Battlestar Galactica Discussion IV with Blood And Chrome

[Mog]

"You're going to regret it." ?????

Um, no, I don't think so.

Check back with Husker in about 9 months or so; he might regret it then.

[myk]

Check back with Husker in about 9 months or so; he might regret it then.

Oh "THAT'S" what you guys are talking about, lol...

[TehPW]

did they change actors from this series? The guy doesnt look like the other Husker shown, when the first trailers came out (im talking about the one where he's channelling James Bond with that in-air shotout with a Toaster?)

[azrael]

did they change actors from this series? The guy doesnt look like the other Husker shown, when the first trailers came out (im talking about the one where he's channelling James Bond with that in-air shotout with a Toaster?)

It's a different Husker compared to the actor used in Razor. But it should be the same actor from the earlier Blood & Chrome trailer.

[chillyche]

Not to come in and poo-poo B&C, but, POO-POO. I've found I'm pretty disappointed in the show so far, but not really surprised about that. I think it's a matter both of personal taste, and of sort of broader criticism.

Starting with the broad strokes, this just isn't a very well written piece of drama. I'm very impressed by the effects given the insane time and personnel constraints, so my hat is off to the effects team, but I kinda shed a tear for them, because they hustled to make effects for a show/webseries that feels more like high-budget, low-brow fan fiction. Part of the problem lies in the web series format. Somebody decided that something "exciting" needed to happen every ten minutes or so (every episode), so we have an endless stream of cliff-hangers. I'm all for cliff-hangers. I might direct our attention to the BSG2003 Season 1 finale, the Season 2 mid-season cliffhanger or the Season 2 finale for examples of insanely gripping cliff-hangers. And I can direct you to every episode of Blood & Chrome for a cliff-hanger I can't possibly care about.

Why don't I care? Two reasons.

1) There's virtually no world-building or character development. 70 minutes into this thing I don't know WHAT the mission is, I don't know WHY they're on it, I don't LIKE any of the characters, and haven't been given much of a reason to like them.

2) I damn well know that Adama survives. That's the problem with prequels in general. There is NO chance that this main character will ever die during this war, so drama that revolves around "will he make it?" is dull.

So, it feels like they're WASTING TIME with these cliff hangers. If you'll recall the 2003 miniseries, it opens with a Six kissing a dude and a space station blowing up, then there's virtually no action for the next 45 minutes. All there is is world building and character development. They build the world enough that when the big event happens, you feel the gravity of it. Also, there IS a big event, and it's obviously super massive -- it's the end of the worlds! From that point on (all the way until the end of Season 2, in fact), there is a very clear direction for the show. There is a clear tension. We understand the mission. We understand the stakes. We get to know the characters within that context. It's not fair to compare 2 seasons and a miniseries to what, when its finished will be the length of maybe 2 episodes (half the miniseries), but as a film or a pilot, we can compare the effectiveness.

Bill Adama as Husker feels like a fairly empty "everyman" hero. We all know and love the complex man that Adama grows into by the time of BSG2003, so B&C has the opportunity to show us something interesting. He obviously shouldn't end the series as the Adama we know, but we can get to know the guy, see the seeds of the man he is to become, and see some of the youthfulness that he must have, at one point, had. But instead we get sort of a bland archetype. He's kind of a hotshot, but not quite a Kara Thrace damaged goods nutcase. He's a natural pilot. He wants action but he follows orders. He wants to make a name for himself. Ho-hum. How about some basic dramatic stuff here? What does this character want and what does he need? How will this particular story serve as an arc for him to move from A to B? So far in this show, there's no reason that Husker has to be Husker and not some random other pilot.

Coker? Please. He combines the surliness of Tigh with the whineyness of PFC Hudson. And he hasn't stopped this schtick in over 8 episodes. Surliness is forever, sure, but whining? Sometimes just plain irrational stubborn we-need-an-antagonist-in-this-scene whining? Gag. If they hadn't taken that left turn with the Final Five in Season 3 (keep in mind that there was no such concept as the Final Five for the miniseries and Seasons 1 and 2, and suddenly it becomes CRUCIAL to the entire plot in Season 3), then maybe this show could have actually been about a young Adama and Tigh, but no, we get a Tigh stand-in. As of yet, this character has offered nothing, not even comedy relief.

I don't care if Coker dies. I don't care if Beka Kelly dies, either, because I still don't know what her character is about. What does she want? What does she need? She's got the mystery mission, and that seems to be it. And some lame baggage. And some generic sex appeal. Meanwhile, every other character we've met has basically died, but within 1 or 2 episodes, so we didn't have time to get attached anyway. So, no worries. There has always been cannon fodder in sci-fi space operas, but if you want somebody to care about Kakizaki, you keep the guy around for more than 10 minutes before feeding him any pineapples.

Because it's BSG, though, I keep expecting to have something profound or at least thought-provoking happen. So far it hasn't. Adama goes off-script at the Galactica's decommissioning ceremony and asks humanity if deserved to survive. Wow. That's pretty heavy for a few minutes in. Not to mention there's some serious discord in that family, and the ship is filled with drunks and troublemakers. Interesting. Not in this show. I got nothing. Just a talented viper jock, a whiney ECO, and an infuriatingly non-forth-coming scientist. There have been no tough decisions made (no leaving Helo behind, or leaving an entire ship without an FTL drive behind, or venting oxygen to control fires, or shooting down a civilian carrier with a nuke aboard), no moral dilemmas raised (torture? do artificial lifeforms have any rights? can a skin-job really feel love?), not even any academic curiosities or concepts. There's just not much of anything going on in this show, and I'm really disappointed, because I WANTED to love it. Maybe just half as much as BSG2003.

As far as personal taste goes, I felt like the moment the show began focusing on the "final five" instead of "the chase" and the "hunt for earth" things skewed off in a bad direction. Part of that also has to do with the fact that the network pushed for more self-contained episodes, meaning that the overall storyline kind of suffered, and then in Season 4 there was a change-over of some staff and crew (and then of course the writer's strike) and it also felt like they sort of avoided the sticky areas from Season 3, at times at detriment to the entire show. I feel like the eventual revelation of the Final Five and the storyline behind them was so off-base from what the show had off with that any future works in the BSG franchise that have to take that stuff into account as canon will not be a little worse than they should be. But that's my personal opinion. I think it's stupid to follow characters for 4 seasons, and then in the last two episodes have flashbacks that invent completely new problems the characters and then try to tie up THOSE issues as some sort of resolution. Inexcusable. We had four seasons of drama between Lee and Kara, but they invent a new moment to try to add meaning to their eventual character resolution. Ugh. And how about that flashback where Adama considers quitting, but then Helen and Tigh talk him out of it or whatever? WHY IS THAT SCENE IN THERE?! Or Roslin and the death of her sisters and mother? UNNECESSARY. She has cancer and everybody she knows in the entire world is pretty much dead because ARMAGEDDON HAPPENED! We don't need these weird new problems. Crappy writing. Um I'm on a rant here, but you see my point -- the writing in the latter half of the show got so bad and weird (Tigh knocks up Caprica Six? Don't worry, that's only for an episode or two before it's not relevant) that there's not much hope that anything else in the franchise could be good ever again. If only they hadn't done the final five thing. Then, when Tigh tells that story about the chrome-jobs boarding a ship, and massacring the crew, well, that could be a real story. And a prequel series could have stuff like that, instead of having to deal with the fact that the whole Cylon plan for revenge was due to a petulant cry-baby of a mean machine. Yikes.

Sorry. I just think Blood & Chrome is poorly done, and couldn't actually ever be well done, without stepping all over canon (as it already does).

[myk]

Sorry. I just think Blood & Chrome is poorly done, and couldn't actually ever be well done, without stepping all over canon (as it already does).

Wow-very well thought out appraisal of the show. I will say in their defense however, that they're trying to generate attention and hunger for an official series, hence the eye candy and slam-bam-pow onslaught of action...

[TehPW]

POO POO

Ok, good points. Its mecha porn, to me. if i wanted plot, i would get it from Liberal Arts porn, LOL. In actuality its folks trying to relight the fire on a subject that for some folks (meaning the original cast of the 2003 series) have already moved on about. I give them coodoe's for effort but your assessments where mostly dead-on-target, sir.

but maybe there is another narative to what purpose miniweb series can serve (The video version of short story novel). Now if only folk did MWS for subjects i love (Macross, Star Trek, Battletech, hell even Space:1999 LOL)

what do you think of the fan stuff made for Star Trek, in the previous decade?

Edited December 4, 2012 by TehPW

[azrael]

Final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH8EDRptVAQ

[TehPW]

LOVE it 'Just because you are enlightened, unlike the rest of your race, doesnt mean we dont hate you less? (sp).... derp. or something along those lines...

Edited December 7, 2012 by TehPW

[Dobber]

Yeah, pretty cold. Good ending, looking forward to the BluRay.

Chris

[TehPW]

It just occured to me to ask: what Number was that preskin job supposed to be?

[Duke Togo]

It just occured to me to ask: what Number was that preskin job supposed to be?

Sounded like a Six

[Mog]

That's who it sounded like to me too.

Plus the whole

neck-snapping bit

seems consistent with her character.

Guess we now know where the Cylons got the original idea of planting the virus from.

. . . . And dammit Husker, why didn't you give the picture back to Coker!

[Ghost Train]

Husker and Coker, bros forever.

[505thAirborne]

Sounded like a Six

That was definitely Tricia Helfer, during a Q&A on Youtube sometime time back she made mention she would have a small part in B&C and it was awesome!!

The final scene with Huskers Viper & Galactic was wickedly cool!!!!!!

[electric indigo]

Still no release date on the Moebius Pegasus, but I found this comparison shot with the Galactica:

[EXO]

I wish this show was still going.

[the white drew carey]

The wife and I just watched it, and liked it but WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...

(deep breath)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much lens flare.

I mean, even in the showers? The showers?!?

Or- it's the middle of the night and we're in an abandoned ski lodge... dial up the lens flare!!!

[electric indigo]

Lens flare in this decade is what slowly rotating ceiling fans were in the 80s.

[derex3592]

Still no release date on the Moebius Pegasus, but I found this comparison shot with the Galactica:

That's HOOOOOTTTT!!!

[mechaninac]

They didn't nickname BattleStar Pegasus "The Beast" for nothing... That's glorious!

[Uxi]

What scale is that thing in and how big is it? I still like the classic TOS Battlestar design the best and the remake Pegasus comes closest but find that ass end to be... odd and ill-fitted.

I like Blood and Chrome. I was thinking the betrayal sounded way too contrived... the pseudo love story thing certainly seemed it... but I like they way they turned it around with the hint from the star pilot from the beginning: it's all BS. I did love this far better compared by my gripes about the remake in general and the seeming lack of perspective they have in dealing with the biological Cylons (and I still hate the concept compared to what could have been modern renditions on the Lucifers and Imperious Leaders).... it's about survival and there's no time for hand wringing. Win the war and deal with their petty angst after.

Edited January 8, 2013 by Uxi

[chillyche]

Yeah, can't say I'm too impressed with the finale, either.

What I can say is the epilogue, if you will, which is Husker finally getting into a Viper is pretty fun, in the same way that the shot at the end of Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man is. You just get to enjoy the thrill of flight along with the protagonist, and you get to show off some effects work and some local architecture. But for B&C, it left a slightly bittersweet taste in my mouth. The taste: WHY WASN'T THIS SHOW ABOUT VIPER PILOTS PILOTING VIPERS?! You know what I mean?

In the 2003 series, we learn that Bill "Husker" Adama used to be a heck of a viper pilot. We also are told that Tigh used to be a heck of a pilot. Not sure if that gets reconned out, or not post Season 3, but whatever. Still, the idea is that Adama is like one of the sickest pilots around. At least for a few decades, until one Kara Thrace shows up. In the highly mediocre Razor flashback sequences (and web series), we see Adama flying a Viper. So when we're told about B&C -- a series starring a young Bill Adama -- we ASSUME he's going to be in a viper. We're looking forward to a show that captures some of the excitement of Season 1 of BSG2003. We're looking to get some of those assault on the Tyllium mining asteroid episodes, or Starbuck and a couple of nuggets versus 8 toasters, or 33, or maybe, even something like Season 2's Scar episode. We're looking for a show ABOUT pilots and the day-to-day life of said pilots. It seems like an easy formula to rock. But for some reason, somebody somewhere decided that we wanted to toss a Viper pilot into a small boat with a whiner and a mysterious mildly sexy brainiac, and that would be better. The last shot, that finally gives us what we've been craving also serves to remind us that they specifically did NOT give us that during the show. Jerks.

As far as the ultimate plot for the pilot here, I have to say it's a bit of a mess. As Uxi points out, it's highlighted early on when a pilot suggests that it's all a bunch of a bull, but I disagree that that justifies taking the audience on a ride where none of the events actually matter. I'm going to write a bunch of SPOILER stuff here, maybe not in tags, because it would look like a redacted FOI document if I did.

The mission remains secret until the final 20 minutes of the piece, meaning that for over two thirds of the story, we don't know WHY these characters are doing what they're doing. Outside of "they're following mysterious orders," which may be what a good soldier does, but makes for bad storytelling. Particularly for a protagonist. A protagonist is meant to make things happen, not just simply go for a ride. This problem could have been easily solved by Beka Kelly giving our odd couple pilot and ECO a COVER STORY MISSION, rather than being infuriatingly vague. That would have solved multiple problems. We -- as the audience -- would at least believe we knew what was going on, which would make any change to that plan resonate with us, and Husker and Coker would just do their jobs (which Adama loves telling people to do anyway), and Coker wouldn't constantly whine and try to desert (in the middle of nowhere FYI). Or alternately, Beka Kelly could have just told them what the mission was. There was really no reason not to. That way,

when she finally betrays them, it would be more emotionally poignant because we'd have KNOWN about the mission for hours, rather than like ten minutes, and we wouldn't have been so suspicious of her. Indeed, it's ridiculous that they keep the actual mission a secret until the last minute, and then at the super-double-extra last minute, they pull a fast one, and say, "Nope, she had a different goal all along!" All along, at that point is literally like seven minutes, maybe less.

Unfortunately, it's pretty easy to see that this fundamental problem was not a mistake, but rather a choice. A choice to keep audience members in the dark, guessing, wondering. This is the legacy of Damon Lindeloff and Lost. This is what "edgy writing" has become post-Lost. Is just keep throwing mysteries at people, never solve a mystery, only introduce a new mystery. We saw this thinking invade BSG2003 with the introduction of the Final Five in Season 3. Prior to that point, the show had never presented itself as a mystery-based show. It HAD mysteries in it (is Earth real, what's the Cylon Plan, why does Sharon say that the Cylon's know more about Colonial religion and history than they do, how much truth is in the scriptures, who are the other sleeper agent Cylons?), but these were elements of a show that was NOT a mystery show. It was a chase/survival show. And one that delved into lots of sociological and psychological territory, while keeping us thrilled with space dogfights. But in Season 3, they decided that a better way to keep us glued to the sets was to create an overarching mystery -- who are the Final Five?! It became important for the Cylons and the Humans to find this out. Causing lots of weird contradictions (the Cylons say they're programmed not to think about the final five, so they don't remember them, yet they remember them enough to know they don't remember them, and they remember them enough to come out and say there are 12 models).

Blood & Chrome plays equally on "mystery" when it doesn't need to. And shouldn't. Blood & Chrome had hoped to be more of an action show than its predecessor, and therefore could have played itself much more straight. Husker and Coker go on a mission, they know what it is, Beka hands them new orders, they know what they are, they try do accomplish the mission, they meet difficulty at the hands of the toasters, there's a plot twist, a resolution, and a conclusion. There's no need for it to be mysterious. There can be doubt seeded along the way. That's great. But mystery for mystery's sake is lazy, and sadly permeating a lot of writing these days, particularly in science fiction.

I also wasn't wild about the pre-Six cameo at the end. It was nice to hear a familiar voice that tied us to the good ol' days of BSG, but I was a little put off by the line. "Doesn't mean we hate you any less..." seems a bit like a cartoon villain in my opinion. One of the things I always liked about BSG is that at least in the initial seasons, and before "The Plan" the cause of war seemed murky, and complex. We never got a great idea of what happened. Cylons were created by humanity, probably to do dirty jobs, they became self-aware, and they rebelled. In the context of the show, the Cylons AND Humans often saw Cylons as Humanity's children. There was the idea that in order to become self-determined individuals, no longer bound to their parents the Cylons had to rebel. As children do. But, in this case, by way of starting a massive stellar war, with genocide as the end game. At the same time, both sides feared that the other side wouldn't let them continue to exist. Hate never really played into any of that. I mean, certainly hate boils up when you have two sides of a war fighting each other, terribly, and horribly. And it bubbles out of unruly adolescents who feel that their parents are trying to control and limit them. It is possible, that this pre-Six Cylon entity was simply psychologically immature and expressing an adolescent hatred toward humanity. Or, perhaps was just a foot soldier who had bought into whatever propaganda the Cylon war machine had generated. But I still think that hate as a motivation feels a little simplistic. At least without some exploration of root cause. Granted, the pilot was designed as such -- a pilot -- to launch a new series, and maybe they could have investigated that more, but it feels weak in this context.

All that said, as far as spaceship porn goes, this show had a few moments. But not nearly as much as it should have. Does anybody want to see three guys on a green screen shoot at a couple of CGI robots? Not really. Does anybody want to see some Vipers mixing it up with a bunch of flying pancakes? Yes. Everybody does. So why did the show shoot itself in the foot within the first episode, by assigning young Adama to a RAPTOR instead of a Viper? Because they wanted to tell this silly, uneventful story filled with tropes and cliches rather than actual good storytelling. I won't lie, BSG2003's pilot ALSO used a lot of tropes and cliches. They basically mined the submarine movie vaults for a lot of scenarios (not the last time BSG would make some specific nods to Crimson Tide), but the storytelling was strong, the stakes were high, and we could forgive them.

I want to see fun space ship stuff as much as the next guy. But when it's BAD, it hurts our chances of seeing more. The reason BSG was so wildly popular was because it was well made, and appealed to not only spaceship dogfight buffs and sci-fi fans, but fans of The West Wing, and ER. It appealed to broad audiences because of well rendered characters, intriguing questions about OURSELVES (as opposed to about the Final Five), and exploration of topics that are relevant, but dolled up in sci-fi to make them a little more palettable (sp). B&C fails to capture audiences who want more than just some lens flares and ships flying around, which is why it won't and can't succeed (among other reasons that have little to do with the show's actual merit -- the changing priorities of SyFy, for instance).

If they make more... I'll probably watch 'em. At first. I'm always willing to give things a second chance.

[Mog]

WHY WASN'T THIS SHOW ABOUT VIPER PILOTS PILOTING VIPERS?! You know what I mean?

In the 2003 series, we learn that Bill "Husker" Adama used to be a heck of a viper pilot. We also are told that Tigh used to be a heck of a pilot. Not sure if that gets reconned out, or not post Season 3, but whatever. Still, the idea is that Adama is like one of the sickest pilots around. At least for a few decades, until one Kara Thrace shows up. In the highly mediocre Razor flashback sequences (and web series), we see Adama flying a Viper. So when we're told about B&C -- a series starring a young Bill Adama -- we ASSUME he's going to be in a viper. We're looking forward to a show that captures some of the excitement of Season 1 of BSG2003. We're looking to get some of those assault on the Tyllium mining asteroid episodes, or Starbuck and a couple of nuggets versus 8 toasters, or 33, or maybe, even something like Season 2's Scar episode. We're looking for a show ABOUT pilots and the day-to-day life of said pilots. It seems like an easy formula to rock. But for some reason, somebody somewhere decided that we wanted to toss a Viper pilot into a small boat with a whiner and a mysterious mildly sexy brainiac, and that would be better. The last shot, that finally gives us what we've been craving also serves to remind us that they specifically did NOT give us that during the show. Jerks.

So why did the show shoot itself in the foot within the first episode, by assigning young Adama to a RAPTOR instead of a Viper? Because they wanted to tell this silly, uneventful story filled with tropes and cliches rather than actual good storytelling.

Here's the thing: I personally didn't have any issue with them sticking the rookie Adama in a Raptor. You wouldn't let a teenager drive a Corvette until he's proven himself to be a capable and competent driver. So, seeing as he's a wet-behind-the-ear nugget straight out of the academy, I got no issues with the higher ups knocking Adama down a peg or two and telling him to prove himself behind a Raptor.

One of the big complaints you seem to have with B&C is that they don't show enough of Adama being a Viper pilot. Now other than the similuation where he pulls out his sidearm, we didn't see much crazy Viper shenanigans.

But my goodness, did you see all the crazy stuff Adama was able to pull off with a Raptor?! He was being a crafty bastard, dogfighting with a Raptor. Read that again: Dogfighting. With. A. Frakking. Raptor. I don't think we've ever seen that. Out of missiles, and the guy still found a way to destroy Cylon Raiders.

If the producers wanted a way to show off Adama's piloting skills without looking like a blatant rip-off of one of the many Viper battles you referenced above, perhaps showing off those dogfighting skills while piloting a Raptor was a unique and different way for them to accomplish that goal.

Just my 2 cents.

[TehPW]

yeah dude, that one fight was hillarious. timing...

[myk]

Keep in mind that B&C is just supposed to be a pilot/teaser. I'm sure that if Scy-fi decided to go full-bore with B&C there will be plenty of Adama & Viper shenanigans. With that being said, the flying we did see in B&C speaks volumes about Adama's potential as a hot stick...

[azrael]

Keep in mind that B&C is just supposed to be a pilot/teaser. I'm sure that if Scy-fi decided to go full-bore with B&C there will be plenty of Adama & Viper shenanigans.

This. There's only so much they could fit into a 100-minute "movie". Keep in mind this was originally conceived as a web-series, that was considered to be put onto TV, then went back to being a web-series, which will also air on TV in Feb. 2013. If it does well enough (i.e. people watch it and people buy the Blu-ray/DVD, which goes on sale Feb. 19, 2013), SyFy may consider more. Either more web-shows or maybe a run on TV.

[myk]

This. There's only so much they could fit into a 100-minute "movie". Keep in mind this was originally conceived as a web-series, that was considered to be put onto TV, then went back to being a web-series, which will also air on TV in Feb. 2013. If it does well enough (i.e. people watch it and people buy the Blu-ray/DVD, which goes on sale Feb. 19, 2013), SyFy may consider more. Either more web-shows or maybe a run on TV.

And with that in mind I hope enough of us buy the blu-ray/dvd and garner enough support to give this show the green light...

[505thAirborne]

I already pre-ordered my copy!

[Uxi]

Yeah the reasoning for starting Adama in a Raptor was perfectly explained and perfectly reasonable: to chill out. Would definitely be a great start for a series but is it already too late?

[chillyche]

Here's the thing: I personally didn't have any issue with them sticking the rookie Adama in a Raptor. You wouldn't let a teenager drive a Corvette until he's proven himself to be a capable and competent driver. So, seeing as he's a wet-behind-the-ear nugget straight out of the academy, I got no issues with the higher ups knocking Adama down a peg or two and telling him to prove himself behind a Raptor.

One of the big complaints you seem to have with B&C is that they don't show enough of Adama being a Viper pilot. Now other than the similuation where he pulls out his sidearm, we didn't see much crazy Viper shenanigans.

See, there's a legitimate PLOT reason to stick Adama in a Raptor, I suppose. But only within the context of the plot they wrote. My bigger complaint isn't that it makes no in-universe sense to put him in a Raptor, but rather that it makes no sense in a broader what-people-want-to-see sense. The tease at the end of the show is there because they know people want to see a show about Viper jocks. Since they know that, we can only assume they stuck homeslice in a Raptor full well knowing that's NOT what the audience was clamoring for. This raises a question: why did they do it?

The answer is likely made up of multiple reasons, but many of them are pretty apparent. And that's the problem. When writing is apparent. When the hand of the writers (or network/studio considerations) is blatantly obvious in storytelling. The loose story that they wanted to tell in B&C was a story that required throwing some disparate characters together, including a non-combatant, the quickest, easiest way for them to do this was to toss all three into a Raptor. It FEELS like a setup from the second episode in. Stop me if you've heard this one: a nugget, a short-timer, and a roboticist walk into a Raptor.... It's a classic away-team story. Which generally signifies that they don't have any good localized stories. The show was called BSG: B&C, but the Galactica itself, its crew, its pilots, its mission are largely ignored in the show. It FEELS small, it FEELS like they had a limited budget, limited characters, and so they stuck just a couple of people in a Raptor and sent them to a largely abandoned planet. I can feel their limitations in the very story they decided to tell.

If you read my other titanic post, prior to the conclusion of the series, you'll see that my major problem with the show isn't the lack of Vipers (that's actually just something I came to think about after the show concluded) but rather the fact that it's really poorly written.

I suspect the bluray movie version will be a little tighter. I recently decided to watch that Halo: Forward Unto Dawn thing, and the bluray version was slightly better than the web series version, mostly because it decided to take a little bit of time here and there (mostly right up front) to contextualize and add a little bit to the characters. I'm not sure I understand why web series think that you can skimp on characters. Storytelling is about characters. That's it. That's all it's about. It's about characters having arcs, going through ups and downs to come out the other side. A good plot helps, too, but it won't help if the characters are bad or don't have satisfying arcs.

I'm critical about this stuff, sure, but it's because there are a billion talented screenwriters and filmmakers out there, and there's no excuse for crappy stuff. Although, I get how and why it happens. Limitations, time, money, whatever. I have written stuff, and worked on stuff that had a good idea at the core, but for various reasons fell flat. Frequently because of time limitations. So I get it. I don't disparage the production team for working on this thing. I just think that it's really unfortunate, because by missing the core of what made BSG so successful -- which was a nuanced web of character, plot, action, and real-world relevancy -- B&C doomed itself. And in the fact of that doom -- being a show that wasn't going to get picked up, that the network didn't have a lot of faith in, I wish that they had just pulled out the stops and made it about damn viper pilots... like everybody wanted in the first place.

Finally. Yeah, seriously, lens flares. I like lens flares. I liked the way it worked in Star Trek, mostly. I understand they're using them partially to obscure the fact that everything is an effects shot in B&C, but man, it was over the top. And felt derivative. That's the main problem. BSG should not be copying Star Trek, that is unbecoming of a show with its own established look and feel (even if maybe some of that is copying Firefly). It kinda just says "hey, sci-fi! Lens flares! This was clearly made in the late 2000s early 2010s! Check it out! We have video-copilot.net's Optical Flares plug-in! Awesome!" Which is not to say you can't have some lens flares. It's just to say... yes... the abandoned ski resort at night time does not feel like the appropriate place to cram in a few more optical flares. But I think everybody is probably on the same page about that stuff. Sheesh.

[Dynaman]

Yeah the reasoning for starting Adama in a Raptor was perfectly explained and perfectly reasonable: to chill out. Would definitely be a great start for a series but is it already too late?

Almost certainly too late.

[Dobber]

I give you the MK III Viper. The MK II was described as the lighter faster "Hotrod" while this one is the heavier, more rugged brute.

From Doug Drexler's Facebook page.

Chris

Edited January 27, 2013 by Dobber

[505thAirborne]

Thank you for posting this Chris, frakking awesome!!!!!!!!!

[myk]

Thanks for the new desktop wallpaper, Chris...