MovieChat Forums > Battlestar Galactica (2005) Discussion > Had a hard time following this

Had a hard time following this

posted 4 years ago by drrclavan (667)
27 replies | jump to latest

As explained in another post, I watched the original series as a kid and I loved it. Good guys (humans) against bad 'guys' (cylons). And it was easy to tell the difference. Humans looked like humans and cylons had a moving red dot in front of their metallic face.

This new series however is complicated as fuck. You really don't know who's human anymore and who's not. I watched the entire series and in the end I felt like EVERYBODY was secretly a cylon! What the fuck?

They totally messed this series up.

[–] GuyVO (20) 4 years ago

The whole point of the series is that it's not about stereotypical good guys vs stereotypical bad guys. Everyone does good and bad things from time to time. The series forces you to think about moral standards.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

Yeah, that's where it lost me. It became boring.

[–] drrclavan (667) 4 years ago

I don't WANT (or need) to be made to think about moral standards. After a day of hard work I just want to be entertained by some good science fiction where good humans fight bad cylons. I'd watch a drama if was interested in moral stuff.

[–] asom (6835) 4 years ago

so watch (rewatch) stargate ...

[–] kuatorises (7467) 4 years ago

No, "everyone" is not a cylon.

This is considered one of the best TV shows of all time and definitely best sci fi show of all time.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

Best tv shows of all time? I would strongly disagree with that. It's the type of show that is fun to watch the first time. But it does not hold up at all upon repeating viewings.

[–] kuatorises (7467) 4 years ago

It's always brought up as one of the better shows ever made:

https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/3/31/21200073/battlestar-galactica-streaming-binge-watch-review
https://mashable.com/article/battlestar-galactica-so-say-we-all-history/
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/100-greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time-105998/battlestar-galactica-2-110724/
https://wealthygorilla.com/best-tv-shows/
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-tv-shows-ever-2/

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

Yeah, I can see maybe SF but not overall.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

It's the type of show that is fun to watch the first time. But it does not hold up at all upon repeating viewings.

Quite the opposite. The series is even better in the second watch.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

I've tried a few times to watch it again. Can't get into it.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

You said in another that you didn't finish it because you felt the story made no sense. If you're starting again, with these expectations, it's normal that you can't get into it.

Perhaps I'd recommend to read some spoilers about how it ends and how it wraps the story. Some people hated the ending, some people loved it. I loved it. It seems that what's happening is just non-sense. Actually, it makes sense because (spoilers) the supernatural elements were actually... supernatural. That's the final plot twist. Since the series is scifi, it seems that the supernatural stuff is gonna be explained in a logical and scientific way. Actually, there's a second supernatural plot happening playing with both Cylons and humans, and once you rewatch the series, you can see clearly how it has been there hidden in plain sight but you couldn't see them because... how could there be supernatural elements in a scifi series? I loved that.

The problem is you think that the series is just a bunch of non-sense like Lost, you're not gonna have the motivation to keep watching it.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

Yeah, that doesn't make it any more appealing. I have tried watching the series again but I can't. It doesn't hold up for me.

[–] Galactus03 (4373) 4 years ago

Hahahaha..except for the special effects it got pretty bad......it was a messy storyline and the producers did a "Lost" on us. They had no fukcing plan. They swept lots of shit under the rug. Than the awful prequel series.

The show was quickly forgotten and is NOT considered one of the best worth most fans. Heck Farscape is probably one of the best scifi shows in the last 20 years. It doesn't get nearly the praise as this show got.

[–] FFNogoodnik (775) 4 years ago

The problem I had with it is it is NOT a Battlestar Galactica series. It has more in common with "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" than "Battlestar Galactica"

I know the original series was done in the late 70's so storylines were simpler because you could not watch a show 4 or 5 times each week but when the reboot was announced I got really excited. The original series concept, our forefathers being the 13th colony, was fantastic but the new series ignored that and went a totally different way.

It did not even pretend to be different, where the original series used ancient names like "Athena" , "Cassiopeia" and "Apollo" as actual names in order to tie into that concept the new series made it their call signs like they were in the current US Military. At one point Apollo is wearing a regular suit which makes it seem like these people are from Earth and going out to space and not the other way around.

The new series was CLEARLY a different idea that someone felt could not make it on its own so they made a few tweaks here and there and dropped the name "Battlestar Galactica" on it to get a built in audience.

[–] drrclavan (667) 4 years ago

EXACTLY this!

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

This is probably the best sci-fi series to date. Period.

It's convoluted and full of plot twists. You watch it a second time, and you notice how everything is there hidden in plain sight. It's a masterpiece.

And no, it's not "good guys vs bad guys, pew pew pew!". Fortunately, it's much better than that.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

It might make my top 10 SF series ever, based on it's first few seasons, which I did enjoy. Then I realized they had no idea what they were doing or where they were going with the story and it showed. Just like in Lost. By the time I stopped watching it, which I think was early in season four, I had lost all interest in every single character.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

The story is nicely wrapped and makes sense. There's holes, of course, but this is nothing like Lost.

I got completely disappointed with Lost. On the other hand, Battlestar Galactica became my favorite scifi series, ending included.

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Really? I loved it for the first three seasons and then I felt like it lost its way though I kept watching to the end. I think they took some bold risks that hurt them (certain aspects with Starbuck) but I love that they took risks.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

I have explained why it makes sense in a comment above. Be aware of the spoilers.

Truth to be told, there's people who liked the ending and final twist, and people who didn't. (spoilers) The people who didn't like the ending thought that the religious/supernatural stuff in the series being real was... cheating. I don't think so. They were talking about that supernatural stuff the whole series, but since the series was scifi, it seemed that it had to be some mythological beliefs... and it happened to be real. Some people hated this. I thought it was brilliant.

[–] ILJtheFirst (2104) 4 years ago

All that BS where Starbuck died, but she didn't die. The show jumped the shark from that point onward. The reboot is one of the worst sci fi shows ever made.

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Yeah that bothered me too. We were all waiting for the explanation and then it was like, Whut? I also didn't like how Apollo got sidelined to emphasize Starbuck's plotline with Anders (Michael Trucco). Nothing wrong with Anders as a character but he had no relationship to the original series and it bothered me that Apollo's plotline got so washed out as that was a character I really liked from the original series.

I liked the reboot as a whole, just some things I didn't like about it.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

All that BS where Starbuck died, but she didn't die. The show jumped the shark from that point onward.

OK, perhaps you didn't finish the series. Let me clarify that. Spoilers, obviously.

Starbuck died. Completely dead. 100% dead. Period. She was sent back from death as an 'angel/spirit' to guide them to Earth. Once her mission is complete, she vanishes in thin air.

[–] ILJtheFirst (2104) 4 years ago

Ok thanks for clarifying. The explaination needed to be part of the show, not found out afterwards.

[–] drrclavan (667) 4 years ago

Plot twists? You are confusing actual plot twists with the writers not having a clue what to come up with next and so they reveal how yet another human is actually a cylon, good for another few episodes.

The only thing hidden in plain sight is the writers' incompetence to come up with a coherent story that does justice to the original series.

I very much enjoyed the original series' good vs bad, pew pew pew.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

i think the first 20 episodes or so - basically up to the two part home episodes - might be my favourite run of any tv show. it got a little mixed for me after that, but i still think it's an extraordinarily good show. & i love the final episode, right until the final 10 minutes or so, when they did something i hate so much!

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Yeah, agree there. 33 is probably one of my favorite all-time episodes of television ever. Everything the showrunners did that i didn't like, was worth it for that episode.