I remember listening to the Descendents and thinking about how it would be when I was all growed up. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Battlestar Galactica Finale
I started watching Battlestar Galactica about five episodes in to the first season, after a considerable amount of badgering on my friend's part. As with any series, and I am sure it is this way with a lot of people, getting to absorb several episodes in one shot can really get you in to the show far easier than digesting each episode on a weekly basis. Through rough patches and grand story arcs, I am very much glad I did.
I was hooked right off the bat by the scenarios that the story telling produced. I kept thinking, this is real terrorism, and it is thrilling to watch play out, not knowing when the next attack may happen, or who may perpetrate it. I do not really think that was a mistake, having watched the last behind the scenes special they did, and hearing the writer talk about how they were conceptualizing it fresh off the heels of 9/11. Regardless, the absolute tension that the actors conveyed; the fear that they placed in to the viewer's mind was thick with entertainment.
As the seasons rolled on, inevitably they had to show us who the enemy was, and ultimately remove a lot of that tension from the show. This was regrettable, yet necessary to move the story along. I have to admit my fan resolve waned ever so slightly during this period, though it did shoot right back when we got to see Adama drop down to 500 feet or so off new Caprica before jumping away during the liberation episode. That was magnificent to say the least, and a feat not matched, in this writer's humble opinion, until this finale episode with the "parking" of Galactica outside the enemy base ship.
The show kept us with it, though, no matter what was happening. We needed to know who was right and who was wrong. We needed to know what every one's role really meant to the big picture.
The network announced the end of the show, and I understood it. I didn't like it, but I understood it. I reset myself in to a new mode of viewing, analyzing each action and each line of dialog, and understanding it to be keys to knowledge that will ultimately answer all the questions put forth. I was on the fence about the last few episodes. None of it really felt like it was moving toward a finish line, let alone a conclusion that would be satisfying by any stretch, but I consumed each moment with great expectations and labored on.
The finale itself was exquisite. We Finally got to see that all these flashbacks were leading up to the realization of the motives behind each of the key characters throughout the journey. Apollo and Starbuck could never really be, with the spectre of Apollo's brother looming over them. These kinds of revelations (though we knew some of them through the innate actions of the characters) permeate the final moments and take portions of dialog that were peppered though out the series and illustrate them in honest and tangible forms to put punctuation marks on their individual stories.
The action scenes were equally as marvelous. The arrival scene of the Galactica, and subsequent defensive attack placed on it, showed that even though this was the final episode, the effects team had the fans in mind and put on an awesome display.
I particularly liked how the opera house vision finally found its way to the end, and how the placement of the final five on the upper deck of the CIC mirrored their placement in the visions. As the final control room showdown commenced, I could not help but wonder whether or not the choices that they were making were going to break the cycle, or whether they were perpetuating the same choices made time and time again.
Finally, everything ended the way it should, with all of the crew disbanding and finding a new life for themselves on a new planet. Starbuck disappearing and the death of Roslin were both bittersweet in their inevitability and added a sense of finality that helped begin the story closure. The brief glimpse of the future at the end was a nice touch, showing that though they had tried so hard to keep history from repeating itself yet again, there is still a chance.
I really do have a hard time when really good things come to an end, but when it is done with good taste, keeping the best intentions for the fans and the story itself in mind, it makes it all seem that much more relevant, that your invested time was worth it, and so much more.
Godspeed Samuel Anders, and you best believe I will be watching out for whatever Ronald Moore comes up with in the future.
I was hooked right off the bat by the scenarios that the story telling produced. I kept thinking, this is real terrorism, and it is thrilling to watch play out, not knowing when the next attack may happen, or who may perpetrate it. I do not really think that was a mistake, having watched the last behind the scenes special they did, and hearing the writer talk about how they were conceptualizing it fresh off the heels of 9/11. Regardless, the absolute tension that the actors conveyed; the fear that they placed in to the viewer's mind was thick with entertainment.
As the seasons rolled on, inevitably they had to show us who the enemy was, and ultimately remove a lot of that tension from the show. This was regrettable, yet necessary to move the story along. I have to admit my fan resolve waned ever so slightly during this period, though it did shoot right back when we got to see Adama drop down to 500 feet or so off new Caprica before jumping away during the liberation episode. That was magnificent to say the least, and a feat not matched, in this writer's humble opinion, until this finale episode with the "parking" of Galactica outside the enemy base ship.
The show kept us with it, though, no matter what was happening. We needed to know who was right and who was wrong. We needed to know what every one's role really meant to the big picture.
The network announced the end of the show, and I understood it. I didn't like it, but I understood it. I reset myself in to a new mode of viewing, analyzing each action and each line of dialog, and understanding it to be keys to knowledge that will ultimately answer all the questions put forth. I was on the fence about the last few episodes. None of it really felt like it was moving toward a finish line, let alone a conclusion that would be satisfying by any stretch, but I consumed each moment with great expectations and labored on.
The finale itself was exquisite. We Finally got to see that all these flashbacks were leading up to the realization of the motives behind each of the key characters throughout the journey. Apollo and Starbuck could never really be, with the spectre of Apollo's brother looming over them. These kinds of revelations (though we knew some of them through the innate actions of the characters) permeate the final moments and take portions of dialog that were peppered though out the series and illustrate them in honest and tangible forms to put punctuation marks on their individual stories.
The action scenes were equally as marvelous. The arrival scene of the Galactica, and subsequent defensive attack placed on it, showed that even though this was the final episode, the effects team had the fans in mind and put on an awesome display.
I particularly liked how the opera house vision finally found its way to the end, and how the placement of the final five on the upper deck of the CIC mirrored their placement in the visions. As the final control room showdown commenced, I could not help but wonder whether or not the choices that they were making were going to break the cycle, or whether they were perpetuating the same choices made time and time again.
Finally, everything ended the way it should, with all of the crew disbanding and finding a new life for themselves on a new planet. Starbuck disappearing and the death of Roslin were both bittersweet in their inevitability and added a sense of finality that helped begin the story closure. The brief glimpse of the future at the end was a nice touch, showing that though they had tried so hard to keep history from repeating itself yet again, there is still a chance.
I really do have a hard time when really good things come to an end, but when it is done with good taste, keeping the best intentions for the fans and the story itself in mind, it makes it all seem that much more relevant, that your invested time was worth it, and so much more.
Godspeed Samuel Anders, and you best believe I will be watching out for whatever Ronald Moore comes up with in the future.
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