SMRT-TV: Holographic Wow

March 27, 2006

Rejected Column Titles: "Kirk Wouldn't Stoop That Low", "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot," "Resistance is Futile," and "some sort of Locutus pun?" This one goes out to all the nerds in the hizz-ouse.

Holographic wow
Killing Time, After Battlestar Blew Our Minds
by Alison Veneto

After last month's column I swore I was done writing about Battlestar Galactica for a good while. How many columns can I devote to one show? (There are other sci-fi shows on television evidently.) But then I saw that season finale and thought: I have to write about that.

Now that I've had a cooling off period where I've reattached my jaw to my mouth, I've set out to make sense of BSG's last hour and a half. And really, for as shocked as I was, I don't have much to say about it. [You know, me too. Which is probably good news for the spoiler-phobes. -Liz]

And that's what I'm here to tell you — that neither should you. I know October is a long time to wait for new episodes and some answers, but I still say don't think about it and don't form opinions. Why? Because the shocker twist of BSG's season finale is something that can only be adequately judged in retrospect.

I feel a lot of people loyal to the show have praised the twist (it's ballsy, it's not like anything on TV, most of all it's not "Lost"), things happen and they don't jerk you around. Well, all of these things may be true — but is the twist good? Well, how do you know? We really have to see where it goes to make that decision.

Then there's the naysayers — it jumped the shark, why does Starbuck look like trailer trash, what's with Adama's handlebar mustache, it's too drastic, where's my character development, this is even less believable than the 'Black Market' episode. But again, are you sure? How do you know? Do you know whether it's jumped the shark till we see where it goes?

Then there's the naysayers — it jumped the shark, why does Starbuck look like trailer trash, what's with Adama's handlebar mustache, it's too drastic, where's my character development, this is even less believable than the 'Black Market' episode. But again, are you sure? How do you know? Do you know whether it's jumped the shark till we see where it goes?

There sure has been a good amount of internal speculation about where it's going to go. I'm guilty of that as well. So here's what we're all worried about — where it could all go bad. One fear is that in Battlestar Galactica's drive to be "not-Lost" and not indulge in decompressed action, the big twist will necessitate Lost-style flashbacks. No word on whether this will happen, but many fear it.

Another fear is, of course: 'it's a dream!' Most who follow this line of thought believe Starbuck is still on Caprica and never made it back and it's all in her head. But if you actually follow the show, this theory is hard to believe. While 'one year later' is pretty gimmicky, it's not even in the same gimmick universe as the 'it's a dream' theme. BSG has a bit too much integrity for that.

But the fear continues... will the show be too different from the one we've all come to know and love? This is a real fear and definitely something we will all have to wait and see.

But I have my own personal cynical fear as well. There are rumors all over the internet, and I don't know where they came from, that BSG might move to NBC (where it's bound to die a horrible death). But have the creators sold out and essentially 're-started' the series to make it more palatable to new audiences? I do hope this isn't true and like to believe that they made this decision on artistic, not capitalistic, reasons.

There are positives, although they are a little more vague than the fears: that the show has stopped itself from getting stale; that the twist has set up the possibilities of all kinds of new (and old) relationships to explore. Who will Starbuck be if she loses another guy whose she's been stuck on so long? What's old Sharon going to think of the Chief and Cally? What about Baltar and Six physically together again? And what's Roslin's plan with that baby? They've opened so many interesting new storylines to play with. And not all of them depend on flashbacks (Why is Adama mad at Starbuck this time?). Also, the stakes are very high.

But this is the speculation I ask you not to do. We all must wait and be patient and reserve judgment and see what happens. The show's been so good so far that we owe it that much. Like most of the (religious) women on the show, we have to believe and trust. And I don't think we'll know for sure until a couple episodes into October whether our faith has been redeemed or out hearts crushed.

And now, for a quick look at BSG's replacement — Doctor Who. (I guess really it's the Stargate: Atlantis replacement, nonetheless, it's what's new on The Sci-Fi Channel Friday Nights). I have heard about Doctor Who and its various incarnations as long as I can remember — but I've never seen it. I've certainly heard about this new version starring Christopher Eccleston and that's what Sci-Fi has brought to us.

I didn't entirely know what to expect watching the first few episodes. I was actually surprised that the production values didn't seem equal to BSG's or other American shows. But it's also a bit hard to tell because the show is shot in PAL (not the American format NTSC) and looks a bit funny automatically.

Also, The Sci-Fi Channel has drilled into my head that all women in sci-fi/fantasy situations are hot. And the female lead in Doctor Who isn't really. [Hey, I'm not going to say that she's Jeri Ryan, but girlfriend's got one hell of a pretty face. -Liz] So this was surprisingly, although on a very superficial level! And this show is pretty silly. That I sort of knew. But they've done a good job updating what I assume was a lot campier in the 60s.

Better late than never, let me actually tell you what the show is about. Doctor Who travels through time and dimensions and fights the Daleks (although no one said 'Dalek' in the first episode of this series, that's what they've always been called in the past) who want to destroy humans or Earth or some such thing. Usually he has a companion, a normal person, who this time is Rose (the not all that hot girl). And it seems to be a bit wacky. The show that is.

Anyway, I'm watching it and we'll see if it proves worth writing about in here again. Only time can will tell...

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