Battlestar Galactica

[white avenger]

I never watched this show when it was on tv, so it's all new to me, but I'd like to ask someone who has seen the show: Is the thing about Gaius and his invisible imaginary girlfriend supposed to be serious? Because some of it is absolutely hilarious, like when he's shagging her and Starbuck comes in (and, by the way, she's a lot better Starbuck than Dirk Benedict ever was) "Can I do something for you?" "You can zip up your fly." And when he's "exercising his wrist." they're all either blinf or crazy, because, genius or not, that guy's a nut case.

Do I have a warped sense of humor? (Well, yeah, people have been saying so for years, but still...) Surely that can't all be unintentional.

[DarklyDreamingDrusilla]

I think it can definitley be funny just like when Buffy was invisible and at Spikes place playing with his ear when Xander was talking to him. I think it is a very entertaining situation. And I love Gaius even though he doesn't always make the right choices! :wink: So no you don't have a warped sense of humor. :smile:

[Blondie Bear]

o.O

Way to fix any inclination I might have had to start watching this series. Which wasn't much of one, but jeez.

[Superstar]

Is the thing about Gaius and his invisible imaginary girlfriend supposed to be serious?
I can answer that depending on the level of spoilers you want.

Fairly spoiler free answers.
Is it serious? Yes. ABSOLUTELY.
Is it meant for levity. Yes, at times.
Is it intentional? Yes.
Is there a deeper meaning to it all? Yes. ABSOLUTELY.
Is it a reflection on Gaius and his personality? Yes.
Is Head!Six explained? Not gonna answer that one - that's part of the mystery.

[Aethra]

I don't know how to answer the question because I didn't get past season one. I was hoping that after the miniseries it would get better, but after a whole season I really truly was not into it. I think I may be the only one. But, to address the questions, they were definitely intended to amuse at points like those mentioned. Those moments were so hilarious.

[Senior Watcher]

i am currently on season 2.5 and i am very much liking the series. there have been about 2 epis thus far that i feel were crap, but when i first started watching buffy, i thought "the puppet show" was dreadful. what im saying is, im not going to just a book by one chapter.

as for your question WA, i find it hard to answer your question without spoiling anything. gaius and "the blonde" have a very smart and humorous connection that i love. i hope you will find their journey together as joyful as i have so far.

[The Kinslayer]

after a whole season I really truly was not into it. I think I may be the only one.
I´m having a bit of a problem myself. But I´m gonna watch it. I can be pretty stubborn. But it´s not going at a desired pace. I should have seen season two by now and I´m only at the beggining. But if I don´t get into it more by season 3 I´ll probably give up.

[Kemy]

Its complicated, but yes its quite serious, and her control/manipulation of him becomes more sinister as the series progresses.

When the blast hit, she was shielded Baltar with her body. When she "died" she downloaded to a new body through the normal process.

In Season 4 we learn that for a brief instant because of this download their minds must have touched, the 6 has a Baltar in her head, whereas Baltar still has that 6's mind in his. They have a "copy" of each other in their minds no matter how far apart they are.

This particular 6 is meant to be the "Lucifer" of the new series, manipulating him at every turn, for some purpose that either the Cylon God or the Final Cylon programmed into the 7 Cylons we knew already.

In the old show Lucifer was an enhanced super Cylon that worked with Baltar on the Basestar he was on, but since in the new show Baltar stays with the Colonial's they needed a way of having that Cylon at his side without it being noticed by the others, so they just had an accident download one to his mind.

[white avenger]

In the old show Lucifer was an enhanced super Cylon that worked with Baltar on the Basestar he was on, but since in the new show Baltar stays with the Colonial's they needed a way of having that Cylon at his side without it being noticed by the others, so they just had an accident download one to his mind.

That's an interesting point. I saw the old show with Lorne Green as Admiral Adama, and this version is a much more mature (of course it's cable, so that's a given) treatment, plus, as much as I will always love "Pa Cartwright," no matter what spread he's the range boss of, the new show is far better cast and acted. (I just wish that they could figure out how to get Hoss and Little Joe on board)

[Kemy]

Well, the original Battlestar Galactica was a product of the upbeat disco 70's, which fell victim to too many sappy story lines with little or no true dramatic weight. It had one of the lowest budgets in history and was canceled during its first season for abysmal ratings. The show was a disaster before it saw out its first year.

The new show had to reinvent, there was too little it could carry from the original and hope to be successful, but what Ron Moore has done is taken that very basic premise and turned it into something thats been on the air 5 years now and has everyone talking, raising the bar for scifi.

Thats not to say its perfect and season 2 took quite a dive in quality during the first half of the season, picking way up again with the "Pegasus" two parter. Season 4 meandered (purposefully though) then again picked up midseason. And there are strange moments like any other show, low points, annoyances etc

I'll just say, nearly everything in the show, no matter how minor has something meaning at some point, it is serious despite some dark humour and Baltar doubling as a sort of comic relief character and is worth watching sometimes just for Batlar and 6 alone. Its when they bring 3 into it later on it gets a bit wonky. Shes a better character on her own.

Edit:

He didn't just threaten, he actually got the entire production cast up in court citing something like 17 major similarities between Battlestar Galactica and his creation Star Wars.

But they counter sued, citing a larger number of rip off's Star Wars had used but never given credit for (several older films and television shows in the 60's and 70's), so technically Lucas was even more guilty than they were. So he dropped the lawsuit and Galactica went ahead, and Lucas wasn't counter sued.

Had they not, and fought it out 'til the end we wouldn't have had Galactica or the last two Star Wars films. Galactica wouldn't have even had half a season on air to have the remake all these years later, and Star Wars would have died in obscurity with a single film.

[Superstar]

I am somewhat of a fan of the original Galactica.
It is a shame that they played into the made for kiddies aspect.
If it had no kid or stupid daggitt and stayed away from the cheesy stories, the series I think would have lasted longer.
That's not to say some cheese doesn't have its place - Star Trek certainly had its share

As white avenger noted; Bonanza would be a good example for comparison.
It would be like taking Bonanza, giving them the same kid with a three-legged lassie, and having occasional plot lines where Hoss was a cross dresser and Lil' Joe worked for the Pinkertons guarding the local brothel as a sideline.
Now that's not to say a cheesy, badly plotted, cross-dressing, outlandishly improbable western couldn't be successful - you only have to look at The Wild, Wild West.
The premise of the 70's Galactica was just badly chosen formula is all, as it was the worst of both worlds.

The best episodes of that series were the 2 parters and pilot.
Saga of A Star World
The Gun on Ice Planet Zero
Lost Planet of the Gods
The Living Legend
War of the Gods

The rest of the series was dreck.

Regarding the original and cancellation; it pretty much had ok ratings, but they did decline. The cost per episode was high.
My suspicions (suspicions mind you) is that the show was unfocused and pleased neither demographic they were shooting for - the sci-fi'ers who would look at the show and measure it against Star Trek and Star Wars and find it woefully lacking and the adolescent crowd who were not entertained because there was not enough of the kid and daggitt and campy stories. It was essentially a pretentious Lost in Space and deprecated imitation of Star Trek at the same time.

Which leads to Galactica 1980 where they selected a focused demographic (adolescents) and got a series that was panned across the board.

[eponinethen]

I actually never bought the whole Gaius thing, god he's just so frakking boring I've kept wishing he'd go away. I'm a big fan of the show though, especially of Starbuck of course, since she's pretty much my dream girl (at least in the beginning)...

[LorneyTunes]

I love him , he just loves Caprica so much . He would kill everyone for her , their storyline is one of my faves .
But i love the show so much getting quite obcessed x

[Fake Shemp]

i'm obsessed, imported a 'frak off' t-shirt and everything.... Starbuck owns my heart (since i've got her dog tags)... well for the time the show is on anyways lol

i watched burn notice season premier and realized how much i was missing BSG when Tricia Helfer was on..... always like her better without the bleached blonde hair, way better as Gina in BSG: Razor

[eponinethen]

[...] always like her better without the bleached blonde hair, way better as Gina in BSG: Razor
Oh I definitely agree, I like that version of her a lot better. Caprica just never interested me – probably 'cause she likes Gaius, and I just don't get what anyone could possibly see in him, heh ;)