Battlestar Galactica: Season 4 Thread

[Shryke]

[quote name='Lord of the North' post='1314778' date='Apr 15 2008, 08.49']Yeah. Freaker is his call-sign, I think? He was a Pegasus pilot, and seemed to be the second ranking pilot when he came aboard Galatica with Stinger in [i]Pegasus[/i].

I've been rewatching the series and I really hope they explain what happened to Baltar and Caprica Six during the attacks. Six definitely died, and it seems like Baltar did as well. Now they are seeing visions, whom seem to be pushing them towards bringing the Humans and Cylons together. Head Six pushed Baltar towards the Presidency and thus, New Caprica. Head Baltar pushed Caprica Six towards the occupation of humanity. So, whats going on?[/quote]

Maybe he came back just like Starbuck. He's still needed, so after he died, he came right back somehow.

[Werthead]

[quote name='Lord of the North' post='1314778' date='Apr 15 2008, 14.49']Yeah. Freaker is his call-sign, I think? He was a Pegasus pilot, and seemed to be the second ranking pilot when he came aboard Galatica with Stinger in [i]Pegasus[/i].[/quote]

Lt. Noel Allison, a senior combat pilot on [i]Pegasus[/i] with 48 confirmed kills to his name. His callsign is 'Narcho'.

British TV pundit Charlie Brooker's somewhat amusing take on [b]BSG[/b]:
[quote]It's good. It's bad. It's gad. What is? Battlestar Galactica (Tue, 9pm, Sky One), that's what - one of those shows that annoys and delights in equal measure, playfully rubbing your thigh with one hand as it jabs you in the eye with the other. The pluses outweigh the minuses overall and it's curiously addictive... but, my God, it rubs me up the wrong way sometimes.

If you haven't seen it, it's an accomplished "re-imagining" of the original Battlestar Galactica - television's answer to Star Wars, which hit bulbous old-school screens worldwide way back in 1978, when all other TV shows were made of wood. The initial excitement of the show's deep-space dogfighting soon palled, though, when viewers realised they were effectively watching the same sequences again and again and again. Special effects were so laborious and expensive back then the makers could only afford a limited number of money shots, which were remixed each week ad nauseum until the whole thing seemed to be taking place in the Deja Vu Dimension.

By contrast, the new Galactica nonchalantly pisses out one state-of-the-art FX sequence after another, making it look easy. Its space battles are immense, densely populated affairs that often veer into psychedelic complexity. Yet the show offers them up with a shrug because the dogfights are little more than pleasant distractions; it's far more concerned with pursuing its complex allegorical storyline.

And said storyline is so complex and so allegorical, there's hardly any point in trying to sketch an explanation for newcomers, mainly because I don't really understand it myself. There are humans and Cylons, see. The Cylons are these sort of robot things that look like people, and they're the bad guys, except sometimes they're not.

The two sides are at war, with the Cylons being a bit like the terrorists and the humans being a bit like the Americans, except sometimes it's the other way round. Oh, and it's essentially a religious war because the humans believe in lots of old-school multiple Gods, like the ancient Egyptians (who they may or may not be closely related to), while the Cylons believe in "the one true God", who presumably has a microchip for a face and sits on a big throne of pixels in the sky.

In other words: if you haven't watched the show before but fancy tuning in this week, don't bother. It'll make less sense than a wool piano. Go back to the start on DVD first. It's well worth it, although you'll have to adjust your filter in order to overlook some glaring drawbacks: half the cast look like underwear models, there's a lot of gung-ho Top Gun bullshit, and it often takes itself so insanely seriously you start wishing someone would bend over and blow off in a Cylon's face or something just to lighten the mood.

Regular viewers, meanwhile, will be pleased to know that as season four opens, it's business as usual, ie moody and complicated. All your favourite characters are present and correct. The deeply conflicted Colonel Tigh stands on the deck hammily swiveling his one good eye around like a tortoise impersonating a pirate, while pineapple-faced Admiral Adama stands alongside emanating one gruff, depressive sigh after another. And my favourite character - sweaty, panicking, Withnail-look-and-sound-alike Dr Gaius Baltar - is still getting space-pussy thrown at him by the bucketload for no apparent reason: now a reluctant guru, he's been whisked off and hidden away in a sort of Temple Of Quim, full of lithe young women worshipping his every pube.

Overall, it seems just as preposterous, glum and strangely compelling as ever, so hooray. This being the last season, they're presumably going to reach Earth in the final episode and live unhappily ever after, squinting suspiciously at each other until the end of time.[/quote]

[Lord of Oop North]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1315164' date='Apr 15 2008, 13.12']Lt. Noel Allison, a senior combat pilot on [i]Pegasus[/i] with 48 confirmed kills to his name. His callsign is 'Narcho'.[/quote]

Ah! I recall that name too.

Is there a pilot named Freaker? I thought there was. If not, there bloody well should be. That callsign is almost as cool as 'Husker', which is the coolest one yet.

edit: spelling booboo.

[Merentha]

[quote name='Lord of the North' post='1315335' date='Apr 15 2008, 14.52']Ah! I recall that name too.

Is there a pilot named Freaker? I thought there was. If not, there bloody well should be. That callsign is almost as cool as 'Husher', which is the coolest one yet.[/quote]
Husker. And no, I can't recall a pilot named Freaker

[Werthead]

Lt. Mei Firelli is a [i]Pegasus[/i] officer with the callsign 'Freaker'. It's assumed that he is a Raptor pilot or ECO since he transported the [i]Pegasus[/i]' digital library to [i]Galactica[/i]. He's the guy Gaeta asked if there was any porn in the library.

[Guest Raidne]

I finally caught the last episode and thought it was a lot of hodgepodge thrown together in order to get everything set up for the search for earth. Hopefully next week's episode is better. It looked promising.

At least Starbuck called out the President about visions and faith and such in the way we all wanted.

[mcbigski]

[quote name='Lord of the North' post='1314778' date='Apr 15 2008, 09.49']I've been rewatching the series and I really hope they explain what happened to Baltar and Caprica Six during the attacks. Six definitely died, and it seems like Baltar did as well. Now they are seeing visions, whom seem to be pushing them towards bringing the Humans and Cylons together. Head Six pushed Baltar towards the Presidency and thus, New Caprica. Head Baltar pushed Caprica Six towards the occupation of humanity. So, whats going on?[/quote]

What makes you think Baltar actually died? Maybe we're just splitting hairs here and it's divine intervention either way, but I figure it would probably be easier for God to just spare him from the shockwave of the nuclear blast and have Boomer and Helo land in his neighborhood for repairs, rather than going through the effort of ressurecting him. Besides, there were about a hundred other people that were close enough to the Raptor landing site to walk there, as Baltar did. Presumably they were just as close to the explosion but they survived, at least initially. Or are you thinking of a different event entirely?

[delete this account pls]

I thought he survived because Six shielded him from the initial shockwave with her body. It shows her pushing him down as the blast shatters his windows.

[Relic]

[quote name='Brady' post='1316067' date='Apr 16 2008, 00.40']I thought he survived because Six shielded him from the initial shockwave with her body. It shows her pushing him down as the blast shatters his windows.[/quote]


my thoughts on the subject as well

[Lord of Oop North]

[quote name='mcbigski' post='1316042' date='Apr 15 2008, 23.45']What makes you think Baltar actually died? Maybe we're just splitting hairs here and it's divine intervention either way, but I figure it would probably be easier for God to just spare him from the shockwave of the nuclear blast and have Boomer and Helo land in his neighborhood for repairs, rather than going through the effort of ressurecting him. Besides, there were about a hundred other people that were close enough to the Raptor landing site to walk there, as Baltar did. Presumably they were just as close to the explosion but they survived, at least initially. Or are you thinking of a different event entirely?[/quote]

No I'm thinking of that same event.

Perhaps Six did manage to "shield" him from the shockwave. I suppose it is an acceptable answer. Although Six herself does not seem to believe that Baltar survived the shockwave (as seen in [i]Downloaded[/i]). That makes me believe that Nuclear Detonation > Cylon Shield. But I do doubt that it will ever be explained.

[Starker Image]

I like the show a lot, but there are too many gods damned gaps in the story. However, that frustration is part of what makes the show so appealing to me...

For the record, Baltar should get all the space-pussy. Seriously. :smoking:

[potsherds]

[quote name='Lord of the North' post='1316367' date='Apr 16 2008, 13.45']No I'm thinking of that same event.

Perhaps Six did manage to "shield" him from the shockwave. I suppose it is an acceptable answer. Although Six herself does not seem to believe that Baltar survived the shockwave (as seen in [i]Downloaded[/i]). That makes me believe that Nuclear Detonation > Cylon Shield. But I do doubt that it will ever be explained.[/quote]
I thought that as well, and it's been a question in the back of my mind, honestly. I thought it was highly unlikely that Baltar could've survived that blast.

[Werthead]

I think in the novelization it's explained a bit more. Six throws Baltar to the ground and shields him with her body. She's blasted across the room and killed by the shockwave, but Baltar is protected by falling debris and furniture. Or something :unsure:

It's a bit of a cop-out, but hardly the greatest sin against plot logic that this show has committed.

[Shryke]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1316899' date='Apr 16 2008, 14.05']I think in the novelization it's explained a bit more. Six throws Baltar to the ground and shields him with her body. She's blasted across the room and killed by the shockwave, but Baltar is protected by falling debris and furniture. Or something :unsure:

It's a bit of a cop-out, but hardly the greatest sin against plot logic that this show has committed.[/quote]

I never thought it was an issue. She shielded him. She died, he didn't.

[potsherds]

[quote name='Shryke' post='1317141' date='Apr 16 2008, 22.19']I never thought it was an issue. She shielded him. She died, he didn't.[/quote]
Wasn't it a nuclear attack?

[Shryke]

[quote name='potsherds' post='1317200' date='Apr 16 2008, 18.00']Wasn't it a nuclear attack?[/quote]

Yeah, but it wasn't next door. It was just the shockwave blowing the glass in.

[potsherds]

[quote name='Shryke' post='1317203' date='Apr 17 2008, 00.03']Yeah, but it wasn't next door. It was just the shockwave blowing the glass in.[/quote]
Yeah, I understand that. Ever seen the effects of a nuclear attack on a house? I certainly don't know for sure, but judging by the force of the wave, if there was enough flammable material around, the place should've started burning, and then be hit once again with another shockwave as the pressure re-normalizes in and around the blast radius, which would likely have spread any fire quite a bit more. That's only judging by the force of the wind, how close Baltar was, and the energy of the bomb. I'm just guessing.
Anyway, I've always assumed he survived, I just don't think it's possible in reality. :dunno:

[Shryke]

People survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki didn't they?

[Werthead]

To be honest, I just put it down to Hollywood Physics, you know, like a dob being able to avoid a fireball by turning down a passageway at right-angles to it ([i]Independence Day[/i]).

[Lord of Oop North]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1317309' date='Apr 16 2008, 20.19']To be honest, I just put it down to Hollywood Physics, you know, like a dob being able to avoid a fireball by turning down a passageway at right-angles to it ([i]Independence Day[/i]).[/quote]

It is a known fact that explosions can not move at right-angles.

It is one of their primary weaknesses.