They didn't have a plan
We finally finished watching BSG. The finale was, in my opinion, terrible and a huge disappointment (see murmur000's post, which I agree with almost word for word). I probably shouldn't have had my hopes up, though, because it would have taken a creative genius to make sense out of some of the ridiculous plot elements that had been accruing (e.g., Starbuck). The number of unanswered questions, absurdities, and ret-cons in that show must be in the hundreds, but it would be a waste of time to try to add them all up. The source material is not worthy of study, the mini-series and first season excepted.
This article succinctly covers some of the major problems. Here are my questions, many of which are found in the article as well.
How is Hera the protogenitor? What happened to the 30,000 other people!
Why on earth did the show end with Luddite anti-technology nonsense? Adama declared by fiat that everyone abandon all their technology? No one thought that was a really bad idea? Couldn't they at least vote on it?
What happened to all the other Cylons! Were we really supposed to believe that they were ALL at the colony? Couldn't any ships escape? Was the colony really THAT suspectible to nuclear attack? The Cylons started out incredibly powerful, not unlike the Borg in TNG, but they ended up so weak (like the Borg in Voyager) that a single raptor took them out the whole species?! Shouldn't their Cylon army have so outnumbered the Galactica and rebel Cylons that they would've eventually overrun the ship, without having to send in the flesh-and-blood leaders, who are easily killed? The Cylons just became pathetic.
How on earth did Sam know the location of the Cylon colony?!
Who are the "angels"? Can Six's mission to save Hera be reconciled with the mini-series and first season (answer: no)?
And, of course, what on earth is the deal with Starbuck? She is one giant Deus Ex Machina. Perhaps I can live with God having a corpse's hand launch a devestating nuclear strike on the Cylons, but Kara just made no sense. If she was so important, why did God let her die in the first place? God apparently relies on ad hoc solutions, rather than using his infinite wisdom and transcendent omnipotence to insure that events unfold according to his will. And, lastly, who wrote that line "He doesn't like that name?" and what is it supposed to mean?
And, to dredge up something very old, in the miniseries, who left Adama the note saying there are only 12 Cylon models! Was there supposed to be an obvious answer to that? It always struck me as one of the original mysteries, but it was never answered at all.
My conclusion is that shows like this, such as Lost, Heroes, and the new Flash Forward, do not work very well. The plots are so epic that they need very good writers to make sense and stay consistent, but I don't believe the actual writers have the time needed to write such complex stories without making mistakes, resorting to inconsistent characterization, and falling back on retcons. Maybe Lost's final season won't disappoint, but I'm doubting it.
This article succinctly covers some of the major problems. Here are my questions, many of which are found in the article as well.
How is Hera the protogenitor? What happened to the 30,000 other people!
Why on earth did the show end with Luddite anti-technology nonsense? Adama declared by fiat that everyone abandon all their technology? No one thought that was a really bad idea? Couldn't they at least vote on it?
What happened to all the other Cylons! Were we really supposed to believe that they were ALL at the colony? Couldn't any ships escape? Was the colony really THAT suspectible to nuclear attack? The Cylons started out incredibly powerful, not unlike the Borg in TNG, but they ended up so weak (like the Borg in Voyager) that a single raptor took them out the whole species?! Shouldn't their Cylon army have so outnumbered the Galactica and rebel Cylons that they would've eventually overrun the ship, without having to send in the flesh-and-blood leaders, who are easily killed? The Cylons just became pathetic.
How on earth did Sam know the location of the Cylon colony?!
Who are the "angels"? Can Six's mission to save Hera be reconciled with the mini-series and first season (answer: no)?
And, of course, what on earth is the deal with Starbuck? She is one giant Deus Ex Machina. Perhaps I can live with God having a corpse's hand launch a devestating nuclear strike on the Cylons, but Kara just made no sense. If she was so important, why did God let her die in the first place? God apparently relies on ad hoc solutions, rather than using his infinite wisdom and transcendent omnipotence to insure that events unfold according to his will. And, lastly, who wrote that line "He doesn't like that name?" and what is it supposed to mean?
And, to dredge up something very old, in the miniseries, who left Adama the note saying there are only 12 Cylon models! Was there supposed to be an obvious answer to that? It always struck me as one of the original mysteries, but it was never answered at all.
My conclusion is that shows like this, such as Lost, Heroes, and the new Flash Forward, do not work very well. The plots are so epic that they need very good writers to make sense and stay consistent, but I don't believe the actual writers have the time needed to write such complex stories without making mistakes, resorting to inconsistent characterization, and falling back on retcons. Maybe Lost's final season won't disappoint, but I'm doubting it.