Tonight’s episode – Revelations
And so comes to the end the first half of the final season of Battlestar Galactica. You know, it’s kind of laughable to call this the first half of the final season when we won’t get the second half probably until I have to buy a new calendar. That’s ridiculous. Just call the next set of shows what they really are — the final season — and be done with it.
I came into Battlestar late. I caught up on the DVD sets and then last season was the first one I watched week-to-week and I always found it weird that the seasons all had first and second parts. Most people call each of those parts “seasons”. American television networks cling so tightly to old notions (like seasons being a certain length) that sometimes they do really bone-headed stuff like this. Just makes them look silly.
Tonight? This is really the season finale of the second to last season. I’m sorry, that’s what it is.
Looks like this week some shit goes down, what with Tigh revealing to Adama that he’s a Cylon and it looking like the other three being found out too. Maybe this season’s tag line about all being revealed will actually happen in some capacity. You’d hope so with an episode name like “Revelations.”
Speculations, theories, reactions, live blogs, you know the drill.
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This ep’s supposed to be one of the best cliffhangers ever. I’m freakin excited. Thoughts coming in about five hours…
Do they really have to milk this and drag the second half into next year? I really like this series too much, but Sci-Fi’s a weird channel.
Other stations have done weirder…
Just saying…
I can think of nothing weirder than they way Sci-Fi arranges their "seasons."
I’m about 20 minutes behind right now! So far, so AWESOME.
The Chief’s smile when he was revealed and arrested? Fantastic.
Doesn’t Galactica have like, an intercom system or something? That’s a lot of running Kara had to do…
What am I supposed to do with myself now?
…and it’s over. More episodes coming soon? 2009, you better feel like soon!
Hmmm… interesting episode.
I absolutely LOVED it up until the Kara run through the ship. Once the "we’ve found Earth!" reveal happened I felt like the show ground to a halt. I *had* been on the edge of my seat and I suddenly found myself less invested. But the last seen – I *think* it was good. I can’t decide. Post-civilized society Earth? Hmmm…
Yeah, it did kind of falter with that reveal…which could of been told over the radio, or so I told myself as she was running.
Holy frak that was one helluva episode. When they found Earth, it almost felt like I was watching the series, not the season, finale. I think it’s interesting they chose to go this route (finding Earth half-way through the season/half-season/whatever), and now let the specuation begin over what happened to Earth. Did the "bad" Cylons nuke it or did the humans (=us) destroy themselves? Pretty darned good ep, but I have to admit the whole celebratory montage when they arrived at Earth just fell a little flat to me. I dunno why. Bill’s breakdown after learning that his best friend is a Cylon felt much more emotional and engaging. That was difficult and heartbreaking to watch.
Frak, can’t believe we have to wait until 2009…Conor’s right about the ridiculousness of them calling it a mid-season finale.
the ‘old man’ looks so fly in that flight suit
Dude… Bleak.
That’s the one word response for that ep. I was riveted all the way through. Less, as Conor said, after Kara ran in, but then they got to Earth and I was all woah… And then there was the montage and that was… spiffy?
And then they got to Earth. That was bleak… Totally so bleak. Frak…
i never want this shit to end
send a dumptruck of emmys to the set
This season was way too uneven. I hope the final final season picks things up a notch.
Though I kind of agree with you Conor, I’m still hard pressed to find anything better that was on television this season. Battlestar at it’s worse is better than loads other shows vying for my attention, especially in the sci-fi genre.
word up, psyguy
Oh, there were many shows on this year better than this season of BATTLESTAR, which isn’t to say this was a bad season, just not a great one.
I watched the midnight premiere of the Incredible Hulk, as to not miss this episode, and my friends who I watched Battlestar with pointed out just how nerdy that was…other than the one who went with me. Do I really have a problem?
Nah, that’s cool!
Oh, and Conor I’d welcome any suggestions for shows. Like I was saying before, it is hard to keep my attention because I’m currently going to college for digital art and design in an accelerated program, where every month is a new semester and it’s year-round. The hours are crazy and random, so right now I’ve been sticking with the shows I knew, like BSG or Smallville. As far as sci-fi, I find shows like Stargate to hokey(I hope that’s a weird not only I use), so that’s why BSG works for me.
I have really enjoyed this season for the most part but every instalment makes me get all nostalgic for the good ol’ days. The days where Starbuck was ‘dead’. I knew she wasn’t likely to stay that way but I was hoping for a more metaphysical way for her to be involved as a character. Instead what we got is ‘insane when the plot calls for it’ Starbuck. Then again, I have been rather confused by a good deal of the character motivations this season. It just seems that a lot of folks aren’t being themselves, or aren’t reacting to events in a way that seems genuine to their character. Roslin, Baltar, Lee and the ever lovin’ Tyrol seem to be the only ones that I believe anymore.
Boy, was that ever a tangent. Anyhow, I will say this. This episode knocked me on my ear and kicked me in the crotch (in a good way) but I do feel myself being taken out of the moment a lot more this season.
Imagine if the writer’s strike lingered and this was it. Revelations was the last we saw of the Battlestar Galactica and its ragtag fleet. Would this ending have gone down as one of the greatest endings ever or what? We would’ve been left with so much hanging, so much unexplained… in a way, it would’ve just been perfect.
We said we were going to find earth, so here it is. Bye! Oh, the rest of the stuff? All those plot threads and the unrevealed stuff? It’s all extras, you figure it out… here’s earth just like we said. Even though, I wasn’t a Soprano’s watcher… I do know Ron Moore was quite a fan of that show’s ending.
Frankly, I do not know if the second half of season 4 can compete with some of what we’ve been given in the first half – sure it started out slow, but damn did it pick up. We’ve got 12 or 13 hours of BSG left (the series finale is said to possibly be expanded from 2 to 3 hours) and probably 7 or 8 months to wait for it and work out theories… and I’m going to try to avoid spoilers.
I got chills during the episode. Sometimes it seemed a little too slow… but, in the end it was perfect.
Does anyone know if Seelix survived the battle of the Hub?
I really think she did… I haven’t seen anything to convince me otherwise…
I personally loved this whole half-season. And Mary McDonnell deserves every acting award going. She is absolutely staggering week to week in her performance.
Loved it! Can’t wait for more, especially now the series finale may have been upgraded from a 2-hour to a 3-hour finale.
Flat ending for me. The pacing was waaaayyy off in the last several minutes, starting with Kara’s endless run. During the celebration, I kept asking myself, "Ok, so what’s the big twist?". And then that last slow pan, while beautifully shot, took too long to reveal. I could tell from their initial reaction that Earth was uninhabitable, but it took sooooo loooooonnng to get around to showing us…something that kind of looked like a destroyed New York but not enough to be certain. It lacked the emotional punch of the Season 2 finale.
First great episode of the season in my opinion, but the ending did feel a little flat. I didn’t build enough forward momentum, especially with the 6 month wait. Probably the writers strike catching up with the show.
@conor & everybody
in all seriousness, i would love to hear what you guys think is better than BSG on tv now.
not to argue- i’m seriously interested to check new stuff out. BSG, the office, and 30rock are the only shows i watch. i’m not "too busy" (hell, i post on a freaking comic book site- how hard can my life be) i’m just not a tv dude.
@minithin – Some shows I love, and I don’t know when they next start airing, are Mad Men (really good character drama set in the 50’s), Damages (deception/murder thriller about lawyers), Weeds (really funny black comedy, very full on with the sex, swearing and violence). I also really like Entourage, but I understand a lot of people don’t like it (not people here, never heard it mentioned, just people in general). I’m a Lost junkie too, but there’s a LOT of backstory to watch before you’re up to speed. Conor also mentioned Chuck in the podcast this week, and that’s a great show to check out if you like 30 Rock and The Office.
If you fancy hunting down some cool British shows on dvd I’d recommend Peep Show (absolutely mental comedy about 2 flatmates told entirely through POV shots), Life On Mars (time-travel cop show set in the 70’s) and of course the current series of Doctor Who.
But if you like comics, sci-fi and geeky stuff in general then the ONE show you MUST watch is Spaced! I can’t describe it, I wouldn’t do it justice, but the DVD boxset is being released in the states in July (and it’s better than the boxset we’ve got – no fair!) and is a must-buy, plus you can see how Scott Pilgrim and Ant-Man director Edgar Wright started his career!
Hope that helps? By the way, all the shows I mentioned are a lot better than my descriptions of them make them sound 🙂
@minithin – One hour shows from this past year that I think are better than this particular season of BSG?
LOST
MAD MEN
BREAKING BAD
PUSHING DAISIES
LIFE
RESCUE ME
HOUSE
I didn’t think this particular season of BSG was very strong compared to seasons past – there were maybe three really good episodes.
thank you, eyun and conor!!
Argh! Forgot Pushing Daisies and Life! Good call, Conor (@minithin – Conor’s the dude to listen to, the man’s a TV guru).
But DO check out Spaced as well!
@minithin
Here are some others to try out:
The Venture Bros.
Dexter
Jekyll
Bringing it back to the show at hand, Deanna said that the final cylon wasn’t with the fleet. That can only mean that the fifth cylon was on the base ship with the hostages, right? So does that mean it’s Roslin or Gaius?
I’m so conflicted by this. I think everyone watching it had different expectations going into it. It was a really good episode, but I’m not sure I liked the direction it took at the end and I have NO IDEA where they can go from here. Right now, it’s like Samuel Becket meets Planet of the Apes.
i’m confused about all the half cylon [and full cylon in that 6’s belly] babies
i so hope the final cylon doesn’t get spoiled!
My prediction has been the Roslin all along, because she’s the only one having visions with cylons about the opera house. I heard an interview, though, with the creator, Ron, that said….LITTLE BIT OF A SPOILER….in the picture released that looked like the last supper, the final cylon was NOT there but filled in the blank spot next to Apollo….END…And, thanks for the suggestions, though I think Lost doesn’t have it’s same sparkle it did the 1st season. I’ve always wanted to check out Mad Men, though, and have caught parts of Dexter on DVD because I don’t currently have Showtime.
@psyguy411 – Producers lie all the time to protect plot points. I’m not saying he’s lying but if it’s not Rolsin or Baltar, it’s going to be someone (or something) completely out of left field.
@conor – -I really hope so, just for the pure fact to tell everyone I knew who the cylon was. Kind of sucks to be the "old man" if it’s true…basically 2 people you love and trust are what used to be your most hated enemies, now turned saviors. Then, I have a funny feeling about that "dieing leader" prophecy, because that could now turn out to be Lee or whatever the creators decide. You never know with these type of shows, anymore.
Both would make sense to me, as both are coming to the end of epic personal journeys. Roslin had the visions and seemed to be nearing the end of her losing battle with cancer the closer they got to earth. Baltar, after exhausting his usefulness with science and then politics, has now embraced religion with an almost zealot-like glee and keeps preaching about the ‘one true god’.
But they’re both also very obvious and no doubt red herrings. Part of would like it to be Gaiter… is that guy EVER gonna catch a break? It’s like the writers hate him!
I can say that BSG is the best program I’ve ever watched. It moves me like no other television series I’ve watched. Of course, outside The Office, it’s also the only current program I watch on a regular basis. I’ve enjoyed Firefly, but I really do fail to see the entire big picture that many folks see in it… amazing, if cliched characters. I’m in the middle of watching Jericho season 1 on DVD at work, it’s OK… it’s just not going in the directions that I want to see it go in. Jekyll was amazing! And thank the gods that Spaced is finally getting a proper US release… loved Heroes season 1, and still have yet to see season 2. Never got Lost…. and ironically, I hate Rescue Me.
There is a significant amount of retconning in BSG, and lately that’s become a bit of a mild pet peeve of mine. It’s definitely not a perfect series, but I do admire what they are trying to create here.
I had to wait for the Sunday night repeat to watch. I also thought it was a strong episode up til the run. I had the same intercom thoughts about Cara. When the run is stretched out like that, the only way to go is to flush Sol into space because the audience assumes Cara WILL get there in time robbing the moment of suspense. Or hit the button but something happens to allow his rescue under hazardous conditions.
As to the ending, it lost 90% of its impact because we’ve already seen them on a desolate planet trying to rebuild civilization. It would have been a stronger cliffhanger if it ended just as they were coming through the blue sky and clouds — although everyone, including me, would be super pissed when they revealed the destroyed Earth and the start of the final season.
As to the images, I agree that they were too vague. If Cylons have Bob Dylan echoing in their heads, we have to assume it’s our Earth. It should be more recognizable (while avoiding Statue of Liberty cliches). Golden Gate Bridge?
Earth could still have survivors.
Frankly though, we don’t even know if it really is Earth. It could be a stepping stone planet to get to Earth.
What makes this show particularly interesting are the relationship dynamics, like those between Adama <-> roslin, Adama<->Kara, Adama<->Sol, etc., and between the groups, e.g. Final four<-> rest of humanity, Baltar’s followers<->Non-followers, etc., coupled with the societal metaphors (parallels to Iraq War and Guantanamo prisoner facility during the occupation series, faith vs. fact, polarized societies based upon how/where someone is born). It’s all great stuff.
Yeah, the sci fi stuff is kick-ass. The atmosphere drop during exodus, the concept of resurrection hubs, ‘living’ ships, etc, but much of that is just very cool candy. OK, the atom-drop was WAY cool.
On the note of ‘candy’, we still don’t know if it’s Earth, what will happen when the other cylons eventually meet the Galactica crew and their ‘allied’ Cyclons, why is Kara’s ship ‘clean’, what is going to happen with the final 4, who the final 5 is, etc.
This is one of the best series out there, and the season was strong.
They really oversold the "EVERYTHING WILL BE OK NOW!!" angle at the end. These people are more world weary and cautious than to just think everything is fine without knowing.
I honestly expected them to look up and see the Statue of Liberty hand sticking out from the dirt.
IT WAS EARTH ALL ALONG! YOU BLEW IT UP!!! YOU DAMN DIRTY APES!!!!
@clay – It’s gotta be Earth – before they landed they matched the constellations.
I thought the cliffhanger was going to be them in orbit around Earth then all the "bad" Cylons show up, ready to blow them and Earth to Hell.
Well, my guess is that Starbuck led someone else there in her initial visit. They in turn, done effed Earth up. I mean we have been told not once but twice that she is gonna lead some folks to their doom. My guess is that its the classic Centurions teamed with the Cavills, Simons and the Dorells.
‘Battlestar’ finale jumps ratings
The midseason finale of Sci Fi Channel’s "Battlestar Galactica" jumped the show’s ratings.
Friday night’s episode, "Revelations," attracted the largest audience for the series since the fourth-season premiere.
The episode was seen by 1.8 million viewers. Among adults 18-49, the finale was seen by 1.2 million — the highest-rated episode since the season’s fourth episode, which aired in late April. As always, the numbers are expected to increase once DVR viewing is included.
This season of "BSG" has rated higher than the episodes Sci Fi aired last spring.
Friday’s dramatic cliffhanger and final scene has caused plenty of discussion online. The show is expected to return in January with at least 10 episodes. A two-hour stand-alone movie is still under discussion for the fall.
So, just as we’re coming to the end of a critically acclaimed and fan-adored show, possibly brought to it’s final season by lacklustre viewing figures, the ratings NOW start getting good? Awesome!
*holds head in hands and sighs*
@Eyun – Ratings for finales usually go up. People who have dropped off watching the show come back for the end.
@Conor – the studio should find these people and get them in a legal agreement to watch every week. It’s not a perfect world, Conor, but surely by financial persuasion and personal threats these corporations CAN make a difference?
I’m posting way too much tonight, aren’t I? Damn you, Red Bull!
@conor
Yes, Kara identified the screens, ran down the hall, pressed the big red stop button at the last second, and everyone agreed it might be Earth.
but is it?
@clay – When they got to Earth at the end, Gaida checked the constellatoins to confirm they were where they were supposed to be based on the information they had. There is no more information internal to the show to identify Earth so at this point I have to assume they are on Earth.
If it isn’t Earth…. this might be the true jumping of the shark.
And/or I’ll be ticked.
@conor–I think what clay is suggesting is what a couple of my friends said…That because they have never been there, then they are only going on legends anf Baltar’s theories about the constellations, so they could still be wrong. I’m with you, though, and think it has to be Earth, just with more to it.
@psyguy411 – I understand that, I just don’t think there is anything internally within the show to suggest it’s not Earth that they landed on. After all the build-up it wouldn’t make any sense to have it not be Earth.
@conor–Oh I wholeheartedly agree…For me it can’t be any other place.