Archives For Battlestar Gallactica

Teenage Suicide Bombers and Killer Robots

Chris —  April 7, 2010

Caprica 1.0, part one of the initial season of the Battlestar Gallactica spin-off/prequel, has ended. In great BSG fashion, they’ve put a big ol’ cliffhanger in the middle of the season.  People seem to agree that there really isn’t any problem with Caprica, except that we just really miss BSG.

Ron Moore should be applauded for attempting to draw in old fans, without creating rehash.  He promised that Caprica would be like Dallas with robots.

Whereas BSG exploded from the beginning with the genocide of 12 planets and the countdown of survivors,  Caprica has spent its first few episodes introducing us to the world that was and the interwoven lives of the two families the shown revolves around.

There are no characters like Adama or Rosalin, whose drive and ethics anchored BSG with hope. Caprica is about weak and twisted characters: a mad scientist, an alcoholic wife, a corrupt lawyer and an assassin.  Then there are the kids, a handful of angst ridden teenagers being sucked into online madrassas and terrorism. The weight of the plot is on kids who aren’t old enough to fly a Viper.

Despite its risks, Caprica has a lot of promise.  By being different, it tells its own story and challenges us in new ways. Perhaps even more than BSG, it explores the themes of religious terrorism and extremism, and gives us clues to what our world could become.  And has cool robots.

Check out Caprica at www.hulu.com/caprica.

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Happily Ever After

Chris —  June 19, 2009

(This is dedicated to my old roommate Paul Cartwright, who’s been asking me to blog about this forever.) SPOILER WARNING!

battlestar_galacticaI delayed watching the final episode of Battlestar Gallactica, not wanting to say goodbye. The well crafted story ark, evolving characters, and social/religious, not to mention sexy robots, have been a good friend for five years.

BSG ended perfectly.  Characters was allowed to finish well.  The bad guys were defeated.  Evil people were redeemed.  The seemingly insane were vindicated.  The humans (and cylon) races survived. All questions were answered and peace was attained.

What made the ending so masterful was how every unresolved question was answered in one fail swoop.  All of the the seemingly unrelated questions pointed to a simple answer.  Why does Baltar see visions?  Why do Roslin and others share the vision of the opera house? How did Starbuck come back from the dead?  Is there a God?

We should have seen it coming all along. The original BSG epic was inspired by the story of  Joseph Smith’s 10 lost tribes of Israel in the Book of Mormon.  Mormonism is based on the idea that Joseph Smith met Moroni the Archangel, who revealed the rest of the story of Jesus, and promises that when true followers die, they get their own earth to repopulate.

The final episode climaxes with Dr. Baltar, whose self seeking manner has driven much of the storyline, suddenly has an epiphany. This provides the answer for every mystery, and the key to survival.  “I see angels,” he says.

Suddenly, everything fits.  The evil ones are vanquished, and the survivors are transported to a perfect planet in need of re-population.  BSG had the perfect ending: a reminder we will get where we are supposed to be, and that in the end we’ll see that God has been leading us all along.

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If I’m Evil, You Made Me This Way

Chris —  March 5, 2009

We are sadly witnessing the last season of the most daring and complicated Space Opera to ever hit the small screen.  Like any good science fiction, Battlestar Gallactica is little more that a thin veneer of sci-fi, used to address complex social issues.  They’ve taken on war, racism, suicide, terrorism, and the threats of theocratic goverments.

Most recently, Battlestar took a bite into the most debated question in all religion: Theodicy.  The evil robot leader John Cavil confronts his designer Ellen.  He has abandoned the innocence and the purpose for which he was created.  He has turned against his creators, and set on a path that could destroy all intelligent life.

His reason?  A desire to become greater, limitless in his power.  A desire to achieve the perfection he believes his unfair creator kept him from attaining.  In many ways, it’s a retelling of the garden.  The created rebels against the creator because of his desire to become greater than the creator.

When his designer calls him out, Ellen responds by saying, “If I’m evil, you made me this way.”  It’s really the great question of all theology: Can a good God be blamed for the evil within his creation?  

Battlestar has posed the question, but has yet to give their answer.  What to you think?

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