The Official Battlestar Galactica Thread : SPOILERS

[technocoy]

Holy Crap...

BEST EPISODE EVAR.

The jump into the atmosphere to launch the vipers and then jump out was bloody brilliant and possibly one of the best moments in science fiction film ever.

awesome awesome awesome episode.

Every week I love this show and just when i think it can't get better or may be slowing down they bust my a$$ with something like this.

Not only the best sci fi show created since x-files and firefly, but it may also be one of the best dramas to ever grace the screen.

People that don't watch it are just hindered by their preconceptions of science fiction.

 

[AliensAreFuzzy]

BEST EPISODE EVAR.

The jump into the atmosphere to launch the vipers and then jump out was bloody brilliant and possibly one of the best moments in science fiction film ever.

awesome awesome awesome episode.

Every week I love this show and just when i think it can't get better or may be slowing down they bust my a$$ with something like this.

Not only the best sci fi show created since x-files and firefly, but it may also be one of the best dramas to ever grace the screen.

People that don't watch it are just hindered by their preconceptions of science fiction.

First of all, that plan was pretty awesome. Never saw it coming. Secondly, I agree with all the points about it being such a great show. I actually have convinced a few people to watch it even though they didn't like sci fi. They absolutely love it. It's pretty amazing actually.

 

[nagromme]

Still not gonna pay for cable tv, but I'm finally gonna make the jump to DSL so I can download eps off iTunes. DSL was unavailable in my area for years and I think my line only quailfies for 768Kbps and 1.5Mbps, but not the 3Mbps. I'm a cheap skate, but patient. Is 768Kbps bearable for iTunes tv show downloads? I'm not gonna time out or lose the connection at that speed right? Half as fast or twice as slow. Season 3 here I come.

You'll be fine. A couple hours and you'll have the show. (But with a faster connection you could watch WHILE it downloads.)

And I'm with you on cable: Galactica costs me $35/year (season pass) with no ads, I set the schedule, AND I keep up without waiting for DVDs. (AND I get to keep the eps, but that doesn't mean much to me--except for free reruns in summer--since I'd still want to own the DVDs eventually. AND I get iPod compatibility, but I don't have a video iPod yet.) Since Galactica is the only show I care to watch from cable, why would I pay $700-$1000 per year for cable, instead of $35?

For that matter, I could watch a DOZEN series on iTunes and still pay less than half what cable costs!! That made iTunes worth it even BEFORE the quality quadrupled.

So, I won't see Exodus Part 2 until Saturday

 

[xPismo]

Wow, that trailer for FS bSG mod looks great! I might just have to get it working on my powerbook for that in itself.

BEST EPISODE EVAR. ...The jump into the atmosphere to launch the vipers and then jump out was bloody brilliant... the best sci fi show created since x-files ...

Yes. Very Robotech/Macross. The SDF did its first jump in the air just above - dang, which island was that i can't remember - I was waiting for the huge suck and bang of all the air filling the gap where BSG was.

They kinda did it, but not in the large impact way I was hoping for.

Thank you writers of BSG for getting them off NC asap. That storyline was boring me to tears and just the last moments with the hum of BSG in the background made it all worth it again in my eyes.

I wonder why no one checked out the ship hulls for integrity before jumping? Four months and all the seals still work.

I really like Baltar's character, yea I know you can call it cheezy or thin, but very few shows have characters like that anymore. lets hope he stays in the picture for a good long time.

Oh, and all the Vipers BSP left to guard the fleet, what happens when they have to refuel or hit the head? Does the fleet have independant servicing ships independand of the BSs? I never saw them.

Great end to a day sitting in bed sick.

 

[Piarco]

Brilliant.
Just bloody brilliant.

It'll be interesting to see how Baltar fares on a Cylon Basestar, and how the fate of Hera affects things... surely this should have the effect of the Cylons going easier on the Fleet? If they want the species to evolve into Cylon/Human hybrids, they must need as many live humans as possible?

I would have been nice to see the reunions though at the end of the episode... Apollo/Starbuck (with him having the p*** ripped out of him for the weight gain) and Sharon with anyone else who didn't know she's back in the fold...

 

[~Shard~]

I wonder why no one checked out the ship hulls for integrity before jumping? Four months and all the seals still work.

Maybe they did, how do you know they didn't? As you say, they had 4 months to make sure everything was good.

I really like Baltar's character, yea I know you can call it cheezy or thin, but very few shows have characters like that anymore. lets hope he stays in the picture for a good long time.

Yes, I really enjoy his character as well. I like the twist they've given his character as well compared to the original Baltar. In the classic BSG Baltar was evil - plain and simple. In this BSG though, his character has so much more depth and complexity. It's great.

Brilliant.
Just bloody brilliant.

My thoughts as well. And although you kinda knew Pegasus was coming to the rescue, it didn't end up being a letdown from a predictability aspect - it was perfect, actually, seeing the Pegasus charge in. And then the realization that it was without any Vipers was pretty cool too.

Ah well, the Pegasus in the original series bit the bullet as well, so I guess it was inevitable that the same thing would happen to this one. I like it though - it make things more desperate now, only having one Battlestar again.

And a really great revelation with the Starbuck and Casey story - I knew it wasn't her child! man, talk about the emotional roller coaster Thrace must be on now though...

I loved the desperation with the BSG though as the Basestars closed in. Adama is usually so rock solid, yet when Helo informed him that the FTL drive was down, you could just see the sinking, desperate, vulnerable feeling in Adama. Very well done.

It'll be interesting to see how Baltar fares on a Cylon Basestar, and how the fate of Hera affects things... surely this should have the effect of the Cylons going easier on the Fleet? If they want the species to evolve into Cylon/Human hybrids, they must need as many live humans as possible?

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing - it will indeed be interesting...

I would have been nice to see the reunions though at the end of the episode... Apollo/Starbuck (with him having the p*** ripped out of him for the weight gain) and Sharon with anyone else who didn't know she's back in the fold...

There's always next episode...

 

[spicyapple]

Apollo's weight gain doesn't seem to be prosthetics. It looks too good. I think he gained the weight for real. The whole episode, I was thinking about it and that affected my enjoyment of the show.

 

[emaja]

Apollo's weight gain doesn't seem to be prosthetics.

It is. It has been mentioned in several interviews and articles about this season.

 

[xPismo]

Apollo's weight gain doesn't seem to be prosthetics. It looks too good. I think he gained the weight for real. The whole episode, I was thinking about it and that affected my enjoyment of the show.

I doubt they could pay him enough to gain all that weight so fast. He was so ripped when the introduced Xena (sorry, cant remember character names or show title tonight) that it would just kill to put on all that weight.

Besides, check out all the behind the scenes videos on scifi.com, you can watch him have the prostetics put on every morning (with his brit accent - what area is that accent from?) which must bug him. Being so fit and having to walk around all day in a suit.

 

[Marble]

The fact that it was too convincing affected your enjoyment, spicyapple?

The acting was great, as usual... I'd like to see some of the characters be given a wider range of emotions to express. Many of them do such a good job sprinkling their performances with subtle flaws, hinting at a more complex psychology. Tigh's shock came across nicely pitched, when it could have been too pure, and his "I love you" to Ellen was one of the best "I love you"s I've seen. It really felt like he had never said those words before in his life (which certainly didn't come out of the script).

( EDIT: Missed a bit on this next part )
Speaking of Ellen, though, it's interesting that he and she didn't show up together at the end of the episode. I can't imagine he would have left her behind, but his "not all of them" leaves the door open for now... The problem is that we spent a lot of time with Anders telling Tigh "you know what you have to do" for it not to have made any difference.

I even thought they did the "shoot me, I dare you" scene pretty well. Any writer that uses that device ought to be damn sure they foil the cliche somehow, which partially happens when Baltar's challenge becomes real begging, but it doesn't make sense for him to plead for his death right after telling Gaeta that he can stop Deanna activating the nuke.

I guess we're back to square one, though. It feels good, in a way, but I think they're going to have to make sure that the forthcoming stories depend on the last two years' character and plot development so we don't get episodes that feel like they could have been in season 1. That means making the map to Earth important, the total integration of the two crews important, the fate of the humans employed by the cylons important, etc. I am sad to see the Pegasus go because it gave the two Adamas a very interesting dynamic, as commanders of their respective ships (also, Lee controlling the more modern, "younger" version gave their sometimes-competitive relationship intensity), and also because it represented victory in the whole Pegasus/Resurrection Ship scenario. There were many story opportunities that were missed with the Pegasus, I think, though I understand that its loss helps give the New Caprica rescue attempt weight when there was little other real sacrifice, and raises the stakes for the fleet, once again.

I'm intrigued by what they're going to do with Baltar. Plotwise, it's the only real product of the New Caprica arc.

 

[spicyapple]

The fact that it was too convincing affected your enjoyment, spicyapple?

Indeed. I was so focused on it that I missed the dialogue of the opening scene with Apollo, and if you asked me what happened in the first 10 minutes, I would be at a lost. And the whole battle scene when the Pegasus came to the rescue, I was like "wtf just happened?"

The emotional aspects of this episode was just top-notch, especially Tigh killing his wife, and the whole Starbuck/daughter episode and the shocking revelation at the end... it had me reeling. You could see Starbuck developing into a stronger character, and then boom...

Adama shaved his mustache, hooray!

 

[Marble]

Wow! I completely missed that Tigh poisoned Ellen. Such a big deal was made of her not being/being a cylon in "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" that I expected that to be the focal point (or at least the parting point) of their relationship. We're even more back to basics than I thought. She was such an interesting and unpredictable character. Like Billy, her character had more potential than was realized.

Finally, if there are twelve cylon models, then the "skinjobs" that remain must not have come to New Caprica for some reason, presumably to keep their infiltration hidden. This leaves the possibility that Ellen may return later, with the caveat that Cavill's coercion of Ellen would be pretty strange if she were one of them.

 

[Benjamin]

Fri eps was great plus as said the ftl jump was cool. Anyway something I saw on engadget that BSG fans can appreciate since halloween is just around the corner.

http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/CylonOLantern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7f2dgROVUg

 

[~Shard~]

Apollo's weight gain doesn't seem to be prosthetics

It is. It's been mentioned here and documented elsewhere multiple times.

Speaking of Ellen, though, it's interesting that he and she didn't show up together at the end of the episode. I can't imagine he would have left her behind, but his "not all of them" leaves the door open for now... The problem is that we spent a lot of time with Anders telling Tigh "you know what you have to do" for it not to have made any difference.

Um, not really, since Tigh killed her. No worries, it's easy to miss some of the subtleties of the show at times...

 

[obeygiant]

BEST EPISODE EVAR.

The jump into the atmosphere to launch the vipers and then jump out was bloody brilliant and possibly one of the best moments in science fiction film ever.

awesome awesome awesome episode.

i couldnt agree more. the concept of that scene was amazing. i thought they were going to land and when they jumped away with sound of a gun shot i was blown away.

 

[~Shard~]

i couldnt agree more. the concept of that scene was amazing. i thought they were going to land and when they jumped away with sound of a gun shot i was blown away.

Yep, I rewound that and watched it a couple times! Of course, since Adama had 4-5 months to come up with a plan, you knew it was going to be something amazing like that.

 

[leekohler]

After that episode, I can safely say, that THIS IS THE BEST TELEVISION SHOW EVER MADE.

 

[plinden]

So, in the last series we had Pegasus and Admiral Cain ... are we going to meet the Terrans and the Eastern Alliance, and Count Iblis some time? (I can't believe I know so much a show I actually hated)

 

[spicyapple]

Um, not really, since Tigh killed her. No worries, it's easy to miss some of the subtleties of the show at times...

I re-watched that scene, and I think she knew that Tigh knew she had to die, so she willingly sacrificed her own life by saying.. "I didn't want anybody to be killed... *sniffs* I could use a drink." And then she looks up at Tigh with tears rolling down her eyes. She knew it was poisoned!

It looks like we all missed that one! It was a suicide.

 

[~Shard~]

I re-watched that scene, and I think she knew that Tigh knew she had to die, so she willingly sacrificed her own life by saying.. "I didn't want anybody to be killed... *sniffs* I could use a drink." And then she looks up at Tigh with tears rolling down her eyes. She knew it was poisoned!

It looks like we all missed that one! It was a suicide.

Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines - either she knew Saul was going to kill her, or she poisoned the drink herself and Saul knew that she knew and... well, yeah, there are a few possible variants.

Regardless, a very powerful scene. After all they've been through, Saul already thinking she was dead after the initial attack, etc. and then to have to end it like that just before the rescue. Wow.

 

[nagromme]

Just saw Exodus part 2. The ep had to be big to pay off all the changes leading up to it. And it WAS big. Episode 3 is like the season finale of most other shows!

Big AND subtle at the same time. That's not easily done. Like when Adama was being carried by the crowd and cheered, and then looked over at Saul.

I like Baltar also. Ironically, he has really found some humanity, and even courage--at the same time as the human race finally starts to hate him. Now, I want to see more Baltar hallucinations for Caprica 6! That's the coolest. I just about choked on my own tongue when I saw Baltar at the beginning of Downloaded.

And Leoben, the original Cylon head-gamer, and still the master. Always good to see the master at work Number 3 is pure evil too.

Oh, and all the Vipers BSP left to guard the fleet, what happens when they have to refuel or hit the head? Does the fleet have independant servicing ships independand of the BSs? I never saw them.

My call: it's time to take the fracking gift shop out of starboard flight deck!

I'm intrigued by what they're going to do with Baltar. Plotwise, it's the only real product of the New Caprica arc.

I wouldn't say that: the Cylons have Hera, which is big--plus emotionally, everyone has gone through the war for a year. Actually... literally too Especially Tigh. Not to mention 20% of the human race was wiped out in the Cloud 9 disaster, and humans were turning on humans on the surface. It's not the same society as it was a year earlier. Then there's Tyrol and Gaeta: they really found new roles on the surface. And the new Sharon now suspects what was done to her baby. (Does Adama know about that or not?) And there are all the new marriages, which change the Starbuck/Apollo dynamics, as well as the Tyrol/Boomer dynamics.

And three HUGE changes from this arc:

* Original Boomer is back, BUT has lost touch with her humanity.

* Caprica 6 is back, BUT has gained some humanity.

* New Boomer is a sworn-in soldier of the Colonial Fleet

Plus we have some promotions. After being XO of Pegasus, does Dualla go back to answering the phone?? (Lee is probably quite happy to go back to being CAG.) And am I mistaken, or is Helo now the XO of Galactica?

Assuming Tigh recovers from his torture and replaces Helo, I see him as a much stronger leader and XO than he ever was before. Compare him now to the miniseries! Or to his whole career, which we pretty much get a sense of.

I re-watched that scene, and I think she knew that Tigh knew she had to die, so she willingly sacrificed her own life by saying.. "I didn't want anybody to be killed... *sniffs* I could use a drink." And then she looks up at Tigh with tears rolling down her eyes. She knew it was poisoned!

It looks like we all missed that one! It was a suicide.

I agree. She knew. Suicide forced upon her. Which seems needless, but I guess the other resistance leaders were not going to let it go. Poor Saul! Wow.

i couldnt agree more. the concept of that scene was amazing. i thought they were going to land and when they jumped away with sound of a gun shot i was blown away.

Yeah, I didn't know WHAT the heck they were up to. And the visuals on that were REALLY good--as good as any movie. (Ditto for the battle over the planet, and BSP's demise.)

For a second I thought they were going to crash Galactica on the Cylon fortress! And then rename Pegasus to be the new Galactica.

I would have been nice to see the reunions though at the end of the episode... Apollo/Starbuck (with him having the p*** ripped out of him for the weight gain) and Sharon with anyone else who didn't know she's back in the fold...

Agreed--and how about Adama and Roslin? Maybe next week we'll see some of these reunions.

After that episode, I can safely say, that THIS IS THE BEST TELEVISION SHOW EVER MADE.

Yes. I have really liked other shows--some so different it's hard to even compare--but there's no denying it: compared to BSG, anything else is strictly decaf.

 

[Marble]

Yes. I have really liked other shows--some so different it's hard to even compare--but there's no denying it: compared to BSG, anything else is strictly decaf.

That is the truth. It's even more pronounced with Sci-Fi brothering the new Doctor Who with BSG. The new Doctor Who is the ultimate decaf.

Sorry about the sweeping statement regarding development in the plot. I meant nothing has changed strictly according to the plot: all the character changes aside, the situation on board the Galactica (being chased by the Cylons, off to Earth) is very similar to where it was at the beginning of season 1. The only difference, really, is that Baltar is gone. Even Hera exists mostly to give the fleet goals that include confrontation with the Cylons.

 

[nagromme]

True--Hera's not much of a character per se!

And I see now that Helo replaced Gaeta, not Tigh. So I guess the new XO is some minor character, easily swapped for Tigh again.

 

[Fukui]

Yes. Very Robotech/Macross. The SDF did its first jump in the air just above - dang, which island was that i can't remember

Macross.

(The encoding on this episode was pretty stunning compared to the season opener - if only it was in stereo! )

 

[atszyman]

Well I wasn't completely correct. I knew it wasn't Starbuck's kid, and definitely not a hybrid. However Kayce (sp?) could still be a brainwashed Cylon spy, although that isn't likely.

To add to my ever growing list of completely wrong predictions I think Baltaar will either bring Hera back to the fleet, or he will inform the fleet that Hera is still alive. At this point they know that Maya died in the rescue attempt they don't have any reason too suspect that Hera survived. Until they find this out their objective will be avoiding Cylons and finding Earth, not trying to confront the Cylons.