Battlestar Galactica

Wow it's been a long time since I posted on here. I feel rather guilty, so please let me explain. First off, I have been rewriting two scripts and completely trashed a third. Secondly, I think my rush to have a completed sample for the Channel 4 competition burnt me out and I've only just started to develop a positive charge in my writing batteries. Most importantly, I started watching Battlestar Galactica.

This show hooked into me and seemed to act like a viral meme on my attention. It was a love/hate relationship, love because it is so well written but hate because I really just wanted it to end - it was simply crippling me by taking up so much of my time. And it's interesting that I now describe the watching process as "love/hate" because, having just watched the final episode, I'm really not sure if I'm happy with the series.

Let me start by talking in generalities. For those of you who don't know much about the show I'll do a little bit of explaining. This is a remake of a late-70s TV show (which I have never seen), it's the story of human civilisation driven to the brink of extinction by the Cylons, a race of former robot slaves. The few surviving humans band together as a fleet to find salvation in the mythical world of Earth, which they only know of through their religious texts.  

I loved the early arguments between views on the supernatural, from the perspectives of Atheist individuals, the Greek-like religion of humanity and the fanatical monotheism of the Cylons. The deliberate, and sometimes painfully obvious, references to real-world moral conflicts, such as terrorism, regime toppling and civil liberties in a time of crisis, are brilliantly handled. Battlestar Galactica's sense of mystery and seemingly magical events is intriguing and, unlike Lost, mostly pays off.  I also loved the development of it's main characters. In particular:

Commander Adama, whose stern and saint-like facade crumbles as he takes on the role of father to his crew.

Starbuck, a fighter pilot whose training advice (to never flee the enemy in a dogfight or you put yourself in its crosshairs) is the exact fault she has when dealing with memories of her abusive mother, the result of which is self-descructive behaviour and habits.

Dr. Baltar, a genius who struggles with guilt and a poor sense of self value. He's also haunted by visions of a dead Cylon woman that seemingly predicts the future.

AND

Saul Tigh, the second in charge, a man truly lost who lives to serve his only friend Adama.

This is the final general note I'll make, it's is a superficial one, but I really loved the way they updated the Cylons. The right amount of retro-aesthetic was kept whilst simultaneously making the hulking metal soldiers, the Centurions, really terrifying (they have extenable claws, guns build into them, and a constantly scanning red eye). Towards the end of the series, the personalities of these seemingly souless creatures really starts to shine through and I found myself wanting to see more and more of them. In fact, my only complaint is that they didn't feature more prominently. The show actually changes your view of the Centurions rather brilliantly, while the Human marines are increasingly shown as unthinking obedient soldiers (some unemotionally accept orders to kill civilians and elected politicians in a coup) you start to see the Centurions refuse orders and actually fight their masters in the defence of others.

You can especially appreciate the Centurions when you compare the centurions to their British cousins, the Cybermen. Dr Who's old adversaries didn't fare so well in the reboot and come across as clunky, silly and just lame. Compare the two below:

Cybermen vs Cylon Centurions 

Anyway, if you plan on watching the show, if you really don't want any spoilers then please don't read on. There be SPOILERS ahead.

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... OK let's go:

The ending... It's revealed that series doesn't take place in our future but actually our ancient past. The fleet finally arrives at our Earth, the "Earth" they have been looking for was actually destroyed in a nuclear war. On this new Earth they find our ancestors in a state of pre-civilisation. The surviving members of the fleet then blame technology for all their problems, ditch it all, and decide to "start with a blank slate" and help our primitive ancestors evolve. What?!

I loved that they tied the story into our world, I loved that they even implied that we share common ancestry with the first, and maybe only, half-human half-cylon child - BUT - no technology, really? How many people could they have saved from cholera, starvation, malaria, cancer... TOOTH INFECTIONS... etc.

As if blaming science and technology wasn't bad enough, they strongly imply that salvation can be found in religion and apparently introduce that into our culture. So they're to blame for the inquisition? For the dark ages?

I can usually separate my science-loving atheist values from my art. I enjoy mysticism in art as a creative form of expression and I try to find the emotional meaning behind it all but this really makes that difficult for me. It simultaneously says (technology=bad) + (religion=good).

At the very end, the show fast-forwards 150,000 years to modern day Manhattan. The ghost-like visages of Cylon Six and Dr Baltar, revealed as something akin to angels, discuss whether or not man is falling back into the pattern of being undone by his machines. They strongly imply two things that, I think, were designed to placate people like myself: 1) they conclude that mankind won't recreate the conditions for it's own destruction again, thanks to the sacrifice of the Galactica generation, and 2) that the "one true God" they serve doesn't really like being called "God" and is maybe just a more complex being that's taken an interest in man/cylon kind. But these feel half-hearted.

Fundamentally, I still love the show for its characterisation as well as most of its storyline if not for its conclusion. I just wish it could have ended on a different note, one that didn't push the anti-knowledge/pro-religion line so heavily. In its current state, all the ending really ever does is mask the very real point of the show, which is: punishment and revenge, even if it's called justice, will only generate more revenge in a constant cycle... or to misquote Shakespeare: "to dwell on past ills is a sure way to create new ones".

This show states this theme over and over again, and the whole ending-plot of "starting with a blank slate" is really pinned to that, but it gets lost in all this religion/technology stuff.

There are several scenes in the series to look out for that explicitly state the overall theme. A good example is the trial of Gaius Baltar. During the trial, Lee Adama points out that so many people have been forgiven for acts that in their former society would carry harsh penalties. He explains that this is because they are no longer a civilisation but a gang that's struggling for survival. The show itself seems to suggest that our habit for wanting to punish those who have wronged us is what will undo us as a society.

Earlier that series there is there is a secret trial/execution cabal that goes through the ship targeting crew members who were thought to have aided the Cylons. This is ultimately undone when its exposed as mere violent rage and punishment in the form of justice. However, this cabal provides the catalyst for what would later develop into a mutiny and threaten mankind's existence.

Starbuck, a flight trainer, is forgiven by Commander Adama for qualifying his son as a figher pilot despite lacking the skills - which later leads to his death. If the Commander had decided to punish her then humanity would never have been saved.

The Chief's inability to not-punish one of the final-five for killing his wife, Cally, leads to the destruction of the "bad" Cylons and nearly to the destruction of humanity. I can keep listing these examples but I feel I've made my point.

The fact that this, fairly obvious, theme is buried by its religious tone is supported by the lack of any substantial clips on YouTube. Most clips are focusing on the supernatural.

Below is the only clip I could find on the topic of forgiveness and a "blank slate":




Here Gaius simply wanted a fresh start. He didn't want the assumptions that came with his original accent. The fact that he is being held in prison for treason that he is not entirely guilty of just adds to the meaning of the scene.

Edited to add this nice little tribute video I found: