Finale Finals

Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi, 9pm, 131 minutes)

- 2.364 million viewers

- 1.4/3 HH

- 1.1/3 A18-49 (#1 cable program of the night in A18-49)

Daybreak

I really ought to sleep and mull and then comment.

I really ought to.

In talking with fellow BSG fans pre-finale, we actually discovered how little mythology stuff actually needed to be answered (as compared to, say, Lost which has oh-so-much blank filling in to do and is actually doing it at a measured pace). We came down to three things, really.

1) WTF Kara Thrace.

2) WTF Gaius Baltar (and to that end, WTF Chip/Angel/Whatever Six and Chip/Angel/Whatever Baltar).

3) WTF Opera House.

And all three were certainly acknowledged and, to a certain extent, all three questions were answered. Even if that opera house thing felt like a MAJOR cheat, and the other two wound up in religious rumbling territory.

I love the twist that Tory's misdeeds basically sends things back to the shitter after things seemed to be on their way to peace (provided either side of the equation could trust each other... which they obviously couldn't... though the pre-Tory solution smacked of "this has all happened before and will happen again").

I need more time with the back half (or quarter, or whatever... the denouement) of the finale. Because it worked. It worked in tandem with the flashback stories that were inserted into the three-part finale. It worked as a message of hope. It even worked in connection, obviously, to our modern day world.

But it also didn't work.

I mean, the last two minutes alone (with Special Guest Star RDM) were just a horribly cheesy winkfest of "MESSAGE MESSAGE MESSAGE." And I think having that cheesy messagefelt actually tarnished my opinion of the series as a whole.

It also took away from one of the show's best major twists, IMHO, which was the fleet arriving at "Earth" and finding it desiccated. Such a cheat, reversing what was such an amazing shock to the senses and jolt to viewer expectations.

I definitely need to rewatch the denouement section to see where characters ended up and why... because certain things were definitely unclear (as stuff like Kara's instantaneous disappearance were probably meant to be).

And, not to skip over the first section of the finale... there were some MAJOR geography issues in that chaotic final battle. I mean, seriously. Who was where when and why... shrug? Especially the Helo of it all (I was really surprised to see him alive at the end... but more of a "hm, that seems unnecessary and yay he's alive, but um how?"

Finally... it was a lot happier an ending than I expected out of the show, given, um, the show. I don't know if it tonally fit (though, with the show as a barometer of current affairs... yeah, the whole ending with hope being realized was appropriate?)

There's plenty that I'm forgetting to complain about... and, really, you wouldn't get the sense from this post, but I did thoroughly enjoy it (more than I can say for the bulk of Season 4.5). The show needed to end. I'm glad it did. I'm just really not on board with all of the OMG OMG RDM GENIUS BEST THING EVER OMG OMG that I'm seeing / hearing.

Wish I Hadn't Watched Caprica Before Watching the Rest of BSG

Just saying.  Should've known better.  Not that there were spoilers (er, thus far) in Caprica.  But with the information revealed on tonight's BSG, my impression of Caprica would've been different (certainly my assumptions and impressions would have been).

Anyway, tonight's BSG was super fun and expository and all of a sudden the numbers assigned the various Cylon models make sense (why was there a Number 8 if there were only 7 numbered models?)

Interesting that the colonies were able to develop FTL drives, but the Kobol tribe that went to Earth were able to develop resurrection and NOT faster-than-light travel...

Cavil is an annoying, whiny bitch.

I will get around to writing a Caprica review one of these days (as well as writing pilot script reviews).

End transmission.

It Tingles

Oh, Friday Night Lights.  You bring a smile to my face.  What a great end to the Smash Williams story.  Skin-crawling happiness.  Where you at, indeed!

The end of the Zarek-Gaeta mutiny was fantastic.  I wasn't hugely into it last week, but on so many fronts I see why it needed to be told.  And I'm glad the line was drawn between Gaeta's moral convictions and Zarek's, um, insanity.  Although, what happened to Sam?  Did I pass out or did the Starbuck/Sam/Lawyer going to Cottle story not actually reach an end (which, y'know, I understand given the HOLY FRAK of the final two acts).

Zzzz

Tom Zarek's revolution bores me (even if it basically exists solely to make Roslin wake up from her post-Earth-apocalyptic stupor).  I mean, yes, the show has always been about humanity being idiots and frakking themselves.  And they've managed to complete assassinate Gaeta's character (boo, lying to Hoshi).  But at least there was good stuff for Starbuck this week.  Still feel like I missed an episode bridging the gap between the first and second episodes of the season.

Can we please get to Cavil's fleet, an explanation for Starbuck's viper and burnt corpse (with refreshingly untouched hair), and the opera house with Roslin/Boomer/Six?  You know... the things that matter.

Goddamn, Edward James Olmos has presence.

When Did Fridays Start Getting Programming Worth Watching?

I have no reactions. Because, um, wow. BSG. FNL. What? Also Psych but I haven't watched that yet.

I just can't even talk about BSG. I can't. WTFrak.

Weekend

What a weekend. Spent it relaxing in Palm Springs. Soooo necessary.

Anyway. Let's talk BSG briefly. I feel like this episode was the one we've been waiting for since the start of the season. I mean, that was good TV.

Glad the Hybrid mentioned the Opera House in its prophecy. I mean... I've really disliked that semi-dropped (or just nary mentioned) bit from last season's finale. And I was about to talk about the prophecy itself, then they had a whole scene deciphering it... so oh well. At least I was right!

And then Roslin shares a dream with her cancer ward friend. Nice.

Meanwhile, I'm not so big on The Simpsons airing an episode on Mother's Day about Homer's mother DYING. I mean, yes, the episode is about the "what I'd do because I love my mother" aspect, but still.

Now, to watch DH and B&S.

He That Believeth In Me

Battlestar Galactica is still crazy good. Not really the explosive follow-up to the cliffhanger I was expecting... but, damn, that first act was something (in the SFX department, especially), wasn't it?

Hopefully, like Lost, having an end-date will allow these last 20 episodes of BSG to unfold in a way that hurtles towards the conclusion. In which case, as with Lost, I'm absolutely fine with this episode serving as the appetizer, the foundation on which the endgame is built.

And there was a lot of really good stuff.

No answers, but some really great questions posed (and I don't just mean "who is the twelfth model?")