| Entry: Sometimes a Great Notion |  | = Official Comment |
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| From Jessica |
Quick thoughts:
Prior to the end of Season 3 reveal, Ellen was my pick for Cylon. I believe I only mentioned it in conversation, probably to C.Sto. A little surprised I never mentioned in JSDC comment discussion.
They've kept her around for so long in flashback to the point it's obnoxious, so it would have been annoying if they hadn't been building to that choice. Plus, the thought of her coming back is rather delicious in terms of writing possibilities.
Anyway, Starbuck is still not a Cylon. Told you.
That thing with D, they might have built that over a couple of episodes. Not, like, five minutes. Then again, who can remember? Perhaps they did. The scheduling of the season due to the strike has of course messed with whatever master plan was originally laid down. Regardless of that, however, the pacing this season has been odd. They accelerate past major events and don't mine the dramatic information, then spend time repeating the same beats.
I'm not crazy stoked on season four yet. There's much to pay off and not much time to do so.
In terms of having massive amounts of story to complete and possible pitfalls of introducing too much new material at the end, BSG may suffer from the TV version of the ailments Harry Potter book 7 experienced.
Earlier tonight I was plotting out an entry about suicide and similar themes in art. After watching this episode I abandoned that particular idea: BSG had it covered. So, instead, I put up this entry.
Might watch the episode again later. Watching it at 3AM was probably not the best choice but what can I say I couldn't wait for 'BSG' until the next day. |
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From Dave
Website: http://www.twitter.com/thehorseman |
I'll probably have to watch the episode again later, as there's things I felt I may have missed.
I don't think there was a clear "reveal" in this episode. Tigh thinks Ellen is the 5th, and that's certainly the most obvious thing presented to the viewer at the close of the ep. However, Kara's discovery of "dead Starbuck" seems to at least suggest there may be other possibilites. Also, was Dee just upset on Earth when she found the jacks, or did she remember something like Tyrol and Anders did? Also, the staging of her suicide shot was very interesting. You see her reach in the locker, but you don't see her actually grab the gun. You see a hand put the gun to her head, but it's not conclusive that the hand is hers. Could it have been a murder? Gaeta had just left, and Seelix runs in right after....don't know if anyone could have got away in that time, but I just found it interesting the way they filmed it.
Something interesting I also heard in watching the special before the episode called "10 things you need to know" is that at one point Moore refers to Earth as "what seems to be Earth" or something like that. Curious choice of words. |
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| From Jessica |
It would be a poor choice to make Starbuck a Cylon. I might check out if that happens. (Depending on how they would manage to pull it off, if at all.)
It seems to me they shot Dee the way they did so that they could shock the audience as it happens quickly and isn't drawn out like Sharon's suicide attempt. So it's basically Dee, Gaeta's face in her mirror, door closes, another seemingly non-suicidal beat, ring, gun, blam!. I only watched it once however, so that may not be entirely accurate. I don't think it was meant to be open to interpretation in terms of who the shooter was.
The idea that she may have had a memory is interesting. But if Dee is a Cylon, then certainly I will be annoyed at all this Ellen stuff we've had to endure.
You know what? I would prefer to wait until BSG is finished and watch it all at once on DVD. The viewing experience would be better for so many reasons. I don't want to risk the spoiler effect, however.
And I'm pretty sure that planet is Earth I mean if I recall Crossroads properly, you can see Florida quite clearly as they picture North America.
Also, did they just tell us all Earthlings are Cylons?
Maybe everyone is a Cylon. Maybe that's the great big lesson. Or the plan. |
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| From C.Sto |
Well if Starbuck isn't a cylon then what is she b/c she definitely isn't human if there are two of her. And if she is the harbinger of death what the f does that mean?
In the flashbacks you can see that everyone on Earth looks different so maybe there are more cylons who made it to the 12 colonies but think they are human (i.e. Starbuck and Dee). Interesting thought about Dee, maybe she did have a flashback and realize that she is a cylon. |
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| From Jessica |
I don't know what she is, C.Sto. Long ago I thought perhaps they were drawing off some of the beings of light source material, which I'm not that familiar with in the first place. Over season 3-4 they have semi-ditched a lot of the "rules" to the BSG universe. I'm all for breaking the mold, so could be awesome story planning. Then again, Scifi/Fantasy typically works and works best with concrete rules to the "world" you're creating, so could be less skillful standard series TV writing that happens when quantity starts to overtake quality and there isn't a concrete long term plan. We'll see how it pans out. This is why I wish I could simply watch the whole season.
I liked this episode much better when I watched it today. The staging and framing in particular was great.
The Internets are right though; too much confusion. |
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| From Nathanael |
This is an excellent interview with Moore, the episode's two writers, and the director:
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/01/final-fifth-cylon-ellen-tigh-battlestar-galactica-dualla-dee-.html |
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From Mike
Website: http://herdingchaos.net |
I suspect that two starbucks is explained later as some sort of time travel. And that was her future dead self that returned back to Earth.
Generally, I am worried they are going to leave a ton of stuff unresolved or resolve it too quickly in a manner with maximum cheese. We shall see.. |
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From Dave
Website: http://www.wingmancentral.net/ |
| One could make the argument that there are actually 3 Starbucks. Exploded Starbuck, Back-from-the-dead Starbuck and Deep Fried Starbuck. |
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From Curtis Sawyer
Website: http://ussexcalibur.blogspot.com |
There was an interview with her in Time Out New York where she said that her character isn't really wrapped up nicely with a bow at the end of the season - she said her fate is somewhat ambiguous, unlike everyone else in the show.
Jess - I'll scan in the article (1 page) and e-mail to you if you want. |
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| From Jessica |
'The Oath' was great; getting back to what was terrific about Seasons I & II in terms of moving the story along, keeping the action moving and also paying off setup without sacrificing the dramatics.
I liked the setup of the possibility of Adama's death. Including the way the love theme (music) was used.
I'll be watching this one again.
Only 7 episodes left and a lot to resolve... |
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| From Jessica |
| 'No Exit' was an hour of exposition. That is not ideal in writing. It was like watching the architect scene in 'Matrix' 3. Also what do you guys think of this whole #7/Daniel business? Starbuck is an artist. Just saying. |
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From Curtis Sawyer
Website: http://ussexcalibur.blogspot.com |
I think now that the wheel is back on its axis, the Island will lock back in time...oh, wait. Wrong show.
I agree that last night's episode was a lot of telling, and especially after the excitement of the rebellion seemed a bit slow and uninteresting. Information was revealed, but I wasn't excited about the episode. I almost felt like, "Well, we've got a finite amount of episodes left so we'd better cram in a bunch of explanation so we can get where we need to get."
I forget, Jess, have you watched Firefly? I've pimped that show to so many of my friends and family that I cannot remember if you've seen it or not. |
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| From Jessica |
No, but I have seen 'Serenity.'
I am confused about the 12 Cylon models. They keep breaking their own rules in a what seems to be amounting to a bad way. 8 models + final 5 =13, no? |
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| From Jessica |
Awfully nice of Ellen not to mind that Sol killed her.
PS: Starbuck is Daniel. You know it's true. |
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| From Jessica |
Screened 2-hour Caprica premiere and now I know some things about Cylon histories. I have a solid guess on the history of "Daniel," right down to who the Cylon was named after and why. (This is not a spoiler, C.Sto, so there.)
And anyway you know Ellen hid him in Starbuck; it's true. But he was a sissy so she made him a badass so that Cavil wouldn't kick his ass twice. That was my guess when she first introduced him in her massive expositional episode. |
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| From Jessica |
Ha well maybe she's not Daniel, so what was the point of all that then? Just to show Cavil is a baddy? Sometimes their writing/time management does not compute.
BTW 'All Along the Watchtower' has a certain reverse sense of time to it and the song I would classify as a myth or myth-esque itself. Beyond the connection to Earth, I can see that choice making sense with the "happen again" premise. (I've seen many people ask what is up with that song. Decide for yourself, I suppose.)
Anyway, it's over. They cued 80 different endings like in ROTK instead of one long streamlined ending, but I'm not going to complain.
What they did the best at, and perhaps this was paramount, was finishing out the premise of the show (even if other things were left unanswered or didn't make sense).
Bye bye BSG. Turns out Starbuck was just one of those head-people angel things except everyone could see her not just Baltar and Caprica.
Also, the value of a world rich in natural resources, and not taking it for granted; among other wonderful moments. |
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