, too.)
I think they miscalculated my attachment to these people. For instance, I would have hung on for an entire season of peace, because with 50,000 people struggling for survive on a planet “ruled” by a corrupt president, a degrading military, there isn’t such a thing as “peace.” No, in fact, that’s drama. Human drama.
I want to have seen the military decommissioning – the decisions to do that, the arguments Adoma may or may not have given for continuing it. I want to see what happened the day Starbuck decided to get married (what the frak, btw? Does she really seem like the nagging, yet devoted tent-wife we see in the snippet of the “now”? How did THAT transformation happen?) I want to see Callie and the Chief work through his violence issues (is it just me or has that guy gotten away with murder and assault with almost no consequences?) I want to see Apollo so give up on life that he lets himself get fat (oh, and if there was no longer any reason to tune in, a fat Apollo pretty much clinches it for me; I like my pretty boys, pretty, thank you.) How did the XO become the sole, sober voice of reason, “You and I both know the Cylons could show up any day?” (And his wife stayed on the ship? Five minutes earlier in the episode, he said she could go cat around without him.) Giaus as completely corrupt? (Yeah, he had his moments, but when the nuke blew, he seemed striken… what makes his character interesting is that conflict between being human and being a completely misguided, manipulated cylon-fraker. He HAD been one of my favorite characters. Not no more.)
And now I hear from my friend Rick that they’re going to skip ahead another year or more? I’m supposed to go the BSG site and download a few minutes of condensed storytelling to satisfy my need for ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
No, not interested, thanks.
I’m too mad. And, frankly, I don’t care any more. You rip out the stories of these people and you rip out the heart of the story. That’s a quick bleed-out. I’m done.
Oh, but thanks for the black fighter pilot... too little, too late, especially since he doesn’t get a story. Apparently no one does any more.
4 comments:
I watched the webisodes, all ten of them. Sorry to say, they're about people - like the chief and Colonel Tigh - and how they are dealing with Resistence and oppression.
Still loving the show, even through the unhappy "skipping ahead" parts.
My reaction has mellowed a bit since the inital shock has worn off.
I remain, however, annoyed that the writers want me to go elsewhere -- ie. to the webiodes - to get what they should give me on TV. I realize this is becoming a popular gimmick, but as a stone age computer user who still has dial-up and a system that is nearly six years old, going to the internet is a pain in the butt. It makes me mad.
And at a time when BSG is talking to the people at Entertainment Weekly about how they'd really like to expand their audience beyond the hard-core skiffy geeks who will tune into anything with a space ship, this seems like a strange move. Even one of the actors agrees with me....Jamie Bamber (Apollo) is quoted as saying, "My personal jury is still out. I think where the show really works is in the daily grind aboard the Galatica, trying to run from this unknown and therefor ultimately terrifying enemy."
I just watched the first episode of the new season, tate. Wow. I just have to say, wow.
Without giving too much away, they've done, more convincingly than John Updike, what he attempted in his new book, Terrorist. I believed more in this show than Syriana ever made me believe. I felt the decision process and the decision and the anger and the hopelessness.
It's darker than my stories and angrier than my rants and has the impact of what I want to say when I can't quite say it.
The breaking of Kara Thrace makes me shiver.
They telegraphed the episode plot like a slow cross-court pass, an easy pick, but it still worked and I still said, "damn."
I was with you somewhat in your annoyance, but now I have to back out of that tenuous alliance. I am a believer once again.
Well, that's good news, actually. I trust your opinion. I'll give it another try.
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