The Rise and Fall of BSG

Ron Moore -- why does BSG suck so hard this season!?

Battlestar Galactica had an amazing three season run. With clearly drawn characters facing tough moral, life-or-death decisions every week, it was a stunning commentary on modern day American life, on what it meant to be human, on religion, on politics, on faith. Which isn't to say that there weren't weak spots -- while Season 1 is practically flawless, Season 2 has a stretch in the latter half where there are a number of episodes that suffer from Trek-itis (falling prey to lame contrivances a la Star Trek). But it was OK, because even these episodes usually had something that kept them hovering above the label of mediocre, above the title of bad, around the area of good, which was a minor err for the constantly great show.

Season 3 also suffered from being uneven, but the New Caprica segments were so brutal, so captivating, that when things started to veer off in the latter half of the season, it was alright. We were with it. And then the big Final Five reveal of the season finale led us to hope that maybe Season 4 would end the show on the greatness that it deserved. That maybe Season 4 would be the season that would be nominated for an Emmy for best Drama. That maybe Edward James Olmos would get a nod for his grizzled growling. 

But nay. NAY! For we have been forsaken, us BSG fans! We have been abandoned! Left behind! Because this BSG is not the BSG of the previous three seasons. No, this BSG is... is mediocre. Is trifling. Is. Not. Good.

I said it. I got it out. I'm still standing, I'm still here. But come with me, fellow fans, and admit the truth. You too know that there has been something off this season, something that has not sat well with you, despite grasping at straws of quality when they appear among the pile of pins.

Rather than waste your time with a recap of Friday's episode, I give you this: a digression into how my favorite show on TV has become usurped by others. How my crown jewel of television has fallen. How I compare this season of BSG to the quality of Heroes. Read on.

I have tried hard to find things I've liked in all the episodes so far this season. And there have been elements that worked. But from the very beginning, with the emphasis on Baltar and his single God, his cult, and the emo-ness of the Final Four (of Five), I knew something was off.

This season has been incredibly unfocused. Whereas LOST, another serialized show with a firm cut-off date, has used its limited run to focus and drive the story towards a definite conclusion, this season of BSG, the LAST, has acted like an unfocused child. Oh, maybe we'll spend some time with this because it's kind of interesting. Oh, now we're over here. Look, it's something shiny! I like shiny things! Wait, where are we...?

I will excuse the show this: The stuff with the Cylon civil war works, and is interesting, and fun to watch. In fact, I'd say that the Cylon stuff (not the Final Five) is the most interesting part of this season. No, where this season has fallen short are the characters we care about the most.

1) Not enough Adama. Girl, you know it's true. Adama has been AWOL for large chunks of this season, without a real arc or story. And then, when it looks like we might be getting more of him with his reading-to-chemo'd-Roslin, she goes and disappears. And then we get Adama acting entirely out of character, leaving Cylon-impregnating-Final-Fiver Tigh to run the fleet. Yeah. Great idea buddy. Worked out so well last time. When he nearly DESTROYED EVERYTHING. Good judgement call. And right after getting the shit kicked out of you. NICE.

2) Lee. I knew Lee was going to end up President as soon as he said "Nay!" to his padre and moved into the Quorum. However, what I thought was going to happen was his ascendency would occur after Roslin died... which is not the case. No, instead we get some lame BS about how the Vice-President is a douche and Adama doesn't want to work with him. This, despite the fact that Adama is GIVING UP HIS ADMIRALTY. What I've liked about the show is it's political underpinnings, but by saying "screw you" to the whole notion of civil government in the fleet by appointing Lee the President because Zarek is kind of a d-bag is lame. What happened to rules of logic, show? What happened to tough choices? What happened to the major struggle at the end of Season 1 -- the balance between civil government and military protection? We spent so much time with that, developing that... and to toss it away in a single episode... What a waste.

3) I thought characters only came back from the dead in the Marvel Universe, but I guess I was wrong. I keep waiting for Starbuck's return to mean anything, or to be interesting at all, but all of the interesting drama of having someone who YOU THOUGHT WAS DEAD FOR TWO MONTHS RETURN is glossed over in favor of her having emo-paint time with Leoben. What does it mean to Lee, who totally wants to get in on that shit? What does it mean to Anders, who just discovered he's a Cylon, who she's MARRIED to? What does it mean to Adama, who is like a father to her? Do we get emotion? Do we get plots? No. We get a glossed over emotional beats that are abandoned so Gaeta can sing for an entire episode. Thanks, BSG. It's not like I enjoy your characters at all.

4) Lame-ness. Romo Lampkin is lame. I'm sorry. He sucks. He sucked at the end of Season 3, and he sucks now. Also, he's not blind. Everyone I talk to thinks he's blind. He's not. He's just a tool who always wears sunglasses. Also, he's a tool that's gone completely ape-shit, and he's a tool that I'd rather not spend time with. For a show with a ginormous cast, there's no need to intermittently bring back a character I care-not-at-all-for and spend a huge chunk of time with when Dualla has gotten three lines all season. Gaeta, I'm sorry, I love you, but your singing shit was also lame. I know the show wants to be dramatic -- hell, I understand that's what a drama needs to be -- but when you force drama on us like tonic to a sick child, you know it's just going to end up all over your face. We understand shit sucks for Gaeta, since he's lost his leg. We dig it. We're in on it. But there's no need to ruin what was otherwise a fairly badass episode with his lame singing.  CAN! YOU! DIG IT?!

5) Where is the excitement in the show? Where is the discovery? This past episode, we get little elements of surprise -- the raptor that jumps in with a dead body in it and a charred book. Cool! But the recon they do where it jumped from reveals nothing. No surprises. No discovery. So what do they decide to do?... NOTHING! Nope, Adama's just gonna sit in his raptor and wait until the answers come to him. That's great, BSG. I love it when things happen because you plotted them to, rather than them occurring due to story-evolution. In the past, even when discovery and adventure was FORCED, it was still welcome. Now, we don't even get it. The only surprising moment I've had with the show recently was when the hybrid woke up and yelled "JUMP." Otherwise, things have been forecast fairly well. 

And worst of all...

6) Logic. The show has lost its internal logic. What the show was always about was these people, in this situation, having to make tough calls. That is the definition of the drama for the first three seasons. Blow up the ship that could be tracked by Cylons, and everyone on board, or risk the Cylons discovering you and destroying the fleet? Tough decision. No "right" decision, just a less wrong one. And there hasn't been any of that with the fleet. Sure, the Cylons have made AWESOME tough decisions -- Civil War or not? Destroy the (AWFULLY CONVENIENT) Resurrection Hub or not? Etc. But what does the fleet do? Nothing. 

Now, I don't mean to say there haven't been good, or even awesome, episodes of the show this season. No, my point is that, as a whole, the BSG writing staff have lost their way. They have forgotten what makes the show great, and what has made it great. They have dwelled on the "dramatic" rather than writing the drama. They have focused on the "intriguing" rather than the characters and their struggles. They have lost the truth of the show. They have given us some great moments, some great episodes, but the complete fourth season so far has... well... disappointed. If I hadn't spent so much time with it already, I'd be out of here. 

Here's to hoping they get it back. I love you BSG, but you have killed me a little inside.

-RoboNixon

Just Can't Get Enough

io9 reports that more BSG "movies" may be coming to a TV screen near you.

Chicago Tribune columnist Maureen Ryan, who's connected with the BSG producers, has confirmed the rumors from last week that BSG will be making more TV movies. But Ryan's insider sources only have "cautious optimism" about whether the films will happen.

This is on the heels of a report made last week, in which io9 asks for, please, dear Cylon Lord, no more!

I have to agree. Razor blew. Sorry Razor fans. But it sucked. Flashbacks within flashbacks? Crazy confusing narrative structure? Protagonist we care nothing about? The addition of more whacky mythology in a show BUSTING AT THE SEAMS with whacky mythology? Plz, 4 rlz, Ron Moore, nada mas.

-RoboNixon

Star Trek! Oh No!

CHUD, one of my favorite film sites, has been having a series of film analyses entitled "YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG." Each day, a different film is classified as either, "Overblown," "Overrated," "Misunderstood," and "What the Fuck." They take on "classic" films, from Ferris Bueller's Day Off to Terminator 2, and categorize them and explain why they happen to be such. After the argument for lameness is made, another contributing editor on the site will add an "agree" or "disagree" section. It's brilliant, and for film nerds, even when you disagree, it's a lot of fun and usually smart. 

I was going to recommend them, regardless, but today's over-rated was STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT. I talked about my affection for that film and its writer here, so I feel, in order to be fair and balanced, I must give you their argument. Stay tuned after the analysis for site-founder Nick Nunziata's disagree, which I'm on board with.

Woot.

-RoboNixon

More TV Good News*

*Though this time NOT involving Ron Moore.

That's Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon, who "have inked a deal to co-create and co-write a multicamera comedy for CBS and CBS Paramount Network TV." Goods news all around, as the two are hilarious. Louis C.K. is one of the funniest stand up comedians I've ever seen, and Pamela Adlon is one of the high points of the otherwise inconsistent Californication. 

I am also one of the very, very few people who found pleasure in "Lucky Louis" the HBO sitcom both previously starred in. I mean, sure, I may not necessarily enjoy seeing Louis C.K.'s dick all the time, but otherwise, I think it was a good reflection of C.K.'s stand up -- middle-aged and angry. Here's to their new show. The whole story is here (thanks Hollywood Reporter).

In other news, David Eick, executive producer of BSG (just can't escape the BSG here...), signed a two-year deal with NBC. This despite the horrible, horrible failure of Bionic Woman this past season. That show was like an open sore on the genitals of TV. Just bad all over.

But, for the whole David Eick story, you can click here (thanks Variety). 

And, for your amusement, I present you Ron Moore and David Eick abusing each other endlessly.

Over and Out.

-RoboNixon

Even MORE Moore!

In preparation for tonight's episode of BSG, I give you Ron Moore fans good news.

"Battlestar Galactica" showrunner Ronald D. Moore is making a major move to the bigscreen, signing with United Artists to create and write a sci-fi trilogy.
UA's keeping details of the project under wraps.

The whole thing is here (thanks Variety).

So what does this mean? Well, for one, Ron Moore can write sweet and accessible big-screen sci-fi. Moore wrote the best of the Next Generation Star Trek movies, First Contact. And I say this as a decidedly anti-Star Trek viewer. The show was always hampered by the "utopian society" that the Galactic Federation provided. But First Contact was open to all audiences, regardless of familiarity with the Star Trek universe (though it helps to know what a Borg is), and with sweet set-pieces, James Cromwell, good special effects, and constant action, it is my second favorite Star Trek film, joining Wrath of Khan as the only other entry into the series that was worth watching.

I mean, there's one where they have to save the world with whales. Really.

So let's keep our fingers crossed. I met Ron Moore before the premiere of Season 3 of BSG and got to spend a hefty amount of time picking his brain. He's a really, really bright guy (with beautiful hair...), and he understands that science fiction only works as a genre when it's accessible to everyone and speaks to something greater than robots and aliens.

-RoboNixon

More Moore

The news, as it has been reported elsewhere, is that Ron Moore, show-runner of BSG, will be executive producing a new sci-fi television show for Fox. "Virtuality" -- which is perhaps the lamest show title since Seaquest DSV -- will start as a two hour pilot-movie, and you can read the summary at previous link.

Most interesting about this -for me- are the possible director of the pilot and a unique approach to synergy. Martin Campbell, of Goldeneye and Casino Royale fame (and let's not forget this) looks close to signing to direct, which could give the project an interesting -- and certainly uber-slick -- flavor. 

The other thing to catch my attention was this-- 

"Virtuality" also comes with a hefty online component: As part of the plot, the space voyage is funded by a reality show that features the trip being streamed back to Earth. That "reality show" will be produced as webisodes, featuring the same cast members.

I hate synergistic stuff. I had to train myself to sit through the (admittedly watchable) webisodes before Season 3 of BSG, and I don't think I can recall watching anything else serialized over the internet ever. I also have a ridiculously awesome TV in my apartment, which may explain why watching things on my 15" laptop screen pales in comparison to my rocktacular 50" plasma TV with surround sound.

But, at the same time, it could prove to be something really cool that adds to the television experience in a new and unique way.

At the same time, it's Fox. So don't expect the show to run long before being ingloriously cancelled after eight episodes.

It could be cool, and here's to hopin' that Ron Moore can keep the fates in line to deliver us another show that will be critically acclaimed, with a devoted audience, but ignored by the masses. 

Fingers crossed!

And thanks, Variety.

-RoboNixon