Why I Miss Battlestar Galactica
One of the finest ensemble casts in TV history
I’m still in mourning.
My favorite television show of all time has gone away, and I think the stages of grief are just now kicking in. I realized this when I tried to find something decent to watch on the tube this week. It’s just not happenin’. There is nothing out there as incredible, intelligent, or engrossing as BSG. It’s true that I am an unabashed fangirl, but I do believe that BSG is one of the best TV series in history. Period. Why, you say?
How about these three major points…
Writing Counts
Watching BSG is a lesson in how to run a show well. First, hire script writers who are at the top of their field, and let those writers carve out an incredible mythology that is as interesting as any of the action when things “blow up”. Second, let the creators and directors of the show expand on that vision, enhancing the character development with action sequences that serve to highlight character issues and philosophical touchstones. Check, and check.
In BSG, things go boom for a reason...
Actors Matter
All the glorious verse and fine-tuned CGI are worthless if you have actors that can’t live up to the material. BSG found an ensemble of actors that managed to inhabit their roles so seamlessly that you began to live vicariously through their escapades. Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos as President Roslin and Admiral Adama were the matriarch and patriarch of this clan, giving ethos and pathos to the lost colonists of Earth. Their performances were never acknowledged by Emmy voters, which is a crying shame. Katee Sackhoff’s Starbuck could have been nothing more than a whiny, unhinged annyonance in a less-able actor’s hands, but she carved out a niche in Sci-Fi history, making Starbuck a kick-ass heroine for the ages. Tricia Helfer’s slinky, fascinating Six fueled the equally intriguing performance of James Callis’ Dr. Baltar. These two worked together like a finely oiled machine.
The women of BSG - Number 3 (Lucy Lawless), Boomer/Number 8 (Grace Park), President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) and Number Six (Tricia Helfer)
Vision is Key
Ron D. Moore helped save Star Trek: The Next Generation when it was at its lowest point, and he helmed BSG like any worthy captain should. He always had the series’ final destination in mind and (SPOILER ALERT) wasn’t afraid to shake up the fans with much-needed change. Let’s face it, the BSG crew always functioned in a fragile world, and Moore wasn’t afraid to throw some serious punches to prove it (Starbuck’s death, Gaeta’s mutiny, Dee’s suicide). The final three episodes of the series were head-scratching, tear-inspiring works of art because the creators and writer’s knew when to turn everything upside down and inside out.
This is why I miss this incredible show. R.I.P. BSG. I plan on re-watching the entire series from start to finish soon. Requiescat in Pace.
Here’s a glimpse at what started it all – the incredible first episode, “33” is still one of the best hours of TV ever created.
irulan18
Notes from the Alyssaverse 
AGREEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!! I’m just working through the series with my husband for his second time, my very first. I can’t believe I missed out on a great series the first time around! I LOVE the actors — Laura Roslin, Lee Adama, Bill Adama, Starbuck. I even found out that Boomer/Athena grew up in my hometown of Vancouver! 🙂
So say we all!
AXN SciFi Romania concluded the season 4 finale today barely, two years later than in other countries. Having said that, I’m quite melancholic. There have been a lot of great posts putting into perspective what we’ll all miss about BSG – The old man and Saul sharing a drink, all the characters, the attachment to them – I miss it greatly and it’s one of those shows that break the barriers of SciFi and mundane entertainment.
Here’s to the cast, the writers, everyone who made it all possible, and also to the idea and story behind it all *raises a shot glass like the x.o., admiral Adama, Starbuck, so on and so on.
I miss it so darn much! For an year now I have been waiting for the battlestar’s new blood and chrome but apparently it is being shelved, makes me sad!
Such a wonderful story, beautiful plot & wonderfully acted! Its sad when I see shallow shows and sitcoms go on to a dozen seasons and a masterpiece like battlestar galactica get cancelled at the fourth.
Very Unfair. I really miss you battlestar Galactica, you made me imagine and dream of a world & universe beyond my expectations.
You made me think of ideas & concepts I had never thought of before.
If I had a lot of money the first thing I would do is reunite the cast and put the show back on air, of course everything ends but i think we all agree that this great show could have had a better ending rather than this cardiac arrest called the finale.
I will miss you!
I agree with all you’ve said. I admit, I wasn’t a fan of the finale at first (I felt a little blind-sided and ripped off, especially with the fate of Starbuck), but I did enjoy the overall commentary regarding mankind repeating its mistakes.
You know you are absolutely right, I never liked starbuck’s disappearing act in the finale either!
But the commentary does make you wonder if you are actually part of a similar cycle 🙂 (gives you the chills!)
The depth of the show’s story can only be appreciated by people who understand the entire background. The greatest (& possibly the worst) thing about bsg was its strong story arc, I loved it but the problem is anyone who started watching the show from the middle didn’t really get the theme that easily despite the beginning premise at the start of the show. Shows like fringe carry on with a weaker story arc and a more case to case episode. It keeps the interest going on but I frankly am loosing interest in that!
But I wish there was a way to bring the show back ! Bless You BSG!
The theist ending may have been the biggest dissappointment I have ever suffered in my life. Science fiction, by definition, is based on science, not myth. Throwing supernatural heebie geebees at the conclusion was an affront to every reasonable human on the planet. Such a shame to be handed a plate of crap after waiting in line and sticking by the show for so many years. They can take their frakked-up god and shove him.
Anyone who says that was never – I repeat never – a fan of the show. Just as with its predecessor, The reality of the shows religion to not only the characters but the BSGverse itself was ever present from the first season. If you didn’t understand the ending, you didn’t understand the show.
Agreed! I really enjoyed the contrast between the re-imagined version’s Cylons, who believed in the one true “God” and the colonists, who were polytheists. It set up a much deeper conflict between the two battling enemies – going beyond the traditional sci-fi archetype of man vs. machine.
I am almost through season four, and I am dreading it. My cable record option grabbed Razor for me, and like an idiot, I didn’t watch it before I dived into the final season. I am already missing it like a long lost friend. I keep telling my wife you have got to check this shot out. I have no idea how it ends, but by accident I found out TYs wife was or is the last five. I never bother with anything popular on tv, but thank Jesus I checked this out…BSG