Battlestar Galactica Forums

This will contain SPOILERS up to the second season finale, please don't post any spoilers from episodes beyond that.

I've been watching BSG for the first time and posting reviews of the episodes(feel free to read those as well), here are some of my thoughts on the series so far that wouldn't really fit into any one review.

Favorite Characters:
1. Doctor/President Gaius Baltar - He's gone from a consummate coward who's only concern is saving his own skin, to a villain like figure. One who's willing to risk the exposure that comes with the spotlight if it gets him his drugs of choice; power, respect, and fame, though he'll settle for infamy on that last one. The democratically elected(in spite of Roslin's best efforts) leader of the Colonies, who yet seems more of a dictator than even his predecessor did. He claimed to have faith when he thought it could save him, and cast it off when he found something more tangible. Even if I didn't love his progression as a character, his performances are consistently amongst my favorites as his dialogue is often the most well written and his delivery only makes it better.

2. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace - Whenever I think of her it's hard not to hear Leoben's words to her in Flesh and Bone. She truly is damaged. A fighter that's been fighting for too long. Fighting with her allies when there were no enemies and with herself when there were no allies. In the cockpit or with her finger on a trigger might be the only times she can forget the things she's endured and made others endure. And yet, she can be happy so long as she has a war to fight, as long as she can live every day like it's her last, she's the one of the happiest people you'll meet. Though she is really covering up more pain than most people could stand. As for the actress, Katee Sackhoff adds to whats on the page in almost all of her scenes, often through her eyes alone.

Admiral Adama(though he was kind of stagnating in the episodes leading up to the finale but gave a good performance in the final 20 minutes), Sharon, and Chief Tyrol round out my top five.

Favorite Episodes:
1. Resurrection Ship Pt. 2 - My favorite of the firefight scenes thus far in the series and an end to my favorite storyline.
2. 33 - I went back and watched this one today to kind of remind myself of it, having developed a relationship with the characters made it much more enjoyable than it was the first time around(and I liked it a lot the first time). The "original" Sharon still unaware of what she truly is, the feeling of desperation amongst the entire crew, Apollo and Adama struggling with the decision to take down the Olympic Carrier, all made for an excellent piece of television.
3. Pegasus - Without a doubt the most intense episode of the series, and just a beautifully crafted one.
4. Kobol's Last Gleaming Pt. 2 - Some brilliant performances combined with incredible visuals.
5. Valley of Darkness - If only for Baltar's dream and Starbuck's scene in her apartment.

Surprisingly Good Stuff:

Cinematography - I really wasn't expecting much in this department but they've delivered some well crafted shots throughout the series and I like the general style of filming they use. Every light is just a touch too bright and every shadow a bit too dim, quick zooms that bring the focus on a character or event, and the hand-held look give the drama and action an interesting aspect. I think the raw feel really works for the show as the characters so often imitate it themselves, whether they're sporting scrapes & bruises or they've been going days without much sleep.

Music - This is a surprise mainly because I knew very little about the show, it became clear to me after time that the music was one of the best aspects. The beautiful repeating themes and gorgeous pieces of music that elevate a good scene into something extraordinary are prevalent through out the series so far and are a big part of the reason my favorite episodes are my favorite episodes.

Least Favorite Characters:
1. Former President(feels good to say that) Laura Roslin - I think I've gone into detail enough about her in my reviews. I will say though I'm curious to see how her fall from grace might affect my view of her. Though then again, as the greatest fictional president of our time Josiah Bartlet would say, she's like crabgrass pulled from the lawn, not by the root, but by the other thing. I doubt Roslin is going to be happy just being a teacher for long. Here's to hoping the Cylons heard about her "killing" Hera and decide to make an example out of her.

2. Colonel Saul Tigh - I can appreciate the gruff, old man who's been through too much to care about much anymore, and I can even appreciate the alcoholic that is drunk more often on duty then he is sober because it's the only way he can stay in the fight. But it's just the incompetence that really irks me. Not even so much for his decisions when he was in command for the first few episodes of the second season(though that was rough), as he made it clear he never wanted to be in command and was obviously unable to deal with the pressure and knowing Adama might die. But once Adama was back on his feet Tigh was still constantly giving bad advice. You'd think after awhile of almost every single person in the room disagreeing with what you're saying, you might just learn to let them speak first and then just pick a side. Though again I'm wondering what the major plot changes could mean for his character as he was also caught on New Caprica.

3. Samuel T. Anders - This is about 70-80% actor, 20-30% character. Most actors on the show put up a solid performance, a few go above & beyond, and a few, like Anders, just don't do anything for me. Also the pro-athlete to resistance fighter thing seems silly. As a way to progress Starbuck's character is about the only reason I can see myself liking him.

That's it really besides a one time guest spot here and there, maybe Kat but she was really only featured in Final Cut and Scar, so it's hard to say she's a least favorite from only two episodes. Apollo sort of walks a fine line but I thought his character saw some progression in the right direction with the second season. And even in the first season he had some good moments(33 for example).So I think he's sort of floating around the middle ground for now.

Least Favorite Episodes:
1. Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
2. Sacrifice
3. Colonial Day
4. Bastille Day(I wanted to get a chance to rewatch this one but I didn't so it's still up here)
5. Flight of the Phoenix(this is only really up here for the Cylon virus plot, specifically the culminating scene in the CIC. And to round out the top five, as I actually enjoyed most of the episode).

General Dislikes/Disappointments:

Intro - I really can't stand them flashing scenes from the episode during the opening credits. It's not that hard to just close my eyes but it feels like they're pandering to viewers with such short attention spans that they need an extra incentive to watch an episode. I'm not one of those viewers and I don't want the creators of shows I like to have to go after those kind of viewers.

Dialogue - This is more of a disappointment(not that I was expecting great dialogue, just hoping). I will say that averaged out BSG's dialogue isn't bad, average at worst. It's got some low spots and some nice moments, but dialogue is the most important thing to me so I always judge it harshly. There have been a handful of beautifully written lines though.

That's it besides Roslin's cancer cure, sometimes the writing in general can get a little hokey. But at it's worst BSG isn't really a bad show, as it almost always seems to be doing something more than the industry standard.