| TV-Commentary - Battlestar Galactica |
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The Return of Starbuck - What was that all about?
In the waning days of the truly awful series Galactica 1980 they had one last episode to shoot before they were cancelled, so they decided to tell the story of "What happened to Starbuck". Dirk Benedict, like Richard Hatch, had been booted from the series after the first season, but they brought him back for this farewell show.
We learn that Lieutenant Starbuck crashes his colonial viper on a planet along with a Cylon ship, but all the Cylons are deactivated. Bored and lonely, Starbuck reactivates ones and becomes pals with it. If that wasn't enough, Starbuck meets some chick from another dimension who somehow becomes pregnant with his son, even though Starbuck didn't lay a glove on her. Then Starbuck repairs his colonial viper and lets the baby go in it while staying stranded on the planet himself.
What's going on here? Where did this woman come from, how did she get pregnant from Starbuck, and why in the world would he agree to leave himself stranded there? This episode was one giant mass of irritation and confusion.
At the very end of this episode, you see Starbuck, standing there, jettisoned on this wilderness planet next to a crash site, very symbolic for the turn of events that culuminated in the awful Galactica 1980 series.
By the way, did anyone notice that the three Cylons who landed on the planet at the end... must have come in a second cylon ship? At that point, Starbuck could have left at any time.
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The commentator rand
posts on 3/13/2006 2:05:28 PM
bbj, i think we all take ourselves much too seriously the older we get. i understand we have responsibilities that take up most of our time, but i feel it's very important for our mental health to do something childish at least once a day just to vent the pressure that builds up. that's one of the main reasons i love the original galactica and star trek so much. they make me feel like a kid for awhile. of course, when i turn the tv off and look in the mirror i think MY GOD, shatner, nimoy, dirk and richard were all younger then than i am now. take care.
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Brokeback Jedi
posts on 3/13/2006 1:44:45 PM
Hey RAND...nothing could be more truthful than what you just said. It's a lot of work to keep the fires of youth alive when so much junk is going on around us on a daily basis. I suppose it's not dead...it just doesn't get out to play as often anymore.
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The commentator rand
posts on 3/12/2006 10:13:03 PM
bbj, i have discovered that you have to work at keeping the old inner child alive. but it's worth it. after you're grown up you only have two options, getting older and dying. and while i don't dwell on my childhood i don't see anything wrong in reliving a little of it here and there through the movies and television shows i enjoyed as a kid. take care.
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Brokeback Jedi
posts on 3/12/2006 9:19:31 PM
Nothing against the "cheesy" sci-fi of the past. Sometimes I wish life would have spared the wild and childish acceptance inside of me for such things as I was growing up, otherwise, I might enjoy the same shows now that I did as a kid. On that note, Starship Troopers and Have Spacesuit Will Travel (the books) are favs of mine. The Troopers movie wasn't much like the book, but as far as the cheesy sci-fi's go, I actually sort of enjoy the movie. Go figure.
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The commentator rand
posts on 3/12/2006 3:29:29 AM
bbj, that's one of the arguments i always make about sci-fi. it has the most potential of any genre in literature. you're not confined to earth, you can go anywhere, meet any type of creatures, travel through time, speak face to face with GOD, anything. and it dosen't have to be the classic hollywood sci-fi with robots and ray guns either. the only limitation should be the creator's imagination. have you ever read any of the old sci-fi pulps from the twenties, thirties and forties? those writers had far more imagination than anyone in hollywood today. as a matter of fact, and this might surprise you since you know the great affection i have for the so called "Cheesy" sci-fi, but my all time favorite sci-fi author is arthur c. clarke. bradbury is great also, he has a little boy's wild imagination. as a matter of fact, i challenge any star trek fan to read clarke's "the city and the stars" and tell me gene rodenberry didn't read it before creating star trek. take care.
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Brokeback Jedi
posts on 3/12/2006 12:53:27 AM
It's too bad that sci-fi is a niche genre. I wish more people were into it and maybe we'd all have more to choose from. Regardless of what you like or dislike, there simply isn't enough sci-fi programming, period. I just can't understand how people can stimulate their minds on the infinite incarnations of reality television, or the ever-mounting numbers of doctor, lawyer and cop shows. The world is coming to an end boys and girls...the majority of the human race has been subdued...I'm afraid we're all that's left.
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pimanatknox
posts on 3/7/2006 12:56:47 PM
I just want to say that I am overwhelmed, Rand, by your elevated opinion of me. Yes, sometimes, me - even me, can be civil. Thanks man. And take care.
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The commentator rand
posts on 3/1/2006 10:26:17 PM
john,please don't take offence at my earlier posts, my anger was not directed toward you, but rather galactica fan and bach. both you and squid and sometimes even pieman, sometimes, seem to be a decent guys who respects the feelings of others and i respect your feelings in return. you are not a gino zombies. and to answer your question about the people from terra, no they are not related to the colonials. boomer says in the episode "greetings from earth" that they are the first humans they have ever encountered who weren't descendants of the thirteen tribes. their language and terminology was completely different. take care.
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johnny123
posts on 3/1/2006 7:41:34 PM
You're right..its not a big hit but it is good enough for it to stay on the air and it probably is the SciFi channels best rated show. I'm sure it beats out Stargate and its rotten sidekick Stargate Atlantis.
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The commentator rand
posts on 2/28/2006 11:15:24 PM
john, that is all i'm trying to say. gino might be doing good enough to stay on the air, but it is not this incredible smash, mega hit that the sci-fi channel makes it out to be. not everyone in the world is tuning in on friday night to catch it and hang on to every word. take care.
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johnny123
posts on 2/28/2006 10:58:08 PM
Well, for sci fi, its doing very good. For the most part, sci fi programming is a niche market and doesn't have a huge following in the first place. Shows like Law and Order appeal more to the masses and all the kids love Sponge Bob so thats a big draw for Nick.
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The commentator rand
posts on 2/28/2006 10:28:29 PM
and it is still getting killed in the ratings by reruns of older shows like law and order, john. even sponge bob square pants beats galactica regularly. so does wwf wrestling on usa. all i am trying to say is that it is not the smash monster hit that most gino fans would have you believe. nor has it forever changed science fiction. in all honesty, the best you can say is it's holding its head above water. by the way, i saw a movie on cable the other night called wing commander. the space ships had doors like those on a submarine with hubs that had to be locked. the fighters shot bullets and missiles. and it was made long before ron moore made sci-fi more "GRITTY and REALISTIC." take care.
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johnny123
posts on 2/28/2006 5:05:55 PM
In the 70's there were 3 networks and a small handful of cable channels. Look at the spectrum now. There are dozens of networks and hundreds of cable channels and this pie we call an audience is split up among all those channels. So in all, the new series is doing just fine and is in fact one of the SciFi channels best shows.
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Galacticafan
posts on 2/27/2006 10:34:35 AM
Actually the second season will end with 20 episodes including two-parters. Season 1 had just 13. Season 3 is signed on and I believe production is underway.
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The commentator Bang Bang
posts on 2/27/2006 4:52:20 AM
The issue of ratings aside, I'm completely puzzled by how few episodes there are of the new Galactica in a season. GINO's new season will be wrapping up shortly, so how many episodes has that been for the year? Rand guessed eleven. That sounds about right. The original Battlestar Galactica had twenty-two episodes in the 1978-1979 season, counting the two-parters, if my math is right. And let's not forget, the original was pre-empted probably more than any other show in TV history. And just a personal observation of the entire Katee Sackhoff versus Dirk Benedict affair: a fan of the new show--I can't quite remember who it was--remarked that Benedict's Starbuck was unsavory, and not the kind of person they'd want to hang around with. So, they'll insult the original Starbuck character, saying he's a bad person--but they'll support this bunch of sociopathic misfits on the new battlestar! It's like the pot calling the kettle black. Maybe the original, true Starbuck liked to gamble, party a little bit, "play the field" as far as dating goes, but he was certainly a hero when it counted most, and even the angels aboard the Ship of Lights felt the same way. The scene aboard the Rising Star in "The Long Patrol"--where Starbuck is trying to have dinner with both Cassiopeia and Athena at the same time, in different rooms, much to the amusement of the waiter--is hilarious. We've all known someone like Starbuck in our lives--a free spirit, someone who loves life--and this is exactly what the new Galactica needs. The real Starbuck would never be so withdrawn, mean, insubordinate, and utterly disrespectful of other people's feelings. I was willing to give Miss Sackhoff a chance, but she's SINO--Starbuck In Name Only.
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The commentator rand
posts on 2/27/2006 12:02:32 AM
pieman, you of all people say the ratings don't matter? boy, aren't we changing our tune all the sudden. how then do we judge gino as a success? just because it is the top rated show on a second rate cable network? it is the proverbial big fish in a little pond, and i mean a very little pond. reruns of law and order on usa beat this thing like a cheap drum in the ratings. face it my friend, and i really do like you. i just don't know why. but the sun is fast setting on gino. more and more people are seeing it for the cnn inspired soap opera it is with each and every episode. sex and violence can only carry you so far if you don't have an uplifting story to tell, and mr. moore does not. take care.
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pimanatknox
posts on 2/25/2006 12:40:18 PM
I don't see how the sun is setting on the good BSG. It's ratings are solid and it remains a flagship of Sci Fi's programming and it does this despite the horrible day and time of it's airings. Usually shows with BSG's timeslot go the way of the Dodo even on a major network. Anyway, from what I understand the ratings of BSG aren't a good way of measuring its success. Apparently it is one of the top ten most downloaded shows online and is the fifth most TIVO-ed show – and this is out of all the shows on television mind you. And Rand, there is also the fact that the green light for season three was given several months ago as Sci Fi is so thrilled with the quality and genius work of Mr Ron Moore. It's kind of amusing actually – the good BSG already has twice the episodes of the old and it's run isn't even close to finishing. But such is life.
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The commentator rand
posts on 2/19/2006 2:32:39 PM
commentrian, the shame of it all is that even with the drastic changes mr. moore made to the characters the original premise of galactica is still such a wonderful and timeless story that reimagined should have been at least a good series. i feel he's written himself into a corner. in this universe devoid of any alien life, the storyline must be devoted entirely to the human-human conflict in the fleet and the human-cylon conflict. there's no time for a breather, for any escapisim. mr. moore, if you're reading this, how about a story about a single family aboard one of the smaller ships in the fleet? about how the father and mother struggle to keep their family together amidst all the hardships of their situation. you could even have one of the children experimenting with some strange space drug or wanting to join a newly formed cult like religion. or at least show us something new about the cylons, their homeworld, how they developed their superior technology or monotheistic religion after being created by a polytheistic civilization. i honestly don't see any other directions you can take unless you want to continue giving us the same old same old. also, apparently the original boomer, adama's would be assasin will be reborn in next week's episode. how this is possible after the destruction of the resurrection ship i don't know. unless she is reborn on the cylon homeworld. from the few seconds i saw, it looks like boomer didn't want to come back as a cylon. are we about to go the old frankenstein routine? how does it go? "DID I REQUEST THEE MAKER FROM MY CLAY TO MAKE ME A FEMBOT?" actually, i think mary borrowed that from some guy named milton. i admit i'm not big on the classics. anyway, take care.
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commentrian
posts on 2/19/2006 1:34:58 AM
Rand i agree with you 100% this show is lost in space.... Rion needs to find Joe s of Babylon 5 fame and have him save this abortion ...i am so tired of cylons appearing a bad space battle ..which withthe machine guns ..would be naviagation terror
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The commentator rand
posts on 2/18/2006 2:05:22 PM
hi, everyone. it's time for rand's weekly revue. this friday's episode of reimagined introduced me to a character i actually kind of liked, the pegasus new commander. he hated starb-tch, which really put me in good with him. unfortunately, he perished in the same episode...in a heroic fashion yet. but as it usually goes on gino, for every one bright spot there are multiple malignant ones, most featuring ms. sackett and her perpetual frown. GOD, this chick reminds me of a young, gay martha stewart. was she nursed on lemon juice as a baby? the presidential elections are coming up, so get ready for lots of political intrigue that would be distasteful even for the national democratic party. tom zarack wants baltar to run for president. why? i don't have the slightest idea. unless he has dirt on baltar which he will use to control him if baltar does win. or maybe tom's a cylon. will the current president use what she knows about baltar's involvement with number six to hold onto her power? one thing you can say about this show is it does make you paranoid. the topic of abortion was also brought up. amazingly, some people were against it while others favored it. NO ONE EVER AGAIN ACCUSE RON MOORE OF ROBBING TODAY'S HEADLINES FOR STORY IDEAS! that was sarcasm, by the way. also, there was a battle, but once more it was filmed so badly i couldn't make out which end was up, and there were so many moving targets on the screen, so much flack flying everywhere that i couldn't tell the good guys from the colonials. mr. moore, you need to watch more episodes of the classic babylon five, you still haven't mastered its beautifully staged and filmed space battles. also, lee is promoted yet again, this time to command of the pegasus, which is now referred to as the beast. shouldn't tigh have been given command of the pegasus since he was second in command of the fleet and the galactica? don't get me wrong, i can't stand the guy, but wouldn't that have been more REALISTIC than promoting lee from major, over colonel, to commander? what's the colonial word for nepotisim?once more, other than the battle and the pegasus commander's rare act of heroisim, this was just another boring episode of this rapidly fading series. enjoy it while you can true believers cause the sun is setting fast.
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