Battlestar Galactica: the Resistance.
Soooo, I've been catching up and watching the Battlestar Galactica webisodes (these little two minute things they're using to tide us over till season three, except near as I can tell a labour dispute prevented them from being released until it practically *is* season three, and SciFi.com have region-locked it or summat so I have to resort to nefarious sources to get a hold of them).
They're okay. That's my considered opinion.
I am enough of a BSG junkie that I'm pathetically grateful for the little they're giving us and I totally appreciate the huge amounts of effort that went into this thing.
I'm also very sympathetic to the constraints of time and budget, and think that using these things as a way to give a deeper backstory to smaller characters but not so much as to make the series unwatchable otherwise, is awesome.
(Actually, S2.5 could have done with those webisodes regarding the "Peace with Cylons!" gang. Cos, there is a fantastic example of an interesting idea: people who are so bloody tired of running, of nearly dying, of being stuck in tin cans with nothing to contemplate but their own mortality and no active way of staving off the encroaching depression such as going out and flying vipers and *doing* something, that they honestly don't care what life under the cylons would be like. In fact, they might prefer giving that a shot and dying to living as they currently are. Err, yeah, this fantastic idea that was terribly executed. Because we never found out anything about these people and their motivations beyond vague yelling and a bunch of flyers. And my immediate response? "Did President Roslin TELL ANYONE that Adar surrendered unconditionally after the first nukes hit Caprica? And that their response was to nuke ELEVEN MORE COLONIES?!" Because, you know, the answer might be yes, she did, and they feel this way anyway. And hey, that's *interesting*. But you can't not answer that question, or stuff starts looking dumb. And there is my biggest rant about season 2.5 irritatingly squashed into a post that has nothing to do with it.)
Anyway, the point is, it's a great idea that I have complete respect for.
That said, they're okay.
I don't want to be mean, but much as I enjoy her character, the actress who plays Cally isn't stellar, the actress who plays Nora wasn't stellar. The actor who plays Duck might be okay but he's got sketchy material to work with. The writing is generally good but occasionally seems a little...constrained by the time limits? A little close to cliche? Like, yeah, someone might throw up after hearing that their fiance has been brutally murdered, but the way it was shot was still...staged?
I also feel like there's some great stuff hidden in there. I think the prize of this webisode series is going to be Jammer and his journey. Here, FINALLY, is an intelligent look at the rational behind the people who side with the cylons. In the first episode, that one line he has which puts forward the idea, "Some people think the New Caprica Police is a good idea because then we can police ourselves instead of having the cylons around all the time," immediately lends depth to the decision. Is it collaboration when your goal is not loyalty but greater independence? Is it collaboration when you're just trying to continue existing and making the best of a situation? That second question is harder because it's through inaction that travesties are allowed to happen.
And again, I actually agree with Tigh - coldly, they got a bargain for the lives of ten people and a crate full of weapons, and unlike a lot of military strategists, Tigh didn't even have to plan something as brutal as that himself (can anyone say "Coventry" and "Churchill"?) And he's also right that Jammer needs to remember that 20 billion humans were slaughtered (Wow, that's a lot. I think that's the first time we've heard a figure for the dead). But also, Jammer's right that the Resistance has blood on its hands. They put civilians in danger and innocents payed the price. Even if this is war and Tigh's methods are justified, it's hard not to understand Jammer's fear and worry. Especially when those fears are met with derision from Tigh.
So yeah, I'm not sure it's the best written or acted BSG I've seen (okay it's far from it) and sometimes the scenes are just sorta cheesy, but there's some genuinely great discussion in there.
It's the first time in a long time I've felt like we're remembering how scary the cylons are. We're asking difficult questions without firmly planting all the "right"ness on the side we're probably rooting for. Stuff like Flesh & Bone where we felt for Leoben and were shocked by Kara and Laura's actions, but we were reminded, in Starbuck's fantastic outburst, that "You destroyed my entire civilisation! That is sin! That is evil!" And she was right.
It's good to see them move away from the "let's make a direct paralel with the west vs. islamic terrorists hysteria that's gripping the world and anviliciously point out that they're only bombing us because we mistreated them!"*
*I don't have a problem with direct paralels, but one of the things I love most about BSG is that all the paralels genuinely don't fit which sort of frees my head up to consider things I'd find hard to consider otherwise. So, using the Christianity vs. Muslim paradigm, a compelling arguement can be made that either the cylons or the humans are *either* faction. Everything's a tad off. And it was SO weird and disturbing to realise that if I were in the fleet, after that abortion issue, I wouldn't be voting for Roslin, and I'd be screwed then, cos Baltar would be in charge. Like, nearly NOTHING gets me as riled as certain election fraud issues, and I was terrified when I heard Roslin was going to rig one cos I thought, man, I'll hate this. And I ended up rooting for her. ME! I ROOTED FOR AN ELECTION TO GET RIGGED! Watch how the paralels crumble!
But I already posted about that ages agooo, so.
Yeah. Webisodes. They're okay.
They're okay. That's my considered opinion.
I am enough of a BSG junkie that I'm pathetically grateful for the little they're giving us and I totally appreciate the huge amounts of effort that went into this thing.
I'm also very sympathetic to the constraints of time and budget, and think that using these things as a way to give a deeper backstory to smaller characters but not so much as to make the series unwatchable otherwise, is awesome.
(Actually, S2.5 could have done with those webisodes regarding the "Peace with Cylons!" gang. Cos, there is a fantastic example of an interesting idea: people who are so bloody tired of running, of nearly dying, of being stuck in tin cans with nothing to contemplate but their own mortality and no active way of staving off the encroaching depression such as going out and flying vipers and *doing* something, that they honestly don't care what life under the cylons would be like. In fact, they might prefer giving that a shot and dying to living as they currently are. Err, yeah, this fantastic idea that was terribly executed. Because we never found out anything about these people and their motivations beyond vague yelling and a bunch of flyers. And my immediate response? "Did President Roslin TELL ANYONE that Adar surrendered unconditionally after the first nukes hit Caprica? And that their response was to nuke ELEVEN MORE COLONIES?!" Because, you know, the answer might be yes, she did, and they feel this way anyway. And hey, that's *interesting*. But you can't not answer that question, or stuff starts looking dumb. And there is my biggest rant about season 2.5 irritatingly squashed into a post that has nothing to do with it.)
Anyway, the point is, it's a great idea that I have complete respect for.
That said, they're okay.
I don't want to be mean, but much as I enjoy her character, the actress who plays Cally isn't stellar, the actress who plays Nora wasn't stellar. The actor who plays Duck might be okay but he's got sketchy material to work with. The writing is generally good but occasionally seems a little...constrained by the time limits? A little close to cliche? Like, yeah, someone might throw up after hearing that their fiance has been brutally murdered, but the way it was shot was still...staged?
I also feel like there's some great stuff hidden in there. I think the prize of this webisode series is going to be Jammer and his journey. Here, FINALLY, is an intelligent look at the rational behind the people who side with the cylons. In the first episode, that one line he has which puts forward the idea, "Some people think the New Caprica Police is a good idea because then we can police ourselves instead of having the cylons around all the time," immediately lends depth to the decision. Is it collaboration when your goal is not loyalty but greater independence? Is it collaboration when you're just trying to continue existing and making the best of a situation? That second question is harder because it's through inaction that travesties are allowed to happen.
And again, I actually agree with Tigh - coldly, they got a bargain for the lives of ten people and a crate full of weapons, and unlike a lot of military strategists, Tigh didn't even have to plan something as brutal as that himself (can anyone say "Coventry" and "Churchill"?) And he's also right that Jammer needs to remember that 20 billion humans were slaughtered (Wow, that's a lot. I think that's the first time we've heard a figure for the dead). But also, Jammer's right that the Resistance has blood on its hands. They put civilians in danger and innocents payed the price. Even if this is war and Tigh's methods are justified, it's hard not to understand Jammer's fear and worry. Especially when those fears are met with derision from Tigh.
So yeah, I'm not sure it's the best written or acted BSG I've seen (okay it's far from it) and sometimes the scenes are just sorta cheesy, but there's some genuinely great discussion in there.
It's the first time in a long time I've felt like we're remembering how scary the cylons are. We're asking difficult questions without firmly planting all the "right"ness on the side we're probably rooting for. Stuff like Flesh & Bone where we felt for Leoben and were shocked by Kara and Laura's actions, but we were reminded, in Starbuck's fantastic outburst, that "You destroyed my entire civilisation! That is sin! That is evil!" And she was right.
It's good to see them move away from the "let's make a direct paralel with the west vs. islamic terrorists hysteria that's gripping the world and anviliciously point out that they're only bombing us because we mistreated them!"*
*I don't have a problem with direct paralels, but one of the things I love most about BSG is that all the paralels genuinely don't fit which sort of frees my head up to consider things I'd find hard to consider otherwise. So, using the Christianity vs. Muslim paradigm, a compelling arguement can be made that either the cylons or the humans are *either* faction. Everything's a tad off. And it was SO weird and disturbing to realise that if I were in the fleet, after that abortion issue, I wouldn't be voting for Roslin, and I'd be screwed then, cos Baltar would be in charge. Like, nearly NOTHING gets me as riled as certain election fraud issues, and I was terrified when I heard Roslin was going to rig one cos I thought, man, I'll hate this. And I ended up rooting for her. ME! I ROOTED FOR AN ELECTION TO GET RIGGED! Watch how the paralels crumble!
But I already posted about that ages agooo, so.
Yeah. Webisodes. They're okay.