The new Battlestar

[Hand of Evil]

every other nuke they had was 50 mega-ton but I figured double hull, material, impact of blast sends most of the outward, you see it in tanks now but then that is not a nuke.

 

[Wycen]

I didn't watch the whole thing, but I saw the beginning sequence with the paper showing the old design cylons. People have mentioned the museum showing old show stuff. All I saw was the vipers which I'm not sure are the original. Did the museum actually have a stuffed Cylon or something?

I see the parallel with Wingcommander, the sucky tech and shooting "bullets" instead of energy and the "torpedo" attacks, though that also reminded me of Japanese animation, except sucky.

Then at televisionwithoutpity someone mentioned Space Above and Beyond and that is a more direct parallel since they have intergalactic war, war against artificially intelligent machines, and fighter battles using "torpedos".

 

[jdavis]

I don't think they did. But the Galactica was at GROUND ZERO of a nuke blast, should have been done.

Adama said, "well it looks like the hull reflected most of the blast". See they can make a space ship hull capable of deflecting a nuclear blast but can't shield electronics from EMP disruption (funny that the real military can shield electronics but have absolutely no way to stop a A-bomb).

I got the whole responsibility theme they were going for, heck every single character was flawed to the extent they should all wish for death and nobody would take any responsibility for any action they had taken ever. But the theme that kept smacking me in the face was the Computers are your enemies theme they droned on and on about. Funny but the computers that did the CGI work to create the show were actually more powerful than the computers on the show. I mean in 50 years they couldn't figure out a way to shield a embedded network cable from a outer space disruption? Besides could somebody tell me why the Galactica's computers were so safe, I mean their explination was that the old computers were too dumb to be disrupted? How about this one, why in the world would the design their whole modern fleet to be suseptable to the cylons? They knew the cylons could disrupt computers, they stated that was the whole reason for the Galactica to be like it was, so then they just forgot about that and were suprised when the cylons disrupted their computers? They sort of preached themselves into a corner here. The humans were defeated because they were stupid and they continued to be stupid, in 50 years they never even learned one simple lesson, what happened was entirely the humans fault. In the old show the Cylons pulled a Pearl Harbor attack during a peace treaty signing, the raiders swooping by even looked like the Pearl Harbor attack, the cylons were tricky and ruthless. In the new one the Cylons just took advantage of how stupid and unprepared the humans were, they had 50 years to prepare for this and instead completly sabotaaged their whole defense system by building it with computers they knew the cylons could disrupt.

I got the Wing Commander similarities right off to, seems they also filmed both of them in Blurovision for the space battles, but I'll give Galactica all the credit in the world for not having Freddie Prinze jr. in it.

 

[jdavis]

You'll recall, I think, that the orginal show had at least as strong an anti-machine theme. I thought it was reltively underplayed, actually, and that Adama's speech at the decomissioning ceremony added a new layer of complexity to the theme. The problem lies not with machines, but with us.

The original series problem with technology was that they didn't have enough of it, that's the whole point to the rag tag fugitive fleet bit, it was made up of older and slower ships that couldn't keep up with the Galactica, this convoy of old crappy vessels was the only thing that was preserving humanity, the Galactica had to plod along to protect them (the Pegasus episodes pointed out very well just how superior a Battlestar was, even compared to Cylon Basestars). The Galactica was cutting edge and top of the line, their problem was they needed fuel and parts and and couldn't risk a stand up fight with the Cylons because they were the only warship protecting the rag tag fugitive fleet. Heck they were so unworried about the evils of high technology and robotics that they made a robot dog with it's own working AI as a play companion for a child. The Cylons were not evil because they were robots, they were evil because they were tyrannical aliens. They just happened to also be robotic in nature. This Computers=Evil is a independant plot design of the new series.

 

[Umbran]

I don't think they did. But the Galactica was at GROUND ZERO of a nuke blast, should have been done.

A large amount of the damage done by nuclear weapons on Earth happens because the weapon goes off in an atmosphere. The atmosphere abosorbs energy released, and then the shockwave and super-heated gases do the nasty work for you.

Set one off in a vacuum, and what do you get? Lots of radiation, and the mass of the missile vaporized and accelerated (so that it looks rather much like alpha radiation, actually). If, as they claim, the hull doesn't absorb much of the radiation, not much damage is done.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I didn't watch the whole thing, but I saw the beginning sequence with the paper showing the old design cylons. People have mentioned the museum showing old show stuff. All I saw was the vipers which I'm not sure are the original. Did the museum actually have a stuffed Cylon or something?

The museum had a whole squadron of Vipers in flight-ready condition ( ), a stuffed Centurion from the original series, and models of the Ceylon Basestar and Raider from the original series. There might have been more -- it was a quick glimpse.

I kind of miss the old uniforms, especially the flight helmets -- I like the "Egyptian" styling to them.

Edit: Is it Cylon or Ceylon? I have the feeling I'm abusing a poor island just off the Indian subcontinent ...

Edit 2: Part 2 in progress (I *love* wireless Internet). #6 chick is really beginning to annoy me. Surely there's a better way to demostrate Baltar is losing it (it he's not, it's the silliest plot device I've seen in a while).

 

[Darrin Drader]

1) I fail to see how that excuses anything. I roll my eyes everytime hollywood invokes the term (or practice of ) "reimagined". I think the producers DESERVE to be taken to task for "reimagining". It's spin control for following their ego instead of making a show that would have been more appealing to a preponderance of fans. (And a reflection of the all too prevalent malignancy that scripts don't sell unless it can be defined in terms of shows that are already out there.)

I fail to see how anything needs to be excused. The producers and the owners of the property are under no obligation to be true to their fans. There is no contract, of trust, or otherwise, preventing them from taking an old idea and transforming it into something new. One of the things that annoys me the most out of so called "fans" is that they think that because something they watched something that entertained them, you are then in debt to them in some way and are obligated to satisfy their wishes. You (or the owners, producers, etc.) aren't. If you want to reimagine it, its your prerogative, end of story, unless the fans want to pay the studios the millions of dollars the property is actually worth and buy the property.

2) It seems to me that the plot was almost originally intended to be a "years later" plot with continuity, but they scrapped it halfway through.

I don't see this at all. This is clearly a case where they were actually aknowledging the old show by placing the familliar elements into a historical context. I really don't see this as a problem.

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, they did warned you. If you're a devoted closed-minded, one-tracked, BSG fanatic, then don't watch it.

Otherwise, watch it with an open mind, assuming you can be. Let's say I won't hold my breath on that statement.

 

[Wycen]

Maybe the following episodes will explain these things, but considering the whole lame battles, here is something I'd like to know.

Cylons seem to have 2 weapons, at least the fighter pods. The ability to "turn off" other ships and their missiles.

What the hell were they doing all those 40 years on the "world of their own" if the most sophisticated weapon is a missile? Not even a smart missile apparently if Apollo can fly in front of one and draw it away from Airforce One.

Yet they can build a sexbot who when destroyed can transfer consciousness into another body far away?

On a related topic I suppose. Airforce One takes off from the surface of the planet. I don't recall seeing a huge disposable booster or a large engine flare showing massive thrust to reach orbit. Then it also manages to reach orbit under its own power and leave the gravity of the planet. Further, they are walking around the cabins without suction boots, no seatbelts, or rotating centrifugal sections for gravity.

So these ships somehow have anti-gravity?

 

[Darrin Drader]

Every single "military" character on the show was a stock cliche character, with almost nothing to distinguish them from the bland cliche that spawned them.

The maverick pilot who is too good to discipline for long.
The war-weary retiring captain called back by necessity.
The son of a senior officer with a chip on his shoulder.
The disillusioned drunk officer who rallies in the crunch.
The tough chief mechanic with a heart of gold.
The self-sacrificing officer who dies for the greater good.

How about the multiple situations that amounted to little more than a military cliche?

The "must sacrifice some of the crew to save the ship" routine.
The "newfangled gear just screws up good soldiers" routine.
The "soldiers forced to shoot at panicked civlians" routine.
The "wrong headed politician meddling with military affairs" routine.

Did it not occur to you that the reason these character are cliche is because many of them are extremely realistic in military settings and the others are in there so that the rest of us have someone in the cast to relate to? Exactly how would you have rewritten the characters so that they're less cliche?

How about the situations you find cliche? Have people not sacrificed themselves during war time by jumping on a hand grenade to save their friends? Have commanders not given the order to sacrifice the lives of soldiers to accomplish their objectives? Have politicians never interfered in military affairs? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then I suggest you go speak to a few vets who have actually served during war time.