BSG

[pit_viper]

The salt ceremony.  Oh lordy, I got all weepy over that.  I love the way this show shows a polytheistic but modern culture, and contrasts it with a monotheistic one, with both sides holding genuine beliefs, and treats both seriously and respectfully.

I am tempted to do some research to see if they got that ceremony from Roman or perhaps Viking

Comments

[pit_viper]

So, you've got all that's left of humanity. Their planet done blowed up, and a small remnant escaped in spaceships, where they've been living and fighting their enemies and looking for another planet to settle down on. They're a polytheistic society, believing in Hera and Zeus and that sort of thing. Their enemies - borgs that can look human - are monotheistic.

They find a new planet, but the enemies come and turn it into what amounts to a containment camp. A few ships escape, and they're about to attempt a rescue mission.

You have the people on the planet, half the spaceship crew going to rescue them on what amounts to a suicide mission, and the other half escaping elsewhere so that if something goes bad, they can carry on and try to start over.

The crew is in the hangar of the main spaceship, divided between those that will rescue and those that will fly off. One of them takes a big box of salt and pours out a thick line between the groups. Then a woman reads this insanely touching passage from their sacred text about being scattered but finding a home, and then they all start scuffling the line out with their feet, and the camera pans up and over as the whole bunch melt together in a big group goodbye hug. Argh!