What the Frak Happened to Battlestar Galactica?

Many people are going to read this and think that I am one of those people who like to criticize things just to be different. I did not lament that the 2003 mini-series was not enough like the original, and I am not here to say that show was ruined as it went from geeky obsession to mainstream hit. I am one of the people who loved how the Battlestar Universe was "re-imagined" and tried to get everybody I know to watch the show. That being said, I do take a lot of issues with the way the show evolved.

When the original mini-series first aired, it was really a breath of fresh air. The original Galactica had a strong cult following, based largely on kitschy nostalgia rather than excellent production value or memorable episodes from the original series. I would go so far as to say the original series kind of sucked. Great concept, shitty everything else. The mini-series updated the stories, the characters, and the turned the Cylons into something a lot of people could relate to.

Season one was very strong. The Cylons wanted to wipe out the human race, but we discovered that there were at least a few Cylons that cared about humans, and didn't necessarily want to kill us all. The remaining humans were struggling to survive, create some semblance of society, and hold out enough hope that they would find a new home so they could stop running, or hyperspacing around the galaxy to be more accurate.

I also thought season two was really great. We all got to dig a little deeper into Cylon psychology, and we learned that nothing is what it appeared to be on the surface. With the introduction of the Pegasus, we learned the humans could be just as cold, ruthless, and despicable as the Cylons. In the meantime, the series continued to bless us with interesting and complex characters.

And then there was season 3.

In the third season, the writers decided that the series should focus less on what is happening in this re-imagined universe and should be concerned with becoming a dramatic representation for war and terrorism. And hey, that's not necessarily such a bad thing. If there was nobody out there that spoke out on what is wrong with the world, then nothing will change.

Unfortunately, this quest to find some sort of moral clarity on the part of the writers is a task that seemed, at times, a little over their heads. Season 3 started with a lot of the best episode of the series, but once the occupation was over, they seemed as ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of their decisions as any politician on the planet. As much we are forced to look inward, it seems like the writers would rather not make any tough decisions. At the end of a third season we had a show full of characters whose actions had no consequences. You could still enjoy the show because you had invested yourself into the characters and you wanted to know what happened, but the shit the writers put the characters through is comical. For me, it took itself so seriously, at times I thought I was watching a poorly written farce of the show.

I understand that BSG wants to get through some complex things, and that they need to get them done over the course of the season because you never know when the network will pull the plug, however, they have decided to take on way too much. They don't have to explore every single character to the nth degree. I think a better focus would have added more coherence to the series, especially the last few seasons. I don't mind the series making me go "Hmmm", I just hate it when I am constantly thinking "Wha??". Sure, that means some characters will be a little weaker, but when you only have 12-15 episodes a season, you need to make some sacrifices.

Entering the fourth season, I was really worried about the ratings. I thought the ratings would be low. The show has episodes, but there are very few episodes you can watch alone and have any idea what is going on. Therefore, it makes it hard for the casual fan to get into it. To have any idea what is going on this season, you need to have seen most of the previous seasons. For people who like the show, this is nice because they are allowed to go deep into subjects this way. It's a good show, so that shouldn't necessarily mean bad ratings, but combine that with the way the writers have taken away lots of the "purity" of the sci-fi involved, and you have a recipe for disaster. Instead of being a great sci-fi show, they decided that they would become yet another allegory on society, and the fact that it happens to take place in space, and (often very hot-looking) robots are involved seems like a coincidence.

Since season 4 is the final season, I was expecting a lot of hype, but nothing could prepare me for Battlestar Galactica: Phenomenon, or as I think it should be more accurately titled, Battlestar Galactica: Circle Jerk. While I was questioning the quality of the show, the wizards at NBCU decided to trot out a bunch of celebrities to convince the world that BSG was mainstream enough for them to watch. And you know nothing bad can happen when a science fiction series decides it wants to be mainstream!

I had a few problems with Phenomenon. First, it seems like it was rushed together. Instead of doing actual research, they decided to find a few people who seemed to actually like the series, and then filled it out with testimonials from other people on the NBCU payroll. I'm not saying that S. Epatha Merkelson and Jessie L. Martin aren't huge BSG fans, but it seems like their names where the answer to the question "Where do we find some black people who watch the show?" . A better question would be, where do we find the black people on the show? We have a second-rate Cylon and Dualla. That's slim pickings, but alas, it's a question for another time.

They also were able to answer questions like "We need somebody funny to say they like the know." Answer: Joel McHale. "We need somebody with a little edge that watches the show." Answer: Scott Ian, come on down! How about "Let's sneak in somebody from a show that is not as well known, and maybe we can get a ratings boost." Answer: Ed Quinn from Eureka.

And don't forget the most important question:""Just in case we don't have enough fan boys, let's get somebody to reel the rest of them in." Answer: Joss Whedon. See, I love Joss. I know way more about Buffy the Vampire Slayer than I care to admit, but I saw the last three seasons of Buffy and so unfortunately he is not the person I want to hear from when I have concerns that my favorite show has become a meandering mess and doesn't know what to do with itself.

However, I love the show, and they can still do amazing things, especially when their F/x budget is big. I was a little upset with how season 4 started, but then I calmed down as things moved on. At the end of season 3, I really couldn't stand a lot of the characters and if the survival of the human race meant people like Baltar need to continue to live, then we should just stick a fork in it. BTW, the obsession with redeeming Baltar over and over and over again is one of the most annoying parts of the show. Hey! He's flawed! I GET IT. Just kill him off already. Somebody else can be the messiah and indiscriminately bone all of the hot chicks in the fleet.

Season 4 started strong. I liked how the writers returned to making the show about the human race getting back to space. They have forced colonial political intrigue upon us, which is unbearably forced, but we got a deeper view into Cylon politics, and there is a lot of good shit going on there. And this is where we have another problem. There is only so much time left in the series. Why must the writers constantly waste it on adding layers of forced drama? It just leaves more for them to take care of in the following weeks, leaving less time to focus on the stuff that is actually good.

Where are we now? I have not completely written off the series. As I said before, I like the characters and I want to see what happens. It's not too late for the writers to start making some of those hard decisions. They've taught us to rethink what it takes to make good science fiction, and maybe it's time for them to take a look at this great universe they created and think about how they want to finish things off.