BSG 4.11 - "Sometimes a Great Notion"

[wisteria_]

It's time once again for the Adama Family Happy Fun Time Variety Show! Not a spoiler, mind you. When is this show NOT depressing as hell? *g* Just a few quick thoughts before I rewatch and read all the other reactions.

Comments

[asta77]

I'm not going to comment too much on your thoughts since I still need to write up my own. Which is going to be tomorrow because after rewatching the episode my brain is totally fried. However...

To be honest, though, I didn't really like the scene because, well, the acting just felt "off". In fact, many of the actors seemed off-kilter at various points.

You are the first person I've seen comment about the acting being off and I agree. I didn't have much of a problem with Hogan, but Eddie was chewing the scenery. His speech and his actions were turned up about three too many notches. Then again, I've never found him a particularly subtle actor.

Jamie and Mary, on the other hand, gave some of the best performances I've ever seen.

[raincitygirl]

Eddie Olmos, God love him, is an excellent actor when there's somebody around to sternly remind him to take it down a notch or ten. When left to his own devices long enough, he inevitably seems to become bombastic as hell. It wasn't nearly as jarring as in Revelations, but yeah, scenery was definitely chewed in that scene, and the teeth marks were mostly not Hogan's.

Am I the only person who interpreted Dee's sdeath as a murder disguised to look like suicide? It didn't even occur to me until I got online that other viewers were seeing it as a definite suicide. Huh.

Hera is adorable, even if she has shot up bigtime. Also, over the hiatus she seems to have gone on a successful course of anti-depressants. Maybe hidden in her algae mash. The kid smiled. More than once! Hell, she even giggled. This is strange and unusual behaviour by all her previous standards.

[wisteria_]

I think I saw someone else assume it had been murder. The way it was shot could've looked that way, though I guess we're supposed to see it as suicide since she would've noticed someone else in the room. (And it was most likely shot that way because, well, they couldn't ask the actress to actually shoot herself!)

And hee! re: Hera. Maybe the hybrid kids are programmed to have bouts of cheerfulness in proportion to the sheer misery in the Fleet? She'll probably start dancing a Broadway musical with jazz hands when Cavil and the others show up to nuke the Galactica. ;)

[asta77]

Eddie Olmos, God love him, is an excellent actor when there's somebody around to sternly remind him to take it down a notch or ten.

I agree. In no way is the man a bad actor, but he is an actor who benefits from strong direction. And, again, I'm not being critical of the director it's just that some directors take for granted they have good actors and seem to think they don't need to direct them and that isn't always the case. And perhaps Eddie's scenery chewing stood out for me more because it seemed everyone around him were taking a much subtler approach with their performances.

I'm curious why you though Dee's suicide was a murder. There was no one in the room with her. Did you feel someone had done something to her to drive her to that action? I just read an interview with Kandyse and it was most definitely a suicide.

Also, over the hiatus she seems to have gone on a successful course of anti-depressants.Hee! I was thinking the same thing. The kid has either been creepy or morose and she was so happy! It was a

[raincitygirl]

It just seemed like the gun was suddenly at her temple, as opposed to her raising it to her temple. And it happened so fast that I didn't see anybody's hand pulling the trigger, and thus didn't see that it was HER hand. Rewatching, I realised that it was suicide, because as you say, nobody in the room with her, and surely she would've noticed somebody appearing, but at the time I thought it was murder.

[wisteria_]

Jamie and Mary, on the other hand, gave some of the best performances I've ever seen.

Actually, I thought he was too stiff in the ready room scene with Dee. Both of them just seemed strange. Otherwise, though, yeah.

Nearly everyone really did feel off, like they weren't used to the characters anymore, or their hearts weren't in it. Obviously, neither was the case when this was filmed, so I'm not sure why it came across so strangely.