BSG Spoiler

Jeremy Francis · 22 Mar 2009, 16:21 · from 2009-March.txt.gz

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From: francisj at iinet.net.au (Jeremy Francis)
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:21:08 +0900
Subject: (urth) BSG Spoiler
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The suicide is not what I have a problem with.  I actually found that quite
funny and awesome, and pretty in character given how he's acted.  Dean
Stockwell played him extraordinarily well.   I think looking for
explanations for a lot of the narrative problems is fruitless.  RDM is not
Gene Wolfe.  Nor is he Daniel Knauf, or Alan Moore, or even J. Michael
Straczysnki , to draw together a few different superlative writers from
varying mediums.  The explanation for why things don't make sense is easy:
he didn't think things through at the beginning of the series, and thus we
have the quagmire of dead-end plotlines and weird plot changes.  Easy
example: the Temple of the Five.  For those thinking of a knee jerk
reaction: no, I enjoyed the series!  There is enough cool stuff in there to
keep me satisfied.   However, a lot of the explanations feel forced.  The
fact our "Earth" and the 13th tribe had no connection, for example.  It is
far more simplistic to simply ascribe the failings of the narrative to
writer oversight.  Searching for explanations that are tenuous reeks of
fanboy activities, at least in this context (definitely not so with respect
to subtle writers where you're meant to draw these connections).  It's still
an enjoyable series.  And I'll admit I wanted a futuristic Earth to blow
those uppity Colonials out of space.

From: urth-bounces at lists.urth.net [mailto:urth-bounces at lists.urth.net] On
Behalf Of John Watkins
Sent: Monday, 23 March 2009 12:09 AM
To: The Urth Mailing List
Subject: Re: (urth) BSG Spoiler

I watched it last night with some friends and just want to say on record
that I loved it from beginning to almost the very very end when the robot
dance montage started.  But even that was a forgivable indulgence.

I agree with Jeff's take on Cavil's motives in his last scenes.  While
expressly an atheist character, who, like Baltar, manipulated the beliefs of
others, I thought that he convincingly had a moment of doubt there with
Gaius talking to him.  But that doesn't really matter, as the offer of
resurrection technology is what convinced him anyway.  The suicide made
sense--he was probably about to die anyway and his life was, in his own
mind, worthless without Hera, so he ended it on his own terms.  Of course, I
wanted worse things for him because I hated him, but in a way committing
suicide over one's metaphysical despair is as bad as it gets.

I think there's still some mystery about Starbuck.  Unlike the angels, she
wasn't aware of her nature until the end, and it's got to be more complex
than just "eidolon."  That only explains her corpse and disappearance, not
her knowledge of the song.  As for Harbinger of Death status, there's any
number of plausible meanings to it--one of which is just that she's a
harbinger sent from the realm of the dead.

On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 6:32 AM, Jeremy Francis <francisj at iinet.net.au>
wrote:

The head angels were actually inter-dimensional insects? But of course!

From: urth-bounces at lists.urth.net [mailto:urth-bounces at lists.urth.net] On
Behalf Of Chris P
Sent: Sunday, 22 March 2009 7:28 PM

To: urth at lists.urth.net

Subject: Re: (urth) BSG Spoiler

> Jeremy Francis wrote:

> > I doubt they'll have an easier time of it. Again, I think you
underestimate
> > the power of a centralised population, and overestimate how plentiful
> > sustenance will be. They will have a HARDER time of it on Earth than
they
> > did on New Caprica, and New Caprica forced privation on the populace.
> 
> I agree that it would be easier all in one place, network effects and 
> all that, and if they were serious about natural disasters they'd have 
> landed a couple of ships to use for shelters and/or emergency 
> evacuation. But it's not fair to say the ending is logistically dumb 
> when the ubiquitous cigarettes and good grooming would imply they had 
> entire ships full of cigarettes and hair-care products along for the 
> ride all along.

Given that Wolfe was writing all this, I think we need to consider more
complex interpretations.

  _____  

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