Confessions of a Battlestar Galactica Virgin

My partner in crime on my podcast refuses to give it a chance, because I quote: "Military sci-fi is lame".

I just don't get it. This same kid owns a shit load and loves Dragon Ball Z and Naruto.

An other friend of mine thinks it's fucking boring, yet he loves SG-1.

My friends tend to not have the best taste in television.

Despite the fact that it's suppposed to be awesome, I haven't watched it YET. A friend of mine has them all, so I'll watch them one of these days when I can devote a large chunk of time to a BG marathon.

I just finished the first season too. I can't get Netflix to deliver the second season to me fast enough.

Great idea Quarant, I was just thinking we needed this.

It was heads or tails whether I picked this or The Wire. So that'll be next after I finish BSG.

Then you will be very likely in for a lovely treat in the weeks to come.

The only thing I can recommend is to possibly split up the miniseries into 2 viewing sessions. That seems to work for most people I've gotten into the show. After that though, if you aren't a fan by the 3rd episode, you may not be a fan at all.

Either you're hooked by the last shots of the miniseries or by the 3rd episode in my experiences with people and this show.

Watched the miniseries in one viewing myself.

I wouldn't even give them till the third episode, if "33" doesn't impress the hell out of you I'm not sure what's going to happen.

But that's my philosophy and mine alone.

Quarant, did you start with the miniseries or the first season of the show?

Ah, yeah I did the same. But most people I'm getting into the show aren't really fans of sci-fi, so to say "Hey watch this epic 3 hours miniseries. You'll love it!" doesn't seem to fly.

And I'm with you man, I was hooked at the point where [swipe] Six broke the baby's neck[/endswipe] I didn't see it coming and had no idea what kind of show this was. I learned right there. Shit got real.

If you dislike the shows you mentioned you're going to love BSG. It's the antithesis of the usual TV SciFi shows. But be prepared. It has some filler episodes and it is bleak beyond belief. Still, when it works it's untouchable.

That was a fantastic moment, but for me it was when they made the decision to abandon all those ships without FTL drives. The countdown to the jump over the shot of the child in the garden.

In my eyes the story arc that spans over the last couple of episodes from season 2 up to episode 4 of season 3 are among the finest consecutive hours of television ever conceived.

i need to watch these as well..just not enough damn time

Wait. The season 2 finale is much much better. And while the 3rd season has a weak middle, the first 6-7 episodes are amazing, and of this I'd say that Home: Part 2 is the best TV hour experience I ever had. Overall, that title belongs to The Wire, but BSG ranks among the greats.

That's my issue as well. Between hellacious hours at work and a wife that wants me to pay attention to her, TV/movies have been neglected.

If nothing else BSG is great at going into breaks by punching you in the gut.

The draft and this scare me Mr. Savage.

Just thinking about Home pt2 gives me goosebumps.

When the hell is the second half of this season starting???

2009...

You're my German Dopplegänger!

never watched this.. but Universal HD is saying it will be showing it, so I'm hoping it comes back into its line-up after the olympics. If I'm going to watch it, might as well give it a go in HD.

That moment occurs and I hear my dad behind me mutter: "Holy shit". It's such a gut punch. That's why I can't get Season 2 here fast enough.

I think "Confessions of just a plain old sexin' virgin" could be an alternate title for this thread.

Hahaha, I kid. but seriously, tits rule.

Just finished Season 3 on DVD, love the show. While not quite a good as the wire (really what show can be), it has a lot of the same things I like about the wire.

In paticular that people have memories. Things that occur in the first season may indeed come back in latter seasons and that the characters in this show have certain traits that you will notice again and again as the show goes on.

There are issues that bother me too. Why do the cylons talk about love considering they don't seem to have even a dictionary meaning of it (in some ways its fun to notice what occurs to the cylons that actually love vs the ones that just talk about it). Also do the cylons have a plan, because if they do it seems they are taking the long way of accomplishing that plan.

Anyway some questions for those who have watched the entirety of the show, I just looking for yes and no answers other than that no spoilers please.

1) When everything is finally revealed do we feel that the cylons truly had a plan.
2) Do we learn what did the cylons rebel against in the first place (I have a thory on this)
3) Do we find out why Baltar has visions of Six

I have other questions to but I think those may spoil the show for those who haven't watched passed season one yet.

A sound NO to all questions.

But the second half of the final season are still to come.

I haven't given this show a chance, I only watched half of an episode but to be quite honest was bored by the Cylons as humans angle. Just seemed like an excuse to save money on the robot suits. I know, shallow but that was my impression at the time.

This isn't a criticism of the show, but a criticism of ME...I watched the first season as it aired, but had to quit. The constant dread and tension was just too much more me to handle week after week.

Almost entire show is about the differences and similarities between humans and Cylons.

This would be one of my favorite shows of all time if it was consistent. Still, I was with it until the middle of season three. It all came back at the end in a major way, then the show shit the bed in season four. I know some people were forgiving, but most of the season was terrible and went nowhere. I can't even come up with an argument or a way to rationalize it, but I went from being anxious to see the next episode every week to not giving a shit and letting them stockpile on my DVR.

There were some really great moments sprinkled here and there, and a couple episodes worked in their entirety, but as a whole the season was really bad.

Note: I don't have a bad thing to say about the finale. That was perfect television.

This is huge and gives the show some major weight. Some characters and relationships have changed drastically and dramatically, but any other show wouldn't acknowledge this kind of thing. It's more out of fear of fucking up the suspension of disbelief, but in this show it strengthens the dynamics between characters because they have a shared history and a lot of decisions and actions have informed them and changed them.

90% of the time this works and makes the show great. They've only dropped the ball in a few situations, but as a whole it handles this better than any other show I can think of besides The Wire.

The second season is my favorite so far. I flew through it all pretty fast. The third was hit or miss.

That isn't meant to discourage you newbies - I just wanted to express my thoughts since I did what Quarant did toward the tail of '07.

Great show. I've only watched the first two seasons, and I would say the second is definitely better. The break between the dvd sets (2.0 and 2.5) is monstrous.

Yeah, that was some bullshit. But the delay until S3 was criminal.

I have tried to get into this show a couple of times now but have had some difficulty. Still, it's easier to catch up with than LOST and I feel bad having not seen it. I made a deal with one of my friends that if they started watching 'The Wire,' I'd watch this. So that's a long winded way of saying I'm glad you started this thread.

Question: I've sat through the miniseries twice already. Should I watch it again before starting the series again, or can I jump right in with the first episode of the first season?

See, at first I thought that the words Battlestar Galactica and Virgin went together like peanut butter and chocolate, but after seeing the outpouring of love for it in this thread, I'm intrigued.

So yeah, BSG virgin here.

Just jump right in.

After a bunch of "trying to converts", I actually find it easier to start people with the series proper than with the mini-series, just because the first half of the mini drags a little and they start to get restless...

But with "33" (one of the best series openers I've had the pleasure to watch), it's all guns blazing and people really sit up and take notice. Also, the "just watch one episode" whine/pitch is easier to sell than the "just watch this three hour mini-series". After they see a few eps and are on board, then I tell them to go back and watch the mini.

I guess it's a strange way to go about it, but "33" has everything boiled down to its essence with both the characters and conflict, and it can just speak for itself.

I think I made it through halfway through the first season the last time. I really liked a lot of what I saw, especially "33" and the prison episode and the two-parter with Starbuck. Once the president started having visions, I quit.

Why? Because having visions is too unbelievable? Did you like Baltar's visions/ramblings with Head Six?

And I'm honestly not trying to be snide, just curious.

The vision aspect of the show slowly starts to take over so if you can't get on board with it in the first season it's probably best to avoid the show. It's almost a dealbreaker for me and has made me utterly loathe a character I'm supposed to be sympathetic towards.

For me, BSG hit its peak with "Crossroads, Pt. 2." The show is so relentlessly bleak, and that episode may be the closest thing we'll get to a happy ending.

I seem to be in the minority among fans, but I loved season 4. I think it's unsatisfying to watch week-by-week, episode-by-episode, and I mean that in the best way possible - there are standouts, and there's one very, very poor episode, but overall, the sum is greater than the parts. I think the development of minor characters into major ones and the slow progression of the storyline (which takes a long time to get to the point, which probably bothers most people) add up in a way that makes it my favorite chunk of episodes since the one Jan mentioned. It could be that I watched episodes 3 through 7 in one sitting, though I've tried the same with Lost and that show still never sunk in. C'est la vie.

And, wow. I never knew the visions junk bothered y'all so much. Not being a religious person myself, I think it adds a fresh aspect to the show in contrast to most sci-fi, which is typically oversaturated with sterile, faux-technological explanations for everything, to the point where it takes the wind out of the sails and leaves no mysteries to the viewer.

I'd be happier about the visions if Roslyn wasn't proven to be consistently right.

Well the final episode of season 4.1 does kind of proof her wrong in a certain way, doesn´t it?

And by the way episode 4.10 is as perfect as TV can get.

Head Six and all of the prophecies seem to be almost never wrong, too. There's a strong streak of religion in the show, not only in the habits of the characters but also in the writing, as these are presented as things we have to take on faith. I can see how someone wouldn't like it; I just hadn't heard that kind of animosity towards that particular aspect before, I s'pose.

edit: Actually, 4.7 and 4.9 were probably my favorite episodes of the season. It's too bad they had to bookend the worst episode. 4.10 was really, really good, though, and the final scene lived up to the pain of previous cliffhangers quite well.

Great show. But there are a LOT of loose ends. Can't wait to see how they are all solved. My only criticism is that it gets a little too complicated for it's own good. By the way, next season they have been told to make the episodes as long as they need to be. So some will be 90 mins, or maybe 2 hours!

Here's a question: In season 1, there's a funny episode where Baltar has visons of six, only it turns out everyone one else can see her. At the end she just disappears. One minute she's there, and then she's gone. It wasn't just his vision - it was a real cylon. No shuttles were stolen, so where did she go?

That's just a regular Six who was stowing away on one of the civilian ships.

But she just disappeared into thin air. In the middle of a corridor.

Maybe she just airlocked herself knowing there was a res ship close enough?

I can hardly remember that one but there is something fishy indeed.

And there is a somewhat similar scene with Baltar and Six in the middle of season 4 that I still don´t understand. But to elaborate would spoil you silly. But I reckon people that followed the series know what I mean.

Concerning the loose ends, the acting staff dropped some vague hints that the show ends great and for now I'm taking them at their word.