Last tuesday, I finally saw the mid season finale of Battlestar Galactica. It took me a long time to become a fan of this show but slowly and quite painlessly I got there, and this episode sealed the deal for me. Needless to say, I was impressed. Very impressed.
By the way, there are some minor spoilers ahead, in case anyone’s interested.
Back in 2005, BSG: The Miniseries aired in South America. When I saw the previews I knew I had to see it. I’d never seen the original version, so I had no frame of reference to make comparisons and really didn’t know what it was about. I just thought it looked interesting and new in the sense that it seemed like a much darker approach to the “space saga”.
After the first 10 minutes I turned the tele off. I remember I found it very slow. Also, the first time a character said “frak” completely extracted me from the story.
Two years later I was in bed, sick as a dog, flipping through channels. Then I saw something that caught my attention: Rebel fighters among ruins. Their uniforms seemed vaguely familiar. I decided to watch the whole thing and I loved it. Then came the previews for the following week and I realized it was Battlestar Galactica season 2.
I’ve been hooked ever since.
I saw the miniseries last week and LOVED every second of it. That was a great piece of storytelling. The writers were able to set up the reality of its characters in a way that was very believable. Even the word “frak” seems to make sense.
On the miniseries, after the destruction of the 12 colonies, the search for the mythical planet called Earth became humanity’s reason for being, despite the possibility of this search coming to fruition being originally a little lie told by Bill Adama to keep everyone hopeful. Later on this search became possible by means I cannot comment on due to not having seen the first part of the series.
Then comes season four’s mid season finale. The cylons and humans finally find common ground and make peace. Starbuck’s special destiny pays off. The final four cylons are revealed to the fleet and are forgiven. All in the name of Earth. Tears are shed, people laugh and celebrate as their reason for being becomes a reality.
And as cylons and humans land on Earth, instead of finding a place to call home they find a nuclear wasteland? Holly fraking unexpected genius plot twist! That’s the type of cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more but not in an annoying way.
The highlight of the episode:
The faces that say it all. Come to think of it, they had the same expression I had when I finished film school.
And now comes the long wait until next year to get the answers to the questions: What the hell happened on Earth? Did the cylons attack too? Did humans on Earth finally self destroy? Who the hell is the final cylon model and why should we care now that they’re on Earth? Are humans and cylons finally going to live together in peace and make lots of hybrid babies, thus ending humanity as they know it?
At least the first two seasons will keep me occupied until the new and final episodes air.
If by any chance any of the writers of Battlestar Galactica ever read this:
I WANT TO BE LIKE YOU WHEN I GROW UP.
And that’s all for now. I hope I didn’t bore any of you to death with my neurotic monologue.
Until next time…Have fun!